Lily's hand suddenly glowed, and a staff appeared — a bright white stone was shining at its top.
At the same moment, Shon Yakshini also brought out her staff — a green stone glowed at its tip, looking like the root of an ancient tree.
The air around them grew heavy — the wind started to swirl wildly, and the people nearby ran away in fear.
That street had now turned into a battlefield.
Shon growled,
"Give me that map, and run away if you want to live!"
Lily shouted back sharply,
"Do you think I'm some little girl? I won't give it! Tell me, what will you do?"
The next second, Shon Yakshini rose four or five feet into the air.
Lily also lifted herself off the ground.
Both flew toward each other, and their staffs clashed — a bright spark exploded, throwing them both backward.
Then the real fight began —
Both floated in the air, striking at each other again and again.
With every hit, white and green lights crashed together, like two great powers colliding in the sky.
The entire city trembled with fear — people ran into their homes and hid, terrified after seeing them.
Surya stood stiffly, his face filled with arrogance. He took two steps toward Snehwal and said proudly,
"Let's see what you can really do. Time to settle things, Snehwal… By the way, where on Earth are you from?"
Snehwal replied in a cold voice,
"Forget that… do you not wish to stay alive?"
He was about to move forward when Liora grabbed his hand tightly.
"Wait, my dear," she said softly but firmly.
A faint glow appeared in Snehwal's eyes; Liora looked into them, and he stepped back. Then, Liora took a step forward.
Suddenly, the sky flashed — and lightning struck down upon Arjun, Lela, and Surya.
The thunderbolts were so powerful that they were thrown into the ground, and deep cracks formed beneath their feet.
Shon Yakshini screamed,
"No! Who are you?! How can you be a sixth-stage cultivator?!"
Lily simply smiled — and with a quick, sharp motion, drove her staff straight into Shon's forehead.
Shon Yakshini fell from the air and crashed hard onto the ground.
Lily placed her foot on Shon's head and said,
"See how quickly time turns around — today, you're the one under my feet."
Shon squirmed slightly and snarled in anger,
"If I had known that this little snake would one day turn into a full-grown serpent, I would have killed you back then!"
Lily lifted her foot off Shon's face. At that moment, Ignisa came forward and kicked Shon Yakshini several times in fury, shouting,
"I'll kill you today! My sister may forgive you… but I never will!"
Lily grabbed Ignisa's arm and pulled her back.
"No — the humiliation she's suffering is punishment enough."
Standing a little distance away, Snehwal watched everything quietly and muttered to himself,
"Old revenge… yes, that was satisfying — and I didn't even have to work for it."
He smiled silently. His gaze turned to Liora, and his heart filled with gratitude — for she had turned the tide of the battle completely in their favor.
A small green crystal orb suddenly appeared in Shon Yakshini's hand.
As soon as Lily saw it, she shouted,
"Stop her! She's trying to escape!"
A faint smile appeared on Shon's lips — she crushed the orb in her hand.
In the next moment, the whole area filled with thick green smoke.
Through the smoke, her voice echoed,
"The next time we meet, Lily… you'll regret this."
When the smoke slowly cleared, Shon Yakshini, Surya, Arjun, and Lela — all four had disappeared.
Ignisa said angrily,
"Lily! Because of you, we lost our chance today… now we might get into trouble later!"
Lily stayed silent — she didn't say a word.
Liora, full of anger, said,
"That wretch ran away… otherwise, she wouldn't have survived today!"
Because of the smoke, Lily started coughing slightly.
Seeing this, Snehwal ran toward her in worry,
"What happened? Are you alright?"
Lily took a deep breath and said,
"Yes… it was just the effect of that smoke."
Snehwal looked around seriously and said,
"We should leave this place. The whole city must have heard about this by now. We need to keep ourselves safe."
All three women nodded in agreement —
and together with Snehwal, they headed toward Ignisa's palace.
On the way, a question was troubling Snehwal's mind —
"What could have happened in the past that created such deep hatred between the two Yakshinis? And still… Lily showed mercy."
Lily looked at Snehwal, as if she had read his thoughts.
"You want to know, don't you?" she asked softly.
Snehwal nodded.
"Yes… I do want to know."