Battle of the Reincarnators

"Nightingale, you escaped last time, but since you've delivered yourself to my doorstep, you won't be so lucky today!"

Deep within the Worry-Free Cave beneath the western suburbs, Xu Yue's long hair whipped about as her phoenix eyes sharpened. Enveloped in a whirlwind of ice and snow, she appeared to be on the defensive, yet she exuded the overbearing, regal aura of a Queen as she pressed toward her opponent.

Her enemy, shrouded in a cloak, extended a right hand clutching a wand—nine and a half inches long, crafted from cherry wood.

At that moment, the tip of the wand unleashed streams of pitch-black energy, surging violently toward Xu Yue. The figure remained silent, showing no intention of wasting breath on idle chatter.

Though Xu Yue appeared formidable, she was inwardly frowning, finding the situation deeply troublesome.

The opponent, known as Nightingale, was a fellow peak one-star powerhouse. In their previous world, they had clashed fiercely over a contested item.

That time, Nightingale had been unable to withstand the combined strength of the siblings Xu Yue and Xu Feng, fleeing in defeat after sustaining heavy injuries. Now, he had returned for vengeance.

His appearance in the Imperial City that day had merely been a lure. After Xu Yue pursued him, Nightingale triggered a Portkey trap, teleporting her directly into the Worry-Free Cave.

A Portkey was a method from the [Harry Potter] world; by enchanting an inconspicuous object, one could rapidly transport a person from one space to another.

The most memorable instance in the plot was during the Triwizard Tournament, where the champion's trophy was swapped for a Portkey, whisking Harry and the male lead of [Twilight] away to a graveyard to resurrect Voldemort—who, due to being far too handsome, successfully met his demise.

The Portkey in Nightingale's hand naturally lacked that level of power, capable only of short-range transport within ten miles, yet it had successfully lured Xu Yue into an ambush, trapping her underground and severing her telepathic connection with Xu Feng.

Xu Yue maintained a defense as solid as a fortress, so she wasn't worried about Nightingale harming her directly.

What she feared for was Xu Feng.

After trapping her, Nightingale had kept up a steady stream of attacks but had yet to unleash any trump cards, clearly intending to besiege her to lure in reinforcements and pick them off one by one.

The true killing blow was likely reserved for Xu Feng.

Strong as Xu Feng was, if he were forced to come here and fell into a trap as well, the consequences would be unthinkable.

She silently accumulated her strength, preparing to counterattack.

Unexpectedly, at that very moment, Nightingale seized the initiative and vanished.

In his place appeared clusters of twisting smoke, drifting to and fro like Dementors, turning the cave into a ghostly realm.

"A magic circle!"

Xu Yue looked downward instantly, seeing a hexagram formation rising from the ground.

Star-level Reincarnators were individuals who had achieved mastery along their chosen paths, truly stepping into the inner sanctum of power.

It wasn't just about raw destructive force; they possessed various auxiliary means as well.

Such as array formation, alchemy, forging, and enchantment.

Only in this way could they execute the missions assigned by the Main God Temple across the Heavens Consciousness with greater efficiency.

The magic circle Nightingale had inscribed was designed to amplify magical power.

With this formation in place, the hundred-meter radius became his absolute home turf.

Having lost the initiative, Xu Yue had no choice but to strike early. Her ice barrier shifted, blooming into hundreds of ice shards that pierced toward the surroundings.

The ability she possessed was the ice magic of Elsa from the [Frozen] world.

She could not compare to Elsa, who could summon wind and snow with innate magical power; she had cultivated her abilities step by step.

However, precisely because of this, while Xu Yue couldn't build an ice castle while singing, her control over low-tier ice magic was superior—fluid, precise, and entirely at her command.

Previously, she had used the ice barrier for defense; now, she transitioned into the Ice Shard technique for offense, the switch as smooth as flowing water, without a single gap.

Facing this outburst, Nightingale had long anticipated it. He pushed more power into the magic circle, and the pitch-black currents roared, clashing with the ice shards until they dissolved.

Soon, he even began to advance.

Supported by the magic circle, in a direct confrontation between two peak one-star powerhouses, his magical power was naturally superior to Xu Yue's.

This suppression was the foundation for his next step in the plan.

Yet, at that very moment, a massive explosion suddenly echoed from afar.

The tremors rippled through the area, causing the ground to shake and stone dust to rain down.

"Destruction is always easier than construction! Clever!"

Xu Yue's eyes brightened as she immediately realized that Xu Feng had used one of their reserve item cards.

