Chapter 126: Hong Xiaoyi

With a single strike, Leng Bingyan cleaved the incoming fireball in two. She swiftly sent a blade of light slashing forward; though pale purple and short in length, it carried immense power. Cen Yongtian dared not underestimate it and roared, "Blazing Earth Inferno!"

Instantly, the ground beneath him turned a scorching red. The grass that had been growing there withered and ignited, and a ring of flames erupted from the earth, shooting toward the sky to form a wall of fire before him.

"Pfft!" The blade of light pierced the wall, only to be caught by Cen Yongtian on the other side. In terms of sheer power, Cen Yongtian could not even begin to compare to Leng Bingyan, who held the strength of a mid-stage Immortal Emperor. However, she had not exerted her full power; she had capped herself at the level of a Level 7 power-user. She set this limit for herself because the power of an Immortal Emperor would shatter the balance of this world. Moreover, possessing absolute power made everything feel tedious; looking at everything around her as if they were mere ants, how could she not be bored?

A Level 7 ability was already formidable; ordinary Level 6 executors rarely faced defeat, and a Level 7 was almost impossible to overcome. Under normal circumstances, Leng Bingyan set a Level 7 ceiling for herself, though she would naturally make exceptions if she encountered a stronger adversary.

*I suspect he is more than just a Level 6,* Leng Bingyan mused. To catch her blade of light so effortlessly, he couldn't possibly be a mere Level 6. Could it be that he had touched the threshold of Level 7?

Only then did Leng Bingyan truly begin to take him seriously. She smiled at Cen Yongtian. "Not bad. I suppose you are already a Level 7 power-user."

Cen Yongtian said nothing, but his expression gave him away. Leng Bingyan moved her hands rapidly. "Since your specialty is fire, I shall defeat you with fire." She waved her hand, and a stream of flames swept across her chest, shining with striking brilliance against the night sky.

Cen Yongtian suddenly choked, as if unable to draw in fresh air. "You... you are also a Level 7 power-user?" he asked with a tone of disbelief. But his answer came in the form of two crimson fireballs, manifested and launched exactly as he had done before.

He dodged to the side, narrowly avoiding the fireballs. Just as he let out a sigh of relief, he felt a wave of intense heat and a warmth against his cheek. Looking up, he saw a massive fireball hurtling toward him, followed by several more. His heart turned cold. *Could she also be a fire-elemental power-user, and one who has reached Level 7 or higher?*

Never had he felt so defeated, especially in the face of his own specialty. "Burning Heavens!" Cen Yongtian roared, unleashing his strongest attack. The raging inferno, like magma spewing from a volcano, carried an unbearable searing heat. He had only recently mastered the Burning Heavens technique, which was only accessible upon breaking through to Level 7. The pillar of fire collided violently with Leng Bingyan's fireballs. After a deafening boom, the fireballs and the pillars of fire shattered into countless sparks. The scattered flames expanded, instantly turning the surroundings into a sea of fire; the vegetation was scorched, and the earth revealed a charred, blackened surface.

Judging by this mutually destructive outcome, the fireballs Leng Bingyan had unleashed were indeed equivalent to Level 7 power.

After the strike, Leng Bingyan frowned; she had not expected Cen Yongtian to be quite so capable. As for Cen Yongtian, he looked far more disheveled, his face pale and his breath coming in ragged gasps from the heavy expenditure of energy.

Without pause, Leng Bingyan flashed forward and vanished. Just as Cen Yongtian felt a sense of alarm and braced for defense, a sharp pain struck his waist—a kick from Leng Bingyan, delivered without reservation. He was sent flying over ten meters, crashing to the ground, only to find Leng Bingyan standing right before him again.

He closed his eyes in despair, realizing the vast disparity in strength between himself and the young girl. As a Level 7 expert, he felt as though he had no power to fight back against her. What terrifying realm had she attained?

***

With her strength fully exerted at Level 7, Leng Bingyan was far more terrifying than Cen Yongtian could have imagined. With two fireballs dancing between her hands, she looked like an invincible monarch, capable of deciding the life or death of those beneath her with a mere wave of her hand.

Across the ten-meter distance, Cen Yongtian watched the peerless, purple-haired beauty approach slowly. She appeared so ethereal, the distance so vast, as if time itself had foundered and lost its meaning.

Finally, Leng Bingyan reached him. Unable to move, Cen Yongtian closed his eyes in despair, waiting for the end. Would it be death? In most cases, the answer would be yes, but as fate would have it, just as Leng Bingyan prepared to swing the fireballs, a numbing sensation pulsed from behind, carrying significant energy.

She hurriedly erected a barrier, still using Level 7 power. With a thunderous boom, the pale purple radiance collided head-on with a white barrier.

The collision was brief, dissipating after mere seconds. Leng Bingyan frowned, dispersed the fireballs in her hands, and looked toward the source of the disturbance. "Come out!" she said in a cold, clear voice.

