"Ara ara, the older one gets, the more stubborn they become. Is that referring to you?"
Tokisaki Kurumi twirled the gun in her hand, her pupils suddenly flashing with cold intent.
"Only shedding tears before the coffin, huh? Then let me experience the so-called 'invincible under the heavens' strength."
"Don't get careless, or you might just die!"
In an instant, Tokisaki Kurumi vanished from Qian Daoliu's line of sight.
Qian Daoliu's heart skipped a beat as a sense of crisis surged within him. Every cell in his body seemed to scream in warning.
The piercing sound of breaking air made his eardrums ache.
Instinctively, Qian Daoliu tilted his head to the side, his golden eyes narrowing sharply.
A bullet grazed past the corner of his eye—just a hair's breadth away from piercing his skull.
He swiftly flapped the wings of his Seraphim Martial Soul, darting sideways.
"Ninth Soul Skill—Angel's Judgment!"
While retreating, Qian Daoliu's ninth soul ring suddenly lit up, and a terrifying pressure locked onto Tokisaki Kurumi.
A massive sword of light descended from the sky, its radiant glow illuminating the surrounding area for dozens of kilometers.
"Not bad at all. The speed of your soul skill activation is much faster than I expected."
The voice came from an unknown direction, setting off alarms in Qian Daoliu's mind. He instinctively compressed his soul power into the Angelic Holy Sword and swung backward.
"Screeeech—"
"What?!"
Qian Daoliu was shocked.
A long sword blocked the path of his Angelic Holy Sword, completely neutralizing his slash.
"BOOM—"
A deafening explosion erupted from where his ninth soul skill had landed.
The mountain below was instantly blasted into a massive crater.
"Clang—"
A sharp pain shot through the muscles in his arm, making Qian Daoliu frown.
He was sent flying in a full spin, flipped backward by the force.
As he tumbled through the air, Qian Daoliu glanced at the target of his ninth soul skill.
Tokisaki Kurumi remained standing in the same spot—his attack had completely missed her.
It was as if the sword of light had passed right through her body without making contact.
Stabilizing himself, Qian Daoliu narrowed his eyes, observing the two Tokisaki Kurumis in different directions.
One wielded dual pistols, with a strange blue-and-gold clock floating behind her—likely her Martial Soul.
The other held an unusual long sword, with no clock behind her, but her eyes were identical to the clock-bearing Kurumi.
"Troublesome."
Qian Daoliu took a deep breath and raised the Angelic Holy Sword toward the sky.
Golden soul power condensed at the blade's edge as the seventh soul skill of his Seraphim Martial Soul began to glow.
"Divine Radiance!"
A massive orb of light formed at the tip of the Angelic Holy Sword, growing brighter and hotter, radiating intense scorching energy.
Qian Daoliu's figure vanished within the holy light, leaving only the blazing golden energy sphere behind.
"Hiss—"
Tokisaki Kurumi's senses sharpened as she detected the anomaly around her. She swiftly retreated toward a less dangerous position but was still affected by the holy light.
By the time she had withdrawn a hundred meters away, a sharp pain shot through her right arm. Blood slowly trickled down her arm, dripping from her fingertips.
The pistol in her right hand had also been flung away during the chaos.
When the light faded, Qian Daoliu appeared behind the sword-wielding Kurumi, thrusting his blade through her back.
"So it was just a clone?" Qian Daoliu murmured as the sword-wielding Kurumi dissolved into black mist, along with her weapon.
Compared to the dual-pistol-wielding Kurumi, the sword-wielding one had posed less of a threat, so he had prioritized eliminating her first.
"It seems I've won," Qian Daoliu said with a smile. "If you don't quickly purge the divine energy invading your body, it'll be very dangerous."
"Miss Kurumi, you wouldn't want to become a cripple, would you?"
"If you're willing to bring the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda into the Spirit Hall, I, Qian Daoliu, swear on my name that you will hold authority second only to mine."
"The Spirit Hall's resources will be fully available to you—we can even help you ascend to godhood."
"Heh, the divine power of the Angel God, huh?" Kurumi licked the blood from her lips, the metallic taste sending a rush of adrenaline through her.
"Not bad at all."
Her voice carried a faint hint of bloodlust.
"You're not the Angel God, and she's long since..." Qian Daoliu frowned at Kurumi's words, but she didn't elaborate, leaving him puzzled.
"Now, what makes you think you have any chance of winning?" Kurumi slowly raised her uninjured left hand.
"Though it's my first time using this ability, and I'm not sure how effective it'll be, who told you to knock the gun out of my left hand?"
"Picking it back up would ruin the aesthetic."
She aimed the left pistol at her wounded right arm as the blue clock behind her emitted an eerie glow.
"Space · Fourth Bullet · Aquarius!"
"Bang!"
A blue bullet shot from the barrel and embedded itself into the wound on her right arm.
In the blink of an eye, the injury healed at a visible rate.
"No... impossible!" Qian Daoliu's eyes widened in shock.
As the Angel God's servant, he couldn't comprehend what Kurumi had just done.
But he could clearly sense the divine energy he had injected into her rapidly dissipating.
Within seconds, Kurumi's arm was completely restored.
With a flick of her right hand, the pistol reappeared in her grip.
"The warm-up's over. Time to get serious."
"You—" Qian Daoliu opened his mouth to speak, but the words died in his throat.
Suddenly, his pupils contracted.
"That... what is that?!"
Behind Kurumi, the golden and blue clocks rapidly merged into one.
The previous sense of dissonance or mismatch in her aura quickly faded, as if her two Martial Souls had fully fused into one.
It was almost like a Martial Soul Fusion Skill.
In the distance, a clone of Tokisaki Kurumi—or rather, a separate consciousness of her true self—who had been explaining things to Ning Fengzhi, suddenly turned her head toward the sky.
"Hey hey hey, Ning Rongrong, can't you take it easy?"
"So I'm bearing most of the burden while you go all out, huh?"
"Damn it, teaming up with you has been nothing but losses for me!"
"Huh? What's wrong?" Ning Fengzhi blinked in confusion.
"Your daughter isn't treating my main body like a person!" Kurumi said exasperatedly.
Even if you want to test your limits, you can't just treat my Dark Devilgod Tiger like trash!
"Wait, aren't you the same person?" Ning Fengzhi asked, puzzled.
"Same person my ass!" Kurumi rolled her eyes. "Even though we've merged, she's the one in control of the main consciousness. This body still has its own independent mind."
"If she keeps recklessly expending my main body's energy, of course I'd be pissed!"
Ning Fengzhi and the others exchanged glances, still curious about what would happen next.
Subconsciously, Bone Douluo asked, "So what now?"
Tokisaki Kurumi: "..."