Forge a path to success

The long-haired man silently approached them, and Qingye instinctively drew her knife in defense. When their eyes met, she sensed his imposing aura and realized that he had been there all along, but they were too weak to notice.

“You’re too inexperienced. For the Calamity species, one is no different from all. He was finished the moment Tear’s defenses were breached. The power of both sides is completely connected, and the speed of the feeding process depends solely on the Stone Golem’s mood.” Shaks lit a cigarette. “You come from a prestigious family, you know what you’re doing. At this point, you have no choice but to take down Tear.”

Qingye remained silent. She had indeed anticipated this; having studied for so long since childhood, she had long since learned to consider problems from the worst possible perspective. When making the contingency plan, she had thought it through very clearly: everyone should do their best to save them; if they couldn't be saved, then the only option was to kill—decisive, straightforward, and without fear of getting their hands dirty.

However, the actual execution was completely different from the plan. When she was conceiving the idea in her mind, she could think of killing someone as easily as throwing away a bag of garbage. But when she actually faced the Ice Man's face, she realized the deep despair in the man's heart at the moment of the outburst.

That was an expression she would never forget: her lips were bluish-purple, her eyes bulged, as if she had fallen into an abyss of profound fear. A man wouldn't look so pathetic unless he was terrified to the extreme; in such a desperate moment, he chose to do everything in his power to protect the small town.

And now, is she going to kill such a person with her own hands? For...the greater good and duty to more people?

Qingye's mind went blank; she could barely hold the knife. Then she heard Ji Huaisu's voice, still decisive and unwavering: "Killing the Ice Man will cause the Ice House to collapse, and we certainly can't commit murder for the sake of righteousness. The fact that you haven't acted yet shows that you also think it's wrong, doesn't it!"

“If I take action, they’ll all die together.” Shax exhaled a puff of smoke.

Everyone understood what he meant. Shax had no way to save them either; he had only waited until now to see if these few people could be of any use. The sniper stubbed out his cigarette, turned away listlessly, and spoke in a cold tone.

"You have one minute left."

"Then there's still time."

It was Vande who spoke at this moment. Having experienced the race against time with the Immortal Machine, a minute was more than enough to make one last gamble. It cautiously maintained the hypnosis and took over the command: "The current problem is that the Dust of No Destiny and the Turbid Tears are mixed together. If we only remove the sand and leave the ice crystals intact, our plan can proceed smoothly."

"I don't have that method..."

“Others have it.” Vande activated his communication artifact. “Dude, did you hear that?”

The assassin's voice came from within, steady, firm, and reliable.

Give me thirty seconds.

·

Above Jinye City, at the top of a desert vortex.

The shrill laughter of the stone goblins rose and fell, as thousands upon thousands of their clones floated in the air, waving their sand wings and swooping down with unrestrained force. They scattered multicolored dust, ignited continuous explosions with hot winds, and blasted the man in the sand with overwhelming power.

Yet the assassin would not fall, like a reef steadfastly held by the tides. He withstood the onslaught of sandstorms with raging fire, neutralized the impact of explosions with sheer willpower, and the piercing howl of the deathly winds that obliterated everything could not match his extreme speed. He fought against the stone demon with his unyielding spirit, never showing any sign of weakness, which amazed the golden leaves in the air.

"Dragon Township Fist Technique, Secret Inscription Technique, Demonic Power... Could that golden light be the Annihilation Force Field?" Jin Ye specially created a mouth for speculation. "Such a concentration of power in one person is rare even across the Thousand Dust Islands! I'm truly curious about your condition... Just how much pain are you enduring to be able to fight me..."

"Using these extremely energy-intensive supernatural powers in battle, how long can you sustain yourself?"

Jin Ye chuckled, having already grasped the crux of the matter. Chu Hengkong's strength stemmed from his endless array of methods, but abilities exceeding the limits of his essence inherently meant excessive consumption. Both the Flame of Ambition and the Annihilation Force Field were extremely mentally taxing, and the One Qi for a Thousand Autumns was an extreme method of exchanging life for combat power. Even a machine as powerful as the Immortal Machine had to carefully manage its energy usage, let alone a mere Steel Bone with transplanted true mechanical parts.

