189: Chapter 189 I'd rather die standing than live on my knees

"Your Gravity Superpower is very strong."

"But you rely on it too much. It might work against ordinary people, but against me..."

"It's not enough."

Shen Junlin twisted his wrist, and frost white traced an arc in the air.

Lin Shiyao's pupils contracted sharply. No longer hesitating, she poured her remaining Mental Energy into a forceful push with both hands.

She unleashed her Gravity Domain to its full extent.

An invisible force spread outward from her body; centering on her, the Gravity within a ten-meter radius instantly increased tenfold.

Fine cracks appeared on the cement ground, dust in the air was pressed toward the ground, and even the light from the streetlamps seemed to be bent by something.

This was her strongest attack, her trump card.

Ten times the Gravity was enough to crush the bones of an ordinary person and render any Esper below LV4 unable to move.

She had once used this move to instantly subdue five opponents who had surrounded her.

Shen Junlin, gripping frost white, swung his sword upward.

The sword light flashed in the air like a bolt of silver lightning.

The Gravity Domain was like a piece of cloth, torn apart from the center by Shen Junlin's sword.

That silver sword light passed through her domain without any resistance or deviation, slicing her ten times Gravity in half as if it were tofu.

Lin Shiyao immediately felt her Mental Energy get slashed by something, as if someone had hacked at her soul with a blade.

A sharp pain shot through her brain, and everything went black before her eyes; she nearly fainted.

The backlash of her Mental Energy left her feeling completely drained; her legs went weak, and her body tipped forward.

Lin Shiyao dropped to one knee.

Shen Junlin sheathed his sword and looked down at her from above.

"Your Gravity is strong, but your Mental Energy is too weak."

"You use Mental Energy to drive your Gravity, but my Sword Intent is specifically designed to slash Mental Energy."

He slid frost white back into its scabbard; it entered without a sound.

"Your Gravity Domain is useless before me."

Lin Shiyao knelt on the ground, saying nothing.

Her brain was still buzzing, her Mental Energy shattered by that sword strike, and it would be impossible to recover in the short term.

Shen Junlin walked up to her and looked down.

"Lin Shiyao, I'll give you one more chance."

"Be my woman. You don't need to answer, you don't need to promise anything. You just need to nod."

"I will arrange the best doctors for your mother's illness."

"You won't need to work, you won't need to worry about anyone else's attitude, and you won't need to survive on steamed buns and clear soup."

"You just need to nod."

But Lin Shiyao did not nod; there was no fear or submission in her eyes.

"I, Lin Shiyao, would rather die standing than live kneeling."

Shen Junlin was silent for a moment, then he laughed: "You think dying is that easy? How naive."

"If I don't let you die, you can't die. The Shen Family has the best healers and the best medical equipment."

"Even if you only have one breath left, I can pull you back. Do you believe me?"

"And now, I want you to be my woman."

After saying this, Shen Junlin reached out to grab Lin Shiyao's wrist.

That hand drew closer and closer to Lin Shiyao's wrist: ten centimeters, five centimeters, three centimeters.

Lin Shiyao didn't dodge, because she couldn't.

Her body had reached its limit, her Mental Energy had been shattered, and her Superpower could no longer be used.

In the shadows at the entrance of the alley, Wang Lin stood there, his eyes fixed on Shen Junlin.

[Sword God] Superpower.

He possessed a [Blade God] Superpower.

Any skill or martial art related to blade techniques, he could master with a single glance.

No practice, no honing, no day-after-day accumulation required.

And now, standing before him was a person, someone who possessed a [Sword God] Superpower.

Just like the Blade God, any skill or martial art related to sword techniques could be mastered with a single glance.

The corners of Wang Lin's mouth curled up slightly.

He already had [Blade God]; if he could also obtain [Sword God], wouldn't he be a master of both blade and sword?

Shen Junlin's fingers were one centimeter away from Lin Shiyao's wrist.

Lin Shiyao closed her eyes—not in submission, but because she didn't want to see herself being grabbed.

Just then, a pebble flew out from the shadows of the alley, striking the back of his hand with precision.

Shen Junlin's hand went numb, and his fingers involuntarily recoiled.

He turned his head to look at the shadows at the alley entrance.

"Who is it?"

Shen Haochen and his few lackeys also turned their heads simultaneously to look at the alley entrance.

Wang Lin walked out of the shadows and stood between Shen Junlin and Lin Shiyao.

He didn't look at Shen Junlin, but lowered his head to look at Lin Shiyao, who was kneeling on the ground on one knee.

"Can you still stand up?"

Lin Shiyao looked up; she recognized Wang Lin, the boy who had sat across from her in the cafeteria at noon.

Lin Shiyao looked at Wang Lin, was silent for a second, then nodded.

Gritting her teeth, she slowly stood up and took a step forward to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Wang Lin.

Shen Haochen looked at Wang Lin, frowning; he felt like he had seen this face somewhere, but couldn't recall where.

"Who the hell are you? Are you looking for death?"

Wang Lin didn't look at him, but said to Lin Shiyao: "Stand behind me."

Lin Shiyao looked at him and didn't move.

"Can you still fight?" Wang Lin asked.

"No."

"Then stand behind me."

Lin Shiyao was silent for a moment, then slowly walked behind Wang Lin and leaned against the wall at the edge of the plaza.

Her legs finally gave out, and she slid down the wall to sit on the ground.

Seeing that Wang Lin ignored him, Shen Haochen's expression became even uglier, and he took a step forward.

"I'm talking to you! Who the hell are you?"

Wang Lin finally turned his head and glanced at Shen Haochen.

"Freshman. Wang Lin."

Shen Haochen was stunned for a moment.

Wang Lin. He had heard this name before, but not because he had heard of him personally; it was because his older brother, Shen Junlin, had mentioned him.

The monster who broke the records in all five physical fitness tests.

But he hadn't taken it to heart. Physical fitness tests were just tests; actual combat was actual combat.

How strong could someone who got famous from physical fitness tests really be?

Shen Haochen laughed: "Wang Lin? The one who got in through the back door?"

"You think you're something special just because you broke a few records in the physical fitness tests?"

Wang Lin ignored him and looked at Shen Junlin.

Shen Junlin was also looking at him.

Their gazes collided in the air; there were no sparks, no hostility, only a mutual sizing up.

Shen Junlin looked at Wang Lin, his brows furrowing slightly.

He had originally thought Wang Lin was just a well-connected individual, but now that he saw Wang Lin in person, he suddenly felt that it might not be that simple.

Wang Lin looked at the frost white at Shen Junlin's waist and said with a smile: "That sword of yours is not bad."

"Are you here to stand up for her?"

Wang Lin thought for a moment. "I suppose so."

"Do you know who she is? Do you know what's between us?"

"I don't."

"Then do you know who I am?"

"Shen Junlin. Sophomore. LV5. Superpower [Sword God]."

Shen Junlin's eyes narrowed slightly: "Since you know who I am, you still dare to come?"

"It is precisely because I know it's you that I came."

"Interesting."