Without any inertia, he surged forward, weaving and dodging, leaving only a dazzling streak of crimson and white brilliance.

Everything that stood in his way was completely smashed to pieces!

The further forward he went, the more difficult it became. As he broke through the Blood Flames and the obstructing knights of Returning Home, the slender and brilliant edge of his Sword Qi gradually wore down. Yet, the shorter its duration, the more brilliantly the devastating light within shone.

In the end, when the speeding Sword Qi abruptly stopped amidst the entanglements of Blood Flames, Xiao An's body was already dyed crimson with blood, with a long spear piercing through his chest, nailing him to the ground.

But in his hand, that tiny, nearly imperceptible sharp light had already flown out.

Heading towards the stunned Lou Feng.

The Ice Iron Wall, the repulsive field, the Spiritual Shield—all were crushed, penetrated, and torn apart, until the Time Sand Crystals on Lou Feng's wrist shattered. The spiritual embodiment sculpted from spiritual material didn't even have time to appear before it was torn apart and shredded by the Invisible Vortex, destroying half of his body.

Yet the remaining hand, fiercely guarding in front of Lou Feng, grasped the fading, barely noticeable sharpness.

The sharp light dissipated.

Lou Feng, drenched in cold sweat, collapsed on the ground, his face deathly pale, gasping for breath, barely able to speak. He instinctively wanted to laugh but felt an itch in his throat.

Only when he raised his hand did he discover the bloodline spreading above his neck... his fingertips were shockingly crimson!

—Just a hair's breadth away from being beheaded!

He had never been so close to death.

Almost swallowed by the darkness...

"Kill, kill them!" he roared in a hoarse voice, bellowing.

Yet in the deadly silence, everyone remained motionless.

Staring at him, or more precisely, at the silently appearing cracks on the smooth wall behind him... and beyond those cracks, a gun barrel extended.

Blazing hot.

It hissed when it touched his scalp.

Causing Lou Feng's pupils to dilate rapidly, trembling uncontrollably.

"Ji Jue!!!!"

He cried out from his throat, suddenly turned around, and the Spirit Light of the alchemy equipment on his wrist shone, transforming into infinite Fierce Flame, spewing forth to turn the enemy in front of him to ashes... sadly, the anticipated scene did not occur.

The bracelet carved with flames merely flickered for a moment, then extinguished, completely inactive.

Not just the bracelet.

All the alchemy equipment had lost all activity!

On Ji Jue's shoulder, even within the dim light emitted by the Ghost Work Ball, the powers and Matrix seemed frozen, unresponsive.

Temporary workshop, deploy!

Within the domain of three steps, spiritual counteraction, Matrix suppression, and power silence—all three module sequences were activated!

"It's just you who's fucking rigged!"

Ji Jue swung his hand, landing a harsh slap across his face, spinning him around in mid-air and back onto the ground, then struck him with the butt of his gun: "Is it just you who's got a fucking mentor?!"

"Brother's got to keep nagging you, huh?!"

"And still fucking hand over the Non-attack!"

"Why don't you hand over your own damn mother?!"

Merciless beating, trampling, and trouncing, until Slan roared: "Stop!"

Bang!

The shotgun roared, bullets flew, grazing Lou Feng's face and embedding into the ground, leaving behind a spreading trail of blood.

"Keep it down, I'm scared," Ji Jue, with no expression, lifted his eyes to look at him, and then to Xia An pinned to the ground by a spear next to him.

Slan's dagger was pressed against Xia An's neck, inching closer, cutting through the skin.

Thus, Ji Jue pulled the trigger again, aiming at Lou Feng's right hand.

Without hesitation.

Amidst the spray of blood and screams, Slan's expression twitched for a moment, and the blade returned to its original position.

He had never imagined that the Returning Home Knight Order, all third rank and above, including himself, a fifth rank, along with a powerful employer fully equipped, would fall to such a state.

"Release the hostage, and I'll let you go," he said.

Ji Jue pulled the trigger again, the bullet grazing Lou Feng's hair as it embedded into the ground, and amid the screaming he continued, "Cut the crap, give me something substantial.

Drop your weapons, I count to five, or else your boss and your own left hand can say goodbye, 5—4—3—"

Amid the relentless countdown, Slan's expression twitched, and for a moment, he wanted to chop off the hands of the whimpering little brat next to him, to teach that rotten kid a lesson.

But he didn't dare.

Those unfluctuating eyes, fixed on them from start to finish, unshaken even as the blade nearly severed his teammate's neck.

As dark as a lightless ocean.

Such eyes he had seen too often in Central Earth, yet he had never thought he would encounter them again in an unknown youth from Cliff City.

Snap!

At his glance, one knight threw down his spear and curved blade, then another... The weapons were tossed into a small ox cart.

Soon, all six surviving knights had been disarmed.

Except Slan, still gripping the knife, not letting go.

"Relax, young man." Beside Slan, someone lifted a box from the blood and tossed it over, the open box brimming with their outcomes along the way.

"Thousands of miles from home for wealth, we're just poor workers, why make it difficult for us? Everything is here, you release the boss, take your friend and go, we won't stop you."

Ji Jue glanced at it, uninterestedly withdrew his gaze: "Not enough."

"..."

Slan's eyes twitched again, almost laughed in frustration: "Don't you want this kid's life?"

"Yes, of course, no need to emphasize the price. But because my friend got hurt, suffered so much, it's still not enough."

Ji Jue's hand on the trigger remained steady: "You better understand some things, don't waste my patience."

"Okay."

Slan sneered: "Two lives for one is not enough, you kill my employer, then how will you deal with us?"

What answered him was a fissure opening again behind Ji Jue.

"Recognize the situation, I'm going to leave, you can't stop me."

Ji Jue indifferently reminded: "You can kill my friend, but your boss is a dead man, not just your boss, but you, your family, your friends—"

"Just a reminder, my teacher is a master, and the Security Bureau protects me. Even if the Lou Family wants to retaliate, they can't touch me in Cliff City, but you're different.

The Security Bureau might let you go, but I will not.

Ten years, twenty years, thirty years ... no matter how long it takes, as soon as I get the master title, the first thing is to post your bounties on the Desert Market..."

He vowed: "As long as I live another day, our feud will not rest!"

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