Qin Xin got hit.
Countless Oblivion blades pierced his chest, shattered his armor, and annihilated his organs. The warrior — face frozen in shock — was cut down on the spot before he could dodge.
But neither Cheng Shi, who had a full-field view from within the smoke, nor Wu Cun, riding the Oblivion currents on the outskirts, dared relax for an instant. They both knew: mory believers possessed a technique called "Reflection." Anyone with the right talent or tool could leave behind a past image of themselves to fool the enemy — buying ti to break free, reverse the offensive, and strike when least expected.
Wu Cun had never believed Qin Xin would go down that easily. She kept shifting positions, vigilant on all sides — especially now, concealed within the smoke, where her movents were even harder to track.
As for Cheng Shi...
He was safe. Fused with the smoke, he'd beco virtually untargetable — no need to worry about ambush. And he'd already located Qin Xin. Except Qin Xin's expression right now... looked sowhat savage.
In a smoke-shrouded corner, the Torchbearer knelt halfway, sword arm raised overhead, his entire body trembling. The next instant, he drove his blade into his own wrist, forcing it through the gap in his gauntlet with a vicious stab.
Thin threads of blood seeped from between the armored plates. Monts later, Qin Xin's body jolted — jolted awake by the pain for one lucid instant. He glared around with blood-red eyes, scanning for Cheng Shi. When nothing registered through his senses, his face turned ashen as he snarled:
"Despicable! Cheng Shi — is this how you fight?!
Using Corruption's desires to tear apart another person's will?"
He stabbed himself again. Pain seed the only thing that could buy him a mont of clarity.
Qin Xin backed away while mutilating himself, trying to leave the fog's area of effect. But the smoke was expanding too fast, as if drawn along invisible currents, silently engulfing the entire residential area.
Cheng Shi was sowhat puzzled himself. This Smog Bomb was a settlent reward from a certain trial he preferred not to think about. He'd figured an A-rank item couldn't be that strange — at worst the smoke cloud would be bigger. And with his talent for fishing in troubled waters, the bigger the cloud, the bigger his advantage. That was why he'd chosen this particular bomb over so ordinary smoke that dispersed at the slightest wind.
What he hadn't anticipated was that this Corruption-branded Smog Bomb actually packed a hidden punch. The smoke was clearly laced with so kind of desire. As for what kind...
"?"
One look at Wu Cun — who'd just tumbled out of her Oblivion shroud — told the entire story. The previously berserk Extinguisher was flushed from head to toe, both hands clutching at her own body so hard the veins stood out. She was clearly straining to resist sothing, but her glazed eyes and uncontainable panting betrayed the nature of the desire that had taken hold.
Carnal pleasure. The desire infused in this Smog Bomb was... carnal pleasure.
"..."
'Oh no. This is the episode where my reputation gets destroyed!'
The instant he saw Wu Cun's state, Cheng Shi knew his cover was blown. There was no way the Oblivion believer would allow the smoke affecting her to persist.
Sure enough — the very next second, Wu Cun annihilated every trace of smoke around her. Cheng Shi was forced to materialize, but thanks to his high-speed movent within the cloud and its vast range, he'd already slipped well away from the combat center, ducking behind a mud-brick house.
And behind that house, a bewildered little boy stood clutching a handful of tiny green ball-flowers, staring at him in terror.
Cheng Shi raised an eyebrow, imdiately fished out a stone, and pressed it into the boy's hand. Then he "fiercely" ordered: "Hit
with it!"
The boy was stunned. He dropped the flowers and the stone and bolted. But the next instant, the living terror grabbed him by the scruff and hauled him back. "Hit
with it, or I'll hit you!"
The boy burst into tears. He snatched up the stone, squeezed his eyes shut, and swung blindly — but the swing was so close-range that Cheng Shi had to extend his own arm just to intercept the "attack."
Yes — attack!
The distinction mattered, because Faded Majesty required a blasphemous attack from the Decay faith to activate!
Cheng Shi had no idea which god this child followed. He'd simply had a flash of inspiration — would a raw act of blasphemy alone trigger the "Faded" authority? After all, forcing a visibly healthy child to reluctantly wield a Decay artifact — wasn't that sacrilege against Decay?
And the Tomb End Stone embodied the purest Decay. Soone using a Decay stone to attack him — how did that not count as an attack rooted in the Decay faith?
It was a spur-of-the-mont shot in the dark. And it worked!
Cheng Shi hadn't expected the "Faded" authority to be so lenient with him. The instant his arm took the blow, the entire limb was blessed by Decay once more. Flesh and skin rotted away, exposed bone turned to deadwood, tangled veins faded into withered vines. A healthy arm beca a Decayed claw in the blink of an eye — and boundless power surged upward through the limb, pumped through his bloodstream into every extremity.
The clown rose. But it still wasn't enough. A priest was a priest. No matter how strong, he couldn't outmatch a "warrior" with absolute agility.
But the clown didn't plan to remain a clown!
This was a rare opportunity — the perfect mont to test the founding Torchbearer. Cheng Shi knew he might never again find such a guilt-free chance to go head-to-head with a Torchbearer. He wanted no regrets. So he touched his shadow once more, switching faiths — and this ti, he donned the warrior mask he'd personally claid.
When a die showing one pip materialized at the Hero of Today's feet, the two "warriors" collided with a thunderous boom!
Qin Xin wasn't about to give Cheng Shi any breathing room. From the mont the Corruption smoke had polluted him, real fury had flared in his heart.
Carrying the fire was arduous. The path was never easy. Staying true to oneself was already the hardest challenge. If Corruption tainted them further, planting ugly habits — he couldn't imagine whether the Torchbearers could keep going.
So when he discovered his "friend" using Corruption items without the slightest hesitation, Qin Xin snapped.
He needed to beat so sense into this enigmatic Fate Weaver. And as it happened, the Fate Weaver also wanted to expose this Mirror Person.
And so — at the mont Destiny was fixed — two "warriors" collided exactly as expected.
BOOM—
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