Chapter 174

"Roar!" The purple rhinoceros let out a pained, furious roar, then charged at Kuchiki Senya like a mad beast.

Kuchiki Senya's expression was calm; he held a short blade, his eyes cold and unyielding, and advanced to meet it.

"Swish! Swish! Swish!" His short blade slashed repeatedly; each stroke sent a spray of crimson blood flying, leaving a gushing wound on the purple rhinoceros.

But because these purple rhinoceroses had thick hides and tough flesh, no fatal wounds had formed yet—though they had already lost the courage to continue attacking Kuchiki Senya.

"Hmph, so you're just paper tigers after all. I thought you were formidable, but you're nothing but bluster!" A mocking smile appeared on Kuchiki Senya's face as he accelerated toward the purple rhinoceros, his short blade slashing faster, each flicker of cold light leaving the beast no room to evade.

"Slish!" Suddenly, his short blade appeared abruptly on the purple rhinoceros's back, slicing straight through its hard scales and defenses, leaving a horrifying gash across its spine.

"Howl!" The purple rhinoceros let out a piercing, furious cry, its body trembling violently as if struck by a massive wound.

"Beast, die!" Kuchiki Senya said coldly, driving his short blade deep into the purple rhinoceros's neck.

"Puch!" The blade pierced the beast's neck, then was yanked out—blood spurted forth.

"Boom!" The purple rhinoceros's massive body crashed to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.

"Whoosh!" Kuchiki Senya exhaled a long, foul breath, then walked slowly to the purple rhinoceros's side, looking down at the writhing, moaning beast, a sly, cunning curve forming at the corner of his mouth.

"You really thought I wouldn't kill you?" Kuchiki Senya murmured, his lips moving as his right index finger extended, a cluster of black flame flickering at its tip.

"Boom!" He flicked his finger—the pitch-black demonic flame drifted instantly before the purple rhinoceros, then erupted in roaring flames, engulfing the beast in an instant.

"Aaaoooh!" The purple rhinoceros screamed in agony, thrashing wildly to extinguish the flames before it.

But the flames were stubborn—instead of dying out, they burned fiercer, and within moments, the entire body of the purple rhinoceros was completely shrouded in fire.

"Roar…" The purple rhinoceros's agonized cries continued as its body shook violently; beneath the black flames, its flesh rapidly withered, until finally it was reduced to ash.

"Whoosh!" Suddenly, the air before Kuchiki Senya rippled faintly, and a black figure materialized out of nowhere.

It was a black dragon, its entire 2.1-zhang body pitch-black, its size several zhang long, two sharp horns protruding from its head, its body covered in black scales, radiating a suffocating, terrifying pressure that shook the very space around it, faint cracks in space visibly forming.

"Wretched beast, I know you understand me. Since you do, I'll spare your life today—go, flee!" Kuchiki Senya barked coldly, glancing at the black dragon with disdain.

"Roar…" The black dragon let out a furious roar, then lunged straight at Kuchiki Senya as if determined to fight to the death.

Kuchiki Senya's gaze was utterly indifferent; he stepped forward swiftly, his short blade descending with chilling intent, slicing into the black dragon's abdomen and sending it reeling ten meters back.

139、Only know it seems related to a woman!

The black dragon let out a piercing cry, a gruesome wound gushing blood across its abdomen.

"Bang!" The black dragon, barely stabilized, immediately charged at Kuchiki Senya again.

"Hmph!" Kuchiki Senya's eyes narrowed; he advanced with his short blade, the weapon slicing through the black dragon's body with icy brilliance.

"Slish!" One of the black dragon's tails instantly severed and fell to the ground, blood gushing, staining the soil red.

"Roar…" The black dragon screamed again, then charged at Kuchiki Senya like a mad beast.

Kuchiki Senya's gaze turned icy; he stomped hard on the ground, launching himself into the air, his short blade carrying razor-sharp energy as he brought it down with full force toward the black dragon's skull.

"Clang!" A metallic clash rang out—the short blade failed to cleave through the emerald-green headband on the black dragon's skull, leaving only a faint white scratch, causing no too severe 12 damage.

"Looks like to kill it, I must first destroy that emerald-green headband on its head!" Kuchiki Senya thought silently, then twisted his wrist—the short blade left his hand and spun rapidly, a dagger appearing in his grip.

"Swish!" Kuchiki Senya easily plunged the dagger into the emerald-green headband on the black dragon's skull.

"Boom!" The moment the dagger pierced the headband, it exploded—power surged outward, blasting the black dragon dozens of meters away.

