Puff puff puff.

Amidst a flurry of footsteps, the black wolf masked woman rapidly approached Sima Gui, twirling her long blade in a series of flourishes.

"How did you discover our temporary hideout?" she asked in a deep voice.

"?" Sima Gui didn't react, momentarily stunned.

"Never mind, it seems we were used again." The woman didn't bother with further questions. Judging by his expression, she knew she wouldn't get anything out of him this time.

She lowered her posture slightly, gripping the hilt of her blade tightly.

Clang!!

A burst of red light erupted as a plume of white mist exploded from the blade in her hand. With a speed far exceeding common sense, the blade emitted a sonic boom as it swung towards Sima Gui in the distance.

Too fast.

Sima Gui only felt a blur before his eyes. He didn't even have time to blink, nor did he feel anything, not even pain.

Everything was over.

Puff.

He fell backward, as if all the strength had left his body, collapsing onto the ground and gazing at the sky.

The blood beneath him... huh?

Where was the blood!?

Suddenly, Sima Gui realized something was amiss.

He touched the ground beneath him, then the outside of his arm.

Then, he sat up and looked at the black wolf masked woman.

Behind her, an armored figure, tall and clad in purplish-black armor, had appeared unnoticed.

The figure held a golden longsword, which it swung down from the side, striking the woman's arm.

The sword didn't land squarely; it was intercepted by the black blade in the woman's hand.

Blade met sword.

Bang!!

A section of the golden sword's tip suddenly snapped off and flew away, broken by the force of their clash.

The spinning sword tip struck Song Ran's shoulder, who was entangled in a fight with the black-cloaked man.

With a dull thud, Song Ran was sent flying as if struck by a rhinoceros, crashing into the woods.

"Holy crap...!" Sima Gui swallowed, feeling like he was just there to make up the numbers.

He knew Song Ran's strength. A semi-cyborg who trained daily, and had taken enhancement injections, albeit sparingly, but could unleash over a ton of force with his bare hands.

But now... Song Ran, who weighed over six hundred pounds, was thrown away by a broken sword tip.

Sima Gui felt a surge of fear. Having narrowly escaped death, he quickly rushed over to help Song Ran up, and together they fled in the opposite direction from Li Cheng Yi.

"Violent Thug?"

The black wolf woman recognized Li Cheng Yi's identity at a glance.

"You know me?" Li Cheng Yi was somewhat surprised.

"My younger brother, Zhou Yan, is in your care," the black wolf woman said coldly.

"Zhou Yan?" Li Cheng Yi immediately recalled the Ideal Home leader he had ambushed with the Titan Sunflower.

This person was actually connected to Zhou Yan?

"I am his sister. All his fighting skills were taught to him by me since he was a child," the woman continued.

"You killed him once, so this time…" The woman drew another black blade with one hand.

"I'll kill you once too!"

Suddenly, she leaped off the ground, sending dirt flying in all directions.

In the blink of an eye, she was in front of Li Cheng Yi.

A horizontal slash!

Clang!!

The golden sword clashed against the black blade.

Two massive forces instantly collided and erupted.

The ground beneath their feet exploded, scattering gravel, grass clippings, and sand like raindrops.

The massive air current blew open the woman's cloak, knocking off the black wolf mask, revealing her true form.

Black, red-edged metallic skin, with thin white circuits flowing from her chest and abdomen to her face.

She wasn't a living human at all, but a pure, fully mechanical cyborg.

Her head was encircled by a ring of red light, seemingly used as an eye sensor.

Her arms and legs were covered in layered armor patterns resembling pages of a book.

Her back and waist had a series of weapon module pods of varying sizes.

"Not bad strength, but still too weak!"

The woman's arm suddenly glowed red.

Her strength instantly increased by sixty percent from its previous level!

Bang!!

The sudden increase in power forced Li Cheng Yi back several steps. Before he could regain his footing, the two black blades were approaching again, cutting towards his neck.

The sharp blades tore through the air, emitting a shriek. Even before they got close, he could feel goosebumps rising on the skin of his neck.

Too fast, and stronger than him! The techniques were even more pure and concise, without any unnecessary flourishes.

It seemed that the people Li Cheng Yi had fought continuously during this period were all extremely skilled masters of combat.

'Looks like I have to make this a quick fight...'

He retreated several steps, and golden swords materialized in his hands.

A golden light flashed across his body.

'Hana-kotoba.' (flower language)

Li Cheng Yi's eyes suddenly widened.

'All-Stars Dragon Shadow Sword!!'

In an instant, a golden sword wheel appeared behind him.

His entire body of soft qi exploded like a bomb, all poured into his right hand, and he swung it out like lightning.

At the same time, the Hana-kotoba ability of the Intoxicated Hand activated, forcibly freezing the black wolf masked woman for a moment.

Just that moment.

A golden stream of light transformed into a wheel, suddenly flashing across her body.

Chirp!

A sword-shaped hole appeared out of nowhere in the woman's chest.

She struggled to get up.

Another stream of golden light burst out, piercing through her chest with a speed she couldn't react to, creating holes of varying sizes.

The golden swords on the sword wheel rapidly diminished.

