Chapter 374

Chapter 374: Fatal Flaw

Seeing the behavior of the four Sons, Jin Liuli burst out laughing, her laughter filled with scorn and derision.

The four Sons wore grim expressions, gripping their scrolls tightly. Though they seethed with shame and anger, they could only endure it.

They weren’t afraid of Jin Liuli herself. In fact, they harbored some resistance toward the Taixu Dynasty, which had suffered heavy losses over the years.

But none of them had the courage to face the Black Cloaked Strategist.

“This is the Crimson Flame Imperial Capital,” Lu Hengkong said through gritted teeth, highlighting an essential point.

No matter what happened, this was not Taixu Dynasty territory.

The Crimson Flame Dynasty was one of the top-tier holy lands, boasting over ten thousand years of heritage. Would they allow the Black Cloaked Strategist to casually wreak havoc and dismantle the peak of power conference? What face would the Crimson Flame Dynasty have left?

“Do you really think it’s that hard for the Black Cloaked Strategist to render the Crimson Flame Dynasty unable to act?” Jin Liuli said dismissively.

The four Sons were filled with unspeakable fear, astonishment, and a faint, lingering sorrow.

This was the very heart of the Crimson Flame Dynasty, its imperial capital, the stronghold of its most powerful Saints. Could any disruption go unnoticed here?

Certainly not.

And yet, if the Black Cloaked Strategist could act freely without interference, what did that imply about his power?

It meant that if he wanted to kill them, he could and their sacred lands wouldn’t even have time to respond.

That was the most terrifying realization.

Lu Hengkong whispered, “After ten years… the Black Cloaked Strategist is even more terrifying than before.”

Jin Liuli stood tall, her face glowing with pride.

Once the Black Cloaked Strategist made his move, she firmly believed that the unfavorable circumstances facing the Taixu Dynasty across the entire Western Desert would undergo a fundamental reversal.

“But has the Head considered that if Zhang Yang and the moon-returning dragon truly die, and we retreat, turning the conference for the peak of power into a laughingstock, will the Crimson Flame Dynasty not be furious? Can the Head endure their wrath?” Lu Hengkong asked.

Jin Liuli scoffed, “With the Black Cloaked Strategist here, nothing is a problem.”

The four Sons fell silent once more.

Indeed, with the Black Cloaked Strategist involved, none of these issues posed any real concern.

He was the very Strategist whose might made the Western Desert tremble, a lone figure who could rival three hundred Saints.

Three hundred Saints?

There might not even be that many across the entire Western Desert.

One Black Cloaked Strategist was more than enough.

Such was his terrifying reputation.

Even Zhang Yang felt a chill down his spine at the mere mention of the Black Cloaked Strategist’s name.

He was a force that instilled fear across the Western Desert—not through brute strength, but through sheer strategy and cunning.

It was the first time in Zhang Yang’s life that he encountered someone invincible without relying on overwhelming physical power.

He had experienced the terror of the Black Cloaked Strategist firsthand.

For instance, despite the chaos at the Zi Tian Pavilion, the Holy Body backlash, and his public pursuit of the Wind Dragon, it was unbelievable that the Crimson Flame Dynasty hadn’t responded in all this time.

Or take, for example, the Black Cloaked Strategist’s tactics: once he made his move, the intricacy of his planning was simply unimaginable. He immediately deployed a forbidden law created by four great masters, forbidding any harm to his holy treasure, and even sealed the seemingly inconspicuous Mother Bead hanging at Zhang Yang’s waist.

It must be noted: the Mother Bead was capable of suppressing the realm of all beings below the Saint level.

This was its first known appearance.

It was the product of three generations of Saint-level research from the Cold Moon Dynasty, an utterly unique artifact.

And yet, the Black Cloaked Strategist had already taken it into account. Or rather, he had ensured that his opponent would have not even a sliver of hope for survival.

Moreover, the two-meter-tall man who attacked was at the third level of the Opening the Sky realm.

The gap between them and Zhang Yang was massive, impossible to bridge.

And yet that man wasn’t alone, Wind Dragon, also at Small Boundless, was watching closely, along with four other experts using forbidden laws, all Small Boundless as well.

It was a coordinated strike, designed to be fatal and flawless.

The Black Cloaked Strategist had not left him a single opportunity.

But…

“What seems to be an unavoidable deathblow actually has a fatal weakness, and that weakness is you,” Zhang Yang said coldly.

The Mother Bead at his waist emitted a faint glow.

Despite the forbidden law preventing the use of holy treasures, it still functioned.

The reason was simple.

Zhang Yang possessed the Nine Extremes True Essence, which far surpassed the elemental energy used by cultivators of the vast world.

While ordinary elemental energy was suppressed, the Nine Extremes True Essence was not.

Buzz!

As the Nine Extremes True Essence surged forth, the light of the Mother Bead expanded, covering a radius of twenty meters.

“Not good!”

The two-meter-tall man was shocked and instinctively cried out as his realm was instantly suppressed to the first level of the Opening the Sky realm.

That was correct.

According to the moon-returning dragon, the Mother Bead suppressed its target to match the wielder’s realm, judged by elemental energy.

But the Nine Extremes True Essence brought an even stronger effect, it not only suppressed more fiercely but also expanded the area of influence.

At this point, the Mother Bead didn’t just give Zhang Yang wings, it made him stronger than he had ever been, even in the Vast Forest.

Smack!

Facing the two-meter-tall man, Zhang Yang didn’t hesitate. His response was simple: a slap.

Being two minor realms below him, the man didn’t even qualify to receive a holy power technique. The sheer force of the Divine Gold Holy Body alone was sufficient.

Boom!

A miserable scream echoed as the man’s head was completely crushed.

Zhang Yang’s movements were smooth and uninterrupted.

Bang!

He lifted his foot and stomped the ground.

Within a radius of twenty meters, all the forbidden law patterns instantly shattered and disappeared, causing the surrounding array to collapse. The four experts were thrown into chaos, unable to maintain control.

A seamless counterattack, one slap, one stomp, and then, a punch.

This punch, timed with his stomp, shot upward, expanding the range of the Mother Bead and enveloping even the Black Cloaked Strategist.

Zhang Yang didn’t know the Strategist’s exact cultivation. Given his vast resources and ten years in hiding, it was difficult to predict how far he had progressed.

But surprisingly, the Mother Bead had no effect on the Black Cloaked Strategist.

This could only mean one thing, his realm was still below Zhang Yang’s.

However, the Black Cloaked Strategist’s reaction was lightning-fast. The moment he heard the two-meter-tall man’s scream, he realized something had gone terribly wrong. Without hesitation, he activated an ancient teleportation array to escape.

Bang!

But would Zhang Yang let him go?

Letting such a ruthless legend, the most feared figure in the Western Desert, escape wasn’t just releasing a tiger back to the mountain…it was like releasing an entire dynasty of Saints.

So, he punched into the air.

Consummate Slaughter Thunder Saint Power!

There was no need for a grand display of Great Perfection.

With a single punch, the void shattered. A shadow, nearly fading away, fell from the torn space. Zhang Yang stepped forward, trampling the Black Cloaked Strategist beneath his foot. This was the man who once ruled the Western Desert alone, a figure said to rival three hundred Saints. Coldly, Zhang Yang declared:

“Your fatal flaw is that you dismissed martial arts.”