"Unwilling to refute? Or unable to speak?" It looked down at the silent killer, "As a reward for your perseverance until now, I will show you my true power!"

It reveled in the thrill of unleashing its power; nothing could better exemplify the triumph of a petty person than the stone demon in this moment. Yet this petty person possessed genuine power; among the calamity-ridden species venturing into the evil path, the more unrestrained their actions, the greater their power grew. Torturing Sethron and destroying the city had pushed his emotions to their peak; at this moment, Golden Leaf's strength was twice as great as when it first appeared.

It raised its hands, and a massive amount of dust surged forth, like a blooming lotus closing its petals. The dust petals were mixed with damp, cold water; the water element drawn from its turbid tears made them murky, solidified, and hardened like steel. At the center of that flower was the silent Chu Hengkong; the air within the petals was being rapidly permeated by the magic of the golden leaves, and the hyper-vibrating particles heralded death.

Under the stone goblin's masterful control, pure density and weight transformed into a deadly attack. The steel petals became the earth in the air, all the air within the flowers replaced by "erasers." There was no room for evasion or maneuvering; it would crush the assassin into dust in the most brutal way!

"Ten seconds," Chu Hengkong said.

Even as disaster loomed, he remained unmoved, more so than a stone demon capable of controlling mountains. The assassin completely relaxed, even ceasing to circulate his immortality technique, letting the sand and dust carve streaks across his face. He turned the white spear around, released it, and the spear, now unsupported, fell, its tip still catching a sliver of blue flame.

"Five seconds."

The stone demon suddenly felt an inexplicable tension. It couldn't understand why its opponent remained so confident; as a point mass 2, he should have already revealed all his trump cards. But it could sense the opponent's emotions—a straight line without a ripple, as if looking at a dead man. The stone demon accelerated its casting speed, sparing no effort. In less than three seconds, the steel flower had completely closed, and the white spear struck the petals first, its tip passing through as lightly as if it had no volume.

"—A Wildfire"

A brilliant blue flame erupted, igniting the dust. The blue enveloped the steel lotus, and the raging fire burst forth from the bud like a firebird soaring through the sky!

The painstakingly crafted flower instantly crumbled, its charred petals falling to reveal the killer's indifferent face. Its dust, its soil, even its body—everything it could control—was ablaze, as if being devoured by a more ferocious, more greedy beast. Yet, the flames extinguished instantly upon touching the ice crystals, and even when they penetrated the building, they remained unburned. That beast only saw him as its target; only the stone demon was its prey!

The Embers of Ambition

[Rating: 3 (5)]

【Origin: Mysterious Realm of Senluo - Huilong City】

【Effect:……

4. Wildfire

It is activated after a certain period of charging. A substance/life form/energy is selected as the target, and the inner fire will burn fiercely, treating the target as kindling. This continues until the target is completely consumed, or the ambition fades away.

The duration depends on the level of heightened arousal. Currently, the duration is thirty seconds.

In the previous battle, Chu Hengkong had already figured out the characteristics of the Stone Demon's immortal body. Its existence was based not on spirit but on matter; complete elementalization meant that every grain of sand was its physical body, while its ghostly form had transformed into "magic" that controlled matter. Destroying part of the ghostly form with the Annihilation Field was merely severing the threads that controlled the sand; the Stone Demon could convert more power and create more threads with just a breath.

Such a creature has no self; its physical body can be replenished by external substances, and its ghostly body is equivalent to its own energy. The solution, as Van Der said, is either to physically destroy all its matter or to inject it with a deadly poison that instantly spreads throughout its body.

Chu Hengkong chose the second method; his "poison" was the Flame of Ambition. The Demonic Remnant Flame is a relic that strengthens as the holder's particle level increases. After Chu Hengkong reached particle level 2, it also displayed a deeper level of power—the Wildfire, which was remarkably effective against Calamity-type creatures.

