You guys go quickly, I'll cover your retreat!

This seemingly casual action actually fully activated the killing move from the first level of his strongest technique, the god-level attack technique <Space-Time Rend>.

At Lin Yi's fingertip, a thin, hair-like, silver-gray crack, almost invisible to the naked eye, quietly appeared.

This move is called "Void-Severing Slash".

The slowing effect of the law of time and the cutting effect of the Space Law are compressed and superimposed in an instant, forming a Space-Time Rend with extremely strong penetrability and concealment.

The crack was only an inch long when it first appeared, but after it appeared, it instantly severed the spatial blade in front of it and then appeared directly in front of the mother locust's carapace covered with distorted spatial runes.

As a peak-level alien beast of the ordinary gods, the mother locust has an almost instinctive intuition for danger.

The moment the Space-Time Rend appeared, the light in its compound eyes, which resembled a silver vortex, suddenly surged.

Hiss!

A piercing screech, almost tearing at the soul, erupted from its ferocious mandibles.

Almost simultaneously, the mother locust's enormous, translucent body swung violently to the right, and her six pairs of blade-like forelimbs slashed wildly backward, attempting to disrupt the surrounding spacetime by cutting through space to buy herself a chance to dodge.

Its reaction speed has reached the limit that ordinary gods can achieve.

However, it was still a step too late.

With a flash of silvery light, a smooth, mirror-like cut appeared, starting from the junction of the second pair of forelimbs on the left side of the mother locust with her body, extending diagonally upwards, and precisely slicing through the base of the first pair of translucent wings on its left side.

Dark silver blood, mixed with spatial energy, gushed out of the wound like a fountain.

The second and third pairs of forelimbs on the left side of the mother locust snapped off instantly, and the enormous limbs, carrying a ghostly light that seemed to tear through space, drifted into the void.

Not only that, but most of its left wing root was also cut off. The wing, which could originally create spatial ripples when it trembled, was now like shattered glass, its light quickly dimming, with only a few biological tissues barely connecting it. It had obviously lost most of its functions.

If the mother locust had reacted even 0.01 seconds slower, it would have cut open its skull core and compound eyes.

"Squeak!!"

A scream filled with pain and madness erupted from the mother locust's mouthparts.

Accompanied by this hiss, the remaining Shadow-Skimming Locust Sub-body in the surrounding void, like a suicide squad that had received the final order, whether they were rushing towards Lin Yi or were on guard in other directions, all turned around and rushed towards Lin Yi, while the energy in their bodies began to boil recklessly.

Self-destruct!

The individual self-destruction of these Sub-body has limited power, but the simultaneous self-destruction of thousands of them generates enough power to threaten a god-level being.

Boom! Boom boom boom boom!

The dense, rain-like explosions instantly illuminated the starry sky.

The severely injured mother locust used her remaining limbs to forcefully tear open a spatial rift and plunged inside.

It's trying to escape!

However, Lin Yi coldly watched the closing spatial rift and did not take any action to pursue it.

Because just as the Void-Severing Slash struck the mother locust, he had already used the power of the spacetime laws contained within the crack to leave an extremely subtle "Spacetime Mark" deep within the mother locust's wound.

At the level of the mother locust, she was completely unable to detect this mark, so in a short time, it would not escape her perception at all.

He let the mother locust escape because he had more important things to do at that moment.

The powerful, god-level fluctuations of spacetime laws that erupted when the Void-Severing Slash broke through the mother locust's defenses and tore through its body were like a lighthouse in the night, no longer able to be completely concealed by the Veil of Delusion the first level.

In the distance, the battlefield where fierce fighting was taking place was instantly alarmed by this fluctuation.

The movements of the eight deities on both sides of the battle almost simultaneously showed an extremely subtle pause.

All eyes, whether it was Moon Abyss's calm purple eyes, Lan's golden pupils filled with worry, Ming Luo's eyes full of fighting spirit, or the cold compound eyes of the five gods of the Edge-Devouring Squad, were all subconsciously turned towards the source of the fluctuation.

Then, they saw the enormous and Shadow-Skimming Locust Queen, its left limbs severed, its wings tattered, dragging dark silver blood rain, frantically tearing through space in an attempt to escape.

Amidst the chaotic energy flow of the exploding swarm, a silver-gray figure slowly retracted its closed sword fingers.

