CHAPTER 583: CHAPTER 583: CASTLE

Xi Ping and Jake both grabbed his hand, and together, the four of them jumped into the portal.

But when they landed, it was not the world they had left.

The air was heavy and damp. They stood inside a massive stone hall. The walls were dark, wet, and covered in strange moss. A cold wind drifted through broken windows. The air smelled of dust and old iron.

Jake looked around and frowned. "Uh... this doesn’t look like home."

Xi Ping’s eyes narrowed. "This place... feels like a castle."

Su Jiyai’s small body stiffened. She quickly changed back into her human form, her face pale.

Her voice came sharp and urgent. "No. This... this place... I know it. I’ve been here before!"

The others turned to her with surprise.

"What do you mean?" Qin Feng asked, his brows furrowed.

Su Jiyai’s lips trembled slightly. "When I was captured... when those three entities attacked me... they forced me into a place that looked just like this."

Her voice dropped. "This is that place. Danger is coming. We will be attacked soon."

Jake blinked in confusion. "Wait, wait, are you saying we just jumped into a death trap?"

Xi Ping’s tone turned sharp. "Then we need to prepare. We cannot let our guard down."

Qin Feng placed Su Jiyai down gently and stood firm, his hand already glowing faintly. "No matter what comes, we will face it together."

Su Jiyai shook her head. "You don’t understand. These entities... they are not ordinary. They are beyond anything we fought before."

The hall suddenly grew darker. The torches on the wall flickered without wind. A strange sound echoed from deep within the castle, like chains dragging across stone.

Jake swallowed hard. "Uh... I think she’s right. Something bad is coming."

Su Jiyai clenched her fists, her eyes wide. "We are doomed... unless we fight with everything we have."

The sound of chains rattling echoed again, louder this time, and then...out of nowhere, the wall on the far side split open like a mouth.

From the crack came spinning blades, sharp and silver, slicing through the air.

At the same time, glowing red lines appeared on the floor, and from those lines shot up beams of light, like lasers.

The whole hall turned into a deadly trap.

Jake hissed and instantly raised both his hands. Thick, crimson liquid poured from his palms, twisting into a tall wall of blood.

The blades slammed into it with metallic clangs, sparking as if they had hit steel.

"Blood Wall!" Jake gritted his teeth. "These things are sharp, but they won’t cut through me that easy!"

Xi Ping flapped her wings, her body lifting off the ground gracefully.

She hovered above the group, her eyes glowing faint red as flames gathered in her hands.

She spread them apart and created two massive fire orbs.

"Everyone, stay close," she ordered, her tone calm but strict. "If we scatter, we die."

Su Jiyai clenched her fists, her mind racing. The strange psychic tingle in her head told her more dangers were about to come. She gasped and shouted, "Above us!"

Qin Feng reacted instantly. He jumped forward, raising his hand, and a shimmering shield of light formed over the group.

Just as he did, dozens of sharp, glowing spikes rained down from the ceiling. They hit the barrier with loud cracks, but none pierced through.

Qin Feng narrowed his eyes. "This is a testing ground. Something... or someone... wants to measure our power."

Jake growled, his fangs flashing. "Then let’s show them how strong we are!"

He slapped the ground with his hand, and blood swirled beneath him, forming a cannon shape. With a wicked grin, he roared, "Blood Cannon!"

The weapon blasted a thick beam of crimson energy at the wall, destroying part of it in a violent explosion. Dust and debris flew everywhere.

But from the dust came something worse. Metal constructs, tall, armored figures with glowing eyes, marched out, carrying massive swords that gleamed with deadly light.

Su Jiyai’s breath caught in her throat.

The constructs raised their blades and charged.

Xi Ping swooped down, her body engulfed in flame. She spun in the air and released a burning wave.

"Fire Burst!" The flames washed over the first wave of constructs, melting their armor and slowing their steps.

But more kept coming.

Qin Feng stepped forward, raising both hands. A shockwave burst out of him, knocking several constructs into the wall like toys. His expression was hard. "Stay sharp. This is only the beginning."

Su Jiyai’s heart pounded. She closed her eyes, her future-sensing ability activating.