The Heartfire's chosen target is the Stone Demon, and within these thirty seconds, the Flame of Ambition will only burn dust. Right now, the sandstorm is overwhelming, and the firewood is plentiful. It feeds on the sandstorm, rising wildly like a spark falling into wild grass, quickly igniting a prairie fire.

Chu Hengkong thrust his spear into the base of the lotus, and the fire in his heart followed the spear's edge to the ground, burning the dust locks that bound the ice man!

·

"Good! As expected of the power of a great demon! The fire of ambition is fucking awesome!"

Vande waved his tentacles, ecstatic, while Miss Qingye was practically dumbfounded. She pointed to the sky, stammering, "The...the great demon...?"

"Don't worry, they're not demon contractors, they're our spoils!" Ji Huaisu gave a thumbs up.

Qingye began to scream: "How dare you take the power of a great demon out in public?!"

"I'm not worried about having too much debt, nor do I care about having too many lice! I'm not afraid of a little more trouble!" Ji Huaisu's face turned from green to blue. "Brothers, are you ready yet? Captain Huaisu is already holding on with all his might!"

Gulibo kept trembling: "But, but, the link is still there!"

"What did you say..." The Eye Demon was stunned, and subconsciously looked up. Exactly as calculated before, it used the Wildfire of Ambition to directly reach the ground, clearing away all the dust in its field of vision.

But the chains binding the Ice Man were still there! The icy, dust-like restraints swayed in the blue flames, clearly severely damaged by the fire, almost completely melted, with only a few remaining strands clinging to it. Van der immediately calculated the melting time: at least another 15 seconds. Those extra few seconds were the difference between life and death. The sniper would fire before the chains burned completely, or the Ice Man would be devoured.

But this is logically impossible; the dust has already been burned off, so how can a one-sided chain continue? Who exactly is supporting it?

“No…” Van der muttered to himself, “No…!”

It couldn't be just a coincidence. Even someone as unlucky as Chu Hengkong had a chance to turn danger into safety. Such frequent coincidences seemed like malicious intent. It focused all its energy on observing the chains, even forgetting to maintain the hypnosis. Through the scorching flames, it could see the "core" inside the ice lock. The seemingly invisible iron chains gleamed, reflecting the ice man's terrified face.

It remembers. It recalls this thing. An unfortunate chain. A torrent of despair...

"—Olek Seton Tantal!"

Vande shrieked, its voice changing, now tinged with rage beneath its intelligence. A genuine fury emanated from its small body, no less intense than the blue flames of the heavens. Twilight shone brightly in the Eye Demon's eyes, the twilight light freezing the iron chains, allowing everyone to see its true form hidden behind the curtain.

It looked at Ji Huaisu and said in a clear voice, "Knight, draw your sword!"

Without a moment to think, Ji Huaisu drew his Shadow Blade and slashed down with all his might. The iron chains, already on the verge of breaking under the scorching heat of his heart, were brought down by the Shadow Blade's strike. The Demon of Misfortune's iron chains snapped instantly, the blue light vanished, and the iron rings that fell to the ground rang out with a crisp sound.

Sethlen let out a hollow roar, and a terrifying cold wave erupted at that moment!

The misfortune was not over yet; this was the final link in a chain of misfortunes. The original plan was for Qingye to cut the Ice Man, and for Ji Huaisu to seal the power. But now that Ji Huaisu had severed the chains, there was no time to seal it again. The power of Zhuolei erupted; it would attack the person closest to it, completely freezing Ji Huaisu.

A slender figure shoved aside the knight, taking her place to shield her from the icy chill. It was Qingye! She bravely slashed at the frost, her dark, jade-like sinful bones emitting a profound light!

Chapter 127 Blood Holy Spear

As she drew her sword and slashed, Qingye recalled the teachings of her elders.

The most important quality of a person with a disabled mind is adaptability.

