288: I will deploy in Gundam form.

"What on earth is going on?"

Jiang Hongyue stood atop a building, watching Zhou Yan being pummeled by Wang Yao.

He had just reached the roof when he witnessed this scene, and for a moment, he thought he had fallen under an illusion or been poisoned.

However, after repeatedly confirming and even consuming a Medicinal Pill and using curse-breaking methods, the scene before him remained unchanged, so he had no choice but to accept this reality.

It was indeed Wang Yao beating Zhou Yan right now, but what exactly had happened?

"You idiot, even this Young Master can see that thing isn't Wang Yao at all, yet you can't tell."

"It seems joining the Sect earlier didn't do anything to fix that pig brain of yours."

A provocative voice drifted from behind him.

He turned around to look; that... should be Niu Zhiyuan, right?

"Little Niu, why are you..."

"Shut up!"

"A mere commoner like you thinks he's worthy of calling this Young Master 'Little Niu'?"

"Do you have any idea that this Young Master is the sole heir of the Niu Family of Great Yu!"

"Call me Young Master Niu, do you understand!"

Niu Zhiyuan unleashed a barrage of words like a machine gun, berating Jiang Hongyue mercilessly.

Jiang Hongyue wiped his face, flicking away the spittle that had landed on him, and then took a deep breath.

"After all that talk, you don't even dare to fart. I thought you were capable, but it turns out you're just a waste too."

"A-da!"

Jiang Hongyue executed a zero-frame startup, a straight punch aimed directly at Niu Zhiyuan's face. He controlled his strength, easily knocking him unconscious with a single blow.

I'd heard people say you used to be a real piece of work, but I didn't expect it to be this ridiculous—not a single human word coming out of your mouth.

I really don't know why that group from the Little Black Room hasn't completely fixed you yet.

As a senior Disciple, Jiang Hongyue knew that the "Little Black Room" wasn't just a room, but an organization similar to a private Law enforcement hall.

The people inside were all practitioners who dual-cultivated as Literary Cultivators and Body Cultivators, specializing in using "Benevolence and Virtue" to educate two types of people.

First, those who hadn't broken Sect rules but had abysmal character, whom the official Law enforcement hall couldn't touch.

Second, those who were repeatedly disciplined by the Law enforcement hall but refused to change.

By doing this, they could maintain the Sect's atmosphere while also using the process to advance their own literary and martial cultivation.

As for how they specifically "educated" people, Jiang Hongyue didn't dare to look into it too deeply.

He had only vaguely heard that one method involved condensing concepts like Propriety, Justice, Integrity, Honor, Morality, Intelligence, Physicality, Aesthetics, and Labor into spiritual entities to batter the opponent's Divine Soul, beating the "evil" out and filling it back up with "good."

Since the "good" would be absorbed and assimilated, while the "evil" would be broken apart again before it could even sprout, the person would quickly become filled with their own sense of kindness.

As for the specific execution methods, whether there were side effects, or what other procedures existed, he didn't know.

Most of those inside were Senior Brothers at the Nascent Soul or even Soul Transformation Stage; their methods were beyond his understanding, and he didn't dare to try to understand them.

"Ugh..."

Jiang Hongyue pulled back his thoughts and, seeing Niu Zhiyuan struggling to get up, immediately put on a concerned expression.

"Junior Brother, are you alright?"

Niu Zhiyuan waved his hand and clutched his forehead, his face slightly red from the pain.

"Don't worry, Senior Brother, I'm fine."

"I 'saw' everything just now. I deserved that punch; his mouth really was too foul."

Realizing the other party had actually remained conscious, Jiang Hongyue awkwardly made a few feigned movements before quickly changing the subject.

"You said just now that wasn't Senior Brother Wang... what did you mean?"

Niu Zhiyuan, clutching his head and grimacing, walked to the edge of the building and pointed at Wang Yao, who was lying in the ruins.

"Because the real one is right over there."

"Although I'm not sure why, Senior Brother Wang likely failed to defeat that eerie fellow."

"I presume you also encountered someone identical to yourself, Senior Brother?" Niu Zhiyuan turned to look at him.

Jiang Hongyue nodded.

"You met one too?"

Niu Zhiyuan nodded in response.

"When I first came over, I met the Taoist priest and his apprentice, as well as that pair of Dao Companions; they all encountered the same situation."

"Some found it easy to deal with their other selves, while others found it very difficult. Although Senior Brother Wang's strength is great, without support, he was likely defeated and captured by that monster."

"Then shouldn't we go save him?" Jiang Hongyue became anxious upon hearing this.

Wang Yao lying in the middle of the battlefield was more troublesome than him beating up Zhou Yan.

If it were Wang Yao beating Zhou Yan, it would at least mean the two were comparable in strength, and with Senior Brother there, nothing would go wrong in the short term.

But if that was a fake Wang Yao while the real one was caught in a Nascent Soul-level clash, then things were dangerous.

"Sigh, don't be hasty, Senior Brother." Niu Zhiyuan pulled back Jiang Hongyue, who was about to move, and pointed toward the sky.

"With our meager strength, going there will only cause trouble. With Senior Brother Zhou watching, Senior Brother Wang won't get hurt."

"But Brother Zhou can barely protect himself!" Jiang Hongyue interrupted him.

Niu Zhiyuan shook his head.

"Senior Brother, you're too close to the situation and haven't realized it yet."

"Although Senior Brother Zhou is being suppressed and beaten, he hasn't actually taken much damage. Every time he's sent flying, he can immediately return to the battlefield."

"Furthermore, the combat area has been kept well under control, without affecting the surroundings."

"It's clear that everything is still within Senior Brother Zhou's grasp. We only need to wait for it all to end and offer our congratulations to the protagonist on the stage."

