Qi Xinzhu watched Wan Jing with a face full of pain.

"Lady Wan Jing, why do you have to do this? Why treat me like this?"

"The era of revolution has come, and even a place like the Fourth Ring is undergoing transformation. Do you really think the Inner Ring will remain untouched? The revolution in the Inner Ring will only be more intense, but it's a transformation hidden under a guise of stability. To secure oneself in the midst of change, one must have enough bargaining chips. And the Star of Li Ming, that is the bargaining chip. Give it to me!"

After Wan Jing finished speaking, she tightened her grip on the Knight's Longsword.

Purple Evil Holy Radiance continued to pour into Qi Xinzhu's body, further damaging her torso.

Qi Xinzhu suddenly lowered her head, her lips curling into a bitter smile.

She thought about all the disputes she had with Lu Luo over the enhancement of her constitution. Her idea was to balance her attributes with 1 strength, 1 agility, and 3 constitution, similar to Gu Fangyi's balanced development. But Lu Luo insisted on her focusing entirely on constitution. The reason was simple: a constitution of 150 could evade most fatal sneak attacks. If one had a constitution of 150, even being sniped or having their heart pierced suddenly wouldn't lead to death! At the time, Qi Xinzhu found that reasoning to be somewhat laughable. In the Inner Ring, how could anyone possibly pierce her heart? The Church in the Inner Ring was a peaceful place, with neither Exotic Species nor conflict. But now, Lu Luo's choice seemed ever so wise. It could even be described as having great foresight! Indeed, assassinations do happen.

"Heh heh."

"What are you laughing at?"

Watching Qi Xinzhu, Wan Jing twisted the sword in her hand once more.

But at this moment, Qi Xinzhu's expression relaxed. She pulled out a sphere of light with one hand and stood up smiling.

"Nothing much. So this thing is called the Star of Li Ming, huh!"

BOOM!

The wall behind Qi Xinzhu suddenly shattered, and the Holy Radiance she released in an instant not only crumbled the wall but also completely tore open her ribs and chest!

By now, Qi Xinzhu's body was battered. The glow bearing Holy Radiance was filled with a sacred aura!

Wan Jing looked up at Qi Xinzhu slightly.

"Are you trying to retaliate? I admit, you were quite stunning when you defeated Guan Zhi. But Xinzhu, you must understand the gap between the Fourth Tier and the Sixth Tier can't be bridged by combat skills alone. Especially not by you in your current state!"

"My current state has never been better!"

Unlike the fleeting glow of Holy Radiance, under Wan Jing's gaze, the wounds on Qi Xinzhu's body healed instantaneously.

The speed of this recovery was even more outrageous than the Church's forbidden technique, Holy Resurrection Light.

Wan Jing watched Qi Xinzhu's healing power with surprise, recognizing that such a healing effect was beyond what Holy Radiance could achieve.

"Your power?"

"Lady Wan Jing, everyone has things they keep hidden. This is what I seriously learned during the year I left the Inner Ring."

Qi Xinzhu placed her ten fingers together, but this time, she didn't use Holy Radiance. Instead, she used the power of Sequence.

All things related to Sequences were taught and guided by Lu Luo. Despite finding it strange that someone like Lu Luo, without any significant background, could come up with so many Sequence techniques and ideas, that didn't matter anymore.

The important thing is, I must hold on until Lu Luo arrives!

Pale yet healthy skin exposed to the air, Qi Xinzhu clenched her fists.

"One calls forth two, two call forth three, and three call forth thousands more! Mirage Flowers, Lunar Shadows!"

Countless Qi Xinzhus appeared on the rooftop, their expressions and manners identical. Uniform and orderly, like flowers in a mirror or the moon reflected on water.

"The power of mirage flowers and lunar shadows doesn't seem to work like that, does it?"

"Lady Wan Jing, people progress, and Sequences can also evolve and be enhanced. Those who stagnate will only be eliminated by this era!"

Countless Qi Xinzhus raised their right arms, the power of Soul Sunder Strike gradually condensing in their hands. Soul Sunder Strike is the final technique in the Sword Heart Quad, a masterpiece of Qiao Xing. Although Wan Jing is strong, she's not arrogant enough to disregard Qiao Xing. And if Qi Xinzhu really can release so many Soul Sunder Strikes at once, even she could be in danger!

"Which one is the real one?"

Wan Jing kept scanning these identical Qi Xinzhus. If she couldn't distinguish which one was the real body, not only would she be unable to dismantle her attack, but she might even get hurt. That was the last thing Wan Jing wanted to happen.

