The morning sun shone warmly on the body of the 'Pseudo-Herrscher' Yuno, yet it didn't bring her the slightest bit of warmth... She stared in terror at the boy before her who had ignored her abilities, a chill running through her body.
"Did you know?..." Li Xuan looked at the woman... or rather, the Pseudo-Herrscher, before him as if she were already dead, and said coldly, "From the moment I first saw you..."
"I was the one who couldn't wait to eat you..." Li Xuan said through gritted teeth. He took a step forward, his shoes unscrupulously treading on the vines beneath his feet, which were as if withered and dead, not reacting at all to Yuno's commands.
"Do you have any idea that Yae Sakura ultimately disappeared because of you?!..." Li Xuan's left eye, which had turned green, shone like an emerald. He shook his right hand, and a part of the originally red stigmata mark, the Dragon Sigil among the Four Symbols, flickered with a green glow.
"No, impossible... how can a mere mortal command my pets?!" No matter how she tried to control the vines under Li Xuan's feet, Yuno found to her despair that she couldn't make them move in the slightest.
"That fox... that fox woman..." Li Xuan slowly walked towards the terrified Yuno.
"No, don't come any closer!" Yuno couldn't help but take a few steps back, wanting to maintain a safe distance from the mysterious man in front of her.
"Is that what a disgusting tentacle monster like you should call her?!.." The Honkai energy inside Li Xuan's body instantly went wild. The Azure Dragon Sigil on his right hand began to madly absorb the surrounding Honkai energy like a bottomless pit, even the floral fragrance lingering in the air. The white patterns on the vines under Li Xuan's feet flickered and quickly turned a withered yellow... In just a few seconds, they turned into a pile of fly ash...
"Die!" Like a cornered beast, Yuno fiercely shot all the vines on her body, each as hard as steel, towards the quietly standing Li Xuan.
"..." Li Xuan suddenly lifted his head. His right eye, the 'Jao Shingan', simultaneously operated at its limit with the support of the immense Honkai energy in his body... Then, as if it was a matter of course... the six-star divine weapon emblem on Li Xuan's collar, 'Jao Shingan', emitted a golden light. The original pair of golden wings on the emblem became two pairs in the light. The next moment, as if melting, it passed through the 'Xuanyuan Festive Garb', touched Li Xuan's skin, and disappeared.
'I see it...' In Li Xuan's right eye, which seemed to be cast from gold, bewitching black patterns appeared, forming strange geometric designs... Everything in his vision seemed to slow down, moving gently... The vines shooting towards him slowly pierced the air in his vision, carrying the white vapor trails formed at high speed...
"Accelerate..." Li Xuan, whose body was enhanced several times by the full-power operation of his Honkai energy, and with the boost from the 'Gale Arts (High Tier)' emblem he wore on his collar, his body could barely keep up with his high-speed thinking, which was like operating in slowed time.
"Where did he go?!" Countless vines slammed into the spot where Li Xuan had just been standing. The concrete ground, as if made of paper, was instantly pierced by the numerous vines, but Yuno could clearly feel the information coming from the vines... they hadn't hit anything at all!
"Too slow..." a faint voice said, as if right next to her ear. Yuno's hair instantly stood on end. She stiffly turned her head, and what came into view was that cold, indifferent face that terrified her.
'How is this possible?!' Yuno looked in terror at the man who was almost pressed against her. 'A mere human, how could he achieve such speed... Even she, a 'God', couldn't do it!' For the first time, Yuno began to doubt the power she possessed.
"..." Li Xuan pursed his lips, his body quickly squatting down slightly. He clenched his left fist and shot it out from his waist. The fist formed a white vapor trail due to its high speed.
"Bang!..." The fist made direct contact with Yuno's abdomen, producing a dull impact sound. Unable to react in time, Yuno could only watch Li Xuan's attack without being able to respond.
"Ugh!... Wah!" Yuno's eyes widened, and her mouth opened as if she were a drowning person. Only gurgling sounds could come from her throat as a stream of purplish-red blood trickled from the corner of her mouth...
"Bang! Bang! Bang!..." Yuno's body was sent flying, like a puppet with its strings cut, and fell heavily to the ground, her body continuously hitting the ground with heavy thuds.
"..." Li Xuan silently continued to walk towards Yuno.
"...No, don't come over..." As a 'Pseudo-Herrscher', Yuno was now covered in dust and blood. She stared in horror with her wide green eyes at Li Xuan, who was approaching her like a demon, the sound of his footsteps like the Grim Reaper knocking on the door.
"Ahhhh!" The 'Pseudo-Herrscher' Yuno propped up her battered body and suddenly stood up. The remaining few vines wrapped around her body, under her control, stabbed towards Li Xuan with all their might.
"A dying struggle..." Li Xuan looked at the few vines stabbing towards him, which were clearly weaker and smaller than before. He waved his right hand lightly in front of him, and a small blue jack-in-the-box appeared out of thin air. The next moment, the blue box turned into a huge golden cross, blocking his path.
"Clang clang!" Crisp impact sounds came from the 'Judah's Oath' (fake) in front of Li Xuan. Because the attacking vines were weaker... they shattered upon impact.
"Alright... do you have any last words?... Tentacle monster." Li Xuan looked indifferently at the now wretched Yuno, the fire in his heart slightly diminishing. He took a step towards Yuno, his fists clenching once more in his sleeves.
"No... don't come over! Or else I'll..." Yuno threatened hysterically. One of her remaining vines extended in front of her, its thorny length tightly binding a white-haired nun.
"I'll kill her!"
It was Theresa...
Li Xuan's steps faltered and finally stopped...
(End of this chapter)