"Heh heh! What am I doing? Naturally, I'm launching a direct assault on the Luofu, crushing this Alliance creation head-on!"
Zephyro's face twisted into a maniacal grin, and with an elegant snap of his fingers, the Lord of Extinction ignited his power.
'Boom!!'
Like dry wood meeting a fierce blaze, roaring flames erupted from every corner of the skiff. The fire spread rapidly, and soon, the entire vessel was engulfed in a sea of flames.
"Damn it! Zephyro, if you ruin my plans, I swear I won't let you off!!"
Phantylia's furious roars echoed from the other side of the flames, but Zephyro paid her no mind. With a casual wave of his left hand, her voice was abruptly silenced.
"Heh, a Heliobus is a Heliobus —useless trash."
Meanwhile, inside the Alchemy Commission on the Xianzhou Luofu…
Staring at the interrupted communication, Phantylia, possessing Dan Shu's body, had a face dark with rage. The veins on her hand bulged as she crushed the staff in her grip into dust.
'Drip, drip…'
The staff shattered, its fragments piercing her palm and embedding deeply into the flesh. Blood trickled down to the floor under gravity's pull, making a soft drip, drip sound.
To an outsider, this might seem a horrifying scene, but for Phantylia, it was nothing new.
"Damn it! Damn it! That bastard Zephyro is going to ruin all my plans!"
Growling under her breath, Phantylia flung her hand, splattering blood across the face of a Disciples of Sanctus Medicus follower who had just entered the room.
"Leader… Leader!"
The follower bowed in panic, trembling as he felt the blood's metallic tang and sticky sensation on his face. He kept his head lowered, not daring to look up without Phantylia's permission.
"What is it?!"
Phantylia demanded, her expression grim.
"Milady, Fu… Fu Xuan and those outsiders have broken in!"
"Fu Xuan? That pink-haired midget?" Phantylia's face shifted through various expressions, her mood darkening.
After a moment of thought, she let out a helpless sigh.
"Truly, blessings never come in pairs, but misfortunes never come alone."
With that, Phantylia closed her eyes. A greenish flame flared up around Dan Shu's body, and in the next moment, a glowing orb separated from her, vanishing into the air.
"I… what's wrong with me? Ouch, my hand?!"
Regaining her consciousness, Dan Shu felt a sharp pain in her palm. Looking down, she saw her beloved staff reduced to fragments, some of which were now embedded in her hand.
"Damn it… ouch! What happened?! Xiao Hui, look up! I'm asking you, what happened?!"
Dan Shu roared at the follower before her, her voice hoarse and strained.
Seeing this, the boy, who had only recently joined the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus, shuddered and hurriedly bowed. "Leader, I don't know what happened! When I came in, you splashed blood on my face. I have no idea what's going on!"
"Are you sure you're not lying?!" Dan Shu's gaze was murderous as she stared at the follower. Only after confirming he truly knew nothing did she relent.
"Then is there—"
'Bang!!'
Before Dan Shu could continue, a loud crash interrupted her as the room's door was kicked open from the outside, sending dust flying everywhere.
"Cough, cough!!" The swirling dust made Dan Shu cough twice. As it settled, she finally saw her assailant clearly.
Fixing her gaze on the pink-haired girl who was a full head shorter than her, Dan Shu's eyes turned venomous.
"It's you, Diviner—Fu Xuan!!" Dan Shu spat out Fu Xuan's identity in one breath. As the leader of the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus on the Luofu, she had records of everyone who could pose a threat to her organization, and Fu Xuan was among the most dangerous.
In response to Dan Shu's roar, the Master Diviner merely let out a soft hum before frowning. "Dan Shu, Chief Alchemist of the Alchemy Commission, leader of the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus, and overseer of their operations on the Luofu. Am I correct?"
Hearing Fu Xuan recite her information word for word, Dan Shu, knowing denial was futile, let out a low chuckle.
"Heh heh heh! Master Diviner, you're quite impressive! To think you uncovered all my details so easily—truly remarkable! But…"
At this, Dan Shu raised her head unsteadily. "But, Master Diviner, aren't you being a bit overconfident?"
As she spoke, Dan Shu spread her arms and spun in a circle.
"This vast Alchemy Commission is entirely under our control. You, charging in here alone—aren't you being a bit too bold?"
Dan Shu's face was filled with smug pride, momentarily forgetting even the stinging pain in her palm.
Hearing her words, Fu Xuan placed her hands on her hips, a smile tugging at her lips.
Seeing this centuries-old girl's reaction, Dan Shu couldn't help but feel a pang of unease.
"Oh? If the entire Alchemy Commission were filled with Disciples of Sanctus Medicus, that would indeed pose some trouble for me."
"But… who said I came alone?"
As her words fell, a tremendous force surged from behind Fu Xuan.
'Boom!'
Another loud crash echoed as the already crumbling door was violently smashed to pieces, sending wood splinters flying like swords toward Dan Shu and the followers in front of her.
"Aaah—!!"
The splinters pierced deeply into their bodies, and the follower named Xiao Hui let out a pained scream before collapsing to the ground, writhing in agony.
Dan Shu didn't fare much better. In the instant the splinters flew, she instinctively tried to summon her staff to create a barrier.
But she had forgotten—her staff was already in pieces, and her subconscious attempt to grab it only drove the fragments deeper into her palm.
The intense pain slowed her reaction by half a beat, leaving her unable to dodge as the splinters struck her as well.
"Ugh, damn it…"
Dan Shu looked up, only to see several familiar faces now standing behind Fu Xuan—none other than the Astral Express Trailblazers, recently listed as threats.
A gray-haired delinquent girl wielding a bat.
A blue-and-pink-haired girl with a bow, looking incredibly easy to fool.
And an ordinary-looking, refined man with glasses who seemed harmless but was, in truth, unfathomably powerful.