A Gathering of Young and Old

That sword struck a mass of phantoms.

Some technique akin to a substitution jutsu or a king-side castling shifted Yu Zhiwei's physical form. Her body vanished and reappeared over ten meters away, yet the moment she raised her scepter again, a layer of diffusing ice mist erupted outward, centered on Valentina.

"The weapon's name is Willow Leaf White Garden. Depending on the elemental crystals filled in real-time, it can release different types of elemental power. And you just said that as long as you can see it and feel it, you can kill it, right?"

The voice came from within the ice mist.

The voice originated from every corner of the mist.

The ice mist possessed a special property that confused vision and hindered perception. It spread rapidly, surging in all directions.

A burst of radiance erupted from the center of Yu Zhiwei's brow—the next moment, the ice mist rapidly closing in on her retreated in a ring-like formation away from her. Dozens of cutting sounds of varying specifications suddenly burst forth in the air; it was evident that the invisible telekinetic blades she drove were clearing the surroundings.

She didn't hit anything.

The air around her suddenly twisted.

Valentina's form appeared in close proximity to Yu Zhiwei at a speed comparable to the generation of telekinesis. A whispering voice accompanied her sword as it thrust out once more.

"It seems your Mystic Eyes of Death Perception aren't enough to kill the ice mist as a whole."

Her gaze was focused, her eyes as sharp as a falcon's.

An invisible slash appeared on her chest, yet she neither dodged nor evaded.

"Sorry about that." There was no fear on Yu Zhiwei's face. "But how did you suddenly accelerate?"

Her weakness had already been exposed the moment she spoke of her own enhancement. That was, no matter how strong the kill-effect of the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception series was, it could only target one point at a time. When encountering things like multi-layered shields, it could only dismantle them layer by layer rather than using brute force to pierce through in one go. And even if the shield only had one layer, she still had to land a second strike to injure the protected entity beneath it!

A layer of invisible energy field cracked open on Valentina's body. However, the thrusting sword she delivered also touched Yu Zhiwei's brow at this very instant—even though the latter tilted her head with all her might to avoid it, a small portion of Yu Zhiwei's brow bone was sliced open, and one exquisite eyeball was directly plucked out, shattering into ice crystals in the air.

That must have hurt.

But a fearless smile still hung on the corners of Yu Zhiwei's lips.

The second sword of Willow Leaf White Garden stalled an inch away from piercing her throat. That exceptionally massive, to the point of producing large-scale materialization, stream of telekinesis curbed its further penetration.

The fierce light in Valentina's eyes receded bit by bit.

"This is the first time I've let my guard down in front of a 'companion.' You've taught me a good lesson, thank you very much, Ms. Yu Zhiwei."

"Perhaps this is the difference between a peaceful breakup and a life-or-death struggle." Yu Zhiwei continued to observe her with her remaining good eye. "If you're still not satisfied, you can stab me a few more times. But if you want to kill me, I will resist with all my might."

However, Valentina merely pulled her sword out with disdain and moved away from her.

"Just thinking about working with someone like you in the future puts me in a bad mood. You'd better not let me catch you a second time, otherwise, a mere 1,000 reward points is something I can still afford."

She walked two steps, then stopped.

"I've installed a 'Qian-Ti' Mark 5 Sandevistan in my spine. It can theoretically accelerate my body up to ten times for a certain period. Don't blame me for not warning you in the future when tactical conflicts arise."

She left.

But she didn't go very far.

A golden light descended, and Valentina obtained a chair and a tea table laden with snacks. She sat there elegantly.

Si Ming looked at Jacob, then at Song Tian.

He discovered that the reactions of the other men were much the same as his own.

How should one put it... women fighting is indeed a sight to behold. But now that the ladies were done fighting, wouldn't the men who hadn't had the chance to act feel a bit awkward?

"I personally don't mind having an additional exchange. Let's just call it a future team specialty of our Celestial Team." Si Ming spread his hands; he didn't actually feel very awkward.

"Let's save that specialty for later." However, Jacob showed a somewhat forced smile and waved his hand. "The atmosphere isn't right; it's meaningless to fight. One shouldn't fight just for the sake of fighting."

Thus, Si Ming looked at Song Tian.

And Song Tian was looking at him as well.

"You said you were a Necromancer, but there is the scent of a warrior on you. I can feel it; it is very strong."

"I said it before, I also possess some melee abilities and techniques." Si Ming raised his hand, and a mass of twilight-colored battle qi swayed in his palm. That aura was dim yet scorching, possessing a significant quality. "I call this Night Battle Qi, a power I cultivated myself. However, in most cases, I will be stationed as a summoning-type spellcaster."

Song Tian took a deep look at that mass of battle qi, and a pure, clear aura intertwined with five colors suddenly emerged from his body. It was as sharp as a blade, and in an instant, it all converged onto the large saber in Song Tian's hand.

That saber was very sharp.

