Chapter 137: Xia Na with Bloodshot Eyes

"Don't come over… Ahh!?"

First came a cry of surprise, then a visible surge of martial energy erupted from Jia Ji, accompanied by a clangorous thunderous boom, enveloping his entire body in azure light.

But halfway through his exclamation, his expression shifted to an awkward, sheepish grin—he only then realized the "Sealing Barrier" had already been lifted, as the sky had returned to normal.

"This… this doesn't make sense. Why did I get killed by her on first encounter?"

The long blade, still wreathed in scorching flames, reverted to its ancient, simple form; slowly, she sheathed it into her impossibly deep Artifact Coat, and the sharp gleam in Xia Na's eyes faded with it.

The girl let out a cold sniff, yet on her pure, adorable face flickered a barely perceptible sense of satisfaction; her fiery crimson hair, molten like lava yet soft and flowing, gradually returned to black.

Jia Ji patted himself all over—though nothing felt different from before, he had a persistent sense of wrongness, a phantom pain; after all, Flame Haze warriors could restore their victims to original state after slashing them within a Sealing Barrier.

He still didn't know how many times Xia Na had cut him to break the seal that day.

"How rude."

A mature, steady voice emerged from the pendant hanging from the girl's chest; though she spoke those words, there was no real reproach in them—as if she merely uttered them because the situation called for it.

In truth, the Punishing God had never cared much about such things.

Xia Na typically traveled and fought alone, with "two souls in one body"—the other soul being the Punishing God.

He was, in effect, a constant companion, yet also a divine artifact; yet he couldn't offer her any Flame Scripture to let her devour various strange flames and evolve, and most of his usual advice was utterly useless; even his crucial spiritual-body technique of possession and substitution might shatter the vessel…

Punishing God, your artifact is the most useless one ever!

"Oh oh! I am Jia Ji of the Northern Dipper Fist School, DESU! The one who wields the authority of 'Judgment' and 'Damnation'—Punishing God Alastor Sama, Domo!"

Though he was thinking something impolite, his outward demeanor remained politely courteous.

"If you can't move freely within the Sealing Barrier, you're no help at all—better return to your own world as soon as possible."

The pendant floated gently in midair, offering this kind suggestion; it knew that during this time, its contracted Flame Haze warrior had undergone some strange changes.

She often stared silently at the empty air in front of her when she should have been resting, sometimes bursting into sudden, involuntary laughter… It could see that, compared to the cold killer who once saw maintaining world balance as her sole duty—the "Flame-haired, Burning-eyed Executioner"—this child's emotions, never taught to her, were slowly awakening.

Whether this change was good or bad… but as a spiritless contracted demon-god, a Red World deity even unable to detect the existence of a chat group, all it could do was let it be.

And all these changes stemmed from the strange man before her.

Alastor sensed within him a power distinct from Existence Force, and his physique was exceptionally hardened; yet if he couldn't even overcome the Sealing Barrier, he was merely an ordinary human.

It would be best for him not to interfere in the battles between Flame Haze warriors and the Red World.

Some Flame Haze warriors might temporarily recruit humans as allies or liaisons, but their actual value on the front lines was negligible—and the strongest Flame Haze, the "Flame-haired, Burning-eyed Executioner," needed none of that.

"What… are you thinking about me…?" Jia Ji seemed to sense Alastor's current thoughts, his gaze shifting to the pendant.

"Sorry, I was just thinking about Hellshake Yano."

He said it offhandedly, but in truth, he was thinking about Xia Na.

In "Xia Na with Bloodshot Eyes," no—correctly, "Burning-Eyed Xia Na"—the "Sealing Barrier" is a fundamental technique, a divine move for first-strike kills; without the proper countermeasure, one is utterly at the mercy of the user.

Sealing Barrier—a technique widely used in modern times, a basic skill shared by both Red World Apostles and Flame Haze warriors: it kills without karmic consequence, consumes little energy, has no casting animation, zero startup frames; once activated, it freezes all human consciousness and motion within a certain area, creating the illusion of "time stop."

But this is merely surface appearance—an ordinary person's misconception.

In truth, it is a causality-independent space created by severing the internal causality of a hemisphere, thereby shielding and isolating it from external perception; it may also be called a "Wall of Causality Severance." After the technique is lifted, surrounding damaged scenery is restored, reinforcing the illusion of time stop.

This barrier—this vibration of causality, this exquisitely noble severance of causality—is the twin of those seemingly invincible but overused time-manipulation abilities in the two-dimensional world.

Jia Ji has experienced time reversal so many times, he couldn't count them on a hundred hands; if he were now summoned as a Servant in the Holy Grail War, his status panel might even display "Time Resistance Lv3"—though back then, the power of Lianggong was invincible, and no matter how high he raised this resistance, he still couldn't win.

To escape the Sealing Barrier and move freely within it, one merely needs to develop a slight resistance to causality.

In this world, nearly everyone except ordinary humans can do it—Jia Ji had been confident before arriving; he certainly couldn't be considered an ordinary human, his Dragon Martial Qi should instantly obliterate Existence Force—yet he'd been humiliated the moment he arrived.

"What the hell is this world's judgment system?! At the end of causality, it's impossible to overcome a technique like this!" He slammed his forehead hard against a nearby poor little tree, shaking it violently.

"What are you rambling about now?"

The girl's features were elegant and refined, showing not a trace of childish innocence; though she often slashed relentlessly with a blank expression, striking fear into every Red World Apostle, one could see at a glance that her demeanor was not tense or rigid, but inwardly resolute and disciplined.

Yet before this man who constantly spouted nonsense, she could never maintain her usual stern expression—she felt the urge to slash him two more times.

After two headbutts, Jia Ji's eyes lit up—he suddenly realized: was there something on him that could resist the Sealing Barrier?

It seemed there was.

Jia Ji strode quickly to Xia Na's front, blocking her path.

"Use the Sealing Barrier on me again."

"Too troublesome. I won't."

"Pleeease—just once more!"

Jia Ji clasped his hands together in pleading.

Hearing that drawn-out tone, the girl shuddered involuntarily, shot him a furious glare, and raised a finger.

Ugh!! This guy is so annoying! So utterly ridiculous!!

The sky turned red again; all causality within this space was severed, everything frozen.

Then…

"It works."

Jia Ji winked at Xia Na, who looked astonished, then reached out his large hand to ruffle her hair, grinning: "Being tsundere is exhausting!"

(End of Chapter)