After returning all the way to the rented villa in the complex, Leilin first stopped by Shawell's home to say hello — particularly making an appearance in front of Jia'er — and after arranging to come visit another day, he returned directly to his own room and shut the door and windows.
"Shadow Daughter, Night Lady... let's just drop in for a greeting..."
Leilin's eyes closed slightly, and his consciousness instantly traversed endless spatial barriers, arriving at the ocean region.
In the deep, azure expanse of the sea, a voodoo doll with war paint on its face and an eerie smile surfaced from the depths.
*Target detected! Attack!* Surrounding it were countless ironclad warships and aircraft carriers equipped with phantom energy reactors, and not far away, numerous phantom energy submarines closed in like sharks.
Ferocious cannon muzzles and terrifying shadow spells coalesced, radiating an intense sense of danger.
"Hee hee..."
The smile on the voodoo doll's face widened even further. The light in its two black eyes dimmed for a moment, then reignited with even greater vigor.
With just this single transition, the entire aura of the voodoo doll underwent a dramatic transformation — from a mechanical puppet and ruthless hunter into a mass of unfathomable darkness.
Creak! Creak!
The voodoo doll twisted its neck, scanning the terrifying cannons and colossal warships around it, along with the densely packed high-level shadow casters stationed on them.
"In the use of tools, you've already reached the pinnacle. Unfortunately, your own evolution has stagnated..."
Leilin shook his head and uttered a single syllable: "CHIRP!!!"
Piercing sound waves swept outward in all directions, and vast ranks of naval personnel collapsed to the ground, blood streaming from their seven orifices.
"Subsonic attack! Quick — activate shadow barriers!"
The surrounding warships fell into chaos. Under the command of high-level ability users and Imperial Special Operations agents, colorful barriers rose one after another.
Useless. These defenses had no effect whatsoever. Ordinary people toppled in droves like grass being scythed, and only those ability users with extraordinary spiritual power and a handful of high-level casters managed to survive.
"Weak spiritual power... unable to withstand soul-based attacks..."
In Leilin's estimation, this was very likely a deliberate arrangement by the Night Lady. This way, no matter how advanced human civilization grew, it could never escape her control.
As for those possessing special abilities and ancient bloodlines, that was another matter entirely. Though the probability was slim, rule-level existences could still emerge! Therefore, they had to be ruthlessly eliminated.
"Take first or second-rank wizards, for instance. In my previous life, they would have been equally helpless against conventional armies — reduced to dust under laser cannons. But once they went into hiding, they could deploy mental control and illusions to build terrifying networks of influence, causing catastrophic damage..."
Boom! Boom!
By this point, having lost most of their operators, the massive warships and aircraft carriers had fallen silent. The regular crew were all ordinary people, of course they couldn't withstand Leilin's soul attack — even one he had deliberately held back.
Some aircraft carriers even erupted into flames and thick smoke, accompanied by deafening explosions. This was the drawback of external tools and weapons — once the operators were gone, all manner of catastrophic failures could occur.
"Captain! What do we do?"
On the few remaining warships, the survivors gathered together, staring at the figure in the sky that resembled a demon.
"We go!"
The captain — face marred by a scar, eyes sharp with shrewd determination — gritted his teeth: "His attack only works on ordinary people. Against Transcendents like us, it's far less effective — we can withstand it. So we have to move in first and buy time, let the others retreat, and then have the Empire devise other elimination strategies..."
"Next time, if we assemble a team composed entirely of Transcendent individuals, we can definitely take him down..."
With the flash of light from the [Swift Shadow] wristband, a large number of Transcendent individuals with shadow wings on their backs surged into the air, forming an encirclement in midair.
"So that's how it is..."
Leilin surveyed the scene with a faint smile: "The Empire's Special Operations Division... in addition to high-level casters, they've also recruited a batch of Transcendents and bloodline heirs? This strategy of striking with one hand and pulling with the other really is the instinct of a great power..."
"Quick! Send word to naval headquarters! Apostle Number Three possesses unique offensive capabilities that ordinary people cannot approach — only Special Operations Division personnel can be effective! Requesting reinforcements!!!"
At this moment, the other survivors were piloting the vessels still capable of movement, scrambling into lifeboats and fleeing the battlefield one after another, as though a peerless predator were watching them from behind.
But Leilin paid no attention whatsoever to their departure. Just as an ordinary person stepping on ants blocking the path would simply crush them and move on without a second glance for those that happened to escape.
"Sixth-rank bloodline heirs... and other ability users..."
