Chapter 177

Kuchiki Senya vanished from the spot as if by teleportation, appearing behind Master Withered Leaf in an instant, his right arm carrying a fierce, biting gust of wind as he viciously struck out.

Master Withered Leaf's pupils contracted sharply; his body whirled around abruptly, raising the sword in his hand to block Kuchiki Senya's attack.

"Crack!"

The sword collided with Kuchiki Senya's palm, producing a crisp sound. Yet Master Withered Leaf felt a tremendous force transmit up through his arm, causing his Hukou to collapse, the searing pain spreading through his whole body, making his entire arm tremble and nearly tearing the weapon from his grasp.

"What incredible speed, what tremendous power!" Master Withered Leaf was terrified beyond measure.

He had not expected Kuchiki Senya's physical body to be so terrifying, clashing head-on with the weapon in his hand without the slightest disadvantage—indeed, even surpassing it.

"Master Withered Leaf, you have lost." Kuchiki Senya said indifferently, then his palm pressed down violently, forcibly snatching the sword from Master Withered Leaf, and then slapped him across the face with a 'smack' of a resounding blow.

"Wah~~"

Master Withered Leaf reeled, dizzy and seeing stars, his face rapidly swelling and reddening, and he once again spat out a mouthful of fresh blood.

"I actually... got hit?" Master Withered Leaf's heart surged with towering waves, his face full of disbelief; what was happening before his eyes completely exceeded his understanding—he had never suffered such humiliation.

A renowned grandmaster, actually bullied like this by a young whippersnapper of about twenty?

What humiliation!

"Master Withered Leaf, I gave you the chance to choose. Since you remain obstinately deluded, then don't blame me!"

Kuchiki Senya slowly raised his foot and stepped onto Master Withered Leaf's shoulder, looking down at him from above, and said indifferently: "Your temperament is too stubborn. A person should learn to be more tactful, not like now—only caring about fighting for power and profit, setting hatred aside, living in resentment."

"In this world, nothing is eternal; only by living is there hope!"

"What do you know, you understand nothing at all, hahaha, nothing!" Master Withered Leaf howled mournfully to the heavens, his face twisted and hideous to the extreme, filled with rage and loathing.

"Whether you believe it or not, I once warned you of this once before, and it remains the same now." Kuchiki Senya said coldly, a hint of disappointment seeping into his tone.

"Do you think that killing me will stop me?" Master Withered Leaf suddenly calmed considerably, saying with chilling cold: "Today, you are destined to fall here!"

"Whoosh!" Kuchiki Senya's figure abruptly vanished from the spot, and when he reappeared, he was already before Master Withered Leaf.

"How could this be..."

Master Withered Leaf's eyes widened; he had just wanted to say something, but it was already too late. Kuchiki Senya threw out a vicious punch, and Master Withered Leaf was instantly dazed, his mind buzzing, and he directly lost consciousness.

"Thud!"

After Kuchiki Senya punched Master Withered Leaf unconscious, he simply released him, letting him collapse to the ground.

"Your soul power is very weak; you are not qualified to possess a Soul Stone at all. Keeping it would only harm you." Kuchiki Senya shook his head, reached his hand into Master Withered Leaf's chest, and pulled out a purple stone the size of a thumb.

This stone was crystalline and translucent, its surface radiating a brilliant purple glow, looking extremely gorgeous.

This was the Soul Stone!

"As expected, not bad!" Kuchiki Senya stared at the Soul Stone with fiery eyes, a thick expression of joy surfacing on his face.

Kuchiki Senya did not truly love the Soul Stone; it was merely a simple fondness. He had no interest in the path of the warrior, because he did not need to rely on any external objects.

"Although the Soul Stone is precious and rare, I have other ways to obtain it, so it's not a loss overall."

Having said that, Kuchiki Senya sprinted all the way, weaving through the dense jungle. This fight had lasted quite a while; he needed to find a place to rest.

"Boom boom boom......"

In the dense jungle, waves of powerful energy fluctuations suddenly erupted, startling the wild beasts dwelling within the mountains; one by one the beasts, frightened, fled in panic.

"Who?"

"Who dares to intrude upon the Blackwood Family's domain?"

"Seeking death, get out here!"

The Blackwood Family's guard squad detected the anomaly and immediately roared out.

