Escalation

Youcheng, beneath the night sky, above purgatory.

Bai Ye raised his head and gazed at the emotional vortex atop the broadcast tower, growing denser as though it would suck away all light. Feeling the terrifying spiritual pressure within it surge madly, gradually surpassing the bounds of the Demigod Realm, his eyes abruptly sharpened like peerless blades drawn from their sheaths.

"You want to become a Law Realm? Did you ask me first?!"

He roared, his voice piercing stone and metal, drowning out the nearby explosions and screams.

Azure flames erupted around him. No longer were they the usual flowing windfire; they condensed into a nearly tangible, violently swirling blue-green storm.

The ground beneath his feet cracked inch by inch. He transformed into a blue meteor shooting against the heavens, tearing through the air as he charged toward the tower's summit with an unstoppable, resolute killing intent!

The Windflame Spear hummed and trembled in his hand. The sharpness gathered at its tip flickered erratically, faintly tearing through space and leaving behind thin black traces.

He would use the fastest speed and greatest force to interrupt that evil ascension ritual!

Elsewhere, on the chaotic city streets.

"Hua Yin! You, Sun Haoran, and Zhao Tiezhu are a team. Clear out the out-of-control ones reported in Districts Three through Seven!"

"Prioritize protecting civilians and contain the situation! Captain Bai has gone to deal with the 'source.' We need to hold the ground!"

Captain Wang's urgent voice came through the communicator, backed by continuous explosions and clamorous orders.

"Understood."

Hua Yin's voice was cool and clear as he shut off the communicator.

He glanced at Sun Haoran and Zhao Tiezhu beside him. Sun Haoran's nostrils flared, his expression grave. "There are quite a few, and the smell... is extremely chaotic."

Zhao Tiezhu slammed his fists together with a dull thud. "Who cares what they are? Just knock them flat! Hua Yin, what's the plan?"

"End this quickly."

Hua Yin's answer was concise. His gaze locked onto the intersection ahead—an out-of-control one with a bloated body and arms mutated into bone hammers was smashing vehicles and chasing the fleeing crowd.

"Brother Sun, identify the target's weak point. Brother Zhao, keep it occupied from the front and draw its attention."

Hua Yin deployed them swiftly, already shooting forward like an arrow loosed from a bow.

Pale Bewitching Butterflies silently bloomed around him. Dozens of translucent spirit butterflies fluttered out at incredible speed.

Zhao Tiezhu roared. His muscles bulged, his skin taking on a metallic sheen as he charged at the out-of-control one like a humanoid tank, punching toward its descending bone hammer.

A thunderous boom rang out as shockwaves surged. Zhao Tiezhu grunted and retreated half a step, while the bone hammer was knocked aside as well.

The out-of-control one roared, its attention drawn to Zhao Tiezhu.

Sun Haoran circled to its flank like a ghost. His eyes narrowed slightly, spiritual light flickering at the tip of his nose. "Three inches left of the nape—its energy node is unstable!"

At that instant, Hua Yin moved.

He did not charge in directly. Instead, a thought crossed his mind.

A Pale Bewitching Butterfly flying above the out-of-control one suddenly flashed with a cold, heart-palpitating jade-green edge along its wings—the sharpness trait plundered after devouring the Jade-Bladed Mantis!

A soft sound like silk tearing.

At the exact spot on the back of its neck that Sun Haoran had indicated, a thin, bone-deep line of blood appeared without warning.

It did not even realize where the attack had come from. Its massive body abruptly stiffened as its berserk energy circulation had its core node instantly destroyed by that incomparably precise and terrifyingly sharp "butterfly-wing slash."

The next moment, Hua Yin himself appeared beside it like a shadow. The Tang Blade had not even fully left its sheath, merely brushing past its neck with a pale stream of spiritual light.

Splat.

Its huge head rolled to the ground, thick purple-black blood spraying everywhere.

The headless corpse crashed heavily to the ground.

"Next."

Hua Yin sheathed his blade, his tone calm, though pale light flowed faintly in his eyes.

Devour activated. A thread of pure life force and some lingering chaotic energy were extracted and absorbed into his body, replenishing his expenditure while granting him a more detailed understanding of the bodily structure of the out-of-control ones.

Sun Haoran and Zhao Tiezhu exchanged a glance, each seeing the shock in the other's eyes. Hua Yin's attacks were becoming increasingly strange and unfathomable.

The clearing operation continued. They drove into the chaotic streets like a sharp wedge.

Hua Yin supported them from the center as Pale Bewitching Butterflies scattered through the air. At times, they became invisible sharp blades for precise assassinations; at others, they gathered into spiritual barriers to block stray bullets and flying debris.

