Beyond the Timescape

Chapter 73: The Overbearing Second Highness

Among the three personal disciples of the Seventh Peak’s Peak Master, the third disciple was renowned for his bold personality, smooth social skills, and extensive network of friends.

But when it came to a volatile temper and the sheer terror instilled in fellow disciples, the Second Senior Sister stood completely unrivaled. This dread wasn’t confined to the Seventh Peak; it bled into every corner of the Sect.

Everyone knew the Seventh Peak’s Second Highness possessed a hair-trigger temper and monstrous, physics-defying physical strength. The slightest verbal slight guaranteed a brutal beating. Over the years, she had hospitalized an uncountable number of Foundation Establishment cultivators across the peaks.

Backed by astonishing personal power and an untouchable pedigree, reasoning with the Second Highness was a fool’s errand. Her tyrannical dominance was a recognized fact of life within the Seven Blood Eyes.

Even the Elders rubbed their temples when she approached. Regular disciples simply fled.

Her infamy extended far beyond the Sect’s borders, spilling out into the Endless Sea. She had butchered countless pirates, and her mere name was enough to make the smaller maritime tribes tremble.

As she stood in the doorway, her oppressive aura crushed the air out of the room. Xu Qing’s threat-assessment instincts screamed. His muscles tensed, reacting exactly as they would if he had stumbled across a Peerless predator in the depths of the forbidden zone.

The suffocating pressure she radiated eclipsed even Deacon Li.

Compared to her, the Vajra Sect Patriarch was nothing but a joke.

Xu Qing’s vigilance spiked to its absolute limit. He instinctively retreated half a step, his breathing shallow and controlled, eyes scanning her massive frame for any weak points—though he found none.

The brutal, blood-soaked violence rolling off the Second Senior Sister was suffocating.

Glancing past her massive silhouette, Xu Qing noted the street outside had completely emptied. No one dared linger in her blast radius.

Except for Huang Yan. The little fatty seemed entirely immune to the crushing pressure. His scheme having succeeded, his face flushed with ecstatic excitement.

He scurried over to the towering woman, immediately adopting a look of profound grievance.

“Senior Sister~!” he whined. “This shopkeeper and that stinky fish claimed the items I brought for you were stolen goods from the Vajra Sect! Senior Sister, I, Huang Yan, am an upright, honest, and incomparably sincere man! I am devoted, gentle, and considerate! I will only love you for my entire life! They can slander me—I can bear that—but they cannot slander the gifts I prepared for you!”

He puffed out his chest. “Slandering your gifts is slandering my eight years of unwavering devotion!”

Standing beside the muscle-bound Second Senior Sister, the little fatty looked absurdly mismatched. The height and sheer mass difference made them look like a toddler standing next to a siege engine.

Only his massive, rotund belly offered any sense of proportional scale.

His whining declaration caused the entire shop to freeze. A collective, sharp intake of breath echoed through the room. The spectating disciples from the various peaks stared in absolute, slack-jawed disbelief. Even Zhang San, hidden in the crowd, looked utterly bewildered.

The shopkeeper’s face drained of all color. He murmured, his voice trembling, “The Second Highness… is your Senior Sister?”

The phrasing was clumsy, but it perfectly encapsulated the apocalyptic realization crashing down on the extortionist’s mind.

Everyone present knew of Huang Yan. He was a minor celebrity on the Seventh Peak, though his fame stemmed entirely from his relentless “infatuation.”

Gossip about his eight-year pursuit of a mysterious Senior Sister was common knowledge. The sheer volume of wealth he had squandered on gifts could have purchased several prime real estate storefronts.

Most assumed Huang Yan possessed hidden backing; otherwise, a fat sheep flaunting that much wealth would have been butchered long ago. Yet, the gossip was always laced with mockery. They viewed his fawning, subservient pursuit of a woman as pathetic.

But now, the mockery vanished. Zhang San, the shopkeeper, and the surrounding disciples stared at the little fatty with unprecedented reverence. Unconscious, burning envy flared in their eyes.

If *this* was the Senior Sister in question… they wanted one too.

Forget eight years. They would gladly grovel for eighteen, or even twenty-eight years, for the backing of such a terrifying patron.

Xu Qing’s mind raced, recalibrating his assessment of the situation. He looked from the little fatty to the hulking Second Highness. He had never calculated that the object of Huang Yan’s eight-year obsession was the apex predator of the Seventh Peak.

The pieces clicked into place. Huang Yan hadn’t just been defending his pride; he had deliberately escalated the conflict to draw his Senior Sister out, using the extortion attempt as an excuse to see her.

Xu Qing looked at the incredibly smug fatty, then at the tyrannical Second Highness, and remained perfectly silent, keeping his hands near his daggers.

Faced with Huang Yan’s whining, the Second Highness merely raised a single, scarred eyebrow. She stepped forward. As she passed the merman youth, who had his head bowed in submission, she didn’t speak. She only shot him a look of absolute, crushing disdain.

Huang Yan, trailing behind her like a loyal hound, mimicked the expression, lifting his chin and snorting arrogantly.

That single glance from the Second Highness struck the merman youth like a physical blow. His body trembled violently as he fought to restrain his instincts, the blood draining from his face betraying his deep-seated terror.

His mind flashed back to the slaughter on the merman islands thirty years ago. Her blood-soaked silhouette carving through his people was burned into his race’s collective memory.

Back then, the Seven Blood Eyes’ Seventh Peak had held a major competition. Due to the wickedness of the human race and the noble defiance of his great merman race, the Seventh Peak’s competition grounds were arranged within merman territory.

It was also a suppression. After that event, the two sides became “allies” once more.

