The entrance to the mine tunnel was hidden behind a collapsed rock wall, completely obscured by bushes and withered vines.
When Ailisi pushed aside the vines, a damp, cold wind rushed out from the dark opening, carrying a strange smell mixed with ore and groundwater.
“It’s here.” She said, then bent down and crawled in first.
Liweida and Duente followed closely.
Ailisi used illumination magic to light up the dark space.
The inside of the tunnel was much more spacious than the entrance suggested.
Rough rock walls lined both sides, with old wooden supports placed at intervals, some of which had already rotted.
“Senior… this place doesn’t look very stable…”
“It’s fine. Keep walking forward. I’m here.”
Duente naturally knew the condition of this place.
As long as they walked carefully and didn’t touch anything, nothing would happen for now.
But soon, Duente was going to cause trouble.
Ailisi led the way in silence.
She had a lot to say to Duente, wanted to clear things up, but didn’t know where to start.
Liweida walked between Duente and Ailisi.
Her thoughts were simple: Wherever Senior went, she would go.
Duente, on the other hand, was considering how to pick a fight with Ailisi.
He didn’t plan to kill her here.
He intended to use this opportunity to completely strip away all her talents.
The remaining power in the Soul Core was just enough for that.
In his previous life, Ailisi had been chosen as the Heaven’s Chosen Brave because of her overwhelming talent.
So in this life, Duente would use the Soul Core to take all her talents, replace her, and become the Heaven’s Chosen Brave himself.
That way, even if he didn’t kill Ailisi, she would be left as a useless person, forced to watch Duente take everything that should have been hers!
Duente wasn’t doing this for fame, money, or power.
He only wanted to utterly humiliate Ailisi this way.
Only then could he quell the hatred in his heart!
Duente wasn’t the type to hold grudges for petty reasons.
He could have forgiven Ailisi but because he had trusted her so deeply in his past life, his hatred for her now was etched into his very bones.
He had to retaliate.
He had to take revenge.
He had to completely change her life!
Before they knew it, the three of them had reached the deepest part of the mine.
Ailisi said, “If we walk the same distance again, we’ll reach the other side and leave Sky Dome Academy.”
Liweida: “Yeah, we’ve been walking for quite a while. We shouldn’t be easily caught here.”
Duente pulled Liweida behind him, looked at Ailisi, and smiled.
He raised his right hand.
The cyan light of the Soul Core bloomed in his palm, and mana instantly condensed into a light sword.
He charged at Ailisi, swinging a horizontal slash.
Ailisi sensed the attack and instinctively sidestepped.
The blade grazed her collar, slicing off a few strands of floating red hair.
She quickly retreated, her back hitting a support pillar.
The rotten timber groaned.
“Duente? What are you—?!”
He didn’t answer.
The light sword came slashing down diagonally from her upper right.
Ailisi raised her arm to block and used her Gifted Flames to form a shield.
A thin curtain of fire stopped the Mana Light Sword.
Duente’s blade struck the fire curtain, letting out a humming buzz.
The shockwave sent gravel flying in all directions around them.
“Liweida, now.”
“Senior is really too mean.”
The shadows Liweida had already spread to Ailisi’s feet stirred at her command.
Two black tendrils shot up from the ground, wrapped around Ailisi’s ankles, and yanked her legs apart.
Her balance shattered instantly.
The fire curtain collapsed into sparks at the moment of imbalance.
By then, Duente’s light sword was already thrusting toward her chest.
At that moment, Ailisi looked into Duente’s eyes.
There was no anger, no ferocity—only a calm emotion so pure it was almost absolute: kill.
Flames exploded in front of her.
A ring of fire surged toward Duente.
He was forced to pull back his sword and retreat, dodging the residual flames.
Liweida’s shadow tendrils were dispersed by the Gifted Flames.
The rotten sections of the support pillar caught fire and began to break.
Ailisi stood up from the ground.
A few strands of her hair were loose, but her stance was steady.
Duente dropped his defense and remained on alert.
He noticed that Ailisi’s reaction speed and timing of her outburst didn’t match her current strength.
‘Could it be…’
But then he thought, the Black Tower Trial hadn’t even happened yet.
Maybe her talent had just been awakened.
He had no time to dwell on it.
Ailisi had already charged at him.
She wasn’t attacking—she was constantly repositioning.
Her steps were quick and precise.
Every footfall landed on the sturdiest part of the tunnel floor.
She kept her body low, staying just outside the range of his light sword, and seized the moment to turn offense into defense.
Duente swung his sword backhand, carving an arc of light.
Ailisi leaned back to dodge, her body almost parallel to the ground, then used her core strength to snap back up, executing a spinning kick with her Gifted Flames coating her foot.
Duente jumped back immediately and ordered Liweida, “Liweida, cut off her escape!”
Shadows rose from the ground, forming a semi-transparent black barrier.
Without pausing, Ailisi rushed straight at the barrier, flipped over, and used one hand to push off the top as she cleared it.
When she landed, she was between Duente and Liweida, hands at her sides, flames still flickering on her palms.
She didn’t counterattack.
“I don’t want to fight you.” Her chest heaved heavily, but she remained very calm.
“That’s not for you to decide.” Duente raised his light sword again, increasing his mana output, and used the same Gifted Flames as Ailisi.
The blade of the Mana Light Sword turned cyan-red.
The air around Duente began to distort.
Liweida’s shadows spread from under her feet, covering the entire width of the tunnel.
Black mana flowed like water, surging toward Ailisi and trapping her.
Suddenly, a silver light exploded in the depths of the tunnel.
Everyone involuntarily shut their eyes.
When they opened them again, Guan Cezhe was standing in front of Ailisi, wearing a blindfold and a hood that obscured her face.
She used her mana to draw a silver circle around Ailisi and blocked Duente.
She said, “You should not fight her.”
Duente remained on guard.
He didn’t know who Guan Cezhe was.
He had never seen this person in his previous life.
All he could do was stay alert.
“Liweida, keep an eye on that woman. She’s very dangerous.”
Duente’s light sword trembled constantly under the pressure of the silver light, letting out a faint whimper.
Liweida’s shadows rolled at the boundary of the silver light, unable to advance an inch.
“There are more worthwhile things for you to do, aren’t there?” Guan Cezhe looked at Duente’s eyes, but Duente couldn’t feel any emotion from her because of the blindfold.
“She can’t die here yet.”
Duente said, “Move aside.”
Guan Cezhe replied firmly, “You cannot continue any further.”
She added, “If you insist on harming her, then I’ll have no choice but to intervene. I think you know the consequences.”
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