Qianqi Weiming

"I shall accept all of your heads."

As her words fell, a giant skeleton clad in vermilion Japanese-style armor manifested behind her.

The young girl curled her lips into a cruel smile and swung her blade fiercely at the empty air before her.

Seemingly having guessed what was coming, Lu Shaojun shouted a hurried warning: "Get down!"

The weaker freelance Transcendent were still reacting when the Armored Skeleton in the center launched its attack.

Even Chen Xi did not see when the skeleton drew its blade; a dull, lethal wave of sword energy swept out from its body in every direction.

Instantly activating her Berserk ability, Chen Xi pulled Lin Yue down with her.

"Sshhh—"

Accompanied by the horrific sound of flesh being severed, blood sprayed across the hall; nearly ten percent of the Transcendent failed to dodge the terrifying strike.

By the time Lin Yue regained her senses, the scene before her had turned into a living hell.

Death had come so suddenly; blood splattered and coated the entire hall, while dozens of bisected corpses remained standing exactly where they had been.

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

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

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

Chen Xi eyed the girl with wariness, quietly pulling Lin Yue back behind the others.

The opponent was a Tier 3 Transcendent, the High Priest of the Evil Flower organization—Qianqi Weiming.

"Very well, those who failed to dodge that blade light are judged as unqualified; you have no right to witness my Domain."

Having no intention of testing them further, and knowing full well that her strength crushed the Transcendent of Tianhai City, Qianqi Weiming chose the most brutal way to make her entrance.

"Damn it!!!" Lu Shaojun's eyes turned slightly red as his heavy sword, carrying the momentum of thunder, swung toward Qianqi Weiming.

The surviving Transcendent who possessed offensive capabilities also unleashed their Legend abilities in unison.

In an instant, hundreds of Legend abilities flooded the air, crashing down upon Qianqi Weiming.

Among them were curse-type abilities; before Qianqi Weiming was even struck, blood was already spilling from the corner of her mouth.

"Do enjoy the opening gift I've given you, and then, struggle and die in fear."

Laughing wildly, her body dissolved into nothingness and vanished from the center of the hall.

After she left, the atmosphere in the hall turned eerie; various Legend relics floated beside the corpses, and everyone fell into a heavy silence.

After all, having the enemy strike at the heart of their operations without any way to fight back cast a dark shadow over their hearts.

If they could storm the Countermeasure Bureau today, would they be able to kill people in broad daylight on the streets the day after tomorrow?

"Is there really no support?" Someone asked Lu Shaojun, though it was unclear who.

Lu Shaojun lowered his eyes and replied, "None... Tianhai City has been abandoned."

The Evil Flower organization wanted to replace the Spark Federation to establish their own nation and strengthen their faith; they would not target ordinary people.

With a Tier 6 existence guarding the central region of the Federation, it was the official Transcendent in small places like them who were truly in danger.

Having enjoyed the benefits of the Spark Federation for so long, the consequences of fleeing before a battle were obvious.

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

Therefore, they had to fight at least one battle; that way, when they left, they would not be leaving behind a bad reputation.

Losing the desire to converse further, most of the Transcendent left the Countermeasure Bureau in silence.

By tomorrow, it would be a question of whether even a hundred Transcendent remained in Tianhai City.

In the current situation, unless they were absolutely forced to, no one would choose to stay here.

"Take care." After saying goodbye to Qiu Ye and the others, Chen Xi pulled the distraught Lin Yue out of the Countermeasure Bureau.

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

[Current Wish Power: 82%]

This was the notification that had sounded when Qianqi Weiming swung her blade; it was only now, with the immediate danger passed, that Chen Xi had the time to check the information.

The two stood quietly by the roadside, waiting for their ride-share in silence.

It was she who finally broke the silence:

"Let's go as well. After we kill Zhu Li, we will leave Tianhai City immediately."

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

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

Before she could finish, Chen Xi cut her off ruthlessly.

"You cannot save them, Lin Yue."

"You have seen the strength of Evil Flower; for a Tier 3 Transcendent, killing us is no different from crushing ants."

"The Chief Director, Li Changkong, has yet to make a move; in truth, Tianhai City might not necessarily lose."

"Besides, didn't you say before that you wanted to leave Tianhai City once Zhu Li was dealt with?"

That had indeed been the plan, but after witnessing the bloody scene just now, Lin Yue hesitated.

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

"But..." the blonde girl wanted to say something more.

"There are no 'buts'!" Chen Xi clenched her fists and said sharply, "What do you think you are? The Savior?"

She didn't know why she had suddenly become so emotional, and her tone softened instantly.

"You just turned eighteen; there's no need to think so much. Those are matters for adults."

Lin Yue stood there blankly, like a child who had made a mistake: "Mm."

This argument was purely due to the information asymmetry between the two, compounded by the limitations their abilities placed on communication.

In Lin Yue's view, her Regression ability had a limit on the number of days; if an event happened too long ago, the cost required to regress back to that day would surely far exceed the current trial and error.

In Chen Xi's view, as long as the two of them survived, it would be fine; after all, as the protagonist, Lin Yue would surely save the world in the end.

Yet, she thought again: with her own involvement, the world line would surely shift significantly, and the ending of the original work would likely no longer be a reliable reference.

Perhaps staying here with Lin Yue right now was the correct choice to clear the stage...

After all, under multiple cycles, there was no telling what might happen.

Maybe Lin Yue would obtain an opportunity during this very incident and subsequently rise to power.

Damn it... just thinking about it made Chen Xi's head ache.

The car arrived.

She took out her phone and checked the time; it was already twelve o'clock noon.

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

The two took a car to the nearest food street.

Inside the hot pot restaurant, Lin Yue still wore that sullen expression.

Chen Xi stared at her and said, "I was anxious just now and spoke too harshly. I apologize; don't be unhappy anymore."

Lin Yue dodged her gaze: "It's nothing. You were thinking of me, too. It was just me being too presumptuous..."

Seeing that she was still in low spirits, Chen Xi teased her while dropping a hint: "Right, what about your precognition ability? Did it give any instructions?"

This was the art of conversation. Reminded by her, Lin Yue secretly formulated a plan in her heart.

For this cycle, she would first escape with Chen Xi and see the result.

If that didn't work, she would then use the excuse of "precognition" to "persuade" Chen Xi to stay.

Thinking of this, her worries vanished into thin air.

Lin Yue returned to her usual playful self.

"None."

Hearing the change in her tone, Chen Xi also felt relieved and took out her phone.

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

[Xi: Alright.]

[Xi: Do you know about what happened with Evil Flower today?]

The text message was sent into the void, and when Chen Xi tried to call, she only received a message that the number was powered off.

Zhu Li might have even lost her phone, so she would just have to take things one step at a time.