Chapter 557: Demon Sixteen

As soon as he finished speaking, the man in gray sidestepped with instantaneous speed, as if urgently dodging something.

This was because the scholarly man in green, whose presence had been announced earlier, had already made his move, executing a finger-strike from a distance that showed no discernible sound or power.

In the exact spot where the man in gray had just been, a crack instantly appeared, resembling a fractured mirror, accompanied by a "dong" sound like a snapped zither string.

Only after the crack appeared did the faint, indistinct afterimage of a sword's energy blade slowly fade from sight.

What appeared to be an attack devoid of any visible force, in the eyes of true masters, possessed terrifying power.

Just as Grandma Qi told Wu Jinliang after her move outside Dazhi City, true masters do not create massive disturbances, for they possess complete control over their power.

Only by concentrating destructive power at a single point can one achieve maximum lethality.

Missing his first strike, the scholarly man in green stepped lightly forward, sweeping his finger horizontally again. Immediately, more mirror-like light cracks appeared where the man in gray had dodged. It seemed he had struck his target, but unexpectedly, the man in gray's figure faded away like a phantom.

It seemed as if a shadow emerged from the phantom, transforming into a new figure.

A look of surprise flashed in the scholarly man in green's eyes. He stepped away from the bookshelf and advanced with a light, unhurried gait, like strolling through a garden. His wide sleeves billowed as his hands, slicing through the air, moved with dazzling, illusory speed. Instantly, lines of mirror-like cracks, slashing horizontally, vertically, or diagonally, appeared with command-like swiftness.

The sound of snapping zither strings also intensified, falling like rapid rain, creating a continuous "dong dong dong dong" echo.

Pedestrians on the street stopped upon hearing the sounds, pausing below the building to look up. Unsure what was happening inside the Library Pavilion, they murmured amongst themselves, commenting that it sounded like a zither being played, yet not quite.

The fractured mirror-light on the upper floor flashed between rows of bookshelves, casting a faint, flickering illumination. It wove a path like intertwining dragons, and every single strike landed on the dodging man in gray.

Yet, from the man in gray's figure, another could always emerge from various angles. For instance, you might think a sword strike had severed his neck, but in reality, he would have already ducked and dodged, leaving you to strike only an illusion.

Shi Chun, frozen in place, was utterly astonished after witnessing a few of these scenes.

Violent energy surged through the Library Pavilion like dancing wild dragons. If not for the protective power that had frozen him, it would have been enough to crush him to dust.

In the main hall, the woman in red, who had been leaning her head on the counter, feigning sleep, murmured to herself, "Illusion Demon Grand Technique..."

She had initially thought that sealing the Library Pavilion would prevent the commotion from escaping, believing the scholarly man in green could easily deal with the man in gray. Unexpectedly, he was having trouble finishing him off.

Although the rows of bookshelves provided the man in gray with some space to maneuver and dodge, that was not the crucial factor. The Illusion Demon's movement technique was illusory, but the dense, destructive mirror-light cracks were not. His ability to repeatedly escape from the dense slashes at cunning angles made the scholarly man in green realize one thing: his opponent was familiar with his techniques.

With this realization, his eyes flashed, and he knew who his opponent was. "Demon Sixteen, it's you!" he shouted.

As he finished speaking, he waved his hand, pointing a finger towards the direction the man in gray was escaping.

Boom! The sky shook and the earth trembled. A window shattered outwards, and only then did a massive illusory sword blade appear, breaking through the window before vanishing.

The neighboring houses immediately suffered. Although the power of the window-breaking strike had been contained, its lingering force still impacted areas hundreds of feet away. Houses along the path were torn apart and blown away. It was unknown how many screamed, how many wailed, and how many lost their lives.

On the street, Dong Wenshu, who was excitedly returning with a large pile of things in both hands, was also shaken by the huge tremor and instinctively ducked down.

Pedestrians and neighbors on the street also paled in shock and dodged.

At the city's central peak, a group of people appeared and gazed into the distance. City Lord Li Xianghong and Poyuan, who were still in the city, were among them.

Seeing the path cleared ahead, the dodging man in gray seemed to understand the scholarly man in green's intention. His body transformed into several figures, flashing past the window, then his true form suddenly emerged from one of them, fleeing out the window and soaring into the sky.

The scholarly man in green's figure flashed out right after, soaring into the sky. A book he had taken with him was thrown back from outside the window.

He clearly understood the woman in red's intention behind freezing the Library Pavilion. It wasn't that she wanted to team up with him to deal with the demonic cultivator; if she wanted to act, she wouldn't bother joining forces with him. She was simply afraid their battle would damage the Library Pavilion.

Given this, he also had to hold back and not use his full power. He himself did not want to destroy so many books; otherwise, he wouldn't have bothered coming all this way just to read.

Neighbors on the street, and people gazing from near and far at the rooftops, all saw two figures rising into the sky one after another.

City guards flying from nearby saw this and immediately stopped. Just by the speed of their flight, which left behind afterimages, they knew the perpetrators' cultivation was far beyond what they could enforce.

Li Xianghong, Poyuan, and others observing from afar also changed their expressions.

"It seems to be near Chaoyue Pavilion..." Li Xianghong murmured. To be honest, that place was already beyond her influence, and now, somehow, such masters had appeared there again.

At the same time, a bowl-shaped light wave encompassing the entire city shimmered into existence above Dazhi City. The city's grand defensive array had been activated.

Poyuan said in a deep voice, "The grand array cannot stop them."

Fortunately, there was no need to stop them. By the time the grand array was activated, the two figures, one leading and one following, soaring across the sky, had already gone far and vanished from sight.

