"Jia Meng, get ready! He's here!"
Zhou Xun roared, hoisting the Bright Lamp high once more. This was the only treasure that gave him any confidence to stand against Chen Xiao.
Jia Meng snorted coldly. Instead of retreating, he stepped forward. His originally gaunt body swelled violently—three, four times its original size! In an instant, he had grown to match the Gate-Carrying Divine General's gates in both height and width.
He was a Pufferfish Awakened One, holder of the SSS-rank talent [Gigantic Swelling] and the A-rank talent [Puffer Toxin]—a dual high-rank talent user. Even within the military region, he was an exceptionally rare Awakened One! This was the source of his confidence in challenging Chen Xiao!
Chen Xiao flickered.
The [Nine Cauldron Seal] activated instantly!
Both Jia Meng and Zhou Xun were locked down in the same moment.
In the blink of an eye, Jia Meng deflated like a punctured balloon. His bloated body shrank forcibly, reverting to its original thin frame.
Rules—an irresistible force!
Forced reversal!
Jia Meng's face turned ashen. He nearly suffered a heart attack on the spot.
"What kind of ability is this?!"
"Zhou Xun! Why didn't you tell me he's a Rule-type?!"
"I'm completely countered here!"
Seeing Jia Meng's fighting spirit collapse, Zhou Xun was furious.
"You were acting so arrogant earlier—I thought you weren't afraid!"
The two cursed at each other, terror spilling from their eyes.
To seal the energy flow of two people simultaneously—this man's talent must exceed SSS-rank! But neither of them knew what existed beyond that level. Could it be… God-rank?
Zhou Xun raised the Bright Lamp. Under its illumination, space began to distort. He resorted to his old tactic, fighting for survival. The Bright Lamp could manipulate space and absorb damage!
But [Eight Directions Annihilation] shattered his delusions, forcibly disrupting the spatial fluctuations around the Bright Lamp.
The space surrounding Zhou Xun immediately plunged into even greater chaos.
"Squch—""Squch—"
The power of [Dragon Bone] erupted in an instant—peerless and unstoppable!
Two strikes.
Two severed heads.
The moment An Xinning saw the blood, regret surged in her heart. They weren't on the same level at all!
The heads hit the ground. At that moment, Chen Xiao hovered three feet above the earth, standing in the wind and looking down upon all living beings.
In his left hand was the Bright Lamp.In his right, the Green Snake Jasper Sword.On his back, the Mountain and River Map.
Every treasure he carried was something countless people would kill for.
[Bright Lamp]Description: A luminous lamp capable of twisting, folding, or even creating small spatial domains.
Effect 1: Consumes stamina to absorb attacks appearing within the lamp's range.Effect 2: Consumes stamina to negate rules within the surrounding area.
Note: The stronger the attack or rule, the greater the stamina consumption.
Judging by Effect 1 alone, it was an extremely powerful defensive item. Zhou Xun had relied on it to block one of Chen Xiao's punches under the Nine Cauldron Seal.
But Effect 2 was entirely different.
It redefined the Bright Lamp as a support-type treasure.
In fact, it could be said that its support capability far surpassed its defensive function.
Because this ability was simply too terrifying—it could negate rules.
Of course, the stamina cost must be horrifying. Even the Horse-Faced Guardian couldn't resist rules for long—how could a mere lamp do so?
Fortunately, Chen Xiao had the Mountain and River Map. Stamina replenishment had become critically important.
Casually tossing the sword and the lamp into the Mountain and River Map, Chen Xiao turned his gaze back to An Xinning.
That cold stare sent a chill straight down her spine.
The Gate-Carrying Divine General stepped forward, positioning himself before An Xinning. His gaze was calm, deep as an ancient well.
The middle-aged man who had witnessed Jia Meng and Zhou Xun's deaths turned pale with fear.
"Mad Ghost Butcher, the capital military region isn't like the top three families—you actually dare to—"
"Jianyuan, shut up!" An Xinning snapped.
Chen Xiao curled his lips into a faint smile.
Then he vanished.
A heavy sense of dread instantly enveloped everyone present.
Liang Jianyuan clenched his teeth and stumbled backward repeatedly. He never would have imagined this—Chen Xiao clearly knew they were from the military region, yet he was still this audacious!
"The military region's attitude… has really disappointed me."
Chen Xiao's faint voice drifted into An Xinning's ears.
In the next instant, the boundless space shattered like fragile glass, exploding into countless translucent blue ice crystals—like finely honed daggers, spinning wildly through the air. Each shard gleamed with a chilling light that froze the blood.
"Hum—"
"Mad Ghost Butcher! Liang Jianyuan is extremely important! He's the capital military region's top scientific research talent—you can't kill him!"
The Gate-Carrying Divine General roared. The four massive gates on his back slammed into the ground one after another, forming layers of defense.
He was completely exasperated—Liang Jianyuan still hadn't understood the situation.
An Xinning spoke solemnly, "Chen Xiao, I know you have a deal with Pei Tianyuan. We're on the same side."
"Bullshit."
The cold reply came with a shrill whistling sound.
[Eight Directions Annihilation] + [All Things Water]!
"Squch—""Squch—""Squch—"
In less than three seconds, Liang Jianyuan was reduced to a blood-soaked corpse.
He had no chance to fight back—he didn't even get the opportunity to activate his talent.
When everyone locked onto Chen Xiao again, he was already above them.
In his hand was the Green Snake Jasper Sword. Cyan sword-light rippled like flowing water around the blade, coiling and circulating. Within those ripples flickered a sharp sword intent that radiated bone-chilling cold and killing intent.
"I do have a deal with Pei Tianyuan."
"But after today—it's off."
An Xinning's previously composed expression finally darkened.
Liang Jianyuan was dead—a core scientific talent of the military region. That alone was already catastrophic.
But what truly terrified her was this:
Pei Tianyuan's deal with Chen Xiao had collapsed.
The National Fortune Game was internally classified as a Blood-Red Level mission—top priority. If her actions in Dachang compromised it, the punishment from the military region would be far beyond what she could bear.
"Chen Xiao, calm down first—"
Chen Xiao ignored her entirely.
Stepping on the power of the Wind God, gripping the jade sword, he charged head-on toward the military team.
An Xinning's composure shattered.
He's going for a fight to the death?!
Is this man even sane?!
There wasn't supposed to be this much hatred between them!
"Squch—""Squch—"
One sword pierced straight through a military Awakened One's heart!
"Bang!"
One punch shattered another Awakened One's body into pieces!
"Squch—""Squch—""Squch—"
An Xinning was completely panicked.
These were all elite Awakened Ones she had painstakingly recruited—her foundation within the military region!
They were being wiped out!
If this continued, the consequences would be unimaginably severe.
"Mad Ghost Butcher…"
She cursed under her breath, no longer hesitating.
"Retreat!"
She issued the order, her face deathly pale. This was the first time she had ever been forced into such disgrace.
Her SSS-rank Magic Talent [The Cunning Rabbit Has Three Burrows] activated instantly.
A group teleportation ability.
A core strategic talent of the military region.
The trump card that had promoted her to Second Executive.
Across all of Huaxia, no other teleportation ability of this level had ever been discovered.