In a flash, she saw three seconds into the future, constructs swinging at Jake’s blind spot.

She gasped and shouted, "Jake! Left side!"

Jake didn’t hesitate. He spun around, blood forming into a sharp spear in his hand. He drove it straight into the construct’s chest, shattering it into pieces. "Good call, Jiyai!"

Her breath shook, but she nodded. "I’ll keep watching the flow... You guys fight!"

The sound of clashing metal and explosions filled the hall.

Jake was brutal, tearing through the constructs with his blood weapons, smashing them like glass. Xi Ping rained fire from above, burning groups of them at once.

Qin Feng fought like a storm, summoning barriers, blasting energy waves, and slamming his fists into the ground to create shockwaves.

Su Jiyai’s hands burned with flames as she joined the battle.

With her scythe appearing in her grip, she spun gracefully, cutting down a construct in one clean strike.

The weapon felt alive in her hands, every move natural.

One construct swung its sword at her, but her eyes flashed red. Her speed ability activated, and her speed skyrocketed.

She darted to the side and sliced the construct in half before it even realized she had moved.

Another came at her from behind. She didn’t even turn; she just strummed her fingers in the air as if on invisible strings.

A faint melody filled the hall, and the construct froze mid-step, its movements disrupted by her melodic manipulation.

"Now!" she shouted.

Jake appeared behind the frozen construct, slamming his blood hammer into its head. The thing shattered instantly.

Xi Ping landed near Su Jiyai, her wings folding in as she kicked another construct backward. "You fight recklessly," she muttered. "Stay aware of your surroundings."

Su Jiyai gave her a quick nod, sweat dripping from her forehead. "I will."

Suddenly, the floor beneath them glowed again. A massive circle appeared, and from it rose a gigantic construct, at least four times taller than the others.

It carried a blade the size of a tree, glowing bright red with heat.

Jake’s eyes widened. "Oh great. A boss fight."

Qin Feng’s aura flared, his voice low. "Stand firm. This one... is different."

The giant swung its sword downward with a roar of metal.

Qin Feng raised his hands and summoned a barrier, but the impact was so strong it cracked immediately.

"Too strong!" Qin Feng gritted his teeth.

Xi Ping shot upward and released a flaming spear from the sky. It slammed into the giant’s head, causing it to stagger but not fall. "Its armor is reinforced!" she shouted.

Jake licked his lips, his blood swirling wildly around him. "Then we’ll break it!" He formed two massive blood cannons and fired both at once. The blasts hit the giant’s chest, sending it stumbling back.

Su Jiyai’s mind raced. She clenched her fists, activating a skill-copying superpower. Her flames turned white-hot, burning with terrifying heat.

She raised her hand, copying Xi Ping’s portal-opening superpower for ten minutes.

Su Jiyai narrowed her eyes, her copied portal ability flickering in her hands. She summoned a glowing oval of light right under the giant’s foot.

The creature stepped down, but its leg vanished through the portal and reappeared upside down on the ceiling. With a horrible metallic scream, the giant toppled sideways.

"Now!" Su Jiyai shouted.

Jake was already ready. "Blood Cannon!" he roared. Two massive blasts of crimson energy slammed into the giant’s chest.

Xi Ping swooped down from above, flames burning around her hands. She shot them forward in a blazing column. "Incinerate!"

The fire consumed the giant’s cracked chest.

Qin Feng clenched his fist, his eyes glowing with terrifying power. "Finish it!" he commanded. He slammed both fists into the ground. The entire hall quaked as the floor rose like a wave, crushing the giant from below.

With a thunderous crash, the massive construct shattered into hundreds of pieces, its glowing blade falling silent.

The floor went still. The red lines vanished. The hall grew quiet, almost too quiet.

Jake wiped his mouth, breathing heavily. "Is it over?"

Xi Ping landed lightly on her feet, folding her wings. "No. That was not the true enemy. That was only another test."

Su Jiyai’s body tensed. She was about to say something when all of a sudden, every trace of attack around them, the blades, the spikes, the lasers, faded into nothingness.

As if none of it had ever existed. The hall returned to a cold, still silence.