Fengling chuckled softly as she watched the look on Yaohui's face.
"Die? Heh… You broke my illusion and think that's enough? You overestimate yourself."
"What do you mean by that?" Yaohui's expression froze. Her confident smirk sent an ominous chill down his spine.
In a flash, Fengling appeared behind him once more.
"You seem to have forgotten—so long as the dream remains, this realm belongs to me. I may no longer tempt you with illusions of desire, but the powers of a Dream Immortal don't stop there."
Yaohui snapped around in alarm, but he was a beat too slow.
Tap.
Fengling gently pressed her finger against his forehead.
"Dreams come from the heart. And because of that, bending one's will within a dreamscape is a simple matter—even if that person is a Guardian."
Her voice was almost loving. Almost.
In the next instant, the scene before Yaohui morphed again.
Standing before him now was a man in noble finery—cold, smug, and unforgettable.
"Tu Lu!"
Outside the illusion, Yaohui suddenly let out a furious roar, startling everyone nearby.
"Yaohui?" Tianlang called out in confusion, watching his friend begin to tremble with rage.
"Whoa—what did you do to him?!" Hong Tao took a cautious step back.
Fengling smiled wickedly.
"Nothing much. Just nudged his subconscious with a little dreamwork, let him see what his heart hates most. His fury did the rest."
She turned toward the others, her voice deceptively calm.
"If you'd rather not get caught in this… I suggest you move back."
"Huh?" Hong Tao and Madblade were stunned. But a moment later, Fengling waved her hand and all the mercenaries around the group swiftly withdrew.
Inside the illusion, Yaohui's mind had snapped.
What he now saw wasn't friends—but Tu Lu and his minions. The pain of betrayal, the agony of loss, it all surged to the surface.
With bloodshot eyes and clenched teeth, he raised his greatsword and charged.
"RRRAAAHH!!"
BOOM!
His sword slammed into the ground, leaving a crater where Tianlang had been a second before.
The others barely dodged in time.
"Yaohui! Snap out of it!" Tianlang shouted, but Yaohui didn't hear him—only his phantom rage.
Zhao Heng gritted his teeth and stepped forward, engaging Yaohui with his dragging sword technique. He held on for three exchanges.
On the fourth, Yaohui's fist connected squarely with his chest.
WHAM!
Zhao Heng flew backward, coughing blood.
"Zhao Heng!" Mo Yan shouted, running toward him.
"I'm… fine—guh!" Zhao Heng tried to stand but collapsed again.
Zixuan rushed to his side and began channeling healing magic.
"Your injuries are too severe. Don't push it."
"Sorry… I couldn't hold him."
Kailin turned to Tianlang, panic rising.
"Hey! What's up with your friend?! Can't he tell who's who?!"
"Don't bother," Tianlang snarled. "This is that woman's doing!"
He turned his furious gaze toward Fengling, who leaned casually against a stone wall, smiling smugly.
"My, my… how tragic," she mused.
"Trying to save someone only to be the one hurt by them. A truly delicious drama."
"Indeed," Madblade added with a grin.
"With Evilbane and Moon Saint both down, collecting their tokens will be a breeze."
Fengling laughed again.
"And to think—if not for Yaohui's lingering hatred of the old world, I wouldn't have had any tools left. Lucky me."
Tianlang took a slow breath. His anger didn't scream—it seethed.
"Enough."
"Hm?" Fengling paused, sensing the shift in atmosphere.
"I've had it with your games," Tianlang said, voice calm but steely. His aura flared—so sharp and cold even Mo Yan instinctively stepped back.
"Is it not shameful?" Tianlang asked, voice rising.
"To trample over someone's past like it's your plaything? Everyone has memories they regret—some confront them, some forget them. But none deserve to have them used against them like this!"
He glared at her with cold fury.
"Fengling. I tolerated you back in Xuan Yue… but this—this crosses the line!"
Suddenly, the wind roared.
The moon above dimmed.
And Tianlang's power surged—an oppressive wave that made the air shudder.
Everyone froze.
"Is that… still the Tianlang we know?" Kailin whispered, clutching her arms.
He stepped forward, wielding his scythe like a phantom of vengeance.
Yaohui raised his sword to retaliate—but Tianlang vanished in a blink.
CRACK!
A single, devastating punch sent Yaohui flying.
"WAKE UP!!" Tianlang roared.
The sheer force knocked Yaohui unconscious.
Everyone stared in stunned silence. It was the first time they'd ever seen Tianlang truly angry—and it was terrifying.
Fengling, however, only smiled.
"Well, well… that was unexpected."
"Looks like Young Master Tianlang really wants to settle this personally." She stepped forward, flanked by Madblade and Hong Tao.
"Very well," she said with a smirk.
"If you wish to fight to the death, then how could I refuse?"
She raised her hand—and a fresh wave of butterflies burst forth, their shimmer threatening to form a new illusion.
But Tianlang's scythe slashed cleanly through them, dissipating the dream instantly.
At the same time, Madblade and Hong Tao flanked him from both sides.
A blink later—
WHAM!
Tianlang's scythe spun, and their attacks phased through his distorted image, striking each other instead.
"What?!"
Madblade barely dodged, but Hong Tao's massive axe scraped across his shoulder.
"Damn it, watch it!"
But Tianlang wasn't done.
He leapt high into the air, his blade spinning in a full arc before slamming down in a crescent of silvery moonlight.
BOOM!
Both attackers were sent flying.
"Is he really this strong…?" Kailin gasped.
It wasn't just her. Mo Yan, Zhao Heng, even Zixuan looked on in disbelief.
Tianlang had once said his contract with the Moon had become unstable after the last battle. And yet now, under the moon's pale glow, his presence was twisting the very air.
"Is it just me… or does he feel like Ozil… back when he was corrupted by his own desire?" Mo Yan whispered.
Tianlang's fury was absolute.
He vanished and reappeared in flickers, as if the moonlight itself warped around him—an ability of the Moon Saint: Lunar Refraction. A warped movement akin to creating portals with light.
Madblade was fast—but even he couldn't keep up with this blur.
And Hong Tao? Too slow. Just a walking target.
But Tianlang didn't care about either of them.
His rage was focused entirely on Fengling.
He reappeared behind her, scythe ready to cleave.
Hong Tao leapt to shield her, only to take a brutal kick that sent him crashing aside.
"Hong Tao!" Fengling cried out, but there was no time.
Tianlang slipped past her defense and swept her legs from beneath her.
In a blur, he grabbed her ankle and, with a fearsome swing—
WHAM!
He hurled Fengling through the air like a ragdoll.
~~------------------------
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