It had been a distinct lightning attack, with purple arcs crackling through the air. Leng Bingyan was unfazed, a cold smirk playing on her lips. Such an attack aimed at her? It wasn't arrogance; such lightning could not harm her in the slightest. Had they forgotten that she possessed the origin of the Heavenly Thunder Punishment? By channeling a small amount of that power at the Level 7 limit, the lightning was nothing to fear.

However, Leng Bingyan did not intend to use the thunder origin. She watched as the purple lightning stretched into a long, thin line and attacked her. She flicked her jade-white fingers at a thirty-degree angle, and the long bolt of lightning immediately deviated from its trajectory, spinning with her hand until it condensed into a glowing purple sphere.

A gasp of surprise came from the air; the assailant seemed astonished by Leng Bingyan's ability. Mastering an opponent's attack was no easy feat; one’s cultivation realm had to be several times higher than the attacker's.

"Still not coming out?" Her voice now carried a hint of anger, cold enough to pierce the heart—a bone-chilling frost.

A figure slowly emerged from the clearing: a beautiful girl, perhaps seventeen or eighteen years old. She wore a pink, one-piece outfit with a light blue ribbon tied around her waist. The tight-fitting upper garment highlighted her petite, charming curves, and the skirt-like hem revealed slim legs wrapped in matching pink fabric and red shoes. What caught Leng Bingyan's eye most was the oversized "key" she held.

It was an archaic, Western-style key, resembling a hybrid of a longsword and a staff. It had a golden hilt that served as a handguard, with a long pendant hanging from the back. The front was a thin, silver-white shaft, with the business end consisting of several silver-white protrusions.

The girl clutched the massive key, staring defiantly at Leng Bingyan. Was she angry because her strength couldn't match Leng Bingyan's, or because her beauty fell short?

Leng Bingyan looked at her with amusement. *She was the one who interrupted me, yet she seems even angrier than I am.* The two stood staring at each other for a long time; Leng Bingyan even forgot her initial decision to punish the sneak attacker.

After a long while, Leng Bingyan regained her composure. She smiled at the girl and asked, "Little sister, why did you sneak attack me just now?" The smile caused the girl to shrink back half a step, as if Leng Bingyan were a human trafficker.

***

*Seriously? Am I that scary?* Leng Bingyan wondered. She had forgotten that the power she displayed earlier was indeed terrifying, so it was no surprise the girl was frightened.

The girl hesitated for a moment before gathering her courage and shouting, "You can't kill him! He is mine, and I am taking him away!" Her tone was spoiled and willfully obstinate. Leng Bingyan felt uncomfortable hearing this, and the favorable impression she had of the girl’s appearance vanished. She looked at her with a strange expression when she said, "He is mine."

"Is that so?" Leng Bingyan asked, noncommittally. "Why? You must give me a reason." The girl did not catch the coldness in Leng Bingyan's words, but she understood the look in her eyes. A flare of anger rose in her chest, and she said arrogantly, "I am an executor from Tianjin. Cen Yongtian committed his crimes within my jurisdiction, so he should be handed over to me to handle."

"So, you know you're an executor from Tianjin? Well, let me tell you, I am an executor from Beijing. And this is Beijing, not Tianjin! Cen Yongtian is in Beijing right now, and I am the one who found him!" The chill in Leng Bingyan's voice sharpened. She looked at the girl coldly. "Since you are a Tianjin executor, why didn't you bring him to justice within your own jurisdiction instead of letting him escape to Beijing? Furthermore, are you aware that an executor from one city cannot cross into another to pursue a fugitive without the consent of the local executor? I could treat your actions as an act of contempt toward me!"

The girl's face turned pale. She seemed to realize the consequences of violating the executor code. If a powerful person had violated this code and looked down on a weaker one, it might be understandable, but the woman before her was far stronger than she was! Regretting her impulsive, stubborn behavior, the girl felt as though her insides were twisting with remorse.

Leng Bingyan watched her coldly. Seeing the girl trembling like a cicada in winter, her eyes even glistening with tears, Leng Bingyan's heart softened. The girl really was quite pitiful and endearing in her petite, fragile state.

"Alright, alright. I won't blame you." Leng Bingyan waved her hand and walked over to the girl, reaching out to wipe the tears from her eyes. She said softly, "If you keep crying, Cen Yongtian will be long gone."

The girl was stunned and forgot to cry. She looked toward the spot where Cen Yongtian had fallen, but it was empty. In the time Leng Bingyan had been talking to the girl, Cen Yongtian had made his escape.

Leng Bingyan didn't mind; Cen Yongtian was destined not to escape her grasp anyway. She decided to focus on the little girl in front of her.

"I am Leng Bingyan, twenty-one years old, an executor from Beijing. And you?"

"Hong Xiaoyi, eighteen, an executor from Tianjin," the girl replied weakly, adding, "A Level 6 power-user!"

*She must have only just broken through to Level 6,* Leng Bingyan thought. She wondered, *Am I a wild beast? Why does she seem so afraid of me?*