Yao Tuohai’s abnormal behavior made the entire audience raise their eyebrows.

The entire audience was stirred up when he strolled down the platform.

Does Lord Yao want to take action himself?

His action had stirred excitement in everyone. Yao Tuohai was a well-known expert in the southwest province of the empire. Thirty years ago, he had already made a name for himself in the empire’s national examination and since then the current minister had treated him respectfully.

A few years ago, someone had speculated that Yao Tuohai had already set foot into the Heaven Ascension Stage and the only one who could compete with him in the entire southwest province was Great Commander Liu Wujun!

The fact that such a prestigious expert had come to Donglin City to preside over the district examination had already caused a great sensation. But now, he wanted to personally deal with Lin Xun and the little girl. This undoubtedly made the people even more excited.

Would it be a great honor to see a top expert in action?

The countenance of Yu Canglin, Wu Chaoqun and others on the platform had also changed. They were a little surprised and didn’t understand why Yao Tuohai did that.

Given his identity, how would he need to personally take action?

But regardless, no one could stop him.

Yao Tuohai clasped his hands behind his back, his manners akin to strolling idly in a courtyard. But his scholarly face was full of disdain like a king patrolling his territory.

Everyone was still and the atmosphere was somber. Everyone fixed their eyes on Yao Tuohai; their faces filled with excitement and anticipation.

No one cared about whether Lin Xun and the little girl would live or die. They only wanted to see how Yao Tuohai, who was well-known all over the southwest province, would capture the two!

Lin Xun felt a terrifying pressure. The suppression came from Yao Tuohai, who was strolling towards him. Every step that Yao Tuohai took made Lin Xun feel as though a boulder from Mount Tai was crushing down on him and his spirit, blood, flesh and aeth power were imprisoned.

Lin Xun’s face blanched but there was a fierce glint in his eyes. He felt a huge weight bearing down on him that made him unable to budge an inch and almost sank to his knees.

Xia Zhi’s black robe billowed wildly around her. Her transcendently beautiful face had a detached indifference and only her crescent-shaped eyes were shimmering with pale silvery light.

She was also bearing the terrifying pressure.

After all, Lin Xun, who only possessed a cultivation base of the sixth layer True Martial Stage, and Xia Zhi, who could at most go up against Spirit Dipper Cultivators, were far inferior to Yao Tuohai, who was strolling towards them.

Suddenly, Lin Xun quivered and a streak of blood overflowed his lips. His face had also turned deathly pale.

Xia Zhi’s heart throbbed with pain when she saw him like that. She subconsciously reached to grab his hand to share the pressure with him.

Yao Tuohai’s eyes lit up, and he lifted his right hand and made a grabbing motion in the air.

Buzz!

A giant invisible hand suddenly took shape in the air. It was bright and blazing with raging black flames, resembling a claw emerged from hell to absorb the life of the world!

The entire world seemed to be quaking at that moment and an indescribably terrifying power was released from black flame hand. It stifled even the audience and made their blood run cold like they had fallen into an ice cave.

But to Lin Xun and Xia Zhi, it resembled a sea of black flames descending upon them and drowning them. They couldn’t evade or escape no matter what they did.

Too terrifying!

Such a mysterious and terrifying power was beyond imagination. It was the power unique to the Heaven Ascension Stage—the power of imagination!

The two of them will no doubt be finished!

Everyone shared the same thought. Even a Spirit Sea cultivator would find it difficult to survive such a terrifying attack.

A look of shock washed over the face of Yu Canglin, one of the few Spirit Sea cultivators present, and his eyes went wide with fear.

It seemed slow but everything happened in the blink of an eye. The speed was so fast that it would make a person feel despair.

Lin Xun subconsciously exhausted all his strength to wrap his arms around Xia Zhi to protect her.

Xia Zhi instinctively struggled but she instantly calmed down when she felt Lin Xun’s warmth. Only the terrifying silvery light continued to burn in her eyes.

Suddenly, the world suddenly plunged into darkness. It was so abrupt and so fast that it felt like eternal night had come.

Almost at the same time, a drop of crystal-clear water silently emerged before the giant black flame hand.

The seemingly insignificant tiny drop of water caused Yao Tuohai’s pupils to constrict and an intense feeling of unease surged to his heart.

Bang!

The drop of water suddenly disintegrated and gathered to form a black flower. Its pure black color made it seem like it was picked from the eternal night and the cold petals exuded the aura of death through its beauty.

Yao Tuohai lost his usual calmness and composure when he saw the black flower bloom. His scholarly face dramatically changed and a cold stream rose in his heart.

The Black Glory Flower!

Why would it appear here?

Could it be…

Boom!

