Bang!
An iron fist wreathed in scarlet flames slammed into the old Cardinal, sending him spewing blood as he staggered wildly backward. Behind Leilin, a massive phoenix phantom let out a terrifying cry. With unstoppable determination, Leilin instantly lunged before the other Cardinal.
"Even if we're both Sky-level! You're merely a newcomer — you can't know much about Sky-level combat! Watch me put you down, brat!"
The Cardinal guarding Shike shouted. The old man's failure, he attributed to carelessness — that was the only reason Leilin had managed to land a surprise attack.
"Release Instructor Shike! I might still spare you once!"
With a fierce roar, Leilin and this Cardinal crashed into each other head-on.
Rumble!!! Crimson and dark storms clashed and tangled, the devastated earth peeling away to reveal the hard rock beneath.
"Now… that should be fine, right? Even if Leilin broke through in the heat of battle, they're still two Sky-levels!" Locke felt the object in his hand and was about to rush out.
He had come with a mission — he needed to earn Shike's trust to infiltrate the upper echelons of the task force. But Leilin had suddenly appeared and thrown a wrench in everything, leaving him thoroughly irritated.
Whoosh! A streak of crimson light burst abruptly from the storm, flickered once over where Shike stood, and his figure vanished.
In the next instant, Leilin appeared directly before Locke with Shike in tow, shoving Shike hard into Locke's arms. "Get the instructor out of here!"
"…"
Though Leilin couldn't see Locke's expression at that moment, he was certain the man was itching to curse.
Because of his escape, the storm that had lost its target was now hurtling toward them, and the old Cardinal Leilin had blasted away earlier was also pursuing them with a grim look on his face.
"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! Leilin was already at the peak of the seventh layer — breaking through in battle makes sense. But I've only shown strength at the sixth layer! Breaking through again wouldn't help!"
Locke watched the two Sky-level Cardinals charging toward them and silently wailed.
"Forget it — I have to use this!"
Locke gritted his teeth, and a small black iron egg flew from his hand.
A black light flashed, and the tiny iron egg detonated mid-air. A massive cloud of smoke billowed outward as a colossal construct materialized, blocking the path of the two Cardinals.
"A Binding Construct!!!" The two Cardinals' exclamations reached Leilin's ears, bringing a smile to his face.
Before Leilin, Locke's little schemes were like a child's prank — seen through at a glance by an adult, and even pushed to this point.
"That's… a Spider-type Construct! So you're actually…" Shike weakly glanced at the construct, and a sharp gleam immediately lit up his eyes. The way he looked at Locke visibly warmed.
"The family heirloom I inherited can hold them off for five minutes at most — let's go!"
A smile that looked worse than a grimace crossed Locke's face. He hoisted Shike onto his back, and a defensive film of the Breathing Technique of the Fire Feather shimmered around his body.
"Wait… wait for me!"
Hearing they were about to break out, one of the corpses on the ground suddenly leaped up, revealing Misi's blood-streaked face. "Big Brother Lei! Take me with you!"
"There's another one?!" Locke rolled his eyes weakly, feeling that all the surprises he'd encountered in his entire life couldn't match what had happened today.
"Good! Let's move!"
Leilin laughed aloud, surging with torrential fire energy, and carved a corridor of flames through the encirclement of Mobius's followers.
The two Sky-level Cardinals were temporarily held off. Leilin's eighth-layer Breathing Technique of the Fire Feather swept across the battlefield. Neither ordinary priests nor fanatics could withstand the scarlet-gold flames. Even the slightest spark would set the rank-and-file ablaze, turning them into towering human torches.
…
"Rest here for now! I need to step out for a bit!"
After making their way back to their base in the city, Shike had recovered almost completely. He could move freely, and apart from slightly tattered clothes, no outward signs of injury remained.
"Yes, Instructor!" Leilin and the other two immediately straightened and shouted in unison.
"Mm." Shike looked at Leilin and Locke with gratitude in his eyes, stepped forward, and clapped each of them on the shoulder.
"Leilin! You did well this time, and you broke through to the Sky-level! I'll make sure you're rewarded! And Locke — I'd like to have a good talk with you tonight!"
"It would be my honor!" Locke immediately exclaimed. Judging by his expression, Leilin guessed it couldn't be anything bad — it seemed that Spider Construct had some hidden significance, and it had clearly caught Shike's interest.