Face

Boom! The erupting gravity pulverized the earth, carving a massive fissure out of thin air, yet the wolf that should have been standing there had already vanished without a trace. On all fours, the ram-headed beast fled in wild abandon. Even having lost all reason and consciousness, reduced to muddled instinct, it was still unimaginably swift. Like a streak of black shadow hurtling through the dust, it had already broken through the encirclement. Then, without the slightest warning, it abruptly whipped around—and charged straight back into the fray? "It really is a wolf." An Ning murmured softly under her breath. The round anime pin in her fingers flipped over. Just a moment ago, the instant she considered tossing it, she had already been sensed. No matter how shoddy and pathetic its original nature had been, right now it possessed all the sensory and evasive instincts of a wolf—even its sheer speed and reflexes. Every time she made as if to throw, it instinctively reacted. Pitch-pot tricks were just basic fundamentals after all. To deal with a creature like this, one needed the Flying Light shot—where action preceded intent, striking the instant it released, or even arriving before it was loosed. Yet right now, she couldn't use it. Killing it would have been simple, but they had to find out what was actually going on. They needed it alive! Even when Ji Jue gathered materials, he insisted on slaughtering them fresh on the spot. A specimen as exquisitely precious as this had to be carefully dissected to uncover the truth. If it turned to ash upon death, what the hell was left to study?! At this moment, whether Aether or White Stag, the Security Bureau or the Bureau of Secrecy, both sides reached an inevitable consensus: call for backup. Back up! Call in reinforcements! Without hesitation, Tong Shan and Olivia flicked their wrists and fired off the highest-grade distress beacons. Behind them, An Ning also flipped her hand, launching a screeching streak of light into the sky. Beneath the clear sky, a golden thread shot straight up, piercing cloud and mist, visible from thousands of miles away. Even the garrison bases on both sides received the signal. Sirens wailed, fighter crafts scrambled into emergency liftoff, and massive airships adjusted their headings. Response within three minutes, full readiness within five—power armor deploying! There was no helping it; things had blown up completely! Right under everyone's noses, some lowlife scum had suddenly transformed into a wolf? The shock was enough to leave every single witness slack-jawed and drooling from oxygen deprivation to the brain. It was simply too preposterous. Even if an Ascension took place, people wouldn't be this dumbfounded! Bro, even an Ascension doesn't work like this, okay? This was more absurd than Astro Bot winning Game of the Year. In Ji Jue's line of work, this was like the Artisan Association's annual Golden Ribbon skipping every master, skipping Ji Jue, and being awarded to Lu Feng—whose formal education was about to fall behind the family baby's! So while everyone's vision went dark, they found it impossible to comprehend: *On what grounds?!* Was the Wolf Sin starving to death? Did it really have zero standards now? Even more terrifying was the fact that seeing one meant there was a second. When you spotted a single cockroach, it meant the entire house was already crawling with twintails. Which meant... The White Nation Restoration Front might very well possess a method to mass-produce wolves! In an instant, the already bristling standoff spun completely out of control. All gloves came off as everyone fought tooth and nail, holding nothing back. Yet even while trading lethal blows with one another, whenever their attacks strayed toward that frenzied wolf, they became unfathomably gentle, treading as lightly as possible. *"Fearing to harm ants when sweeping the floor, shading the lamp to spare the moths"*—anyone who didn't know better would think they were devout monks from the Church of Chongguang! It absolutely could not die! They had to take it alive! A dead wolf was merely performance metrics, but a living one was meritorious service! "Get lost!" Olivia gave zero quarter, unleashing her full might. Limitless gravity churned like an ocean tide, shredding Tong Shan's telekinesis to pieces. Cold and silent, Tong Shan ignored the red laser dot locked onto his chest and boldly drew his sword. Huihao slashed, ink splashing across the sky. In a flash, a pitch-black rift split open beneath the heavens—the Calamity of the Sky-Crack, casting all things into disarray. All gravity throughout the area went completely berserk, tumbling out of control. Having snuffed out Olivia's gravitational vortex, he swept his blade once more. Phantoms abruptly materialized from the void, and razor-sharp crystal spires surged from the earth, forming a towering rampart that blocked everyone from the Bureau of Secrecy. As for the high-caliber alchemical bullet hurtling toward him, he didn't even spare it a glance. Pure disdain. Before it could even cross within a hundred meters of him, that specialized anti-Aether round detonated midair. Ji