53: Interception (End)

"Boom!"

Another collision ended.

Meng Yu was sent flying again, but this time, she didn't rush to attack. Instead, she took a deep breath, and her eyes became incredibly sharp, like a keen sword about to be unsheathed.

A fierce Aura erupted from her, like a cold current, instantly sweeping across the entire battlefield.

Xiang Yan raised an eyebrow. "Oh, no wonder I felt something was off earlier. So, she was just testing me out before. Now that she's figured me out, she's ready to get serious."

Watching her prepare to enter the second stage while doing nothing myself, although it's foolish, I just want to experience the feeling of being a classic villain!

The longsword in Meng Yu's hand began to emit a dazzling milky white light. The light grew stronger and stronger, eventually condensing into a ball of light. The ball of light suddenly contracted inward, completely attaching itself to the sharp sword. Then, the sharp sword returned to its original appearance, except for the faint milky white light attached to it.

At the same time, Meng Yu muttered incantations, and a hexagonal Magic Circle appeared before her, surrounded by mysterious runes. The Magic Circle slowly moved backward, passing through Meng Yu's body and the sharp sword in her hand.

Meng Yu's already powerful Aura surged up another significant notch. According to Xiang Yan's assessment, it rose from the early stage of New River Traveler to the advanced stage, a considerable increase.

"Break!" Meng Yu let out a soft cry, and her figure transformed into a stream of light, shooting towards Xiang Yan. Her speed was several times faster than before.

Facing the charging girl, one of the black giant hands beside Xiang Yan, with overwhelming force, slammed down towards Meng Yu.

Meng Yu swung her sword to meet it. The blade collided with the palm. However, this time, Meng Yu's sword did not stop at all. The sword, with its faint milky white light, cleanly split the black giant hand in two as if cutting tofu.

The moment the giant hand was severed, Xiang Yan was momentarily stunned. The giant hand being cut open was indeed beyond his expectation.

Meng Yu's speed was astonishing. Almost in the instant he was stunned, she had already arrived before him, raising her longsword high, carrying a fierce Sword Qi, and slashing down at his head.

Negative energy exploded from his feet, and the immense thrust transformed Xiang Yan into a black shadow, instantly teleporting to his left-rear, narrowly dodging the fierce blow.

"A little interesting..." Xiang Yan's feigned hoarse voice came from the black mist. He quickly waved his hands, and streaks of black mist condensed into barriers, separating himself from Meng Yu.

Seeing this, Meng Yu lightly tapped her foot, and her body shot towards Xiang Yan like an arrow released from a bowstring.

Where her afterimage swept past, the air let out a sharp whistle, as if space itself was being torn apart.

The moment she neared the black barrier, she thrust the sharp sword forward. The sharp sword burst forth with a dazzling white light, and a fierce sword shadow swept out like a raging tide, fiercely stabbing into the barrier.

"Tear—" A harsh tearing sound echoed, and the solid black barrier was torn open with a huge gap, like paper.

The white sword shadow's momentum remained undiminished, piercing through all barriers, like a bolt of lightning, fiercely rushing towards Xiang Yan.

A flicker of surprise crossed Xiang Yan's eyes. The flames burning on his last remaining black giant hand suddenly surged, transforming into raging inferno, emitting crackling sounds.

Under Xiang Yan's control, the giant hand grabbed the fiercely incoming sword shadow, and his five fingers squeezed tightly.

"Crack!" A crisp breaking sound rang out. The sword shadow shattered into specks of starlight under the terrifying power of the giant hand, dissipating into the air.

At the same time, Xiang Yan's figure flickered like a ghost, instantly moving to the right.

He waved his right hand, and a black energy wave shot towards Meng Yu like a roaring beast.

Where the energy wave passed, the air itself became distorted, emitting buzzing sounds.

Meng Yu skillfully sidestepped in mid-air, barely dodging the fatal energy wave.

Using the force of her descent, she charged at Xiang Yan again, faster than before, and with an even stronger Aura.

Xiang Yan rapidly moved his hands, and the surrounding space violently fluctuated like boiling water.

Several black swirl appeared out of thin air, emitting chilling whistles.

Black rays of light continuously shot out from these swirl, crisscrossing towards Meng Yu like dense raindrops.

Meng Yu showed no fear, wielding the longsword in her hand. The milky white light on the sword transformed into arcs of light, like the shield of a guardian goddess, blocking each incoming black ray of light.

The collision between energies, though without sparks or various sound effects, sent ripples that once again ravaged the already devastated battlefield.

"Is that all after the enhancement?" Xiang Yan's voice came from the black mist, carrying a hint of mockery.

Meng Yu ignored his provocation, her eyes only growing firmer, and the sword in her hand danced even more swiftly.

