"Want to harm them?" The white-clad youth looked at the approaching dragon, the corners of his lips curving into an enigmatic smile. "Then let's see if you can overcome your instincts first."
As he spoke, his hands drew dozens of intricate seals before his chest in an instant. Finally, he pressed his palms together, raising them before his eyes as he rotated them into alignment, murmuring softly, "Exorcism Blade!"
The longsword floated automatically from behind him. Pointing a finger at the dragon, the sword vanished instantly—only to reappear beside the giant beast in the next moment.
Now, it had expanded dozens of times over, like a massive divine blade capable of splitting heaven and earth. It pierced through the dragon's scales and drove deep into its body.
"She didn't want ordinary people to die because of this incident, nor did she want to bring trouble to her family afterward. So she'd rather face the enemy alone than let you appear in the city and rely on America's strong ones and their army to fight you."
The youth smiled faintly as he looked at the wounded yet unweakened dragon. "But I'm not like her. America's been playing too many little games lately. If they don't get a warning, they'll really think Huaxia fears them, won't they?"
"So, under the chaos of the Exorcism Blade, follow my guidance and head for Miami City. That's where the battlefield is—this place isn't..." His face remained smiling, but blood slowly trickled down the corner of his lips.
His strength barely reached the Intermediate Earth Level. Facing a dragon at the peak of Earth Level, he might have the power to fight, but victory was out of reach.
The Exorcism Blade was one of his three strongest skills. If not for the lengthy preparation time required in combat, it could have been his ultimate trump card.
Now he was using this move to confuse the dragon's mind, hoping to buy more time. But what he hadn't expected was that the dragon's power, originally at Heaven Level, had only fallen to Earth Level due to prolonged sealing that weakened its body.
Its soul, however, still retained Heaven Level strength. For him to confuse a Heaven Level soul with Earth Level power—if it were that easy, the chasm between Earth and Heaven wouldn't leave so many sighing in despair.
"I didn't expect I'd still underestimate you. Too bad—your current mental state has weakened your resistance a little. Go to Miami..." After a thirty-second struggle, the dragon—already dangerously close to Chu Lian and the others—finally succumbed to the confusion induced by the Exorcism Blade. With a thunderous roar, it turned its massive body and flew toward Miami City.
Its instincts couldn't be completely drawn in by the divine aura Chu Lian carried. The desire for destruction still burned strong within it.
Its enormous wings flapped, the resulting gusts whipping the girls' long hair into a frenzy. Without Chu Lian, Inori, and Chu Chu's protection, Cai Ya, Liu Yanran, and Li Xiu'er might have already been blown away.
As she saw the dragon turn away, Chu Lian exhaled in relief—but her mind was full of regret. "A dragon... how did it even appear? And who's the one helping us? No... I can't let Cai Ya and the others stay in danger. Even if I have to face it alone, I won't let them fight again."
Just as she resolved herself and turned around, a massive figure suddenly lunged out. His legs swept through the air like countless shadows of willows in the wind, striking toward the most defenseless target—Li Xiu'er.
Seeing this, Chu Lian's pupils shrank sharply. Without thinking, she instinctively activated Teleport, appearing in front of Li Xiu'er to block the attack.
However, even quicker than her, another figure burst from the creek, throwing a punch straight at the stunned Liu Yanran.
Fortunately, Inori reacted in time. Turning around, she wrapped Liu Yanran in her arms as Crystal Armor activated, the assailant's punch landing on the shimmering shield harmlessly.
But the danger wasn't over. With Chu Lian gone from her side, no one was there to guard Cai Ya. From the nearby thicket, a slender figure sprang out like a hunting leopard, sprinting toward Cai Ya and flashing her a sinister grin.
Seeing the enemy suddenly appear in front of her, Cai Ya's eyes widened in shock. She didn't even have time to scream before the enemy's palm slammed into her abdomen.
With a single palm strike, the inner power she unleashed shattered Cai Ya's internal organs. Her vision blurred, and her body went limp as she fell to the ground.
The pain made her face turn deathly pale. She wanted to speak, to move—but her body, fatally wounded, could no longer channel even a trace of strength. Even moving a single finger was impossible.
"Am I... going to die? How unfortunate... I couldn't... stay with you all the way to the end..." Slowly closing her eyes, a tear slipped down from the corner of her eye, disappearing into her hair.
"Cai Ya!" The attack came too suddenly. Chu Lian hadn't even had time to react. The three enemies had coordinated so perfectly that she had no chance to think.
"Hare!" she cried. Instantly, Hare Menjou, who had been slumbering within her Spiritual Sea, appeared behind her. "Throne's Left Side!"
A massive surge of spiritual power spread outward. Within the 150-meter-wide circle of spiritual energy, white crystal formed across the ground, and countless warm, glowing feathers descended from the air.
The grievously wounded Cai Ya received special protection—a pale-blue crystal coffin encased her, then slowly sank into the crystalline ground and disappeared.
