I transformed into a cute girl and lived a carefree life in the apocalypse.

However, all she perceived was emptiness; nothing existed, nothing could be touched, and only the feeling of being grounded was real.

Suddenly, her breath hitched, and she slashed sharply to the right, but she didn't hit anything tangible; only a ball of cyan-gold light was swept away by her.

front!

Yan Zimo spun around to the side again, unleashing a horizontal slash with his lightning blade, producing a crisp, clanging sound. This time, it felt like he had struck a solid object, and the blade even cut in a portion of it.

But Yan Ziming did not feel happy; instead, he retreated rapidly, his hair standing on end.

Almost simultaneously, an immense force that she could not withstand descended, completely destroying the place where she had just been, leaving nothing behind.

Then came five more strikes in quick succession, each one possessing earth-shattering power; being hit meant certain death.

Qing seemed to be able to pinpoint Yan Zimo's location, but Yan Zimo couldn't detect Qing's movements at all, putting him at a significant disadvantage.

After hiding for a while, Yan Ziming realized that she couldn't continue like this. Her ninth-level strength alone was not enough to deal with Qing; she needed stronger combat power.

Yan Ziming stretched his hand forward, and the 'blood' flowing from his slender fingertips was actually a high concentration of lightning plasma.

—Qi Yan.

This is the 'qi' within her body, originating from Yan Ziming's heart. It is a 'sharp blade' formed through high compression, with power greater than ordinary lightning.

Why is there such a huge difference in attack power between the eighth and ninth tiers? The fundamental reason lies in this point.

As the lightning surged to her fingertips, it instantly formed a spear of victory. It seemed that just one glance at its tip would cause permanent blindness and even obliterate the soul!

At this moment, she was the only one in the world, even in this hazy mist—only her human silhouette and glowing eyes could be seen, holding a spear of victory, her beauty unparalleled, standing proudly.

No matter how far away you are, you can see a war god standing there.

......

In the eerie silence, a colossal creature moves silently through the mist, like the endless deep sea, concealing great terror.

Seeing Yan Ziming's current posture, the Mirage Dragon's eyes flashed slightly. The person in front of it had not revealed any flaws, so it could only launch a direct attack.

"Roar--!"

The resounding dragon roar shattered the space in front of the mirage dragon, causing Yan Ziming's beautiful hair to fly wildly.

Her temperament suddenly changed, as if she had become a javelin, her surging will completely shattering the surrounding space to resist the influence of the dragon's roar.

She brandished the Spear of Victory, crossed her right leg forward, and took a graceful butterfly step. The Spear of Victory followed her movements, creating dazzling arcs of light in its wake. Thunder surged forth from these tiny arcs of light, sweeping across the battlefield.

An extremely terrifying pressure descended upon him, but Yan Ziming actually leaped forward, holding the Spear of Victory horizontally to his side, and thrust it straight out.

Like an armor-piercing shell hitting a tank, the spear met the shield. First, there was a crisp sound as the spear of victory broke through, then it exploded inside, scattering brilliant light.

Having gained the upper hand in one strike, Yan Zimo retreated swiftly, sparing no effort in expending his own energy as he moved sideways.

But before she could even steady herself, attacks came one after another. Yan Ziming was struggling to defend herself and had to keep moving sideways at the speed of light to dodge the attacks.

--lightning.

By the time you see its shape, it's already gone, out of reach, forever out of reach, and forever impossible to catch.

Speed ​​is currently the only area where Yan Zimo can surpass Qing; he strikes and retreats instantly, appearing and disappearing without a trace.

Unable to catch Yan Zimo for a long time, the Mirage Dragon's bright yellow eyes wrinkled slightly, as if the sun was shrouded in shadow, and the light shifted.

It looked at its pierced palm, the lapis lazuli scales completely penetrated, the spear of victory burrowing deep inside, the scorching heat that burned everything coursing through its flesh.

A burst of seven-colored light penetrated its body, completely healing the wounds. It felt it was time.

"Zimo!"

Just as Yan Ziming stopped, he heard the voice of the useless Xi behind him, and Yan Ziming breathed a sigh of relief.

She transformed herself into a beacon, solely to establish contact with the useless Xi. Only by being with her could she unleash her full combat power at the sequence level, preventing her from having to fight and flee against Qing.

"Xiao Xi, you're finally here! Come quickly—"

Swish!

One second Yan Zimo was happily embracing her, the next he swung his Thunder Cutter, sweeping across the body of the useless Xi and slicing her in two. Both halves of her body turned into light dust and vanished with the wind.

"As expected, it's fake..." Yan Ziming's gaze was calm, but his heart was filled with extreme tension.

118. Escaping from the jaws of death

The useless Xi was cut in two by Yan Zimo without the slightest hesitation or regret.

"As expected, it's fake..." Yan Ziming murmured.

The reason for doing this was simple: she couldn't sense that similar aura from the useless Xi.

For Yan Ziming, this was arguably the most distinctive characteristic of the useless Xi, without exception, yet she simply failed to perceive it.