As time passed, the faint milky white light that originally only enveloped the sharp sword also began to cover Meng Yu herself.

Seeing this change, Xiang Yan became even more interested. "Third stage? But it doesn't seem to have changed much!"

After another chase between Meng Yu and Xiang Yan ended, the sword tip pointed directly at the ground, and she lightly tapped her toes on the ground, her figure sliding towards Xiang Yan like an arrow released from a bowstring.

Just as Xiang Yan thought this was another old trick and began a tactical retreat, an unexpected change occurred.

Meng Yu gently thrust her sword forward, and suddenly, milky white blades appeared all around Xiang Yan, piercing him and interrupting his movements.

With just that slight pause, Meng Yu successfully caught up, and the sharp sword in her hand flared with light as she fiercely slashed out.

The moment the sword light was about to touch Xiang Yan, his entire body transformed into black light particles, scattering with the wind, dodging the blow, and then began to condense behind Meng Yu.

Meng Yu urgently turned around and performed a horizontal slash. The blade touched the condensing figure, causing an explosion, and thick smoke billowed instantly.

The real Xiang Yan, however, re-condensed dozens of meters behind Meng Yu.

"Based on the 'no damage with smoke' law, I judge that she was not harmed."

Immediately after he finished speaking, a figure with a milky white barrier retreated out of the smoke.

Xiang Yan looked at the re-emerged Meng Yu and praised, "Little girl, that Move just now was quite good. While chasing, you carved sword marks all around, and then suddenly attacked. It caught me completely off guard."

"But unfortunately, the same Move is useless against a Saint Seiya. Although I'm not a Saint Seiya, I'm infinitely better than them, so the same applies to me."

Meng Yu frowned, not understanding the strange things this mysterious guy was saying, but she roughly understood his meaning. Moreover, the fact that this guy so easily saw through her methods made things even more troublesome.

"Little girl, you just attacked me. Now it's my turn."

Saying that, Xiang Yan clasped his hands together, then suddenly spread them apart.

In the sky, massive negative energy gathered, forming a negative energy cloud. It rapidly converged and spun, rolling as if controlled by an invisible giant hand, eventually transforming into a colossal black pillar of flame, rushing fiercely towards Meng Yu with world-destroying momentum.

The scorching heat wave rushed towards her face. Meng Yu could even feel a stinging burn on her cheeks.

Meng Yu calmly chopped her sword towards the sky.

A massive sword light, imbued with fierce Sword Qi, tore through the black flames like a bolt of lightning piercing the night sky, destroying the formed negative energy cloud.

The explosion was deafening. The shockwave uprooted surrounding trees, and the ground trembled violently, as if the end of the world had arrived.

However, this was only the beginning.

More negative energy clouds rapidly formed in the sky, transforming into pillars of black fire that poured down like a torrential rain, attacking Meng Yu.

Meng Yu raised her sword above her head. A massive barrier of milky white light formed above her, like the shield of a guardian goddess, blocking all attacks.

The pillars of fire struck the barrier, producing deafening explosions and scattering sparks like blooming fireworks.

The moment Meng Yu was defending against the fire pillars, Xiang Yan's figure flickered like a ghost, instantly appearing behind Meng Yu.

He formed his fingers into a claw, bringing a fierce gust of wind as he clawed towards Meng Yu's back.

Meng Yu felt the movement behind her, leaned forward, and rolled, dodging Xiang Yan's attack.

At the same time, with no barrier to block them, streaks of black fire pillars slammed into the ground, causing continuous violent explosions.

The impact of the explosions sent Meng Yu tumbling to the ground. She rolled several times, her torn clothes revealing glimpses of skin, which, combined with her resilient expression, made her appear even more beautiful.

But soon, under the repair of magic, her clothes became complete and clean, and all the dirt on her body disappeared.

Just then, Xiang Yan appeared behind her again, his fingers forming a claw, carrying an even fiercer Killing Intent, and reaching for her back.

Meng Yu, without turning her head, stabbed her sword backward. Xiang Yan abruptly retracted his hand, leaped backward, his feet carving two deep furrows in the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.

As he retreated, Xiang Yan drew a circle with his hands in front of his chest. A pitch-black energy ball rotated in his palm, emitting heart-palpitating fluctuations, then fiercely shot towards Meng Yu.

Meng Yu's eyes narrowed. In the nick of time, she adjusted her posture, brandished her longsword, and a milky white sword light flashed, splitting the black energy ball in two.

The black energy splattered like spilled ink, emitting 'hissing' corrosive sounds, leaving charred marks on the ground.

The splashing energy quickly transformed into a thick black mist, enveloping the entire battlefield.

Meng Yu's vision and perception were instantly restricted. She could only see endless mist rolling, making it difficult to detect her enemy's whereabouts.

