Ouyang Zihao unrolled the scroll. A blinding beam of light shot skyward from the training hall, leveling the entire building in an instant.
Most guests had already fled the Ouyang Estate in their hovercars. Only one person remained beside the Ouyang patriarch: the head of the Dong Family.
“What *was* that scroll?” the Dong patriarch murmured, staring at the light pillar that had erased the building.
“A forbidden spell scroll,” the Ouyang patriarch replied coldly. “Crafted personally by SS Rank Hero, the Mysterious Master. *Mysterious Blessing*.”
“What?!” The Dong patriarch recoiled. “Using something like this here is sheer madness!”
“That brat Zihao has never tasted defeat,” the Ouyang patriarch sneered. “One loss shatters him. Pathetic.”
As they spoke, the radiant light began to fade.
Ouyang Zihao’s figure emerged, floating above the rubble. Mystical runes swirled around his body.
But what stunned both patriarchs was Lin Jie—standing unharmed amidst the ruins. They’d assumed he’d been vaporized by the blast. Yet here he was, not a scratch on him.
“You really love your tricks,” Lin Jie called up, gazing at Ouyang Zihao.
The floating Ouyang Zihao ignored him. Since unrolling the scroll, a mysterious power had flooded his veins, swelling his strength to the brink of explosion. He was lost in the intoxicating rush of that overwhelming power.
His eyes snapped back to the annoying figure below. *How did he survive that?* It didn’t matter. He could feel it—this man’s death was certain now.
Energy coalesced in Ouyang Zihao’s hands, forming a colossal sword of light thirty meters long. He slashed downward. The giant sword shot straight at Lin Jie.
Lin Jie raised his Azure Dragon Crescent Blade. A phantom azure dragon roared along the blade, reflecting the cold moonlight. An icy gleam ignited across the steel.
He swung the blade upward, meeting the energy sword head-on.
The blade’s edge split the giant sword cleanly in half. The severed halves whistled past Lin Jie’s sides, carving two bottomless craters into the earth.
Lin Jie stood firm, blade resting on his shoulder, eyes locked on Ouyang Zihao above.
Then—the runes encircling Ouyang Zihao, and his robes, split down the middle. They tore apart and scattered sideways.
Bizarrely, while his clothes and runes were cleaved cleanly, Ouyang Zihao himself remained intact.
Naked and dazed, he plummeted from the sky.
“From now on,” Lin Jie nodded approvingly at his handiwork, “this move shall be called the *Azure Dragon Streaker Slash*.”
…
“You still have trouble to handle,” the Dong patriarch remarked.
“Trivial.” The Ouyang patriarch raised his hand. Instantly, hundreds of security robots surrounded Lin Jie and Winter Xueer’s group, who’d been rushing toward him.
“The real nuisance,” the Ouyang patriarch added, his gaze sharp on the Dong patriarch, “is that thief who broke into Doctor Qin’s lab. My guards eliminating him for attempting theft… that shouldn’t be an issue, should it?”
“Of course not,” the Dong patriarch replied smoothly. “But consider this—what if that thief *uses* the machine? How will your Ouyang Family handle *that*?”
“What did you say?” The Ouyang patriarch’s eyes narrowed. “Is the machine already complete?”
“Who knows?” The Dong patriarch smiled faintly, stepping into a hovercar. “Clean up your mess first.”
“Damn it!” The Ouyang patriarch’s face turned ashen. “Kill them!” he barked at the robots.
“Wait!” Lin Jie shouted. “This violates my agreement with Ouyang Zihao!”
“That was *his* agreement,” the Ouyang patriarch snapped. “He spared you. But *I* rule the Ouyang Family.”
“Get them out of here!” Lin Jie yelled at Glasses Bro.
Surrounded by humming energy guns, Glasses Bro grabbed Winter Leaf and Winter Xueer. Xiao Zhan clung to his neck. In a blink, all four vanished. Only a pair of glasses remained on the ground—shattered instantly by a barrage of energy blasts.
Lin Jie casually deflected the robots’ fire.
“Guess I’ll have to make some *noise* at the Ouyang Estate after all…”
…
Atop H City’s Xiao Corporation Tower, Glasses Bro’s group materialized before Bu Feiwu and Doudou.
“Go back for Lin Jie!” Winter Xueer cried the moment she landed.
