Long Wei felt like something heavy hit his mind, but he was soon able to regain his clarity. His blurry vision returned to normal, and he could finally see his surroundings again.
The main gate was destroyed, and all of his subordinates were dead. Some were crushed under the metal gate, while others... had turned into gruesome remains. He didn't even want to look at them anymore.
Anger boiled in his heart as he saw how everything under his command was destroyed by someone. He didn't care whether his subordinates lived or died, but if someone killed them while they were under his command, it was a direct slap in his face.
And he couldn't endure that. He forgot about the strange feeling he had, assuming it was just an aftereffect of spending so much time with slaves.
His eyes scanned the surroundings, and it wasn't hard to locate the perpetrator of all this chaos. Her presence alone demanded attention.
Throwing away his smoking pipe, Long Wei spoke in a raspy voice.
"I don't care who you are, but killing my subordinates was the last mistake you should have made. I won't forgive you, even if you beg me now."
His gaze scanned his opponent's body as his lips curved into a smirk.
"I can enjoy you after killing you, anyway."
Long Wei stretched out his hand, and a long, one-handed axe made of dark material came hurtling toward him.
"Time for you to die!"
He grinned and waved his hand as the axe continued on its trajectory toward the woman who had killed his subordinates.
Looking at the incoming axe, Xiao Lan muttered in an indifferent voice.
"So weak!"
She raised her hand, forming a giant flaming hand in front of her. The hand caught the dark axe easily, absorbing its impact as if it were nothing.
As Xiao Lan closed her hand, the flames followed suit and crushed the axe into dust. Its incredible heat made it easier to do so.
"You're good!"
However, Long Wei still had a smile on his face, as if what Xiao Lan had done was insignificant. He just laughed it off and began hovering in the air.
"Try to take this!"
Saying that, he began to punch the air rapidly. His hands blurred as his speed increased more and more. At first, nothing happened, but soon the sky was filled with hundreds of fists, which were shot toward Xiao Lan.
The rain of fists was swift and gave Xiao Lan no time to react, as the first punch reached her in a matter of moments. But she still had an indifferent look on her face, distant as if nothing could affect her.
In response to the fists, she simply raised her hand, summoning thousands of crimson-red strings from the ground. With perfect control, the strings moved gracefully around the battlefield.
Instantly, the sky was set ablaze, turning completely red as if painted with diluted blood. The temperature rose so much that the humidity in the air vaporized, and a windstorm arose, destroying everything in the slums.
A beautiful bird made entirely of flames began to form behind Xiao Lan—a majestic, mythical Phoenix.
Its wings spread wide, glowing in shades of red, orange, and gold, lighting up the surroundings like a rising sun. The flames flickered along its feathers, and its eyes gleamed with a fierce, powerful gaze.
Embers floated down from its wings, and the air around it pulsed with heat, making it seem as though the Phoenix was alive, ready to unleash its fiery wrath at any moment.
With a light flick of her fingers, Xiao Lan unleashed her most powerful attack of two lives.
The blazing Phoenix began descending from the sky. Its wings spread wide, casting a fiery glow over everything below, and its body burned with intense, golden-red flames.
As it swooped down, embers trailed behind it like a fiery tail, and its sharp, fierce eyes seemed to pierce right through her opponent.
The sheer pressure and presence of the Phoenix disrupted whatever Long Wei was trying to do. Although he was much stronger than before, it still wasn't enough.
"W-What?"
Long Wei was dumbfounded, feeling the intense heat on his skin even before the Phoenix came close. His mind went blank as he struggled to understand how someone in the Foundation Realm could produce such an attack.
There was no way to dodge, and nowhere to run. The Phoenix was too fast and closed in swiftly despite its massive size.
Long Wei roared and punched forward, attempting one last struggle, even though he knew it was futile. His attack compressed the air around him and struck the Phoenix, trying to stop it.
However, the Phoenix shrugged it off as if it were nothing. It continued on its path, and before Long Wei could launch another attack, the Phoenix opened its beak wide and swallowed him.
There was no sound, no explosion, nothing. The Core Formation Realm cultivator died just like that.
The Phoenix dispersed into fiery embers, and the sky and surroundings returned to normal.
A little distance away, Xiao Lan also began to fall from the sky, as the toll of using a technique far above her capabilities cost her greatly.
Her body couldn't handle it, and it was being torn apart with each passing second. However, her Ancestral Flames fought against the disintegration, healing her.
Xiao Lan felt her consciousness slipping away, and just before she blacked out, she felt a warm pair of arms catching her. A soft smile finally formed on her once-detached face.
She was now in the safest hands, in the arms of the one she loved most. She could finally rest.
Holding her in his arms, Shen Yu sighed and said,
"I really have the craziest women as my wives."
She was now in the safest hands, in the arms of the one she loved most. She could finally rest.