The Power of a Straight Ball

Inside the Library Pavilion.

Su Chen slumped in a bamboo chair, the "0 Resistance" data on the Eye of Omniscience screen making him want to chuckle.

Outside the window, the night wind shifted abruptly.

The chill of the autumn night was forcibly torn apart by an incredibly overbearing, scorching current of air.

Heavy military boots thudded against the ground, accompanied by the frantic clattering of metal armor as they charged forward.

"Halt!"

Angela's shout carried a tremor; she was clearly stretched to her absolute limit.

Liu Erlong strode forward with long, purposeful steps, followed by dozens of Judgment Knights who looked as if they were facing a formidable enemy. Their long halberds formed a forest, and the atmosphere was stifling to the extreme.

Three hundred paces from the main entrance of the Library Pavilion, before the warning line drawn in white lime.

Liu Erlong stood firmly in place.

Angela slammed her heavy greatsword into the ground. "Clang!" Sparks flew.

She stared fixedly at Liu Erlong, her chest heaving violently, her voice sounding as if it were being squeezed from her throat:

"Elder Liu, this is a Level One Restricted Area! Regardless of how many resources you've poured in, cross this white line by even half a step, and you will be executed without mercy!"

The knights lowered their halberd tips in unison, their murderous intent fully exposed.

Facing pressure that would have suffocated an ordinary Soul Saint, Liu Erlong didn't even lift an eyelid.

She let out a cold snort, crossed her arms over her chest, and those wild, untamed eyes ignored Angela entirely, piercing through the dilapidated courtyard wall and the gap in the half-open window to strike aggressively into the room.

They locked directly onto Su Chen in the bamboo chair.

Su Chen didn't move, maintaining his facade of frailty, merely lowering his gaze to catch this highly aggressive stare with his peripheral vision.

Dead silence.

In the dark night, only the torches crackled.

Liu Erlong stood there, unabashedly scrutinizing Su Chen from head to toe for three full seconds.

That look wasn't the gaze one would give a Holy Son; it was more like she was evaluating a handy weapon or a piece of prey she had taken a liking to.

Three seconds later.

Liu Erlong curled her lip, her voice booming, showing no intention of saving face for anyone:

"Not bad looking."

"The build looks sturdy enough, too; not entirely useless."

As the words fell.

The air froze for a long, lingering moment.

Angela's hand, gripping her sword, gave a violent jerk; the blade nearly sliced her own leg. The Judgment Knights behind her collectively turned to stone, their jaws hitting the floor.

They had served for many years and had seen conspiracies, assassinations, and sycophancy.

But who had ever seen someone exhaust half the foundation of the Upper Three Sects, storm the Pope Palace, and finally arrive at the entrance of a restricted area, only to stare at a servant and publicly critique him by saying he was "good-looking"?

Was this female tyrannosaur's brain wired backward?!

In the Pope Palace, on the gloomy throne.

Bibi Dong's tightly closed eyes snapped open, her extreme spiritual power locked firmly onto the scene. Liu Erlong's "evaluation" hit her Sea of Divine Consciousness like a thunderbolt.

"Crack!"

The white jade armrest shattered at the sound.

Purple-black Rakshasa Death Qi overflowed wildly, instantly corroding the floor tiles before her.

"You ignorant, shameless bitch." Bibi Dong gritted her teeth, her expression so dark it could drip water.

Her "protecting-the-prey" radar was screaming. This woman actually dared to look at him with that kind of gaze!

In the Young Master Palace.

Qian Renxue, monitoring through the Dark Web, slammed her teacup onto the table, spilling hot black tea all over her hand.

Her brows knitted into a tight knot. She had assumed Liu Erlong was plotting some earth-shattering conspiracy, yet it turned out she was just "in heat"? This vulgar display made her feel an indescribable sense of nausea.

"Utterly crude and despicable." Qian Renxue smashed the teacup down.

Inside the Library Pavilion.

Su Chen sat in the bamboo chair as the Eye of Omniscience screen emitted a crisp "ding."

Liu Erlong's favorability, which had been as immovable as a mountain at "0," jumped illogically.

[Current Favorability: 12]

Simple and direct.

