This is her, returning from the escape.
These small fry sped straight toward the battlefield.
Lu Xueying swept her blade to knock Yang Liujing aside, and several neat tears appeared on her black uniform.
“Please, you must be safe, Xiao Ying.”
Right now, she could not be bothered with any of this.
“I still underestimated the effects of the magic potion.”
“Ice Sealing!”
The surrounding abandoned factories collapsed in a heap, and the ice surface was split into countless fragments, with cold air pouring out.
The battle between the two was more intense than expected.
The magic potion in Yang Liuqing’s body provided an endless supply of energy, causing every limb and bone to be continuously scoured and strengthened.
The scale of the Spiritual Energy Lake easily doubled.
This was a backup energy source she had not known how to use before.
At this moment, it poured into the twin swords as if it were free.
Lightning stirred the heavenly thunder, rumbling and exploding.
Flames turned to sea, melting the snowfield.
“She is practically a monster.”
Lu Xueyuan had no infinite energy on her side. Even with richer combat experience, it was hard for her to gain the upper hand.
Not killing was itself an enormous restriction.
It was not much different from dancing with shackles on her hands and feet.
The problem was that while this side held back, that side had no similar restriction.
When she attacked, every move was lethal and merciless.
From the opponent’s perspective, there was actually no way to show mercy.
Her consciousness had sunk so deep she did not even know where it had gone. If she could still hold back, that would be truly bizarre.
This was literal autopilot, even more precise and vicious than Yang Liuqing’s control.
“Times are different now. After God’s Gate opened, SS-Rank Transcendents are definitely not as valuable as before. Perhaps I overestimated myself.”
Lu Xueyuan reflected deeply.
A single bottle of Legendary Magic Potion, and a body remodeled in one day could fight her to this extent. Who could she even complain to?
Heaven-defying.
Although self-restriction was one issue, a transformation like this could be called heaven-defying.
“Hurry and wake up. If this continues, I will have no choice but to kill you.”
Lu Xueyuan’s words were a warning.
When the opponent could pose a genuine threat to her, it became a situation where killing was unavoidable.
There was no room for sentiment.
Far away, Ke Ling and Ke Li sensed the two wildly surging auras outside, and anxiety churned in their hearts.
They knew this Lu Xueyuan was not some bad person.
But her good intentions were causing bad results.
She had sealed them inside ice pillars. How were they supposed to wake their Master?
“Big sister, I can’t hold on. Xiao Jingjing has drawn away too much of my Origin Power…”
Ke Li’s aura was feeble, and even her mind communication seemed weak and powerless.
“My situation is not much better.”
Ke Ling’s aura was somewhat stronger, still with a little strength left.
But relying only on that bit of strength, she clearly could not break Lu Xueyuan’s Ice Seal.
Their anxiety was useless.
But precisely because of that, they were especially anxious.
Watching Yang Liuqing be gradually destroyed by the magic potion while trapped inside the ice pillars, unable to do anything, felt worse than being sliced by a dull knife.
Lu Xueying had long since forgotten the two of them completely, so naturally she would not think they were the key to stopping Yang Liuqing.
Sealing the two sisters back then had merely been done in passing.
When friend and foe were uncertain, sealing them away was safer.
The misfortune was that Yang Liuqing had taken this move as a threat against her.
Her subconscious had already classified Lu Xueyuan as an enemy.
This battle could very well end only with death.
With the support of the magic potion, the combat power Yang Liujing unleashed would only grow stronger and stronger.
“Hurry and stop her.”
Lu Xueying was the first to act, intending to completely freeze Yang Liujing.
As for what she would become after the fight, only heaven knew.
How could the latter simply wait to be defeated? Both swords struck out together, dispersing the terrifying cold and driving straight for the heart of the enemy.
This was the scale of a small iceberg.
The scattered cold condensed into a massive amount of ice chunks that fell like a hail of spears and bullets.
Yang Liujing swung her twin swords, knocking away these ice chunks that could barely count as minor hindrances.
The blue heterochromatic rings in Lu Xueyuan’s eyes shone brilliantly.
A terrifying ice and snow storm whipped up on the scene.
Yang Liuqing did not seem to know how the word “death” was written, and tried to force her way through.
Those wind and snow were like blades, razor-sharp.
Instinctively recognizing the danger, the aura bursting from her twin swords had already formed a protective layer first.
The wind and snow struck it, swiftly scraping away layer after layer of aura, forcing her to condense a Spiritual Energy Barrier to withstand it head-on.
This naturally caused her consumption to spike.
Even with the magic potion’s support, withstanding the fierce ice and snow storm was by no means easy.
Lu Xueyuan was intentionally exhausting her.
To let the magic potion calm down as quickly as possible.
Stop causing her more trouble.
The idea was good, but reality was complicated.
Yang Liuqing broke through once again, her aura surging and her strength rising.
The ice and snow storm failed to stop her.
The Thunder Light Sword and the Crimson Flame Sword crossed in a swing, forming a giant “X” slash that broke through the obstruction and shot straight at Lu Xueyuan.
