Chapter 515: [Fiction]

A sky-full of dark gray bullet curtains continuously washed over the airspace where Gao Jie Ming stood, like an endless rain of death.

Each concentrated barrage brought the sound of at least one layer of Gui Xu Armor's field shattering like fragile glass.

Yet in Gao Jie Ming's heart at this moment, a rare thread of relief arose.

Relief for having studied those two "rewards" out of boredom earlier.

Although the "Multi-Layered Barrier Nesting Optimization Algorithm" had not supplemented his combat system, it played an unexpected, crucial role in this extreme defensive battle.

Thanks to the algorithm's optimization, he could nearly synchronize the activation of multiple Gui Xu Armor witch artifacts.

Through the algorithm's built-in "Conflict Resolution" and "Energy Flow Bridging" modules, these hastily formed, identical defensive fields managed to maintain an unstable "multi-layered stacking" state within milliseconds.

This was far from perfect multi-layered defense.

Energy flow was sluggish, stacking effects showed obvious attenuation and interference, the overall structure was extremely fragile, and it drained Gao Jie Ming's spiritual calculation power immensely.

Without the Benming magic treasure Wu Yun Hua Hong Mirror greatly amplifying his mental stability and computational efficiency, this maneuver could never have been sustained in high-speed combat.

But right now, this "imperfect" stacking had become his lifeline.

It could dissipate layer by layer the endless torrent of Law-Breaking bullet curtains from the black-robed witch.

Each wave of dense attack shattered the outermost Gui Xu Armor, but inner layers provided buffer, granting Gao Jie Ming a tiny window to activate the next defensive layer.

He danced on the edge of a blade—pushing Tai Xu Step to its limit, weaving impossible evasive maneuvers through the gaps in dense bullet curtains, while continuously directing his floating cannons to counterattack and probe.

Dark golden Li Huo Divine Light shot from different angles and modes toward the black-robed witch—point strikes, scatter shots, brief sustained illumination.

Gao Jie Ming no longer sought a single decisive blow; instead, he frantically collected data through attack feedback.

"So… it's not truly reacting at light speed," Gao Jie Ming's eyes flashed with sudden insight.

After dozens of rounds of probing shots from varying directions and modes, he gradually uncovered the pattern behind the opponent's strange "defense."

Any attack directly targeting the black-robed witch's body triggered an "automatic response" just before impact.

This response was not the witch's subjective "reaction," but more like a passive phenomenon governed by some preset rule.

Externally, it manifested as the witch's body or limbs always assuming just the right posture to "meet" or "block" the attack's trajectory—after which the attack vanished as if striking emptiness.

"Not enhanced reaction speed… more like… warping the 'time' between attack and self?" Gao Jie Ming rapidly analyzed, "No, perhaps it alters the 'connection' between both sides, forcibly synchronizing the attack's 'imminent impact' with the witch's 'already completed defense' outcome? Is this a time-based or fate-based law?"

But he immediately ruled out time-based or fate-based laws.

If the opponent truly mastered advanced manipulation of time or fate, the battle would not be this kind of "exchange of blows."

Moreover, in defense, the opponent clearly wasn't purifying or dispelling elements—he was directly erasing the attack.

And his offensive method clearly manifested another law entirely.

Defense and attack revealed three distinct law-level characteristics.

Could the opponent be studying multiple laws simultaneously?

Or was it… some special law?

The witch civilization's knowledge was vast, with tens of thousands of obscure laws recorded.

Gao Jie Ming, combining all observed details, began rapidly sifting and comparing within his memory database.

The defense's "synchronization" resembled a preset outcome: "attack will inevitably be intercepted."

The defense's "method" resembled directly "erasing the attack's existence."

The attack's "law-breaking" resembled forcibly defining the state: "defense will inevitably be pierced."

Among these, the law type capable of erasing attacks was the rarest—even the entire witch civilization had discovered only a few ten thousand.

Gao Jie Ming mentally reviewed all relevant law effects, constantly comparing them with the current situation.

Suddenly, Gao Jie Ming's eyes lit up!

"Very likely… it's this one!"

Though he couldn't be one hundred percent certain, this hypothesis explained nearly all the bizarre phenomena before him!

Just as he prepared to test further and verify his guess…

A sudden change occurred!

In the instant Gao Jie Ming's spirit stirred with his new discovery, the black-robed witch—who had remained as immovable as a rock, relying solely on bullet curtains for suppression and attrition—moved!

Using the bullet curtains as visual cover, the black-robed witch vanished without warning from his original position!

No ripples of spatial teleportation, no afterimages of high-speed movement, not even a hint of violent energy fluctuation.

