Metamorphosis

At that critical moment, a blazing crimson streak like a meteor tore through the air and dove from the sky at a speed too fast for the naked eye to follow!

It was a long spear engulfed in roaring flames!

Splat—!

The first flaming spear pierced straight through the vital point of the "D-rank snake demon" in the center of the rooftop, which had been about to pounce on Hua Yin. Like a hot knife through butter, it nailed the creature firmly to the concrete!

Most of the spear shaft sank in. Flames instantly spread across the snake's body, making its scales crackle and pop as the Snake Mother let out a shrill, agonized hiss!

Almost at the same time!

Boom—!

A second flaming spear of the same make, like a spear of divine punishment, struck precisely into the center of the head of the "C-rank giant snake" battling the badly wounded Captain Wang and the reinforcements in the middle of the field!

The terrifying flames and impact drove that massive snake head deep into the ground!

The giant snake's body twisted frantically, but it swiftly lost all life amid the flames!

Two spears had nearly simultaneously eliminated two crucial targets!

Precise, ruthless, and incomparably powerful!

The Ghost City Branch's elite combatants had finally arrived at the most critical moment!

The Snake Mother's consciousness avatar was utterly stunned by the sudden lethal blow!

The intense pain and backlash from the severe damage to its consciousness vessel left it unable to activate [Consciousness Exchange] and return to its true body for the moment!

But for Hua Yin, the D-rank snake demon nailed before him—still not fully dead despite being scorched by flames, continuously radiating pure life force and frigid consciousness—was the final and most perfect "fuel" he needed for his breakthrough!

The danger of imminent death and ultimate temptation erupted at once!

The last trace of clarity in Hua Yin's eyes completely turned into beastlike resolve and greed!

He somehow found the strength to pull himself back from the rooftop's edge. Stepping forward, he raised his Tang Blade high. Sensing its master's ultimate desire, the swarm of pale butterflies let out a silent shriek and surged madly toward the blade!

"Die—!!"

The blade light carried Hua Yin's last remnants of strength.

It carried his boiling killing intent and desire to break through as it slashed down with brutal force!

Crack!

The snake's head was severed at once!

The cut had been charred black by the Pale Butterfly Blade's high-frequency slicing, with little blood spraying out.

The next moment, before the snake head could hit the ground, Hua Yin made a grabbing motion with his left hand!

"Devour it!!!"

Buzz—!

All the Pale Bewitching Butterflies, including the flickering butterfly shadows on the blade, pounced like a frenzy of sharks smelling blood toward the headless snake body, and...

That mass of dark green, frigid consciousness writhing and struggling as it escaped from the severed neck!

It was the Snake Mother's consciousness avatar!

"No—!!!"

A mental scream filled with despair and venomous hatred pierced Hua Yin's mind, only to be instantly drowned beneath the tide of pale butterflies!

Devouring!

Frenzied devouring!

Not only the remaining flesh essence and immense life force within the snake demon's body, but also the consciousness and soul origin belonging to the Nether-Ring Viper Queen!

This was "high-quality nourishment" far beyond that of ordinary demonic beasts!

An icy torrent like a tsunami, mixed with venom, savagery, and ancient fragments of information, surged wildly into Hua Yin's body and rushed toward the crack-covered Pale Core!

The core could bear no more. Its cracks spread to their limit—

Bang!!!

A muffled boom, like the birth of the universe, exploded deep within Hua Yin's soul!

The crack-covered Pale Core shattered completely!

It turned into countless pure, primordial points of pale light.

But shattering was not the end.

The points of light did not disperse. Guided by an even more profound will, they spun and condensed rapidly at the point where the core had broken!

In the blink of an eye.

A lifelike, exquisite little phantom butterfly, its wing patterns astonishingly clear and its entire body flowing with gentle pale spiritual light,

Quietly formed at the center of his dantian sea of qi, gently flapping its wings.

[Young Butterfly Awakening—Young Butterfly Unfurls Its Wings]

A realization naturally surfaced in his mind.

At the same time, Hua Yin felt an intense burning itch at his shoulder blades, as though something were about to burst out of his body!

Rip—!

A soft tearing sound!

Two slits suddenly burst open in the tactical uniform on Hua Yin's back!

The next moment, amid countless drifting points of pale light, a pair of enormous, graceful, translucent butterfly wings abruptly unfurled from his back. Pale light like cracks in ice and faint turquoise sharpness flowed along the edges of the wings!

Their span was nearly two meters. With a gentle flap, they stirred the air and scattered dreamlike motes of spiritual light.

Power!

A brand-new, more responsive sensation of power filled his entire body!

The spiritual power that had once been sluggish became incomparably smooth. The barrier to his realm had been broken through, and his ability had quietly risen to a higher level!

And his foundation was far more solid than ordinary.

At a subconscious thought.

The enormous pale butterfly wings on his back flapped gently.

Whoosh—

Lifted by the airflow, his feet left the ground, and his body floated lightly several feet above it!

Hua Yin still gripped the bloodstained Tang Blade in one hand, while his other hand instinctively reached out through the air.

Guided by spiritual power, the severed, grotesque snake head—whose remaining consciousness was still being gnawed away by the Pale Bewitching Butterflies—rose from the ground and landed in his grasp.

He hovered above the ruined rooftop, the enormous pale butterfly wings behind him slowly beating and scattering motes of light.

His body was smeared in blood, yet clarity had returned to his eyes, deep and cold.

Blade in hand, snake head seized.

At that moment, sunlight pierced through the pale blue containment force field and fell upon him, making those pale wings seem almost sacred, carrying an inhuman strangeness and beauty.

Beyond the security line, Lin Qingqiu, who had been staring fixedly toward the school building with her heart in her throat, suddenly covered her mouth. Her pupils widened to their limit as she forgot how to breathe.

Her eyes reflected that figure floating in the air.

That classmate who had once been quiet and withdrawn, that boy in the alley who had coldly demanded secrecy, that agent who had rushed into the campus wearing a tactical uniform...

Now, wings of light spread from his back as he stood in midair, carrying a demon's head in his hand, like a god who had stepped out of myth and descended into the mortal world to punish demons...

The shock utterly drowned every thought in the young woman's mind.

That unspoken affection seemed incomparably small before this scene beyond imagination, yet it also seemed to have been branded into eternity.

Hua Yin seemed to sense something. His gaze crossed the distance and briefly turned toward the crowd outside the school, but his eyes held no focus before he quickly looked away.

He slowly descended, retracted the eye-catching butterfly wings, and tossed the demon's head to the team members who had rushed over to support him. Then he calmly reported into his communicator:

"White Butterfly reporting. The rooftop threat has been eliminated."

His voice traveled through the channel and reached the ears of every Special Affairs Bureau member. It was also carried by the breeze, passing faintly through the force field that had yet to fully close and reaching outside the school.

That voice seemed to fall directly into Lin Qingqiu's ears, crystal clear.

White Butterfly.

Agent Hua.

She silently murmured the words, finally accepting completely that they now belonged to two different worlds.

And that boy, at this moment, was so distant, so dazzling, and so... heart-stirring.