In a moment of desperation, she remembered the almost lifelike image she had seen in District Seven. Cold sweat broke out all over her body, and she immediately swung her sword to kill the dummy in front of her, thus avoiding death!

Fortunately, the divine aura emanating from the seemingly useless Xi is impossible to fake, otherwise Yan Ziming would have fallen for it.

What Yan Ziming was truly worried about was the situation of the useless Xi and Si Mo.

She had clearly marked her location, but the useless Xi still hadn't come to her aid. She suspected that something had happened.

Or perhaps, Qing was facing both of them at the same time?

Upon hearing this idea, Yan Ziming immediately shuddered, having no doubt about its possibility.

After all, with Qing's strength, it was entirely possible for him to do so!

This thick fog can not only obscure vision and cloud perception, but also conceal energy fluctuations. Perhaps the useless Xi is fighting somewhere unknown to him.

Therefore, we can conclude that while Qing was trying to capture her, he was also pushing her in the opposite direction of becoming a useless person like Xi.

Snapped--!

The mirage dragon attacked again. With a flick of its tail, the air suddenly became stagnant and incredibly oppressive, pressing down relentlessly, threatening to crush Yan Zimo!

Then, the dragon's scales and claws, gleaming with gold, pierced the heavens, casting streaks of iridescent light as it clawed down at Yan Zimo, preparing to deliver the final blow.

Under this immense pressure, Yan Ziming could barely move a finger. Even his soul felt as if it were being torn into a million pieces, leaving him powerless and trapped in a vicious cycle.

"Ahhhh-"

Lei Hai, under her extreme control, lunged back, condensing into shields of light in an attempt to buy time. However, this was of no use in resisting the Mirage Dragon's attack. The dragon's claws reached down as if entering an empty field, shattering the light shields.

It seemed like there was no solution, but then the Mirage Dragon's gaze suddenly twitched, and its movements paused for a strange moment.

The opportunity is right in front of you; if you don't seize it, you deserve to die.

Taking advantage of this time, Yan Ziming used all his strength to sweep the sky with the Lightning Blade, temporarily isolating himself from the terrifying pressure, and then moved away at the speed of light.

"Holy crap, what a terrifying thing! Is this what a Sequence-level Celestial Spirit is like?" Yan Ziming cursed inwardly.

She was almost captured by Qing just now. Although she didn't know why Qing wanted to capture her alive, she didn't dare to imagine what tragic fate awaited her if she were caught.

It's truly unimaginable how Si Mo managed to buy so much time for Qing amidst her fierce attacks.

But why did Qing pause just now? Given Qing's skill level, such a flaw shouldn't have occurred.

If there hadn't been that pause, and Qing's dragon claw had struck, Yan Ziming would have been truly trapped with no chance of escape; his life and death would have been entirely in Qing's hands.

An even more surprising change occurred: the surrounding fog dissipated rapidly, and within a few breaths, the sky cleared, revealing a fragmented wilderness.

Once the view cleared, Yan Ziming immediately located the useless Xi. She was more than ten kilometers away, and looked just like when Yan Ziming first saw her: a cluster of glittering stars, with purple lightning dancing wildly around her, creating a whirlwind.

"Xiao Xi".

Yan Ziming shouted, but was attacked by the useless Xi halfway and had to stop.

"Ah, sorry... I thought it was fake again." Realizing the warm feeling emanating from Yan Ziming, the useless Xi belatedly apologized to her.

Just now, the Mirage Dragon was indeed fighting on two fronts. While trying to capture Yan Zimo, it was also using its absolute strength to suppress the useless Xi and prevent her from going to Yan Zimo's aid.

After all, if these two were to get together, it would be much more difficult for Qing to win over Yan Ziming. Tibet is their home turf, and she saw clearly how Aurora died.

If it weren't for the fact that the useless Xi had diverted the Mirage Dragon's energy, Yan Zimo would have been killed long ago, given his disadvantageous position.

"No, it's nothing. I just killed 'you'..." Yan Ziming shook his head and looked towards the horizon.

A very powerful aura emanated from there; someone was about to break through to the ninth rank, or rather... break through to the SSS rank? Or both?

The aura was too vague, with signs of a breakthrough present on both sides. Even Yan Ziming couldn't discern it immediately.

But she could sense that this aura was extremely sacred, as if some being who had seized the power of heaven and earth had broken through, drawing Qing towards it.

"That guy suddenly left because...?!"

[That aura feels so familiar.] Yan Ziming's expression darkened slightly.

“It’s Xiao Ze,” Mo Xin said solemnly.

“Xiao Ze? She broke through too? No…” Yan Zimo shook his head.

The key question is why she broke through at this moment, and why she was so close, just to save herself?

That's the only possibility, but Yan Ziming doesn't think it's a brilliant solution. It's just robbing Peter to pay Paul, and she doubts that Xiaoze would do something so reckless.

"There must be other backup plans..."

Yan Ziming immediately came to a conclusion. He looked around but couldn't find Si Mo anywhere.

Will they be taken away by the Qing?