The Veil of Delusion light surrounding it had dissipated under the impact of the law fluctuations that had just erupted, and now it was radiating a powerful aura without reservation.

"This fluctuation, haha!" Ming Luo cleaved his opponent back with an axe swing and couldn't help but burst into wild laughter.

Lan's wings of light unfurled unconsciously, and a bright light burst forth from her eyes.

Moon Abyss was also shocked, but her combat skills allowed her to instantly seize the opening created by her opponent's shock. The life-and-death thread tightened suddenly, dragging one of her opponents, who was trying to turn around, back into the battle.

The reaction of the Edge-Devouring Squad was completely different.

The Blade-Devouring Captain, whose armor was covered with dark gold and mysterious patterns, was flashing with intense light, his compound eyes filled with disbelief.

"That Lin Yi... how could that be?"

Then, it saw the silver-gray figure slowly turn around, its cold gaze fixed on them.

Blade-Devouring Captain was immediately on alert!

"Not good!"

It reacted immediately, and a surge of soul energy exploded in the consciousness of the team members, with an unprecedented urgency.

However, it was too late.

The moment it uttered those two words, the silver-gray figure in the distant void suddenly blurred.

In the next instant, Lin Yi's figure appeared on the other side of the battlefield without warning.

It appeared behind a deity resembling a giant moth, waving its two pairs of forelimbs, locked in a stalemate with Ming Luo's dark gold giant axe.

This deity had just exchanged blows with Ming Luo, dragging Ming Luo into a battle of divine power while waiting for his teammates to break free from Lan's interference and come to join the attack.

Although it also noticed the change in Lin Yi's direction and heard its captain's reminder.

But it was too late.

Just like its tactics, the battle of divine power is not something that can be easily withdrawn.

Just as it was about to risk injury to forcibly break the divine power connection, a silver-gray figure appeared on its back.

Without pausing, Lin Yi placed his left hand directly on the center of its carapace, which was covered with fine scales.

Click. Click.

The power of the laws of time is silently infused through the palm of the hand.

The giant moth deity felt everything around it slow down instantly. Its thoughts were still running, but the process of mobilizing divine power and driving its limbs was forcibly slowed down for a moment.

In that instant, in a battle between gods, it was a matter of life and death.

Lin Yi raised his right hand at the same time, and the Wheel of Time and Space swept across horizontally like the scythe of death as he swung his right hand.

Pfft!

The silver halo formed by the Sky-Evasion Shuttle easily broke through the divine power shield that had formed on its body.

Then, it smoothly sliced through its body.

The incision begins from the right shoulder blade and exits from the lower left abdomen.

Divide into two!

Dark green divine blood mixed with fragments of internal organs and broken carapace exploded in the starry sky.

Before it could even utter a complete scream, its soul fluctuations abruptly ceased in horror, and the life force contained within the broken part of its divine body was swiftly annihilated by the ensuing power of time.

Instant kill!

"No!!!"

Blade-Devouring Captain watched helplessly as one of his team members was instantly killed right before his eyes, letting out a soul-stirring roar of extreme rage.

But it didn't lose its mind.

On the contrary, as a powerful and experienced deity, it instantly assessed the situation amidst extreme shock and rage.

The intelligence report clearly stated that Lin Yi, Human Race was only "Star Vortex level being who barely reached the threshold of an ordinary god by relying on the Fearless War God," not only possessed the strength to severely injure the Flying Locust Queen in a direct confrontation, but could also instantly kill an ordinary god.

This is a powerful god-level being!

In addition, there was Moon Abyss, a powerful deity who was slightly stronger than himself, and the remaining two ordinary deities who cooperated well.

If they continue fighting, the only outcome will be total annihilation.

In a flash, it made the exact same decision as Moon Abyss before it.

"You all go! I'll cover your retreat! Let's go!!!"

Blade-Devouring Captain roared in its soul, and at the same time, dark red cracks suddenly appeared on its carapace covered with dark gold patterns, from which violent divine flames spewed forth.

Burning divine power!

Without hesitation, Blade-Devouring Captain activated this final forbidden technique.

In an instant, its aura surged wildly like a volcanic eruption, almost touching the threshold of a high-level deity!

The raging divine power, mixed with its own laws, formed a suffocating dark red storm that spread violently outwards from its center, forcibly breaking apart the life-and-death threads that entangled Moon Abyss, and also sending Ming Luo and Lan, who were about to pursue, flying backwards.

