Forge a path to success

A painful cry rang out from the depths of the ice flowers, and the icy air that was spraying in all directions suddenly stopped. Wu He was momentarily stunned and uncertain; even with his vast experience, he couldn't recognize the origin of this move. From Ji Huaisu's perspective, the battle was actually quite simple. She had merely roughly estimated the man's position inside the ice armor and struck him with the hilt of her sword, delivering a heavy blow.

This was something no ordinary Shadow Blade could accomplish, but unfortunately, Ji Huaisu was busy fighting and didn't have much time to be complacent. The previous counterattack with the Ice Man's greatsword proved that directly using the Shadow Blade was useless; to defeat the enemy, one had to rely on positive emotions. So she focused her efforts on strengthening the light shield, modifying it into a long-handled warhammer with a heavy head and thick handle.

She stepped heavily into the shadows, brandished her light hammer, and without saying a word, struck the ice hockey ten times in a row!

The long-handled warhammer shone brightly, a golden flame erupting from its head. The nascent purifying flames brought intense heat to the weapon, and the relentless hammer blows left ten charred marks on the icy surface. This intense heat could easily melt steel, and if fully unleashed, it could easily reduce a street to ashes, but it had little effect on the ice. A small portion of the ice crystals melted under the intense heat, and new ice instantly formed.

Ji Huaisu's thinking was correct, but ultimately she wasn't truly pure fire; her flames weren't enough to melt the renownedly sturdy ice armor. Wu He had already seen the problem. He glanced at the girl and reached into his robes.

"Don't force yourself with this much strength. Step back, I'll handle this guy."

He took out a new talisman, its inscription drawn with dried blood, the dark blood seeping into the back of the paper. The moment the talisman appeared, Ji Huaisu felt a sense of oppression in his heart, an indescribable aura emanating from it, like a gaping maw devouring flesh and blood, making Wu He appear cold and sinister as well.

She instinctively pointed her hammer at Wu He: "Stop! That's an evil thing!"

Wu He pointed two fingers of his left hand to the ground, and layers of crimson flames broke through the ice, forming a formation that trapped Ji Huaisu. In the brief few seconds that the two were fighting together, he had already been distracted and prepared a plan to target his "teammate." He rushed towards the icy shell, leaving only a sneer, his undisguised contempt silencing all of Ji Huaisu's words.

You think you can stop me?

Do you have the power to stop the tears from flowing?

If you're not capable, then stay in the game and watch. The battlefield of Point 3 is not for a mere Reverse Shadow to speak for!

The icy mist obscured his vision, and the battlefield was far from his position, so Wu He decided to unleash a little of his power. He easily dodged the ice flowers blocking his path as if he were strolling in the countryside, and with lightning speed, he tossed the intercepting ice crystals behind him. The talisman in his hand seemed to pulsate with life, as excited and expectant as his own heartbeat.

"Open the talisman, offer blood as a sacrifice and present the axe!"

The Blood Sacrifice Axe Talisman is one of the most precious talismans that Wu He always carries. This talisman is like a living thing; it can devour the flesh and blood of enemies and convert their supernatural abilities into its own.

Normally, he rarely had the opportunity to use this talisman. Enemies he valued wouldn't be sacrificed for nothing, and the fragile talisman paper couldn't survive long in high-intensity battles. But this idiot, Turbid Tears, was slow to move due to his berserk state, and no one around him could stop him. This was a golden opportunity!

Wu He was thrilled at the power he was about to acquire, laughing like a wild beast about to pounce. The distance closed, the ice flowers were almost within reach, and the blood-sacrificing talisman shot out with a powerful gust of wind…

At that moment, the frozen earth suddenly cracked open, and a giant, smooth, white egg rose from the ground, standing between Wu He and the Ice Man! Standing before the talisman!

Wu He's eyes were a fascinating mix of anticipation, ferocity, and utter utter disbelief. But the talisman had already been cast and couldn't be retrieved; that malevolent blood talisman was imprinted on the surface of the large egg, affixed to its pristine white shell!

With a crisp pop, the giant egg's shell, riddled with cracks, shattered. Nearly ninety percent of the shell was infused with talismans, transforming it into a square object resembling a brick. As the shell dissipated, amidst the billowing dust, the creature within the giant egg revealed its true form. Its outline was rounded, smooth, and without any sharp edges—it was…

Another giant egg, four meters tall!

