Bai Yunfei initially thought Dongfang Ming was trying to escape from the seal, but a precursory scan of the Core World told him that this wasn’t the case. Eyebrows furrowed, he waved his right hand and gave it a wave.

Everyone watched in curiosity at Bai Yunfei’s actions, curious what he was doing. There was a bright flash light before a figure appeared out of nowhere.

“Dongfang Ming!!”

Huangfu Nan snarled in anger at the sight of the man. He stepped forward as if to inflict harm onto the man, but then he paused when he saw the state of Dongfang Ming.

He wasn’t the only one to give pause. Several others looked on in shock as well.

Everyone could tell that Dongfang Ming was in a very terrible state!

Rather than stand straight, Dongfang Ming was stooped over like a hunchback. His skin was unblemished and without injury, though the newly-healed parts looked as pale as bone that made him seem more like a shell than an actual person. There was a dark-red light that circled around his person like a chain, though it flickered weakly as if ready to disappear at any second.

The biggest eye-catcher was his chest, specifically the part where his heart was. The way his chest heaved in and out made it seem like his heart was trying its very best to burst out from his chest. In fact, with the light that was glowing from that area, and how forceful it was in its thumping, the outline of his heart could be seen and heard by everyone in the hall.

No one could tell how he was since the Soul Sealing Mandate had sealed his soulforce, meaning it was impossible to tell. But no one needed to use their soulforce to tell that Dongfang Ming was in a very dangerous state right now.

“Sealer, what’s going on?” Bai Yunfei asked.

The white ball of light several inches over Dongfang Ming’s head emitted a bright flash of light before a small tiger flew out from it.

For many of the people in the halls, this was their very first time seeing the spirit of a Regalia. Even Shen Pojun found himself staring at the apparition with wide-opened eyes.

“I’ve nothing to do with it,” The tiger shrugged its paws, “he’s doing this himself. I think...this is the backlash of a demon armament.”

“A backlash!?” Bai Yunfei repeated, “Clarify that, if you can. Did he do anything before he was sealed?”

“Well, his body hasn’t really stopped ‘moving’ since he was sealed. Isn’t that why his body is healed now? But that’s just on the physical level. His soulforce is pretty much empty. He’s been struggling for a long time now, and he’s even tried summoning his two demon armaments, without success of course. I could tell he used some kind of technique since his core started to act differently when I called for you. His spirit got a lot stronger because of that and he definitely tried to break the seal...

“But he’s underestimating me if he thought that last-ditch effort could break my seal...” The tiger mewled with pride, “I wouldn’t be a Regalia if I could be overpowered by something like that...his soulforce weakened after some time and that’s why he’s like this now—if I’m not wrong, then the demon armament is now causing a backlash after being used like that.”

“The backlash of a demon armament...what kind of effect will that have?” Bai Yunfei asked.

“It won’t be pretty, and it won’t be weak. But it’s hard to imagine what the price will be in this case—his demonic body is pretty close to collapsing right now. I can’t even say his physical body compares to even the regular soul cultivator. His core is eating away at his own soul. He’s fighting against it, but if you ask me...it’s a losing battle.”

The tiger looked up to Bai Yunfei. “And his death means the death of the spirit of his core.” It added.

“What?”

Huangfu Nan realized the implications immediately, “That can’t be! He can’t be allowed to die! If he does, then...”

“Is there a way to save him, Sealer?”

“What for? If he dies, he dies...” Sealer shook its head, “I can’t do a thing to save him. The self-destruction of a demon armament isn’t something anyone can stop But...prolonging his life isn’t impossible.”

“Oh? How do we do that then?”

“Nothing. A sliver of his soul will be safe as long as he’s under my seal. He’ll die the moment I undo the seal.”

“That’s it?” Bai Yunfei asked. He was admittedly surprised by the solution, but then he took note of another change taking place in Dongfang Ming.

Turning his head, he watched as the core in Dongfang Ming’s chest slowly came to a stop. The red light around his body receded back into his chest and faded out from sight. His head drooped down, as if exhausted, but he no longer looked like he was in pain like before.

Believing that Dongfang Ming had been saved somehow, he turned back to Sealer to say something, but the Regalia beat him to it.

“If I’m not wrong, then his soul is already close to death, and by extension, his core. His death is certain the moment I undo my power—pah, that’s all these demon armaments amount to anyways.”

A sliver of light shined as Dongfang Ming raised his head. Sweeping his eyes around the hall, Dongfang Ming looked shocked at where he was. A sneer appeared on his lips when his eyes fell upon Bai Yunfei. “You’re still unharmed? Was that Mo Ni too afraid to use his last resort and fled?”

“Last resort? Are you talking about Gu Lianhun? He appeared, but he ended up running off. He was only the avatar of a Saint long past his prime. Do you really think that’d be enough to stop our school?” Bai Yunfei retorted.

“What?!” Dongfang Ming’s eyes widened in disbelief. He looked around the hall, scanning the faces of everyone in hopes that Bai Yunfei was lying, but he couldn’t find any evidence of it.

“Heal my master and little Rui, and I’ll let you live!” Bai Yunfei demanded.

Multiple people were surprised by his statement. Some even found themselves opening their mouths to say something, but when they thought about the situation both Zi Jin and Huangfu Rui were in, no one could find it in themselves to speak up.

“Let me live?” Dongfang Ming looked confused for a moment, but he must’ve realized Bai Yunfei knew about his situation, as his eyes frosted over a moment later. “Do you think you can threaten me? How naive...”

He looked over to Zi Jin and Huangfu Rui next. It was evident how joyful he was, as the sneer he had on his lips grew even more mirthful at the sight of the two.

“Dongfang Ming!!”

The furious voice of Huangfu Nan boomed across the halls. Stalking toward the man, Huangfu Nan gave Dongfang Ming a death glare. “I know you hate me! Take my life if you must, but release my daughter!”

But Dongfang Ming was unmoved. If anything, he looked even happier to see the state of his most hated enemy. With how pleased he was at the misfortune of others, Dongfang Ming didn’t even feel like a prisoner on the verge of death.

“Dongfang Ming...” Bai Yunfei spoke his name slowly, “What do you want?!”

“What do I want?” Dongfang Ming barked with laughter, “What can I do? Do you really take me to be cowed by your demands? I know my situation, I know I will die the moment the Soul Sealing Mandate releases me, however...”

He paused for a brief moment. Eyes staring deep into Bai Yunfei’s own, Dongfang Ming looked as though there was a joke only he knew about, “I advise you to avoid that, least you regret it...”

Bai Yunfei felt his heart sink at Dongfang Ming’s words, “What do you mean?”