But the King of Cloud Peak’s troubles didn’t end there.
The Twin Demons of Pin Palace moved with unnatural synchronicity. Ye Zhongming recognized their job—Linked Martial Masters, a rare class that granted two individuals flawless coordination in battle, drastically amplifying their combat effectiveness.
Since when did Wen Yan have such experts under him?
Though their skills bore no flashy visual effects, their teamwork made it impossible for Ye Zhongming to break their defense without resorting to his own skills.
These foes were cunning—they pressed him relentlessly, denying him the time and space to unleash his abilities.
The Saint Green Serpent of Soul Merchant wasn’t idle either. While Sister Bo and the Twin Demons formed the main offensive, he harassed Ye Zhongming incessantly. He and his serpent excelled at exploiting openings, steadily amplifying the pressure.
Combat between high-level evolved was blisteringly fast, but every move revealed lethal precision if slowed down.
Especially in close-quarters like this, where a single misstep—given their superhuman physiques—could mean death.
Ye Zhongming had already drawn both blades, countering and probing for an opening amidst the relentless assault.
Sister Bo, a brute-force fighter, favored overwhelming aggression. Though she followed the plan, impatience gnawed at her. Spotting Ye Zhongming momentarily unbalanced after deflecting the Twin Demons’ strikes, she roared, her hammers glowing.
Her left hammer hurled forward, rocketing toward Ye Zhongming, while the right hammer slammed into the left, propelling it with even greater speed.
Dodging was impossible at this distance with her swings already nearly grazing him. He had to take the hit or block it.
But Ye Zhongming’s reflexes defied expectations.
Blink.
His body shifted two positions sideways, appearing beside the snake-handling old man.
Saint Green Serpent, previously in a supporting role, gasped—unprepared to suddenly become the primary target.
Just as the hammer strike had been unavoidable, neither was Ye Zhongming’s blade.
The Undead Sand Moon Blade touched the old man’s throat.
Any eight-star evolved—especially one who rose to Saint position—had their own trump cards.
At the critical moment, the old man’s eyes shifted into serpentine slits, strange energy flickering within. Simultaneously, the blade sliced through his neck.
“Thud!”
The sound wasn’t right.
A severed human head didn’t produce that noise.
Behind the collapsing “corpse,” another Saint Green Serpent emerged, glaring venomously at Ye Zhongming.
The massive mutated snake spat a torrent of venom straight at him.
“Old lunatic! You want to die?!”
As fellow Saint Merchant members, Sister Bo and Saint Green Serpent knew each other well—with her being the Vice-Leader. Seeing her subordinate disregard allies and unleash area-effect venom, she raged.
She knew how deadly that venom was. Half that snake’s lethality lay in its toxicity.
Even someone as fearless as Sister Bo dodged first. The Twin Demons followed suit.
Ye Zhongming blinked repeatedly, using equipment-based teleportation to evade.
The venom spread too fast, too wide. Without teleportation, dodging was impossible.
Yet some droplets still grazed him.
Instantly, he knew something was wrong.
Debuffs and searing pain began corroding his body.
On the other side, Saint Green Serpent—having burned his ultimate survival skill—cooled slightly.
His title came not just from his serpent, but his job—Taipan Serpentine.
Its signature ability: Molting Life.
When facing a fatal strike, it automatically activated, shedding his outer layer to absorb the deathblow, while his true body emerged safely behind.
A powerful life-saving skill, but with harsh restrictions:
Cooldown scaled with evolution rank—once per star level. Even if unused at a lower rank, it didn’t carry over.
After use, all stats permanently decreased by (1/current rank).
As an eight-star evolved, his stats had just dropped by 1/8.
A steep price.
No wonder he’d been so enraged after Ye Zhongming’s sudden switch.
Seeing Ye Zhongming poisoned, Sister Bo bellowed and charged.
Her timing was impeccable—knowing he’d need moments to antidote, or risk lethal toxicity.
The Twin Demons followed, unwilling to miss this chance.
But Ye Zhongming made a shocking choice.
Instead of detoxing, he attacked.
His speed blurred, teleporting once before streaking toward… Silver of God Hall.
Everyone’s expressions changed. Only now did they realize—Ye Zhongming’s venom-dodging path had been deliberate. His goal: close the distance to Silver, who was weaving an ever-tighter electric net.
A blink, augmented by his Blood Stepping Boots’ sprint, brought him before Silver. The Undead Sand Moon Blade stabbed for his eyes.
Caught off guard, Silver panicked. In this life-or-death instant, he unleashed every escape skill he had.
First, the electric net contracted violently, targeting Ye Zhongming. Simultaneously, his black-hole hands morphed into bestial claws, slashing at Ye Zhongming’s abdomen—a desperate gamble to save himself.
The claws gleamed with a dark glow—clearly a skill.
Meanwhile, his eyelids thickened with keratinized layers.
Multiple sounds intertwined—rewriting the battlefield.
Ye Zhongming, wreathed in electricity, was sent flying. Blood arced through the air before he even hit the ground.
And on the other side…
Embedded in Silver’s eye socket was a violet-glowing warblade.