The fluorescent longsword was caught fast against the man's chest, unable to advance an inch amidst a blinding burst of sparks.
Amidst a grating, teeth-jarring sound, the longsword, brimming with Spiritual Power, even showed signs of breaking.
Belles sneered as he looked at Lin Qiu before him, completely unconcerned by her struggle. "I'd like to see if you can restore it after I smash it to pieces!"
Just at this critical moment, Taran's attack arrived.
A dazzling beam of light struck the man's palm, forcing him to loosen his grip, and Lin Qiu seized the opportunity to withdraw her longsword.
"The Bizarre entity within him is at least a Low Rank Evil Spirit," Lin Qiu said to Taran in a low voice, frowning as she retreated.
Taran, observing the man's effortless demeanor, shook her head. "More than that!"
Taran, who had personally battled Low Rank Evil Spirits, felt the corners of her eyes twitch as she sensed the intensity of the energy emanating from the man.
Although they didn't know why the man seemed unable to fully utilize his Bizarre strength, they appeared to have no good options.
The Eye of the Sky required the cooperation of several Exorcists, but the few Exorcists around them had not yet finished their battles. Clearly, the Array could not be used for the time being.
"Damn it, why haven't they returned yet?" Taran glanced at the distant street, growing anxious. She didn't know if the man before her was only displaying the strength she had seen. If not, the ordinary employees inside the building would likely face calamity today.
Lin Qiu didn't dare to charge forward directly either. Her longsword now bore a web of fine cracks. If he caught it again, it would likely shatter into scrap metal.
Lin Qiu and Taran reached an unspoken consensus in an instant: Stall!
Stall until the nearby fights ended or the other Exorcists returned.
But Belles, now focused on his task, clearly had no intention of letting them succeed.
Seeing the two women flinch back at the slightest contact, he sneered.
"Trying to stall for time? A lovely thought!"
Something on his chest emitted a faint glow, and in the blink of an eye, his aura intensified.
Instantly, his human feet shattered, revealing a pair of beast-like feet covered in long, black fur.
Sharp claws glistened coldly, completing his inhuman appearance.
The increased transformation seemed to have diminished his reason to some extent.
His crimson eyes stared at the two women, devoid of allure, instead glinting with a trace of savagery.
With a BANG, the man's figure vanished instantly, leaving only cracked paving stones in his wake.
Alarm bells screaming in her mind, Lin Qiu barely managed to raise her longsword before a crisp CRACK echoed, and she was sent flying backward.
Taran, with barely any time to react, was sent flying after Lin Qiu, disappearing into the building.
"Hand over the silver coins!"
The man nonchalantly swatted aside an Exorcist who rushed to assist, then strode into the building. The remaining glass in his path shattered into fragments under the pressure of his powerful aura.
Inside the building, Lin Qiu had just scrambled to her feet when she spat out a mouthful of blood. As the imposing figure drew closer, she didn't flee. Instead, she silently moved her right hand behind her back.
"Hand over the silver coins, and I'll let you live. Isn't it good to be alive?"
Seeing the woman's silence, anger flashed in Belles's eyes. With a casual wave of his hand, he sent her flying once more, crashing through several walls.
Where she had just been, a male voice spoke from a newly connected call.
"Lin Qiu, what's wrong?"
...
In Texas, Chu Feng was meditating deep within an underground base. When the sounds of gunfire erupted from the other end of the phone, his expression instantly darkened.
His body then abruptly transformed into a streak of rainbow light and vanished.
"Mr. Chu Feng, come and try the fresh tea I just brewed!"
Jessica, entering the room, blinked at the empty space. She stepped back out and double-checked the room number.
"Strange, where did he rush off to now? Always in such a hurry!"
By now, Chu Feng had already appeared above the New York office building. Looking down at the battlefield below, his expression grew even more grim.
After quietly spending several hundred Points to replenish his True Yuan in the 'black room,' he opened his eyes again and immediately charged downward.
Several streaks of light flashed past. In the blink of an eye, the armed personnel who had been stubbornly resisting were all bisected, their bodies falling in two.
The Exorcists, suddenly finding themselves without opponents, looked momentarily bewildered until they saw Chu Feng's figure and recovered their senses.
"Mr. Chu Feng!"
"Mr. Chu Feng!"
...
Chu Feng, however, had no time for them. His figure once again transformed into a streak of light and shot into the building.
"Where exactly did you hide the silver coins?"
Inside the building, Belles stood before the two women, his face ferocious. His eyes, fixed on the uncooperative figures at his feet, burned with murderous intent.
But just as he raised his claw, ready to make an example of one of them, a sudden, immense force kicked him, sending him flying.
"You're finally back!" Taran looked at the man before her and gave a wry smile, a trickle of blood seeping from the corner of her mouth.
Lin Qiu, beside her, fluttered her eyes open. Recognizing Chu Feng, a faint smile finally touched her pale cheeks before she lost consciousness.
Seeing the bloodstains on their chests and the wounds covering their bodies, veins throbbed on Chu Feng's forehead.
With a thought, two fragrant, round Elixir Pills appeared in his hand, and he swiftly placed them into the women's mouths.
The Revitalizing Pills, worth a thousand Points each, dissolved into a warm current the moment they entered their mouths, merging into their bodies.
After his True Yuan circulated once through their bodies, confirming they were no longer in serious danger, Chu Feng finally turned his gaze to the monstrous man who had reappeared.
A human body housing a Bizarre entity? The moment he saw the man, Chu Feng understood his nature.
Although he had suspected this possibility after encountering the old man named John, this was the first time he had truly seen a human who could merge with a Bizarre entity without being devoured by it.
Belles, now back inside the building, clutched his chest, looking uncertainly at the East Asian man who had suddenly appeared. There was no fluctuation of aura from this newcomer; he seemed like an ordinary person. How could he have sent me flying with a single blow?
"Who exactly are you?" Belles's voice trembled slightly. Should I fully unleash the Bizarre entity within me? he wondered.
"Oh? You don't recognize me, yet you dare cause such trouble on my turf?"