Purpose and the Star God's Descent

"Heh~ Looks like we're pretty famous after all~"

At that, the woman smiled.

The man behind her said nothing, like a silent mountain—or rather, a silent coffin filled with blades.

He merely drew the ancient sword wrapped in bandages. Beneath them, the blade looked as though it had been dug out of the dust of history, covered in fine cracks and forcibly held together by some obsessive power.

The next second, the mountain moved.

Without a sound or warning, he vanished from behind the woman and reappeared at Zhang Qi's left.

Space beneath his feet crumpled like paper, and a single step carried him over ten meters.

Sword energy tore through the damp air of the alley, carrying the scent of old rust and blood as it slashed straight for Zhang Qi's neck.

But the blade cut through nothing but a fading afterimage.

"Boom!"

The screen wall behind the teahouse, carved with the Three Star Gods of Fortune, Prosperity, and Longevity, was split down the middle by that strike. Bricks and glazed tiles came crashing down, kicking up a large cloud of choking dust.

"I don't think I have anything on me worth the Stellaron Hunters' attention."

Zhang Qi's voice came from the other side. He stood unharmed beneath the crooked ginkgo tree at the mouth of the alley, brushing the dust from his sleeve.

He looked like someone who had just been bluffed out of a winning hand at the card table—somewhat helpless, and somewhat unable to make sense of it.

"Oh? You actually broke free of my Spirit Word so easily?"

The woman raised an eyebrow.

At last, a trace of something that could be called "surprise" appeared in her beautiful eyes.

"Be careful, Kafka. This man is extremely dangerous!"

At that moment, the projection of a petite