268: Chapter 268 Qianmo's True Strength

“Die! Die! Die...”

Driven by the rage of being stopped at a critical moment, combined with the continuous use of the Breath of the Abyss, Xing Yaoyan's originally beautiful golden eyes had now completely turned a violent, blood-red color.

Her mind was entirely consumed by the urge to quickly kill the nuisance in front of her, and then catch up to Leng You before he got too far away to kill him as well! She failed to recognize the young man's identity from his familiar spiritual energy at all.

On the contrary, precisely because of the Star Body' fatally alluring aura to Star Beasts, the madness in her eyes rapidly intensified, and an uncontrollable bloodlust was gradually crushing her sanity...

Her fists blurred into multiple afterimages, relentlessly striking at the nuisance before her. Her attacks lacked any technique, relying purely on her terrifying raw attributes.

Sonic booms echoed through the air as surges of black energy constantly billowed, sweeping toward the young man without pause.

A scarlet gaze piercing out from the shadow of her oversized white hood stared intently at the person before her, the red light in her eyes drawing crimson arcs through the air with her movements.

Yet, perhaps because he was wearing a mask, she couldn't feel anything she wanted to feel from him. Or rather, she couldn't sense any emotion from him at all.

His movements remained calm and unhurried. Although his strength was inferior to hers, he constantly used bizarre footwork and techniques to counter her attacks. Moreover, she had an inexplicable illusion that his strength was steadily growing.

At first, he hadn't dared to clash with her head-on, but now, he could actually block her fist directly...

This feeling was very familiar, but at this moment, Xing Yaoyan had no time to think about it.

Her mind was filled with thoughts: Why is this guy so difficult to deal with? Why hasn't he fallen yet? Why does he insist on stopping her?!

“Ahhh!!!”

Qian Mo watched the rapidly approaching claws with calm, unruffled eyes. Through 'Balance of Equivalence: Reverse', he had already accumulated enough power to rival her. It was time to counterattack.

He raised his hand, utilizing Wing Chun's hooking and deflecting palm techniques, using clever leverage to neutralize her heavy, life-risking, and terrifying blow.

Then, his right hand, hidden below, clenched into a tight fist. Lowering his body slightly, he sank his Qi into his Dantian. The ground beneath his feet seemed to sink slightly under his concentrated momentum.

“Now, it's my turn.”

In the next instant, he delivered a devastating liver punch straight at the Star Cult Priest.

The timing of this punch perfectly caught her right after a heavy strike when her body couldn't leverage any force; she absolutely could not dodge it.

“Just fall like this...”

“Heh... You've fallen into my trap...”

As if she had anticipated this, Xing Yaoyan's lips curled up slightly.

Although she was currently driven by her violent emotions, her innate combat instincts and battle intelligence did not decline because of it. On the contrary, she became even calmer, adopting the most perfect method to hunt her opponent.

Just moments ago, she had feigned a loss of sanity. Before her opponent had fully powered up, she used a life-for-life fighting style to make him think she was just a madwoman, thereby lowering his guard.

Finally, she intentionally showed a weakness, leading him to believe he had seized an opportunity to deliver a fatal blow.

One had to know that while his strike was a sure-kill blow timed to catch her unable to dodge, in return, he himself was now a massive vulnerability after committing to the attack!

So... once I unleash my true killing move at this moment, you're finished!

“Mist Form!”

To an outsider, the two figures crossed paths in an instant, each ending up in the position the other had occupied just a moment ago.

But Xing Yaoyan was clearly prepared. She extended her claws and slashed violently at the figure behind her, intending to decapitate him just as she had dealt with those two blade-wielding Fifth-Order Espers before.

But...

“No! How could you be faster than me?!”

The moment Xing Yaoyan turned halfway around, she suddenly realized that the young man was already facing her directly.

Even more unbelievably, his fist was already raised high, fully charged with power. A terrifying, imposing force clung to it, making her white robe flutter loudly in the wind.

“Damn it, his move just now was a feint. He knew my abilities all along... Oh no, I can't dodge. Swap... What?!”

Just as she was about to use Swap to dodge the strike, Xing Yaoyan suddenly realized she couldn't Swap to escape.

It's this Domain...

Almost instantly, she realized where the problem lay: this seemingly unremarkable black Domain actually had the effect of suppressing Superpowers.

But then why didn't he activate it earlier... He was playing with me!

What Xing Yaoyan didn't know was that this Domain-like ability was one of Qian Mo's trump cards. He had deliberately fused his two Superpowers, combining the spatial tracking of the Balance of Equivalence with the power-suppressing capability of the Star Body to form an absolute suppression.

This Domain was far stronger than the original White Space of the Balance of Equivalence. It didn't require pulling others into a separate space, and it even had a one-to-many effect. Its only drawback was that neutralizing the opponent's abilities took some time, and now, the time was up...

Cold sweat trickled down Xing Yaoyan's cheek. This was the first time she had ever felt such a deep sense of frustration from someone of the same rank.

It was a feeling of utter powerlessness, of being completely seen through...

“Damn it... Is that move really my only option left...”

“The clear heart is like water, clear water is the heart...”

She quickly chanted the Calming Incantation in her mind, preparing to endure the blow at the cost of severe injury, and then unleash the power of the Star Pattern.

If Xing Yaoyan were still sane, she would absolutely never use this power even if she knew she couldn't win. This was because that version of herself was far too arrogant and uncontrollable. Even if it could briefly resolve the immediate crisis, it would inevitably draw a cleanup operation from the Security Bureau afterward.

But right now, she didn't care about any of that anymore. She was going to go all out against this nuisance!

Qian Mo calmly watched his enemy's movements. He could clearly feel his fist piercing through all of her defensive barriers, striking violently toward her chest as if met with no resistance at all.

The massive Spiritual Pressure whipped up a fierce gale, blowing a gold-and-silver pendant out from the girl's collar, sending it fluttering in the air...

“This is...”

A sudden, violent wave of emotion surged in Qian Mo's cold eyes.

Almost at the exact fraction of a second before his fist made contact, he rapidly pulled back his strength. At the same time, he reached out with his other hand, tightly gripping his own wrist to further dissipate the force, neutralizing the terrifying blow almost instantly...

Beneath her hood, Xing Yaoyan's mouth fell slightly open, and the 'Heart-Clearing Incantation' she had been chanting halfway also ground to a halt.

Her eyes trembled as she stared in confusion at the shaking fist hovering right in front of her chest, a familiar sensation welling up in her heart.

Had she seen this scene somewhere before...?