The latter half-lidded her eyes, and an ice blade suddenly swept out, forming a crescent ice edge that clashed with the X slash.
“I see you have a death wish.”
Amid the explosion of thunder-fire and ice blades, Lu Xueyuan’s killing intent first appeared.
A fearsome icy aura abruptly spread through the entire Ice Seal Realm.
“Winter Empress, descend upon this place!”
An illusory ice flower bloomed.
Ice mist spread out, and the ultimate deep cold froze space itself.
Yang Liujing’s twin swords shook, dispersing the frost on her body, and she poured energy into them like mad.
Instantly, heavenly thunder exploded, stirring earthly fire into a violent blaze.
The two forces collided thunderously, and the already battered factory district was compressed, twisted, and deformed, collapsing in droves.
The earth split apart in response, and the concrete floor was flung outward, like the precursor to an apocalypse.
Yang Liuqing charged at high speed, dual-wielding the swords of thunder and fire.
Lu Xueyuan flashed away in an instant, the cold light of her ice blade fully revealed, killing intent completely exposed in her eyes.
The two unmatched powers threatened to raze the entire factory district to the ground.
The ice pillars sealing Ke Ling and Ke Li suffered violent impacts and cracked apart in an instant.
The two little ones were freed, yet they were powerless to turn things around.
In a collision like this, if they charged in, there would be only one path: death.
Moreover, there was not much strength left in their bodies at all, so there was no time to charge in.
They could only pray for a miracle to appear.
Their little hands trembled as they rubbed them together.
In a battle of this level, they could not even transmit their voices into it.
Just as Yang Liuqing and Lu Xueyuan were about to crash into each other and decide life and death.
A white figure forcibly charged in.
“Xiao Qing, Xiao Yuan, what are you two doing!!!?”
A loud, clear voice burst out from within.
Immediately after, the miracle Ke Ling and Ke Li had prayed for appeared.
An ordinary white Spiral Force rapidly expanded from within, and it actually forced Yang Liuqing and Lu Xueyuan’s berserk powers to grind to a halt.
The hand Lu Xueyuan had prepared to deliver a fatal blow was caught by someone, forcefully stopped.
Her other arm pressed down on Yang Liuqing’s left shoulder, equally strong and forceful.
It was none other than Chen Yanran, who had arrived just in time.
“Yanran!”
“Big sister?”
A trace of confusion appeared in Yang Liuqing’s purple eyes.
In the bottomless abyss, her consciousness was still falling.
There was no sign of struggle at all.
She did not know what there was to struggle for.
Tired. Just destroy it all.
This was her true thought.
Negative, despairing, empty.
Not a single speck of light could be seen.
Just let everything return to darkness.
But at precisely this moment, someone did not want her to sink any further.
“Xiao Qing!”
A somewhat familiar voice rang out, friendly, urgent, warm.
As if a beam of light shone down.
[Sister, are you all right?]
That face, those words, surfaced in her mind.
Yang Liuqing raised her hand, touching that invisible [light].
Her body unexpectedly floated upward.
Her consciousness fully returned.
Then, her whole body went limp, the twin swords dropping and stabbing into the ground.
Chen Yanran hurriedly caught her, holding her in her arms.
Seeing this, Lu Xueyuan’s face was filled with surprise and curiosity.
“What exactly is your relationship?”
“I talked to her for ages with no reaction, and you say one ‘Xiao Qing,’ and she wakes up?”
Far away, Ke Ling and Ke Li came back to their senses and simultaneously floated over.
They could not hurry now even if they wanted to.
Lu Xueyuan dispelled her icy aura, looking at Yang Liujing in Chen Yanran’s arms with lingering fear.
If she had not been forcibly stopped just now, both sides might have been in mortal danger.
“Big sister… why do people have to live? I feel so tired, so tired… so very tired.”
Liu Jing could no longer tell whether this was reality or a dream.
Chen Yanran wanted to hold her tight, but found that she was as fragile as glass covered in cracks.
The slightest bit of force would shatter it into pieces on the ground.
Yet she was also so heavy.
This was the weight of life.
The weight of trust.
She had only helped her in passing, lent her a bit of money. Was she trusted just like that?
Chen Yanran could not understand how that tiny bit of kindness leaking through the gaps of her fingers could carry such weight.
She understood even less how much malice Yang Liujing had encountered from childhood to now.
She only knew that the other was relying on her.
Without a trace of wariness, like a fledgling that trusted its mother unconditionally.
“Xiao Qing, it’s all right now. Big sister is here. Everything is over.”
Chen Yanran stroked her disheveled hair, her tone gentle.
In her arms, Yang Liujing somehow burst into loud, messy tears.
The sound was not loud, yet it made one feel deeply sorrowful.
Tearing away that outer layer that seemed strong and mature, what was hidden inside was just a child covered in wounds, hoping to be treated kindly.
Ke Ling bit her lip tightly, her nose stinging and eyes red, not daring to come closer.