Jue. In his previously empty hand, a bizarre, brutal pistol had materialized from nowhere. Without aiming, he pulled the trigger, relying solely on the control of Masterwork Nature to intercept the round along its trajectory, blowing the enemy's bullet out of the air. Immediately following that, his gaze shifted toward the distant watchtower. He smiled faintly. And so, the sniper perched atop the tower began to sweat cold drops. The moment Ji Jue grinned, the display on the wind meter beside the sniper suddenly flickered, switching to an unknown surveillance feed. The hull of a cargo freighter berthed in the harbor snapped open, and deep within the hold, missile launch racks rose, locks acquired, poised to fire. Finally, a row of crimson warning text slowly surfaced on the screen: [Don't move.] Twitch, and you die. And just like that, the sniper froze in place, petrified as stone. Olivia was incandescent with rage. The armillary sphere in her grip hummed with searing overload, having just violently torn through the obstruction Tong Shan had erected, only to hear— Amidst the echoing roar of the ruins, a sharp, agonized shriek rang out. The wolf! In a split second, the sprinting wolf was pinned to the earth. Everyone's eyes blurred as Ji Xue materialized out of thin air onto the field. Within her own maximally accelerated personal time, she kicked open the van's door and bolted out like lightning, not forgetting to reach back and snatch a pronged spear from her brother's weapon bag. Flashing directly before the newborn wolf, her trident impaled its dark pelt, pinning it firmly to the ground. Got it! Impaled by the trident, the wolf-beast howled, swelling as its arms stretched like boneless serpents, clawing viciously behind itself. Spurred by blinding agony, its speed was terrifyingly swift, lunging straight for her heart and head. A spinning pin whirred through the air, severing its razor claws as if predicting the trajectory. Unfortunately, that solitary moment of delay was enough for Olivia to close the distance. Her face was ashen, murderous intent erupting from her eyes. "Move!" Ji Xue was thrown backward through the air. Along with the impaled wolf-beast. At the critical juncture, Tong Shan's telekinesis had wrapped around her, violently yanking her, the entire patch of ground beneath her, and the pinned wolf all back in one motion! Olivia swept her hand, and repulsive gravitational force detonated like a bomb, shattering the telekinetic suppression and cage. The moment the restraints loosened, the heavily wounded wolf-beast snapped the shaft of the trident in its chest and tore free midair, scrambling to escape. It didn't even forget to open its jaws, swallowing its severed arm whole. From the ragged stump, bone-white flesh instantly began to regenerate. Before it could celebrate, a hand wrapped in blood-red flames tore through the air, clamping down over its face. Swarm! It was Olivia's repulsive sling, brutally hurling her Swarm subordinate straight into the fray. The moment he grabbed hold, before he could even begin refining it on the spot, it felt as though he had been hit by a runaway truck. His eyeballs bulged as an agonizing shriek tore from his throat. Bones snapped, tendons tore, and he went flying backward. Only then did the delayed boom arrive. Engulfed in bloody fire, Ji Liu descended from the heavens carrying two colossal iron hammers, bringing with him a kinetic impact that would put any runaway truck to shame! [Wind Sweeping the Clouds]! One hammer slammed into his peer, sending him flying; the other smashed into the wolf-beast's snout, snapping its canine jaws shut. The force was just right—dazing without causing brain damage, its precision countless times more refined than Ji Jue's fist anesthesia. Hoisting the wolf-beast onto his shoulder, he sprinted full-tilt toward Tong Shan! Head-on, he slammed straight into an iron wall. His vision went dark. The two Aether users tailing Olivia finally seized their chance to close the cordon: one forced the air to harden into a solid barrier, while the other manifested invisible shackles, wrapping tightly around him. In that split second, Ji Liu abandoned all thought, handing full control to his external brain. "Ah-Xueee!" The wolf-beast on his shoulder was hurled like a medicine ball. Wrapped in bloody flames, the screeching wolf smashed through the air wall like an artillery shell, soaring into the distance. With a sharp pew, Ji Xue materialized right at the drop point, arms wide open to catch the pass. Yet the closer the wolf drew, the uglier her face became. She couldn't help coughing up a mouthful of blood. Her ribs fractured. It felt as though an invisible force was nearly grinding her to powder. