A Rising Star

Jia Meng and the others were dressed in clothes that stood out among the crowd, each exuding a fearsome aura that made people's hearts tremble.

Jia Meng's dark hair looked especially striking against the night. His gaze was cold and deep.

Under the moonlight, Xia Bu's white hair shimmered. His hidden eyes seemed capable of seeing through all the mysteries of the world.

White hair and hidden eyes—that must be the Curse Counter, Mei Chu. And the one with black hair is Jia Meng. Add Xia Bu, the disciple of the Flourishing Culinary Sect. How are these three going to team up against me?

Mei Chu wondered to himself, keeping up a show of composure as his gaze shifted among the three, searching for any possible opening.

"You're awfully slow at finding allies. You almost let him get away," Xia Bu said with a teasing smile.

"Sorry, sorry. I ran into a dessert I really liked, and the people in line were so slow. That's why I'm late," Wu Siyou replied apologetically.

"That dessert, huh?" Xia Bu glanced at Wu Siyou, then looked at the bag in his hand. He had clearly noticed the faint fragrance of sweet bean paste coming from it.

"It was so delicious I couldn't resist eating it on the way here." Wu Siyou looked a little embarrassed and tried to avoid Xia Bu's gaze.

"I'll make it up to you by taking him down. Just watch."

Jia Meng's voice was as cold as ice, cutting through the night.

"Judging by the strength of your curse energy, you've put in quite a bit of effort. You can even control things several stories high in the dark."

His words were full of undisguised contempt.

Wu Siyou smiled faintly. "With power like that, you've actually dared to come and challenge the Curse Counter. You really are a famous name in the world of curse arts. If you're willing to surrender, I'll spare your life. After all, you're a member of the Curse Counter."

His smile concealed a deep, probing intent, as though he were testing Mei Chu's reaction.

Xia Bu said nothing, silently keeping Mei Chu under surveillance to stop him from taking the chance to escape.

He knew that even when faced with a powerful foe, Mei Chu wouldn't easily give up.

Mei Chu said nothing, but his heart sank. He realized that these three had indeed come specifically to deal with him.

He said with absolute certainty, "One of the Curse Counter's higher-ups betrayed me, so you must have been sent to kill me."

"If you're willing to surrender, I'll spare your life. Just tell me which one of them betrayed me."

But before his words had even faded, he had already turned to flee, hoping to use the moment when his opponent was distracted by his answer to slip away.

But would Wu Siyou let him escape so easily? In a flash, he appeared in front of Mei Chu and blocked his path.

Jia Meng and Xia Bu also moved in from the other direction. The three took up a triangular formation, trapping Mei Chu securely.

In the night, a battle between a group of curse-art masters was about to begin.

Mei Chu's eyes flickered with reluctance, but he still refused to give in.

He knew this battle would be the most difficult one he had faced in his thousand years of life.

Beneath the night sky, the buildings were shrouded in layers of bizarre shadows, and the atmosphere was filled with restless, eerie energy.

Mei Chu's white hair gleamed under the night sky. He clenched his teeth, his voice low but firm.

"You three really are going too far."

Facing the combined attacks of three powerful curse-art masters, Mei Chu's heart was filled with a sense of crisis unlike any he had felt before.

He knew escape was now impossible. He could only fight with all his might and look for an opening.

His brain worked like a high-speed processor, constantly analyzing the situation before him.

Each of the three powerful curse-art masters possessed enough strength to turn the tide of the battle.

Mei Chu was old, but his power ran deep. He still didn't know whether they had already mastered this forbidden technique: Curse Counter.

Curse Counter... Mei Chu silently considered it. He had only just thought of this technique, but quickly dismissed the idea.

Curse Counter's drawbacks were too great. If it failed, he would lose the ability to resist completely and become easy prey.

No. I still have one other move!

Mei Chu's eyes flashed with ruthless resolve. He knew there was no time to hesitate.

He had to choose: surrender or fight to the death.

Just as the three were about to completely surround him, Mei Chu made a decision.

He gritted his teeth and played his final trump card.

"Even if I can't use the curse art I gained from that, I'll make you pay for it! The power of the gravitational technique—Little Rising Star!"

As the incantation fell, an enormous boulder dropped from the sky, carrying a terrifying force as it crashed down toward where Wu Siyou stood.

At that moment, the entire area was plunged into darkness by the force of the attack. Rocks flew everywhere, and the ground shook.

"You're still making a move at a time like this? You're trying to kill me and destroy the whole city, you crazy Curse Counter!" Wu Siyou's voice rang through the air, tinged with unmistakable anger.

But despite facing such an overwhelming attack, Jia Meng was not flustered.

He quickly activated his own curse art.

"Blood Art: Red Blood Cell!"

It was a tracking ability. No matter how far away the target was, he could sense the location of anyone carrying a trace of his blood.

Only a drop of blood, as small as a pinprick, had landed on Mei Chu.

In the next moment, that drop of blood silently seeped into Mei Chu's body. It wasn't very aggressive, but its stealth and speed made it difficult to guard against.

Jia Meng had deliberately waited until Mei Chu had finished activating his transcendent curse art and was at his weakest before striking with his secret technique.

"Watch out!"

Wu Siyou's voice rang through the air. Before he could say anything else, he flashed into motion, turning into a streak of light as he darted through the darkness toward the boulder that was about to strike.

Jia Meng and Xia Bu followed close behind. The three streaked across the night sky like three red comets.

"Curse art: Red Blood—stop!"

Wu Siyou shouted from the air. The light around him flared, and a tremendous force burst from his body, abruptly slowing the boulder's descent.

Xia Bu didn't hesitate. He released a large quantity of flying curse spirits. Like loyal warriors, they rushed toward the boulder, using their bodies to hold back its immense momentum and help Wu Siyou slow it further.

As for Jia Meng, he used his own red blood curse art to form a vast blood lake beneath the boulder's path.

The blood lake was like a crimson mushroom cloud floating in the sky, silently waiting for the boulder's impact.

When the boulder finally crashed into the blood lake, the blood rippled softly, greatly reducing the force of the impact while also cooling the boulder first, preventing it from causing an even greater disaster by heating the air.

The three worked together to slow the boulder and skillfully change its trajectory.

After a great deal of effort, they finally managed to divert it out to sea. By the time it hit the surface, it had slowed considerably, so it was unlikely to cause any enormous tsunami or earthquake.

However, although the disaster had been successfully averted, the sea level rose a little as a result, and the land area of Japan was reduced slightly.

Xia Bu looked at the scene before him and couldn't help smiling.

"If the boulder's position had been a little more precise and it had landed on Japan's peak, Japan's land area could've increased."