"Whoosh!"

A man in black appeared out of thin air at the Blackwood Family's gate—it was none other than Kuchiki Senya.

The Blackwood Family guards, upon seeing this, were all stunned, and then one by one revealed shocked expressions, as if they had seen something unbelievable.

This was the Blackwood Family's territory—who had such audacity to dare trespass into the Blackwood Family?

Moreover, this youth seemed to have come from the outside world; at a glance he did not belong to the Blackwood Empire.

"Brat, who are you?" a guard shouted sternly, his gaze warily fixed on Kuchiki Senya, not daring to act rashly.

Kuchiki Senya's gaze swept calmly over the guard, and he asked: "You must be the Blackwood Family's patriarch. I have heard that your son, Blackwood Xianglong, is the top genius of the younger generation of the Blackwood Empire, with formidable strength. Today I have come specifically to seek a lesson."

Kuchiki Senya's tone was indifferent, without a trace of reverence.

"Who are you?" another guard said in a low voice.

Kuchiki Senya could not be bothered with words: "Kuchiki Senya."

Hearing the name Kuchiki Senya, the two guards were slightly taken aback, their expressions shifting slightly, and then they respectfully bowed: "We pay our respects to His Highness Kuchiki."

Kuchiki Senya waved his hand and said: "Dispense with the formalities."

The two guards respectfully retreated, and at the same time exchanged a glance, secretly thinking: Kuchiki Senya—isn't that the arrogant and overbearing waste? Why has he suddenly come to our Blackwood Family?

"Lord Blackwood Xianglong is unwell and cannot receive guests; please come again another day." a guard said respectfully.

145. Call your family head out, just say Kuchiki Senya requests an audience.

Kuchiki Senya's gaze turned toward that cluster of buildings—a pitch-black palace soaring into the clouds, gleaming with a deep metallic luster under the sunlight.

"Not receiving guests is fine too." Kuchiki Senya said: "You call your family head out, just say Kuchiki Senya requests an audience."

Kuchiki Senya's attitude was very forceful, not allowing anyone to disrupt his plans in the slightest.

"This..." the two guards exchanged glances, then one said respectfully: "Please wait a moment, Your Highness Kuchiki. I will report to the family head immediately!"

Having said that, one person hurriedly ran toward the pitch-black palace, while the other remained on the spot, clearly to keep watch over Kuchiki Senya and prevent him from escaping.

After a short while, a deep, resonant voice came over: "Since you have come to visit, my lord, please come in for a chat."

The voice was loud and clear, containing an incomparably terrifying might, giving one a chilling sensation.

"Finally here." Kuchiki Senya's gaze sharpened, a cold arc curving at the corner of his mouth, and then he strode toward the pitch-black palace.

The moment Kuchiki Senya stepped into the pitch-black palace, an even more vast and terrifying aura came rushing toward him, causing his brow to furrow.

In the main hall of the jet-black palace sat a burly middle-aged man over five meters tall. The middle-aged man was powerfully built and brawny, his skin a deep bronze, his eyes bright and piercing, brimming with the bearing of a hegemon, chilling to the heart.

This man was Heimu Dachuan, the patriarch of the Heimu Clan, the foremost of the three great clans of the Heimu Empire.

Beside Heimu Dachuan stood four young men and women — a handsome youth and several beautiful girls. They were the genius disciples of the Heimu Clan, named Heimu Jiulang, Heimu Zuozuo, Heimu Qianxue, and Heimu Xiumu.

These four were the finest geniuses of the Heimu Clan; their future achievements would certainly not be low.

At this moment, Heimu Dachuan sat upon the throne, looking down at Kuchiki Senya below, his face full of solemn majesty.

The gazes of Heimu Jiulang, Heimu Zuozuo, and Heimu Xiumu all fell upon the youth Kuchiki Senya. They had never seen such an ordinary-looking person as Kuchiki Senya, and they could not even be bothered to look at a mere Warrior.

However, the combat power Kuchiki Senya had just revealed far surpassed an ordinary Warrior, enough to contend with a high-tier Warrior.

"I know you, Kuchiki Senya—the most outstanding genius in the history of the Japanese Nation, promoted to Martial Lord at sixteen, with talent that surpasses the entire empire!" Heimu Jiulang stared at the youth Kuchiki Senya, his tone laced with a hint of jealousy, and laughed: "What a pity—now you cannot even hold your own against an ordinary Warrior."

