In the bone-piercing cold above Balensa City, the heavens reverberated with the hoarse mockery of a Great Emperor: "Look at you, flaunting yourself like a commodity, I could kill you as easily as slaughtering dogs and swine. Your blade and axe are but air! Why not kneel and plead for mercy?"

It bellowed: "Oh, how pitiful! The inheritors of Chi are nothing but a flock of worthless chickens and dogs!"

Gu Jianlin had fled farther and farther away, with the parrot's voice drowned in the cold wind.

The Dusk Candidates, led by Jiang Hanyi, lost control the moment they heard this. Consumed with rage, their fury ignited in their hearts and spurred their boldness, inducing an immediate blood rage!

There was a sudden deafening boom!

From their backpacks erupted muffled rumbling sounds—alchemy technology-made rocket thrusters roaring to life, spewing searing flames and dense smoke as they launched skyward with a thunderous burst.

Four Fifth-Rank warriors shot forward at an astonishing speed to engage the enemy.

Only two individuals refrained from giving chase.

Su Youzhu was hardly zealous about You Ying Group's ideology and thus didn't feel personally insulted. Her mind went blank instead, instinctively convinced that the young man had gone mad, courting death.

After the initial shock, an overwhelming sense of dread and unease washed over her.

Her hand clutching the Tang Blade trembled uncontrollably.

The very disaster she feared most had still occurred. Any student of Qing couldn't escape their fate—crossing swords with the inheritors of Chi, or even being besieged by the entire Dark World, was inevitable.

Especially since Gu Jianlin had walked into it himself, willfully throwing out provocations.

The girl's instincts urged her to rush after him, but she ultimately restrained herself.

Firstly, even if she joined the fray, the best she could manage was to take out one of the Dusk Candidates, hardly enough to shift the tides of the battle. Secondly, that guy wouldn't have made such a reckless decision without a reason—he must have had some kind of plan, at least enough to keep himself alive.

The couple's Stone Beads still adorned both their hands.

Gu Jianlin surely knew she was nearby.

Thus, his strategy became painfully clear.

Gu Jianlin would draw the majority of attention, while Su Youzhu's role was to save those in peril.

A resounding boom followed. Si Wei'an chose not to pursue anyone; instead, a grotesque grin spread across his face as he charged straight toward Minister Lu. Behind him, the skeleton Spiritual Body condensed in an aura of dense, obsidian-black light!

"The head of a Minister—I'll take it for myself!"

Immense pressure surged in all directions, as pitch-black light flickered, teetering on the verge of extinguishment!

Su Youzhu cast a cold glare at him and abruptly transformed into a shattered shadow, chasing right after.

Boom!

Minister Lu heard the thunderous roar in midair and spotted the skeletal Spiritual Body descending from the skies.

And the man's savage, deranged grin.

She, however, felt no panic—only a sense of absurdity.

No one could comprehend the scene that had just unfolded.

When Gu Jianlin initially departed, it filled everyone with despair, helplessness, and the sorrow of abandonment.

Yet, in the blink of an eye, the situation flipped entirely.

Gu Jianlin unleashed a provocation, luring two-thirds of the enemies away, plunging alone into the depths of the ruins.

In the end, only two Dusk Candidates remained!

"Look out!"

An unidentifiable voice shouted.

For Si Wei'an had already descended, the pitch-black Qi Realm flaring chaotically, its light illuminating the faces of women and girls alike.

And in that fleeting instant, the sound of a blade being drawn sliced through the air like the wails of countless souls shrieking in Hell. The Void quaked violently, innumerable overlapping ripples spreading outward, like the surge of an ocean tide!

Fifth-Order Moon Master ability: Soul Blade Sound!

Its function was to disrupt spirituality, disintegrating the enemy's Extraordinary Abilities!

Si Wei'an grunted, his spirituality surging into violent disarray. Even the skeletal Spiritual Body behind him began to disintegrate in agonized wails, while his black Qi Realm edged toward collapse!

A flickering, petite shadow darted past in a flash. Crimson dragon horns sprouted atop her head, her blood-red eye shadow vivid as gore, and her scarlet, slit-pupilled eyes brimmed with a regal arrogance that could intimidate the heavens.

The Tang Blade trembled and erupted with a tidal wave of luminescent slashes!

Crack!

The skeletal Spiritual Body was torn asunder by the blade's light, leaving obsidian scars in the Void where its edge had passed!

This was Dimension Slash—a strike that cleaved through space and time!

Just as the final strike was about to sever the opponent's head, a torrent of stars seemed to gather above, the galaxy boiling over as if a scalding celestial river churned. Guided by spirituality, dark energy and dark matter converged and cascaded like a supernova explosion, as countless terrifying, incandescent starbursts descended!

A Fifth-Rank Star Lord's ability: Star Fall!

The amalgamation of dark energy and dark matter pouring from the Void.

Though spiritually conjured, and lacking the destruction-level output suggested by physics for such forces, it retained unique properties!

Chief among them: incredible descent speed and the ability to pierce through space-time!

In facing Ghost Slayers, most opted for attack as their defense!

Boom!

As the stars fell, knife lights crisscrossed in all directions, blades cleaving through the stars!

Su Youzhu displayed swordsmanship that was as godlike as it was ghastly. Meanwhile, she unleashed a kick midair with tremendous force!

Bang!

With a thunderous blow, Si Wei'an was sent hurtling away like a cannonball!

This was a testament to her evolved physical prowess!

"Still standing there? Are you keeping vigil for your future self, who will die due to hesitation?"

Su Youzhu's icy, arrogant voice rang across the battlefield.

The crowd felt as though they were hearing a feminized version of Xiao Gu throwing out taunts.