Zhao Tiezhu withstood the fiercest frontal assaults, while Sun Haoran used his sense of smell and perception to warn them of danger in advance and identify their enemies' weaknesses.

Their coordination gradually became seamless, and their efficiency was extremely high.

Soon, they encountered a more troublesome target—an apparently mutated out-of-control one who could manipulate rubble and metal fragments from the ground, creating a dense barrage that covered a huge area and severely obstructed their advance and rescue efforts.

"Annoying flies!" Zhao Tiezhu punched away a sheet of flying scrap metal, but even more fragments came hurtling at him from all directions.

Sun Haoran said urgently, "He's controlling them with a weak telekinetic field. His main body is hiding behind that newsstand!"

Hua Yin's gaze chilled. A frontal assault would expose them to too many attacks and might affect surrounding buildings and civilians who could be hiding nearby.

He drew a deep breath. The phantom of a Pale Bewitching Butterfly on his shoulder trembled slightly. This time, he used a new ability gained from devouring the Nether-Ring Viper Queen—[Thought Sharing · Consciousness Transfer].

His thoughts split apart like invisible threads, instantly connecting to three Pale Bewitching Butterflies flying through the air.

A wondrous sensation flooded over him.

It was as though he possessed four perspectives at once: his own body, along with the aerial positions of those three spirit butterflies.

Not only could he share the images, sounds, and energy fluctuations perceived by the butterflies, but he could also instantly "pour" part of his consciousness into any one of them.

At that moment, the butterfly was no longer merely a construct of spiritual energy or a reconnaissance unit. It became a temporary vessel and extension of Hua Yin's consciousness.

Hua Yin's body remained still. Most of his consciousness continued controlling it to evade and defend, but roughly one-third of his attention instantly entered the Pale Bewitching Butterfly on the left, which was tracing an arc through the air.

The butterfly trembled slightly, and its flight path abruptly became nimble and purposeful, as though it had been taken over by a top pilot.

It deftly weaved through the flying stones and metal fragments, as fast as a pale bolt of lightning, treating those physical attacks as nothing—because it was itself a semi-energy entity, tiny in size and exceedingly difficult for such scattered attacks to lock onto.

In almost the blink of an eye, the butterfly carrying part of Hua Yin's consciousness broke through the barrage and silently approached the newsstand.

Through the butterfly's "eyes," Hua Yin clearly "saw" the out-of-control one hiding behind it, its eyes glowing with chaotic red light as it focused entirely on controlling the fragments.

"Now."

The consciousness vessel—butterfly—flashed once more with the sharpness trait of the Jade-Bladed Mantis. Yet this time, it did not slash. Instead, it condensed all intent of "sharpness" into a single point, becoming a streak of light that viciously pierced its head!

"Hiss—!" The out-of-control one clutched its head and let out a piercing shriek. The telekinetic field around it instantly collapsed, and stones and scrap metal rained down with a clatter.

Hua Yin's body and the consciousness-vessel butterfly acted in perfect sync.

At the very instant the other party clutched its head and shrieked, Hua Yin's body flashed out from behind Zhao Tiezhu like a ghost. The Tang Blade left its sheath, its pale blade light carving a bleak arc through the air.

The blade flashed. The newsstand and the out-of-control one behind it were cut in two.

The battle was over.

Hua Yin withdrew his consciousness. The Pale Bewitching Butterfly that had rendered such great service also flew back to his side, its light somewhat dimmer. Clearly, carrying his consciousness and performing such precise actions had consumed a great deal of energy.

Sun Haoran's mouth fell open. Zhao Tiezhu scratched his head. "Hua Yin, that butterfly just now... were you controlling it?"

"A new ability."

Hua Yin gave a simple explanation and said no more.

He looked toward the high tower. The spiritual-pressure vortex there had become increasingly terrifying, even stirring the heavens as dark clouds began gathering and rotating.

Faintly, blue-green and gray-black light could be seen clashing fiercely in the sky, accompanied by thunderous booms and the trembling of space.

Captain Bai Ye had already engaged the "psychologist."

"Pick up the pace."

Hua Yin spoke in a low voice. He could feel the fear rising throughout the city had eased slightly due to their clearing efforts and the restoration of order in some areas, but the pull from the tower was becoming stronger and stronger, even beginning to actively draw emotions from farther away.

They had to eliminate these sources of panic as soon as possible to weaken the enemy's "energy supply."

Pale Bewitching Butterflies fluttered gently around him. Every one of them could become an extension of his consciousness, and every butterfly wing might conceal lethal sharpness.

The power gained through devouring was quietly revealing Hua Yin's own unique and dangerous radiance in this battle to save the city.

He led the team charging once more toward the next location where screams and explosions were ringing out.

Meanwhile, the high-level battle in the heavens that would decide Youcheng's fate had already reached a white-hot stage.