Vogue’s figure appeared at the exit of the stairway in a brilliant flash of silver lightning, emerging from the Jadepier Pavilion like a meteor tearing through the night sky. His Thunderstorm Wings beat powerfully behind him, creating crackling arcs of electricity that illuminated the massive underground hall.

He shot straight across the enormous chamber at incredible speed, his body leaving afterimages in the air as he covered the distance toward the main entrance in mere seconds.

Just as Vogue reached the center of the hall and approached the black altar table where the mysterious portrait had been enshrined, his enhanced spiritual sense detected something that made alarm bells ring in his mind.

Behind him, he felt a massive surge of spiritual energy—not from the direction of the pavilion where the battle was raging, but from somewhere much closer. Someone had positioned themselves to intercept him.

Vogue’s instincts, honed through countless life-or-death battles, screamed a warning. He immediately changed direction mid-flight without any visible hesitation, his body twisting in midair with impossible agility.

In the exact instant he altered course, a blinding streak of silver light shot through the space where his body had been just a fraction of a second earlier. The attack was a spinning disc of pure metallic energy—moving so fast it created a visible distortion in the air as it passed.

Mr. Yun’s silver wheel artifact! Vogue identified instantly. He must have split off from the main battle and circled around to cut off my escape route. Clever bastard.

The silver wheel, having missed its target, spun once in a wide arc before shooting back toward its master like a boomerang returning to its thrower.

The light from the spinning artifact faded away to reveal a silhouette standing directly between Vogue and the exit passage. Mr. Yun’s form materialized from the shadows, his white robes billowing dramatically around him as spiritual energy swirled through the air.

The elderly cultivator’s face showed a complex mixture of emotions—frustration, determination, calculation, and perhaps a trace of genuine regret buried beneath layers of cold pragmatism.

Mr. Yun spoke in a measured tone, his voice carrying clearly across the hall despite the muffled sounds of explosive combat echoing from the pavilion behind them:

"I’m genuinely impressed, Fellow Cultivator Vogue. I truly didn’t expect you to possess such heaven-defying abilities at your apparent age and cultivation level. Your movement technique alone rivals anything I’ve witnessed in decades of experience. And that ice flame technique you demonstrated against Brother Long..."

He shook his head slowly, almost admiringly. "That was masterfully executed. Brother Long was an experienced combatant, yet you defeated him before he could even mount a proper defense. I must acknowledge your exceptional talents."

Mr. Yun’s expression hardened, becoming colder and more resolved. "However, regardless of how impressive your capabilities may be, I cannot allow you to leave this chamber with that jade box. The secrets it contains are far too valuable—far too dangerous—to fall into uncontrolled hands."

His hands moved in a complex series of gestures, and the silver wheel hovering above his head began rotating slowly, building momentum. "So I’m afraid I must insist that you surrender the jade box immediately and submit to being restrained. If you cooperate peacefully, I give you my word that we’ll spare your life once this matter is concluded. You’re too talented to waste—we could use someone of your abilities in our organization."

The white mist that characterized Mr. Yun’s signature defensive technique began spreading around his body, making his form appear indistinct and difficult to target precisely. This was clearly a cultivator who had no intention of underestimating his opponent after seeing what happened to Brother Long.

Vogue hovered in midair approximately thirty meters away from Mr. Yun, his eight elemental wings spread wide and crackling with residual lightning. His transformed appearance—with four dragon heads, multiple arms, and scale-covered skin—made him look like some kind of ancient demon from mythology rather than a human cultivator.

For a long moment, Vogue simply stared at Mr. Yun in complete silence. His multiple eyes—the normal human ones plus the eyes of his four manifested dragon heads—all focused on the white-clothed cultivator with cold, analytical intensity.

Then, without any warning whatsoever, Vogue’s lips curved into a faint, mocking smile.

He raised one of his four hands casually and made a dismissive gesture—as though brushing away an annoying insect rather than responding to a serious threat from a Luminous Realm expert.