【Miss Ji, do not be afraid, General Fei is here to help!】

A line of small characters appeared on the (probably) rear end of the giant egg. It rolled around halfway and searched for a long time before finally finding Ji Huaisu with his mouth half open.

[Sorry, I got a little lost after burrowing underground for so long. I always repay kindness, so I'll help you in this fight! My shell is incredibly hard; ordinary ice and snow can't harm me. Just attack me from behind my proud body!]

"Ah," Ji Huaisu said, "Oh. Well, thank you."

The giant dome sensed something was off: "...Did I even help?"

Ji Huaisu silently pointed behind him, and the giant egg turned 75 degrees, revealing a face as black as coal due to the effect of the tempering talisman.

[Hey! You're as black as charcoal, are you perhaps the Black Whirlwind of Jinling?!]

Wu He gritted his teeth and threw a punch at the big egg: "You bastard!! I'll kill you!!"

Why? >`<

Who is the unluckiest person in this round? That's a difficult question to answer (serious expression).

Chapter 111 Misfortunes Come in Pairs

[Stop, sir! Look carefully, sir! I'm here to help!]

"I'm fucking hitting you!" Wu He roared in fury. "Die!"

The enhanced black fists rained down like raindrops, their powerful blows causing the ground to tremble. The giant egg swayed violently, its shell creaking incessantly. Wu He was truly enraged this time. He didn't care about his previous defeats, nor about this idiot who had suddenly appeared out of nowhere, but he cared about that talisman!

That was a talisman he had acquired at a great cost, its quality so high that he couldn't have crafted it alone. This talisman could have been exchanged for a broken Twilight, and he was absolutely certain it would later be transformed into a controlled Greedy Demon. That was a calamity-inducing species he would control; its self-generated subordinate units alone would be an enormous resource…

But now all the plans are ruined. The blood sacrifice and the offering of the axe only resulted in an eggshell! A fucking eggshell!!

Wu He, already emotionally unstable due to the influence of the turbid tears, grew increasingly angry, creating a vicious cycle of rage. He grabbed the eggshell brick and smashed it over the giant egg's head: "You owe me my talisman!"

The giant egg was also a shrewd one, knowing full well that the most important thing in life was to be upright and honest. It stood tall with its shell erect, boldly proclaiming: "Hero, remember quickly, you are not that kind of person! You should be wielding two ornate axes!"

"I'll turn you into a Xuanhua axe right now!"

This left no room for conversation, only a brutal beating. Wu He unleashed all his skills on the giant egg, leaving the useless Sethlen aside.

The ice man, who was about to explode, froze in place when no one paid any attention to him, and whispered, "I..."

[The heroes of Nanjing bullied an egg—how shameless!]

"So, where is Jinling?!"

"..." Sethlen became anxious as the two fought further and further away. "I... I'm going to explode! I'm going to self-destruct!!"

But the giant egg rolled away, and Wu He chased after it while fighting, but no one paid it any attention. Vande glanced around furtively a few times, then suggested to the stunned Ji Huaisu, "Such a good opportunity, why don't we retreat first?"

"What the hell are you talking about!" Ji Huaisu suddenly realized what was happening and quickly grabbed his shield to try and break up the fight. "Hey, you! It's a good thing that the evil talisman is gone. You're a dignified point 3, don't stoop to the level of an egg!"

Enraged, Wu He grabbed an eggshell brick and slammed it down, yelling, "Get the hell out of here! I'll fucking beat you up too!"

Having served as a veteran police officer in Huilong City for many years, Ji Huaisu possessed a magnanimous heart. He immediately hoisted his Shadow Blade Greatsword and shouted, "Huh?! You want to fight, you black-faced bald guy!"

"Are you blind? My hairline is perfectly healthy! That 'turbid tear' is the one with alopecia areata!" Wu He shouted, pointing at his head.

"Bald man, hair loss, male pattern baldness, wig, hair roots falling out, greasy middle-aged man!"

Not to be outdone, Ji Huaisu pressed his advantage, and the giant egg chimed in loyally: "[Completely black from top to bottom, forehead and top of head blending into one, what else could he be but bald!]"

"Shut up, you bald monster! You're the baldest bastard ever!!"

[You dare, you brat! I am a natural beauty!]

The two men and the egg fought and cursed at each other, creating a heated atmosphere that even the falling ice couldn't stop. Vande sat on Ji Huaisu's shoulder, grinning sinisterly. A small jade pendant hung from its head, from which a familiar voice could be heard.