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get any closer to the falling beast. It was as if the two of them had suddenly become identical magnetic poles, violently repelling one another. Repulsion! She looked back in realization toward Olivia, only to see that the woman had forcibly hijacked the Aether of her two subordinates, slotting them into her own framework like modular components. The armillary sphere in her hand abruptly expanded. Beneath its metallic casing, radiant spherical motes of light orbited a singular focal point, forming the configuration of a miniature solar system. [Domain: Star Shift]! Out of thin air, she had imbued Ji Xue and the wolf-beast with opposing polarities. In the next breath, gravitational pull surged, violently hauling the wolf back toward herself. At the pivotal moment, Ji Xue bolted once more! As if throwing herself into a spider's web, she flashed to intercept directly in front of Olivia, disregarding the incoming attacks from behind. Within this time accelerated a thousandfold, she charged head-on, slamming directly into the repelling wolf-beast! Gah! Ji Xue was flung away by the erupting repulsive shockwave, her face deathly pale, barely clinging to life. Yet the wolf's trajectory was indeed halted for a fraction of a second. Using the repulsive force, she bumped it away once more, passing it straight back toward her brother! Olivia reached out again. Simultaneously, a gravitational vortex erupted, manifesting a miniature black hole that swallowed Ji Xue whole. Yet before that could occur, what spread before them was a field of pallid white. Within that pallor, countless historical records surged, coalescing into two overlapping esoteric trigrams: Li on top, Qian below—Fire over Heaven, Great Possession! The instant Ji Xue was injured, Tong Shan's face remained utterly devoid of expression. Likewise, all warmth had completely vanished from his eyes. In a flash, [Domain: Calamity Prevention Codex]—strictly forbidden from deployment within the city due to its sheer destructive collateral—unfolded with full force! Raging flames tore through empty space, turning the air into thick, viscous magma and fire. Detonation! The roar expanded, and a savage blast wave consumed everything. A terrifying shockwave capable of tearing across all of Tacheng erupted, hurling countless bricks and masonry straight into the firmament. Within the overlapping Domains, both sides clashed head-on. Olivia's face fractured, half of her body scorched to charcoal, yet she didn't waver in the slightest. Before the blast's force could expand, the armillary sphere rotated again, manifesting a black hole out of thin air that dragged everything toward that pitch-black singularity. Likewise, an all-out effort! A fight to the death! Tong Shan paid it no heed. Huihao twitched slightly in his grip, and the Calamity of the Sky-Crack manifested once more. A fissure opened right in front of him as Huihao thrust inside, while another rift tore open behind Olivia, right beside the Aether user maintaining Star Shift. A pitch-black blade extended with effortless grace, piercing through layer upon layer of defenses before plunging straight into the skull. Detonation! Blood and bone splattered as a headless corpse toppled backward. Having lost one of its pillars, the Domain shuddered violently, growing all the more volatile under Olivia's boiling fury. Two Domains belonging to the same Aether lineage clashed head-on, grinding against one another under the tangled fury of gravity and calamity, like two millstones smashing together, crushing everything trapped in between into fine dust. At the very center of their clash, a crimson flame flared up once again. Taking everything to the face and disregarding all wounds, a figure broke through and charged forward at breakneck speed. Ji Liu roared, executing a leaping chop that cleaved a rushing Swarm combatant in two. Then, his foot lashed out, aiming to kick the dying wolf-beast back toward Tong Shan. "Don't you dare!" Olivia's gravitational pull churned chaotically to intercept, only to realize that the kick had been a pure feint—he hadn't kicked at all. Now that he had baited out her move, ignoring the crushing gravity beneath his feet that multiplied a hundredfold, Ji Liu brutally leaned into a shoulder strike! With everything he had—an Iron Mountain Lean! At this critical juncture, he made his decision. And so, the shrieking wolf-beast was launched into the air like a ball once more. Only this time, it didn't fly toward Ji Liu's allies, nor did it fly toward his enemies. Instead, it flew straight into midair—toward An Ning, who had stood by like a mere bystander ever since the brawl began! White Stag?! Is your Security Bureau out of its mind?! You're handing something this crucial to the White Stag? Even Olivia was momentarily stunned, unable to wrap her head around the logic. Only Tong Shan couldn't hold back a booming laugh. "Ah-Liu, well done!" It was true that giving it to An Ning meant giving it to the White Stag, but it was also equivalent to giving it to Ji Jue. And giving it to Ji Jue—wasn't that just giving it to themselves?! In fact, it was even better than taking it directly! A single merit had instantly doubled into two! Being the first to discover the abnormal wolf was already sufficient for commendation, and they had kept it out of the Bureau of Secrecy's hands, placing it into the custody of one of their own! With Ji Jue's ties to the Security Bureau, all he lacked was official establishment status. He had even passed the Federation's civil service