In the floating obsidian halls of the Sect of Ancient Void, the air suddenly cracked. The dark seed, linked to Fang Yuan's very soul, had vanished. He felt the snap—a tiny, sharp sting against his vast consciousness
Fang Yuan sat motionless on his throne, his eyes closed. Below him, the enslaved elders shivered, waiting for the mountain-leveling rage that usually followed a Rank 9's failure. The silence was heavy, thick enough to suffocate a mortal.
Then, the shoulders of the Patriarch began to shake.
A low, guttural chuckle echoed through the hall, growing into a full, resonant laugh that made the floating islands tremble. It wasn't the laugh of a man who was angry; it was the laugh of a gambler who had finally found a worthy opponent.
"System," Fang Yuan whispered, a dark joy dancing in his hollow eyes. "Did you see that? He didn't just resist; he used a concentrated needle to pierce my essence. At Rank 4—no, he's Rank 3 now—he mimicked the mechanics of a World Breaker."
[System Analysis: Host's 'Sovereign Seed' was destroyed by the 'Law of the Smallest Point'. Lu Chen's potential has increased by 40% due to his defiance. Energy quality of the target 'Yue Xiao' is now 100% pure frost.]
"Perfect," Fang Yuan stood up, walking to the edge of the floating terrace to look toward the white horizon of the North. "If she had kept my seed, she would have been a puppet—easy to harvest, but limited. Now, she is a pure Ice Goddess, and he is a martyr. Their 'love' and 'struggle' will act as a pressure cooker, refining their Qi to levels this world has never seen."
He waved his hand, and a screen of dark smoke manifested. "I won't kill him. I won't even slow him down. In fact, give him more. Let the world think he is the only hope. The more they believe in him, the more 'Fate' he will accumulate. And when the countdown reaches zero... I will take that Fate for myself."
"Let the hero have his moment," Fang Yuan's smile widened, revealing teeth that looked like shards of void. "A feast is always better when the ingredients think they've escaped the chef."