"Captain!" the remaining three team members cried out in grief and indignation.

"Walk!"

The captain's soul, burning with divine power, exuded a resolute determination.

Knowing that this was an opportunity their captain had risked his life for, the three team members dared not hesitate for a moment. They each unleashed their fastest speed and fled frantically in three different directions.

Having landed a successful blow, Lin Yi was preparing to lock onto his next target when he sensed a surge of divine power filled with destructive energy.

His eyes narrowed, and he immediately abandoned the pursuit.

"Captain, watch out!"

As Lin Yi's voice rang in Moon Abyss's mind, his figure vanished again, appearing the next instant beside Moon Abyss, standing shoulder to shoulder with her, facing the surging, boiling Blade-Devouring Captain.

Burning divine power is the last resort for a god-level expert to fight to the death.

By igniting divine power with the fire of the soul, one can gain a tremendous boost once activated.

Of course, the cost is also enormous.

The burning of divine power is irreversible; once ignited, it cannot be stopped and will continue to burn until the divine body collapses, the soul is annihilated, and the divine being utterly destroyed.

In other words, this is a suicide attack.

However, unlike self-destruction, which releases all power at once, although it is powerful, it is easily dodged or defended in a battle between gods who all have ways to protect themselves, and it requires a short preparation time to activate.

Burning divine power requires only a thought, and it's a continuous burst, making it the optimal choice for most gods to fight for their lives. Moon Abyss originally intended to use this method as well.

Clearly, Blade-Devouring Captain chose this method to cover the rear, intending to use his burning divine power to hold off the opponent and buy his teammates the maximum time to escape.

Moon Abyss looked at the enemy whose aura had surged dramatically, his expression grave. "He's fighting desperately. We just need to hold him off; there's no need for a direct confrontation."

"Understood." Lin Yi nodded.

Indeed, although he was surprised by his opponent's decisiveness, despite the surge in his strength, he was essentially a dead man. All he had to do was stall until his divine power was exhausted.

Ming Luo and Lan did not pursue their opponents, but instead flew to their side.

After all, they also knew that Moon Abyss and Lin Yi alone could not guarantee that they could wear down Blade-Devouring Captain was burning with divine power, without taking any damage.

Looking at the cracked Blade-Devouring Captain amidst the dark red divine flames, Ming Luo couldn't help but grin and say, "These insects of the Devouring Race are truly ruthless, ruthless to their enemies, and ruthless to themselves."

Lan quickly said, "We can't just stand by and watch. We need to deplete its divine power, otherwise, if it keeps accumulating power, its final, fatal blow could be very dangerous."

"Then let's send it on its way as soon as possible!" A flash of silver light appeared in Lin Yi's eyes, and the Wheel of Time instantly disintegrated, transforming into countless tiny silver shuttles that swam around him like a school of fish. "Captain, we two will take the lead in the attack, while Ming Luo and Lan will provide support and distract him, depleting his divine power. What do you think?"

Moon Abyss gave Lin Yi a deep look, and simply replied, "Okay!"

The battle resumed instantly.

Boom!

Blade-Devouring Captain, burning with divine power, launched the first attack. Its serrated forelimb, now enveloped in dark red flames, swung fiercely towards the location of Lin Yi and Moon Abyss.

A dark red blade of light, tearing through the starry sky, pierced through the air, leaving a black mark in the space it passed through.

But Lin Yi did not retreat but advanced, taking a step forward, his right hand forming a sword shape, and once again using the first level of the <Space-Time Rend> secret technique.

However, this time it's not the Void-Severing Slash that aims for a one-hit kill, but the faster Rift-Piercing Thrust.

A thinner, yet more refined, silver-gray crack pierced towards the dark red blade's edge.

Sizzle!

The Rift-Piercing Thrust precisely struck the energy node of the dark red blade's aura. The power of spacetime clashed violently with the burning divine power, tearing a gash in the dark red blade's aura and greatly reducing its power. The aftershocks were dispersed by a casual Life and Death Finger Strike from Moon Abyss.

At the same time, Ming Luo and Lan's attacks came from both sides.

Ming Luo's piercing axe blade, like a battering sledgehammer, slammed into the relatively vulnerable joints of Blade-Devouring Captain, forcing him to divert some of his divine power for defense.

