84: Deterrence the Black Corner

Initially, among the scouts lurking in the shadows, a few hot-blooded fellows couldn't help but sneer aloud.

"Hahaha, these old geezers are getting more cowardly the longer they live!"

A Dou Wang scout from the Lion Gang crouched on a treetop, his face full of disdain.

"It's just a middle-aged man, and they're scared stiff like this?"

His companion beside him was about to agree but suddenly shuddered.

They saw Mang Tianchi in the distance frown slightly, his gaze sweeping over the mountain forest like lightning.

"Not good!"

But it was too late.

Mang Tianchi let out a cold snort.

"Mere rats, daring to spy on this Venerable One?"

He casually clenched his right hand—"Space Strangulation!"

"Crack!"

The space within several miles instantly twisted, and the scouts hiding in the tree crowns and rock crevices were instantly struck as if by lightning.

"Pfft!"

The Dou Wang who had laughed first didn't even have time to scream; his entire body exploded into a ball of bloody mist in mid-air, like a watermelon crushed by an invisible giant hand!

At this, the mountain forest completely erupted!

"Run! Hurry and run!"

"It's a Dou Zun! It really is a Dou Zun Expert!"

Countless figures shot up from the dense forest, the light of Dou Qi Transformation Wings flickering one after another, like a startled swarm of locusts.

These experts, who usually acted tyrannical in the Black-Corner Region, were now utterly terrified, wishing they had several more pairs of wings.

An eight-star Dou Huang spat blood while fleeing but didn't dare stop to heal his injuries.

He recognized that the only person capable of casting Space Strangulation within the Jia Nan Academy was their legendary Headmaster!

"Damn it, these idiots only realize they should be afraid now?"

The first few old scouts who had fled glanced back at the scene and ran even faster.

"That's a ruthless figure who can challenge a Soul Hall Heavenly Venerable!"

Mang Tianchi stood with his hands behind his back, watching the scattering rats, a hint of mockery flashing in his eyes.

"Now they know to run?"

He did not continue the pursuit; after all, these ants were not worth his trouble, but this demonstration of Space Strangulation was enough to make the entire Black-Corner Region remember that in the Jia Nan Academy, only Headmaster Mang Tianchi possessed such heaven-defying strength!

On a distant mountaintop, the last few scouts who had managed to escape collapsed onto the ground, staring in terror toward the Jia Nan Academy.

After today, this news would surely spread like wildfire throughout the Black-Corner Region.

Mang Tianchi has returned, and the Jia Nan Academy must not be provoked!

The inside story of this earth-shattering battle spread wildly throughout the Black-Corner Region as if it had grown wings.

The students of the Jia Nan Academy excitedly recounted how the Headmaster crushed a Soul Hall Protector in one move and how he terrified two Soul Hall Heavenly Venerables into fleeing miserably.

The scouts who had luckily escaped exaggerated the stories even further, describing Mang Tianchi’s power as miraculous.

"You didn't see it! Headmaster Mang just waved his hand like that!"

A flushed student gestured wildly in a tavern.

"Three Soul Hall Protectors were instantly annihilated!"

"Nonsense! They clearly exploded just from a glare!"

Another drunken scout slammed the table in rebuttal.

"I saw it with my own eyes! That Old Ghost Blood Demon knelt on the ground begging for mercy, but Headmaster Mang sneezed, and he was gone!"

The increasingly outrageous rumors shrouded the entire Black-Corner Region in fear.

Within just two days, Peace Town, near the Jia Nan Academy, suddenly issued invitations to the major powers of the Black-Corner Region.

As soon as this message was released, the entire Black-Corner Region erupted!

Inside the main hall of the Crimson Fiend Gate, the Gate Master "Bloody Hand" Li Tianxiong stared at the gilded invitation in his hand, his knuckles white.

This eight-star Dou Huang, famous for his ruthlessness, now had fine beads of sweat trickling down his temples.

"Elders, what do you think? Should this Seat go?"

His voice was somewhat dry.

The elders seated below exchanged glances.

The Great Elder Han Yue pondered for a long time before slowly speaking.

"Gate Master, the spatial power Mang Tianchi displayed a few days ago is likely already unrivaled. If we don't go..."

"Nonsense!"

The Second Elder Mo San suddenly slapped the table and stood up.

"Going means delivering ourselves to death! Who knows what that old monster is planning?"

Inside the secret chamber of the Mysterious Yin Cult, the Cult Master Nine Yin Old Woman was calculating with her eyes closed.

The white bone prayer beads in her hand suddenly snapped with a "crack" and scattered across the floor.

"A sign of great peril, but if we do not go, the peril is greater."

A trace of fear flashed in the old woman's murky eyes.

On the training grounds of the Mad Blade Alliance, Alliance Master Chu Kuang slammed the invitation onto a wooden stake, the nine-ring broadsword in his hand flashing with cold light.

"I refuse to believe this evil!"

He yelled at his disciples with a sinister grin.

"Which of you is willing to follow this Alliance Master to meet that old bastard?"

The disciples below collectively took a step back. Only his personal disciple said with reluctance.