However, the two figures, one chasing the other, could clearly see each other.

The man in gray seemed to know he was no match for his opponent, so he merely dodged and fled.

But the scholarly man in green, who had allowed him to leave the Library Pavilion, had no intention of letting him escape. Since he knew who his opponent was, and his opponent knew his sword techniques, it was clear they had fought before.

For the defeated party to be seen again after a previous encounter naturally meant he had successfully escaped from the victor then.

Therefore, the scholarly man in green knew his escape methods were extraordinary. Seeing that they were already far from the city, he cut his single hand through the air, and immediately, invisible shockwaves gradually surged forth in front of him.

By the time the man in gray looked back, panic erupted in his eyes. He saw a sky-piercing giant sword appearing against the wind in the pursuer's hand.

Instantly feeling a bad omen, his eyes suddenly turned bloodshot and filled with veins. With a *snap*, he clapped his hands together in front of his chest, intertwining and twisting his fingers in incantations.

The giant sword flipped in mid-air. As it rose, it was actually the scholarly man in green suddenly pushing the hilt forward.

With the blade behind him, he suddenly swung his arm and furiously slashed out with the giant sword.

As the giant sword swung horizontally through the sky, it suddenly moved so fast that it merged into the void, becoming invisible.

But the void ahead shattered, with countless dense mirror-light cracks, as if shattering heaven and earth into dust.

This was a large-scale, indiscriminate execution.

"Fu Que..."

The man in gray's resentful scream was utterly gone; his entire being was directly blasted into a mist of blood amidst the countless materialized sword shadows.

The bursting blood mist was then devoured by a violently surging black mist.

As the scholarly man in green, enveloped in energy, charged directly into it, the mist exploded, and his vision instantly cleared. Countless black and red intertwined snake-like streams burst outwards in all directions with even greater speed, like streaks of fleeting light.

He urgently swung his attacks through the air in all directions, destroying many of the escaping light streams. However, more "fish that slipped through the net" had quickly fled into the distance, vanishing in the blink of an eye.

The scholarly man in green, floating silently, wore a grim expression.

After the turbulent cosmic phenomena gradually returned to normal, he turned and flew back.

There was no longer any movement in the Library Pavilion. Someone tried to enter to see what was happening inside, but upon reaching the steps at the entrance, they immediately found themselves blocked by an invisible force.

After pushing with effort a few times, he turned and exclaimed to the neighbors, "The library can't be entered, it seems to be sealed!"

"Sealed?" "Who sealed it?" The neighbors, all talking at once, cautiously approached, each wanting to try for themselves.

Dong Wenshu, who had run back carrying a pile of things, was immediately called over by someone. "Mr. Dong," they said, "something happened at your library. They say it's sealed, and you can't get in."

The scholarly man in green, flying back from afar, arrived overhead, only to be blocked by the illusory wave protection that had been set up.

The woman in red, who had been feigning sleep by the library counter, raised a finger and lightly traced a circle, conjuring a faint stream of light that shot into the void.

The city's grand defensive array instantly closed. The scholarly man in green flashed inside, his figure appearing as a blur, then re-entered the Library Pavilion through the broken window. He picked up the book from the ground, sat back down in his original spot, and continued reading.

Everyone inside the library could move again instantly, looking around as if waking from a dream.

Dong Wenshu, who had reached the steps at the entrance, still carrying his things, tried to touch the barrier with his elbow, but didn't encounter anything at all. He easily entered the library, then subconsciously turned to look at the people behind him, with a hint of accusation in his gaze, as if they had been talking nonsense.

A group of neighbors saw him enter and rushed to crowd through the doorway, finding no obstruction. They immediately started blaming someone for talking nonsense.

However, the noisy discussions inside the library were all about what had just happened and why they had suddenly been unable to move.

So the neighbors and the people inside the library mingled together, discussing the events.

Dong Wenshu handed the pile of purchased items to his eldest daughter, who had also run out, looking equally bewildered, to see what was happening. He then turned to the counter and politely asked the woman in red, "Ruojun, what exactly happened?"

The woman in red sat up properly and incidentally pulled a wine pot closer. "I don't know," she said. "You'd probably have to ask Mr. Fu."

She opened it, tilted her head back, and slowly savored the fine wine. The peace and quiet behind the counter was her world, and she paid no mind to the commotion outside.

Dong Wenshu stared at her fair, slender neck for a while, then quickly turned away, not wishing to stare inappropriately.

"Someone broke out of a window upstairs in the library."

Hearing this statement amidst the chaos, Dong Wenshu snapped back to attention and quickly jogged upstairs to see. A group of curious scholars also followed to find out what happened.

On the second floor, the second young lady, Dong Liangyu, had already run up to Shi Chun with quick steps.

At this point, Shi Chun could move again. Facing the scholarly man in green beside him, he didn't know whether to kneel or sit properly. Seeing Dong Liangyu arrive, he quickly stood up, steadying himself by a bookshelf.

He was now in an awkward position, unsure whether to leave or what to do, crucially not knowing if the scholarly man in green would allow him to depart.

He thought it was this person who had frozen him earlier.

Dong Liangyu came over and asked, "What happened?" She hadn't seen the incident from the staircase.

Shi Chun stammered, wanting to equivocate, but also had to secretly glance at the scholarly man in green's expression.

Just then, sounds of someone coming upstairs were heard, and Dong Wenshu's frantic shouting voice rang out, "Yu'er, Yu'er..."

His voice was filled with anxiety, clearly fearing something had happened to his daughter.

Dong Liangyu quickly shouted in response, "Father, I'm here."