The grand audience hall fell into a tense, heavy silence as disciples and elders quickly formed a wide circle, clearing the central marble floor for the impromptu spar. The air crackled with anticipation and disbelief. No one had expected Ling Feng to challenge the Young Mistress so brazenly, especially mere hours after her miraculous breakthrough. Yet the Patriarch, Ling Tianhao, merely stroked his silver-streaked beard thoughtfully and nodded, allowing the confrontation to proceed. His expression remained calm, though a hint of stern warning lingered in his eyes.
Ling Feng smirked arrogantly as he stepped into the center of the hall, his movements full of swagger. He drew his spirit sword with a dramatic flourish, the blade humming with sharp sword Qi. At twenty-two years old and at the peak of Qi Condensation, he was considered one of the top talents among the younger generation. His handsome face twisted with jealousy and overconfidence as he pointed the sword toward Ling Zihan.
“Don’t worry, Young Mistress,” he taunted loudly, his voice echoing through the hall. “I’ll go easy on you so you don’t lose too much face in front of the entire clan. After all, we wouldn’t want everyone to see that your breakthrough was nothing more than a fluke granted by the Jade Heart.”
Murmurs rippled through the crowd. Some disciples looked uncomfortable, while others, those secretly envious of Zihan’s rapid rise, watched with gleaming eyes.
Ling Zihan, the Void Empress, walked forward with slow, graceful steps that commanded absolute attention. Her long silver-white hair swayed gently behind her like threads of living moonlight. Her crimson eyes remained cold and indifferent, as though the arrogant young man before her was nothing more than an insignificant insect. She didn’t even bother drawing a weapon, her hands remaining elegantly clasped behind her back.
“Begin,” the Patriarch announced, his voice carrying the weight of authority.
Ling Feng attacked instantly, channelling every ounce of his peak Qi Condensation cultivation into a fierce sword strike aimed at her shoulder. “Take this!”
A roaring wave of sword Qi howled through the air, sharp enough to slice through stone. The attack was fast, precise, and filled with the full power of a peak Qi Condensation expert.
The Empress raised one elegant hand almost lazily. Black-purple void mists swirled around her fingers like living smoke. With a casual flick, she sent a small pulse of energy forward. The powerful sword Qi shattered like fragile glass the moment it touched her void mist, dissipating harmlessly into scattered sparks.
Before Ling Feng could even process what had happened, a spatial ripple appeared beneath his feet. The very ground seemed to twist and pull, yanking him off balance. He stumbled forward with a startled curse.
In the next instant, she was in front of him.
Slap!
A crisp, resounding slap echoed throughout the entire grand hall like a thunderclap. The Empress’s palm connected perfectly with Ling Feng’s left cheek. The force, amplified by her Primordial Void power and Spiritual Sea Realm cultivation, was devastating. Ling Feng’s head snapped violently to the side as he was sent spinning through the air. He crashed hard onto the polished marble floor several meters away, sliding across the stone with a painful groan.
The entire clan stared in stunned, breathless silence.
Ling Feng pushed himself up on shaking arms, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. His left cheek was already swelling into a bright red handprint, clearly visible from across the hall. Rage and humiliation twisted his once-handsome face into something ugly.
“You—!” he roared, spitting blood.
The Empress appeared before him again in a flicker of void steps, her movement so fast it left afterimages of black-purple mist in her wake.
Slap!
Another merciless backhand connected with his right cheek. The sound was even louder this time, echoing like a whip crack. Ling Feng’s head whipped in the opposite direction, and he staggered backward, nearly losing his footing.
“You dare challenge me with such pathetic strength?” the Empress spoke calmly, her voice cold and filled with utter disdain that carried to every corner of the hall. “How laughable. Is this the best our so-called core disciples can offer?”
Ling Feng’s arrogance had shattered. His eyes burned with fury and growing fear as he roared and unleashed his strongest technique, a barrage of sword shadows infused with his full power. Dozens of illusory blades screamed toward the Empress from every angle, each one sharp enough to cut through steel.
Yet every strike passed harmlessly through afterimages of swirling void mist. The Empress moved like a ghost, appearing and disappearing at will through short-range spatial steps. Her silver-white hair flowed elegantly as she danced through the storm of sword Qi without a single strand out of place.
Slap! Slap! Slap!
Three more humiliating slaps landed in rapid succession. Each one was delivered with precise, overwhelming force. Ling Feng staggered like a broken puppet, his face swelling grotesquely on both sides. Perfect red handprints burned brightly on his cheeks, a public brand of utter humiliation.
The crowd was speechless. Many younger disciples covered their mouths in shock. Elders exchanged wide-eyed glances. Ling Qingmei looked torn between concern and reluctant pride, while the Patriarch’s expression had grown solemn.
