Chương 293: Divine Authority Scripture

I studied Yan Zixian carefully, noting the jade scepter he held loosely in his left hand while the Moonlit Dew Flower rested in his right. The scepter was clearly a high-grade artifact, his main spiritual tool and the source of that powerful command technique.

"The city lord's personal disciple," Liu Chang whispered.

"Half-step into the Elemental Realm. His techniques are... unusual." Yan Zixian examined the Moonlit Dew Flower with casual interest, turning it delicately in his hands as if he were inspecting a common marketplace trinket rather than one of the rarest treasures in the region.

"As I expected," he murmured.

"The crystalline structures are perfectly formed. This will please Master greatly." Lu Fang was the first to recover from the shock of Yan's arrival, his face contorting with rage as he struggled to his feet.

"City Lord's dog," he spat, corruption energy once again gathering around his oversized right hand.

"You think your master's position grants you authority here? This is sect business." Yan Zixian didn't even bother looking at Lu Fang, keeping his gaze fixed on the flower as he replied.

"How tedious. The barking of lesser cultivators always sounds the same, all noise, no substance." Yun Feng of the Holy Light Sect, still recovering from having the flower snatched from his grasp, stepped forward. Unlike Lu Fang's barely contained fury, Yun Feng's anger was cold and precise.

"The city may be your master's domain, but this valley recognizes no jurisdiction save power. Your presence changes nothing." For the first time, Yan Zixian looked up from the flower, his eyes sweeping across the gathered cultivators with undisguised contempt.

"You mistake my purpose. I'm not here to claim jurisdiction, I'm merely here to collect what rightfully belongs to Wuqi City."

"Rightfully?" Min Xiulan of the Morning Star Sect spoke for the first time.

"The valley's treasures belong to those who can claim them. No city charter overrules the cultivation world's oldest law." I shared a quick glance with Liu Chang and Su Yue, silently communicating through subtle eye movements. We needed to be ready to move the moment an opportunity presented itself. Yan Zixian might be the most powerful cultivator here, but with every major sect simultaneously opposing him, even he couldn't maintain control indefinitely.

"The law of the strong," Yan nodded, a thin smile spreading across his face.

"Yes, I'm quite familiar with it." He lifted his jade scepter casually.

"Allow me to demonstrate."

"Disperse." The single word rippled outward with tangible force. Unlike the previous "Kneel" command, this one carried a different energy, it was less blunt force and more precise manipulation. I felt it wash over me like a wave attempting to divert my attention and make me walk away. It was useless against me, really. The Genesis Seed's protection against mental manipulation was one of its most valuable aspects.

Unless someone's cultivation rank completely outclassed me, like Elder Thorn being six stages above me, I doubted any compulsion or restriction technique would have much effect. The seed created a sort of... barrier between external influences and my core will, filtering and neutralizing attempts to override my autonomy. I maintained a carefully crafted expression of struggle, allowing my body to sway slightly as if fighting the command.

No need to reveal my immunity, better to let Yan Zixian believe his technique was partially working. Around me, I noticed many other cultivators weren't so fortunate. At least half of the minor sect disciples and independent cultivators, who had just arrived after realising that this was the correct site, began unconsciously stepping backward, their expressions confused as their bodies moved against their will.

"Interesting technique," I muttered to Azure.

"It's almost like the Song techniques from the Lightweavers."

"There are parallels," Azure agreed in my mind.

"Both approaches use vibration patterns to influence spiritual and physical reality."

"And the name, Yan. I wonder if he's related to the Royal Yan Clan in the Imperial City," I speculated.

"Their techniques are famous for being enhanced by Heaven's Will."

"Unlikely," Azure responded.

"Yan is a common name, and the Royal Clan guards their bloodline techniques jealously. More probably, this is a parallel development or a watered-down version someone managed to acquire." He was probably right, I also didn't see the golden qi that carried Heaven's Will that the Yan Clan were known for. The five major sect teams, Black Palm, Holy Light, Morning Star, Five Elements, and Green Willow, had fully resisted Yan's command, along with our Azure Peak team.

The battle lines were clearly drawn now, with Yan Zixian at the center still holding the Moonlit Dew Flower.

"Impressive resistance," Yan acknowledged, seeming more amused than concerned.

"Though expected from disciples of the major sects. Perhaps a more... direct approach is needed." Lu Fang, never one for patience, made the first move. With a guttural roar, he charged at Yan, his corruption-shrouded fist arcing toward the City Lord's disciple.

"Black Palm Technique: Devouring Abyss!" Yan didn't dodge or even raise his hand in defense. Instead, he simply uttered a single word, focusing only on the demonic cultivator.

"Stop." Lu Fang's body froze mid-strike, his fist halting just inches from Yan's face. Beads of sweat formed on Lu Fang's forehead as he struggled against the invisible restraint, veins bulging with effort.

"Let me go, you basta—" Lu Fang's curse was cut short as Yan spoke again.

"Retreat." Lu Fang's body was violently hurled backward, tumbling across the clearing until he collided with a rock formation. Blood sprayed from his mouth at the impact, but he quickly staggered back to his feet, his eyes burning with murderous intent.