"The saber is Snow Drinker, and the cultivation technique is the Great Five Elements Divine Art. I realized the Great Five Elements Divine Blade recorded within it based on the manual. And this is all I know."

Snow Drinker is a saber from the Wind and Cloud series. Even a budget version has a price tag of at least Rank B. As for that Great Five Elements Divine Blade, which sounded quite intimidating...

--[Great Five Elements Divine Art--Source: 'Blade Shadow Yaoji' worldview, secret technique of the Five Elements Sect, can condense Five Elements True Qi within the body. Once the cycle is completed, the True Qi can be endless. And when operated in reverse, it can manifest the principle of the mutual restraint of the five elements. Any external object within the circulation of the five elements will be restrained by the Five Elements True Qi.]

--[To purchase this enhancement, it requires 1 Rank A side-story and 6,000 reward points. Furthermore, the enhancer needs to possess at least a Rank B internal cultivation technique, or an equivalent 'Qi' attribute enhancement as a prerequisite.]

So that's it, it's something similar to the Rank A Hunyuan One Qi Art. Although the source is a bit obscure, since it can enter the Main God's exchange list, it clearly possesses power and potential of a corresponding specification. Considering Song Tian previously said he realized the accompanying Great Five Elements Divine Blade from the manual, he likely enhanced his internal cultivation to at most Rank C first, then purchased the manual. And now, based on Si Ming's perception of him, the total amount of True Qi in his body had already reached at least Rank B+.

"If there's a chance in the future, we can find a time to spar." Si Ming looked at Song Tian and nodded. "My summons have quite a variety of tricks; it won't be easy to force out my melee skills."

"There is no time like the present." Song Tian said in a deep voice. He was clearly also the type who didn't feel awkward.

Thus, the two of them looked at Jacob.

And this young West Asian man in a white robe sighed melancholically.

"If I say I'm not doing this right now, will I seem like a nuisance or someone who doesn't fit in?"

Song Tian did not answer, which could be taken as tacit agreement.

"I don't really care whether we fight or not." Si Ming shrugged. He watched as Yu Zhiwei, with her head missing a chunk and blood still dripping from the jagged wound, leaned in close to the visibly resistant Valentina—it was hard to imagine these two women had been fighting to the death just minutes ago, but as things stood, they might just be transitioning into the "friends through fighting" trope.

Women, so hard to understand.

He sighed.

"Anyway, the atmosphere is already like this; I couldn't even find a place to eat a Macragge Coconut Heart Pastry if I wanted to. If we're going to fight, then let's fight. A chaotic brawl or a two-on-one, I'm fine with either."

The ball was tossed back into the other court; he could tell that this Mr. Jacob wasn't particularly skilled at socializing either. It was honestly hard to believe that the founding members of the Celestial Team were such a bunch of problematic individuals.

So, Jacob raised his hands in surrender.

"Fine, fine. I'll join in too." He raised his hand, and the tear in his clothing was silently repaired, just like the wound on Song Tian's arm. A powerful surge of holy energy immediately erupted from within Jacob's body, coalescing behind his back into a warm glow that vaguely resembled the shape of a giant wheel.

"The bloodline I enhanced started as a Priest, then later became a Profane Priest. And now, I harbor the divine power of Tyr, the God of Justice, within me."

Radiance gradually filled his eyes, and the threat level he posed in Si Ming's perception increased accordingly. The Divinity Particles integrated into the Necrotic Aura within his body began to tremble slightly. While the quality was on his side, the quantity belonged to his opponent.

They were natural enemies, the kind whose attributes were inherently hostile to one another.

"You seem to possess a power that is completely antithetical to the divine power of Tyr, yet it is far purer than the secondary sub-divine power I possess. Mr. Si Ming, perhaps that is the reason why Miss Yu Zhiwei cannot see through the flaws in your defense. However, while the quality of the justice-based divine power within me is weaker, the Holy Shroud I wear can enhance its effects. If you aren't careful, you're going to suffer."

So that was it.

Profane Priest, Tyr, Holy Shroud—it was no wonder Jacob couldn't stay with the Sandbar Team. This wasn't just heresy; this was the kind of behavior that landed one directly in the category of devils.

But... that was fine too.

Because with this, Si Ming's initial goal—to understand everyone's general enhancement paths, personalities, and approximate combat strength to ensure smooth interactions later on—had already been fully achieved. And the Coconut Heart Pastry he had been the first to jump out and make had also been shoved into Yu Zhiwei's mouth thanks to her own actions.

This was just fine.

The Profaned Greatsword appeared in Si Ming's hand, and Song Tian gripped the Snow Drinker Blade. Meanwhile, pure, holy light began to spread from beneath Jacob's feet, flowing out in all directions.

One second, two seconds.

A total of twenty enhanced skeleton soldiers appeared out of thin air around Si Ming. And before they could take any action, and before Jacob or Song Tian could make any response, he was the first to clench his palm shut.

"Detonate!"