Descending to the ground, the mayor no longer wore the fake smile he had once shown.
His hatred and anger were now clearly displayed on his face.
"I'm impressed! Who would have thought that the old man, half in his grave, had hidden so many experts behind him?" the mayor said, recalling the small army that had appeared at the entrance of the underground base.
Standing tall, exuding a dangerous aura, the men by the hatch seemed completely devoid of fear.
Like soldiers of death. Men ready to carry out their mission without a single thought for their own lives.
As he calmly walked toward Fang Qin and the others, the mayor suddenly stopped, a thoughtful look on his face. "Fang Qin... You don't seem to have reached the level of Qi and Body Harmony," he said with a cruel smile.
Tightening his grip on his sword, Fang Qin knew he could no longer hide the truth. He had planned to confront the mayor, and this small lie could not continue any longer.
In battle, Fang Qin was a man of few words, preferring to fight rather than talk.
But despite the fury burning inside him, he remained in place, trying to buy time. Behind him, the rest of the branch members were still present, unable to turn back with the children.
Meanwhile, Akeno and the two instructors at the Muscle Purification level circled around the mayor, preparing to attack with everything they had.
The mayor had underestimated them, seeing no one at the Rebirth stage, and had come down to the ground. But if he took to the sky again, it would be nearly impossible for them to fight him.
That was the advantage of cultivators at the Rebirth stage. No matter the ambush, they could simply fly away and escape danger.
"So? Cat got your tongue?"
In the heavy silence, only the mayor seemed to show a touch of amusement. To him, none of these people posed a threat.
"Then allow me!" he said, lunging at Fang Qin with his sword.
"Not good!"
From the side, Akeno opened the seal on his stomach, unleashing the dark chakra within his body. A dense aura of dark energy erupted around him, crushing the ground beneath him with such intense pressure that deep fissures cracked the earth.
His hair seemed to vibrate under the surrounding dark aura, undulating in the air like serpents.
This was the first time he had done this, and he struggled momentarily against the negative emotions carried by this energy.
It was dangerous, but without drawing from this special chakra, far more powerful than basic chakra, Akeno couldn't predict how long they could hold out against the mayor.
The mayor, on the other hand, was taken aback by the explosion of energy from a cultivator who seemed to be only at the fifth level of cultivation. "What the—"
Even though everyone was shocked, Fang Qin and the two other instructors wasted no time. Seeing the mayor momentarily distracted, they launched at him, aiming for his vital points.
To Fang Qin, his blade was not just meant to kill the mayor—it was meant to avenge all the children of Hope City!
"Die!"
Snapping back to his senses just in time, the mayor barely dodged the blades meant to skewer him from the instructors and parried Fang Qin's sword.
"Nice try, Fang Qin, but—"
Suddenly, before he could finish his sentence, the breath was violently knocked from his chest, and a searing pain exploded through his body.
He felt his ribs crack, his vision blurred, and his entire body was sent hurtling a hundred meters away, crashing into a tree that was uprooted from the sheer force of the impact.
Standing in his place, Akeno remained with his leg raised, an aura now beginning to envelop his body.
His mind waged war against the negative emotions that threatened to drive him mad at any moment, but Akeno continued his rampage.
Propelling himself toward the mayor, he delivered a chakra-infused punch of pure darkness.
BOOM!
The entire forest trembled, a crater forming beneath the mayor as the shockwave tore the leaves from the surrounding trees. The impact sounded like thunder, and the air became saturated with energy.
Once again sent flying, the mayor felt his internal organs violently shaken.
Focusing his mind on this new threat, the mayor saw Akeno charging at him again! "You little bast—"
POOM!
Unfortunately for him, in this state, Akeno was much faster, striking him again and slamming the mayor's head into the ground. The impact sent stone fragments flying, and a thick cloud of dust darkened the air.
"This power..."
On the side, Fang Qin and the others had stopped, watching the terrifying strength Akeno had unleashed.
Fang Qin felt a flicker of doubt about Akeno's powers. This energy felt far more like it belonged to demonic cultivators.
Had he not come to know Akeno, and had they not been in a life-or-death battle with the mayor, he might have turned his blade against Akeno without asking questions.
All demonic cultivators were enemies of humanity. A virus to be eradicated.
Kaede, Maiko, and Chikara stood to the side, both terrified and seemingly recognizing this power.
"Hey, don't you guys think this chakra seems familiar?" Chikara asked, his Sharingan activated.
"Yeah... It looks like the energy Renji and Fubuki described during their fight against the demon that attacked them in our world," Kaede replied with some hesitation.
A worried expression crossed Maiko's face. "If this is the power of that monster, then Akeno might end up possessed by the demon."
Kaede listened to Maiko's words, just as concerned for Akeno. "Go back with the others. I'm staying here."
"What?! Are you crazy?!" Chikara exclaimed.
With his newly awakened Sharingan, he had felt a surge of power within himself, able to perceive the world more slowly and even predict enemy movements before they acted.
Among their small group, he now had the sharpest vision.
But watching Akeno and the mayor's movements, it was as if he had never awakened the Sharingan at all.
They were far too fast—even for him.
For Kaede to want to stay and join the fight, it was suicide.
No matter how strong she was, if she couldn't keep up with their speed, she would die.
BOOM!
Back in the fight, after exchanging several blows with the mayor, Akeno realized that despite his overwhelming speed, he couldn't perfectly control his chakra to deal significant damage.
Even worse, he felt himself slowly losing his mind.
He couldn't hold on much longer.
The mayor was incredibly strong and resilient. His enemy was not a mere mortal using Reibi's chakra—he was a fifth-level cultivator wielding Reibi's chakra!
In other words, in this state, without taking techniques into account, Akeno had already surpassed the strength of an average Kage.
Sending the mayor flying a hundred meters, carving a trench into the ground in the process, Akeno dispersed his dark chakra cloak and fell to his knees.
"One minute... That's my limit..." he muttered, exhausted.
Seeing the little damage he had done, Akeno chose to stop and prevent his mind from being corrupted by Reibi's chakra.
In the distance, furious, the mayor got back up, his face covered in blood. With slow and steady steps, he walked toward Akeno, gripping his sword with a sinister smile.
"I wonder how much consuming you as a pill would advance my cultivation," he murmured, observing the battlefield ruins—shattered trees, ravaged ground, scattered stone fragments, and pure white lotus flowers.
"Wait! Lotus flowers?!"
As he stepped on one of the lotus flowers in his path, before he could react, Fang Qin's blade appeared at his throat.
Fang Qin's eyes burned with killing intent.
"Hundred Lotus Technique!"
"Domain!"
With unmatched precision and force, the blade pierced the mayor's throat before being deflected at the last moment by his sword.
Instinctively retreating a dozen meters, the mayor felt a thin cut on his neck. Deep enough to draw blood, but not enough to be a real threat.
Anger surged through him, but as he calmed himself, he noticed two figures moving behind him and launched a Qi blade.
One instructor was cut in half, while the other barely dodged, suffering a deep slash across his torso.
Such was the power of a Qi and Body Harmony-level cultivator. One strike was enough to eliminate Muscle Purification cultivators.
Turning his attention back to his surroundings, the mayor now took Fang Qin seriously.
"Incredible, Fang Qin... How much longer will you continue to surprise me?"