"Roar!" The black dragon let out a mournful, agonized bellow, collapsed to the ground, writhed a few times, then fell still, lifeless.

"So weak?" A flicker of surprise crossed Kuchiki Senya's face—he hadn't expected one dagger strike to end the black dragon's life.

"Looks like I overestimated it. A mere beast dared challenge me? Utterly presumptuous!" A mocking curve appeared on Kuchiki Senya's lips.

At that moment, an aged figure appeared before Kuchiki Senya—it was Ku Mu.

"It's you?" Seeing Ku Mu, Kuchiki Senya frowned slightly. "What are you doing here?"

Ku Mu stood respectfully before Kuchiki Senya, bowing deeply. "My lord, my master has sent word, requesting your presence."

Kuchiki Senya frowned. "What is it about?"

"I don't know the details," Ku Mu whispered, "but I heard it seems related to a woman!"

"A woman?" Kuchiki Senya's eyes blazed with sharp light; after a moment of silence, he said to Ku Mu: "Tell your master I'll come tomorrow night. Also, tell him—if he dares play tricks, I won't mind destroying his family myself."

"Yes, this servant understands!" Ku Mu nodded.

"Go!" Kuchiki Senya waved his hand—he didn't want anyone disturbing his puppet crafting.

"Yes!" Ku Mu turned and hurried away; she felt the overwhelming power radiating from Kuchiki Senya, making her heart tremble, instinctively rising in reverence, even daring not to breathe loudly.

After Ku Mu had gone far, Kuchiki Senya's eyes returned to calm; he picked up a meteorite, weighed it in his hand, then crushed it with force—the meteorite turned to powder and scattered in the wind.

"The energy contained in meteorites is far too scarce. No wonder the spiritual energy on this planet is so thin—even weaker than the Northern Region. The spiritual energy in meteorites has long been exhausted." Kuchiki Senya murmured, his eyes filled with regret.

"Ah! What a pity, what a pity!" Kuchiki Senya sighed, shaking his head. Though he greatly desired the vast energy within meteorites, since their spiritual energy was gone, to absorb it he'd have to draw external spiritual energy—otherwise, it was useless.

Kuchiki Senya sighed deeply; his mind stirred, and six pairs of silver-white wings sprouted from his back. His body became a silver-white afterimage, streaking into the distance, vanishing within a blink into the dense forest.

When Kuchiki Senya reached the village, he was stunned to find it reduced to ruins—houses and buildings collapsed, and many corpses lay scattered.

"Did the villagers encounter some danger?" Kuchiki Senya's expression changed; he sped forward into the ruins.

When he reached the ruins of the houses, his face turned utterly grim, his eyes radiating terrifying killing intent.

Amid the ruins lay broken skeletons and corpses everywhere, many reduced to mere bone frames, gnawed clean—eerily gruesome.

"Damn it! What happened?" Kuchiki Senya's face darkened, his rage boiling—he never imagined he'd one day encounter such a massacre, especially one occurring just one kilometer from his own dwelling.

"Boom!" Kuchiki Senya bent his legs sharply, then leapt upward like a great roc soaring into the sky, finally halting in midair, gazing down at the mountain of broken bones below.

Around the ruins lay hundreds of mangled corpses, some decayed beyond recognition, barely identifiable.

"Roar!" Kuchiki Senya let out a deafening bellow from his throat; the sound waves surged like a tidal wave across the eight directions, as if the entire sky trembled, and birds scattered in panic.

Then Kuchiki Senya condensed a silver orb in his hand; it radiated terrifying pressure, and he hurled it outward.

The silver orb rapidly expanded into a massive meteorite, crashing toward the ground with destructive force—BOOM! The earth shook violently, dust and debris erupted everywhere.

Dust settled, revealing a deep pit below—a massive crater, several zhang in diameter, with wisps of white smoke rising from its center.

Gazing at the scene in the pit, Kuchiki Senya's eyes gleamed with bloodthirsty cruelty, radiating a chilling aura of slaughter.

After a long while, the deep pit slowly shrank, until it finally became an ordinary earthen pit; only upon close inspection could one spot the faintest trace of what had happened.

"Hmph! Consider yourself lucky—I'm in a good mood today, so I'll spare your miserable life for now. If you dare to provoke me again, I will cut you down without mercy!" Staring at the enormous pit on the ground, Kuchiki Senya said indifferently, then turned and transformed into a streak of dazzling silver light that shot away, vanishing without a trace.

Kuchiki Senya's figure swiftly fled into the distance, disappearing into the vast forest, leaving behind only a scene of utter devastation and that one giant pit.