In just three seconds.

A total of nine golden swords pierced through the woman's chest, stabbing into the ground.

Especially the last golden sword, which almost severed the bones between the woman's head and chest.

Thump.

She knelt on the ground, her black blade stuck in the ground.

"This move... a module I've never seen before…"

A bizarre thing happened.

The holes in the woman's chest quickly began to heal automatically.

Not only that, but even her neck, which was almost broken, straightened itself and reconnected.

In just one second, as if time had reversed, the injuries on her body were completely repaired.

"That kid was right... No wonder White Skull wants to invite you. Violent Thug... you really have potential! Your team is indeed innovative." The woman picked up the black wolf mask from the ground.

"You're actually okay?" Li Cheng Yi's eyes behind the helmet narrowed slightly.

"What do you think I am? Those inferior products that are casually consumed in Silent Fortress?" The woman laughed.

"Whisperer is the real military-grade full-body suit of the Red Temple. It is at least one level stronger than the three series of civilian suits on the market: Earth, Ocean, and Sky." She moved the black blade in her hand.

"Of course, if you had taken the opportunity to completely destroy all my regeneration modules just now, perhaps we would have to meet again next time. But unfortunately, you don't seem to have that kind of experience."

"Sounds impressive." This time, Li Cheng Yi nodded sincerely.

If it weren't for the Hana-kotoba ability, he probably wouldn't be able to beat the person in front of him.

"Then, let's start the second round." The woman crossed her dual blades and held them in front of her.

Puff!!

In an instant, a golden light burst forth.

The All-Stars Dragon Shadow Sword exploded again, flying out.

This time, fully focused, the woman actually managed to dodge the first sword.

She rushed towards Li Cheng Yi at full speed, her black blade striking the second All-Stars Dragon Shadow Sword.

Clang!

Fighting Li Cheng Yi's full strength with one hand was naturally not an easy task. The woman's right hand was knocked away, but it actually managed to deflect the golden sword's trajectory, causing it to fly away at an angle.

Closer!

Closer!!

In the blink of an eye, the woman was within one meter of Li Cheng Yi.

'Gleaming Flash.'

In an instant, a dazzling golden light exploded from Li Cheng Yi's right shoulder.

Very abrupt. Clearly, there were no lighting devices.

No movements, no starting stance, no signs.

Just such a sudden burst of dazzling golden light.

The golden light was scorching hot, like a series of sharp knives, compressed to the extreme, and then exploded.

Hiss!!

The dazzling golden light was not just light, but also thorns. It truly pierced through the woman's body in that instant.

The huge impact force slammed her backward, causing her to fall heavily into the mud.

Rumble.

Dark clouds filled the sky, and thunder rumbled.

The woman lay on the ground, countless holes appearing all over her body.

The holes were of different sizes, the large ones the size of a fist, and the small ones like needle tips.

The edges of all the holes were scorched, making it impossible to heal again.

"Just now... what was that!!" She couldn't understand what she had just encountered. The weapon she had never seen before, with no energy storage, no starting action, and couldn't even find a launch port.

It just suddenly exploded out of nowhere...

"Big Sister!!" A black-cloaked man not far away roared, forcing back Colin in front of him, and rushing towards Li Cheng Yi with a roar.

"It's useless." Li Cheng Yi stood there, calmly watching him rushing closer like a mad tiger.

Only after truly using Gleaming Flash did he understand how powerful the second Hana-kotoba, born from the Ultimate Flower Scale Armor, truly was.

Chirp!!

Another golden light exploded, flashing past.

This black-cloaked man's body was obviously not as strong as the black wolf masked woman.

In just an instant, he was sent flying like he had been hit by a truck, smoke rising from his body, and he crashed heavily to the ground.

When he landed, the right half of his body had completely vaporized and disappeared.

"What exactly is that!!" The black wolf woman struggled to support herself, staring at Li Cheng Yi intently.

High-temperature rays? Laser?

Not like it!

Lasers or simple high-temperature rays could never have such a strong impact force.

In that instant, she felt like she had been hit by a rain of scorching, high-temperature swords.

Unable to dodge, and unable to react.

It was light, too fast, too fast.

It was like the small tactical nuclear bombs she had come into contact with!

But if it was a close-range bomb! Then why was he okay!? Not even any recoil!?

Unfortunately, the woman had no chance to think about it anymore.

She suddenly looked up at the sky in the distance, where a number of aircraft were rapidly approaching.

"Next time... I'll come find you again! Remember, my name is Zhou Tan!"

Suddenly, the woman, along with the bodies of the other two, began to glow with a dim red light.

The red light grew brighter and hotter.

Rumble!!!

Three loud explosions erupted.

Li Cheng Yi held one hand in front of him to block the incoming explosive shockwave.

He suddenly had an epiphany.

Compared to the Flower Scale Armor, the true power of the Evil Flower was not the enhanced strength and speed of the Flower Scale Armor.

Because compared to modern technology, such advantages were not that great.

What was truly unsolvable were the various bizarre and unreasonable Hana-kotoba abilities!

Such as Intoxicated Hand, such as Firmness, and such as the current Gleaming Flash.

(End of chapter)