Volume Five: Return from the Other Shore - The Limit

First update on the first day of the Lunar New Year. There will be three updates today.

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"Depend on--"

"Flash!!"

The two simultaneously retreated hastily, but the monster's closed wings suddenly opened with a roar, the turbid air blowing them off balance! Before they could regain their footing, the wings flapped violently through the air again, and the monster instantly appeared behind Haoyue! Haoyue immediately swung her sword in a backhand strike, the Eclipse Devour clinging to the blade churning and tearing through space—

Long, slender, and twisted fingers extended, fingertips facing the sword tip, easily deflecting the slash.

Then, with a flap of its wings, pure white holy light sliced through space vertically like a blade.

The moon's arm was slashed vertically.

A very neat cut from the middle finger to the shoulder.

"Ah..."

She let out a soft, almost cute moan.

The mixture of flesh and bone ripped from her arm fell to the ground under the force of gravity.

"Target locked, eliminate --"

"Bright Moon!!!!"

"Xiao Wu roared, so desperate that she didn't even realize she was calling out Haoyue's real name, not " the Qipao Woman "! Her Thunderous Body activated again, and she transformed into a bolt of lightning, charging towards Haoyue, her powerful fist, packed with purple lightning, slamming into the monster's chest—

Thump!!! "Gurgle!"

Even Xiao Wu couldn't help but gasp. If the previous monsters had incredible defense, this one was truly indestructible! Such an attack was completely blocked, not even leaving a trace. Xiao Wu herself was almost thrown back by the recoil!

"Target added -- eliminated!"

The monster's wing swept through the air, and the overflowing rain of light showered onto Xiao Wu at almost zero distance!

"Oh— Supple Body!"

Xiao Wu stretched her body to its limit once more, contorting it completely to barely dodge the rain of light that was right in front of her! A rumbling explosion came from below, and the shockwave could be felt even here. Xiao Wu glanced at the ground out of the corner of her eye—with just a flap of a wing, one-tenth of Gloria had been completely annihilated!

(You bastard!)

The monster's eyes snapped open, locking onto Xiao Wu! A dazzling holy light brewed deep within its eyes, the sheer energy scorching her skin. Just as Xiao Wu was about to dodge, two feathers with eyes pierced through her legs from outside her field of vision!

(Damn, when?)

Her movements faltered for a moment due to the sudden attack; that brief instant was enough to decide her fate! Facing the holy light in countless eyes, Xiao Wu gritted her teeth, preparing to withstand the attack head-on.

Hug! "--Uh!?"

At the last moment, something soft lunged at her from the side, forcibly pulling her away from the monster's attack trajectory! At the same time, countless dense rays shot out from the monster's face, piercing from the sky all the way to the depths of the earth's crust, while the legs under the cheongsam were completely reduced to ashes and disappeared!

"Hey, you--"

"It's rare for you to call me by my name, so here's a little reward for you... sigh... Don't get me wrong!"

Haoyue interrupted Xiao Wu with obvious annoyance. Pure white holy light still lingered on the severed surface of her right arm, which had been cut in half vertically, spreading and eroding along her flesh. With her still relatively intact left arm, she plunged the sword deep into her right shoulder and slashed it away, forcibly gouging out the rest of her right arm!

Xiao Wu clicked her tongue in annoyance, grabbed Haoyue who had lost her right arm and both legs, and charged straight at the ground! Huge beams of light grazed past them, and a terrifying aura kept approaching, the light and shadow of the wings almost engulfing them!

"Damn it! You'll bleed to death at this rate!"

"No way! I've already used the Healing Moon treatment; my lost limbs can regenerate, it's just much slower than yours!"

"Tch! Just stay put and don't move!"

"Then don't carry me in Princess carry! It's disgusting!"

"Do you think I'd carry you on my shoulders? Shut up!"

Accelerating with her Thunderous Body, Xiao Wu pushed her speed to the limit, narrowly avoiding the monster's rain of light.

"We've landed!"

"Ugh--" Boom!!!

The two landed awkwardly, and Haoyue was thrown directly from Xiao Wu's arms. She barely managed to prop herself up with her sword. Silver-white healing runes covered her severed limbs, and her flesh and bones were regenerating at a visible speed, but it was still too slow!

"Only... a little over a minute left..."

"You naughty girl, I still have a way... Phew... Could you buy me just one minute?"

"Why?"

"My explosive power is far inferior to yours. My strongest killing moves require a long charging time, but their power is correspondingly immense..."

"If I help you get it, can you take it down?"

"We can destroy about two-thirds of it. The remaining third depends on you. Sin Annihilation should be almost fully recovered and on its way..."

"All right--"

"--careful!!!"

The monster flashed, its claws wreathed in holy light, slicing across the spot where Xiao Wu's head had been a split second before! Xiao Wu body bent backward, launched a flying kick, but before it could reach the monster's face, it was gripped tightly by the claws, and with a slight exertion, her ankle was completely crushed!

"Xiao Wu!!!!" Haoyue shouted, unaware that she had also subconsciously called out the other person's name.

The monster, its face full of eyes, glanced at Haoyue, then casually tossed Xiao Wu away, sending her crashing through more than a dozen buildings in the distance. Smoke and dust billowed into the sky, dazzling under the holy light, but the monster didn't turn around; all its eyes—both on its face and wings—were fixed on Haoyue lying on the ground.

"Annihilate--"

Stay away from her!!!!!!!!!

A deafening explosion reverberated across the earth, the roar growing louder as it approached. Purple lightning flashed across thousands of meters in an instant! The monster raised its hand and fired a light blast behind it, but the purple humanoid figure not only didn't dodge, but instead punched the light blast, sending it flying at the cost of its shattered arm!

