Chapter 118 - Deception

Wang Youhei’s eyes widened in shock. He was already preparing to withdraw when the world suddenly became unbearably heavy.

Three domains crashed down upon him simultaneously; layers of power that compressed him toward the earth like an avalanche of reality itself. His knees buckled immediately, unable to support his weight against such crushing force.

"Argh!!...nooo!...wahhh!!!" he wailed, his body convulsing as the soul attack ravaged his consciousness.

This was his first experience with soul damage, an assault delivered by someone with a divine consciousness the size of Cale’s.

It was agony beyond comprehension.

He attempted to reach for an artifact from his spatial ring, desperation overriding reason, but a blade suddenly flew through the air. It severed his entire forearm cleanly at the wrist, the limb falling uselessly to the ground.

"Why! Why! Why...argh!! What did you do to me!" Wang Youhei screamed, staring at his missing limb in horror.

His healing arts failed to activate. His healing artifacts remained inert. Even his divine-level restoration artifact which could even regenerate lost limbs refused to work. Something had corrupted his very ability to recover, locking him in permanent injury.

He was terrified. Truly, deeply terrified.

Cale appeared directly in front of Zenith, his presence arriving like a sudden shift in the world’s gravity. She floated upward into his arms as he caught her effortlessly, cradling her against his chest.

"Are you alright?" he asked softly, his hand gentle against her back.

"...hmm," she could only manage a small nod, her entire body suddenly aware of how close they were, how warm he was, despite the chaos of moments before.

"Heh, weren’t you supposed to be the strongest sword user of this century?" Cale teased, stroking her hair. "Where did that go~"

"Y-you!" she pinched his sides in retaliation.

"Oww! You’re doing this to your savior?" he sighed dramatically.

"Savior my ass! How did you find me?" she demanded, pushing slightly away to look at his face. "I know you didn’t just randomly pop here like some prince."

"Sigh... well, I have my ways to save people in need," he replied, his smile so impossibly bright and warm, so radiant on his godly features that she found herself unable to look away. "Aren’t I kind? Just like a pope."

Something stirred in her chest at that smile. Something warm and uncomfortable and entirely new. Without thinking, she pushed her head back against his chest, accepting the sensation rather than fighting it.

’Something must be wrong with me today!’ she swore internally, her heart rate accelerating in ways she couldn’t explain.

"What pope? The pope of sins? Heh," she replied, forcing composure into her voice even as her body betrayed her emotional state.

"You aren’t cute at all! But... sigh, what can I do?" he laughed back,

Wang Youhei finally managed to compose himself enough to stand, using his sword as a crutch to support his trembling body. Ten of his followers emerged from the shadows, their formations defensive, their expressions terrified but still loyal.

Cale snapped his finger.

The frost centipede coiled around his waist came alive, its small hands producing a high-tier healing pill from its dimensional storage. He took the pill and pushed it directly into Zenith’s mouth without warning.

"Umph!" she gasped, shocked by the sudden intrusion,

He pushed the pill deeper, his fingers deliberately lingering, and she instinctively bit down on his hand in protest.

"Heh, wild aren’t we," he smiled despite the bite, withdrawing his fingers slowly.

Using his Three Steps Technique, Cale blurred across the distance between them and Wang Youhei’s position in a single motion. The frost centipede crawled up his arm, transforming into a crystalline gauntlet that radiated cold so intense the very air seemed to freeze around it.

"So," he said conversationally, "how would you guys like to die?"

Wang Youhei felt rage, desperate rage. Never in his entire life had he been humiliated like this. Never had anyone seen him in such a disgraceful state. These servants would need to die too, once he escaped, to ensure no word of this ever spread beyond this place.

One of his subordinates screamed in panic, "A-A fucking beginner stage dares!"

Wang Youhei raised a trembling hand, his mind working despite his fury. "No! This person is likely hiding his real realm. Be careful!"

Zenith stared in shock, her mind struggling to process what she was witnessing. But she didn’t ask questions. Instead, her thoughts spiraled inward:

’W-why does my heart feel at ease seeing this guy here... no, no, no, no, no way... no way, right?! Such a thing!’ Her face flushed so deeply she had to hide it behind her hands, unable to bear anyone seeing her expression.

’I just wanted someone to come save me... I didn’t expect it to turn out like this... It’s just like the man I dreamed of! Someone who would come saving me in a life or death situation! But why him?! What do I do?!’

Her heart was chaos. Her mind was worse.

In the next second, ten flying blades materialized from thin air. They moved with each one targeting a different enemy.

Three subordinates fell, their bodies bisected or pierced through vital organs. The others desperately dodged, attempting to scatter.

"He-he’s a monster," one gasped.

"We should just surrender," another whimpered.

"Y-yes! Young master, we can still escape! Let’s run away!" a third screamed, already turning to flee.

But the moment his feet touched the ground, his entire body ignited. Flames consumed him utterly, evaporating him into ash within seconds.

Cale turned his attention back to Wang Youhei, his smile predatory.

"Now, it’s you, young master~"

Wang Youhei’s courage—what little remained shattered completely. His legs gave out and he fell to his knees, tears streaming down his face as he kowtowed desperately, his entire body shaking with terror and desperation.

"Lord! Senior! Please forgive me!" he sobbed, his voice breaking. "I’ve offended your lady! We didn’t recognize you! It was my silly brother—it’s his fault! He’s dead! I will give you all I have on me, please just let me go!"

He pressed his forehead to the ground in complete surrender.

"I-I come from the famous celestial Wang clan! I am the son of the patriarch! If you let me go, you won’t have any problems in future! You can even gain rewards! You’ll even get a position of elder in the clan if you desire... just... just let me go."

Cale tilted his head.

Then he used his telekinesis to pull a sword from the ground.

With a single slash imbued with all his Intent mixed together; he cut Wang Youhei’s body perfectly in half at the waist.

The slash was so intense, devastating, that the ground behind where Youhei had stood cracked open in a massive fissure extending at least twenty meters. The blade itself, unable to withstand the sheer force of the attack, shattered into dust.

Wang Youhei’s corpse fell silently.

Cale burned all the remaining bodies with a snap, ensuring no evidence remained for future hunters or tomb raiders to discover and identify.

Then he walked back toward Zenith, who had managed to stand with difficulty, her injuries gradually healing from the high-tier pill.

They talked for hours beneath an ancient tree, its massive branches providing shelter. Zenith’s head rested against his shoulder, her body still too weakened to move without support despite her pride protesting the dependence.

"Y-you... when did you start using sword aura?" she asked quietly, her voice carrying curiosity beneath the fatigue.

Intent and sword aura were technically identical concepts though sword aura specifically referred to the technique’s application through blades, while Intent could be channeled through any medium, even bare fists.

"Well, a lot of things happened here and there," he replied.

He held her hand softly then, their fingers interlocking naturally, and she found herself unable to deny.

’Ah, I wonder how my scapegoat is doing currently,’ Cale thought with amusement, thinking of Niva Xercs and good friend Li Zhan.

Hours passed beneath the tree, the sun gradually shifting across the sky, painting everything in shades of amber and gold. Eventually, Cale produced a talisman from his spatial ring.

"This will lead you to the team," he explained, handing it to her. "They’re ’technically’ innocent in my affairs here. Rexa, Elon, Emma, Nex, and the others. When this is finished, if anyone comes asking questions, you’ll have witnesses to my whereabouts. It’ll save my ass if I’m ever found out."

She took the talisman, understanding without needing explanation what he was asking.