Goblin Sapper Explosives.

The saying that no matter how high one's martial arts, one could be taken down by a single bullet was inaccurate in the world of the Heavens Consciousness.

While firearms possessed great lethality and were easy to pick up, they didn't have the destructive power one might imagine against experts.

Raising a hand, aiming, and pulling the trigger—these seemingly quick steps were enough for a Reincarnator to do far too many things.

Even between two equally powerful individuals, the inflexibility of a projectile's trajectory meant their attacks were easily dodged. Furthermore, relying on firearms often led to weaker close-quarters combat; if a single shot missed, the rhythm of the fight was handed over to the opponent.

Unless one had truly walked a path of cultivation, like the curved trajectory technique from [Wanted] or the Gun Kata from [Equilibrium], the lethality of ordinary firearms could only deal with Reincarnator novices.

But explosives were different.

The power of explosives lay not just in the impact and damage of the blast itself, but in the destruction of the surrounding environment.

For instance, right now, Xu Feng had placed the Goblin Sapper Explosives and detonated them simultaneously.

BOOM! BOOM!

A series of explosions rang out, one after another; even the magically altered Worry-Free Cave could no longer withstand the assault.

Historically, while this place was a den of filth and vice, its scale was certainly not this massive.

However, the world of [Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils] balanced both the martial arts world and the imperial court, naturally leading to certain changes.

Nightingale chose this location precisely for its topographical advantages.

Yet, every advantage has its drawback; because of the expansion of the Worry-Free Cave, she could not stop Xu Feng's demolition.

As shocking cracks spread across the ceiling, Nightingale was forced to divert the power of the magic array to at least keep the place from collapsing, while screaming, "Wu Que, if you don't act now, what are you waiting for?"

In truth, there was no need for Nightingale to call out.

The moment the magic array shifted its target, Xu Yue raised both hands, and ice and snow swirled, paving a crystal-clear staircase beneath her feet that lifted her body upward.

Seeing that Xu Yue was about to escape, a folding fan suddenly struck down toward the top of her head.

There was no visible gale, but the concentrated force within—lethality hidden rather than displayed—was the most terrifying part.

Enemies are bound to meet!

Xu Yue's heart sank; it was another rival she had crossed paths with before.

It seemed the other party had been prepared for a long time.

But she was not worried about this fan.

Because a burly figure had already lunged out, throwing a punch that struck the void.

Accompanied by a sonic boom, masculine blood energy surged and overflowed, making everyone feel as if they were standing next to a furnace, unbearably scorching.

Xu Feng! Tiger Demon Bone Refining Fist!

BANG!

Following a sound like a great bell tolling, the folding fan flew backward, caught in the hand of a handsome man in white, who sneered at Xu Yue, "Queen, we meet again."

The title of Queen he used was not a compliment; among Star-level Reincarnators, most addressed each other by code names.

This was primarily to guard against curses that used real names as targets.

Actually, it wasn't strictly necessary, but the key was that it allowed them to act cool.

For instance, because Xu Yue followed the path of Elsa the Snow Queen, her code name was Queen, and her younger brother Xu Feng called himself Prince.

Nightingale, Wu Que, Queen, Prince—how pretentious!

Except for the first one, which was somewhat normal, the others were all narcissistic enough.

Returning to the matter at hand, Xu Feng and Xu Yue reunited, their hearts completely settled. They looked at Nightingale and Wu Que respectively, revealing extremely mocking smiles: "So it's Nightingale, you defeated loser, and Wu Que, you shameless, penniless wretch. When the deal didn't go through, you actually chased us into the Heavens? How pathetic!"

Secretly, he sent a message via his Star Mark to report to Xu Yue: "Sis, there are three people on the other side, and one more hiding in the shadows."

"I guessed as much. These two alone can't keep us here. By the way, you handled this well this time; your sister is very satisfied!"

Seeing Xu Feng guarding her, Xu Yue's heart calmed down, and she felt a sense of relief that her brother had grown up and could stand on his own.

However, she found it a bit strange. If using Goblin Sapper Explosives to clear the path was Xu Feng's quick thinking, how did he know the number of enemies?

Reincarnators had all sorts of methods; even she had suffered a loss due to a door key this time. Xu Feng followed the martial arts path, which made it even harder for him to gather such intelligence.

A flash of inspiration struck her mind, and Xu Yue's relief vanished, her face turning pale: "You didn't bring Huang Shang with you, did you?"