exam; if he nodded, he could take office at the Security Bureau in minutes. Now, even if the Security Bureau wanted the wolf, wouldn't they still have to rely on Tong Shan to negotiate with Ji Jue? Facing the screeching wolf-beast hurtling through the air, An Ning flicked her hand without a second thought—Hunting Finger Flying Light! The art of Flying Light revealed itself once more. A wisp of faint glimmer shaped like a bird darted nimbly from her fingertips, circling the wolf-beast and effortlessly dispelling Olivia's gravitational pull and locks, before plunging straight into the beast's snout, pinning it rigid. Leaping into the void, An Ning caught the dying wolf-beast out of midair, and then, passed the ball once more—straight toward Ji Jue. It had to be said that for the first time in history, a wolf was treated to such honors. In the past, other wolves were riddled with Flying Light; who would have thought this one would become the Flying Light itself—crossing the long distance with pinpoint accuracy, landing straight into Ji Jue's hands. Dissociation Art erupted. The sword of Chunjun pierced flesh and soul, dismantling every shred of resistance. Three-Phase Alchemy manifested from quicksilver, and in the span of a single snap, the living specimen was utterly engulfed in mercury—packaged, sealed, and frozen solid. Secured! Ji Jue set down the neatly bundled wolf, looked up toward the rushing gravitational tempest, and offered a gentle smile: "Miss Olivia, give me some face and let's leave it at that. How about it?" "Get lost!" The Domain erupted once more as wild gravitational force surged. Olivia was beside herself with rage, her charred face cracking to reveal raw flesh. "Who the hell do you think you are, asking me for face?!" Ji Jue didn't answer. He merely raised the pistol and pulled the trigger. BOOM!!! Amidst an ear-splitting detonation, the pistol fractured and shattered into pieces, and the light of Zhanlu within the quicksilver bullet transformed into a single line, detonating with absolute force. A destructive streak of lightning tore through the Domain, ruthlessly ripping apart the chaotic gravitational field. In the blink of an eye, it incinerated the Swarm combatant standing in the way to cinders, traversed the entire battlefield, and whistled past Olivia's cheek. From a distant vantage point, observers saw only a streak of fierce radiance shooting diagonally into the sky, vanishing into the far reaches of the clouds, punching a gaping hole clean through the heavy overcast. Immediately following that, violent winds whipped up, accompanied by an endless, rolling roar that washed over all of Tacheng. Within the ruins, dead silence fell. And right before her eyes, Ji Jue drew another brand-new pistol, raised it, and aimed it directly at her stiffened face. "I said, let's leave it at that—" Ji Jue's smile remained gentle and warm as he asked again: "—how about it?" A single moment of hesitation was all it took to lose the final opportunity. By the time Olivia realized that Ji Jue had issued a warning only because he wasn't ready to completely burn bridges with the Bureau of Secrecy, it was already too late. Less than half a minute had passed since the distress beacon was launched. From the repositioned airships across the firmament, streaks of meteor-like brilliance descended from the sky. Amidst thunderous booms, units of power armor strode out of the settling dust, securing the perimeter and instinctively raising their weapons toward the opposing camp. Simultaneously, Celestial Chosen hurtling from the garrisons of both sides had already arrived in the skies above. Ji Jue holstered his weapon, gave a soft sigh, and spared Olivia one final glance. His smile remained warm and amiable, yet paired with the pity in his eyes, his message was conveyed loud and clear: Heh. Clown. "Oof, look at this mess. Right at this timing, what happened here?" Amidst a sudden flash of lightning, Jin Wuyan slowly walked out, glancing around before offering Tong Shan a mocking smirk. "Just stepping out for a little business, and you made such a huge fuss?" Tong Shan was indifferent, merely sparing him a glance. "Clown." Jin Wuyan's expression stiffened slightly, and his fake smile vanished without a trace. "Causing such a massive disaster... best of luck to you." "That's why you're a clown," Ji Jue remarked casually, dragging his prize as he strolled past him, delivering a parting cut without even looking back. Someone nearby let out a stifled snort of laughter. In the sky above, a massive white bird descended, its wings spreading and folding. In an instant of transformation, a slender woman stepped forward, dressed in formal attire as though she had just arrived from a banquet. "I came as fast as I could only to find quite the show. How did a fight break out so suddenly?" She looked around, her gaze landing on Ji Jue. "Did Mr. Ji get dragged into this as well?" "No idea. I was just walking down the street when the Bureau of Secrecy jumped me," Ji Jue said nonchalantly. "Maybe I've been standing out too much lately and ruffled some feathers?" "That's the Empire for you—completely shameless when