“What in the world is that?”
The Puppeteer felt his Mind Threads completely slip out of his control, as if they had been severed.
The War Machine shook his head lightly:
“I don’t know. The energy reaction is intense.
She’s not dead. She’s even stronger.”
“So that’s the effect of the Magic Potion, huh.”
The Puppeteer swallowed a mouthful of saliva, his craving for the Magic Potion growing fiercer by the second.
As long as he obtained it, advancing to S-Rank, or even higher, would no longer be a dream.
The only problem, ironically, lay with the War Machine.
There was only one dose of the Magic Potion.
At that thought, a sharp glint flashed beneath the Puppeteer’s eyes.
WHOOMP!
Purple and red light burst outward, a fierce gale sweeping wide as rubble and dust were blasted away.
Yang Liuqing revealed himself.
Both the Puppeteer and the War Machine had their expressions shift slightly.
They noticed that, at some point, two strangely shaped swords had appeared in her hands.
The big black sword from before was nowhere to be seen.
In Yang Liuqing’s left hand, she gripped a rippling sword roughly two feet long, wreathed in flames.
In her right hand, she held a sword curved like lightning, over three feet in length, with arcs of electricity crackling and snapping across its surface.
“So Big Sister already taught Xiao Qingqing to release the Twin Swords in the Spiritual Space, huh.”
Ke Li recognized it at a glance—this was another form of the Huayue Zimu Sword.
Twin Sword Mode.
“Mm.”
Ke Ling nodded.
“It’s a bit early, but against a duo like this, the Twin Swords are the better fit.”
According to the original plan, she hadn’t intended to teach Yang Liuqing the second form at this stage.
Without a solid enough foundation, forcing its use would incur a degree of backlash.
The reason she changed her mind was because Yang Liuqing’s Swordsmanship talent was exceptionally high.
And with the crisis of being hunted looming over them, having another means of combat would increase their chances of survival.
Just now, she had released the second form in time, shattering the duo’s combined attack.
“My Crimson Flame Sword is feeling lively.”
Ke Li gazed at the rippling sword in Yang Liuqing’s left hand, the flames upon it gradually rising.
“My Thunder Light Sword is in great condition too.”
Ke Ling looked at the strange sword in Yang Liuqing’s right hand—those lively purple sparks looked ready to burst out at any moment.
The Puppeteer released his Mind Threads once more, his expression grave.
He could sense that those two swords were anything but ordinary.
The War Machine pressed the hatch on his chest shut again.
This was a high-consumption weapon; it would overheat after use.
It would need a long time to cool down.
“Can we take her?”
he asked.
The Puppeteer frowned slightly:
“Hard to say. We have to take her down quickly before she can catch her breath.”
No sooner had he spoken than the War Machine struck like thunder.
“Hah.”
Yang Liuqing let out a long breath, easing the pressure.
If she hadn’t converted the Big Sword into its second form just now and used the power of the Twin Swords to forcibly deflect the attack, she would have been dead for sure.
“The Thunder Light Sword in my right hand is closely linked to Ke Ling, and the Crimson Flame Sword in my left is tied to Ke Li—matching both sisters’ personalities.”
Feeling the difference each sword brought, she turned her gaze toward the War Machine, her eyes sharpening.
The second form drained a great deal of energy.
There was no time to waste; this had to end fast.
The War Machine charged in ferociously, the ground shattering and fragments flying beneath his stomping feet, dust swirling in the air.
His massive, casserole-sized fist hurtled toward Yang Liuqing’s head, the sheer force blasting the very air into a shockwave.
She moved her foot, and her figure vanished like a ghost.
“Watch your right!”
The Puppeteer warned urgently.
The War Machine’s punch struck nothing but air, the surrounding atmosphere trembling from the impact.
He tried to dodge quickly, but he was still a step too slow.
Having flashed to his right side, Yang Liuqing swung the Thunder Light Sword in a horizontal slash.
