Sun Miao's expression was... odd.
Ever since Cheng Shi had grabbed her and charged down from the highlands, she'd been studying this con artist who'd practically tattooed "caution" on his forehead for the past two days.
In her understanding, if a Chosen-level player like Lin Xi launched a surprise attack, Cheng Shi's personality dictated he'd first bury himself underground for three days of observation before deciding whether to continue the trial or flee. As for going head-to-head against a Chosen...
If he were the type to fight head-on, the trailblazer slot wouldn't have been hers this entire journey!
Even that one ti he'd threatened her — it was only once, wasn't it? Sizing up situations and being obsessively cautious weren't antonyms. They complented each other.
Yet what Sun Miao never expected was that right now, she could see rock-solid fighting intent radiating from Cheng Shi.
This Fate Weaver didn't just want to fight — he wanted to fight to his heart's content!
Why?
Did they have a grudge?
If so, he wouldn't have ignored Chun and Lin Xi's clash at the start and chosen only to flee. But if there was no grudge...
How would a simple probe provoke this kind of fury?
Sun Miao couldn't figure it out, and asking yielded nothing — because she had no concept of what it ant to fear a true god.
'I can't beat You? Then can't I at least beat Your followers?!'
That was Cheng Shi's thought process.
He rembered Oblivion's ambush on him perfectly well. Since both sides had long since passed the point of no return, then don't bla him for taking it out on Oblivion's followers.
'What — you say he's only a second-faith follower?'
'How convenient: his first faith, Decay, happens to be Fading. So as a Decay follower, shouldn't he obediently surrender — and wouldn't that count as a form of devotion?'
'But if you refuse to yield and insist on pushing forward...'
Cheng Shi smiled. The river valley was straight ahead. The aura of Oblivion still pursued from behind. He smiled wide.
'Then I'll just have to stand in for your Benefactor, take back His gift, and turn you into a pure, single-colored Oblivion follower. And once your faith stands opposed to mine...'
'Sorry — I'll have to whittle you Rotten Wood lot down on Big Cat's behalf.'
Cheng Shi sprinted at full speed. In no ti, he'd plunged into the river valley. Though both of them still had Silence's protection, the pursuer tracked their position like a seasoned hunter, following them down.
Seizing the mont as they burst into the treeline, Sun Miao pulled out her electronic beeper and typed:
"You should know how much a Mi Master influences small-scale combat.
I can help. All you need to do is share more stories about Order."
Cheng Shi chuckled, planted one foot forward, and skidded to a halt. Brow raised, he turned to Sun Miao with an amused look.
"I can tell you about Him. But the condition is...
Stand still. And don't ruin my fun."
A snap of fingers — and Cheng Shi vanished from the spot.
"!!!"
By the ti Sun Miao's shrinking pupils caught his silhouette again, this Fate Weaver — his presence radically transford — had appeared on the path they'd co from, and punched the shadow-disguised pursuer clean off their feet.
Then she watched Cheng Shi vanish again, instantly materializing in the trajectory of the airborne figure. The sa scene played out a second ti — he launched the shadow-wrapped assailant flying once more.
The sight left Sun Miao stunned.
A peak warrior matching Cheng Shi's speed and power wouldn't be unusual. The difficult part was the timing — striking precisely at the mont when the opponent's chained dashes left a gap, decisively breaking their teleport and simultaneously connecting, thereby seizing montum.
Sun Miao could tell: Cheng Shi's ability to exploit timing was on par with a Pointer Knight's. And he wasn't even a warrior.
Who could've guessed that the player who'd sent Lin Xi flying was rely a priest fused with Deceit and Fate?
So who was the real Clown here?
Which Clown wielded this kind of terrifying power?
What heaven-defying combat items did this Fate Weaver have?
While her mind raced, Cheng Shi had already stopped attacking.
Not because he didn't want to press the advantage — but because after landing two punches, he'd suddenly realized he might have... hit the wrong person.
Cheng Shi stood at the treeline, expression blank with disbelief. He stopped cold, brow furrowed, and addressed the shadow-wrapped figure in a frigid voice.
"Give
an explanation. Tell
why your pursuit target isn't Lin Xi — but .
If I recall correctly, we've never crossed paths."
"!?"
Who?
Chun?
Sun Miao was startled too. She'd clearly felt the pure, unmistakable aura of Oblivion from the pursuer. So why was Cheng Shi calling her Chun?
Had she fused Oblivion too?
That was Cheng Shi's thought as well. He'd originally considered this assassin — who opposed Lin Xi — as a potential ally. But now, the situation was far from clear.
As both of them hung in uncertainty, the shadow shattered under the moonlight, revealing the figure hiding within. It was indeed the forr top of the Prosperity Ladder — "Only Carving Rotten Wood." Chun.
The mont Chun appeared, the bloody blotches on her scalp made Cheng Shi frown deeply. But this ti — perhaps because she'd just been in combat — he could clearly see countless withered thorns shedding from her head. Given her status as a Decay oathbreaker and her Crown of Thorns class...
It clicked. So that was Decay's curse on her.
He'd made it so that a Crown of Thorns could never again sustain Prosperity's glorious crown. While other assassins wore their thorny crowns to amplify every stat, Chun's thorns could only last until a combat pause.
The curse turned the assassin's already-pronounced weakness — lack of sustained combat — into a crippling flaw. This Crown of Thorns had probably lost the ability to fight prolonged battles forever.
And re-forming a Crown of Thorns drained enormous ntal energy. During the reformation, an assassin stripped of Prosperity's protection beca even more fragile. All told, she essentially bore a double curse.
But Chun seed long past caring about externals. She stared straight at Cheng Shi, wiped blood from the corner of her mouth, and spoke with blunt directness.
"Cheng Shi. I know you."
'Know ?'
'Of course you know . You wouldn't be chasing
this hard otherwise.'
Cheng Shi blinked, then laughed in exasperation.
It seed this Prosperity follower hadn't co to attack him at all. She was more like...
"Bold — using that kind of approach to probe my stance. Aren't you afraid I'd team up with soone else and kill you?"
"You wouldn't. Because you know Hong Lin."
"?" Cheng Shi paused. "What does knowing her have to do with you?"
"She said you're a good person."
"If you know I'm a good person, what's there to probe?" Cheng Shi waved his hand irritably. "And besides — leaving aside whether or not I'm actually a good person — Hong Lin never told
you're a good person. Weren't you worried I'd misjudge you?"
Chun pressed her lips together. Silence. After a few seconds:
"I had to confirm you were you."
"...?"
'Girl, if you're going to talk like this, I physically cannot file you under "adult" when critiquing you.'
'Listen to what you're saying!'
Cheng Shi was so exasperated he couldn't even laugh anymore. He pursed his lips. "So — have you confird?"
"Confird. You have a grudge against Lin Xi. You're a great person."
"..."
'Brilliant. Just brilliant!'
Cheng Shi found himself involuntarily applauding. He felt his brain shriveling. He also felt fairly certain that inside this female player — who stood as tall as he did — was not an adult but a child. A teenager at most.
No, teenager was generous. Seven or eight sounded about right.
'Who would've thought — Decay didn't just rot your talent. He rotted your age too...'
'Judging soone's character based on their relationship with Lin Xi — the last ti Cheng Shi had played that ga, he'd been trash-talking Rong Mama with kids at the orphanage. And that was when he was... seven? Eight?'
...
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