58: You are a beautiful woman, but you are a thief

The explosion lasted for several hours.

A hundred-mile radius was almost leveled.

Laila used all her strength to barely preserve Vivian's shattered body.

Her tattered body was completely enveloped in dust, and at some point, a light cough escaped her.

“Cough, cough.”

The small mound of dirt stirred, and Laila pushed away the giant sword in front of her.

A top-tier A-grade giant sword was easily shattered into fragments.

Meng Yun's earth-shattering blow, unleashing all his counterfeit containment items, was terrifyingly powerful!

Laila struggled to her feet, Vivian's body, protected beneath her, remained spotless.

No joy, no sorrow.

What does it feel like to be betrayed by the person you trust the most?

What does it feel like to see your most beloved sister die before your eyes?

Everyone else died, so why was she the only one still alive?

Why?

Why!

Laila's scarred heart let out a silent roar.

No one answered.

“Heh heh…”

“Hahahahahahaha…”

Laila laughed maniacally, tears streaming down her face.

Otto, the life mentor who had extended a helping hand and guided her during her darkest hour, turned out to be an out-and-out butcher and a liar.

She had thought Otto commanded battle after battle to liberate the people and overthrow the Foundation's rule.

Who could have known that the ultimate goal of all this was to turn the battlefield into a meat grinder, transforming comrades who sacrificed their lives into the purest blood-food, to be enjoyed by some so-called holy deity!

What?

Is the flesh and blood of those who dedicate their hearts to an ideal sweeter?

Naive.

Foolish.

Ridiculous.

What a pity for her pure comrades.

Laila took a deep breath and stumbled to the edge of the abyss.

Laila, in place of her sister Vivian, saw the truth of the world.

Centered around the demon seed, countless crimson chains slowly pierced into the air, gradually disappearing into the invisible void.

The world was quiet.

But the entire abyss was blood-red.

As she gazed into the abyss, the demon seed's eye at the bottom slowly opened.

An endless surge of malevolence instantly filled Laila's mind.

Kill, kill, kill!

She was almost completely controlled by this consciousness.

But she held onto her last shred of clarity, fueled by an overwhelming hatred.

With a flick of her hand, the Wind Severing Sword, belonging to the S-grade black-armored individual, appeared in her grasp.

This was her spoils of war.

S-grade containment item—Wind Severing Sword.

Ignores 80% of defense, attack power depends on the user's strength.

Simple and brutal.

“You are… Laila?”

“I… remember you…”

“Submit to me.”

The demon seed's whispers echoed in her ears.

Laila remained unmoved, brandishing her long sword, using her weapon in place of criticism.

A Wind Blade tore through the air and instantly reached the depths of the magma, easily drawing a spurt of blood from the demon seed due to its significant defense-ignoring effect.

The foul, putrid blood was instantly vaporized and swallowed by the magma.

The demon seed's eye squirmed; this injury, though not fatal, being attacked by an ant was tantamount to challenging its supreme authority!

“Disobey, and die!”

Although Meng Yun had disrupted it, and it was incredibly weak during its ascension, it could still easily crush a mere peak Arcane Master!

Red lines transformed into chains, sweeping towards Laila in an overwhelming barrage.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Sharp whistling sounds filled the air as Laila rapidly wielded the Wind Severing Sword, her Wind Blades fiercely cutting towards the chains.

Clang! Clang!

The usually unstoppable Wind Blades now sounded like rusty swords striking iron, producing only grating friction that set teeth on edge, leaving no trace!

Her attack level was still too low.

Facing the incoming chains, Laila neither dodged nor retreated, enveloping herself completely with the Wind Severing Sword, making her impenetrable.

If Wind Blades wouldn't work, then what about the S-grade sword body itself?

Only death awaits.

Death is not frightening.

What's frightening is a warrior losing the courage for one last stand.

“Swoosh—”

A sharp chain quietly pierced through Laila's back, emerging from her chest.

It was as if the demon seed was playing a small joke on her.

It still loved backstabbing so much.

Laila slowly lowered her head, her right hand falling limply.

Clang.

Within a single day, the Wind Severing Sword once again lost its master.

Blood flowed from the corner of her mouth, and her golden pupils began to lose focus.

In a daze, she saw her young sister running towards her, smiling.

And her even more beautiful and charming mother stood quietly in a golden field of rapeseed, her face filled withkindly.

The wind blew through the wheat.

Laila closed her eyes forever.

The entire world fell silent once more.

The severely weakened demon seed quietly lay dormant underground, recuperating again.

It needed to recover, and then find its next human spokesperson.

To provide blood-food for its next ascension.

And all it had to give in return was a negligible relaxation of its rule restrictions.

Humans are always so foolish, always beyond salvation.

The demon seed fell into a deep slumber.

After an unknown amount of time, at some point, it suddenly opened its eyes.

It found its injuries recovering rapidly, and its apostles, who had lost contact, re-established their connection.

This is…

This is!!

Time was flowing backward, and causality was being reset!

“No, no, no—!”

Even its unwilling thoughts were obliterated by the supreme law, and the entire world returned to a predetermined origin point.

…

The present world.

Meng Yun, lying on his bed, opened his tired eyes.

He didn't want to move at all, only desperately rubbing his hair with his hands.

Full of confidence, yet he lost everything.

He thought he had set up a grand scheme, but who knew he had mistakenly entered someone else's chessboard, becoming the biggest pawn.

Saving all sentient beings?

Even his sister Vivian sacrificed herself because of him.

“Sigh.”

After an unknown period, a long sigh finally echoed from the empty room.

Meng Yun got up, waiting for the simulation rewards to be settled while stretching his body to relieve his mind.

Walking out of the bedroom, Meng Yun went straight downstairs.

Then, in the living room on the first floor, he suddenly met a pair of female eyes.

Meng Yun: “Who are you?”

Professor Xu: “Why are you in my house??”

Both simultaneously: “Oh no, they’re coming for me!”

No sooner said than done, Meng Yun opened his palm, and a cluster of blue-black flames instantly ignited.

The awe-inspiring power instantly made the woman's face slightly change.

Professor Xu's long hair flew, and her Arcane fluctuations instantly spread, an aura that would make Otto turn tail!

She was, astonishingly, another peak Arcane Envoy!

You are a beauty, why be a thief!

What, in the era of spiritual energy resurgence, do you need to be an Arcane Envoy just to be a thief?

Is the job market really that tough?

Meng Yun's heart sank slightly.

With only the Arcane Star trait and no inherited Arcane level, he could only barely exert Arcane Master-level combat power with his current sanity.

He wondered if Hellfire could fight two levels above its own!

It didn't matter if it couldn't, he could still smoothly switch to Nascent Soul Realm power!

Without another word, a blue-black flame shot through the air.

He also wanted to know just how much power this Fallen Arcanist's fire, which struck fear into the entire Arcane World, could unleash!

Professor Xu's beautiful eyes narrowed, and she hurriedly conjured an Arcane barrier to block.

Hiss! Hiss!

Upon contact, in just one exchange, the flames scorched a hole in the barrier, and it was rapidly expanding!

An eighth-level Arcane spell, a defense strong enough to withstand a full-power attack from the Nascent Soul Realm, was actually ineffective against this tiny flame!

What exactly was this?

Wait!

Suddenly, Professor Xu had a flash of insight:

Could this be the black Arcane depicted on the stone tablets?

Then, this little thief who illegally invaded her home, could he be…

“Wait, Meng Yun! We're colleagues!”

“Colleagues? I've never done anything sneaky or underhanded!”

Without the Sleight of Hand trait, Meng Yun spoke with more confidence.