Chapter 116: Capture

"Ah... what is that?"

Under the piercing radiance, every martial artist was forced to bow their heads; they simply could not look directly at the ancient character hovering in the night sky.

Whether they were hiding or engaged in combat, they were suddenly overcome by a profound sense of weakness. The blood in their bodies felt as if it had frozen, and their internal energy (Qi) became chaotic and scattered. Some martial artists who had been mid-leap during battle plummeted to the ground with loud thuds, unable to continue the fight.

In the midst of the night, everything that had been concealed by the darkness was exposed by the brilliance, leaving nowhere to hide. This was especially true for the terrifying swarms of flying insects; though they had appeared in dense, menacing clouds, within a few breaths, they all fell dead to the ground.

Many Jiang family martial artists, finally finding relief, cried out in terror.

"How can this be? I can't gather my internal energy. Is this a divine skill of Young Master Su Ye?" The Jiang family members were filled with both alarm and relief as they retreated toward the villa, having escaped the perilous fray.

The martial artists of the Huanhai Sect were equally bewildered. "Damn it, what on earth is that in the sky? Has the Third Miss's lethal technique failed?"

"Could it be a magical artifact? How could this brat possess such a powerful item? Even our Huanhai Sect doesn't have anything like it!"

Every combatant on the scene clutched their chests, their bodies buckling as if they were about to collapse to their knees.

Jiang Ziyang and Wen Wuzhi had already put distance between themselves. Both were high-level cultivators—especially Jiang Ziyang, who had once been a top-tier master before his cultivation plummeted over the years as he desperately suppressed the curse of the bloodline. Now, even they felt their internal energy scattering, as if it were impossible to wield any power in the presence of the light above.

"Su Ye—" Jiang Ziyang suddenly shouted. He remembered that there had been a similar light above the Taiji diagram before; the radiance above them now was eerily identical.

"This is the treasure!" Wen Wuzhi exclaimed in horror.

When the Huanhai Sect arrived, they had heard rumors of a treasure here capable of illuminating the entire mountain range at night. At first, they had been skeptical, assuming it was merely some form of mountain lighting. But seeing it now, they understood that the legendary treasure was undoubtedly the orb of light in the night sky.

"The Huanhai Sect must seize this treasure!" Third Miss Wen Bibo’s eyes filled with greed. She knew better than anyone the destructive power of the insects raised in her conch shell. Yet, they had perished the moment they were touched by this light. This had to be a powerful, artifact—something similar to a demon-repelling relic that forces evil spirits to flee.

She struggled to force her energy together, desperate to charge forward, but no matter how she tried, she could not manifest a shred of Qi. She was struck with immense shock; she had never encountered such a terrifying situation, not even within the Huanhai Sect. What kind of light could kill her insects instantly and suppress the Qi of every martial artist present? No, it couldn't be the light—they must have been poisoned. They must have been poisoned without realizing it! And there were indeed poisons that could temporarily disable a warrior’s ability to cycle their energy!

"Brat, what kind of sorcery have you unleashed? Is there miasma here?" Wen Bibo demanded sharply.

Su Ye, who had been maintaining an odd posture while staring at the ancient character in the sky, was jolted back to his senses by her shout. He was stunned himself; he had not imagined he could truly manifest such an ancient character.

"My methods are not something that can be compared to sorcery."

Su Ye let out a furious roar and, no longer holding back, lunged forward with a *whoosh*.

Wen Bibo was horrified. She blurted out, "Impossible! You still have your internal energy?"

*Bang!*

Su Ye delivered a vicious kick to her abdomen. As she flew backward, he lunged forward, grabbed her wrist, and twisted it with force.

*Crack!*

"Ah... brat, how dare you hurt me!" Though Wen Bibo lacked internal energy, her physical strength remained, and she could still move, but she never imagined that in the blink of an eye, her wrist would be shattered.

"You ask if I dare?"

Su Ye did not care that she was a woman. This group had come to kill, and he was not about to display some chivalrous "don't hit women" attitude.

*Crack!*

Su Ye kicked again, shattering the bones in Wen Bibo’s legs, then lifted her up and threw her to the ground. She tumbled across the dirt, unable to rise.