At the same time, the ability opposite to "Throne's Left Side" activated—"Throne's Right Side." From the crystalline ground, countless white arms formed from spiritual power reached out, seizing the ankles of the three enemies and draining their life force.
However, such a technique did not frighten them. Once Heaven-level powerhouses, they had fought too many battles in their lives. Their experience in handling any situation was vast. Even while severely injured, breaking free from Hare Menjou's ability was not difficult.
Circulating their inner power to protect their legs and prevent the spiritual energy from approaching their bodies, the trio launched another wave of attacks.
They had no desire to waste words with Chu Lian like the usual brainless villains. From the start, they had not said a single thing—only executing what they deemed the most efficient course of action.
The one who had attacked Liu Yanran turned away the moment he realized his blows couldn't shatter Inori's barrier, redirecting his assault toward the others instead.
Meanwhile, the enemy facing Chu Lian refused to relent, continuing to strike at Li Xiu'er and Chu Chu, preventing Chu Lian from helping anyone else.
"Next prey..." The woman in red licked her bright lips and took a few quick steps, appearing before Ruriko Nana and Lux Lyle—the two novice cultivators. Channeling her inner power into both palms, she struck toward the helpless girls.
Two sharp clang sounds rang out as a faint golden barrier flared across the surface of their bodies, deflecting the woman's attack.
But her strikes weren't just fueled by inner power—the sheer force behind them was far beyond what the two could endure. Both girls were hurled backward, crashing into a large tree and coughing up bright blood.
"Protective charms? How interesting... It seems I won't be able to deal with you so quickly after all." The woman's eyes gleamed with surprise, but once she saw the golden glow enveloping them, she immediately understood.
She no longer bothered with the two she couldn't harm. Instead, she turned sharply toward Chu Lian.
Their true target had always been Chu Lian. Attacking the others was merely to eliminate variables and disrupt Chu Lian's focus. Now that the goal was nearly achieved, it was time to finish it.
As she lunged toward Chu Lian, the one who had abandoned the attack on Liu Yanran also rushed at her. Caught at the center of three simultaneous assaults, Chu Lian had nowhere to dodge.
If she evaded, the two girls behind her would be struck. But if she didn't, facing three coordinated attacks at once—she couldn't guarantee survival.
Still... wasn't this exactly as planned?
She didn't even need to say anything. At that moment, Inori—who was perfectly in sync with her—already knew what to do. Drawing the handgun from her thigh, she aimed at one of the enemies. Channeling all her spiritual power into the weapon, she fired a volley of spirit bullets.
Meanwhile, Tina, who had been held protectively in Liu Yanran's arms, suddenly opened her eyes. Quietly entering her spiritual body state, she slipped into the shadow realm and sprinted toward the center of the battlefield.
"Little trick..." The man targeted by Inori's shots ignored her attacks, continuing to throw punch after punch at the already-exhausted Chu Lian.
He dismissed Inori's bullets as nothing more than hidden weapons, unaware of the true destructive power modern firearms could inflict on the human body. Even if ordinary firearms were useless against them, Inori's gun and bullets—enhanced by cosmic energy and imbued with spiritual power—were not something he could simply shrug off.
Pup pup pup... The continuous sound of bullets piercing flesh echoed out. The spots where he was hit bloomed with clusters of violet crystal flowers. A moment later, he forcefully used his inner power to suppress the spread of the Apocalypse Virus.
Although he had once been a Heaven-level powerhouse, the Apocalypse Virus itself had originated from another being of Heaven-level strength. Severely injured and now only at the peak of the Spirit Level, he was far from untouchable.
"Ah..." The man struck by both the spirit bullets and Chu Lian's Deathblow could no longer maintain his human form. His face turned pale and ashen, his fingers elongating several centimeters into sharp claws.
"Farewell..." But before he could lash out, a massive figure suddenly appeared behind him. A surge of spiritual energy erupted from its mouth, blasting through his head and shattering it completely.
The Undead Clan had no true weaknesses, so even with its head destroyed, regeneration was possible. Though his recovery had slowed due to the heavy damage, he could still move without issue.
Unfortunately, he didn't even have the chance. In the next instant, a searing, blazing energy erupted within his body, consuming him entirely. Within a single second, he was reduced to ashes.
"Underworld Watcher..." Another man, witnessing this scene, halted his attack and raised his guard. His previously calm eyes sharpened with alertness as he spoke for the first time—his voice raspy and unpleasant.
"So Wang Dong's already dead? That fool. If he'd used Iron Mountain Smash from the beginning and crippled the Daughter of Fate, we wouldn't be in this mess. Wanted her alive, did he? Well, too late now... Don't worry, I'll avenge you..." The woman also stopped attacking, her tone dripping with mockery as she spoke of her fallen comrade. Yet, even as she sneered, a dark, murky energy began to ripple across her skin.
"Such a fragile world... and yet, it dares to wound us again and again. Even if our mission fails, I... will not let any of you live..." Raising her head, her eyes became as deep and lightless as the darkest black holes...