She regretted it terribly, overwhelmed with guilt.
Her Master had clearly been calling for help the whole time, yet she could not hear it.
Ke Li also did not step forward, quietly listening.
This might be their Master’s last time crying.
Lu Xueyuan looked at them, feeling like an outsider.
After crying it out, Yang Liuqing quickly adjusted her mood.
There were less than nine minutes left until the Mini Game ended.
“What happened to you?”
Yang Liujing saw her tear-streaked face and was quite puzzled.
She felt a little embarrassed and left Chen Yanran’s embrace.
“Master!”
At this moment, Ke Ling flew over.
“I’m sorry, it’s all my fault… that’s what led to…”
“I was too self-righteous, I completely failed to consider Master’s feelings.”
Ke Ling choked up, unable to even speak clearly.
“What silly things are you saying? Without you and Ke Li, I would have died in that rental room long ago.”
Yang Liujing smiled like the warm sun of winter.
“I can’t even thank you enough.”
Yang Liujing patted her head.
Ke Li also flew over, hugging Yang Liujing and her big sister, rubbing against them vigorously.
“What are you acting cool for, you little Jingjing!”
“Damn it, I’m not moved at all!”
“So that’s how it is.”
Chen Yanran blinked.
Before opening the Seal and restoring her true strength, her Spiritual Perception had been suppressed very low, and she could not see Ke Ling and Ke Li at all.
“Our Master is quite the smooth talker!”
Hearing this, Ke Ling and Ke Li felt a slight warmth in their hearts.
Lu Xueyuan sized up the two little ones, suspecting they were connected to the magic potion, but did not ask.
“Speaking of which, that Blood Hand, whose subordinate was it?”
Having calmed down, Yang Liuqing began to review.
“That was Ba Ye from the Capital City.”
“More precisely, it was Ba Ye’s Blood Shadow Clone.”
“That old slab of cured meat has a history of 300 years.”
Lu Xueyuan exposed the other’s background completely.
“300 years of history? Then isn’t he a remnant of the previous dynasty?”
Yang Liuqing seemed slightly surprised.
Someone could actually live that long.
“Just a monster.”
Chen Yanran did not care much for the fellows from the Capital City.
“I see. So it was a backup plan left by that Du Huangfeng.”
Yang Liuqing did not know whether to laugh or cry.
That Blood Hand had not appeared out of thin air at all. It was precise tracking.
That tracking had been on her all along.
The blood stain left by the Blood Eye was a mark in the truest sense.
With the tracking, the Blood Hand could naturally appear precisely, and almost succeeded.
“That Du Huangfeng, what a sinister bastard.”
Yang Liuqing recalled the missed call in the Xinxin Commercial Lending Company office.
Du Huangfeng had called to probe.
She knew Daoba, and upon seeing the Intelligence Yang Liuqing posted on the Dark Web, she must have become suspicious.
It was only natural that the subsequent Lure the Tiger Away from the Mountain ploy was seen through.
What was truly sinister was that Blood Eye.
Once this thing made a mark, Ba Ye could deal with her whenever he wanted.
Coming out to scavenge meant that the blood stain of the Blood Eye could sense changes in her condition.
“What would happen if I were caught by the Blood Hand?”
Yang Liuqing was curious.
“Once grabbed, naturally you would be refined in an instant.”
Lu Xueyuan answered.
“That is his clone. Refining you would be equivalent to directly obtaining the magic potion.”
“This Ba Ye, he is quite eerie.”
Yang Liujing could not help but gasp.
“If this grudge is not avenged, how can that stand?”
“If I get the chance, I must go to Yanjing and treat him to Douzhi with Cold Tossed Pig Intestine Sashimi.”
“Actually, you could add some Stir-fried Liver too.”
Chen Yanran offered helpfully.
Lu Xueyuan covered her mouth and giggled.
“Actually, they are on the same level.”
“Huh? Isn’t that rewarding him?”
Yang Liuqing did not understand.
“Fine, three-pronged approach. Let him eat well and drink well.”
Having decided on the menu to treat the other to, Yang Liuqing relaxed completely.
“By my count, it should be about over, right?”
Lu Xueyuan checked her watch. It was past midnight.
The long day had officially ended, and a new day had begun.
“Not yet.”
Yang Liuqing did not need to check deliberately. She knew the Game had not ended.
Because the broadcast had not come.
“Yeah, indeed. The Mini Game only starts after the Game ends.”
Chen Yanran nodded lightly.
The timing was right.
“Yang Liuqing, interested in joining our Superpower Management Bureau?”
Lu Xueyuan got straight to the point.
Yang Liuqing refused without hesitation:
“Thanks, I’m not interested.”
Where there are people, there is a battlefield.
She also did not want to get involved and waste time and energy for nothing.
“All right, I will save a spot for you. If you change your mind, find me anytime.”
Lu Xueyuan had just finished speaking when a sudden change occurred.
The surrounding space solidified, and everyone except Yang Liuqing became motionless.