Chapter 7: Chu Yueli

The faint creak of the manor gates echoed as the servant silently left, vanishing into the shadows like dust in the wind. Sukuna stood still at the steps of the Fifth Elder's Xiao Manor, his marked face was calm, unreadable.

Both hands remained inside his black-and-white kimono.

Without turning, he spoke to the air behind him.

"Aren't you tired of hiding?" His voice was low, cold, and sharp like a blade drawn halfway from its sheath.

A pause followed silent and long enough to unsettle most. Then, it came. A voice, as soft and melodic as the whisper of wind against falling snow, floated in the air behind him.

"Impressive... for someone without even a trace of cultivation."

Slowly, she stepped forward. A woman in white robes, her presence serene and yet deeply oppressive. As she turned to reveal her face, the moonlight seemed to pause, caught in reverence.

Her beauty was celestial. Her skin, like untouched jade, shimmered under the light. No rouge tainted her cheeks, no powder masked her features only divine purity sculpted into a flawless visage. A beauty of ice and jade, of snow and pearl, too divine to be stained by mortal realms. Her gaze carried loftiness, the detachment of someone who dwelled above all worldly matters.

Sukuna however, was unimpressed and turned just enough to glance at her over his shoulder. A slow smile curved his lips not the warm or kind smile but an amused and dangerous one.

"Why is it you seem to follow me?" he asked, voice dripping with a bored curiosity. "Surely the holy fairies of the Frozen Cloud Asgard have better things to do than stalk crippled boys?"

The woman's eyes narrowed, her expression not changing, but the air around her shifted. An impossible cold spread from her, like an avalanche creeping silently over the land. The temperature plummeted. The ground began to frost.

But Sukuna remained unmoved.

"So… you do cultivate the Frozen Cloud Asgard's methods, eh?" he murmured, stepping once to the side as if to test the air. His voice was casual, but the pressure he gave off tightened the space between them.

Her lips parted slightly, startled. Before she could reply, Sukuna continued.

"I know that aura anywhere. I've already seen it… on Xia Qingyue. The same purity, the same frost beneath the elegance. Judging by your presence, your silence, your surveillance … you must be her Master."

He turned to face her fully now as she gave a slight twitch from her, the marks across his face those eerie Sukuna tattoos almost glowing under the moonlight.

"That confirms my suspicions. And one more thing…"

His cursed energy surged in an instant, the pressure more primal than any profound energy. His killer intent exploded outward, crashing into her like a tidal wave of dread. The sheer malice and overwhelming presence seemed to stretch from the depths of hell itself.

He stepped forward, calm and cold.

"Do not and I mean do not flare your killing intent at me again. Otherwise, I might not be able to control… what my hand does next."

A flicker. For a moment, just one, she saw it an illusion, a terrifying glimpse behind the curtain.

From an abyss painted in crimson, an entity with four faces and multiple arms emerged. A being unholy, ancient, cruel… then it was gone, like breath misting in winter.

Her eyes widened in shock. This didn't make sense.

She was a Sky Profound Realm cultivator. She had ascended the levels mortals dreamed of. Yet this youth before her had no cultivation. None. Not even at Elementary Profound.He was simply… nothing. And yet, he stood as if the world bowed to him.

She narrowed her gaze.

"What is it you want?" she asked sharply. "Why are you here? What is your aim with the Xiao family?"

Sukuna scoffed, rolling his eyes as if the question itself was beneath him.

"Don't act like you care about what happens to this cesspool of a city," he sneered. "The only reason you're here is because of Qingyue. That girl is all you Frozen Banshees care about."

Her expression turned colder.

"You're only a child with no cultivation. How dare you speak to me in such manner?" she snapped, blue eyes glinting like glaciers.

She raised a hand. Ice bloomed in the air, launching razor-sharp spikes at him.

With hands still inside his kimono, Sukuna's body twisted and danced between the attacks. He stomped once ice shattered under his heel. Another spike he ducked and sent a sharp kick forward.

The woman blocked, but her face twisted as pain erupted in her arm. Her body flew backward like a ragdoll, crashing hard into the stone street below.

Without a moment and Above her, Sukuna stepped forward.

"Beaten by someone with no cultivation,"he said with mocking gentleness, "You can do better than this. Or is this the level of Sky Profound Asgard's so-called 'masters'?"

He smiled.

"But that's only because I'm too nice. Instead of thanking me for giving you a chance to win, you're mocking me?"

Chu Yueli, bleeding from her lip, floated back up with trembling anger. This… this wasn't right.

Even body cultivators needed profound energy to support their strength. This kind of force wasn't possible. Not without breaking every natural law she understood.

She stared at the boy… no, thing in front of her. His markings. His posture. The hands that still hadn't left his robe.

With a snort, she summoned a sword, a flash of light.

She charged.

Only for Sukuna to disappear.

Her eyes widened then pain bloomed in her side.

He was behind her.

Her body flew again, vanishing into the horizon like a meteor.

"I had a feeling this wouldn't be boring." Sukuna's voice hummed as he looked around.

Slaves and servants had gathered, drawn by the noise.

Suddenly, the air froze real techniques this time. Spears of ice and killing intent rained from the skies.

But Sukuna didn't flinch.

They approached deadly, fast and inches away

‘Dismantle.’

A whisper.

In an instant, every spike, every spear, every shard was diced atomized into microscopic dust that shimmered and fell like snow.

Far above, Chu Yueli gasped.

'What… was that?' she thought. 'Did he stop it completely and erased my attacks? How is that even… possible…?"

She gritted her teeth, about to strike again when suddenly he was beside her.

"Still want to continue this pointless nonsense?" Sukuna asked, voice like a vice. "Or would you rather leave… before I make you leave?"

She hesitated.

Then finally, she clenched her fist, her eyes still locked on him.

"You've defeated me… this time." Her tone was cold, reluctant.

Sukuna smirked.

"Then don't forget. Perhaps next time…" his smile darkened, "you'll entertain me more."

She gave him one last glance before soaring away like a snowflake in retreat, her robes flowing like a divine swan cutting through the night.

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