Chapter 113: Enhancing the Soul-Shaking Hammer

"What's going on?"
"Is there another enemy attack?"
"Alert! Stay on alert!"
"Oh no, I can't see anything!"

Once bitten, twice shy. Longhu Mountain was currently in exactly that state. The sudden darkness plunged the entire mountain into a state of panic. Even the Old Celestial Master, who had been meditating in his room, was startled by the abrupt onset of darkness.

He rose slowly and pushed open the door to step outside. What met his eyes was absolute blackness. Although everything was shrouded in gloom, the Old Celestial Master remained calm. He could sense that the source of this peculiar energy was in the guest room at Longhu Mountain, where Ye Yan was being kept.

"Is he waking up?" The Old Celestial Master looked up, gazing into the distance. He had never been overly worried about whether Ye Yan would wake; he trusted that Ye Yan would not be trapped by a mere curse. If he couldn't even resolve such a minor problem, then the title of "Watchman" would truly be undeserved.

Smiling and shaking his head, the Old Celestial Master turned back, closed his door, and returned to his contemplations.

The darkness had come suddenly. It wasn't just the junior disciples of Longhu Mountain who were shocked; people like Li Ziyuan, Zhang Lingyu, and Xu San were also caught in a moment of panic. However, fortunately, they were close to Ye Yan and soon discovered the source of the dark spectacle.

Before them, Ye Yan was wrapped in a cluster of deep red light, resembling a piece of clear crystal. The light came and went quickly; the moment the red glow vanished, the dark sky gradually returned to its natural state. The group, seeing light once more, looked at each other in confusion, unsure of what had transpired.

Li Ziyuan scratched her head clumsily. "Uncle San, what was that just now? Why did it suddenly get so dark? It’s so strange..."

"It must have been Ye Yan," Xu San said, his expression grave as he looked at Ye Yan on the bed.

Zhang Lingyu was stunned. "He... that's impossible. He is merely a human; how could he possibly have the ability to alter the heavens?" Though he found it hard to believe, he had witnessed the sudden mutation himself. The darkness, the oppression, and the silence had spread far and wide—it seemed to have covered the entire Longhu Mountain, as evidenced by the cries of alarm.

Even his master, the supreme powerhouse of the age, could cause the sky to darken when unleashing his full power with the Lightning Method. But the darkness just now had been deeper than night itself, something far beyond human capability. Zhang Lingyu was shaken to his core. A thought even crossed his mind: *Could Ye Yan be stronger than his master?*

He immediately dismissed the notion. Ye Yan could not be stronger than his master; the event must have been an accident.

***

In the dream world, atop the shattered graveyard, a red light abruptly spiraled open. Following it, the massive cocoon enveloping Ye Yan shattered with a roar.

Amidst the brilliant black light, Ye Yan stepped out, walking over the broken silken threads and loose soil. As he moved, the cropped hair atop his head began to grow, reaching his shoulders in the blink of an eye. Black mist coalesced around his body, forming a black robe with intricate patterns, a hood, and red trim. The hem of the robe trailed behind him, swaying gently with every step he took. His eyes were hollow, the color of the night, devoid of any emotion.

At this moment, he was like a beast that had just crawled out of the darkness—solitary and desolate. He was a companion to the night, a being at odds with the light.

The complete Sovereign Personality granted him incomparable power. Combined with the "Blackened Mode," Ye Yan, now in full command of the Sovereign Personality, exuded an intense sense of oppression with every gesture.

"Nightmare, come out—"

Ye Yan stopped before a broken grave mound, looking up at the sky of the dream world, his voice cold and sharp. As his words fell, a pair of large, blood-weeping eyes opened once more in the previously silent sky. The bloodstains at the corners of these eyes were even more pronounced than before.

As the blood-red eyes opened, the Nightmare, far beyond the dream, noticed Ye Yan below and felt a flicker of shock. Seeing Ye Yan standing there, completely unscathed, the Nightmare’s heart skipped a beat. He knew that he had destroyed half of the host's body just to drag Ye Yan into a deep slumber; he had never expected Ye Yan to break free so easily, and without a scratch.

It was the first time the Nightmare had encountered such a situation, and he was momentarily bewildered. "You actually broke free?!"

"Are you surprised?" Ye Yan looked up at the giant eyes in the sky, his expression cold and unchanging, his voice deathly calm. "Speaking of which, I really should thank you. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have taken this step so easily. So... to thank you for your help and selfless contribution, let me send you on your way with this power of the Sovereign."

As he spoke, Ye Yan raised his palm slightly. The Soul-Quelling Hammer, wreathed in red light, appeared within his grip, hovering slightly. With the appearance of the hammer, terrifying black energy bled from it, causing the Nightmare to tremble with fear, even from such a great distance.

"How? This is impossible! This is the dream world; you shouldn't be able to wield such power here... This is absolutely impossible!"

The aura radiating from Ye Yan at this moment filled the Nightmare with dread. As the master of this dream, he had always believed himself to be the absolute, invincible force within his own domain. Yet, today, seeing Ye Yan, his confidence wavered. He realized that there was someone in the dream world he could not resist—and that person was Ye Yan.

Though he knew he was no match for Ye Yan here, his long reign over the dream world had instilled in him a deep sense of security. Even if he couldn't do anything to Ye Yan, he assumed the same was true in reverse. After all, his true self remained in the outside world; the version of him here in the dream was merely a sliver of consciousness. No matter how powerful Ye Yan was, he could not threaten his true form.

Thinking this, the Nightmare felt a little more at ease.

Ye Yan couldn't be bothered to waste more breath. As his words ended, the hovering Soul-Quelling Hammer fell into his palm. The moment he grasped it, he swung his left hand toward the sky. The red light left his hand, trailing fire like a meteor aiming to pierce the heavens. It streaked straight toward the sky.

"Enhanced Soul-Quelling Hammer."

The meteor was incredibly fast—so fast that the Nightmare couldn't react before it was already upon him. Then, under the astonished gaze of the blood-weeping eyes in the sky, an inverted mushroom cloud instantly erupted.