"Damn you, brat! You’re dead! You dare lay a hand on our Third Miss? The entire Huanhai Sect will never forgive you!" Wen Wuzhi let out a shrill cry and charged forward. Despite his lack of internal energy, his aggressive momentum remained terrifying.

"It is I who will not forgive your Huanhai Sect!"

Su Ye roared and charged as well, looking even more fierce under the glow of the ancient light, the thunderous flames on his body surging. As Wen Wuzhi reached him, Su Ye leaped, performed a graceful flip over Wen Wuzhi’s head, and kicked him in the back, sending him face-planting into the mud.

"You like chopping off people's fingers, don't you? Let’s see how you like the taste of this!"

Relying on the energy circulating within him, Su Ye stepped onto Wen Wuzhi’s back, locked his arm, and wrenched it straight.

Wen Wuzhi, face buried in the mud with his arm pulled back, roared in fury, "Brat, if you have the guts, let me recover, and we’ll fight for real!"

"You are truly dreaming!"

Su Ye’s left hand transformed into the shape of a blade, crackling with arcs of lightning, and he brought it down upon Wen Wuzhi's arm!

*Puff!*

The arm was severed clean.

"Ah... you little beast! You’ve cut off my arm today; I will remember this! This blood feud will never be forgotten!" Wen Wuzhi screamed.

Su Ye scoffed. He wondered if these people from the Huanhai Sect were so arrogant that they still felt they could threaten him at a time like this. No matter how powerful the Huanhai Sect was, no one could threaten him now.

"In that case, I won't leave a single one of you standing!"

Su Ye’s lightning-clad hand flashed again, severing Wen Wuzhi’s other arm. Then, glancing at his legs, he gritted his teeth and crippled those as well. By then, Wen Wuzhi had passed out from the excruciating pain.

The remaining Huanhai Sect warriors fell into chaos. The lack of internal energy did not stop them from trying to flee. Cries of terror echoed from every direction, punctuated by the shouts of Jiang family members chasing them down.

Su Ye glanced at the incapacitated Wen Bibo and called out, "Since there are others left to carry the message back, you are redundant!"

In the distance, Jiang Ziyang rushed over, shouting, "Su Ye, don't kill her! She’s useful alive!"

Wen Bibo was incredibly defiant; even knowing her life was in the balance, she gritted her teeth and glared at Su Ye. "The Huanhai Sect will trample your Jiang family into dust!"

"Bitch—" Su Ye kicked her in the face, knocking her unconscious.

Afraid she was faking it, he checked her pulse and confirmed she was truly out, though she was still clutching the conch shell.

"I’ll take care of this for you," Su Ye said, unceremoniously taking the strange conch.

Jiang Ziyang looked solemn, squinting as he tried to peer at the light above, though it was impossible. He asked quickly, "Su Ye, what is that? Did you create it?"

"Oh... it is the manifestation of the Thunder Pulse," Su Ye replied, quickly fabricating an excuse.

He then began to slowly cycle the *Three Thousand Yanhuang Tribulations* to draw back the strange "Yan" character. It had been easy to release, but recalling it took considerable effort. As it slowly dimmed in the night sky, the earth was plunged back into darkness, and the character returned to his consciousness.

Su Ye felt a secret chill. He had been forced into a corner and had to take the risk to save his people. He realized he could not release the ancient characters so casually in the future. After all, this was part of his *Three Thousand Yanhuang Tribulations*; if it were exposed, it would only invite even greater peril.

"Quickly, someone, tie these people up and keep a close watch! Check if any of our own are injured!" Jiang Ziyang immediately began organizing.

With the character recalled, their internal energy began to circulate normally once again.

The Jiang family members went to work. Although many Huanhai Sect warriors had escaped, a portion had been captured. Su Ye didn't care much about how they would be handled; he was more concerned about his own people.

"Patriarch, are you injured?" Su Ye asked with concern. Of all the attackers, Wen Wuzhi had been the strongest, and Jiang Ziyang, at his age, had taken a heavy toll.

"Haha, I'm fine! I no longer need to suppress the curse of the bloodline; my cultivation will slowly recover. Don't worry!"

Jiang Ziyang sighed deeply and said, "It seems the Thunder-Attracting Pearl you possess is real! It must be the key to finding the legendary Thunder City!"

Su Ye caught the implication. "Patriarch, what do you mean?"

"Since they all want to go to Thunder City, we might as well go find it ourselves!"