"Primordial Heavenly Sovereign?" Li Xianzong paused, instantly recognizing the young man leading the Orderly faction—exactly the target he had been hunting. On the other side, Zhang Yuanqing exclaimed, "Li Xianzong?!" It was Li Xianzong! They'd matched up in the same instance? What a coincidence. "Primordial Heavenly Sovereign..." the thin middle-aged man suddenly raised his voice, "the one from Songhai Branch? The one with a fifth-place bounty on the underground black market?" The other three companions looked visibly surprised. "Yes, that's him!" Li Xianzong smiled. "Interesting—you were also in Yin-Yang Town. I'd been planning to exit this instance and kill you to claim the reward. Now, it's all settled." "Oh right—I heard that this guy nearly got killed by Li Xianzong recently. What a coincidence indeed." The thin man chuckled. "A true case of fate bringing the rivals together?" The man in a suit turned his eyes, deliberately speaking loudly: "Can this kid even be considered a rival to Li Xianzong? It takes a match of equal strength—this boy can only kneel before Li Xianzong, begging for mercy. The younger members of the Order side? You're all done." The thin, wiry man instantly grasped his companion's intent—whether it was a minor scuffle or a full-scale battle, psychological warfare was paramount. As he shouted Li Xianzong's name, he added loudly: "The Five Elements Alliance is truly on the decline! The rookies they so highly regard are nothing more than your quarry. Young man, does seeing Li Xianzong make you tremble? Will you kneel and call him 'Grandpa'? Then we'll leave you with a full body to remember." The evil professionals chuckled maliciously. Li Xianzong... the faces of the Order side looked increasingly strained. Though they knew this was a deliberate effort by the enemy to undermine their morale, facing such formidable opponents, it was impossible to remain unshaken. To have matched with Li Xianzong—this man is ranked among the top threats on the official wanted list, someone even Yuan Shizhen himself couldn't easily handle… The Queen's expression subtly changed, instinctively turning to glance at her captain beside her. Back when the terrifying attack Li Xianzong launched in Songhai, nearly claiming Yuan Shizhen's life, had been widely reported, she had personally participated in the discussions. Everyone had unanimously agreed that Yuan Shizhen was significantly outmatched by Li Xianzong. Yet, now, even he couldn't escape this "fate"—no, not only him; I am in danger as well. At that moment, the mage standing at the center of both parties glanced around, coldly remarked, "Finally, the court's henchmen have found their way here." Without waiting for any response, having firmly believed both sides to be court loyalists, he lifted his head and expelled a steady stream of emerald gas that swiftly spread like thick smoke. The wind carried the gas rushing outward toward both flanks. "Retreat!" the thin middle-aged man roared, opening his inventory, and pulling out a white jade toad, which he raised high. The emerald gas surged into the toad's mouth, and within moments, the white jade toad turned a deep green. On the other side, the queen stepped in front of her allies, raising her palms in a supporting gesture; with a sound of rushing water, the river transformed into a furious dragon, twisting and soaring, swallowing the misty emerald gas whole. The water dragon's hue instantly lightened to a pale green. "Boom! Boom! Boom!" Gunfire erupted from afar, as the orderly forces launched a surprise attack on the chaotic side precisely when the emerald mist began to dissipate. The wanderer of the malevolent forces, keeping a sharp watch on all sides and listening attentively to every direction, remained calm and composed, responding with either rolls, tilts, or sidesteps. As the thin, wiry man fell, a deep thud resonated from the earth wall behind him, leaving a pronounced crater and releasing a plume of smoke. "Hey," he said, a smirk playing at the corner of his mouth, "you thought you could sneak an attack on me from this distance?" Just as his scornful expression formed, another gunshot rang out—but this time, it struck not him, but the deep green toad that had tumbled to the side. The jade toad instantly shattered, its fragments scattering, and the vibrant green gas sealed within burst forth, swiftly enveloping the area. The one who had fired was not Guan Ya, but Li Chunfeng; his shots had been a diversion, meant to shield Guan Ya's assault. Upon seeing this, the Queen immediately abandoned her intention to disperse the water dragon, shifting her palms from supporting to pushing, allowing the dragon to transform into a rain curtain that fell upon the evil forces now shrouded in toxic gas. At that moment, the black-robed mage reached into the satchel at his waist and pulled out a staff three feet long. Its shaft was as black as ink, with a black jade stone the size of an egg set at its top. He raised the staff high and issued a low, solemn proclamation: "Everyone must die!" The black jade stone at the tip of the staff suddenly glowed, emitting a deep, subtle light. A brilliant golden light erupted, dispelling the curse and allowing Zhang Yuanqing to rise from his half-kneeling position. He then launched his Fumagong