they want something." Xu Ranshuang couldn't care less about the growing numbers of Imperial troops on the opposing side. She took two steps forward, reached out, and smacked the back of the bloody, panting Ji Liu's head with a hearty thwack. Then, she looked down at the barely breathing Ji Xue and flicked her fingers, raining tiny motes of light from her fingertips. In an instant, Ji Liu was back to full vigor. After spitting out a few mouthfuls of stale blood, the color visibly returned to Ji Xue's pale cheeks. "Thank you," Tong Shan nodded in gratitude. "We're on the same side, don't mention it," Xu Ranshuang waved it off dismissively. "You'd better start thinking about how to explain this to the old man. He isn't getting any younger, and his temper isn't great." "Bullshit! Slandering me right to my face, are you?" From a fissure in the earth, a white-haired figure strode out with his hands clasped behind his back. Surveying the scene, he didn't even bother asking questions before turning directly toward the Imperial contingent. "What's the matter? Looking to scrap?" The Tacheng director of the Security Bureau's Special Operations Division, the Barren Ruins Celestial-Human Lin Shouyi, tilted his head and bared his teeth in a grin at the opposing side. "I've been waiting for this day for a long time. Who's first? Don't say I'm bullying you—I'll spot you one arm, and I promise to leave your corpses intact." "Lin, don't you dare be shameless!" Doldonville's deputy, Eaton Myers, finally arrived late, his face livid. "We were tracking them first!" Lin Shouyi rolled his eyes. "This is our jurisdiction." "The jurisdictions were abolished!" "Abolished doesn't mean you can piss and shit wherever you please," Lin Shouyi sneered. "If memory serves, the agreement stated it plain as day: even if jurisdictions were abolished, operations still require prior filing. Where's your filing? Did I sign off on it? "If whoever you track down today has to die, what happens tomorrow if you set your sights on me? "At my age, I can't take your roughhousing. Let's call it here. Quit while you're ahead. If you insist on playing dirty, don't think I'm some soft push-over." "You killed my people!" "Then they had it coming! Blind fools—bringing this many people into someone else's territory and still losing? Living on would just be an embarrassment anyway. My men basically did your Bureau of Secrecy a favor by taking out the trash. Why aren't you thanking us?" After a volley of barbed pleasantries, the Imperial faction tried to cling stubbornly to the matter, but the old geezer on the Security Bureau's side had already begun leveraging his status advantages to the fullest. Even after dragging the dispute all the way to the temporary joint arbitration committee, it wouldn't be over; there would certainly be plenty of bickering ahead. But for now, things had come to a temporary close. Watching the Imperial personnel depart, the old geezer snorted, spat on the ground, and stomped his foot. The wreckage littering the street rapidly restored itself to its original state. Turning back, he glanced at Tong Shan. He asked nothing, merely waving his hand. "Fine, you won, so that's that. Whatever heaven-sized mess you made, I'll shoulder it. Pack it up and head back." Tong Shan nodded, but didn't step aside. Instead, he presented a page from a dossier. Lin Shouyi took it with a look of confusion. The moment it was in his hands, the casual expression on his face vanished completely. His gaze gradually darkened. Soon, he broke into a wide grin, clapping Tong Shan's shoulder hard enough to rattle his teeth, beaming with delight. "You little punk, you've got guts! You really bagged a big one! "Fine! This counts as your primary merit. For this round of the Heavenly Overseer's Blessing, I'll personally sponsor you!" Sudden silence fell over the area. Everyone froze in disbelief, their expressions turning exceptionally colorful. Xu Ranshuang smiled without speaking. The rest wore varying looks of astonishment, while Jin Wuyan's expression grew tense. He opened his mouth to speak, but swallowed his words, his face twitching slightly. He was practically consumed by bitter jealousy. The Heavenly Overseer's Blessing—an empowerment bestowed upon a Celestial Chosen through the orthodox lineage of Aether, carrying countless, immeasurable benefits. The entire Mid-Continent Special Operations Division only had two slots. The first had long been reserved for Xu Ranshuang, whose illustrious service had saved countless lives. But how in the world did the only remaining slot end up in Tong Shan's lap?! How long had he even been here? Not even a year! What the hell was he?! Tong Shan remained as impassive as ever. He offered no polite pleasantries, merely nodding his head without a shred of feigned humility. Lin Shouyi ignored the rest, walking straight over to Ji Jue and examining him closely. "Look at this handsome fellow—even more pleasant on the eyes than Lyu Yingyue made you out to be. Tsk tsk, you definitely share a few shades of my dashing charm from back in the day." He rubbed his chin, then suddenly broke into a grin: "Name your price, kid."