Moon Owl knelt on the ground, sensing the fluctuations in the surrounding space.

Everyone in the Twelfth District branch had completed their retreat. Her primary objective had also been achieved.

It was a shame that she lacked the strength to deal with two Chapter Three-level opponents. She hadn’t managed to eliminate either of them, which was somewhat regrettable.

Behind her, she tore open a spatial rift. With a single thought, she could escape this battlefield.

Aphrodite and the Zone Fifteen Guardian couldn’t hold back Moon Owl, who possessed spatial Mana.

“She’s trying to escape.”

The Zone Fifteen Guardian gritted his teeth. Moon Owl was as troublesome as a rat.

His attacks could hit her, but most of the time, he was only cutting through empty air. Unless he used that power, he couldn’t keep Moon Owl here.

“We can’t let her get away. She’s too troublesome.”

The Key had most likely fallen into the hands of the Twelfth District. The spatial magic of the woman before them was exceptionally irritating.

If they allowed Moon Owl to escape, they would be forced entirely onto the defensive.

If she wanted to, she could hide in the spatial realm for the rest of her life. And if her understanding of space was deep enough to create an isolated space for storing the Key, they would never find it.

Aphrodite understood this perfectly. She unleashed all her Mana and began rapidly forging magic.

To use space against space. To defeat magic with magic.

The Zone Fifteen Guardian also stopped holding back. The invisible wind transformed into black Blades, while a storm of dark wind enveloped Moon Owl’s figure and blocked her path.

Seeing this, Moon Owl could only close the spatial rift behind her. She leaped toward the space beneath her feet.

But at that moment, the surrounding space twisted.

Countless chains surged from the darkness. Aphrodite had forged them from afar, and they blocked Moon Owl’s escape.

But this still couldn’t stop her.

Moon Owl was fully capable of opening another spatial passage inside the current one. It would only cost her a little more effort.

The truly troublesome one was the Zone Fifteen Guardian behind her. After releasing his restrictions, he was even faster than Moon Owl could open space.

If Moon Owl wanted to tear open space within the spatial realm, her movements would inevitably pause for a moment.

Either one of them alone couldn’t stop Moon Owl.

But the two of them together were extremely difficult to deal with.

With the power of a god’s blessing, the Zone Fifteen Guardian was slightly faster than her. Aphrodite, possessing the power of creation, could obstruct her movements.

To escape, Moon Owl had to seize an opening that neither of them could react to in time.

Unfortunately, such an opening was not easy to find.

Still, Aphrodite didn’t look like she was having an easy time either. Forging space from a distance had to create tremendous resistance.

The power of a god was both a blessing and a burden to her.

As long as Moon Owl endured this period, she could leave this troublesome place.

“Leave? You’re dreaming.”

A voice came from far away and rapidly drew near.

Moon Owl suddenly turned her head. Two figures approached at astonishing speed.

One wore a black robe and looked full of energy. She should be the extra Seeker Pillar mentioned by Illusory Glass.

The other was covered in wounds. The black robe on her body had been shattered by thunder.

A fierce battle must have taken place.

Were those traces of lightning left by Qiu Sheng?

No. It didn’t look like it.

Qiu Sheng’s lightning wasn’t that powerful. It couldn’t have injured her to this extent.

This wasn’t something a Cantata Two could accomplish.

There was only one possibility: her master—the “guest” who had come to the Twelfth District several months ago and then disappeared for months.

After the disaster in the Twelfth District, people from the Eleventh District had sought out Moon Owl. That was how she learned about this matter.

At the time, Moon Owl had asked Qiu Sheng why her master had come to the Twelfth District. Qiu Sheng hadn’t hidden anything. She had told the Twelfth District branch everything in detail.

Now that Qiu Sheng’s master had returned, the Abyssal Rift had probably opened again.

And her master had successfully advanced to Chapter Three?

If that was true, it was fairly good news…

But there was also terrible news.

Moon Owl couldn’t escape.

She stood within the twisted space, her body tense. She understood that she was facing an unprecedented crisis.

Four Chapter Three-level powerhouses had gathered here.

It was almost impossible for her to imagine such a situation.

With her original strength, facing two Chapter Three opponents was already extremely difficult. Now, two equally powerful existences had joined the battle.

Even so, Moon Owl had no intention of giving up.

She took a deep breath and felt the Mana surging through her body. Then, she prepared to make one final, desperate stand.

She spread her hands. Two daggers appeared in her palms.

At that moment, Aphrodite attacked again.

The chains she had forged from afar struck like black venomous snakes, lunging fiercely toward Moon Owl.

Moon Owl flashed aside and dodged the chains. At the same time, the dagger in her hand carved a silver arc through the air and shot toward Aphrodite.

However, her attack failed.

Aphrodite seemed to have predicted it long ago. She dodged Moon Owl’s attack with ease.

At that moment, the Zone Fifteen Guardian’s attack arrived as well.

His figure moved like a ghost, appearing beside Moon Owl in an instant. The black Blade in his hand came crashing down.

Moon Owl shattered the surrounding space.

She had tried this several times during the earlier battle. Now, this might be her final attempt.

She planned to banish both the Zone Fifteen Guardian and Aphrodite together.

But she failed.

The spatial rift had barely begun to form when someone forcibly reconnected it with Mana.

Who possessed such terrifying strength?

Moon Owl’s gaze landed on the extra Pillar of the Seeker.