"A word of advice," Yan called out, still absently turning the flower in his hands.

"Next time you wish to challenge someone of higher status, consider whether your cultivation base can withstand the consequences." This casual dismissal seemed to be the breaking point for the remaining sects. As if by unspoken agreement, they attacked simultaneously. Yun Feng and his Holy Light disciples unleashed a coordinated barrage of light spears.

The Green Willow Sect, despite their injured teammate, lashed out with their signature jade whips, the flexible weapons weaving complex patterns as they sought any opening in Yan's defenses. The Five Elements team maintained their pentagram formation, but now directed their combined elemental beam toward Yan rather than the Black Palm disciples. Even the Morning Star Sect joined the assault, though more subtly.

Min Xiulan traced rapid patterns in the air, star-like motes of light swirling around her fingers as she manipulated probability itself. Yan Zixian sighed dramatically, as if dealing with unruly children.

"Shield." A dome of translucent energy materialized around him, absorbing the first wave of attacks without so much as a flicker. The combined might of four major sects crashed against his defense in a spectacular display of light and energy, yet it held firm. The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

"He's using a variant of the Divine Authority Scripture," Su Yue whispered.

"Each word carries the weight of absolute command."

"A rare and powerful method," Liu Chang agreed, his eyes never leaving the battle.

"But it has limitations. Each command drains significant spiritual essence, and the stronger the target's will, the more energy required to compel them." The battle intensified as Lu Fang rejoined the fray, his Black Palm disciples launching corrupting mist bombs to deteriorate Yan's shield. For several minutes, the clearing became a chaotic maelstrom of spiritual energy, techniques colliding and overlapping as every sect tried to break through Yan's defenses.

Throughout it all, Yan stood calmly, occasionally speaking a single word to counter specific threats or reinforce his shield. His expression remained one of mild inconvenience rather than concern. It wasn't like they were fighting a fellow Qi Condensation cultivator, but a genuine Elemental Realm expert! The first crack in Yan's perfect defense appeared when Min Xiulan completed a complex starlight diagram in the air before her.

"Fate Alteration: Improbable Convergence," she announced, her voice carrying a strange harmonic quality. The star-like motes surrounding her fingers suddenly shot forward, not directly at Yan's shield but at seemingly random points around the clearing. Each mote struck a different location, a rock, a patch of ground, a tree, before rebounding at precise angles. This cascade of light created an intricate web of interconnected energy lines that somehow, impossibly, all converged at a single point on Yan's shield.

Where they met, a hairline fracture appeared in the previously impenetrable defense.

"Now!" Min Xiulan called to her team.

"Probability window, three seconds!" The Morning Star disciples moved, each launching techniques aimed directly at the fracture point. Simultaneously, the Green Willow Sect leader spotted the opportunity and directed her remaining team members to focus their attacks on the same weak spot. Yan's eyes narrowed for the first time, genuine concentration replacing his casual demeanor.

"Reinforce," he commanded, but the word seemed to lack the same impact as before, as if Min Xiulan's probability manipulation had somehow reduced its effectiveness. The combined assault struck the fracture point, and Yan's shield shattered like glass. Before anyone else could capitalize on the opening, the Green Willow leader lunged forward with extraordinary speed, snatching the Moonlit Dew Flower from Yan's momentarily unprotected hands.

"I have it!" she exclaimed, already spinning away from Yan's reach.

"Cover me until it stabilizes!" Her celebration proved premature. Yan's composed expression never wavered as he pointed his jade scepter directly at her retreating form.

"Paralyze." The Green Willow leader's body seized up instantly, the flower slipping from her rigid fingers. Before it could hit the ground, Min Xiulan's hand shot out, a trail of starlight extending from her fingertips to wrap around the falling bloom.

"Probability shift: Favorable acquisition," she murmured, and somehow the flower changed trajectory mid-fall, arcing perfectly into her waiting palm.

"Twenty seconds to stability," she announced to her team, already backing away as her disciples formed a protective formation around her. Her eyes glowed with faint starlight as she continued tracing calculations in the air with her free hand.

"Maintain defensive pattern seven, probability of success: sixty-three percent and rising." The Morning Star formation was unlike anything I'd seen before, the disciples moved in patterns that seemed random at first glance but created unpredictable zones of safety and danger. Attacks that should have hit them somehow missed by hairsbreadths, while their own counterstrikes found gaps in their opponents' defenses with uncanny accuracy.

"She's manipulating fate itself," I realized aloud.

"Making improbable outcomes more likely while reducing the probability of opposition success."

"Fifteen seconds to stability," Min Xiulan counted down, her calculationss continuing without pause. Yan Zixian, however, seemed untroubled by this turn of events. He adjusted his stance slightly and raised his scepter.

"Truth." The single word echoed with a strange resonance, and immediately, the air around Min Xiulan's probability field rippled like disturbed water. The carefully calculated patterns of her star motes faltered and dispersed, their light dimming.

"What...?" Min Xiulan gasped, her eyes widening in shock.

"My calculations... they're being forcibly corrected to true probabilities!"

