Wrapped in blinding white light, the Sword of Judgment crashed down heavily.
Even before the blade struck, the scorching shockwave forced the ground to cave in once more.
The Xu family elder's eyes had long been consumed by madness. Bones pierced through his skin, and he had clearly lost all reason.
The most fatal issue was that he had forgotten the one thing an Edgerunner should do in this situation—use an Escape Art!
The opportunity vanished in the blink of an eye as the Sword of Judgment descended.
Boom!!!
A pillar of white light shot into the sky. The longsword impaled the Xu family elder, and the entire earth shook violently under the force of the strike.
Deep within the crater, the Xu family elder's body disintegrated inch by inch amidst the brilliant light.
His life force vanished into thin air just like that.
A single strike, a clean kill!
Everyone stood dumbfounded, staring at the god-like figure.
That was an Edgerunner—a being who mastered Escape Arts and was theoretically almost impossible to kill through physical means. Yet, he had been cleaved to death with a single sword strike?
This was something even they couldn't do. Could an Edgerunner really be killed so easily?!
“Im... Impossible!” Huang Xin's voice, filled with disbelief, was the first to break the silence. His face twitched violently.
Seeing the shocked expressions of everyone around them, Xu Mo, watching from inside Bai Feifei's mind, felt a surge of satisfaction. He quickly urged her:
“Quick! Say something! This is the perfect moment to show off.”
“Hurry up and think of some cool lines.”
Bai Feifei: ...
She had just exerted all her strength and was currently in a weakened state. Hearing the Old-Timer's words left her utterly speechless.
“Huh?”
“Is there really a need to do something so unnecessary...?”
Xu Mo immediately retorted:
“Of course there is! What do you mean unnecessary? We must constantly reinforce the organization's formidable image. This is extremely useful, alright?”
“Hurry up, don't make me take control of you!”
Thus, she took a deep breath, straightened her back, kept her composure, and swept her cold gaze across the family heads opposite her.
“The word 'impossible' does not exist in the dictionary of the Masked Hermit Society.”
As her voice fell, the entire field went dead silent once again.
Because Bai Feifei had indeed just slain an Edgerunner with her own hands, no one present found her words cringe-worthy except for herself.
Everyone's gaze fell upon Bai Feifei once more, but their eyes had undergone a massive change. They were now filled with extreme wariness and dread.
Staring at the figure clad in pure white armor, they began to dissociate this image from the Bai Feifei they used to know.
Indeed, the person before them could no longer be viewed as a mere nineteen-year-old, Rank 5 Edgerunner.
She was a member of the Masked Hermit Society!
And as long as she was a member of that organization, she could no longer be judged by common sense.
Having been forced to posture under the Old-Timer's coercion, Bai Feifei only wanted to change the subject as quickly as possible.
She immediately spoke again: “What is your purpose?”
Feeling her piercing gaze, Xu Linyuan looked up and said with a touch of mockery:
“Our purpose... why didn't you ask Zhulong about that?”
Bai Feifei stared at him, her voice completely devoid of emotion.
“Zhulong is already dead.”
Xu Linyuan's face twitched, and the color instantly drained from his face.
Impossible!
His heart screamed in denial, and he instinctively wanted to refute her.
How could Zhulong be dead? That guy's strength was unfathomable, and he had been fighting on his home turf in the North District.
Even if Liu Yun were to step into that red soil region, she might not have been able to kill him.
Yet, he couldn't bring himself to utter those words now, because he had absolutely no confidence.
After witnessing Bai Feifei's performance just now, his estimation of the Masked Hermit Society's level had skyrocketed.
Bai Feifei was just a youth who had reportedly joined the organization only recently due to certain circumstances.
Yet that organization had existed since ancient times...
If even Bai Feifei could display such power, who knew what kind of monsters still lurked within that organization?
What if other members of their organization had been present in the North District?
Furthermore, why did the outbreak in the North District suddenly stop, and why did these students manage to escape with their lives from Zhulong's clutches?
All clues pointed to a single answer, one that he had been too afraid to contemplate.
Could it be...
During those few seconds when his mind faltered, Bai Feifei moved.
Bai Feifei knew she was running out of time. Every second in the Spotless White state drained her Sanity, so she couldn't afford to waste any time.
As she made her move, Xie Jin and the others naturally struck at the same time.
Now that things had reached this point and they had witnessed the power displayed by the Masked Hermit Society, they naturally chose to stand firmly on her side to curry favor with the organization.
For a moment, as one side grew stronger, the other withered. Their morale crumbled like a collapsing mountain. The remaining Edgerunners on Xu Linyuan's side showed clear signs of defeat, utterly suppressed and overwhelmed.
Xu Linyuan looked up at the figure shrouded in pure white light, despair and resentment welling up in his heart.
He had originally planned to come and kill her, yet it had ended like this.
Suddenly, he turned his head and roared at Ye Hanshan and Zhou Qingfeng:
“You know absolutely nothing, yet you actually choose to help her?”
“That organization consists of outsiders! They will never be friends of Dawn City, and she will destroy Dawn City!”
“She will destroy the order we worked so hard to build in an instant!”
He screamed hoarsely, acting as though he were the true defender of justice.
Listening to his words, Bai Feifei found them utterly absurd.
“I'm the one who will destroy Dawn City?!” She raised her head in anger, glaring at the wretched Xu Linyuan.
“You researched potions that cause aberrations, forcing the Outer City miners to live in a living hell for decades.”
“Your potions carry the risk of causing aberrations, yet you used the entire city's population as test subjects.”
“You traded with those who worship the Evil God, treating the students' lives like a joke.”
“Who is the one truly destroying Dawn City?”
Xu Linyuan grit his teeth, a hideously tragic smile spreading across his face.
“You little brat... those sacrifices don't even qualify as sacrifices. You don't understand a single thing!”
“Your enemy isn't me! Even if I die, even if all of us die!” He pointed to his own chest, then at Huang Xin and Li Tai.
“Everything will still proceed as planned, unless you personally destroy all of Dawn City.”
“Eventually, you will understand...”
He paused, his eyes filled with intense hatred as he glared at Bai Feifei as if she were his greatest nemesis.
“Besides, we won't die either.” A golden light rippled along the edges of his body as he began to turn illusory, preparing to cast an Escape Art.
“Farewell!”
Bai Feifei's brows furrowed. This guy was actually trying to escape!
This was bad. If he used that, she really didn't have a way to stop him.
Currently, the only thing in her possession that could truly counter an Edgerunner's Escape Art was the Crown of Time Lag, but that was an item only Sinking Black could use...
Just then, the family heads who were about to flee suddenly froze in mid-air, completely paralyzed for some unknown reason.
A voice echoed from below.
“He's right. Your enemy is indeed not him.”
Rate on N.U.