(Is it all under control?)

(No problem, don't worry about it, I, Grandpa Vande, will take care of it~)

Zhuo Lei's rampage had already stirred up everyone's emotions, and the usually calm and obedient Fan De, with his inherent low-intelligence aura, combined with him, was like adding wings to a tiger. Even a cold-blooded killer like Chu Hengkong would be turned into a comedian by them. It was precisely because he had fully experienced how insidious Fan De's hypnosis was that he had the Eye Demon stay by Ji Huaisu's side for safety.

There are quite a few 3-point particles in the field; if things get really heated, Golden Leaf City will suffer. First, use a field with low intelligence to control the intensity of the battle, and then make your move once most of the surrounding citizens have evacuated.

Five hundred meters away, Chu Hengkong yanked a small creature resembling a fluffy white bat out of the half-collapsed family restaurant. The bat was shivering from the cold, a fist-sized snot bubble rising from its nose. He tossed the unfortunate little thing far away: "Crippled Heart, speed things up."

"Wait, I'm being controlled... This thing is so annoying!!"

Guang Shi Qingye leaned forward, standing on one leg, like a female sprinter whose start had been halted. She angrily threw two shadow shurikens, scattering the insidious, shadow-stepping gray creatures behind her. Without seeing their forms, their methods were unpredictable; they couldn't even foresee the enemy's next move, while the enemy often seemed to know the future and could strike in advance. This battle would be difficult for anyone.

Chu Hengkong released his spiritual energy to sense his surroundings and discovered that the number of unidentified creatures emerging from the ground was not only not decreasing but was continuing to increase. Qingye also noticed this and accelerated the rescue efforts: "I still have two buildings left, at most thirty seconds!"

"I'll finish right away." Chu Hengkong activated his communication artifact. (Vander, what's the background of that ice man?)

(The third particle of the Path to Supremacy, Turbid Tears, is not a Cataclysmic Being, but just an ordinary Ascended Being. He originally wanted to play in the water, but he turned it into ice cream; he's gone completely mad.)

(Isn't the Supreme Path Point 3 the Pure Fire?)

(Seriously, every time you open your mouth, you make me question the education level of Huilong City. The Supreme Path's third upgrade point is a choice between three: Turbid Tears, Pure Fire, and Unstable Dust, corresponding to the three demons of greed, anger, and ignorance in the Spiral Tower. This guy is relatively good at defense, but a bit difficult to control...)

Two streets away, amidst a battlefield where words like "bald," "wig," "idiot," and "mentally challenged" flew about, Vande was carefully dodging attacks and observing the enemy's movements. Affected by the mentally challenged field, the three engaged in chaotic combat without truly exploding their fighting spirit, while Iceman Sethlen, far from the center, was largely ignored.

It clearly found the scene absurd and was trying to warn, "You, you all! It was because of me that—"

"Seborrheic alopecia!" [Congenital baldness!] "I'll tear you all apart!"

"..."

Sethlen, huddled in its icy shell, felt like a turtle. It shifted to the side and spoke towards the direction of the Remnant Hearts: "You, it's about time you—"

"I'll use my Super Heavy Sin Technique here!" "You accidentally hurt me." "Hey, you're being too petty, it'll make you go bald." "There's no connection between the two, is there?"

"........."

Iceshell Sethlen remained silent for a long time, a chill creeping over him, trembling in his silence, until finally, on the verge of collapse, he cried out, "How could you ignore me?!"

"This giant baby is so annoying!" x4

Wu He's comment about them being "giant babies" hit the nail on the head. For these emotionally fragile and naturally gloomy individuals, what's more unbearable than being scolded is being ignored. They're happy to vent their emotions and mess things up on their own, but once they don't get attention, no amount of crying or fussing will help. For them, it's practically a form of mental torture!

Sethlen was currently under this psychological torture; he howled in grief and anger, and the entire ice shell suddenly expanded, seemingly about to explode. Vande, who had been observing the situation, quickly took out something that looked like a blowgun when he saw that things were going badly.

[Leopard-gazing tube]

Rating: 2

【Origin: The Secret Realm of Senluo - Jingsha City-State】

[Effect: Slightly increases the range of abilities activated by gaze and improves eyesight]

[Thoughts: "Manager, where are you?!" "Come out and get to work!" "Stop touching me!"]