"Command words tied to fundamental concepts like 'Truth' bypass probability manipulation," Yan explained, almost lecturing.

"Your techniques rely on bending reality's rules while mine impose my will directly upon reality." I couldn't help but be impressed by the philosophical nuance of the confrontation. It was a clash between two fundamentally different approaches to manipulating reality, one working within the system to bend probability, while the other imposing external authority to override natural laws. Before Min Xiulan could recover, Yan was suddenly beside her.

"Yield," he commanded, his scepter touching her shoulder lightly. The Morning Star leader's hands opened involuntarily, and Yan reclaimed the flower once more.

"Ten seconds to stabilization," he noted calmly, looking at the crystal structures at the flower's center which had begun to emit a steady glow. Lu Fang saw his opportunity slipping away. With a bestial roar, he gathered his remaining strength and channeled it into his corrupted right arm, which swelled to nearly twice its previous size, black veins pulsing beneath the skin.

"Black Palm Forbidden Technique: Desolation Fist!" he bellowed, launching himself at Yan with reckless abandon. Yan turned to face the oncoming threat, his scepter already rising.

"Weak—" But before he could complete his command, a blinding flash of golden light struck him from behind. Yun Feng had managed to slip through the chaos, his Solar Gauntlets charged to maximum output as he delivered a devastating blow to Yan's unprotected back.

"The light purifies all corruption," Yun Feng declared as Yan staggered forward, momentarily stunned. Lu Fang's corruption fist connected in that moment of vulnerability, striking Yan squarely in the chest. The combined assault sent the City Lord's disciple crashing into the ground, a spray of blood erupting from his mouth. The Moonlit Dew Flower tumbled from his grasp once more. Despite his injuries, Yan wasn't finished. Through bloodied lips, he managed a single word.

"Repel!" A shockwave burst outward from his body, throwing both Lu Fang and Yun Feng backward. Yan struggled to one knee, his immaculate robes now torn and stained with blood, his features contorted with rage.

"Five seconds," came Min Xiulan's voice, her eyes fixed on the fallen flower which now pulsed with steadily brightening light.

"Three..." Lu Fang recovered first, diving for the flower with desperate speed. His fingers closed around it just as Min Xiulan counted "Two..."

"One," he growled triumphantly, his eyes lighting up as the flower's glow intensified, signaling its imminent stabilization. This was our moment.

"Now!" I commanded my team through spiritual transmission.

"Create an opening!" Su Yue reacted instantly, her hands forming a series of rapid seals.

"Crimson Solar Flare!" A blinding flash of red-gold light erupted from her palms, temporarily overwhelming the vision of everyone who wasn't prepared for it. Liu Chang seized the opportunity, charging directly at Lu Fang with earth-shaking steps.

"Lu Fang!" he roared, spiritual energy condensing around his fist.

"Immutable Titan Technique: Mountain Crushing Fist!" The Black Palm leader barely had time to raise a hasty defense, corruption energy swirling to meet Liu Chang's attack. The collision created a thunderous boom that sent shockwaves rippling through the clearing, forcing nearby cultivators to brace themselves against the blast. Lu Fang staggered backward, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, but he still clutched the flower tightly, a savage grin on his face despite the blow.

"Is that all you have, Liu Chang?" he taunted.

"Your techniques are as weak as ever!" But Liu Chang's attack wasn't meant to defeat Lu Fang, it was merely to position him. With a surge of concealed red sun energy, I activated Blink Step, disappearing from my position and reappearing directly behind the Black Palm leader. Before he could sense my presence, I struck with a technique I'd been saving for just such a moment.

"Phantom Strike Palm," I whispered, channeling spiritual energy enhanced by my runes into my hand and striking precisely between his shoulder blades. The technique penetrated his spiritual defenses like they weren't even there, Lu Fang's body convulsed, blood spraying from his mouth as internal damage bloomed throughout his system.

"That's for the sectless cultivator you tortured," I told him as he pitched forward, his grip on the flower failing. Time seemed to slow as the precious bloom spun through the air. Every cultivator in the clearing tracked its descent, many already moving to intercept. But I had the advantage of position and preparation. With another activation of Blink Step, I appeared directly in the flower's path, my hand outstretched to catch it.

My fingers closed around the silver stem just as a pulse of energy signaled its complete stabilization. The moment the flower touched my palm, I knew we'd succeeded. The spatial connection had broken, the Moonlit Dew Flower was now fully detached from the valley's energy matrix. I could feel its essence, concentrated and pure, no longer tethered to its birthplace. But success came with immediate consequences. As if a switch had been flipped, every cultivator in the clearing turned their attention toward me.

Lu Fang was struggling to his feet, blood still dripping from his mouth, his eyes burning with murderous intent. Yan Zixian had recovered his composure, his hand raised as he prepared another word of power. Min Xiulan was already calculating new probability webs, her fingers tracing hurried patterns in the air. Even the unlucky Green Willow members were moving to intercept. In that moment, with dozens of hostile gazes fixed upon me and the precious flower in my hand, only one thought crossed my mind - crap.