Free Web NovelChapter 89: Suffocating pressure
Lian’s heart slammed against his ribs as the realization hit him like a hammer.
The Eternal Veil Syndicate representative was still alive — and close.
Panic surged through him, cold and sharp. His void eyes darted around the ruined landscape frantically, searching for any sign of Elara. She had been near him just moments ago, helping with the scavenging, but now she was nowhere in sight. The dust, smoke, and collapsed structures made visibility terrible. He moved swiftly, leaping over rubble and broken beams with desperate speed, his cloak whipping behind him.
“Elara...” he whispered under his breath, voice tight with urgency.
He couldn’t call out loudly. That would be suicide. The representative was wounded but still terrifyingly powerful. Lian kept low, using the piles of debris and half-collapsed walls as cover while he searched. His mind raced with worst-case scenarios. Had she been caught in the final shockwave? Was she trapped under rubble? Or worse — had the representative already sensed her?
He darted from one ruined building to another, eyes scanning every shadow, every possible hiding spot. His breathing was fast but controlled. He refused to go anywhere near the direction of that scream and shockwave. He didn’t want trouble. Not now. Not when they were so close to escaping with their lives and the treasures he had gathered. He needed to find Elara and get out of here immediately.
The representative, still half-buried under rubble a short distance away, suddenly released his killing intent.
It exploded outward like a physical force.
A suffocating, murderous pressure slammed down on the entire area. The air grew thick and heavy, making every breath feel like inhaling molten lead. The ground itself seemed to tremble under the weight of his rage. Even the fires flickered and dimmed as if afraid. This wasn’t just aura — it was pure, unfiltered killing intent honed through centuries of dominance and bloodshed. It pressed on the mind, the soul, and the body all at once.
Elara, hidden in the narrow gap behind the collapsed wall, felt it the hardest.
She was much closer to the representative than Lian. The killing intent hit her like a tidal wave. Her body locked up completely. Her alloy limbs froze mid-motion. Her lungs struggled to draw breath. It felt like invisible hands were crushing her chest, her throat, her very soul. Terror flooded her system — raw, primal fear. She couldn’t move. She couldn’t even tremble. Her vision blurred as consciousness began slipping away. It felt like she was dying a thousand times over, each second stretching into an eternity of suffocating dread. Her red heart monitor flickered erratically inside her chest as her systems fought to keep her alive under the overwhelming pressure. ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com
She bit down hard on her lip to stop any sound from escaping, blood filling her mouth. Tears stung the corners of her eyes, but she didn’t dare make a single noise. If he sensed her, she was dead.
Lian felt the pressure too, though less intensely because of the distance.
His knees weakened instantly. His legs almost buckled beneath him as the suffocating wave washed over the area. He staggered, grabbing onto a broken pillar for support. This was the second time he had felt this kind of overwhelming killing intent. The first had been during the earlier clash at the auction. His body had adapted slightly since then — his Stellar Circuit Star 1 was helping him resist just enough to stay conscious — but it was still crushing. The pressure bore down on his mind, trying to force him to submit, to freeze, to die.
But he kept moving.
Dragging one foot in front of the other, teeth gritted, sweat pouring down his face, Lian forced himself forward. He couldn’t stop. He had to find Elara. He had to get them both out of here. The representative was still alive and furious. Staying meant death.
He pushed through the pain, eyes scanning the ruins desperately while staying as far as possible from the source of the pressure. His mind screamed at him to run, but he couldn’t leave without her.
The representative’s killing intent continued to spread, pressing down on everything still alive in the devastated district. The few remaining survivors who hadn’t already fled or died dropped to their knees, gasping and vomiting blood. The air itself felt poisoned with murderous rage.
Lian dragged himself further away, heart pounding, searching frantically for any sign of Elara while the suffocating pressure tried to crush him into submission.
Power Scale / Cultivation Realms (Quick Reminder)
Foundation Realm (Layers 1–9): Body forging, no external Qi.
Circuit Awakening Realm (Early–Peak): First Qi loop, internal bursts.
Core Condensation Realm (Early–Peak): External Qi release, short flight.
Stellar Circuit Realm (1–9 Stars): True flight, Qi armor, energy projection.
Nebula Dominion Realm and higher: Domain control, galaxy-level power, etc
Power Scale Reminder
Lian Yu: Stellar Circuit Star 1.
Elara Voss: Core Condensation Middle
Keep it as reminders
