War Sovereign Soaring The Heavens

The middle-aged man was thoroughly shocked. In fact, he had felt something was amiss earlier when he saw the lack of fear in Duan Ling Tian even when Duan Ling Tian discovered he was an assassin from the Blood Skull Gang. Moreover, Duan Ling Tian seemed knowledgeable about the Blood Skull Gang.

However, the middle-aged man knew Duan Ling Tian was a transcender from a mundane realm and did not come from a powerful faction. The Blood Skull Gang’s investigation and Zheng Hong Yi, an inner disciple of the Simplicity Celestial Sect, had confirmed this.

Although there was suspicion that Duan Ling Tian was a reincarnated powerhouse, nobody put much importance on it. After all, regardless of how powerful he was in his past life, he was just a peak Overarching Heavenly Supreme Celestial at the moment!

“You… H-how did you… How’s this possible?!” The middle-aged man was further shocked when he discovered he could not free his fist from Duan Ling Tian’s grip even after he cast a few profundities from the law of water.

Duan Ling Tian held the middle-aged man’s grip in a leisurely manner. Regardless of how the middle-aged man struggled or what profundity he used, his grip remained firm.

After a while, Duan Ling Tian scoffed as he looked at the middle-aged man’s futile struggles. He impatiently yanked the middle-aged’s fist in an upward motion.

The sound of flesh tearing rang in the air as Duan Ling Tian tore the middle-aged man’s arm away from his body before he threw the severed arm away.

Splash!

A splashing sound rang from the lake as the middle-aged man’s severed arm fell into the lake. Tendrils of red blood spread in the water, dyeing it red.

The middle-aged man could still retrieve his arm from the lake to reattach it, but he was too afraid and too shocked to do so at this moment. His expression made him look as though he had seen a ghost. “You… Aren’t you a peak Overarching Heavenly Supreme Celestial?! How can your Celestial Origin Energy be so powerful?”

When the middle-aged man finished speaking, it seemed as though he had just regained his senses. He quickly widened his distance from Duan Ling Tian as though Duan Ling Tian was a ferocious beast that was capable of devouring him whole. Earlier, when Duan Ling Tian caught his fist, he could sense the law of earth’s Earth Elemental Profundity in Duan Ling Tian’s Celestial Origin Energy. Most importantly, it was clear to him that Duan Ling Tian, who had only used the Earth Elemental Profundity, was so powerful that even though he had used all his strength and cast all the profundities he had mastered, he still could not free his fist. He knew he was no match for Duan Ling Tian now.

‘Ten Directions Celestial Kings are capable of overwhelming me like this, but it seemed like his Celestial Origin Energy is even more powerful than Ten Directions Celestial Kings! It… it feels as though his Celestial Origin Energy is on par with that of a Celestial Lord!’ The middle-aged man thought to himself.

‘Duan Ling Tian had only come to the Southern Heaven Ancient Realm not too long ago… This means he’s really just an Overarching Heavenly Supreme Celestial! However, his Celestial Origin Energy seems to be as powerful as that of a Celestial Lord… This must be because he’s using some powerful Celestial Talisman or some consumable Royal Grade Celestial Weapon! This means his powers aren’t infinite. However, until he has exhausted his powers, it’d be as easy as flicking his fingers for him to kill me…’

It did not take long for the middle-aged man to figure out why Duan Ling Tian’s Celestial Origin Energy was comparable to that of a Celestial Lord.

Regardless, there was only one thought in the middle-aged man’s mind now: Run!

Alas, before the middle-aged man could flee, Duan Ling Tian’s Celestial Origin Energy that was laced with the law of earth’s Earth Elemental Profundity surged out. It was as though he knew the middle-aged man was going to run away.

Whoosh! Whoosh Whoosh!

Duan Ling Tian’s Celestial Origin Energy that had been boosted by the Earth Elemental Profundity shot out and formed several black pillars around the middle-aged man, effectively trapping the middle-aged man.

Although Duan Ling Tian had merely comprehended the basics of the law of earth’s Gravitational Space Profundity, he was already capable of using the King Grade Celestial Method, the Black Rock Prison Method.

Naturally, his Gravitational Space Profundity was not very powerful now. The bulk of his strength came from his Celestial Origin Energy that was equivalent to that of a Celestial Lord now. With the Celestial Origin Energy of a Celestial Lord, it was naturally incredibly powerful even if he had only cast the law of earth’s Earth Elemental Profundity and the Gravitational Space Profundity that he barely comprehended!

Meanwhile, the pull of gravity in the Black Rock Prison was so strong that the middle-aged man was doubled over at this moment.

“Ahhh!” The middle-aged man roared as his Celestial Origin Energy boosted by the law of water’s Water Elemental Profundity surged. He was clearly trying his best to break free from the prison. Alas, nothing he did affect the Black Rock Prison at all.

“I… I-I can’t escape… I’m going… g-going to d-die!” Fear flashed in the middle-aged man’s eyes. He was certain he was going to die.