The Empress grabbed Ling Feng by his hair with one elegant hand, forcing him down onto his knees in front of the entire hall. She looked down at him with the same cold, regal indifference she might show to a worthless ant.
“You wanted to test me?” she asked softly, her voice carrying across the silent hall with effortless authority. “Then taste the difference between us.”
PAH!
A final, powerful slap sent Ling Feng sprawling across the floor. He slid several meters before stopping at the feet of the stunned elders. Blood and tears mixed on his ruined, grotesquely swollen face. He tried to push himself up, but his body refused to obey. His spirit sword lay forgotten several feet away, its blade cracked from the sheer backlash of power.
The hall remained deathly quiet for several long seconds before erupting into chaotic whispers.
“She… she didn’t even use a weapon…”
“Spiritual Sea Realm… this is the true power of the Young Mistress…”
“Ling Feng is finished…”
The Void Empress stood tall in the center of the hall, her robes pristine and her expression cold. Inside, however, she felt only mild satisfaction. This public humiliation had served its purpose perfectly. It solidified her authority within the clan and sent a clear message to any other ambitious fools who might dare challenge her.
“Pathetic.”
The single word rang through the grand audience hall like a death knell, cold and absolute. The Void Empress stood tall and regal in the center of the marble floor, her silver-white hair swaying gently as she looked down at the broken figure of Ling Feng.
“This is the so-called core disciple who dared to challenge me?” she continued, her voice carrying effortlessly to every corner of the hall. It was calm, yet laced with overwhelming disdain. “A peak Qi Condensation cultivator who cannot even withstand a few slaps. If this is the best the younger generation of our clan has to offer outside of myself, then it is no wonder we have been trampled and humiliated by the Heavenly Radiance Sect and the other vultures for so many years.”
She swept her piercing crimson eyes slowly across the assembled disciples and elders. The weight of her gaze was suffocating. One by one, the younger disciples lowered their heads in a mixture of awe, fear, and shame. Even several of the elders shifted uncomfortably, their expressions shaken by the overwhelming and ruthless display of power they had just witnessed. The casual ease with which she had dismantled a peak Qi Condensation expert without drawing a single weapon left a deep impression on everyone present.
Ling Qingmei watched her daughter with complex emotions swirling in her chest. There was immense pride, of course. Her child, had just asserted absolute dominance. But beneath that pride lay a trace of unease. The sheer ruthlessness and cold indifference in Zihan’s actions felt… different. More ancient. More terrifying.
The Empress turned her attention back to the fallen Ling Feng, who was still sprawled pathetically on the floor. Her crimson eyes were icy and merciless as she addressed him directly.
“Remember this moment well, Ling Feng,” she said, her voice soft yet cutting like a blade. “The next time you dare open your mouth against me, I will not be so merciful. This clan has suffered enough from internal weakness and foolish pride. From this day forward, I will rebuild the Primordial Void Immortal Clan into what it was always meant to be, a supreme power that makes the entire continent tremble. Those who support me will rise with me. Those who oppose me… will be crushed without hesitation. Do you understand?”
Ling Feng, his face grotesquely swollen with bright red handprints, could only nod weakly, blood dripping from his lips. “Y-Yes… Young Mistress…” he croaked, his voice barely audible.
Satisfied, the Empress turned away without sparing him another glance. Her dark purple robes flowed elegantly as she walked toward the exit of the grand hall. Su Qinglan followed silently a few steps behind her, eyes downcast and movements obedient. The young attendant’s cheeks were still faintly flushed, and she moved with the careful grace of someone whose body still remembered the thorough claiming from the night before.
The Patriarch, Ling Tianhao, finally broke the heavy silence. He rose from his throne; his voice filled with both shock and deep satisfaction.
“The Young Mistress has truly stepped into a new realm of power. What we have witnessed today is proof that the Void Clan’s hope has finally awakened. Let this be a turning point. From now on, we follow the Young Mistress’s lead without question!”
A wave of cheers and respectful murmurs gradually filled the hall, though many still cast nervous glances toward the humiliated Ling Feng, who was being helped up by a few reluctant disciples.
Inside, the reborn Void Empress felt only cold, calculated satisfaction. One arrogant fool dealt with. Many more await. Her heavy yang furnace throbbed warmly beneath her robes, already stirring with dark hunger at the thought of the next challenger, preferably broken in private, where she could fully enjoy turning their defiance into devoted submission.
She had taken the first step in reasserting her dominance over the clan. Soon, the entire Azure Veil Continent would learn that the Void Empress had returned.
End of Chapter 10