There was no need to guess anymore.

Moon Owl stood at the center of the four people. Four heavy pressures descended upon her.

The moment she moved a finger, those four Chapter Three powerhouses would attack.

“This is really… bad.”

Illusory Glass also sensed that something was wrong.

They had retreated for so long. By all rights, Moon Owl should have already returned.

No matter how powerful those people were, they shouldn’t have been able to stop Moon Owl’s spatial magic.

So what exactly was happening now?

“Could something have happened to Qiu Sheng? Did Moon Owl go out to support her?”

The moment Illusory Glass finished speaking, a phantom of lightning tore through the dark spatial passage.

It transformed into a human figure and gently landed before Illusory Glass.

Even though she was underground, in a relatively safe location, Illusory Glass didn’t lower her guard.

She raised her hand. If the figure before her made any suspicious move, she would immediately cast time magic.

“Who are you…?”

Thunder Slash looked at Illusory Glass. A trace of approval appeared in her eyes, and she nodded slightly.

Then, she waved toward the darkness.

Several familiar auras came rushing over.

A sphere formed from invisible Mana carried Qiu Sheng and the others over.

Sure enough, after Thunder Slash snapped her fingers, the invisible sphere instantly dispersed. The people inside lost their support and fell to the ground one after another.

“Master, could you be a little gentler?”

Qiu Sheng had naturally ended up buried beneath everyone else.

Hearing Qiu Sheng’s voice, Illusory Glass’s brows relaxed slightly.

Since this was Qiu Sheng’s master, they should be on the same side. Since they were allies, there was no need to remain so tense.

“Hello, Ms. Thunder Slash. My name is Illusory Glass.”

Qianchun silently crawled out of the pile of people.

She saw Blade busy in the corner. Earlier, Blade had sent Kapus and the others to wipe out the mercenaries.

Illusory Glass and the Chen Xiaoyin who had joined them had dealt with the Cantata Two who controlled mercury.

With the smoke bombs Blade had prepared and Illusory Glass’s time magic, they had successfully shaken off the Seeker.

For the moment, they were safe.

The underground shelter had three levels in total.

When constructing it, Blade had borrowed the layout of Aklatia’s base and built a brand-new refuge from the ground up.

The refuge was vast and sturdy.

Earlier, she had ground all the Obsidian Stone fragments from Jiuqiong University into powder and used them in the construction.

“Do you know what happened outside? Moon Owl… Is she all right?”

Thunder Slash shook her head.

Following Qianchun’s guidance, she had fled here. She had only just returned and had no idea what had happened in the Twelfth District.

“Welcome back, Thunder Slash.”

After Qianchun finished speaking with Blade, Blade walked over.

She extended her hand, and Thunder Slash extended hers as well. Their hands clasped tightly.

Then Blade pulled Thunder Slash away and began explaining the situation to her.

But Illusory Glass’s brows never fully relaxed.

Since Moon Owl hadn’t gone to support them, and Thunder Slash had escaped back here, where would the remaining Chapter Three opponents go?

Who would they look for?

Moon Owl!

That meant Moon Owl was currently facing a combined assault from four people?!

Illusory Glass tightly clenched the Key in her palm.

Compared with Moon Owl, she believed Moon Owl’s life was more important.

The Key… was only a Key.

Illusory Glass planned to pass through the passage and find Moon Owl. At worst, she could perform another time reversal.

“What are you planning to do?”

Dawnlight was treating Lu Jin and Lu Shi. She raised a hand and stopped Illusory Glass.

Ever since Illusory Glass had arrived, she seemed somewhat distracted. Anyone could tell that Illusory Glass wanted to help Moon Owl.

“What can you do? There are four Chapter Three opponents!”

Chen Xiaoyin also turned to look at her.

In her eyes, Illusory Glass was only an extremely powerful eleven-year-old girl.

If anyone was going to take the risk, it should be them—not Illusory Glass carrying the entire burden alone.

“I don’t oppose her going.”

“If Moon Owl dies, none of the spatial passages will remain usable. Without them, we can only fight to the death.”

“We’ll still die, but if you want to go, you’ll need companions.”

“In theory, killing even the weakest Chapter Three Monster requires at least three Chapter Twos.”

“If you want to go, find five Chapter Twos… No, six of them. Take them with you.”

Illusory Glass agreed with Zhao Qingsnow.

Working together would be safer. They only needed to ensure Moon Owl survived, then retreat intact.

“I have no objections. I can set out at any time.”

Thunder Slash hadn’t chosen to leave.

She was fiercely protective of her disciple. Those people had injured Qiu Sheng, after all.

“I can go too.”

Chen Xiaoyin raised her hand.

Zhao Qingsnow and the Old Woman followed immediately afterward.

Lu Jin and Lu Shi wanted to go as well, but their injuries were too severe. Dawnlight needed to continue treating them.

After thinking for a moment, Qianchun raised her hand too.

Blade pressed it back down.

“It’s better not to send out a half-trained fighter.”

“How about we make a bet?”

Qianchun looked at Blade.

The moment Blade met her gaze, she knew this little girl was about to cause trouble again.

“If I successfully equip it, let me go.”

“Fine. But if you fail, there’s nothing in it for me.”

“Zhou Jiaxin and Yan Xin will work for you for a month.”

“Deal!”

Zhou Jiaxin and Yan Xin: “???”