Yuan hesitated in his attempt to slip away, turning back to gaze at the sword and halberd pointing at him, he touched his head and replied with a smile, "No, of course not. I truly respect both of your combat capabilities. Honestly speaking, if it weren't for His Highness Xiang Ling refusing to accept my proposal, you would have been the best partners for cooperation...though it seems the current situation may have nothing to do with that anymore."

"But I really don't want to be enemies with both of you if it's not necessary."

Yuan sighed deeply, placed his right hand on his chest, and bowed politely, "So, I have prepared quite formidable opponents for both of you."

Just as he finished speaking, the profound night sky of The Realm suddenly burst with brilliance, a golden figure with wings made of intense light soaring into view, golden dual swords materializing in its hands as it formed a halo with radiant rays.

"Is that guy?"

"Little Fei Zi, no, I should say ancient holy spirit, right?"

Tiran swallowed nervously, showing a slightly pained expression. Dealing with both Xingjian and Yuan alone might have been doable with Xiang Ling's overpowered divine attributes, but adding an ancient holy spirit who had taken over the body of the blazing Angel changed the situation completely.

Nonetheless, Aya was right in front of them; there was no way to back down at this point.

"So, I leave this to Master Xingjian and the Holy Spirit Crown. Farewell~"

Yuan waved his hand lightly, activated some kind of magical object, and vanished from Xingjian's Realm of Stars as suddenly as he had appeared.

In the peaceful starry sky, only the four of them remained facing each other. Xingjian stood somewhat numbly in place, while the soul controlled by the original sin book, the holy spirit, fluttered behind Xingjian in mid-air, not showing any strong intention for battle.

"General Ling, do you have a plan?" Tiran sighed. In terms of strength, she was currently the weakest among them. While a Ninth Rank Knight enhanced temporarily to Holy Rank through concentration was considered top-tier worldwide, she still faced monstrous beings.

Angel was one thing; Holy Rank against Holy Rank, Xiang Ling wouldn't necessarily lose out. But with Xingjian fighting on home ground and wielding The Realm, where he controlled all the laws within, they were at a complete disadvantage.

Probably for this reason, both Xingjian and the holy spirit hadn't initiated any attacks, likely due to their overwhelming advantage and lack of deep animosity towards them, more like just obstructing.

But for the two here—especially for Tiran—it was necessary to pass through this point. After all, that guy planned to become a god. Who knew what price the body serving as the vessel for a new god would pay.

"I didn't come all this way to save you just to watch you die..."

Xiang Ling's eyes flickered, then after a moment of silence, he murmured softly, "There is one way."

"Oh? Really?"

Without wasting words, Xiang Ling grasped the handle of the long halberd, pointing the spearhead down against the ground.

Almost simultaneously, the holy spirit and Xingjian moved almost in sync with Xiang Ling. They could have ignored it if it had been an ordinary action, but in that instant, there was a clear surge of rule-level fluctuations emanating from Xiang Ling.

But it was already a step too late. The earlier silence had allowed her to make preparations in secret, needing only this moment of release. As the halberd touched the ground, an invisible ripple rapidly spread out, as if a thin film had been placed over the surrounding space. As the ripple grazed their bodies, both Xingjian and the holy spirit concurrently sensed something unusual.

"Rules of Heaven and Earth...?"

Even Xingjian, who was at the home ground of The Realm in the starry sky, felt like a fish out of water at this moment.

【Overlord's Tale: Burning Bridges】

Although the power was close to zero, this ability related to the rules was probably the most unreasonable skill passed down by the Western Chu Overlord.

The ability to burn the user's perception of the rules generated a hazy effect, blocking all users of the rules within a certain range from perceiving the laws of the world.

The principle behind it was somewhat similar to the Silence of the Realm used by Magic Assassins, but this one targeted the world itself rather than just the Magic elements. In other words, regardless of how legendary a Holy Rank or mythical hero was within the range, they all returned to the level of "ordinary people" here.

"Leave dealing with Xingjian to you, move fast, act quickly, and Burning Bridges won't hold out for long."

Without further ado, Xiang Ling dropped a sentence, wielded the long spear again, and threw it towards the Saint Spirit. Surging spiritual power pushed her body forward like a cannonball.

Although surprised by the disruption of her perception of the rules, the Saint Spirit, as a man who once faced off against the ancient Sword Demon, wasn't one to lose his composure easily. Even below the Holy Rank, the fiery Angel possessed various combat methods. When Angel's Arsenal was unleashed, a dozen or so shining golden weapons with divine attributes shot towards Xiang Ling.

The long spear was deflected by a sword, while the rest aimed at Xiang Ling.

At this moment, General Ling fully demonstrated what it meant to be a real man. Incoming weapons were akin to shooting stars, yet in mid-air, Xiang Ling performed a side kick and subtly shifted her position to dodge the first weapon. With a swift motion, she extended her hand to protect her hand with spiritual power, grabbed the handle of the spear that came her way, and then knocked down the second weapon with a backhand swing.

