Breaking Through Like Crushing Rotten Wood

The gaze that fell on Noche and the other two held not the slightest surprise at their appearance. Instead, it carried an indescribable calm, like a deep pool whose bottom no one could see.

A faint unease stirred in all three of them.

But since he had already spotted them, there was no point in hiding.

Moon Rhino rolled his neck with a series of cracks. "The weather's good, and we've got plenty of time. Let's stick to the plan. The sooner we finish this, the sooner we can head back."

Noche and Tuner each voiced their agreement. Neither looked as he once had. They resembled humanoid leopards some three meters long, their bodies shimmering with dark blue light and dotted with small, sharp, translucent wings. They looked dangerous and mysterious.

These were Active Consciousness Entity bodies prepared for them by the Lian Wei Re-Control Company, similar to the "Water Nymph" experimental body Yang Ling had once used. They could bond deeply with their users' minds, allowing them to wield greater power.

Ordinarily, people with mental abilities could only strive to attune themselves to an Active Consciousness Entity and merge with it as completely as possible. But Fighters who had attained the Aspect of the Gods were the ones in control. To them, such a body was little more than a handy disposable tool.

As for their real bodies, they had placed them somewhere secure behind the lines once they judged that their opponent might be ahead. Part of each man's mind remained in his body as well. If necessary, they could still use them.

The two leaped out. A dim light flickered over their forms, and each dissolved into the air.

Moon Rhino took out a finely bound poetry collection and leafed through a couple of pages. Then he