"Master, please reconsider!"

The entire Black-Corner Region was enveloped in a strange atmosphere.

In the usually noisy Blood Crow Tavern, it was now so quiet that one could hear the clinking of glasses.

Several mercenary group leaders, who had long lived dangerously, huddled together, discussing in low voices.

The leader of the Iron Wolf Mercenary Group took a gulp of strong liquor and lowered his voice.

"My scout saw it with his own eyes—that day Mang Tianchi waved his hand, and three Dou Huangs vanished before they could even scream..."

He made a throat-slitting gesture.

The nearby leader of the Black Scorpion Group turned pale.

"My good-for-nothing brother-in-law was one of them, and now we can't even find his bones!"

Ultimately, under the threat of death, these normally arrogant and unruly powers all made the same choice.

The Crimson Fiend Gate immediately retrieved their ancestral Blood Fiend Heart Guard Mirror, and Li Tianxiong wore three layers of inner armor, still feeling uneasy.

The Nine Yin Old Woman of the Mysterious Yin Cult ruthlessly brought her most beloved closed-door disciple along, ostensibly "to see the world."

Although Chu Kuang of the Mad Blade Alliance spoke tough, he secretly handed the Alliance Master token to his deputy before departing.

When these overlords of the Black-Corner Region stepped into Peace Town, every one of them looked like a novice entering the battlefield for the first time.

Some incessantly wiped the cold sweat from their foreheads, others tightly clutched the sleeves of their attendants, and still others looked back every three steps, ready to flee at any moment.

This Peace Town, which they had scorned in the past, had now become the most terrifying den of dragons and tigers.

As these experts, who usually commanded the wind and rain in the Black-Corner Region, stepped into the center of the town, a bone-chilling coldness suddenly shot up from their soles to the tops of their heads.

"This, this is!"

Li Tianxiong, walking at the front, abruptly stopped, his pupils contracting sharply.

Behind him, the crowd of experts stopped simultaneously, as if hitting an invisible wall.

Everyone's gaze was involuntarily drawn to the thousand-year-old ancient tree in the center of the square—or, more accurately, they were horrified by the three "human-shaped objects" hanging on the tree.

"Hiss—"

The Nine Yin Old Woman gasped, and the white bone staff in her hand clattered onto the ground.

This old woman, known for her viciousness, was now trembling like a startled quail.

On the tree, three bloody figures were restrained by invisible spatial power, hanging from the thick branches like three puppets on strings.

The most terrifying thing was—they were still alive!

"Is that 'Blood Claw' Li Feng of the Blood Demon Sect?"

Chu Kuang of the Mad Blade Alliance pointed at the blood-soaked old man in the middle, his voice shaking.

"He is a nine-star Dou Huang!"

Only then did everyone see clearly that the one hanging in the most conspicuous position was Li Feng, the famous Enforcement Elder of the Blood Demon Sect.

At this moment, this expert, who usually struck fear into people's hearts, was hanging in mid-air like a dead dog.

His black robe was already tattered, revealing the bloody and mutilated body beneath, yet his bloodshot eyes still flickered with venomous light.

On either side of Li Feng hung two younger men. Sharp-eyed individuals recognized them as the young prodigies of the Blood Demon Sect, the brothers known as the "Blood Shadow Twin Fiends."

At this moment, this pair of once spirited Dou Wangs looked as if their souls had been sucked out, staring blankly at the crowd below.

"What, what is this meant to achieve?"

An elder from the Crimson Fiend Gate spoke with a trembling voice, instinctively taking half a step back.

"Idiot!"

Li Tianxiong reprimanded him in a low voice, but he didn't even realize his own voice was shaking.

"Isn't it obvious?"

Before he finished speaking, a gust of wind blew past, and Li Feng, hanging on the tree, suddenly began to twitch violently.

Only then did everyone realize in horror that his limbs were twisted at strange angles, clearly having been snapped, and even more terrifyingly, some kind of restriction seemed to have been planted within his body, causing intense agony with every struggle.

"Ah—"

A heartbreaking scream tore through the air, and Li Feng's seven orifices suddenly seeped black blood.

This agonizing cry sent shivers down the spines of all the experts present; a few timid ones even slumped directly onto the ground.

The Nine Yin Old Woman tremblingly picked up her staff, her murky old eyes filled with terror.

"What kind of method is this? Is there someone inside the Jia Nan Academy who would use such a bloody approach..."

She couldn't finish her sentence, because just then, the young Dou Wang hanging on the right suddenly spat out a large mouthful of blood with a "pfft," followed immediately by the sound of his meridians popping like firecrackers, turning him into a bloodied mess in the blink of an eye.

"Spatial Restriction!"

The Great Elder of the Mysterious Yin Cult turned ashen.

"This is implanting spatial power into the meridians, ensuring that the person can neither live nor die in peace."

This sentence was like a bucket of ice water, chilling everyone to the core.

They finally understood—how could this be a public display?

This was clearly the most brutal warning!

Mang Tianchi was using the bloodiest method to tell everyone.

Those who dare violate the Jia Nan Academy, even a swift death is a luxury!