"I already told you, stay away from her!!!!"

The lightning hissed and exploded, its purple trajectory tracing a beautiful yet deadly arc before the powerful blow shattered on the monster's back of the head! The monster, its center of gravity shifting slightly, shuddered, and countless eyes on its wings unleashed rays that pierced through Xiao Wu! Completely ignoring the pain and the rampant corruption of holy light upon her body, she followed up with a kick to the monster's side! The compressed purple lightning exploded with a deafening roar, sending the monster flying hundreds of meters before coming to a stop!

"Saki--a bad girl!?"

"Hoo... hoo... fine, just call me 'Xiao Wu'... I'll call you 'Hot Moon' from now on."

"..."

Xiao Wu propped herself up with her trembling legs, spitting out the blood foam in her mouth. Her body's self-healing ability was fighting against the corrosive holy light from her wounds, and by all accounts, she was in a situation where she could no longer fight.

Even so, she stood in front of Haoyue without any hesitation, like an unyielding mountain.

"You... Xiao Wu! Can you really last even a minute like this!?"

"What, Haoyue? You're actually worried about me?"

"Waaah--"

Seeing Haoyue acting unusually timid, Xiao Wu couldn't help but chuckle.

In stark contrast to the violent energy radiating from her entire body, her expression was extremely gentle, without her even realizing it.

"Don't worry, I don't want to see any more of my comrades fall. I am—"

Guji jiji jiji jiji!!!

The monster roared as it rose to its feet, its wings of light growing to hundreds of meters in length, like a giant hand slapping towards Xiao Wu! A massive spatial rift appeared where the wings swept across, and the ground below cracked open into bottomless ravines. The blinding holy light at the very tip of the wings enveloped both of them simultaneously—

Ding!!!!!

"--I mean what I say!"

Xiao Wu stepped forward and caught the blow with both arms! The terrifying energy was abruptly stopped, but the ground beneath her and Haoyue remained unharmed! To prevent Haoyue from being affected, Xiao Wu forcefully used her own body to withstand the entire impact!

Even so, she did not collapse.

Instead, he glanced at Haoyue and spoke softly.

"Hey... Haoyue, we're friends, right?"

"Xiao Wu..."

"Then let me share a little secret with you... Do you know my 'Extreme Mode'? I originally intended to use it when truly battling high-level opponents, but now I'm afraid I have no choice..."

"... The one that supposedly shortens your lifespan by a year for every minute you drive it?"

"It's actually a lie... Don't tell Ye or anyone else, okay? Opening it for even a minute will shorten your lifespan by more than a year..."

Xiao Wu released her Thunderous Body and her Demon Transformation.

But within her, an even greater power was brewing, rising, and roaring.

Until the limit.

The hand that was blocking the wings of light transformed into a claw, pulling up the wings and causing the monster on the other end to fly into the air as well.

"... Actually, it's been ten years."

The power that had been building up to its limit was unleashed in one go.

However, the surrounding environment was not affected.

The ultimate Demonic Power —or something beyond that—is completely confined to the physical body!

Xiao Wu's body began to twist violently! Every part of her body swelled and contracted at different times, and muffled thunder rumbled continuously from within her body. Her skin was almost instantly blasted to ashes, and hideous lightning patterns emerged from her exposed muscles, covering every inch!

"Ugh... Guh... Cough...!!!"

Xiao Wu clenched her teeth, but even so, a muffled groan escaped from her lips! Two blinding purple bolts of lightning destroyed her eyeballs and shot out of their sockets, but were blocked by her regenerated eyes in the next instant. Her fingers twisted and restored themselves repeatedly, and all her internal organs adjusted to the most suitable state with each shattering. Even every strand of hair seemed to turn into fine bolts of lightning!

"Gah... hoo... ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh"

Finally, unable to endure it any longer, Xiao Wu in agony, a sound so shrill it was unlike her usual voice! To exploit one's body for the sake of battle, to overdraw one's life force, to wantonly destroy every cell—such pain is unbearable for any living being!

"Enough! Xiao Wu! Stop! This isn't worth it—"

"--Of course it's worth it! I told you! I mean what I say!!!!"

With her tongue, constantly breaking and yet constantly recovering, she wove words, enduring the raging pain and fury within her mind. Her body, strained by the overwhelming energy, could barely sustain itself. Xiao Wu desperately connected her chaotic consciousness to her limbs, using her overwhelming willpower to temper the violent energy! Her clouded vision gradually cleared; the pain in her limbs remained but was now under control. Every ounce of vitality within her was pushed to its limit, and finally, her newly grown skin was covered in dazzling lightning patterns—

"Phew... okay... it's done..."

She stretched out her palm and then clenched it again; with just such a simple movement, the purple lightning emanating from her skin caused the air to explode incessantly.

"Alright... relax and gather your strength... it's only a minute... I'll show you!"

"Chichichichichichichichichichichichichichi!!!!!"

"Warning -- Unknown large energy source -- Prioritize elimination --"

The monster, having unleashed its full power, roared as it descended, its claws tearing through space as they slammed into Xiao Wu, the aftershocks even causing the earth to tremble!

Xiao Wu raised her left hand and firmly grasped the monster's claws.

It cannot go any further.

"... Gurgle?"

Then, his right fist, covered in lightning patterns, suddenly struck out, sending it flying with a single punch!

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Wu Ye is so handsome and exudes boyfriend charm! No wonder he's the male lead!

It's rare to see Yue-chan so cute and soft-hearted! No wonder she's the female lead!

Ye Jiang:... What about my stance? And how long am I supposed to be offline?