A light drizzle fell from the sky, nourishing the earth.
Yuanen Yehui took a soul-powered taxi from the central mall to a designated drop-off point.
"Bang."
She opened a vintage-style oil-paper umbrella adorned with violet peony patterns and strolled leisurely across the damp Harbor Bridge.
"Drip… drip..."
Raindrops fell one after another from the edge of her umbrella, landing on the asphalt road.
"Come out."
She suddenly stopped in her tracks and spoke coldly without warning.
It was a gloomy, rainy day. There weren't many people or vehicles in sight, but the moment Yuanen Yehui spoke, the curtain of rain behind her rippled like water being splashed, and two figures abruptly appeared.
It was, of course, Xu Xiaoyan and Le Zhengyu, who had been tailing Yuanen Yehui ever since she left the central mall.
The moment they revealed themselves, both entered combat mode.
Their four-word battle armor and martial souls were either summoned or manifested upon them.
Starlight blue radiance and bright golden brilliance intertwined, illuminating half the sky. Compressed energy flooded the entire Harbor Bridge.
Originally, the two had planned to wait until all their allies had arrived before launching a full assault on Yuanen Yehui and cleaning house.
But now that they'd been discovered, there was no choice.
"Whoosh!"
A sound sliced through the air as Le Zhengyu attacked. His Angelic Holy Sword, nearly tangible, burst forth with blinding radiance.
Behind him, a small angelic soul spirit emerged and instantly grew larger. Its innocence and cuteness faded, replaced by divine beauty. Angelic wings unfurled as if naturally extending from Le Zhengyu's back.
Behind him, Xu Xiaoyan brandished her Star Staff. Nine soul rings—beyond the optimal configuration—shone one by one, amplifying both her astrology power and soul skill effects on Le Zhengyu.
In the face of this overwhelming offensive and near-peak combat strength, Yuanen Yehui showed no signs of panic.
She didn't even bother to turn around and face Le Zhengyu. Her back remained toward him as he launched his mighty assault.
Her fair and slender hand gripped the handle of the oil-paper umbrella. With a twist of her boneless-looking wrist—
"Swish!"
The umbrella's ribs shattered, and dark purple sword energy burst forth.
"Rip!"
The violet-patterned umbrella was completely shredded by the erupting sword energy, flying into countless fragments.
Dark Angel's Sword!
A weapon born alongside her Fallen Angel martial soul, just like Le Zhengyu's Angel martial soul produced his holy sword.
But even though their martial souls were of equivalent grade, the power they wielded was on entirely different levels.
"Boom—"
Clutching the hilt of the Dark Angel's Sword, Yuanen Yehui spun around, her body rotating with the motion.
The blade sliced through the rain curtain, the sword aura carving a vacuum in the air.
Dark purple sword light shot forward, tearing through everything in its path, aiming straight at the nearby Le Zhengyu.
"Bang! Bang! Bang..."
Two swords—one dark purple, one bright gold—and their accompanying energies clashed violently, forming a cross-shaped energy wave of intersecting colors. The explosion rang in their ears like thunder.
The energy storm from the clash split the Harbor Bridge into fractured pieces, stone debris flying everywhere.
"Splash! Splash..."Chunks of stone from the Harbor Bridge plummeted into the sea below.
Among the fragments flying through the air was one of the two core participants in the sword clash—Le Zhengyu.
His body flew back out of control.
More accurately, he was blasted away by Yuanen Yehui's strike, sent spiraling backward with no strength to resist.
Only when Xu Xiaoyan caught him did his retreat finally come to a halt.
The two of them retreated to the far edge of the bridge. Xu Xiaoyan's armored boots dug deep into a crack in the asphalt, her beautiful eyes filled with seriousness.
In front of her, Le Zhengyu's expression was even more grim, nearly tangible in its intensity.
His arm that held the Holy Sword trembled slightly, pain radiating from his wrist.
His mindset had completely shifted—he was no longer feeling invincible.
Only by experiencing it firsthand could he understand how terrifying Yuanen Yehui had become in the few years since she split from the Shrek Seven Devils.
The fact that Xie Xie had managed to escape from her hands was already an incredible feat.
Before they could steady themselves—
Their pupils contracted.
On the other end of the Harbor Bridge, Yuanen Yehui launched herself forward in a burst of speed. In the dark purple mist trailing behind her, the howls of Fallen Angels could faintly be heard.
That first clash had forced Le Zhengyu to recognize the harsh truth.
A head-on fight centered on him was impossible. He had to switch tactics—make Xu Xiaoyan the core, while he took on the role of protector and attacker. He would rely on Xu Xiaoyan's nearly absolute control abilities to counter Yuanen Yehui.
Or rather—hold out until the rest of the Shrek Seven Devils and the Holy Spirit Douluo, Ya Li, arrived.
Angel's Protection!
Behind Le Zhengyu, the twin-winged archangel roared, and a pair of angelic wings enveloped them both.
Within the wings, Xu Xiaoyan's bright eyes glittered with starlight.
Her Star Staff burst with brilliance, and chains of starlight extended outward in all directions from the weapon.
The chains of starlight, like glowing spears, shot toward the charging Yuanen Yehui.
The ends of the starlight chains touched her body, but dissipated into illusory light with no sign of damage.
Yet these harmless points of light actually caused Yuanen Yehui to freeze for a split second.
Of course, that momentary pause only lasted a fraction of a second.
It wasn't even long enough for Le Zhengyu to launch a counterattack.
The reason was simple: Yuanen Yehui had switched her martial soul and bloodline.
She had activated her evolved, god-level martial soul—Titan Giant Ape—and unleashed the power of her divine beast bloodline.
The Dark Angel's Sword vanished. Her once-demonic elegance turned into raw might.
Muscles bulged beneath her clothes, turning her outfit into a tight fit.
Surging blood energy erupted, and her divine beast aura soared into the sky, making Le Zhengyu and Xu Xiaoyan feel as if they were facing Tang Wulin himself.
Her wine-red pupils gradually cleared, glowing with a mystical yellow hue, transforming into crystalline eyes like solid yellow gems.
The starlight chains, which once had near-absolute control effects, were now completely ineffective on this new version of Yuanen Yehui.
She had become a true divine beast. Her massive fist punched out with devastating force.
Titan Divine Fist!
She gathered the power of heaven and earth into one punch, unleashing it all at once.
The imprint of the fist grew larger and larger in Le Zhengyu's vision, making the hairs on his body stand on end.
Danger! Mortal danger! His spirit screamed in alarm.
Angel Domain!
Killing God Domain!
Two domains—usually mutually exclusive—were forcibly activated at once by Le Zhengyu.
The clash of these opposing domain forces caused backlash upon him.
But the very collision of these opposing energies also helped block Yuanen Yehui's world-shaking Titan Divine Fist.
"Boom!"
Angel's Protection shattered. The ground split open into a deep crater.
Le Zhengyu and Xu Xiaoyan crouched at the center of the pit, knees bent, their joints creaking under the immense pressure.
Blood oozed from all seven orifices on their faces.
(End of Chapter)