Looking at the eloquently speaking Niu Zhiyuan, who carried a faint air of pretentiousness, Jiang Hongyue suddenly felt that he should have used more force with that punch earlier to keep him unconscious longer.

This kind of invisible posturing was the most annoying because there was no way to refute it; what he said was indeed logical.

Thus, the two of them crossed their arms and watched the battle from a distance.

At this moment, The Spirit Trees name was completely dumbfounded.

He had been uprooted by his own creation, and his already precarious life force grew even weaker.

Since he had already poured all his Law power into Kun, he could no longer reverse his state to sustain his life.

He stared at his two masterpieces in the sky, unable to understand it at all.

Why had Kun broken free of control and suddenly become a madman, as if he were a different person?

And why did Zhou Yan, who should have lost his cultivation due to the power swap, seem completely unharmed, with his life force becoming exceptionally vast instead?

In the center of the battlefield, Zhou Yan had completely adapted to his current state and officially began his counterattack.

He had just figured out the cause and effect.

Presumably, that tree used some method to capture Wang Yao while granting this identical fellow Wang Yao's power.

Then, it used some means to swap powers with him, thus simultaneously possessing Wang Yao's Physical Body and his own mana, becoming exceptionally powerful.

But the opponent didn't know one thing: Zhou Yan was a player.

Under normal circumstances, he would not lose levels.

Therefore, his health bar would not shorten just because he had swapped for Wang Yao's power.

On the contrary, because his Rank was very high, it inversely affected Wang Yao's health value. So this current state was actually the stats Wang Yao should have after ascending to the Nascent Soul stage; though he might not be as truly formidable as Wang Yao, it was enough.

Zhou Yan's eyes were clear now, flashing with a pure and intelligent light.

Left punch high damage, right punch high damage.

Suitably weaving auto-attacks between normal attacks, and quickly following up auto-attacks with more normal attacks.

As for defense?

He didn't need it at all!

Zhou Yan's health recovery speed was now extremely fast; not defending was the best defense.

So this is how Wang Yao plays?

So this is the joy of stat-stomping?

Zhou Yan understood; he completely understood.

From then on, he no longer pursued a flawless victory, allowing the opponent's attacks to land on him.

Now, he didn't even need to take medicine; he could maintain incredibly high sustain through automatic recovery alone.

Although most of his skills, except for Divine Abilities, were grayed out and unavailable, he didn't need them at all now.

"Dammit... how is this possible!"

"I'm on the verge of death, yet he's still so at ease? How can he maintain his cultivation after swapping powers?"

"But it doesn't matter... once the Law power is exhausted and you lose that strength, you won't be able to stop him anymore... unless you have the strength to resolve him instantly..."

These words were originally The Spirit Trees name's internal monologue, yet they transformed into chat bubbles, continuously exposing the opponent's weaknesses to Zhou Yan.

"So I just need to one-shot him quickly."

"That's simple!"

Zhou Yan didn't try to use any complex Spells; he simply and calmly selected the Divine Ability option, preparing to transform into a Dragon and end the fight quickly.

But something unexpected happened; he didn't turn into a dragon-man or a Dragon, but instead transformed into a giant "Wang Yao."

At this moment, Wang Yao was like an ultra-giant mecha, and Zhou Yan was its pilot.

He manipulated the colossus to throw a punch, and the enemy's originally fierce gaze suddenly cleared for a split second.

After getting a feel for it, Zhou Yan immediately began alternating his hands, rapidly suppressing the opponent. Although the enemy's body was also recovering at high speed, it could no longer keep up with the speed of Zhou Yan's elbow strikes.

"Wang Yao, set out!"

"This is our hot-blooded combination strike!"

With a loud shout from Zhou Yan, the already swift shadows of his fists suddenly accelerated, and his fists were further imbued with the Thunder-Controlling Divine Ability.

Although he couldn't cast Spells, simply releasing lightning could still cause damage.

In an instant, thunderous light exploded, and the continuous shadows of his fists turned into blazing meteors.

Under Zhou Yan's full-force bombardment, that monster was completely obliterated before it could even reveal its name.

However, during the process of his frantic normal attacks, Zhou Yan seemed to vaguely hear the opponent shout something like "Something-something Zang Ling" and "Something-something Meng Zang."

"It's all over."

After the colossus dissipated, this thought surfaced in everyone's minds simultaneously. Immediately after, the entire space began to warp, and before long, everyone was ejected.

East Region, Miechen Sect.

A green-haired female cultivator walked to an office and lightly knocked on the door.

"Enter."

Hearing the response, the female cultivator took a deep breath and pushed the door open.

"Left Envoy, our last arrangement in Great Gan, that city filled with zombies, has been eradicated."

The old man did not show any surprise.

The Miechen Sect had already withdrawn from Great Gan; it was within expectations that the remaining arrangements would be cleared.

He simply asked calmly.

"Do we know who did it?"

"The other party acted quite covertly this time, not making a grand display like before; it seems to have been a secret operation."

"Therefore, we only have the lineup known before they set out; whether the personnel who actually went were the same... is still hard to determine."

"Then tell me about the situation before they set out."

The female cultivator nodded, taking out a document and placing it on the old man's desk.

"The ones who accepted this mission were Wang Yao, who is being watched by the Truth Cult, and two Inner Sect Disciples, Niu Zhiyuan and Jiang Hongyue."

"And the final person is the one the Saintess specifically instructed us to focus on."

The old man's movements paused as he picked up the document and scanned it.

"The one who went was Long Tianxing?"

"Has his strength... increased again?"

"Forget it, since that's the case, it's just as well. Counting the previous matters and this incident with the forced base closure, we'll settle the whole debt on his head with interest."

"I didn't want to pursue it originally, but since it's you."

The old man looked at Long Tianxing's name on the document and revealed a sinister smile.