“My surveillance glasses at the estate were destroyed by that light pillar!” Glasses Bro grimaced, sensing the loss.
“What about the teleporter? We’ll fly back!” Winter Xueer turned urgently to Bu Feiwu.
“It’s on the roof,” Bu Feiwu said, “but wait. Chaos erupted across H City after you left. Fighting’s everywhere.”
“No time!” Winter Xueer insisted. “Lin Jie needs us!”
Her panic was raw—Winter Leaf had never seen her so desperate.
“But Lin Jie’s sister, Lin Wan,” Bu Feiwu dropped the bombshell, “is at the heart of this crisis.”
“Trouble never comes alone!” Xiao Zhan sighed. “We split up.”
As he spoke, Lin Jie’s voice crackled over the comms.
“Did you all forget I’m still wearing a communicator?”
“Lin Jie! You’re alive?” Xiao Zhan realized they’d cut comms earlier to avoid detection at the Ouyang Estate.
“I heard you mention my sister,” Lin Jie’s voice cut through explosions in the background. “What happened?”
“Yes,” Bu Feiwu confirmed.
“Are *you* okay, Lin Jie?” Winter Xueer pressed the comm device.
“I’m fine,” Lin Jie replied amid gunfire. “Can you protect Lin Wan for me?”
“Alright,” Winter Xueer bit her lip. “What about you?”
“Give me five minutes to settle things here,” Lin Jie said. “I can negotiate with them. Trust me.”
“Understood. We’re heading to the lab now.” Winter Xueer turned away. “Where’s the hovercar? To Doctor Qin’s lab—now!”
“Right,” Xiao Zhan murmured. “Even in danger, he only worries about his sister.”
As the group moved toward the roof—
“Wait…” Winter Leaf hesitated. “I recall something… Doctor Qin’s research is about cerebral enhancement…”
“No!” Winter Xueer’s face paled. “That’s why Winter Yang came here *now*!”
“What is it?” Winter Leaf asked.
“He’s an A Rank peak psychic!” Winter Xueer’s voice cracked with urgency.
…
Inside Doctor Qin’s lab.
“He’s an A Rank peak psychic,” Dragon Junior stated flatly. “If he uses that device, the consequences will be catastrophic. He’ll become at least an SS Rank psychic.”
“What?!” The room erupted in shock.
“Oh? You uncovered even *this*?” Winter Yang studied Dragon Junior with mild curiosity. “Do tell—what else do you know?”
“Everything.”
“What’s going on?” Lin Wan asked, bewildered.
“The Ouyang and Dong Families jointly funded this project,” Bai Hao explained to her. “It proves this machine can enhance the human brain and unlock dormant regions. A true evolution device. Both families wanted it for themselves. The Ouyangs discovered the Dongs planned to seize it early, so they set a trap—ambushing Winter Yang here to eliminate Dong’s prodigy *and* steal the machine.”
“Correct. You’re well-informed,” Winter Yang acknowledged.
“But you walked right into the Dong Family’s counter-trap,” Bai Hao countered. “They never knew the machine was *already* complete. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have let you enter the lab before springing their ambush.”
“Precisely,” Winter Yang smiled coldly. “The Ouyang fools thought to kill me here. Instead, this lab becomes their elite’s graveyard. Once I use this device, I’ll crush them effortlessly. The Dong Family gains the machine *and* cripples the Ouyangs.”
“Is that why you sent Dr. Musli to accelerate the machine’s completion?” Doctor Qin asked.
“Exactly,” Winter Yang confirmed. “This is a Dong-Ouyang conflict. The Long Family has no stake here.”
“If you activate it, the risk is extreme,” Dragon Junior warned. “I won’t allow the Dong Family to possess such power.”
“Oh?” Winter Yang’s eyes turned glacial. “You’d be wise not to meddle.”
“We’re here. Your plan has failed,” Dragon Junior stated coldly. Though unregistered as Super Heroes, both he and Bai Hao were S Rank Heroes.
(One reason Lin Wan disliked Dragon Junior was his S Rank power coupled with his disdain for Super Heroes—and his refusal to become one.)
“Two S Ranks against one A Rank?” Winter Yang’s lips curled into a smirk.
In the next instant, Bai Hao—standing beside Dragon Junior—lunged forward and seized Lin Wan’s throat.