A person with a broken heart is a person who is incomplete.

Physically inferior to the martial arts practitioners of Longquan Township, and no match for the Calamity race in terms of elemental control. Weak and lacking strength, to prevail in this chaotic world, one must rely solely on intellect and skill. Always remember you only have one chance; your survival strategy allows no wrong choices. Observe the situation, make judgments, and even if the next choice contradicts the original plan, as long as it is the optimal solution, there is no room for hesitation.

The situation is now clear: there's no time to heal the Stone Seed. The Eye Demon and the Knight have done everything they can, but no one can stop Tearful's rampage now. The next instant will see the blooming of the Frozen Flower, and before the Stone Demon is defeated, the city will transform into a crimson hell.

Then there's no need to hesitate.

The long sword gleamed white, the short sword jet black, opposing yet complementary forces swirling around their blades. The girl with the broken heart shoved aside the knight, her blade slicing into the icy peak without hesitation. Her twin swords slashed left and right, narrowly avoiding the ice man's torso.

The blades were covered in azure frost, and the rampaging power seemed to be guided to its source. Using the twin swords, long and short, as a medium, the extreme cold surged into Qingye's body, making her bones shine like black jade!

"Time flows on, and we are bound by our own sins!"

Those with broken hearts are like those on a broken road.

Even those warriors who are called "Paths of the Dao" and "Remnant Hearts" walk the path of forging their destiny into oneness. They are inherently unrelated to the elements, nor will they gain the power to control them through ascension. Their ability to manipulate light and shadow is a result of their acquired efforts.

The hands are trained in scorching light, undergoing brutal tempering from fingertips to wrists, which is why they possess "flash fingers".

Temper your body in the harsh shadows of the cold, etch the extreme cold into your very bones, and you will acquire "sinful bones".

Only in this way, and only in this way, can the path of the broken heart be a path of imperfection. Without enduring suffering, there is no possibility of progress. Only through tempering, only through patience, can one acquire supernatural powers after undergoing all trials. Therefore, the genius and talent of those with broken hearts are two different concepts.

The person who can endure the most pain is the genius on Shura Island.

"I am...a genius...a person with a crippled heart!!"

Her sinful bones were operating at their limit, the secret technique stimulating the activity within her body. The ice was broken down into primal light and shadow, emanating from her torso and hands. The efficiency of energy conversion had reached its peak, but the efficiency of release was still far less than that of absorption. A stinging pain, much like frostbite, spread through her body, almost shattering her bones. Even so, she persevered, bathing in the azure light.

The decision has been made; there's no need for further thought. Pain, discomfort, torment—I won't dwell on those. What will happen if I fail? What will happen if I succeed? I won't engage in meaningless speculation.

She was a broken heart, not a chivalrous hero with a heart for the world. Unable to bear seeing innocent people die tragically, she stepped forward to stand up. That reason alone was enough; the rest was simply perseverance…

Keep going until the very end!

"—!!"

She seemed to be screaming, but couldn't hear the sound clearly; she seemed to be crying, but couldn't feel any tears. Only the icy frost stretched out in the silence, bringing a deathly still terror. Blue turned to pure white, pure white to colorless; she gradually lost herself in the power, as if she were disappearing, like frost melting in the sunlight.

Hang in there!

It was as if I heard the voice of someone else, gentle and kind, like a benevolent elder. It reminded me of the vitality of grass extending from it, forming two strong vines.

Two different hands grasped the vines, a warm power surging from them, melting the ice and snow, dispelling the cold wind. Her vision cleared, her consciousness returning to her body with the pain—colorless, pure white, then a deep, aquamarine blue. The frost before her thinned, and with difficulty, she drew her twin swords, the heavy shadow blades slashing out, cutting through the wind in front of her!

After countless seconds, the most difficult moment finally ended. The Ice Man was pulled away by a silver tentacle, and the Stone Demon was completely severed from Tearful Tears. Nightfall fell backward into a warm embrace.

