The Only Way

Lei Chan turned into a streak of light, spreading his senses to their limit as he raced through forests and mountains. Although Catherine had been struck by his Thunder Emperor Seal, she was, after all, the foremost intellect. There was no telling whether some twist might yet arise. To be safe, he had to see her alive—or see her corpse. At the very least, he had to find the Shadow Cloak.

As he sped onward, Lei Chan abruptly halted. Silver light shone from his black pupils, veins bulging all over his body and faintly taking on a dark silver hue, as though even the blood flowing through them had undergone some strange mutation.

The muscles in Lei Chan's face twisted, and his body began to tremble slightly, as if he were enduring tremendous agony. With a low roar, the ring on the middle finger of his left hand gave off a faint black glow. The silvery white rapidly turned black, forcibly suppressing the abnormality.

"Arux..." Lei Chan ground out the name through clenched teeth. Struggling to steady his disordered breathing, he tightened his fists. Sensing the disturbance of that strange power within him, he ultimately did not continue his search. He transformed into a blood-red rainbow and flew away at full speed.

Long after the blood-red rainbow vanished, two hazy figures appeared atop a massive boulder on a hillside. They were Chen Rui and Catherine.

"That was Lei Chan, wasn't it?" Chen Rui stared at the speck of light fading into the distant sky. "Strange. Why did he suddenly leave? What happened?"

"We can't let down our guard. It may well be a deliberate lure. To guard against the worst, we can't return to Yego Fortress for now. East of here lies a mountain range; it'll be safer there." Catherine