Escaped with Blood Escape?

In this deadlocked fight to the death, Qingxiao's Cursed Energy hovered constantly near its critical threshold. He seized the opening when his opponent's attention wandered.

He threw a vicious punch, which happened to strike a gap in Kamo Xiansheng's Blood Armor, hitting his exposed flesh.

The next second, the physical blow and the Cursed Energy impact erupted simultaneously.

Black Flash!

The instant Black Flash erupted, feedback from the Cursed Energy enveloped Qingxiao's entire body. That blissful sensation of entering a state of post-release clarity masked the actual feeling against his fist.

Space abruptly collapsed, trembling violently!

A pitch-black flash suddenly burst forth. Dark lightning exploded outward from his fist, and an overwhelming Cursed Energy shock wave swept across the entire stretch of ruins.

With no Blood Armor to block this blow, Kamo Xiansheng took the full damage of Black Flash.

Before Kamo Xiansheng could even scream, he turned into a mist of blood and dissipated amid the ruins.

After the deafening roar, dust swept across the entire battlefield, obscuring everyone's vision.

By the time the dust slowly settled, the spot was already empty.

Kamo Xiansheng was nowhere to be seen.

Only the empty, rubble-strewn ground remained, with nothing but bloodstains and Cursed Residue left behind.

Qingxiao froze in place with his fist still extended, utterly bewildered.

He stared blankly at his fist, then quickly scanned the entire battlefield. A thought rose in his mind: He ran?

"He escaped with Blood Escape?"

He murmured under his breath, then quickly looked from side to side. His gaze swept over the surrounding ruined walls as he searched carefully for any trace of Kamo Xiansheng, concern in his voice:

"He actually managed to escape right after taking a Black Flash from me. That guy has way too many trump cards. This is going to be trouble."

Silence lingered over the battlefield for a moment. Weak all over, Suguru Geto slowly lifted his eyelids and asked softly, sounding somewhat puzzled, "What escaped?"

Qingxiao turned back and earnestly explained his concerns:

"He vanished right after taking my Black Flash. He must have used a Blood Escape Technique to get away. He's probably hiding, preparing to ambush us."

Hearing that, Shoko Ieiri couldn't hold back a laugh. She pressed a hand helplessly to her forehead and sighed softly. "Say... do you have some kind of misunderstanding about the Kamo Clan's Cursed Technique?"

"Blood Manipulation only has applications like Convergence, Piercing Blood, Flowing Red Scale... The Kamo Clan doesn't have any Blood Escape Technique."

"No Blood Escape Technique?"

Then how had he just vanished into thin air...?

Qingxiao's pupils contracted slightly as he belatedly realized that his Black Flash had taken Kamo Xiansheng, whose health had already been almost depleted, and blasted him-blood, Cursed Energy, body and all-into a mist of blood that dispersed into the air.

Qingxiao raised a hand to rub the tip of his nose, deliberately avoiding their gazes.

The silence was a little too complete. Shoko and Suguru Geto both watched him without a word, their quiet gazes only making Qingxiao increasingly embarrassed.

"Um... actually, I knew that. I was trying to lighten the mood."

"Don't look at me like that. I really was just joking."

"Please, don't tell Satoru. A man's got his pride."

Shoko still couldn't keep a straight face and let out a soft chuckle, her eyes full of helpless amusement.

Suguru Geto remained silent, but the corners of his lips curved almost imperceptibly.

To quickly steer away from this awkward topic, he turned toward Shoko Ieiri beside him and asked softly, "Why did you come over here? Geto's so badly injured right now. Coming here recklessly instead of resting somewhere safe was too risky."

Before Shoko could speak, Suguru Geto, who was leaning against her, answered in a hoarse, weak voice that nonetheless carried an unquestionable stubbornness. "I was the one who wanted to come."

Shoko Ieiri sighed helplessly and picked up the explanation, her tone full of resignation. "There was nothing I could do. I couldn't change his mind.

"I was going to take him to get his injuries treated, but he insisted on coming here. He said he couldn't stop worrying about the fight over here.

"If I didn't support him, he was going to force himself to walk here on his own."

Qingxiao understood and nodded lightly, inwardly reflecting, Suguru Geto really is such a hero. Even badly injured, he still thought of coming to help.

"Thanks for all your hard work," he said sincerely.

Shoko Ieiri waved a hand without saying anything more. She carefully eased the weakened Suguru Geto down, letting him sit and rest with his back against a pile of rubble to minimize the strain on his body.

Then she immediately raised her hand. The Reverse Cursed Sorcerer she projected outward fell upon Suguru Geto, and she began methodically treating his injuries.

Watching Shoko concentrate on the treatment, Qingxiao surveyed the empty ruins around them and casually asked:

"How's Satoru Gojo's fight going? That Wengu Che is really hard to deal with. He shouldn't be that easy to finish off, right?"

Before he had even finished speaking, a boisterous laugh suddenly rang out beside the three of them.

Whoosh-

White light flashed, space instantly warped, and Satoru Gojo appeared beside the three of them without warning.

The sudden close-range teleportation startled all three of them. Shoko's hands abruptly paused in their treatment, Suguru Geto instinctively tensed his weakened body, and Qingxiao was startled too, nearly punching Satoru Gojo in the face.

Only after seeing who it was did Qingxiao breathe a sigh of relief. He couldn't help complaining, "Could you make a normal entrance for once? You teleport every time. I nearly punched your face in."

Satoru Gojo was casually carrying someone in one hand. It was Wengu Che, covered in wounds and dirt and completely unconscious.

Who knew how many bones in his body had been broken? His breathing was so faint it was barely there, and he had completely lost all ability to resist.

Satoru Gojo panted slightly, his chest rising and falling. Clearly, the repeated pursuit, close combat, and sealing had drained a good deal of his stamina as well; he had not come through entirely unscathed.

He casually tossed Wengu Che onto the ground like a heap of sludge and clapped his hands, his tone begging for a beating. "I thought I heard someone talking about me? So here I am, right away."

All three were collectively speechless at that. They silently turned their heads away, none willing to respond to his joke.

Satoru Gojo wasn't embarrassed when no one answered. He lifted his chin slightly, his tone brimming with confidence. "A small-time piece of trash like this really is annoying when he keeps hiding underground, but actually dealing with him is still child's play for me."

As Shoko continued channeling Cursed Energy into Suguru Geto to heal him, she said flatly, "Stop bragging. You've clearly used up quite a bit of stamina and Cursed Energy too."

Satoru Gojo chuckled without denying it.