It was as if the fact that he had been "standing a hundred li away" had been erased in an instant, and the new fact that he now stood "three chi beside Gao Jie Ming" had been forcibly written into reality!

When Gao Jie Ming, relying on his body-cultivation senses and combat instinct, turned his head in horror, those eyes burning with dark red coals were already within arm's reach!

A hand covered in black leather gloves, with distinct knuckles, moved toward his chest with a motion that seemed slow yet was terrifyingly fast!

Fast!

Unfathomably fast!

Not fast in physical speed, but the mind-shattering "fast" of skipping the entire process—from "non-existence" to "existence," from "far" to "near"—completely!

His pupils shrank to needle points!

His heart nearly stopped!

Yet in this instant of life-or-death, extreme fear birthed extreme clarity.

The opponent's utterly irrational "teleport" and his direct, unadorned strike for the vital point didn't throw Gao Jie Ming into panic—instead, like the final puzzle piece, it snapped perfectly into place with his astonishing hypothesis!

In a flash, the hand touched Gao Jie Ming's surface.

The several layers of Gui Xu Armor maintained by the multi-layered barrier algorithm vanished instantly like popped soap bubbles.

Just as that unmistakably unnatural hand was about to make contact…

Gao Jie Ming's eyes flashed with ruthlessness!

He did not choose futile evasion or defense; instead, he made an action that caused the black-robed witch's dark red eyes to flicker slightly!

In an instant, he channeled all his strength into his right arm, advancing instead of retreating, and punched straight toward the incoming palm!

Strangely, as his fist swung out, the opponent's palm—which should have been impossibly fast—slowed down!

Gao Jie Ming's eyes gleamed with triumph—he knew he was right!

The opponent's attack was this fast because it directly defined the outcome: "must make contact with my body."

Simultaneously as his fist swung, the Gui Xu Armor activation artifact already prepared within Gao Jie Ming's body triggered!

In the blink of an eye, fist met palm.

Huh…

No earth-shattering collision, no explosive energy clash.

Gao Jie Ming's fist automatically "dispersed" the moment it touched the black-robed witch's palm.

As if his fist were merely a delicate phantom woven from smoke, casually brushed aside.

And this strange dissipation rapidly spread up his wrist.

It looked as if the black-robed witch's palm had effortlessly "smashed apart" a human form made of smoke, starting from the point of contact.

The black-robed witch's gaze beneath his hood remained unshaken—this was, after all, the expected outcome.

But the next moment, the dark red flames in his eyes flickered imperceptibly.

Because the unstoppable "dissipation" abruptly halted when it reached the junction of Gao Jie Ming's arm and shoulder!

A faintly dimmed Gui Xu Armor field surfaced at the last moment, like the strongest dam, firmly blocking the erosion!

Crack!

That layer of Gui Xu Armor shattered as well—but it had indeed stopped the erosion.

"Ugh!"

Gao Jie Ming let out a pained grunt, using the faint counterforce and the recoil from the shattered armor to unleash his fully prepared Tai Xu Step!

His body was yanked by invisible force, becoming a twisted afterimage as he desperately retreated backward in a clumsy posture.

Only when he reached a relatively "safe" distance did he stabilize his stance.

His face was pale, sweat pouring from his forehead.

His right shoulder was hollow, the stump bloody and torn—but his powerful vitality was already surging.

Broken blood vessels and muscles twisted and stretched like living entities, rapidly forming the prototype of bone, then wrapping in new flesh.

Soon, a slightly pale new arm grew visibly before his eyes!

He stared fixedly at the distant black-robed witch, who had not immediately pursued—seemingly also assessing him—while the searing pain from his severed arm mingled with the itching of new tissue growth.

But none of this compared to the clarity of the conclusion churning in his mind.

Defense's "inevitable interception."

Attack's "structural disintegration."

Movement's "fact-jumping."

And just now, the terrifying effect of directly "erasing" part of his body's "existence" at the moment of contact…

All these traits pointed unmistakably to that extremely rare and bizarre law.

It was not simple energy manipulation, not spacetime distortion—it was a more fundamental power acting upon "reality" and "concept."

Gao Jie Ming stretched out his newly regenerated right hand and clenched his fist tightly.

His attention, however, was not on the hand at all; his gaze burned fixedly on the black-robed witch, his voice hoarse yet resolute with the certainty of truth uncovered:

"A terrifying power. You're using the origin of the Law… 【Fiction】, am I right?"

The black-robed witch stood motionless, the dark red glow beneath his hood flickering faintly—for the first time, revealing a hint of genuine recognition.

(End of Chapter)