With his Void Manipulation, Yuan traversed the battlefield like a ghost, appearing and disappearing at will.
Every time he appeared, one or more soldiers of Heaven's Manadate would die.
The soldiers fought desperately, but with not a single one of them having even the most basic Void Understanding, it was impossible for them to fight back properly, and the only thing they could do was hope to react fast enough or attack randomly.
Seeing how much of a mess his soldiers were, the commander gritted his teeth in anger and said to the two experts by his side.
"Captain Ma, Captain Su, I want both of you to put an end to this madness."
"At your command, Commander Du."
They acknowledged his order with a bow before heading into the battlefield.
"Soldiers, get back!" Captain Ma warned them.
The soldiers sighed in relief after hearing his voice and command, and without hesitation, started flying away.
Seeing this, Yuan didn't chase after them. He merely stood still and waited for the captains to arrive.
When they arrived, Captain Su glared at Yuan and said coldly, "How dare a mere Immortal defy Heaven's Mandate? Do you not fear the Heavens?"
Yuan's gaze remained calm as he replied, "If by 'Heavens' you mean the Celestial Emperor, then no, I couldn't care less about a dog like him."
"The blasphemy!" Captain Ma shouted in anger, his brows furrowed deeply into a frown. "His Majesty, the Celestial Emperor, is the most powerful and respected individual in this universe! You will not disrespect him!"
"The most powerful, huh? Maybe in your little world, but in my eyes, he's nothing more than a dog trying to please his masters."
"His masters?! What the hell are you talking about! Do you even know who the Celestial Emperor is?!"
Captain Ma then said to his comrade, "Forget it. He's obviously not well in the head."
"You're right. Let's quickly kill this bastard and get it over with."
These two captains were at the Sixth Level of God Ascension, and unlike the other ordinary soldiers, they had a fundamental comprehension of the Power of the Void.
When they attacked and Yuan tried to use Void Manipulation to traverse, the captains were able to see the changes in the void, allowing them to somewhat follow Yuan's movements through the void.
Although it wasn't perfect, they could make up for what they lacked in experience.
When Yuan emerged from the void, they were able to react in time to intercept him.
"Your Void Manipulation is useless before us!" Captain Su declared.
"Oh, really?"
Yuan struck with his sword, and the blade disappeared for an instant.
Captain Ma suddenly turned around and raised his sword—Clang!
He managed to block Yuan's strike.
"What did I just say?" Captain Su sneered as he launched his own strike, which was engulfed in Celestial Qi.
They were still within the Nine Heavens, where the use of Celestial Qi should have been heavily restricted. Yet Captain Su wielded his Celestial Qi at full strength. Such was one of the privileges granted to those who served the Celestial Emperor, as they could partially bypass the laws that bound others.
Of course, this privilege wasn't granted to just anyone who served the Celestial Emperor. Only those he trusted deeply and who held high-ranking positions were allowed such authority.
Without the restriction, the captains were incomparably stronger than the other soldiers, allowing them to fight Yuan on equal terms—for now, at least.
"I guess it's time for me to stop messing around," Yuan muttered as he activated his Chaotic Essence.
"What the hell?! His aura suddenly skyrocketed!"
"What an ominous aura! Is he even human?!"
The captains halted their movements when they sensed the chaotic energy surging around Yuan.
While the captains were alarmed, Yuan disappeared into the void with Void Manipulation.
"Void Manipulation again?! It won't work—" Captain Su's words were halted when a painful sensation suddenly struck his back.
"What?!"
When he looked, he saw a massive sword cut on his back.
"Impossible!" he exclaimed in disbelief.
"Did you really think you would be able to stop me with your level of Void Understanding?" Yuan's voice resounded in their heads.
"Today was my first time using Void Manipulation to such a degree, so I was just testing it. Now that I have a good understanding of its powers, it won't be like before."
"Ah!" Captain Ma shouted in agony when he was also struck. However, unlike Captain Su, he was hit directly in the chest.
"This bastard…!"
Yuan continued to attack them from the void without showing himself. Although he could only traverse short distances, he could easily stay in the void as long as he didn't move too much.
This meant that unless the captains could strike into the void, it was impossible to hit Yuan.
Of course, the two captains quickly realized this and requested help from Commander Du.
"Commander! His level of Void Understanding is beyond our comprehension! We cannot deal with him!"
Hearing this, Commander Du gritted his teeth in anger. As much as he wanted to assist them, his level of Void Understanding wasn't much better than theirs. If they were powerless against Yuan, so was he.
After a moment of silence, he shouted, "This is an opponent that we cannot handle! Withdraw!"
Without hesitation, Commander Du activated a treasure similar to the one used by Dong Ye, creating multiple portals.
"Withdraw!" He repeated.
The soldiers quickly withdrew into the portals, disappearing from the battlefield.
Yuan wanted to chase after them, but he knew when to stop. The portals likely led to the Celestial Emperor's territory, and at his current level, going into such a place without proper preparations was no different than suicide.
"Don't think this is over, you bastard!" Commander Du shouted as he was the last to retreat from the battlefield.
Yuan smiled faintly and replied, "Bold words for someone fleeing with their tail tucked between their legs."
Commander Du trembled with rage. He hadn't been insulted like this since attaining his position tens of thousands of years ago. What stung even more was the humiliating retreat after losing thousands of his soldiers. He knew that once word spread, the other squads would mock him behind his back. Hell, he wouldn't be surprised if his squad was demoted for this failure.
Without responding to Yuan's provocation, Commander Du disappeared into the portal.