Although the merman race later faced several extinction crises, all were resolved in time by the Seven Blood Eyes, who provided many supplies. But in the eyes of all mermen, this was merely their due. They considered becoming allies with humans a disgrace in itself.

Though countless emotions churned within him, he kept his head deeply bowed, not daring to lift it. In his heart, he roared silently, believing that his merman race would one day make the Seven Blood Eyes pay the price.

Seeing his submission, the Second Highness’s disdain only deepened. She walked up to Xu Qing and gave him a cold look.

Xu Qing took a deep breath, his expression solemn, and bowed with clasped fists.

“Greetings, Second Highness.”

“Senior Sister, this is Xu Qing, my brother. He got dragged into this because of me.” Huang Yan, having collected the items he had taken out earlier, introduced Xu Qing with a hint of pride in his expression.

The Second Highness nodded slightly, ignoring Xu Qing, and walked to the counter. There, she swung the massive black greatsword in her hand and slammed it down onto the counter with a loud thud.

The black greatsword was incredibly heavy. Even though the wooden counter was quite sturdy, it creaked and collapsed under the weight, the sword’s tip pressing directly against the shopkeeper’s belly. The cold gleam emanating from it caused sweat to pour down the shopkeeper’s forehead, his face deathly pale as he trembled and whispered.

“Second Highness, I…”

“You said my things were stolen goods?” the Second Highness asked calmly.

The shopkeeper broke out in even more sweat, his back soaked through, his face bitter. He inwardly wailed. Today, he had only wanted to make a quick profit, but this little fatty had appeared out of nowhere. And he could never have dreamed that behind this little fatty stood such a formidable figure.

He couldn’t afford to provoke the person before him. He even felt that not only he, but probably even the Deacon who had arranged this scheme wouldn’t want to easily provoke this tyrannical Second Highness.

After all, she was the Seventh Peak’s treasured princess, deeply doted on by Seventh Master.

So, he stammered hurriedly.

“A m-misunderstanding… it’s a misunderstanding. I was mistaken. How could these possibly be stolen goods…”

Watching this scene, a profound light flashed in Xu Qing’s eyes. He understood deeply that strength was the eternal, unchanging principle of this world. Especially the words that followed from the Second Highness, which made him understand what true tyranny meant.

“You weren’t mistaken. These are indeed stolen goods. I was the one who raided the Vajra Sect. Do you have any objections?” the Second Senior Sister said coldly, pushing her sword forward slightly, piercing the shopkeeper’s clothes and touching his belly.

The shopkeeper trembled, sweat pouring even more profusely from his forehead. He looked submissive, unsure how to respond.

“Tell the person behind you that the Vajra Sect matter was my doing. Also, go tell the Vajra Sect that within three days, they must come to apologize to me. The gift must satisfy me.”

In the Second Senior Sister’s words, there wasn’t a single explicit threat, but everyone who heard them understood deeply: if the Vajra Sect didn’t come to apologize, or if the gift’s value was insufficient, then… the Vajra Sect would cease to exist in this world.

This statement displayed the Second Highness’s tyranny to the fullest. Then, she glanced at the scattered items on the ground.

“Will you take these or not?”

“I’ll take them… I’ll take them…” the shopkeeper hurriedly said, not daring to breathe heavily. He quickly took out one hundred Spirit Stones, then, seeing the Second Senior Sister raise an eyebrow, he gritted his teeth and took out another one hundred.

Two hundred Spirit Stones were all placed to the side. He forced a smile toward Huang Yan and Xu Qing, his eyes pleading.

Without further ado, the Second Senior Sister picked up the greatsword that had smashed the counter and turned to leave. As she passed the merman youth, she spoke with disgust.

“Get out of my way. You’re blocking my path, and you reek of fish.”

The merman youth trembled even more violently but ultimately remained silent and took a few steps back.

“We bid farewell to the Second Highness!”

As the Second Highness reached the doorway, everyone in the shop bowed with clasped fists, speaking respectfully.

Xu Qing looked up, taking a deep look at the Second Senior Sister’s back, and also bowed.

Huang Yan, looking incredibly smug, glanced at the silent crowd and patted Xu Qing’s shoulder.

“See? That’s my Senior Sister, my goddess. Let’s see who dares slander us now.”

“But you, kid, are really something. For my sake, you didn’t hesitate to take action and were even willing to take the blame. I’ll remember this. I’m someone who repays kindness. I don’t have anything good on me right now, but when I see something nice later, I’ll give it to you as a gift.”

Huang Yan, looking supremely pleased, finished speaking with a flourish. Without waiting for Xu Qing to respond, he rushed out excitedly, chasing after the Second Highness.

“Senior Sister, wait for me…”

Xu Qing still looked somewhat dazed. After a long moment, he withdrew his gaze from the doorway. His eyes seemed to unintentionally glance at the hem of his robe, then at the now-gloomy-faced merman youth. A faint, dark light flashed in his eyes but quickly returned to normal.

He picked up the two hundred Spirit Stones the shopkeeper had given, and under the other’s bitter gaze, avoiding eye contact, he walked out of the shop without even glancing at the merman youth.

After leaving the shop, Xu Qing straightened his robe, brushed off the hem, and his expression darkened.

Meanwhile, inside the shop, the merman youth watched Xu Qing’s departing back, his face ugly. He was in an extremely foul mood, his eyes filled with loathing.

“Those who have crossed me, even if they escape, rarely live long. It’s a pity I usually don’t get to see them die.”

Snorting inwardly, the youth withdrew his gaze, flicked his sleeve, and walked out of the shop.

To him, Xu Qing was just an ant. If not for Huang Yan today, he would have surely killed him.

“Everyone from the Seven Blood Eyes deserves to die. That brat stole my credit and deserves death even more. Sooner or later, he’ll be a dead man.”