The War Machine’s expression shifted; he struggled desperately to evade, yet the blade’s light still grazed him—his hard Exoskeleton was sliced open as easily as tofu.
And it didn’t end there.
Yang Liuqing used the momentum to spin around, the Crimson Flame Sword in her left hand chopping down in a diagonal arc.
The War Machine’s eyes were filled with nothing but crimson red, his body instantly overwhelmed by searing heat.
This strike, he couldn’t avoid.
Just as her Crimson Flame Sword was about to finish off the War Machine, Yang Liuqing’s brow furrowed slightly.
Because she sensed several Mind Threads blocking the path ahead.
The Crimson Flame Sword landed on them, stalling for a fraction of a second.
Then, they were cleanly severed.
But that tiny delay was enough for the War Machine to make an evasive maneuver.
With a ground roll, he escaped the attack range.
The Puppeteer continued his support, Mind Threads assaulting from three directions at once.
Yang Liuqing had no choice but to pull her attention away from the War Machine and focus on dealing with the bothersome threads.
Thanks to Ke Ling’s training experience and the advantage of dual-wielding, she handled it with ease.
“Tch, what a stubborn pest.”
The Puppeteer had gained no ground, and anxiety was creeping into his heart.
If this dragged on any longer and other Hunters arrived, it would turn into a free-for-all.
They had to take her down as soon as possible.
On the War Machine’s side, with his Exoskeleton damaged and some functions unusable, his output was limited.
After hesitating for a moment, he decided to dismantle the damaged parts.
Turns out, this thing was built with modular components.
BANG!
Metal components crashed to the ground with a dull thud.
The War Machine struck out like a hammer, his speed noticeably faster than before.
Yang Liuqing had just finished dealing with the razor-sharp Mind Threads when she was met with another barrage of Iron Fist attacks.
This was starting to irritate her.
The immense drain made her mental state increasingly unstable, and filthy Negative Energy gradually surged up, transforming into her offensive force.
Her Twin Swords swept through like a gale blowing away fallen leaves.
The War Machine’s eyes went wide—the specially crafted metal of his Iron Fists was now covered in deep, vicious gashes.
At this rate, losing the gauntlets entirely would be the least of his worries.
His hands might not survive!
Known for his overwhelming brute force, he actually felt the urge to retreat now.
Yang Liuqing’s momentum was clearly stronger; with one side rising and the other falling, the War Machine was being suppressed badly.
Noticing the shift in the situation, the Puppeteer rushed in swiftly to relieve his teammate’s pressure.
His Mind Threads were most threatening at mid-to-long range, but their power was weaker than up close.
As length increased, both toughness and sharpness would decrease.
By shortening the combat distance now, their potency naturally multiplied.
However, closing the distance also meant Yang Liuqing could counterattack against him.
A double-edged sword, to say the least.
At this point, hoping to take her down without any risk at all was nothing short of a fantasy.
With the Puppeteer’s support, the War Machine finally managed to catch his breath.
Facing Yang Liuqing’s storm-like onslaught, the pressure on him was so suffocating he could barely breathe.
One moment of distraction, and his body might be sliced into several pieces!
Yang Liuqing matched the War Machine with the Thunder Light Sword in her right hand, while the Crimson Flame Sword in her left countered the Puppeteer—operating on two fronts, the pressure was immense.
Her whole body was wound so tight it felt like her nerves might snap.
Even so, she didn’t relax for a single instant.
When it came to combat experience, the two of them were certainly above Yang Liuqing.
But with the boost of the Magic Potion and the monstrous talent awakened afterward, Yang Liuqing only grew fiercer the longer she fought.
The duo’s techniques, positioning, and strategies were being absorbed, digested, and refined bit by bit.
“Not good.”
The Puppeteer quickly noticed this problem, a chill running straight down his spine.
He felt like he wasn’t facing a human being.
“A monster…”
The War Machine realized his own combat style was being adapted to, and for the first time, panic appeared on his face.