Xiang Yan took advantage of this to launch a despicable sneak attack. Meng Yu was hard-pressed to parry, only able to barely defend with her keen intuition and exquisite swordsmanship, but still couldn't avoid the increasing number of wounds on her body.

After dodging another surprise attack, Meng Yu took a deep breath and fiercely plunged her sword into the ground.

The sword body vibrated violently, emitting a humming sound. The milky white magic covering her and the sword surged out like a tide, transforming into a circular shockwave that expanded outwards from her center.

With a loud "boom!", the black mist was torn apart by the shockwave, like dark clouds scattered by a strong wind, revealing Xiang Yan hidden within.

She gritted her silver teeth, pushing the magic on her sword to its limit. Her entire being was enveloped in dazzling white light, like a Heavenly God descending. This was her burst state; she had to end the battle as quickly as possible, otherwise, once the state ended, she would be at his mercy.

Her figure flashed, transforming into a white bolt of lightning, and rushed straight towards Xiang Yan.

However, this time, Xiang Yan neither dodged nor attacked. He simply stood still, watching Meng Yu with a strange smile playing on his lips.

Meng Yu's delicate brows furrowed in confusion at her opponent's actions, but how could she let such a good opportunity slip by?

She lightly tapped her toes on the ground, her figure like lightning, instantly closing in on Xiang Yan. The longsword in her hand, imbued with fierce Sword Qi, thrust directly at Xiang Yan's chest.

Unexpectedly, even at the last moment, Xiang Yan did not dodge or evade, allowing the longsword to pierce through him.

Xiang Yan showed no fluctuation, as if it wasn't a flesh-and-blood body being pierced, but a ball of air.

The instant the sharp sword pierced through his chest, the last remaining black giant hand, which had been suspended beside Xiang Yan, suddenly clenched into a fist, bringing a furious gust of wind as it slammed down towards Meng Yu.

At the same time, a familiar suction force came from the sword. Meng Yu's internal alarm bells rang loudly. Repeating her old trick, she decisively let go of the sword hilt and retreated rapidly, barely dodging the fatal blow.

After stabilizing herself, Meng Yu immediately looked at Xiang Yan, but couldn't help but be stunned.

The longsword, which should have disappeared, was still piercing Xiang Yan's chest. The sword body hummed, and the milky white light intertwined with the black mist, forming a bizarre picture.

"Clap, clap, clap."

Applause sounded from Xiang Yan's hands.

"Little girl, well done. The battle just now allowed me to stretch my muscles and bones after tens of thousands of years."

"But, I've had enough fun now. Through the battle just now, I've probably understood the difference between ancient Magical Girls and modern Magical Girls." He paused, his tone becoming low, "So... now, it's time to end this game."

Xiang Yan pulled out the longsword embedded in his chest. The black mist swirling around the sword quickly dissipated, revealing its original appearance, adorned with faint milky white magic.

He casually tossed the sword back to Meng Yu.

However, Meng Yu did not catch the sword, letting it dissipate into specks of starlight in the air.

The next second, she drew another sharp sword from the Void Realm. The sword body also emitted a milky white light.

Her eyes were cold, and she watched Xiang Yan vigilantly, her body tense, ready to launch an attack at any moment.

Xiang Yan stretched, yawned, looking nonchalant.

Just then, Meng Yu moved.

She lightly tapped her toes on the ground, her figure transforming into a white bolt of lightning, shooting towards Xiang Yan.

The longsword in her hand cut through the air, emitting a sharp whistle, pointing directly at Xiang Yan's throat.

Xiang Yan seemed to have anticipated Meng Yu's attack. He leaped backward, his figure sliding backward in mid-air, widening the distance from Meng Yu.

Meng Yu followed closely, brandishing her longsword. Sword light flickered, pouring down like a torrential rain, enveloping Xiang Yan.

While retreating, Xiang Yan brought his middle and index fingers together, holding them upright in front of him, and said, "Little girl, be grateful, you are the first to witness this Move."

Immediately after, he softly uttered, "Domain Expansion, [Malicious God's Kingdom]."

As soon as his voice fell, the surrounding world suddenly darkened, as if all light had been swallowed.

Meng Yu only felt a blackout before her eyes. Everything around her disappeared, leaving only endless darkness.

Immediately after, countless surges of negative energy rushed into her mind like a tide, violently assaulting her spirit.

Countless resentments clung to her Soul like maggots, tearing at her consciousness.

The pain, like ten thousand ghosts devouring her Soul, was unbearable, and the world before her eyes began to twist and deform, her consciousness gradually blurring.

In less than a second, Meng Yu lost consciousness and collapsed to the ground.

Almost simultaneously, the surrounding darkness dissipated, and the world returned to light.