"URAAAH—!"

Upon seeing the Demon King hurl a terrifying Fireball that burned fiercely along the ground toward him, Thunder Bear Ursa immediately let out a furious roar, crimson blood vessels popping in his eyes. His whole body was clad in formless Blood Armor!

"Rage Armor!"

BOOM!

With a loud explosion, Ursa shattered the fiery Fireball. His black curly hair was burned into disarray, transforming into a Mediterranean-like hairstyle, and his ordinary clothes turned to ashes in an instant. His skin was slightly charred!

As a Fourth Stage Expert, even Ursa's Trump Card Defense Spell couldn't completely withstand a strike from the Demon King!

"You truly are the Demon King who harvests Resentment!" The Anger in Ursa's eyes intensified, and his Blood Armor emitted an even denser Blood Light!

He wasn't angry about becoming bald, but rather because he could feel the malice in the flames!

Indeed, similar to the awakened spells rumored to harvest human negative emotions, Ursa's Awakening Technique was also related to emotions: the stronger his Anger, the stronger all spell effects stemming from it would be!

Besides, Ursa had a profound understanding of Emotional Energy, to the extent that he could even sense differences in Emotional Energies. When he withstood the Demon King's attack, he immediately discerned the intense Resentment contained within the Flame Spell!

This was also why Winter Castle had sent Ursa here—he was the most suitable warrior to see through the Demon King's true identity!

Having confirmed that he had found his target, Ursa immediately began to recall the disasters Russia had suffered due to the Source of Disaster and the Demon King's Followers: the damaged houses he had witnessed, the dolls in the rubble, crying parents, a cold little girl, and tombstones covered in heavy snow...

People from other countries might only have investigated Ursa's frequent disaster relief efforts, but they would mostly overlook the fact that this robust, winter-hardened man was also a psychotherapist. While suppressing disasters across Russia, he also spent a significant amount of time consoling the victims, listening to the pain and sorrow of every wretched soul.

Initially, he did so only to gather Anger. But as Nietzsche's old saying goes, "He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an Abyss, the Abyss will gaze back into you."

Later, due to Ursa's sensitive empathic ability, he gradually became unable to extricate himself from these vortexes of tragedy. This was a mixed blessing. The downside was that he had to drown his sorrows in alcohol daily, forcing himself to forget the miserable lives of those unfortunate people.

The upside was that once he allowed himself to be immersed in those tragic vortexes, his Anger could instantly reach the point of irrationality!

Andrei, Fyodor, Yuri, Yakov...

Valentina, Galina, Peter, Platon, Roman...

I'm going to avenge you!

His armor flickered with Thunder Light, his muscles surged with greater strength from the Spiritual Energy and adrenaline, his dynamic vision skyrocketed, his hearing range dramatically expanded, and his reflex speed reached its limit. Ursa's Physical Condition exploded to its peak in an instant!

It might seem lengthy to describe, but from the moment Ursa broke through the Fireball to his complete outburst, it took only 0.75 seconds. The explosive speed of a Fourth Stage Expert is just that fast; it's not like he's a Magical Girl who needs to transform and strike a pose.

Thus, when he charged forward, he directly faced the consecutive bombardments the Demon King had hidden behind the Fireball!

Formless Sword Gang that could sever gold and cut jade!

Spiral Stone Cones emerging from the earth!

And—widespread Fossil to Mud!

The earth in front of him, already scorched and softened by the Fireball, was further affected by Fossil to Mud, almost instantly transforming into a treacherous quagmire!

Ursa stepped into the quagmire. Then, like a hailstorm, the stone cones and Sword Gang battered him, pounding him firmly into the mire!

Thick lightning exploded over his body. However, faced with the quagmire where struggling only made him sink deeper, his vaunted brute strength and size became his greatest shackles!

"Damn Mysterious Country's Infrastructure Spell!"

On the edge of a forest by the leveled ground near the rubble, You Jiu stood leaning against a tree, hands still in his pockets, maintaining a lazy posture.

His gaze passed through the gradually dispersing white mist and landed on Ursa, stuck in the mud, prompting a light chuckle.

"'Earth Spike,' 'Fossil to Mud,' 'Flame Dance,' 'Formless Sword'..." Bright said with a smile. "This combo is beautiful. First, use fire to obscure vision and soften the ground. Then, 'Fossil to Mud' turns the soft mud into a quagmire. Finally, 'Earth Spike' and 'Formless Sword' solidly punch Ursa into the mire."

"However, the effects of the Spells she cast far exceed the power of your country's Third-Tier Magic. It seems she has used the Demon King's Abilities to strengthen them."

You Jiu squinted. "Bright, you seem rather familiar with our Magic."

"The Watcher made me memorize these materials. I can't help but understand them," Bright replied with a sheepish smile. He then looked over to Kadell, who was crouching nearby and taking aim, and asked, "Big Brother You, why aren't you taking action? Even Lone Wolf is about to make his move."