Lan's attacks were like an omnipresent drizzle, eroding the divine flames burning on the opponent's body. Although the effect was weak, it was continuous and accumulated over time.

"Roar!"

Blade-Devouring Captain roared, his figure swaying as he tried to dodge Lin Yi's second Sky -Rift-Piercing Thrust, while simultaneously taking a hit from Ming Luo's axe. Sparks flew from his carapace, leaving a crack.

It swung its claw at Lan, but was entangled by the life-and-death threads that Moon Abyss had laid beforehand, slowing its speed by a moment, and Lan narrowly dodged it.

The battle entered a seemingly stalemate, but in reality, a rhythm that was extremely advantageous to the Star Stillness Squad.

Although Blade-Devouring Captain's attack power increased dramatically due to the burning divine power, each strike was powerful and heavy, forcing Lin Yi and Moon Abyss to deal with it cautiously, often requiring the two of them to work together to neutralize it.

However, facing four opponents alone, and with Ming Luo and Lan's constant harassment, it was simply unable to concentrate all its forces on one point.

More importantly, its divine power is being consumed as it continues to burn; although its aura remains violent, the amount within it is steadily decreasing.

At the same time, Lin Yi's fighting style also changed significantly.

He was no longer as reserved as when he dealt with the Void-Eating Jellyfish. Instead, he combined the Space-Time Rend Secret Technique with the Sky-Evasion Shuttle, launching cunning surprise attacks from time to time with teleportation-like movements, or using time delay in conjunction with the Rift-Piercing Thrust to interrupt the opponent's attack rhythm.

The power of the two laws of spacetime began to be fully displayed in the true life-or-death battle at the god level.

With the pressure on Moon Abyss greatly reduced, she could focus more on control and support. The Life and Death Law was like the most precise scalpel, constantly peeling away the opponent's defenses and amplifying the damage caused by Ming Luo and Lan.

Time ticked by, second by second.

The dark red flames on Blade-Devouring Captain's body, which had been burning fiercely at the beginning, gradually became somewhat unstable, with the light sometimes blazing and sometimes dimming.

More and more cracks appeared on its body surface, and divine blood seeped out from the cracks, only to be instantly evaporated by the divine flames.

Its attacks remained fierce, but the frequency began to decrease, and occasionally it would show a slight sluggishness as if it were exhausted.

Clearly, the burning of divine power was nearing its end.

Finally, after about a standard time, Blade-Devouring Captain let out a final, unwilling and venomous screech, unleashing a final strike with all his remaining power in his burning divine power state towards the location of Lin Yi and Moon Abyss.

It frantically compressed the remaining divine power into its mouthparts, and a dark red ray, only as thick as an arm but condensed to the extreme, shot out silently towards the two of them.

The ray wasn't fast, but along its path, space was erased as if by an eraser, leaving a dark, empty passage where even light was swallowed up.

Sensing the destructive energy contained in this ray, Moon Abyss's expression changed slightly, and he tapped his hand repeatedly.

At the same time, Lin Yi's gaze sharpened. He raised his left hand and gently clenched it in front of the dark red ray that seemed to be moving slowly but had actually locked onto the space.

The speed of the dark red ray visibly slowed down slightly.

This slight miscalculation gave Lin Yi and Moon Abyss room to dodge.

The two figures instantly dodged to the sides.

Laugh!

A dark red ray passed between the two, shooting into the distant depths of space, and finally disappearing into the distance.

The dark red flames on Blade-Devouring Captain's body, who had launched the attack, suddenly went out.

Its cracked carapace quickly lost its luster, turning grayish, and the light in its compound eyes also dimmed completely.

The battle is over.

Silence returned to the starry sky.

Lin Yi breathed a sigh of relief and then looked at Moon Abyss beside him.

"Team leader."

Hearing the sound, Moon Abyss turned her head and looked at him with her purple eyes.

"You guys collect the loot first," Lin Yi said. "I'll go finish the tasks we haven't completed yet."

Upon hearing this, a hint of surprise flashed in Moon Abyss's eyes. "You mean?"

She subconsciously looked at the ripples in the sky left by the fleeing mother locust, which had not yet completely subsided.

The Shadow-Skimming Locust Queen, worth millions of golden battle merits, tore through space and escaped after Lin Yi severed her limbs and half of her wing with a single blow. The ensuing battle was intense, and she initially thought that the Queen Locust had taken advantage of the chaos to flee far away and would be difficult to track down.

