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...
As the words fell, space fluctuated once more, and a pair of long, straight, and shapely legs were the first to emerge.
Ruan Mei's figure gradually materialized. Her left palm turned upward, supporting a cluster of quiet, burning ghostly blue flames, while her right hand opened her phone to record.
"Have you thought about how to beg for mercy, Mr. Ifrit? I can only give you ten seconds."
Qi Zhimu lifted his leg and walked slowly toward Duke Inferno.
"Ten, nine, eight..."
"We come from the fire, born of the flame, to spread, to burn, and to destroy, until the kindling is spent, leaving only a field of dead ash."
Unexpectedly, Duke Inferno did not beg for mercy; he didn't even show a hint of fear.
"Burning is the life of a fire demon, both its beginning and its end. We are born to die, merely to fulfill a profile of the universe's truth: all things are born for Destruction."
"Destruction is a magnificent moment. If one survives through base cowardice, then this life is far too long."
"Today, you shall witness the most brilliant and violent fire in this world. Make your move, person who walks the narrow Path of The Hunt."
Qi Zhimu stopped in his tracks, slightly surprised.
He's actually not running?
But it was only a slight surprise.
The flames scorched the space into distorted rifts, and a terrifying offensive was rapidly brewing.
On Qi Zhimu's indifferent face, a faint trace of recognition appeared for the first time when facing a member of the Annihilation Gang.
"You have backbone. I will remember your name, Ifrit."
"..."
Duke Inferno was stunned.
It wasn't because of what Qi Zhimu said, but because the Qi Zhimu in his sight had changed from holding a long sword directly facing him to having his back turned.
The change in orientation happened without any warning, as if the process of turning around had been crudely cut out like a scene in an edited movie.
His vision uncontrollably shifted to the right. At this moment, Duke Inferno realized he had lost control over his body.
He also noticed that the Qi Zhimu facing away from him was fading at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Bang!
Several dull thuds of falling bodies followed. Duke Inferno's head rolled a few times on the ground, witnessing the entire process of Qi Zhimu's back disappearing and the solid figure behind him sheathing a long sword.
And... the end result of his own body being split into three sections.
"I see... Time Stop..."
He hadn't even sensed the fatal attack.
It must have been that Qi Zhimu stopped time, gave him two slashes at extreme speed, and then restored the flow of time, causing the wounds to erupt simultaneously.
"It's not stopping time. It's simply that my speed far exceeds your perception and cognition," Qi Zhimu explained.
He had no need or mood to toy with his opponent.
When speed transcends limits, consciousness can attach itself to one's afterimages, launching physical attacks alongside the main body.
Duke Inferno had been hit by two swords simultaneously.
Front and back, left and right, intersecting in parallel.
That was all.
"Everything... exists only to be destroyed..." Duke Inferno left his final words, and then there was no more movement.
Before arriving at Ever-Flame Mansion, Qi Zhimu had thought of over a dozen different ways to mock him.
But seeing that this guy truly wasn't afraid of death—completely different from the Annihilation Gang members he'd seen before—he put away those thoughts.
This guy's will was decent; it's just a pity he took the wrong direction.
Yes, direction, not Path.
Every life has the right to pursue the Path it desires. Qi Zhimu wouldn't judge another's choice; he only acted according to his personal stance.
If they were enemies, then it was a matter of life and death.
When Destruction is tainted by personal desire, its nature changes and is no longer pure.
And this was why Nanook never spared a glance for the Annihilation Gang.
"How troublesome, one of them got away."
Qi Zhimu looked at the spatial coordinates where Constance had disappeared, unable to help feeling some regret.
The greatest taboo in pulling weeds is not removing the roots. But he didn't fear the other party's revenge.
Over the years, so many people had come seeking him out; in the end, he was always the one standing while the others were lying down or turned into a dozen pieces.
"The guy who attacked Herta Space Station is dead. Ms. Ruan Mei, please help yourself." Qi Zhimu looked toward the graceful woman waiting quietly in the back.
Ruan Mei was still holding her phone to record. She seemed motionless, but in reality, she was staring blankly at Qi Zhimu.
She knew he had gone through cycles of reincarnation. Compared to that elegant youth of back then, the changes should be significant.
But she hadn't expected it to still be so far beyond her expectations.
Compared to his second life where he threw himself into Abundance and used the Power of Abundance to seek revenge, A'Mu treading the Path of The Hunt in this life could be considered making up for the regrets of that time.
If he'd had a choice then, everyone would have reunited with him long ago.
But... Qi Zhimu was unwilling to live on as a man-eating monster and chose to perish together with the Emanator of Abundance.
Otherwise, he would have become the next, even more terrifying Emanator of Abundance that even the entire Xianzhou Alliance could do nothing about.
Such an identity would undoubtedly be the most sacrilegious betrayal and disappointment to the Qi Family, who had been loyal for generations.
How could A'Mu possibly fail or betray the person in his heart?
Just like in his previous life, he never failed his teacher...
"Ms. Ruan Mei?"
Seeing that she wasn't speaking or moving, just staring at him infatuatedly, Qi Zhimu's brow twitched.
Surely not, right?
He wasn't bad-looking, but the one before him was Genius #81.
Don't tell me Herta was right—Ruan Mei has actually taken a liking to him and is lusting after his beauty.
"...I remembered some things from the past."
Ruan Mei finally snapped out of it. Her high heels made a crisp sound as she walked to Duke Inferno's remains to collect materials.
She used an unknown method to take away the flames on the remains that hadn't yet gone out.
Afterward, she activated the phase flame and set out on the journey back to the Space Station with Qi Zhimu.
Ever-Flame Mansion became completely deathly silent.
After an unknown amount of time, Constance, who had previously disappeared without a sound, reappeared with a strange look on her face.
"I didn't expect the genius 'Father' drew out wouldn't be Herta, but Ruan Mei."
"But what I'm most interested in is still that gentleman from just now..."
Constance slowly raised her hand, and memory substance condensed into an incredibly familiar face.
It was none other than Black Swan.
"Cellmate, oh cellmate, in your most important memory... his face seems to have appeared..."
"Oh my, I wonder if your divination can detect his existence. It's a pity the Planet of Festivities doesn't welcome Dahlias, otherwise there'd be no harm in telling you, hohoho..."
Before her voice had even faded, Constance's figure dissipated without a trace once more.
Ever-Flame Mansion fell into a deathly silence for the second time.
After another unknown amount of time, a beautiful figure holding a long blade walked slowly into the area.
After a brief sweep of the area and discovering the several remains on the ground, a very faint flicker of shock and confusion passed through her vertical pupils.
It seemed she had been beaten to the punch.
"Hmm?"
Acheron—this woman with vertical pupils—seemed to have sensed something. With a wave of her hand, she pulled a music box toward her.
The thing she wanted was still there...
Acheron became even more bewildered.
If there weren't a corpse here that was clearly Duke Inferno's, she would even doubt if she had gotten lost again.
Carefully investigating the scene, her gaze couldn't help but freeze.
"It's actually Hunt imaginary energy... Not someone from the Xianzhou Alliance, but a true Galaxy Ranger?"
"Killed Duke Inferno and his scions, yet didn't take this music box..."
Acheron pondered. She thought for a long time but still had no clue.
"...Never mind."
...
The whole 'darkening, kidnapping, and imprisonment' routine... doesn't feel very suitable for Old Mu. Using it would be a death sentence.
Better to go with the 'yandere blade' approach...
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