Duan Ling Tian looked at the middle-aged man expressionlessly and said, “Tell me who hired you, and I might show you mercy. After all, as an assassin, you’re just doing your job.”

Contrary to Duan Ling Tian’s expectation, the middle-aged man’s expression suddenly turned eerily calm, and a sinister smile bloomed on his face. Soon after, he shone with a blindingly bright blue light before he exploded into a blood mist in the Black Rock Prison, leaving only his armor and Spatial Ring behind.

“He committed suicide?” Duan Ling Tian frowned slightly. “Well, it’s not surprising… After all, for the Blood Skull Gang to gain such notoriety, their assassins definitely would not give away their clients’ names so easily…”

Duan Ling Tian speculated out loud, “However, assassin organizations in the Southern Heaven Territory have a rule of demanding half of the price as a deposit before they make their moves…. Since I have his Spatial Ring, I might be able to find the deposit he received and find some clues about the person who hired him to assassinate me… However, that’s only under the condition that the person is from the regions under the Profound Nether Mansion Sect. Nevertheless, I don’t think there’s anyone outside of the Profound Nether Mansion who knows me, let alone wants me dead. Regions under the Profound Nether Mansion have prominent Celestial Crystals, at most. An organization like the Blood Skull Gang isn’t lacking in prominent Celestial Crystals. This means that person most likely used other items to hire the assassin…”

Duan Ling Tian continued murmuring to himself, coming to a conclusion, “Although there are a few people whom I killed in the Southern Heaven Ancient Realm who had extraordinary backgrounds, there’s no way the forces behind them know I’m the murderer. Therefore, it’s impossible that those people hired an assassin to kill me. It’s highly likely that the person who hired the assassin is from the Simplicity Celestial Sect.”

With this thought in mind, a name appeared in Duan Ling Tian’s mind: Zheng Hong Yi. He had met Zheng Hong Yi, the third direct disciple of Sun Liang Peng, the Sect Leader of the Simplicity Celestial Sect, when he first arrived at the sect. “Based on the other inner disciples’ words, Zheng Hong Yi was one of the candidates who was considered for the final position of a true disciple before I was given the spot. When I met him, I could see his jealousy and hatred. Could he be the one who hired the assassin from the Blood Skull Gang? However, how did he manage to hire an assassin from the Blood Skull Gang? The gang is very selective of their clients, after all…”

With all these questions in mind, Duan Ling Tian returned to the Simplicity Celestial Sect’s estate. “When I return to the sect, I’ll look for the sect leader. Perhaps, there are some items in the assassin’s Spatial Ring that he’ll be able to identify if they belonged to Zheng Hong Yi. With that, I’ll be able to determine if Zheng Hong Yi is the culprit.”

Despite being the direct disciples of the Sect Leader of the Simplicity Celestial Sect, Duan Ling Tian was aware that Zheng Hong Yi was of average talent compared to Sun Liang Peng’s other direct disciples. This was also one of the reasons Zheng Hong Yi was not selected as a true disciple in the end.

Duan Ling Tian was confident Sun Liang Peng would not shield Zheng Hong Yi if Zheng Hong Yi truly turned out to be the culprit. Regardless if Sun Liang Peng dealt with Zheng Hong Yi privately or openly, Duan Ling Tian was certain Sun Liang Peng would not let Zheng Hong Yi go unpunished if Zheng Hong Yi was found guilty.

If Duan Ling Tian was merely an ordinary inner disciple from the Simplicity Celestial Sect, Sun Liang Peng might not have cared. However, Duan Ling Tian was well aware of his value to Sun Liang Peng from the way Sun Liang Peng had treated him when he joined the Simplicity Celestial Sect.

Meanwhile, the Blood Skull Gang had already received the message the assassin sent before he committed suicide.

“The target, Duan Ling Tian, might be a peak Overarching Heavenly Supreme Celestial, but he has a consumable Royal Grade Celestial Weapon or Celestial Talisman that granted him the strength of a Celestial Lord… I have failed my mission.”

After the Blood Skull Gang received the Communication Celestial Talisman, the liaison for this job, Chen Li, the illegitimate son of one of the Vice Leaders of the Blood Skull Gang, was also informed about the matter immediately.

“What?! Duan Ling Tian possessed a consumable Royal Grade Celestial Weapon or a Celestial Talisman that granted him the strength of a Celestial Lord?” Chen Li was stunned. Naturally, he did not expect Duan Ling Tian to possess such an item.

“It’s even more likely now that he’s the reincarnation of a Celestial. Moreover, he must have been remarkable in his past life. He must have recovered his memories and managed to retrieve all these extraordinary items from his past life.” In Chen Li’s opinion, Duan Ling Tian’s consumable Royal Grade Celestial Weapon or Celestial Talisman that could grant him the powers of a Celestial Lord had to be something Duan Ling Tian left behind in his past life. Moreover, he was certain Duan Ling Tian was not just the reincarnation of a Celestial Lord, but Duan Ling Tian had to be the reincarnation of an extraordinary Celestial Lord.