Misdirection Strategy

"Call--!"

The instant Nightless Sky Fire Apricot unleashed her palm strike, a violent Wind Pressure exploded from her palm, the howling wind dispersing the smoke and alchemical flames, and even calming the Alchemy Turbulence.

A fan-shaped "vacuum zone" temporarily appeared within the room, originating from the palm of the Nightless Sky Fire Apricot.

At the far end of this peaceful "silent zone"... Xiao Nian stood with his back against the wall at the very end of the room, hunched over and panting heavily.

Seeing that Xiao Nian was still able to stand up, Nightless Sky Fire Apricot was quite surprised.

"Wow, to still be standing after being hit head-on by an 'attack' launched by Supreme Alchemy... that's truly remarkable."

Even if Joe Solence came, he'd be knocked unconscious by this.

However, even so, Nightless Sky Fire Apricot does know...

There is no danger to life Xiao Nian.

After all, Nightless Sky Fire Apricot had mastered the Supreme Alchemy of "Energy Infusion Enhancement" in the Life Spectrum to a point of complete control.

If you channel all your Life Force into your body, then that punch is indeed pure "violence."

But...

At the last moment Nightless Sky Fire Apricot chose to unleash her energy through an attack.

The main effect of this attack was to inject an excessive amount of life Alchemy Energy into Xiao Nian's body, causing the Alchemy Component within her body, which were already on the verge of overload, to completely lose control.

At the same time...

These Life Energy will also begin to forcibly repair the injuries Xiao Nian has accumulated since the start of the battle, accelerate her metabolism and life cycle, and even bring up and repair her old injuries. Although this is good for Xiao Nian in the long run, at this moment, it will temporarily put Xiao Nian's bodily functions into a "shutdown" state, making her weak and unable to move, let alone fight.

This is why Nightless Sky Fire Apricot praised Xiao Nian for still standing.

Honestly, if I had been hit like that, I would have been lying on the ground, completely immobile.

But...

Although he could still stand, the other person couldn't stop him anymore.

After a moment's thought, Nightless Sky Fire Apricot began pacing around the Venue —she was starting to "put out the fire."

Although the extreme environment here is indeed deadly when fighting Xiao Nian, once Xiao Nian is temporarily unable to move, the Nightless Sky Fire Apricot can naturally forcibly stop the alchemical reactions all around.

"Honestly... I really don't understand, is Joe Solence my friend or yours? You're setting fires all over her valuable collection, and I'm the one trying to put them out."

Thanks to Nightless Sky Fire Apricot's efforts, the flames in the entire office area were quickly extinguished, leaving only a few scattered embers and a mess.

As Xiao Nian leaned against the wall and looked at the Nightless Sky Fire Apricot, he gradually felt that although he couldn't move, the Life Energy in his body was indeed being absorbed little by little.

She was also somewhat confused.

"What are you doing...? Why did you save me?"

Nightless Sky Fire Apricot curled her lip. "I just came here to fight you. I never said I wanted to kill you."

Xiao Nian stared at the Nightless Sky Fire Apricot for a long time before speaking.

"Although you are young and know how to use 'Energy Infusion Enhancement,' you shouldn't be Greedo Mercury."

Huo Xing looked at Xiao Nian from the Nightless Sky Fire Apricot.

"Do you even need to tell me—I was never Greedo Mercury, okay?"

"However, I still want to hear your reasons... Why do you suddenly feel like I'm not her anymore?"

Xiao Nian sighed, "Although I've never met Greedo Mercury, I've heard Miss about her. She's a very hardworking Noble... Greedo Mercury, or rather Royal Nobles, aren't as boring as you."

"Wow, you call someone like me boring? It's that stereotypical guy like her who's truly boring," said Nightless Sky Fire Apricot, dissatisfied. "Don't let the worldly and utilitarian evaluation system of City That Never Sleeps corrupt you, okay? Count Arase Nian, isn't it someone like me who's 'interesting'?"

"I should be the opposite of boring!"

Xiao Nian nodded. "Yes, you're right. When I said 'boring,' I meant that they wouldn't be as idle as you to do something that seems meaningless... Compared to people like Greedo Mercury, you are indeed much more 'interesting'—or rather, your personality is more outgoing and more unconventional."

Nightless Sky Fire Apricot laughed smugly, "Of course..."

Xiao Nian suddenly said, "So you must be the Nightless Sky Fire Apricot from the Nightless Sky Family, right?"

Nightless Sky Fire Apricot's smile froze instantly.

"Who is it? Who is Nightless Sky Fire Apricot? Is she Nightless Sky Huo Le's younger brother?"

Nightless Sky Fire Apricot spoke repeatedly.

Xiao Nian immediately sighed, "This is too unbelievable! If it were half a year ago, it would be one thing, but now, what Alchemy master or young person in the top Noble circle doesn't know about that newly promoted 'Chosen of Wisdom' candidate!"

"Anyone who reads the newspaper will remember this name... Your attempts to conceal it only make me more certain that you are Nightless Sky Fire Apricot."

Nightless Sky Fire Apricot said, "Actually, I really am Greedo Mercury."

Xiao Nian didn't respond.

Nightless Sky Fire Apricot sighed, reached under the crack of the broken mask to rub her face, and said, "Alright, alright... then I am actually the successor of the Creator, is that okay?"

Xiao Nian still ignored her, only giving her a "don't treat me like an idiot" look.

Nightless Sky Fire Apricot scratched her head vigorously and spoke.

Is it that obvious?

Xiao Nian said, "Royal Nobles, Alchemy master, and possibly possessing Supreme Alchemy... these three conditions have already narrowed down the possibilities considerably. Coupled with your 'unconventional' personality, guessing your identity... isn't difficult."

"Although you initially wore clothes Nightless Sky Family and had red hair, it now seems that it was just a misleading tactic—you wanted me to think you were 'framing the Nightless Sky Family,' thus concluding that you weren't actually a member of the Nightless Sky Family."

Upon hearing this, Nightless Sky Fire Apricot simply stopped acting, removed the mask from her face—which was now extremely uncomfortable due to its shattered state—and casually tossed it on the ground.

"Wow... that's a very accurate guess. What an annoying intuition."

Nightless Sky Fire Apricot rubbed her hair, then sighed.

"However, there's still a mistake in the reasoning... I'm not wearing clothes in the style of the Nightless Sky Family to mislead you, but because I snuck out of my house—I should be in a tea ceremony class at this hour."

"So, I'm dressed like this simply because I didn't have time to change."