"Don't call me 'Big Brother.' Are we that familiar? Address me as Your Majesty!"

"Alright, Big Brother You."

You Jiu glanced at the smiling Bright, stepped forward, and straightened his back slightly. "I only let them run for 39 seconds out of consideration for our kinship... What about you? Why haven't you acted?"

Bright tapped his Light Saber, now completely enveloped in light. The blade emitted a sound like the mournful howl of the wind. His smile faded, replaced by a look of regret as he sighed, "I only wanted to give the Demon King a chance."

"I truly hope she can find the right path."

You Jiu looked at Bright intently. He felt as if Bright was speaking from the heart, his tone utterly sincere and convincing.

Such a person is either a great sage or a great villain.

"Kadell is about to shoot, and I must make my move as well. We can't let them get away... What about you?"

You Jiu's tongue flicked lightly inside his mouth. A streak of white light flew from his throat, circling him several times before splitting into six Sword Lights, half-real and half-illusion.

"Since Big Brother You has made his move, Bright will naturally follow suit."

Bright held his longsword horizontally, pointing it towards the distance. Gripping it with both hands, he adopted an overhead chopping stance. Then, without waiting for You Jiu's reaction, he shouted and fiercely brought down the Light Saber, unleashing a brilliant Sword Light!

"Sword Technique - Slaying the Dragon!"

Swords are better when they fly, You Jiu murmured softly as the six Sword Lights instantly transformed into streaks of light, cutting through the air!

"Sword Control Technique - Six Swords Locking Life!"

At that moment, Kadell, having calculated all influencing factors and raised his hit rate to 99%, finally pulled the trigger.

"Rapid Assassination!"

Three Fourth Stage Experts unleashed lethal strikes simultaneously!

「...」

Death is watching us.

Qiao Muyi shivered all over when the Fourth Stage Experts gazed at them from afar with murderous intent. Unspeakable Fear welled up in her heart; her grip on Ren Suo's hand was so tight her nails nearly dug into his arm!

"Quick, activate—"

Qiao Muyi managed only two words before she couldn't continue. Dong Chengling's spell to pull them back also required casting time. In this life-or-death moment, how could there possibly be enough time?!

Death was about to catch up.

If only they had surrendered to You Jiu from the beginning...

If only they had let Dong Chengling pull them back right from the start...

If only...

Qiao Muyi turned her head. The Sword Light, bright as the dawn's first rays, was about to strike. Its pure, righteous Radiance was so dazzling she couldn't open her eyes.

Yet, beneath this destructive brilliance, she saw the pained grimace on Ren Suo's Smiley Face, caused by her pinching.

Ren Suo was also looking at her, winking his right eye lightly. Confidence overflowed from his eyes, his expression seeming to convey two messages: 'You're hurting me. Leave everything to me.'

Qiao Muyi hadn't been shocked by Thunder Bear Ursa's Thunder Arc, yet Ren Suo's simple wink nearly stopped her heart.

Qiao Muyi pursed her lips and released Ren Suo's arm.

She knew that if they hadn't chosen to flee, Ren Suo might have survived. But she would have had no chance, whether by returning to the Mysterious Country or staying here. Not to mention whether she could pass the Mysterious Country's slaughter detection; if their enemies spread the information worldwide that she was the Demon King, complete with detailed evidence, Qiao Muyi would never be able to recover. Of course, that was assuming Qiao Muyi didn't want to confront the entire world. If she chose to unleash her Resentment upon the world, then all their enemies' actions would only make her stronger. But Qiao Muyi was unwilling because Ren Suo wouldn't like it.

If Ren Suo weren't there, what would she truly choose? Surrender without a fight, or struggle desperately until the end? She didn't know. She only knew that right now, she wanted to stand behind Ren Suo. Ren Suo had already broken one promise by getting hurt before she did. She certainly didn't want him to break another.

However, just then, Ren Suo suddenly slowed his pace, wrapped his left arm around her waist, and bent slightly to grab her knees!

In the instant Qiao Muyi was stunned, he had already picked her up—

It was a princess carry!

She saw the excited smile on Ren Suo's face, the dazzling Radiance that could destroy everything behind him, the six trails of light that could slice through anything; she saw that a bullet was about to penetrate both her and Ren Suo's chests...

All Fear, madness, murderous intent, regrets, reluctance, and fondness vanished in an instant.

Qiao Muyi leaned gently against Ren Suo's chest and closed her eyes.

「...」

「...」

Dong Chengling opened her eyes.

She sat up in bed, gently massaged her temples, then got out of bed to get a glass of water from the living room.

In the living room, Nan Xi, sleeping on the sofa, had kicked off her blanket. It hung precariously over the edge of the sofa, threatening to fall. Dong Chengling smiled helplessly, went over to tuck her in, and heard Nan Xi murmuring in her sleep, "...Ren Han..."