Before she closed her eyes, she saw the female knight's gentle smile. The man with silver tentacles landed beside her.

“Well done,” he said.

·

Chu Hengkong put the ice figure down and extinguished the flame at the tip of the spear.

After shattering the lotus, he landed gracefully and rushed to the group's side as quickly as possible. At his core, he was a responsible person; when free, he could fight to his heart's content, but when he had family to care for, his priority was always his loved ones. Ji Huaisu and the others' rescue plan was too risky; if they failed, he had to cover for them.

Fortunately, he was overthinking it; the girls were far more courageous than he imagined. Saving lives is always better than killing, even for assassins.

He supported Ji Huaisu with one hand; his partner's shoulder was as hard as ice. At the last moment, she took the initiative to share some of Qingye's weight, thus essentially losing her ability to move. The girl's lips were purple from the cold, but she still forced a smile: "Fan De has done a great service."

Van der lay headfirst in the mud, looking as wretched as a saltwater fish that had been ashore for three years.

"She's really out of breath... Help..."

It leaped violently, like a salted fish reborn from the ashes. The ground itself undulated like waves, and the surviving buildings trembled on the crests. The igloos protecting the entire city collapsed in the shockwave, and the shattered frozen roofs surged upwards, surging into the raging dust in the air.

Thirty seconds passed in the blink of an eye. The raging fire that had been holding back the stone demon finally burned out, and the remaining heat melted the ice into water. That much water mixed with the sand, quickly hardening into a rough and enormous body. It still had a large, hollow head, and a body covered in colorful stone scales, only a hundred or a thousand times larger than usual. It floated above the small dust island, like a colossus that had destroyed a city.

A wind blew, wild and furious—the roar of the stone demon.

"What the hell are you doing... a bunch of incompetent idiots! You can't even do something as simple as obediently dying, ruining my mood time and time again! You've ruined my good mood, even if you die a thousand times, it won't be enough to compensate for my loss!"

Trash should know its place! Go to hell right now!!!

His true nature was fully exposed. When he was corrupted and fell into the path of heresy, the once-powerful scholar of magic became this pathetic figure. He pursued freedom and celebrated life, yet the essence of his actions was nothing more than wanton indulgence. He would become enraged if things didn't go as planned, venting his anger by abusing the weak. The cultivators of Longquan Township called him a "mad demon" rather than a "stone demon" because of his inherent absurdity; his obsession with freedom only made him as dull as a bookworm, as repulsive as his ugly appearance.

"I'll turn you into stone statues...make you kill each other...no! I'll just crush you! I'll let you sink into the Sea of ​​Illusions with this garbage city, and be devoured by the fish together!!"

The gigantic stone golem raised its arms, magic and matter gathering with a roar. Dust hardened, rocks compressed, steel piled up, and in the blink of an eye, the humanoid shell vanished, leaving only a hideous, yellowish-brown sphere above the city. It was so enormous that it practically blotted out half the sky, and it fell amidst shrieks and roars, its immense mass igniting fiery streaks that scorched the heavens.

That was a true natural disaster, a giant meteorite falling to the earth! Jin Ye had completely lost interest; it wanted to smash the entire city it loathed into pieces in one fell swoop!

No matter how hard they tried to escape, it was all in vain; no matter how much they tried, they couldn't change the outcome. Now, people had forgotten how to cry and flee; their eyes, gazing at the sky, were empty of any thought.

When their homes are destroyed, where can people escape to?

After absorbing the ice, the stone demon's power increased significantly, even Fan De felt that this was going to be difficult. The duration of Wildfire wasn't enough to burn the stone demon to death; that was already their strongest card. Unable to think of a solution, it subconsciously looked at Chu Hengkong.

The assassin carried a white gun, his face showing no sign of tension.

"The girls have already put in so much effort, it's really inappropriate for me to just stand by and watch." He chuckled. "What do you mean? Are you planning to give me another thirty seconds?"

His response came from above, a wild laugh.

"—I only need one second."

·