140. If you want to come looking for trouble with me, I'll oblige.

At the same moment, a man shrouded entirely in a pitch-black cloak abruptly appeared beside the giant pit. He extended a fingernail of a blood-red hue and probed it toward the inside of the pit.

However, the instant the man's fingertip touched the bottom of the pit, a series of crack-crack sounds suddenly rang out from within, followed immediately by a pillar of golden-yellow energy bursting forth from the pit's base and slamming into the man.

"Boom!" Caught completely off guard, the man's entire body was sent flying, crashing heavily onto the ground a hundred meters away.

"Pfft!" The man opened his mouth and spat out a large mouthful of fresh blood, his face turning deathly pale.

"Hm? Why is there metal armor?" The man looked up at the giant iron coffin at the bottom of the pit, covered in a layer of golden armor, a look of confusion flashing through his eyes.

At that moment, an icy voice suddenly rang out beside his ear: "I didn't expect a demon beast like this to have actually been born on this planet—what a surprise."

The moment the words fell, the man was horrified to discover that, not far ahead of him, a young man was slowly walking out. The youth had a handsome face, slightly dark skin, purple lips, and a pair of eyes that gleamed with a cold, bone-piercing chill that made one's whole body shiver.

"Who are you?" The man stared warily at the unfamiliar youth, his robes flapping loudly in the wind, a flash of viciousness crossing his eyes.

Kuchiki Senya stepped out. He had already sensed that this place was not so simple, so he had pretended to leave and hidden himself in the shadows. Sure enough, he had now waited for the true culprit behind the scenes to appear.

This unfamiliar youth was extraordinarily powerful, giving Kuchiki Senya a strangely familiar feeling, as though he had met him before.

"Who I am is not important. What's important is—what do you want?" Kuchiki Senya asked in a calm tone.

The man's brow furrowed slightly, then he asked, "Don't you know what's happened here?"

"Why should I know?" Kuchiki Senya retorted, then continued, "If you want to come looking for trouble with me, I'll oblige."

Hearing this, the man was momentarily stunned, then said with a light chuckle: "Since you, sir, are unwilling to speak, then so be it. I am a member of the imperial family of the Sun-Moon Empire; my name is Yu Xia Wuyang. Your strength is not weak, and I admire it, so I have come specifically to invite you, sir, to attend a banquet¨．"

Kuchiki Senya's brow creased slightly as he asked, "Are you sure this is an invitation—and not an order for me?"

Yu Xia Wuyang froze for a moment, then his face instantly darkened. His tone turned icy as he barked, "Are you being a bit ungrateful, sir? I am a scion of the imperial family of the great Sun-Moon Empire. Inviting you is a blessing accumulated over several lifetimes of yours—and yet you actually…"

A mocking smile surfaced on Kuchiki Senya's face: "Your strength may be decent, but do you know my identity? Are you even qualified to invite me?"

Hearing this, flames of fury instantly erupted in Yu Xia Wuyang's eyes as he said, word by word, "Then hurry up and tell me—who are you?"

Kuchiki Senya swept an indifferent glance over Yu Xia Wuyang and said, "Since you don't know my identity, you still dare to be rude to me. Aren't you afraid I might just kill you?"

Yu Xia Wuyang snorted coldly, his face darkening as he said, "I admit your strength is decent, but there is an absolute gap in power between us. You may not necessarily be able to kill me."

Kuchiki Senya cast a cold glance at Yu Xia Wuyang, then turned around, preparing to leave.

Watching Kuchiki Senya pay him no heed at all, Yu Xia Wuyang's face instantly twisted into a hideous mask of rage as he roared, "I think you've grown tired of living, daring to disregard even my words!"

"Whoosh!" Kuchiki Senya's body suddenly shot backward, his right foot tapping at an eerie rhythm as he moved rapidly, his figure darting left and right as if transforming into an afterimage.

"Bang!" A gust of incomparably sharp wind howled toward him. Yu Xia Wuyang hurriedly threw a fist to meet it. The two collided, and a muffled explosion instantly echoed through the silent night sky. Yu Xia Wuyang's entire body was sent flying backward from the shock.

Kuchiki Senya's eyes suddenly became piercingly sharp. He raised his right arm high, his five fingers curling into a claw, then swept them out violently. The razor-sharp palm-wind tore through the void, emitting a shrill, earsplitting sound of cutting air.

"Whoosh!" Yu Xia Wuyang hurriedly twisted sideways to dodge the attack, then stomped hard with the sole of his foot and kicked off the ground violently. His entire body shot forward like a cannonball, his right hand clenching into a fist as he slammed it toward Kuchiki Senya's chest.