He Lingwu knew he wasn’t getting any resources either; after venting a bit, he planned to head back—no more wasting time on Ye Liuyun.

That suited Yu Wenqiang perfectly. Let He Linguwu test the waters instead of him taking the risk. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

“Fine, but don’t kill him outright—he might’ve stashed everything in a pocket world.” It was only a warning; he didn’t want Ye Liuyun dead on the spot.

Ye Liuyun couldn’t be bothered with more chatter. They’d woven their own net and walked right in; now it was time to haul it in, and these fools would make decent practice.

He snapped his palm straight at the advancing He Lingwu.

“Hmph, still daring to fight back...”

When He Lingwu felt vital energy surge, he sneered—until the blow actually came. Then everyone, him included, knew something was wrong.

The heavenly might packed in that casual-looking slap far outstripped anything He Lingwu could take.

Too close for anyone to save him—

**BOOM.**

He Lingwu was slammed into the ground, body splitting open, knocked out cold.

His two bodyguards rushed in first; Ye Liuyun’s follow-up blade swept them apart at the waist.

Seeing the tide turn, the woman spun to flee with her men.

“Running now? Too late!”

With a cold snort he released his snow-wolf and metal puppets, sealing their retreat. The pressure of a Ninth-Tier Unity cultivator froze every last shred of courage.

“I’m the local garrison commander—I still have five thousand Unity soldiers...” Yu Wenqiang tried bluffing with numbers; pity his reinforcements hadn’t arrived.

Ye Liuyun didn’t even let him finish—his soul attack struck instantly. No soul-contracts guarded Yu Wenqiang’s sea of consciousness; planting an enslavement mark took no effort at all.

A quick soul-search showed only a mediocre background: son of some senior officer in the Fire-Seal system—nothing worth fearing. He ordered Yu Wenqiang back to camp to lead those troops in sacking the trade guild that had kicked him while he was down. The two soldiers who’d come along became punching bags, obliterated by raw worldly force under Ye Liuyun’s palm.

The woman turned out to be a city-lord’s cousin who ran an inn; no mercy there either either—she and her guards were cut down next.

Feng Chengan and Hong Bo watched all this—the man brushing aside both garrison commander and city manor—and felt their scalps tingle. A rogue cultivator with nerves of steel...

They assumed they’d be spared: keep them alive so things wouldn’t look too ugly once everyone else was dead. Feng Chengan spoke up at once:

“Since you’re this strong, let’s call it quits! You haven’t really lost anything—no need to feud with our Chen clan.”

He pocketed the array disc that had sealed space and prepared to leave immediately.

“Did I say you could go?” Ye Liuyun laughed aloud—this man really thought highly of himself!

“What—you plan to move against me?” Feng Chengan assumed Ye Liuyun merely wanted blackmail money; killing never crossed his mind.

Ye Liuyun simply smiled—and launched another soul strike straight away!

“Hmph!” Feng Chengan snorted coldly. Though only an outer-court steward and no great artificer, every Chen clansman drilled spiritual power rigorously. One measly soul attacking him? He might even turn it around—

But that single soul morphed into a spectral sabre mid-flight—and cleaved one of his souls apart before he could react.

“Stop! I’m an elder of the Chen clan!” Feng Cheng’an’s last wisp of soul still tried to intimidate Ye Liuyun.

Ye Liuyun simply activated Soul-Search and began digging out everything about the Chen family.

The Chens were indeed the top forging clan in the Huoyin star-system. According to Feng Cheng’an, they’d stumbled upon a fortuitous encounter in the Desolate Sea, mastered a higher tier of artifact-crafting arts, and risen from there. Every other artificer in Huoyin had reverse-engineered their creations; all local smithing know-how was copied from Chen-made gear. The clan also groomed its own powerhouses and recruited martial experts, until it ran more like a full-blown sect than a family. Their might wasn’t limited to forges—they could fight as hard as they crafted.

Their status in Huoyin was unassailable; even the Huoyin royal court dared not cross them. Alongside them stood two other pillars: Void-Pill Sect, masters of alchemy, and Myriad-Transformations Sect, lords of arrays—together forming the triad that ruled the star-system. Advances in forging and pill-making had pushed martial cultivation forward as well.

With vast networks and endless resources, none of these three needed to scavenge the Desolate Sea for scraps.

The Chens rarely admitted outsiders; at most they took “external elders” or children of recruited experts, so their core techniques never leaked. Ye Liuyun’s idea of sending Tong Xin and company to study under them looked impossible.

Every Chen clansman’s sea of consciousness carried a loyalty oath sworn to the family. Deciding one outer steward wasn’t worth controlling, Ye Liuyun smashed Feng Cheng’an’s remaining soul with a fist-shaped spirit attack, morphed into a Devouring Beast, and gulped down every shard.

He cared nothing for great powers—change his face and no one would ever find him.

Done with Feng Cheng’an, he turned toward Hong Bo. Seeing that even an elder like Feng had been killed outright, Hong Bo dropped to his knees at once:

“Spare my life! I’ll be your slave!”

He produced a ninth-grade marrow-washing pill and offered it with both hands.

“You Void-Pill elders sure don’t die hard,” Ye Liuyun chuckled, accepting the pill. Quick-witted enough—if he harbored no hidden schemes he could live.

Instead of striking immediately he searched Hong Bo’s soul—and discovered this “elder” was nothing but an impostor wearing false robes.