Illusory Puppets! Divine Bird Descends!

The divine bird emerged with fire in its beak, descending from myth!

But what it brought was not light, but calamity and destruction.

Boom—!!!

The cave shook, and the ground collapsed.

Dozens of tiger thralls were torn apart by the flames, and several Transcendent tiger thralls were blasted into mangled remains.

Yu Tiezhu used several Transcendent tiger thralls as a buffer, but he was still sent flying, crashing bloodied into a corner.

"How is that possible!?"

The fat chef stumbled back in terror, but he could not escape.

After the flames devoured a group of tiger thralls before him, the lingering force blasted him away as well, sending him sprawling miserably across the ground.

"Wah—!"

He climbed to his feet and spat out blood.

Wu Yu stepped out of the flames and violently tossed several small stones, but several lunging tiger thralls blocked them with their lives.

Bang—!

The tiger thralls were blown to pieces, and another batch poured into the passage.

"You... you weren't using Psionic Bombs!"

The fat chef finally understood, fury surfacing on his face.

"You've been putting on an act all along!"

Inside the cave, aside from the opened Golden Treasure Chest, nothing remained unchanged; the surrounding area had all been scorched by the flames.

Wu Yu held several cards in his hand and smiled faintly.

"Same to you!"

"Your talent is explosions!"

The fat chef ground his teeth. He glanced at the expensive instrument on the ground, then crushed it beneath his foot!

That instrument had already served its purpose. Even Wu Yu's "Diamond Badge" had been disabled.

But... the flames of the [Bi Fang Sigil] were ineffective against Wu Yu!

And debris such as chunks of flesh, dirt, and stone found it far too difficult to harm the current Wu Yu.

"Damn it! Damn it!"

The fat chef's lips trembled with rage. Shakily, he pressed his waist, and a psionic shield rose around him.

It was standard-issue equipment from the Inspection Bureau—the one Liu Zheng had previously refused to trade to Wu Yu.

Only upon seeing the psionic shield did the fat chef finally breathe easier. He looked at Wu Yu with a cold, sinister gaze.

"I refuse to believe your talent can be used forever!"

"Kill him! Kill him for me!"

A mass of tiger thralls surged from the passage, charging at Wu Yu with vacant eyes.

Wu Yu's expression did not change. He strolled forward, small stones constantly appearing in his palm before he scattered them outward!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The flames roared once more, tearing tiger thrall after tiger thrall apart.

Even Transcendent tiger thralls could not withstand multiple [Bi Fang Sigils]. They were blown to pieces after charging only a few steps.

One wave, two waves, three waves...

The tiger thralls kept flooding in, yet they could not even get close to Wu Yu. Instead, they were blasted to smithereens by him.

After dying, these tiger thralls dissolved into light, just as before, without dropping a single card.

Seeing Wu Yu merely wave his hand and blow so many of them to death, the fat chef's face twisted, his heart filled with disbelief.

How could he be this strong!?

What was the price?

Was his talent unlimited firepower?

"Why!"

"Why!?"

An unwilling look appeared on his face.

He had clearly obtained such a fortuitous opportunity and gained such a powerful talent. He had been on the verge of slaughtering everyone, even turning that Mountain Lord into a puppet...

He had been only one step away!

"I shouldn't have coveted the treasure chest's contents."

Regret filled the fat chef's heart. In fear, he backed away several steps.

"No! How can I die here!?"

"I still have a vast future ahead of me. Even if I abandon everything I planned, once I get out, I'll still have endless possibilities!"

Gritting his teeth, he sent the final batch of tiger thralls forward to buy time, while he turned and fled like a madman.

Boom boom—!

Explosions sounded behind him as flames drew near.

The fat chef hurriedly fled into the passage. Looking back, he saw that Wu Yu had not pursued him.

"Could his talent have run dry?"

The fat chef's heart stirred, but he did not dare test it.

"It's good enough that he isn't chasing me."

Yet as he thought that, a faint unease rose within him.

In a daze,

he saw a dazzling flash of gold!

"Why is there golden light?"

He turned his head and saw the girl following beside him.

Her clothes were tattered, and golden patterns glowed across the exposed skin,

on her back, arms, legs...

Places that had not been easy to notice before became glaringly conspicuous because they were glowing.

By the look of it... it was a divine bird!

"I think I've seen it before..."

The fat chef's eyes widened as terror surged in his heart.

He turned back in horror, but before he could take a step, golden runes covered the girl's entire body.

The divine bird bore fire in its beak; calamity was born!

Boom—!!!

Terrifying flames exploded at close range, ripping apart the psionic shield and completely swallowing the fat chef.

As the flames dispersed, Wu Yu walked over naked and stopped calmly before a charred head.

Terror still lingered on the fat chef's face. He most likely had not been able to figure out why before he died.

"There was no gain from killing a Tower Climber."

"A cooperative-type secret realm... if it were a competitive one, what would I gain by killing a Tower Climber?"

Wu Yu frowned slightly.

Naturally, he would not harm innocents, but one must not let down one's guard against others!

If he entered the Mysterious Tower again in the future and encountered a competitive environment...

At that moment!

Blue mist spread from the shattered corpse nearby.

Wu Yu warily retreated several steps, only to see the girl Chen Lingling's remains instantly transform into a twisted lump of flesh.

"So that was it."

He could not help smiling.

The Liu Zheng killed in the left passage and the girl Chen Lingling had both been fake bodies—flesh-and-blood puppets!

They could imitate faces, but they could not change their essence. They had merely used illusion techniques or something similar to deceive the eye.

Skin, flesh, and bones were easy enough to gather, but a person's talent and strength could not be replicated.

Back at the inn, the girl's clothes had been spotless, and a faint fragrance had clung to her body. That had definitely been the power of some talent.

"Hiss—!"

Merely recalling it made Wu Yu's body react instinctively.

He looked down, and his heart immediately jolted.

Fortunately, no one was around. He hurriedly took out his original dirty clothes from his inventory and changed into them.

"That woman's Transcendent power is truly terrifying. Even an upright gentleman like me has an instinctive reaction just from remembering it!"

A moment later,

Wu Yu walked back.

The cave was a complete mess. Yu Tiezhu sat beside the treasure chest, covered in blood with a swollen face.

"Little brother! You're back!"

Seeing Wu Yu, he hurriedly stood up without opening his mouth to complain.

Wu Yu glanced toward the blue-haired young man. Caught in the blast from the [Bi Fang Sigil], Blue Hair had been reduced to a mangled corpse as well, but he had not turned into any lump of flesh.

Clearly, this man had been real!

"Can you take it?"

Wu Yu came back to his senses and looked at Yu Tiezhu.

Yu Tiezhu patted his chest one-handed and laughed. "Don't worry, I'm tough. I won't die!"

Yet as he spoke, one of his teeth fell out of his mouth.

"..."

Wu Yu shook his head and took several pieces of cloth from his inventory, tossing them over.

He had swiped them from the residential area of Evil Tiger Stronghold. He had originally wanted to test whether they could be taken out of the [Newcomer Secret Realm], but they were useful now.

"Thanks!"

Yu Tiezhu gave an embarrassed smile and hurriedly picked up the cloth, wrapping it around his waist.

Wu Yu did not respond. He opened his palm, and the cards drawn from the [Golden Treasure Chest] fell into it,

one of them giving off an enchanting golden glow.