Bai Wangyan glanced slightly toward her, his expression blank and emotionless. He didn't say a word. His demeanor remained calm and cold, without the slightest sign of interest in his eyes.
"With a face like that…" she continued with a faint smile, her voice carrying a seductive undertone. "Would you care to take a walk with me for a bit? I've been feeling lonely lately… There's no one around to talk to."
Just as she reached out to gently touch his arm, Bai Wangyan stepped back immediately and without hesitation. Several strides were enough to put clear distance between them. His calm eyes made it very clear he had absolutely no desire to be touched by her.
"Don't be so aloof… Just turn around and talk to me for a moment," she persisted, her voice pleading sweetly, layered with cunning insistence. Her hand reached out again, this time aiming to brush the edge of his sleeve
But before her fingers could make contact
BAM!
Bai Wangyan stomped once on the sandy ground. A shockwave blasted outward like a crashing wave. The girl's body was flung into the air like dust being swept away. She flew far, before slamming into a mud-and-stone hut, built from hardened desert clay and rugged rock.
CRACK! The earthen walls split apart and collapsed violently.
The gray-haired girl slowly propped her dust-covered body up, clearly struggling. Her shoulders and arms were scratched and bloodied, and then she coughed up a mouthful of blood. Her face turned pale, trembling with both pain and shock at the unimaginable power he had just displayed.
Immediately, the surrounding crowd turned toward the source of the sound. Their faces were filled with disbelief as they saw multiple huts lying in ruins shattered without explanation.
"What happened?" a man exclaimed in panic.
"Why are those houses destroyed like that?"
"Who did this?"
Voices filled with confusion and fear rippled through the crowd. Some furrowed their brows, others widened their eyes. Many began to back away from the scene, unease rising in their hearts.
Lan Chanzhun, Ye Juan, Lian Yi, and Xin Tingting who had been standing not far from Bai Wangyan all turned their heads at the sound. Every eye locked onto the dark gray-haired girl, now emerging from the wreckage. She stared straight at the one who had hurt her, but strangely, beneath the pain in her gaze… was fascination.
Her body floated above the rooftop, twisting slightly as numerous ancient, patterned cloths burst forth from her sleeves. The strips of cloth coiled and shot toward Bai Wangyan trying to seize him as if to claim him as her own.
But just as they were about to reach him, Lian Yi moved.
She shifted slightly just a flick of her wrist, calm and without hesitation and the ancient cloths disintegrated in mid-air.
"Who are you?" the gray-haired girl demanded harshly, spitting out each word in frustration. "Why are you interfering in my business?"
"You have no right to know," Lian Yi replied flatly.
Then, in a flash, her body soared up to meet the other girl's level.
Before the girl could react, Lian Yi's foot slammed directly into her stomach with brutal precision so powerful that her body was flung like a rag in the wind! THUD! Her body struck the ground hard, drawing another gasp from the crowd.
This time, no one dared approach.
A moment of utter silence fell then came a sudden gust of wind from the west, as if nature itself was trying to issue a warning.
BOOM!
The ground in front of Lian Yi shattered instantly. A shadow streaked down from the sky like lightning. She stepped back slightly as sand and dust exploded upward. When the dust settled, all eyes fell on a new arrival.
A middle-aged woman stood there.
Her long hair was the color of tarnished silver. Her hawk-like eyes were sharp and piercing. Her thin lips pressed into a tight line. Her cloak dusty and weathered like ancient desert stone fluttered with the wind. Most of all, the oppressive aura surrounding her was suffocating.
"Why did you hurt my daughter?" she asked in a cold, flat voice but it was terrifying nonetheless.
Lian Yi didn't answer. She simply glanced up at her, calm as ever like a breeze unfazed by thunder.
"Heh… In that case, don't say I didn't warn you." The woman snapped her arm to the side, and the black bandages wrapped around it unraveled, revealing a forearm covered in glowing ancient runes. A low, strange roar echoed from the cloth spreading out behind her like some living beast.
BOOM!
The fabric transformed into several black serpents, lashing toward Lian Yi with violent intent. She didn't retreat. Instead, she merely lifted a single hand. A transparent, bluish-pink psychic energy flared outward, colliding with the snakes.
BOOM!!! A deafening blast shook the sky.
The resulting shockwave cracked the ground in a wide radius. People screamed and began fleeing in fear.
"Your power… is impressive," the woman said coolly with a thin, icy smile. Her body floated upward before vanishing into a blur. The unwrapped cloth twisted into a cage that closed in around Lian Yi from all sides.
But
FWIP!
Lian Yi burst upward, piercing straight through the cage of energy with ease. She flicked her palm again releasing a wave of power that manifested as hundreds of white lotus petals crashing toward the woman.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Each strip of cloth was shredded one by one. Before the last could be destroyed, the woman somersaulted backward, raising both hands to summon a shimmering dark purple magical shield just in time.
Lian Yi's final strike met the barrier, halting its path.
Though the battle hadn't yet ended, the ground was already shattered beneath them. Magical light flared skyward, illuminating the heavens.
The silver-haired woman gritted her teeth. Her eyes widened with a mix of rage and disbelief. She had never met a girl so powerful in her life.
"You're just a little girl…" she hissed, her voice like a snake preparing to strike.
A powerful gust swept across the scene as her energy surged to its limit. Suddenly, the sky above grew dark, swirling with black clouds. Dozens of glowing ancient symbols floated around her.
"DIE!!"
BOOMMMM!!!
A massive wave of black-violet energy exploded in every direction. Her ancient cloth transformed into glowing demonic limbs distorted and terrifying rushing toward Lian Yi from all sides like a nightmare come alive.
But Lian Yi didn't flinch.
She simply raised one hand and then
SWISH!
That hand sliced through the air. A brilliant beam of pure blue light flashed, forming a precise arc of ancient geometric lines. The demonic limbs were all obliterated by a single motion.
The woman's eyes widened. Her body jerked backward instinctively she could feel it clearly now:
She was facing a power far beyond her own.
"Th-that power… It's not human…" she murmured, her expression shifting from fury to suspicion and fear.
Lian Yi hovered in the air, calm and steady. Her gaze was composed, her lips curved ever so slightly like a gentle winter breeze.
"This is your final warning… If you still refuse to back down, I won't say it again."