The bewitching beauty clenched her teeth.
Frustration burned inside her heart. She lowered her head slightly, hiding the ugly look that had briefly appeared on her face.
Everything had been going according to plan.
The Purple River Sect had already been cornered. Their Lord had almost lost the will to fight. Victory had been only moments away.
Then this mysterious King appeared out of nowhere and overturned everything.
She could not understand it.
More importantly...
She did not dare challenge it.
Taking a slow breath, she calmed herself.
Her mind quickly regained its usual sharpness.
Without changing her expression, she sent a secret voice transmission to every surviving member of the royal faction.
’Nobody moves. Do not retreat. Do not even circulate your Spirit essence unless necessary. If anyone disobeys, I will personally execute them.’
The order spread through everyone’s minds. The already frightened cultivators stiffened. Not a single person dared move.
The battlefield became eerily quiet.
Kalina slowly lifted her head. Her gaze climbed upward along the cloaked figure. Her eyes stopped at his chest.
She deliberately avoided looking at his face.
Even if she was almost certain this King belonged to another faction of the Shinayin Empire, directly staring into a King’s eyes without permission could easily be taken as disrespect.
She was not foolish enough to make such a mistake.
She offered a bow and salute to Aksai. Her voice became respectful.
"Kalina greets the Great Elder King."
She paused briefly.
"May I know your esteemed name?"
...
Inside the cloak, Aksai quietly observed everything.
He had originally intended to act immediately.
The moment the Purple River Sect had withdrawn to a safe distance, he had planned to summon a large number of disposable Sentient Fiends from the Enchanted Everwood Farm.
Poison arrays. Gu Poison bombs. Various poisonous materials carefully refined to act as an AoE attack.
Once the Sentient Fiends appeared, they would immediately activate everything at once. The battlefield would become a gigantic poison trap.
He had even instructed the Purple River Lord beforehand. The old man only needed to retreat after Aksai gave the signal. Otherwise, even he might become one of the trap’s victims.
Everything had already been planned.
Yet...
Kalina had suddenly chosen to start a conversation.
Aksai remained silent for a moment. His thoughts moved quickly.
’Wait. This... this is a good thing. Maybe I can make use of her arrogance as the cultivator from the Shinayin Empire against her. It won’t hurt to try.’
Originally, he wanted to finish everything as quickly as possible.
The False King Essence Pill was not limitless.
Normally, its effects could have lasted for several days. That was if he simply maintained the King’s aura without doing anything else.
Unfortunately...
From the very beginning, he had continuously released powerful Nascent Soul pressure over the entire battlefield.
Especially toward the royal faction. Every burst of pressure consumed the pill’s medicinal power.
At this rate, the effect would only last a few more minutes.
Still, Aksai was not particularly worried.
His main objective had already been completed.
The Purple River Sect had escaped safely.
Everything beyond that point was simply extra profit.
He glanced at Kalina again.
’I can handle ordinary Lords but I can’t take on her even with all my preparations. She probably has plenty of life-saving treasures.’
Aksai had no confidence in killing her outright.
Someone sent from the Shinayin Empire would never come without preparations. She probably possessed escape talismans, protective treasures, or even something capable of saving her life once.
Trying to kill her would be difficult if they fought head on.
However, making her panic, handing over valuable treasures or forcing her to abandon expensive resources under the guise of the King.
That was much more realistic and less dangerous than an all-out battle right off the bat.
A faint smile appeared beneath Aksai’s hood.
’Let’s see how much wool I can shear from this fat sheep before my disguise falls apart.’
The Spirit farmer’s posture immediately changed. His back straightened. His breathing became slow and steady. His entire bearing transformed.
He no longer looked like Aksai. He looked exactly like an old and selfish Nascent Soul King who had lived for hundreds of years.
Calm, proud, and unreachable.
His gaze slowly fell upon Kalina. It carried neither anger nor kindness. Only indifference.
As if he were looking at someone completely beneath him.
Then...
He let out a quiet chuckle.
It was not loud.
Yet it echoed clearly throughout the silent battlefield.
"How rude."
His voice was calm. But every word carried the surging pressure of the slowly fading False King pill.
"This generation truly knows less and less about proper manners."
He slightly tilted his head.
"Before asking an elder for his name, shouldn’t you first introduce yourself properly?"
A brief silence followed.
Then Aksai gave another soft chuckle. This one carried obvious ridicule.
"I can only pity the elders who raised you."
The moment those words fell—
Kalina’s body stiffened. Her lowered hands quietly tightened into fists. The corners of her lips twitched ever so slightly.
No one, not even many known and powerful Kings from the Shinayin Empire, had ever spoken to her in such a condescending manner. Yet she did not dare show even the slightest anger.
Instead, she lowered her head a little further. Her posture became even more respectful than before. Because no matter how frustrating it felt, the man before her was still, in her eyes...
A Nascent Soul King.
***
Kalina quietly thought over the King’s words.
At first, she believed he was simply insulting her. However, after calming herself, she reached another conclusion.
’Maybe he is not asking for my personal name. He is asking about my background.’
Among the powerful factions of the Shinayin Empire, one’s personal identity was often less important than the faction standing behind them.
If two cultivators belonged to the same faction, they were allies.
If they belonged to different factions, there were countless things that needed to be considered before either side acted.
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