"Grr—!"
Dai Mubai was pinned beneath the heavy weight of the wooden beam, his bones nearly crushed.
He hadn't even had time to cry out before the beam's jagged edge sliced into his shoulder. The impact left him gravely wounded.
Blood flowed without pause.
"Zhu Zhuqing! You're trying to kill me?!"
The massive beam had slammed into the floorboards. Dai Mubai's body was as limp as a rag doll.
In desperation, he smashed through the window and leaped out.
"Crash—!"
A streak of blood arced through the air. A deep, bone-visible gash had been carved into his throat.
Had the cut been even half an inch deeper, it would have sliced right through his windpipe!
"Zhu Zhuqing! You're a woman! What the hell do you want from me?!"
"I really didn't mean to kill you!"
Dai Mubai rolled across the ground like a wolf, his entire body drenched in blood.
At that moment, his mind went blank with fear. He was scared.
The Zhu Zhuqing before him was nothing like the sweet, docile girl he remembered—the girl he thought he could charm with honeyed words or command with an overbearing attitude.
"Damn it! Damn it!"
The young girl's black hair was tangled around her, and her face was as dark as ink.
The coldness that had once filled her eyes had given way to a chilling, deathly gaze.
She felt nothing for the man in front of her.
To her, he was as good as dead.
"What do I want?"
Zhu Zhuqing's figure blurred as she landed close by.
Each step she took matched the rhythm of Dai Mubai's terrified heartbeat.
"I'm going to rip out your heart and see how many people in Suotuo City you've betrayed!"
"Meow—!"
Zhu Zhuqing disappeared again. The Ghost Shadow Spirit Cat wrapped her in its speed-enhancing power.
Even without her third soul ring—
the soul skill that could transcend the limits of life and death—Dai Mubai still felt an overwhelming sense of despair!
"Second soul skill, White Tiger Intense Light Wave!"
Dai Mubai roared furiously.
He fought through the pain in his throat and tried to counterattack. But the fierce blast of light was easily dodged by Zhu Zhuqing, who simply leaned to the side.
"Dai, stop!"
At that moment—
Ning Rongrong and Oscar, who had been secretly following them, finally stepped forward.
"Let that woman go, and I'll— Ah! Zhu Zhuqing, you're killing him?!"
Ning Rongrong couldn't help but cry out when she saw Dai Mubai.
She had only glanced away for a moment!
His hulking body lurched, his fingers spread, and a vicious flame gathered in his palm.
"First soul skill, Phoenix Fire Line!"
A thick column of red fire swept out, sealing every escape route Zhu Zhuqing could take.
At that moment, Ning Rongrong didn't care about the bond between comrades.
If Dai Mubai died, she and Oscar would be in serious trouble too.
"Die, you bitch! Die!"
Zhu Zhuqing looked at the roaring flames without a trace of fear.
Her face showed not the slightest hesitation. She even seemed ready to charge into the fire, as she gathered all her soul power and prepared to pierce Dai Mubai's heart with her right hand.
Even if she died with him, Dai Mubai had to die!
"So, to kill Dai Mubai, you were willing to put your own life on the line."
In the distance, Tianqing Bull Python let out a sigh.
In the next instant, the dagger in his hand remained sheathed. He only pointed a finger, then flicked it downward.
"Whoosh—!"
A black sword beam, so dark that even the stars seemed to lose their light, streaked across hundreds of meters like a shooting star. It instantly cut through Ning Rongrong's Phoenix Fire Line.
Its power did not diminish. It carved a perfect arc through the air.
"Ah—! My arm!"
Ning Rongrong let out a shrill scream.
Everyone was sent reeling by that fearsome sword intent. His right arm was severed at the shoulder, leaving a clean, bloodless stump.
There wasn't even any blood.
The Desolation Sword Intent had sealed off all life in the wound the moment it struck.
"Oscar!"
Oscar's face went deathly pale. Instinctively, he tried to run.
"You're staying, too."
Lin Chen flicked his hand, and another heavy sword beam came crashing down.
Oscar, who had been trying to escape, only managed to cry, "Tectonic Plateau!" before his leg snapped with a crack.
He collapsed to the ground like a dead dog, unable even to cry for help.
Mi Ruoxi stared in shock.
Lin Chen had made his move. Every strike showed how much he cared about her.
"Poor thing..."
Mi Ruoxi and the others were all startled.
At that moment, Dai Mubai watched Zhu Zhuqing instantly kill him. At last, the psychological defenses he'd built up crumbled completely.
"Why... Zhuqing, why are you doing this to me?!"
"Even if I came from a place where everyone was against me, my family was too powerful, and I—"
"Too powerful?"
Zhu Zhuqing let out a scornful laugh.
She slowly walked toward Dai Mubai, the blade in her hand glinting with a cold light beneath the moon.
"Dai Mubai, you're a traitor. Even dying by my hand is an honor."
"The power you're talking about—is that what you call running away alone to save your own life, then sucking up to whoever holds power and clinging to anyone who might protect you?"
Dai Mubai's pupils narrowed to pinpricks. "Zhuqing, I can explain!"
"I hate you!"
The cold light in Zhu Zhuqing's eyes grew even colder.
"Dai Mubai, you really disgust me."
Zhu Zhuqing's figure blurred, turning into a streak of black lightning.
"Grr—!"
The sound of a blade cutting through flesh rang out.
Zhu Zhuqing's right hand became a palm blade, and she stabbed it straight through Dai Mubai's heart!
Her fingers clenched around his still-beating heart.
"Dai Mubai, my fate was never tied to yours!"
"I have my own destiny!"
Dai Mubai's body went rigid.
His eyes were filled with confusion and reluctance. Right up until the very end, he still couldn't understand why the girl who had once depended on him so completely had suddenly become so terrifying.
"Thud—!"
Dai Mubai's body toppled into the pool of blood, his eyes still open.
Zhu Zhuqing stood beside his corpse, letting the blood splatter across her half-covered body.
She felt no grief. Instead, she let out a long, relieved breath.
"..."
In that moment, the heavy shadow that had been pressing on her soul—the lingering dread of Dai Mubai—vanished completely.
"Dai Mubai, I'll send you off."
She turned and looked at Mi Ruoxi and Oscar, who had stopped nearby.
The three girls stood in the middle of the blood-soaked street.
Behind her stood Ning Rongrong and Oscar, both pale with shock, and Lin Chen, who watched her with a smile.
"This time, I finally escaped that damn fate."
Zhu Zhuqing looked up at the sky.
In her eyes, a beam of light seemed to flow. In that instant, it shone as brightly as the stars.
"Tianqing Bull Python, how should we deal with these people?"
Mi Ruoxi asked Lin Chen, who stood nearby. Ning Rongrong and Oscar were still pale with shock, and their strength had clearly left them terrified.
Lin Chen's attack was too frightening.
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