This is standard equipment for employees of seafood bookstores, primarily used to locate the missing store manager.

This strange tube was a gadget Vande had picked up at the market. While it had no fighting power, it was exceptionally effective at hypnosis. It spotted the large, about-to-explode ice shell and growled, "Stop!"

However, the battlefield is synonymous with constant change. Often, events unfold far beyond what anyone expects. Just as Wu He hadn't anticipated his talisman hitting an egg a minute ago, Fan De was equally surprised that, at this moment, when the target seemed so perfect and foolproof—

An unlucky egg was sent flying by a spellcaster's powerful punch.

"what."

【ah. 】

Thus, Vande's hypnosis landed squarely on the giant egg. Hypnosis, which even immortal machines are susceptible to, was remarkably effective against an egg; the giant egg's will to fight immediately ceased. But the terrible thing about the battlefield is that many things aren't solely determined by human will; objective changes in the surrounding environment must also be considered.

Golden Leaf City was currently covered in ice crystals, and the giant egg was an ideal sphere with an exceptionally smooth surface and minimal friction. So, due to its inertia, it tilted and smashed into Sethlen, who was about to explode. The impact was swift and effortless, like a mountain of gold collapsing or a pillar of jade toppling. Sethlen never expected to receive such a powerful blow, much less that the egg's weight far exceeded his ability to withstand it.

The moment the egg collided, the previously smooth flow of energy came to an abrupt halt, as if a valve had been tightened, stopping the exploding Sethron at the critical point. Then, the second, equally smooth sphere began to move according to the fundamental laws of physics.

He started rolling.

Rolling with a huge amount of ice and snow.

Rolling around with the giant egg that made me dizzy and disoriented.

This colossal object, now a single sphere, grew larger and larger as it rolled along the smooth ice surface...

It was charging straight toward Wu He, who had just thrown a punch!

“Wow,” Vande said.

"Wow!" Ji Huaisu exclaimed.

Wu He's tempering talisman weakened, and his face, which was originally as black as the bottom of a pot, was now as green as Qi Su's hair. Without thinking, he turned and ran, only to find himself at the back of the fleeing group, with Ji Huaisu running even faster than him.

"Stop it! Stop that thing!"

"Aren't you the awesome Point 3? Why don't you go there!"

Wu He pointed in despair at the giant snowball behind them: "Open your eyes and look! Do you dare to go and stop that one all by yourself?!"

Sethlen's crying face and the giant egg's round shell rolled back and forth along its central axis, the illusion created by the excessive speed merging into one, resembling the indignant face of a middle-aged man with a large bald head—looking as greasy and terrifying as could be. Ji Huaisu glanced at the ground from afar and immediately quickened her pace by three times: "No! Getting close will make you bald!"

"It's not even about being bald or not! Getting involved with that thing will turn you into a third face! Can you bear to see a third face grow on a bald snowball?!"

Ji Huaisu said with righteous indignation, "Go in peace, I will pray for your hair!"

"You fucking go down with me!" Wu He snapped.

The two former teammates ran and fought, afraid that if they were even a fraction slower than their opponent, they would become part of a bald snowball. And that snowball kept rolling, growing larger and larger, now reaching the height of a three-story building—it was practically a bald yeti.

The situation worsened, and the future seemed bleak. Just at this critical juncture, a young voice suddenly rang out: "Fear not, you two! The remnant of the heart, Guang Shi Qingye, has come to your aid!"

With the surrounding citizens finally rescued, Miss Qingye was able to join the battle and show off her skills. She rushed towards them, meeting their surprised gazes, ready to unleash her secret technique to slay the demon. Then she saw the gigantic monster relentlessly pursuing them—a bald, beer-bellied monster, a hundred times the aggravated resentment of a middle-aged office worker!

Qingye's face turned deathly pale: "Qingye, you heartless one, retreat!"

Why are you running away?!

"There are idiots here who ran away before even fighting!!"

After switching from defense to forward, Qingye took the lead in the team without hesitation: "I'm sorry, I'm still young, I don't want to go bald!"

Ji Huaisu began to reason: "Is this just a problem of you going bald? If this continues, everyone in the city will go bald!"

"That's a lie. They'll freeze to death before they go bald!"

Wu He shouted, "If the logic is so clear, then come and help!"

"You two are talking so nicely, why don't you go first!"

"I don't want to go bald!" x2