After completing such actions in the air where there was no fixed point of support, it was clear that further approach wasn't feasible. However, despite being shaken off the ground by the impact, Xiang Ling landed lightly and continued to fend off the weapons with the spear she had seized.

"Why did you leave the more formidable opponent for me when you're fighting so lively...?" Tiran watched Xiang Ling fight with gusto, but it seemed that Xingjian's battles mostly relied on breaking through the rules and causality. Now that he had lost the rules, it might not be much harder to deal with a small Angel.

But being able to control The Realm on paper, should I be the one to deal with it?

However, at that moment, Tiran had no choice but to act, whether she could beat the opponent or not.

"I won't hold back then!"

The spatial gem on her storage wristband gleamed, and Tiran wielded the dual swords in her hands, entering the dual-blade mode, showering Frost Chi recklessly. With determined steps, she charged forward, releasing countless ice spikes around her body while advancing towards Xingjian.

Judging by Xingjian's attire and professional positioning, he didn't seem like the melee type, which made close combat advantageous.

With this in mind, Tiran immediately released cold energy to freeze Xingjian's feet, simultaneously forming ice crystal wings on her back to accelerate, aiming to get close and then deliver a wave of Starburst Healing Slashes.

However, just after charging ten meters, the ground beneath her feet started glowing red, and with one step, she could feel the heat contained within.

"Whoa!"

Tiran reacted swiftly, stepping on and creating an ice layer to counter the underground fire before jumping. The fire was delayed due to the ice, and it erupted a moment later as a wall of fire behind Tiran when she landed safely.

"Cascade of the Firmament!"

Before Tiran could catch his breath, an even more majestic gray waterfall surged down from above, resembling the Milky Way falling from the sky as described by Li Bai, or like a divine dragon descending upon the world.

"Tsk, not even giving me a chance to catch my breath!"

Switching his sword to a reverse grip with his left hand, Tiran unleashed two swift strikes, forming a cross-shaped sword light that pierced through the waterfall. The rushing water was torn apart by the sword energy, frozen in the cold air, and eventually turned into scattered ice crystals, resembling thick snow on the ground.

Seems like it could work. Such a thought flashed through Tiran's mind. With The Realm of Starry Sky temporarily sealed, Xingjian's two spells seemed to have a power level akin to that of a grand Magic master, something easily handled by Tiran.

Despite not causing any substantial damage, Xingjian sighed inwardly. The two individuals had made a correct judgment in such a short time. Besides the laws related to causality and stars, Xingjian had hardly delved into other aspects of magic. After all, not everyone was adept at studying arcane arts. Initially, he had merely picked up a couple of elemental spells on a whim.

"If that's all you've got, I'm sorry, Lord Xingjian!"

Brandishing his dual swords, Tiran swiftly pressed the attack. Although Xingjian tried to stall with fire walls and torrents, the intensity of Tiran's magic, combined with her agile swordplay, demolished his defenses effortlessly.

The distance between them closed rapidly, and soon Tiran was within striking range of Xingjian.

"A hit!"

Leaning down, Tiran swung the sword in her right hand, envisioning the reinforced blade cutting through Xingjian's flowing black robe effortlessly.

However, the sword stopped short, unable to strike again.

"Hey, is this a setup?!"

What did she see? The princess was dumbfounded? Wait, coach, this isn't in the script!

Her decisive strike was thwarted when Xingjian unexpectedly used his knee and elbow to halt the sword's movement.

Contrary to his typical image as a fragile wizard, Xingjian, in a stance reminiscent of a certain school teacher, not only blocked Tiran's attack but also restricted her movements skillfully.

Unexpectedly, Tiran, astonished by Xingjian's martial skills, hesitated for a moment too long to react. "Oh no!"

[Tiger Style: Collapse Mode]

As if a fierce tiger roared, Xingjian seized the opportunity and threw a powerful punch, releasing a deafening sound as the airflow rushed out. Despite Tiran retracting her left-hand sword to block, the punch shattered the sword, and the shockwave sent Tiran flying.

"Cough! Aren't you supposed to be a mage?!"

Tiran, though not severely injured, quickly circulated Chi within her to heal the minor injuries and pain caused by the impact, finding it somewhat hard to accept psychologically.

(Now I understand a bit of what His Highness felt back then...)

"Sorry, Princess Tiran. I sneaked in the time to learn a few sets of boxing while studying under my teacher, something I can still recall, from before I became Xingjian."

Xingjian stood nonchalantly, tearing open the wide hem, cuffs, and pant legs of his black robe to facilitate movement, adjusting his breathing before assuming a composed and profound stance akin to that of a martial arts master.

"Tsk, isn't it just a breathing exercise? Seems like something anyone can do." Tiran clicked his tongue and started adjusting his own breathing as well.