So, strike first to gain the upper hand!

The longsword in Wan Jing's hand swung to form a circle, and the purple Evil Holy Seal burst forth instantaneously. Qi Xinzhu phantoms that got close to her were shattered by the sword.

These were merely fragments of the mirror image, not possessing the solid-making effect of the strongest mirage flowers and lunar shadows.

So their attacks, too, were all false!

"So they're all fake!"

"You can try."

Hundreds of Soul Sunder Strikes issued from the hands of Qi Xinzhu's mirror images, each looking exactly like the real Soul Sunder Strike. But when they truly met the edge of Wan Jing's sword, they would explode with a bang.

"All fake, every single one of them!"

The Sword Qi became denser and denser, and Wan Jing wanted to stop defending and go after Qi Xinzhu. But the veiled pressure from the Soul Sunder Strikes made Wan Jing afraid to lower her defenses.

If among these fake Sword Qi, one or two real ones were mixed in, then what?

The two were inexplicably locked in a stalemate!

Actually, Wan Jing just had to wait for the Soul Sunder Strikes from the mirage flowers and lunar shadows to finish, but she always felt that Qi Xinzhu had some sort of trump card up her sleeve! So, she didn't want to wait.

Evil Holy Seal.

Wan Jing's body suddenly swelled, her originally delicate features replaced by contorted muscles. Her enhanced torso, like a muscle monster, stood at the center of the mirage crowd.

"Evil Radiance Shines Everywhere!"

The purple sphere slowly drifted up, beginning to emit beams of purple light piercing through many of the mirror images. Wan Jing herself also surged forth, ignoring the Soul Sunder Strikes landing on her, smashing Qi Xinzhu's images into disarray.

"Indeed, all the attacks are fake, and all the figures are fake. As long as no one escapes within my perceptual range, then when the killing ends, Qi Xinzhu will surely appear!"

As Wan Jing recklessly bombed these images, a blade of Sword Qi she didn't block cleaved through her Holy Radiance and lodged into her thigh!

UGH!

With a roar of rage, Holy Radiance instantly condensed around Wan Jing's thigh. The healing effect allowed her to stop the bleeding in a very short time. But even so, her mobility would be greatly reduced.

Without reaching the Seventh Tier, flight is ultimately impossible.

Qi Xinzhu, hidden among the illusions, breathed a slight sigh of relief. With Wan Jing's thigh injured, her pursuit will be hampered. Whether Wan Jing chooses to heal or continues to chase with an injured leg, she will face limitations or significant delays. That would be enough time for Lu Luo to arrive. Now what she needed to do was to infuriate Wan Jing and make her lose her cool.

"Lady Wan Jing, how does the Soul Sunder Strike feel?"

"You're trying to anger me?"

"The Knight of Evil form is indeed easily provoked, isn't it? Moreover, a Sixth Tier top expert unable to catch a Fourth Tier Priest like me... if word got out, it would really be laughable! If this incident were turned into a story or a novel, it would surely be immersive. I've put myself in those shoes and, tsk tsk, I am already getting angry."

Qi Xinzhu rarely used such a sarcastic tone, but rare usage did not mean inability. She had already demonstrated this skill during her previous encounter with Gu Wanting. All the mirror images spoke to Wan Jing in the same mocking tone, making it impossible for her to discern which one was real.

The injury, the activation of the evil form, and the failure to advance had indeed impacted Wan Jing's state of mind. But she was truly different from the enemies Qi Xinzhu had encountered before. Even with all sorts of twists and turns, Wan Jing's emotions still showed no significant fluctuation. She had endured Bai Qingshuang's Judgment, and compared to that, this difficulty was nothing!

"Ha!"

Wan Jing did not get as angry as Qi Xinzhu had predicted. With sword in hand, she continued to effortlessly destroy the surrounding mirror images with her sword qi. Empowered by the evil form, Wan Jing's speed and strength reached a new level. Her speed in slaughtering the mirror images was just too fast!

On Qi Xinzhu's side, because of the extreme exertion from previously pushing the illusory technique to its limit, she hadn't caught her breath for a long time.

If this continued, she would be in danger, or even face a desperate situation!

Qi Xinzhu took out some potions and throwing items that Lu Luo had prepared for her earlier. She first downed several bottles of healing potions in one go, which helped her save some energy. Then she grabbed several shock bombs that Lu Luo had specifically crafted for her!

It was time to run!