Staff and charged toward the wizard. The golden-streaked Fumagong Staff shot forward, where the wizard waved his staff, and with a sharp "clink," it was deflected. The dim glow from the black gem instantly faded, and the curse vanished—activating the Fumagong Staff's anti-magic function. Zhang Yuanqing leaped forward, catching the spinning staff as it flew toward the distance. Guan Ya leaned back against the earthen wall, settling into a seated position, raised her long gun barrel, and aimed steadily at the wizard, pulling the trigger. She decisively abandoned the plan to single out the evil class, recognizing the wizard's overwhelming strength—just one misstep could result in total annihilation—and prioritized the decisive engagement. "Bang!" The bullet struck the wizard's head, yet only passed through a shadow. The wizard appeared several meters away, his robe now torn at unknown times, standing two meters tall, his body clad in rigid armor with muscular, yet not thick, legs resembling the hind legs of a locust. His face had grown grotesque and insect-like, with a formidable mouth and two antennae projecting from his forehead. Guan Ya pulled the trigger, ejected the cartridge, and fired again. The bullet struck the lingering shadow, and the wizard materialized on the opposite side of the square, his locust-like legs and antennae granting him an astonishing level of agility and speed. Finally, the wizard turned to notice her, his dark, stone-like eyes fixed upon her. Guan Ya felt a weight settle in her chest; at that moment, she saw Zhang Yuanqing charging toward him without hesitation, rushing forward to protect her. The wizard shifted his gaze, descending toward Zhang Yuanqing, only for the enemy to suddenly vanish. The antennae on the wizard's forehead twitched slightly—perhaps sensing the airflow or emitting a signal—and then he bent his knees, delivering a sharp, powerful leg swing to the right. Crack! A figure was plucked out—Zhang Yuancheng, arms crossed over his chest. He was thrown high into the air, rolled, and landed with a gush of crimson at his throat. The mage sank both knees, ready to pursue, then suddenly lowered his head, his cold gaze fixed on his lower leg, where a deep gash ran, oozing a thick, vibrant green sap. Raising his head again, he pointed his staff at Zhang Yuancheng, the black gem within glowing darkly. Zhang Yuancheng felt a sharp pain in his leg—his flesh split silently, the wound spreading rapidly. Without hesitation, he drove his伏魔杵 firmly into his thigh. A golden light enveloped him, instantly halting the spreading of the torn flesh. "Be careful—he can use his own injuries as a conduit to unleash a curse," Zhang Yuancheng said, just as in his vision, the transformed mage trailed behind him, leaving a series of fading silhouettes until he reached Zhang Yuancheng's side. In that instant, his vision reached its peak, revealing the mage's movements clearly. Without thinking, he rolled to the right. Thud! The staff struck the ground with force, shattering As the monk raised his staff, a fire-deity army unit from afar stepped back, extending an arm to hurl a fire ball compressed to its utmost limit. "Boom!" The fire ball exploded upon impact, creating a dramatic crater, while the monk's form vanished into the shockwave. Zhang Yuanqing looked up and shouted, "He's here!" The fire-deity troops retreated, continuously launching fire balls that covered the space ahead. Yet the monk's figure darted back and forth, using his speed to evade one fire ball after another, closing in on the enemy ranks and delivering a powerful blow to the broad-shouldered warrior's abdomen. The fire-deity troops instantly bent and their eyes lost focus. A fierce wave of flames engulfed them, while at a distance of about fifteen meters behind the monk, a small flame suddenly expanded, transforming into a fire priest clutching his abdomen and kneeling, gasping for breath. In just two rounds, two key defenders of the orderly faction found themselves in peril. "The main boss is tough. Should we retreat first?" The evil faction, having already escaped the gas cloud, could only silently marvel at this scene. "No," the young man with a missing ear explained, "now that the lawful faction is joining us, we have a chance to defeat him. Once the wizards eliminate these younglings, we'll likely be finished ourselves." "The spirit worms fused into the wizard's body are of an exceptionally high rank—endowed with perception, agility, strength, and self-healing capabilities. It's hard to imagine how he cultivated such refined worms." "As for close combat, none of your mesmerizing spirits can match him." Li Xianzong nodded slowly, his expression grave. "The imperial enforcers—their day of reckoning has arrived today." The wizard's fierce mouth opened and closed, spewing forth human words. Suddenly, a crimson glow surged within his eyes, and a mass of dark energy enveloped his head. With growing agony, he clutched his head, emitting low, wild roars as his sense of reason rapidly faded. Li Chunfeng at Xiangzi Kou turned his head to look at his companion, observing the slender man eating lotus roots. In his hands he held a straw figure, whose features and facial expressions were clearly those of a mage transformed into an insect. Opportunity!