On the contrary, Leilin showed genuine interest in this elite squad surrounding him. The leading figure had faintly reached the threshold of a sixth-rank wizard and even carried the inheritance of an ancient bloodline.
"Someone like this has been bought off by the Empire? It seems
"What exactly are you?"
The captain stared at the voodoo doll before him, sharply sensing its intelligence and capacity for thought. Especially that earlier glance — it had felt as though his entire being had been completely laid bare, sending a deep chill through his heart.
"Hee hee..."
Unfortunately, Leilin had no interest whatsoever in exchanging words with these small fry. Under his control, the smile on the voodoo doll's face grew ever wider and more grotesque.
In a sudden flash, light flickered in the voodoo doll's pitch-black eyes.
Boom! Boom!
The survivors who had fled now discovered that the ocean behind them had erupted into fury, raising waves over a hundred meters high that swept over and engulfed them entirely...
Drip! Drip!
Bright red blood dripped ceaselessly from the voodoo doll's straw arms. Clutched in its hand was the scarred captain's severed head — his eyes were wide open, pupils filled with terror, all traces of soul already extinguished.
The voodoo doll stood silently in midair. After a long moment, it turned its head toward a certain point in the void.
"I expected you to intervene, Night Lady..."
A layer of light emerged from the voodoo doll's body, revealing Leilin's true form.
"Hee hee... just a few minor pawns. If it pleases you, what does it matter if a few more are killed?"
The Shadow
She possessed a pair of beautiful, narrow eyes and an exquisitely refined face, a playful hint of a smile at the corner of her lips — like a mischievous little girl from next door.
If the Mother of Ten Thousand Serpents' beauty was the intoxicating allure of full, voluptuous maturity, then Shar was like a secluded orchid, yet carrying a warmth that drew people close.
At this moment, the Night Lady looked Leilin up and down, undisguised curiosity gleaming in her eyes.
"I originally thought only the Mother of Ten Thousand Serpents had intruded on her own. I didn't expect she also invited you... And that bloodline scent... hee hee..."
Shar's voice was like a clear mountain spring, carrying beautiful, melodic tones.
The smile on her face grew wider and wider until she broke into open laughter: "Ha ha... To think that woman actually suffered a loss — having a portion of her bloodline essence split off... There's no happier thing in the entire world than this..."
Clearly, blessed with the power of shadows, Shar had identified the bloodline aura on Leilin with a single glance.
And the sensation of not being suppressed by the world's laws served as direct confirmation of Leilin's identity.
"I did split off part of the Mother of Ten Thousand Serpents' bloodline, but right now I'm her ally," Leilin said coldly.
"That's right... you are her ally now..."
The smile on Shar's face froze, replaced by bone-piercing frost.
In the World of the
"Then... what reason do you have for coming out to meet me personally?" Shar asked calmly.
Leilin suddenly felt an immense pressure descend upon him — the weight of an entire world pressing down.
Countless threads of primordial force surged and howled, as though they could crush this puppet in an instant, while continuously searching for his true body.
"This location isn't quite suitable... shall we move elsewhere?"
Facing this overwhelming aura, Leilin's expression remained perfectly composed. He made a courteous gesture.
Then, with a light stroke of his five fingers, space parted like a curtain, revealing spatial rifts and turbulent flows beyond.
Facing this challenge, Shar naturally harbored no fear. She stepped forward with an enchanting smile, and the surrounding space immediately transformed, transporting them to the boundary of the realm.
Vast shadow-world primordial force surged and flowed, rippling with the light of civilization, while a colossal Shadow Weave faintly manifested as the central nexus controlling everything.
"Is this your goal? To control everything through the Weave, and ultimately become the embodiment of the entire world?"
Leilin gazed upon this magnificent sight, then turned back to look at the girl in black gauze.
"If the reason you invited me here is just to say these things... then you can go die."
Powerful shadow force coiled around Shar, carrying numerous laws of reality — the terrifying aura achievable only by an eighth-rank wizard.
"Should I call you Night Lady? Or Shar?"
Facing this threat, Leilin let out a cold laugh and suddenly posed his question.
One sentence, and the heavens shook!!!
Night Lady! Shar! This secret being laid bare — even on Shar's face, a flicker of disturbance appeared.
"You've been to the World of the Gods?"
She asked in a somber tone, simultaneously confirming her own identity. For beings of their caliber, no amount of sophistry could shake their convictions. Since Leilin was already this certain, Shar could not reverse his perception.