"I recall that Heimu Zuozuo, whom you once defeated, also seemed to be an ordinary Warrior." Kuchiki Senya smiled faintly.

"Kuchiki Senya, how bold!" Heimu Mingying snorted coldly, then looked at Kuchiki Senya and said: "Kuchiki Senya, you wouldn't be stupid enough to deliver yourself to us for a beating, would you? Could it be that you've come because of last night's matter?"

Kuchiki Senya's face was expressionless. He stared coldly at Heimu Jiulang and said: "Since you won't welcome me, then I'll take my leave."

Once the words fell, Kuchiki Senya turned and prepared to leave.

The many guards of the Heimu Clan tensed at once, hurriedly cupping their fists and saying: "Young lord, please stay. If you wish to leave, then the honor of our Heimu Clan is no longer an honor at all."

"Don't worry — I only wish to have a chat with Heimu Dachuan." Having said that, Kuchiki Senya left without looking back.

Watching Kuchiki Senya's departing back, the faces of the Heimu Clan's guards all showed anxiety and worry. They feared the youth Kuchiki Senya might, in a fit of rage, wipe out the entire Heimu Clan.

After all, Kuchiki Senya's strength was simply too great. The guards of the Heimu Clan were no match for him unless Heimu Dachuan personally stepped forward.

"Hmph, Kuchiki Senya — you think that just because you defeated Heimu Zuozuo, you can act wildly before me? How presumptuous!" Heimu Mingying's face darkened to the extreme as he stared coldly at Kuchiki Senya.

Heimu Zuozuo was a disciple personally trained by Heimu Mingying, with outstanding talent, his strength already having stepped into the mid-tier Swordsman level.

Heimu Zuozuo had been wounded by the youth Kuchiki Senya. Heimu Mingying was certain that if he himself had faced such an attack, he would certainly have been gravely injured, or even lost his life!

However, Heimu Mingying could not understand why Kuchiki Senya would provoke Heimu Zuozuo — between them, there should be no deep enmity.

In less than a second, Kuchiki Senya vanished from everyone's sight.

Outside the jet-black palace, two guards stared at the figure of Kuchiki Senya as he disappeared, looks of deep worry surfacing on their faces. They could not help but say: "We truly hope His Highness Heimu will not act rashly."

Inside the jet-black palace, Heimu Dachuan's expression remained as imposing as ever, his gaze fixed straight on the youth Kuchiki Senya.

He discovered that, seeing Kuchiki Senya this time, the feeling Kuchiki Senya gave him was more dangerous than ever before, even faintly radiating a trace of an oppressive aura.

"Patriarch Heimu, the reason I have come to pay a visit this time is actually because I want to ask you to help me with something." Kuchiki Senya slowly began to speak, his expression calm and unruffled from beginning to end, without the slightest hint of panic.

Hearing Kuchiki Senya's words, Heimu Dachuan narrowed his eyes slightly and said: "Ah… please, go ahead."

"You also know that the current heirs of the Imperial Family are all trash, completely unqualified to inherit the Imperial Family's legacy. Therefore, I need to obtain the Heimu Imperial Bloodline!" Kuchiki Senya opened his mouth and said: "But the Imperial Family has rules — every clan patriarch must possess the Imperial Bloodline in order to obtain the position of clan lord."

"I know — you want me to hand over the Imperial Bloodline." Heimu Dachuan's face gradually darkened, and he said coldly: "I, Heimu Dachuan, as the patriarch of the Heimu Clan, naturally will not submit to the bloodline of another."

Kuchiki Senya was not surprised. He knew Heimu Dachuan would refuse — after all, the Imperial Bloodline was the symbol of the Heimu Clan.

"Patriarch Heimu has misunderstood. Although you are of the Heimu Imperial Bloodline, your bloodline is not pure — you are merely an ordinary clan lord of a single generation, and do not meet the conditions to continue serving as clan lord." Kuchiki Senya shook his head, his eyes turning cold and sharp: "No matter what you say, recently some strange things have appeared around the Heimu Clan lord, and it is a kind of evil spirit remnant soul technique, extremely harmful to the body."