Qianqi Weiming

"I'll be taking all your heads."

As soon as she finished speaking, a giant skeleton clad in scarlet Japanese armor appeared behind her.

The girl's lips curled into a cruel smile as she swung her blade fiercely at the air before her.

As if she had guessed what was coming, Lu Shaojun hurriedly shouted a warning: "Get down!"

The weaker unaffiliated Transcendents heard him, but before they could react, the Armored Skeleton at the center had already attacked.

Even Chen Xi hadn't seen when the skeleton drew its blade. A dim blade of energy swept out in every direction around it, leaving no blind spots.

Chen Xi immediately activated her Berserk ability and pulled Lin Yue down with her.

"Shhk—"

With a terrifying sound of flesh being sliced, blood and gore flew across the hall. Nearly a tenth of the Transcendents failed to dodge the horrifying strike.

By the time Lin Yue came to her senses, the scene before her had become a living hell.

Death had come so suddenly. Blood sprayed everywhere, covering the entire hall. Dozens of torsos remained upright, frozen in place.

The sight before her made Lin Yue feel the fragility of life all over again.

Her lips trembled as she stared at the scene in disbelief.

The strike had been so swift and fierce that even Lu Shaojun could only avoid its brunt.

Chen Xi warily studied the girl, quietly pulling Lin Yue behind the others.

Their opponent was a Third Rank Transcendent, the High Priest of the Evil Flower organization—Qianqi Weiming.

"Right. Anyone who failed to dodge that blade of light has been judged unqualified. You don't deserve to witness my domain."

With no desire to test her opponents, and knowing that her strength far surpassed that of Tianhai City's Transcendents, Qianqi Weiming had chosen the most brutal way to make her entrance.

"Damn you!!!" Lu Shaojun's eyes reddened as she swung her heavy sword at Qianqi Weiming with the force of thunder.

The surviving Transcendents with offensive abilities also unleashed their Legend abilities.

In an instant, hundreds of Legend abilities descended like a flood, crashing straight toward Qianqi Weiming.

Among them were several curse-type abilities. Before the attacks even struck her, blood had already begun to spill from the corners of Qianqi Weiming's mouth.

"Enjoy the welcoming gift I've given you. Then struggle and die in fear."

Laughing wildly, she vanished from the center of the hall.

After she left, an unsettling atmosphere settled over the hall. Various Legend artifacts appeared beside the corpses, and everyone fell silent.

After all, the enemy had struck at the heart of their stronghold, and they'd had no way to fight back. A shadow had fallen over everyone's hearts.

If they could break into the Countermeasure Bureau and kill people today, would they be able to stroll openly down the street and kill people the day after tomorrow?

"Is there really no backup coming?" someone asked Lu Shaojun.

Lu Shaojun lowered her eyes and replied, "No... Tianhai City has already been abandoned."

The Evil Flower organization wanted to replace the Spark Federation and establish a nation of its own, strengthening its faith. It wouldn't attack ordinary people.

A Sixth Rank powerhouse guarded the Federation's central region. The ones in real danger were actually the official Transcendents in places like theirs.

They'd enjoyed the Spark Federation's benefits for so long. If they fled without even fighting, they could imagine what would happen.

Even if they escaped to a safe city, they would most likely be sent on dangerous missions.

So they had to fight first. That way, when they left, no one could accuse them of running away without a fight.

With no desire to talk any longer, most of the Transcendents quietly left the Countermeasure Bureau.

By tomorrow, it was questionable whether a hundred Transcendents would still be left in Tianhai City.

In a situation like this, unless they had no other choice, no one would stay here.

"Take care." After saying goodbye to Qiu Ye and the others, Chen Xi led the shell-shocked Lin Yue out of the Countermeasure Bureau.

[CG generation failed; converted to Wish Power charge: 34%]

[Current Wish Power: 82%]

The notification had sounded when Qianqi Weiming delivered that slash. Things had been too urgent at the time, and Chen Xi had only now had a chance to check the message.

The two of them stood silently by the roadside, waiting for their ride.

She was the first to break the silence:

"Let's leave too. Once we've killed Zhu Li, we'll get out of Tianhai City right away."

Lin Yue hung her head, her voice light and faint. "What about Qiu Ye and the others?"

"I want to see if I can..."

Before she could finish, Chen Xi cut her off without mercy.

"You can't save them, Lin Yue."

"You saw how strong the Evil Flower organization is. A Third Rank Transcendent could kill us as easily as crushing ants."

"Bureau Chief Li Changkong hasn't made a move yet. Tianhai City might not necessarily lose."

"Besides, didn't you say you wanted to leave Tianhai City after we dealt with Zhu Li?"

That had indeed been the plan. But after witnessing the bloody scene just now, Lin Yue had started to hesitate.

After all, if she really left with Chen Xi, Qiu Ye and the others would most likely truly "die" here.

"But..." The blonde girl tried to say something else.

"No buts!" Chen Xi clenched her fists and snapped, "Who do you think you are? A Savior?"

She didn't know why she had suddenly gotten so worked up. A moment later, her voice softened.

"You've only just turned eighteen. You don't need to think about all this. Those are grown-ups' problems."

Lin Yue stood stiffly, like a child who'd done something wrong. "Okay."

Their argument was purely the result of the information gap between them, compounded by the limits of their abilities.

In Lin Yue's view, her Regression ability had an upper limit on how many days it could go back. If too much time passed, the cost of returning to that day would surely be far greater than the price of this current trial and error.

In Chen Xi's view, all they needed to do was survive. Lin Yue was the protagonist, after all, so she would surely save the world in the end.

But then Chen Xi thought it over. With her own involvement, the course of events would surely change drastically, and the original story's ending probably couldn't be relied upon anymore.

Maybe staying with Lin Yue right now was the right way to clear the story...

After all, no one could be sure what might happen over repeated regressions.

Maybe Lin Yue would gain an opportunity in this incident, then rise to prominence from there.

Damn it... Just thinking about it gave Chen Xi a headache.

The car arrived.

She took out her phone and checked the time. It was already noon.

Since things had come to this, they might as well eat first.

The two of them took a car to the nearest food street.

At the hotpot restaurant, Lin Yue still looked downcast.

Chen Xi gazed at her and said, "I was worried just now, and I spoke too harshly. I'm sorry. Don't be upset."

Lin Yue's gaze shifted away. "It's fine. You were looking out for me. I was just being too naive..."

Seeing that her spirits were still low, Chen Xi joked with her while dropping a hint. "By the way, what about your prophetic ability? Didn't it give you any guidance?"

That was the art of conversation. With that reminder, Lin Yue secretly began making a plan.

This time, she'd escape with Chen Xi and see how things turned out.

If it didn't work, she could always use her prophecy as an excuse to "persuade" Chen Xi to stay.

At the thought, her worries vanished.

Lin Yue returned to her usual playful self.

"Nope."

Hearing the change in her tone, Chen Xi relaxed too and took out her phone.

[Zhu Li: Tomorrow at six in the evening, come to Happiness Cafe and kill me.]

[Xi: Okay.]

[Xi: Did you hear about what happened with Evil Flower today?]

The message sank without a reply. Chen Xi tried calling, but all she got was a notice that the number had been switched off.

Zhu Li might have even lost her phone. They'd just have to take things as they came.