As the black flower blossomed, the beauty and glamor of the world went away. Yao Tuohai felt pain shoot through him like he had been severely wounded before he was sent flying across tens of feet and was slammed into the ground.

At the same time, the eternal night that shrouded the world faded and the black flower was gone. The heaven and earth restored its brightness and clearness, dazzling the eye.

Everyone looked perplexed. At that moment, they had experienced the darkness of eternal night, which felt like a fleeting nightmare, and they inexplicably shuddered with fear and panic.

What just happened?

Everyone peered around and saw Lin Xun protecting Xia Zhi with his body. But to their surprise, Lin Xun and Xia Zhi hadn’t been captured.

Their gaze shifted further and they saw Yao Tuohai fall on his buttocks more than tens of feet away. As though struck by lightning, they almost couldn’t believe their eyes.

Disheveled and ashen-faced, Yao Tuohai was filled with fear and panic. His imposing manner was completely gone and instead he looked distressed.

What actually happened?

The entire audience was dumbstruck and the atmosphere had become even more still. Even Yu Canglin, Wu Chaoqun and other influential people in Donglin City looked blank and their minds seemed to have drifted from them.

Lin Xun slowly lifted his head and glanced around. A hint of puzzlement came to his eyes. I’m not dead?

Xia Zhi also raised her little face and surveyed the surroundings. It was unknown what she had noticed but a rare nervousness crossed her beautiful little face and a familiar fretful feeling reappeared in the depths of her heart, only that it was much stronger than before.

At that moment, footsteps rang from afar, sounding particularly clear in the still and silent atmosphere.

Everyone subconsciously looked up and saw sixteen men in the empire’s black court attire. They were lined up in twos and bore solemn expressions as they came their way.

Even if they were walking, they maintained an extremely disciplined stance. Their every little movements were coordinated and orderly!

As they assembled on the square, everyone felt a terrifying pressure assaulting their faces. It was as though they weren’t facing sixteen people but an invincible army.

The people in their way seemed to be shrouded by an invisible force and moved aside without them realizing. It wasn’t until a good moment later that they noticed that they had changed spots and they trembled all over and sweated profusely.

Shua!

Meanwhile, Yu Canglin, Wu Chaoqun and other influential people from Donglin City got to their feet at the same time, aghast by the scene.

Yao Tuohai’s gaze turned complex when he saw the scene. He pushed himself up but his heart felt incomparably heavy.

Black Glory Envoys!

Which important person has come?

Lin Xun and Xia Zhi turned their heads at the same time.

……

Behind the sixteen men in black was a black carriage pulled by four mysterious black one-horned beasts.

The black carriage seemed to be constructed from the curtains of the eternal night. A complex starry sky scene akin to a rune pattern was floating on its surface.

The moment the peculiar army of people appeared, an invisible force stilled and silenced everyone.

No one knew how they entered Donglin Academy, why they came, or why no one stopped them.

An old man got up in the carriage, slowly opened the door, and bowed slightly. His manners were flawless.

𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

A woman came out of the carriage. Her hair was tied up in a high bun and secured with a black hollowed-out phoenix wood hairpin. She looked very young, and her fair and silky skin seemed very delicate. Her sky-blue eyes gave off a coldness and detachedness unique to those who were superior.

She wore a perfectly tailored gorgeous black set of robes that highlighted her slim figure. On her slender and fair pinky was a ring with black gems embedded. The ring was shaped like an open eye and was extremely frightening.

She was a traditional, graceful, noble and beautiful woman, but she exuded an aura of solitary, darkness, coldness and majesty that belonged to the superior.

However, almost no one could see her. They only saw a graceful and slender figure that seemed like a figure from the endless darkness. Apart from that, everything else was boundless darkness.

That kind of darkness seemed capable of devouring the soul and drowning everything in the world!

At that moment, fear surged in everyone’s hearts and everyone was as silent as cicadas in winter. The atmosphere grew increasingly deathly still and even the people on the platform felt a chill run down their spines like they had fallen into an ice cave.

Yao Tuohai’s expression was extremely complicated. He came to Donglin Academy to act as an external examiner of the district examination but his real purpose was to wait for the arrival of an important person!

However, he didn't expect the important person to stop him when he was trying to capture Lin Xun and Xia Zhi!

Why?

He couldn’t understand.

But it was enough to make his heart pound with fear and unease.

As though she sensed that Yao Tuohai’s emotions were fluctuating, she swept a glance over him after getting off the carriage and said in a unique, charming husky voice, “Given your strength, you don’t deserve to touch what doesn’t belong to you.”

Yao Tuohai’s face blanched.

The woman paid no more attention to him but she shifted her gaze to Xia Zhi…