Lin Yi nodded. "I left Spacetime Mark on the mother locust; it can't escape."

Upon hearing this, not only Moon Abyss, but also Lan and Ming Luo who were standing next to him looked over.

Upon hearing this, Ming Luo was stunned for a moment, then immediately exclaimed excitedly, "Brother Lin Yi, you're amazing! I thought that guy had run away, and our mission would be a complete waste. That was brilliant!"

Lin Yi was speechless upon hearing this.

So, he went from being "younger brother" to "older brother"?

He was the "younger brother" before, but after the war he became the "older brother".

Clearly, when they were fighting side by side just moments before, Ming Luo was mostly looking out for the new team member, calling him "brother" and offering encouragement.

At this moment, a natural "brother" signified that the strength he had displayed in the previous battle had completely earned Ming Luo's respect.

Lin Yi didn't think there was anything wrong with Ming Luo's behavior. He also knew that this was the rule of the Star Sea: strength is paramount, and the more strength you have, the more respect and status you can earn.

Therefore, Lin Yi simply smiled at Ming Luo, which was considered as accepting the new title.

Then, he turned to Moon Abyss, "I'll be right back."

Without further ado, Lin Yi finished speaking.

He took a step forward, and a faint light flashed from the silver-gray spacetime laws surrounding him. Following the sensation of the hidden Spacetime Mark left deep in the mother locust's wound, he chased after the direction in which the mother locust had fled in panic.

Moon Abyss, Ming Luo, and Lan watched Lin Yi's disappearing figure in silence for a moment.

A moment later, Lan began to manipulate the beam of light, drawing the scattered spoils of war towards her one by one. "This was a great harvest! Two sections of the divine body of an ordinary god, and the complete divine body of a powerful god. It's a pity that the other three escaped too quickly and we couldn't leave them behind."

"Not bad." Ming Luo grinned. "Leaving aside the value of the divine body, the battle merits alone are at least... tsk, tens of millions."

Moon Abyss remained silent, but her gaze drifted towards the direction where Lin Yi had disappeared, her pale purple eyes filled with contemplation.

In the battle just now, Lin Yi's exquisite coordination of spacetime laws, his decisiveness in instantly killing the enemy, and the level he displayed in fighting the Blade-Devouring Captain was burning with divine power, had actually exceeded the scope of a newly promoted powerful god.

"Captain, Brother Lin Yi, he..." Ming Luo followed Moon Abyss's gaze and couldn't help but exclaim, "He's amazing! I remember he was struggling against the Void-Eating Jellyfish before, and now he's become this strong in such a short time."

"As expected of the First Heavenly Prodigy," Lan replied with a smile. "We've all expended a lot of divine power, let's recover first, then hurry up and collect the spoils before Lin Yi returns."

Moon Abyss nodded silently.

The three then split up and began to act separately.

Lan was in charge of checking the condition and estimated value of the spoils, Ming Luo to a distance to pick up the scattered shell fragments. Although these materials were broken, they were still dropped from a god-level being, and they could always extract something of value from them if they were taken back.

Moon Abyss stood still, keeping watch.

After about half a standard hour, the spoils around them had been mostly collected, and the three of them had also recovered a lot of their divine power.

Just then, the space in front of them rippled slightly.

A silver-gray figure appeared out of thin air.

Lin Yi is back.

Upon seeing Lin Yi appear, Moon Abyss stepped forward, and Lan and Ming Luo immediately approached as well.

"Is it resolved?" Moon Abyss asked.

Lin Yi nodded and raised his right hand.

Above his palm floated an object enveloped in silver-gray spacetime power.

It was a dark silver crystal core, roughly the size of a human head, with irregular polyhedral shapes. Its surface was covered with natural, complex spatial patterns, like natural engravings, and a faint silver light flowed within it.

Around the crystal core, several broken, semi-transparent wing fragments floated, their surfaces also shimmering with spatial runes.

The divine core of the Shadow-Skimming Locust Queen and some high-value materials.

"The mother locust was severely injured before, but she didn't escape too far," Lin Yi explained simply. "She hid in a small, natural spatial fold, trying to use the remaining spatial energy to heal her injuries. Finding her didn't take much effort; she was already powerless to resist."