If she liked what she saw, she liked it; there was no internal conflict whatsoever.

Watching the numbers, Su Chen couldn't help but let the corners of his mouth curl upward.

The "conspirators" of Martial Soul Hall, who spent their days playing games of extreme brinkmanship, were hit with a dimension-shattering blow when they encountered a straight-shooter like Liu Erlong, who refused to play by the rules.

Outside the gate, the mission was marked as complete.

Liu Erlong didn't waste a single word, nor did she deign to explain herself to Angela; she simply "got it done."

"Boom!"

She exerted force through her legs, and the bluestone slabs beneath her shattered instantly.

Yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black.

Seven soul rings with the optimal configuration rose violently, and crimson soul power erupted like a volcanic explosion, dyeing the night sky blood-red.

The phantom of a ferocious Crimson Fire Dragon solidified behind her, and the terrifying high temperature of a seven-ring Soul Saint swept across the entire scene in an instant.

Angela's face turned deathly pale; she swung her heavy sword horizontally, preparing to intercept at the cost of her life.

Inside the Pope Palace, the power of space gathered frantically at Bibi Dong's fingertips, her killing intent already manifesting into physical form.

Qian Renxue also stood up abruptly, staring fixedly at the crystal stone.

The nerves of the entire Martial Soul Hall high command were stretched to their absolute limit.

And then.

A twist occurred that left everyone's jaws on the floor.

Liu Erlong stood outside the perimeter line, not moving an inch.

She didn't cross the line, she didn't attack, and she didn't even glance at the knights before her who were ready to fight to the death.

She simply clenched her fists and gave a fierce shake.

"Roar—!"

The Crimson Fire Dragon raised its head and bellowed.

This dragon roar was outrageously simple; it carried no lethality whatsoever, existing purely to show off power and to flaunt that sound to the entirety of Martial Soul City.

The violent heatwave left a brilliant trail of fire clouds in the air.

As the roar ended, the firelight reflected off Liu Erlong's wild, untamed face.

"Done."

She muttered a single word and retracted her soul rings with extreme efficiency.

The Crimson Fire Dragon dissipated, and the heatwave receded.

"Clang."

A Judgment Knight's halberd slipped from his grip and clattered onto the stone floor.

Angela held her heavy sword aloft, maintaining her slashing posture, frozen like a statue.

Inside the Pope Palace, the world-destroying killing move at Bibi Dong's fingertips stalled in mid-air, the backlash of soul power causing a tightness in her chest.

Inside the Young Master Palace, the expression of Qian Renxue, who calculated everything, went completely rigid.

The entire scene crashed.

A ridiculous question popped into everyone's minds:

They had smashed half a treasury and withstood the pressure of a Limit Douluo, all just to run over here and set off a deafening "firework"?

There was no conspiracy.

There was no probing.

It was purely a case of running over, showing off a skill, and then... clocking out?

Liu Erlong looked at the [Mission Complete] notification before her and clapped her hands in satisfaction.

"Alright, saw what I needed to see. Retreating."

She turned around and, under the gazes of everyone looking at her like she was a lunatic, strode away with her long legs in a carefree manner.

Her retreating figure was decisive, without a hint of hesitation.

Inside the Library Pavilion.

Su Chen watched the fiery red figure depart, the smile in his eyes deepening.

In his Sea of Divine Consciousness, a mechanical voice rang out.

[Ding! Detected that No. 003 Liu Erlong has successfully made the Lord of Creation feel power and wildness.]

[Mission Verdict: Perfect.]

[Obtained God-level consumable: Fire Source Seed × 1!]

Su Chen moved his mind.

A deep red seed, the size of a dragon's eye and burning with pure firelight, hovered in his consciousness space.

The moment the seed appeared, the "Angel Feather" on the other side of his inventory erupted with a powerful resonance.

Red and gold, two divine powers shone in mutual brilliance, their auras blending perfectly.

At the same time, the World Tree martial soul dormant within his body, which had been disguised as a withered branch, sensed the origin power; for the first time, ancient emerald patterns lit up on the surface of its trunk.

The evolution path of the World Tree, which had troubled him for so long, finally pieced itself together clearly in this moment.