When Vogue finally spoke, his voice carried absolute contempt and zero fear:

"Surrender? Submit to restraint? Join your organization?" He laughed—a short, harsh sound completely devoid of humor. "You actually believe I would trust any promise from someone who just betrayed a friend of a hundred years for profit? Your word means nothing. Less than nothing."

Vogue’s expression became even colder, his smile vanishing entirely. "Here’s the reality you seem to have missed while making your little speech: I don’t need your permission to leave. I don’t need to negotiate with you. And I certainly don’t need to surrender anything to you."

His Thunderstorm Wings flared with increased intensity, arcs of silver lightning dancing between the layered feathers. "You want this jade box? Come and take it from me. But understand something clearly before you make that decision—I’ve already killed far more powerful cultivators than you during my trial. One more corpse won’t trouble my conscience in the slightest."

The absolute confidence and killing intent in Vogue’s voice caused Mr. Yun’s expression to flicker with uncertainty for just a moment. Is he bluffing? the old man wondered. Or does he genuinely believe he can defeat me in single combat?

But Mr. Yun quickly suppressed any doubts. He was a mid-Luminous Realm cultivator with decades of combat experience and multiple refined techniques at his disposal. This boy might have impressive movement speed and that dangerous ice flame, but there was no way he could match Mr. Yun’s overall combat power.

Speed alone isn’t enough to win a real battle, Mr. Yun reminded himself firmly. And now that I’ve seen his ice technique once, I won’t be caught off-guard like Brother Long was. I just need to maintain distance, use ranged attacks, and wear him down gradually.

Mr. Yun’s hands moved decisively, forming rapid seal patterns. The silver wheel above his head suddenly split—becoming two identical wheels that spun in opposite directions, creating a mesmerizing pattern of reflected light.

"Since you refuse the peaceful option," Mr. Yun said with cold finality, "then I have no choice but to take what we need by force. Try not to die too quickly, young man. Your talents are genuinely wasted in death."

Both silver wheels shot forward simultaneously from different angles, moving with blinding speed as they attacked Vogue from two directions at once. The wheels spun so fast they became barely visible blurs, creating high-pitched whining sounds as they tore through the air.

Vogue’s multiple eyes tracked both projectiles with enhanced perception. Time to see just how effective my Laws are against mid-Luminous techniques, he thought.

His silver Time dragon head opened its jaws, and Vogue spoke a single word with absolute authority:

"Stop."

The world seemed to freeze for an instant. The two spinning silver wheels halted completely in midair as though they had struck invisible walls, their momentum arrested impossibly mid-flight.

Mr. Yun’s eyes widened in genuine shock. Time manipulation?! This boy has comprehended Time Law?!

But the frozen moment lasted only about two seconds before Vogue’s time-stopping effect broke under the strain of affecting mid-Luminous artifacts. The wheels resumed their spinning and trajectory, though their speed had been noticeably reduced.

Those two seconds were more than enough.

Vogue’s figure blurred and vanished entirely from his hovering position. In the next instant, he materialized behind Mr. Yun—having used the time stop to reposition through instant movement.

Mr. Yun’s combat instincts saved his life. Despite the shock of encountering time manipulation, he reacted with veteran reflexes. His body was immediately enveloped in blinding white mist that became so dense it appeared almost solid, forming a spherical barrier around him.

At the same time, both silver wheels curved in midair and shot back toward their master, positioning themselves as defensive shields between Mr. Yun and the approaching Vogue.

Vogue didn’t press the attack directly. Instead, his Thunder dragon head opened its white-gold jaws and released a concentrated beam of crackling lightning—the Thunder Prison Palm technique manifested as a ranged assault.

"BOOM!!"

The lightning beam struck the spinning silver wheels head-on, creating a massive explosion of electrical discharge. Thunder roared through the hall loud enough to make the walls tremble.

The silver wheels were blown backward by the tremendous impact, smashing into Mr. Yun’s defensive mist barrier with enough force to create visible ripples in the white energy.

Mr. Yun staggered backward several steps from the combined impact, his face showing strain. This boy’s offensive power is far beyond what his cultivation level suggests! Those attacks carry force equivalent to early to mid-Luminous cultivator!