Qi Xinzhu pulled the pins and stuffed the shock bombs into the hands of a few mirror images before sending them charging towards Wan Jing. As Wan Jing destroyed those mirror images with a single sword strike, the shock bombs exploded just after.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

A bright light pierced Wan Jing's eyes. Her robust constitution allowed high-tier combatants to be immune to many effects of the shock bombs. However, all Wasteland creatures share a similar flaw: their eyes are sensitive to bright lights! The Wasteland is devoid of sunlight year-round, so such intense light delivers a huge shock to any creature's eyes. This shock cannot be avoided even by a Sixth Tier expert.

Wan Jing covered her eyes, but her body did not stop. Her senses had already locked onto Qi Xinzhu's location. Although the action of Qi Xinzhu taking out items had posed some obstruction to Wan Jing, it also completely exposed her own position.

"This time, let's see where you can run!"

Watching Wan Jing charging towards her, Qi Xinzhu's brow furrowed. The Jet Belt at her waist was ready for action. She abruptly jumped off the bell tower, plummeting towards the ground.

Instead of following in a leap, Wan Jing shockingly started to run along the bell tower's walls. Such an action was something Lu Luo had done before, and it was faster than simply jumping down!

The commotion from the fight between the two had already been significant, and the battle had been ongoing for quite some time. By now, a large crowd of Believers had gathered below the bell tower. They had recognized Qi Xinzhu and Wan Jing. Although they did not know why they were fighting, most people were there just for the spectacle.

"Just now, Lady Wan Jing and Priest Qi Xinzhu were chatting amicably, and then they suddenly started fighting."

"Yeah, who can really understand a woman's heart?"

"What are you talking about? Maybe Lady Wan Jing and Priest Qi Xinzhu were just sparring?"

"Have you ever seen sparring get this serious? And no one's stepping in to stop it."

"Has anyone notified the Judgment Chief?"

"Someone already went to inform them. Oh, look, Priest Qi Xinzhu is falling."

As the crowd buzzed with discussion, Qi Xinzhu was already plummeting rapidly towards the ground. Wan Jing followed closely behind, and just as she was about to grab Qi Xinzhu, the Jet Belt at Qi Xinzhu's waist suddenly activated. The recoil from the jet created a distance between her and Wan Jing once more, sending her floating in the air.

BOOM!

Wan Jing landed heavily on her feet, and the ground shattered outward like a spider's web, forcing the surrounding crowd to retreat quickly from the shockwave. She looked up at Qi Xinzhu in the sky and started to sneer.

"Such a nuisance! But flying up high might seem like the ideal way to escape, yet it also makes you the most obvious target!"

Wan Jing's leg muscles swelled again, and she shot into the air like a cannonball. The burst of air created a circular wave, and Qi Xinzhu, flying in the air, tried to change direction again but it was too late. She didn't have the steam-powered Qi He, so her Jet Belt couldn't achieve the same flying effect as Lu Luo's.

Wan Jing's fist slammed hard into Qi Xinzhu's back, punching her to the ground.

BOOM!

Qi Xinzhu stood up again from the dust, the effect of the Healer allowing her to maintain her full combat strength until she was completely drained.

At this moment, she couldn't afford to stop. Once she did, she would fall into Wan Jing's hands!

Just when Qi Xinzhu was about to flee again, Wan Jing's longsword flew down, piercing through Qi Xinzhu and nailing her to the ground once again.

Evil Soul!

Purple energy was continually draining Qi Xinzhu's strength. Without Holy Radiance, she could still use the Healer, but once all her strength was sapped away, Qi Xinzhu wouldn't even be able to use her Sequence. She lay painfully on the ground, her abdomen bleeding profusely like a fountain.

"UGH!"

Without the effect of the Healer, Qi Xinzhu couldn't bear the heavy blow from a top-tier Sixth Tier expert. The power of the Evil Soul turned her lips rapidly pale. Soon, she lost the strength to resist.

"Xinzhu, the outcome is the same either way, so why bother making things so troublesome and upsetting everyone? Don't you agree? Come on, we've played, we've made a fuss, now can you hand over the Star of Li Ming to me?"

Wan Jing's body slowly returned to normal as she gradually approached Qi Xinzhu.

Leaning against the wall, Qi Xinzhu struggled to lift her head and once again revealed a smile to Wan Jing.

"Lady Wan Jing seems very confident, but have a look behind you!"

"Behind me? Do you think you'll take the chance to escape while I turn around? You don't believe such a trick will fool me, do you?"

Wan Jing walked up to Qi Xinzhu, held her sword in one hand, and casually turned her head.

"Alright, I've turned around. What do you want me to see..."

Wan Jing did see it. She saw a red eye opening right in front of her.

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