The inn was a mess. Bowls shattered, food strewn across the floor. The moment the chaos had broken out, the innkeeper had fainted under the pressure of the Xie Sui Sect's spiritual aura.
"Hmph… who are you to ask who I am, huh?" a sharp voice growled.
A cloaked man moved closer to the unconscious innkeeper, pulling out a small bottle and waving it beneath the man's nose.
He whispered harshly, "Yan Yan Yan, wake up. How many times have I told you to keep those Xie Sui dogs from starting fights in this place, huh?! Now look—my money's gone, and my customer didn't even pay before running off!"
Fuming with rage, he turned toward the collapsed challenger lying among the broken chairs and spilled wine. He paused.
A beautiful lady, disguised as a man, lay there motionlessly—playing unconscious. Her breathing slowed, her chest barely rising, as she carefully listened to every word.
That voice... she thought. I know that voice. That incense…
Her heart dropped.
It's him. The one who killed my sister… and he's even stronger now. I can't reveal myself. Not yet. Better to lie still than end up dead.
But the cloaked man wasn't fooled. He hovered near her face, frowning.
"Strange... this one's face is confusing. Pretty little thing. Maybe I'll turn you into my puppet."
He smirked, lifting a tiny flask filled with a thick, shadowy substance. Just as he uncorked it—
SPLASH!
A burst of icy void qi shattered the flask in his hand.
A cold voice echoed through the smoky air:
"Where did you get that incense?"
It was Xueyin. Silent until now, he stepped forward, the void energy crackling at his fingertips.
The cloaked man's eyes widened.
"You…"
XiaoLe smirked in the shadows, stepping into the ancient formation of the mermaid clan. His footwork whispered across the ground, tracing a trap so subtle that even seasoned cultivators would fall.
But Xueyin only narrowed his eyes.
Mermaid technique... interesting.
A flick of his finger—shiiin!
His void qi unraveled the formation like water tearing paper.
Is that all? he thought.
But XiaoLe wasn't finished.
Without hesitation, he changed rhythm—this time, stepping into the sharp, flickering stances of the snake tribe. His aura shifted, slippery and cold. He conjured the spilled wine, manipulating the droplets mid-air until they shimmered into near-invisible spirit needles, each one laced with silent killing intent.
Xueyin's pupils were constricted.
Snake tribe?!
Swish! The needles flew—but his spiritual aura flared in defense, crumbling them mid-air like ash to the wind.
Still, his eyes never left XiaoLe.
Two forbidden styles? From two different tribes?
Then XiaoLe grinned—and his hand twitched again.
The qi pattern changed. Now, it danced like silk waves—the hidden rhythm of the mermaid clan's secret art, the one only passed down through bloodlines.
Three…
Xueyin froze. His breath hitched for a moment.
Mermaid technique... Snake legwork... now this?
His expression darkened.
Who the hell is this guy?
Before XiaoLe could finish the move, Xueyin vanished—appearing in front of him with a single step. With a swift strike, he locked XiaoLe's meridian and unleashed a surge of void qi.
"Show me who you really are."
In an instant, XiaoLe's form twisted—not into a snake, not into a beast—
—but into a flower.
Xueyin stood frozen. Not because of what he did—
—but because of what he saw.
A mermaid's hidden move… a snake tribe's killing art…
And now, this reaction to Void…
His fingers trembled slightly.
This isn't just a disguise… this man isn't ordinary.
Behind him, the motionless woman sat up, brushing herself off like she hadn't just played dead for twenty minutes. Her voice cut through his thoughts like a blade.
"You—how come you weren't affected by the incense?" she snapped, frowning deeply. "You stood still from the start… You didn't cough, you didn't blink—don't tell me…"
She narrowed her eyes. "Are you from the snake tribe too?"