Ren Han had appeared in Abyss City in the dead of night and slain the Source of Disaster's fire manifestation. They had all been asleep when it happened and missed it entirely.

However, Dong Chengling hadn't expected Nan Xi to dream about this event—could she be a fan of Ren Han?

After drinking the water and heading back to her bedroom, Dong Chengling passed Little Jiu's room. Hearing some noises, she pushed the door open to check—Little Jiu hadn't closed it, merely left it ajar.

She walked in and, by the Moonlight spilling in, saw that Little Jiu, like Nan Xi, had also kicked off her blanket. However, Little Jiu was curled up like a caterpillar, her body trembling from the cold.

Dong Chengling covered Little Jiu with the blanket and heard her sleep-talking:

"Brother..."

You miss him too, huh.

"Don't die..."

Dong Chengling was slightly startled, her expression softening. She bent down and gently kissed Little Jiu's forehead.

You had a nightmare too, huh.

Dong Chengling's kiss seemed to improve Little Jiu's dream. Her expression eased, and she even pouted like a child upset about a toy being taken away.

Dong Chengling gently stroked Little Jiu's long hair and closed her eyes.

The Spirit Energy Coordinates thousands of miles away revealed only two signals, but their locations were blurry. If they didn't continuously input Spiritual Energy to keep them activated, Dong Chengling couldn't determine their relative positions to bring them back.

You haven't activated the Spirit Energy Coordinates; does that mean your lives aren't in danger?

Being pursued by the Six Great Supernatural Organizations, how are you feeling?

Standing against the whole world, can you persist?

I will always be the strength you can rely on. If you need me, don't hesitate.

Your safe return means more than anything.

Even if...

At that moment, with her eyes closed, Dong Chengling envisioned the morning the two of them had left: Ren Suo's words, Xiao Qiao's reaction. And now, seven days have passed...

Even if...

In any case, just come back alive.

「...」

「...」

RUMBLE!

SWISH SWISH SWISH SWISH SWISH!

BOOM!

Hearing the distant explosive sound, like an earth dragon turning over, Qiao Muyi, leaning against Ren Suo's chest, realized she could still hear his wildly erratic heartbeat, and immediately opened her eyes.

Only then did she notice that in the past second, Ren Suo had carried her more than forty meters!

The Sword Light, Flying Swords, and bullets aimed at them had all landed on a hillside forty meters away, far from them!

Qiao Muyi couldn't help but grab Ren Suo's shoulder, asking in a low voice, "Spatial Movement?!"

She hadn't felt any change in Ren Suo's speed just now. The most likely explanation was that he had performed Spatial Movement!

Ren Suo didn't hide it, nodding straightforwardly. "Only once."

In "Xiao Suo's Secret Diary," instructions urged him to wait until the last possible second to pick up Qiao Muyi and use Spatial Movement, thereby evading the simultaneous attack from the three Fourth-Stage Cultivators. Had he acted a fraction of a second sooner or later, Ren Suo might not have successfully baited their Skills.

Qiao Muyi stared at him blankly, a myriad of thoughts spinning in her mind.

Was this the ultimate trump card Cheng Ling gave him? Or was it his own secret?

However, just as Ren Suo had never asked about her secrets, Qiao Muyi had no intention of probing his. She simply wanted to lie lazily in his arms like this, letting him carry her as they continued to flee.

But she also knew that one person carrying the weight of two while fleeing—even though she wasn't heavy, very light, quite slender—would reduce their speed. So, after enjoying a few seconds of the princess carry, she softly said, "Put me down."

Ren Suo was very obedient. He immediately stopped and put Qiao Muyi down, but he kept his arm around her waist, even taking the opportunity to pull her completely into his embrace, pressing her tightly against him.

"Hold on tight."

Qiao Muyi didn't hesitate. She obediently wrapped her arms around Ren Suo's neck and rested her head on his shoulder, watching the murderous, self-proclaimed righteous Transcendents speeding up the hill below.

"Young Master, do you trust me?"

"If I had to choose between Trust and distrust, it would probably be the kind of Trust where I'm willing to die with you."

"Then, if I say my gut tells me I can jump down with you in my arms and we won't die, would you believe me?"

Hearing this, Qiao Muyi paused and turned to look behind them.

The Moonlight tonight is truly beautiful. The howling wind brings fine snowflakes. Before us, the rugged, steep cliff; below, a slender stream; and in the distance, the forest gradually donning a white mantle... A crystalline snowflake lands on a withered blade of grass at their feet, slides gently over its tip, then continues its descent with the wind until it shatters against the jagged rocks of the cliff.

Only a fool would believe they could jump and survive, right?

"I believe," the Demon King replied, tightly embracing the fool before her.

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