Chapter 31: If You

“Hypnotic sound won’t work on you? Then try this!”

The leader of the Ark Sect let out a cold snort; the air around him instantly froze, forming ice flowers that defied the laws of physics.

“Lightning!”

the Ark Sect leader barked.

A pale bolt of thunder suddenly tore through reality, writhing like a living thing as it lashed toward Zhou Yun—so fast it left only a streak of white light.

Zhou Yun’s figure flickered and vanished from where he stood.

The lightning was fast, but the Ark Sect leader’s casting animation was far too long.

Zhou Yun noticed she seemed far more skilled with mind-manipulating abilities like hypnotic sound,

while spells involving lightning, frost, and flame appeared clumsy and unrefined.

Zhou Yun instantly reappeared behind the Ark Sect leader, the mechanical hand on his head pointing directly at her.

A powerful torrent of telekinesis slammed into her back.

The Ark Sect leader whirled around, focusing her will and unleashing psychic energy to form a shimmering mental barrier.

The invisible telekinesis clashed with the psychic barrier, unleashing hurricane-force winds through the air.

Zhou Yun pulled back his robe again, revealing the gourd beneath.

“Pocket Tornado!”

A gray-black tornado five to six meters tall erupted from the gourd, sweeping up dust, trash, and bricks as it roared toward the Ark Sect leader.

“No psychic signature at all!”

The Ark Sect leader raised one hand, channeling psychic energy into an invisible force to halt the tornado,

her eyes filled with utter confusion.

Telekinesis, instant movement, air bullets, this hurricane—

every attack from this man wearing Luo Ge’s face felt like it came from a seasoned psychic,

yet his body emitted not a single trace of psychic energy—he was clearly non-psychic.

Zhou Yun gave the Ark Sect leader no time to think,

his figure flickered again, reappearing instantly behind her.

“Bang! Bang! Bang!”

he mimicked gunshots with his mouth, fingers aimed at the Ark Sect leader,

invisible bullets fired at lethal speed—enough to knock an ordinary person unconscious instantly.

The Ark Sect leader snarled and spun around, grabbing the tornado and hurling it at Zhou Yun; the invisible bullets were swallowed by the whirlwind.

Zhou Yun’s waist gourd stirred, pulling the hurricane back inside.

“Honor the Emperor, for He is humanity’s savior!”

“Obey His words, for He will lead you into a bright future!”

The Ark Sect leader drew a deep breath and infused her voice with warp-space energy,

this time releasing not hypnotic sound, but pure psychic shrieks:

“Attend to His wisdom, for He will shield you from evil!”

“Mutter His prayers, for He will save your soul!”

Hymns to the Emperor poured from her lips, instantly transforming into blades of sound that stabbed toward Zhou Yun.

Zhou Yun was shaken by the psychic sound, every nerve in his body screaming with agony.

Seizing the opening, the Ark Sect leader swung her arm again; a bolt of thunder ripped from warp-space into reality.

“Lightning!!!”

The thunder became an arrow, surging toward Zhou Yun.

Zhou Yun’s figure dissolved into afterimages and vanished once more.

Her casting was clearly clumsy and unpracticed—too long a cast time to ever hit someone who could teleport.

Zhou Yun guessed she was probably better at mind-control abilities, since few in the Undercity could resist hypnotic sound,

and here, psychic perception was far more useful than controlling lightning, fire, or ice.

“Your spells are slow and your aim’s terrible—practice more if you’re this bad!”

Zhou Yun appeared behind the Ark Sect leader and mocked her.

At the same time, he focused his awareness on his eyes, attempting to use X-ray vision to see through her body structure.

Since her appearance was deceptive, let’s look inside—

and then Zhou Yun saw an utterly flat, endless plain.

“Holy shit, so fucking flat!” Zhou Yun blurted out.

“Huh?” The Ark Sect leader froze in place.

Of the three psychic abilities—telekinesis, teleportation, and X-ray vision—Zhou Yun was worst at X-ray vision,

he’d only intended to check her internal organs to see if she was a gene thief,

but he’d only managed to see through her clothes.

Noticing Zhou Yun’s gaze, the Ark Sect leader blinked, then instantly realized:

“X-ray vision? You bastard!!!”

The Ark Sect leader shrieked in fury,

psychic energy surged into her flesh and blood, her figure blurring as she lunged toward Zhou Yun.

Her fist swung at Zhou Yun; he raised his arm to block—

Boom!!

The fist struck the clay-like skin covering Zhou Yun’s body, warping and distorting the clay surface.

Zhou Yun flinched, his body dissolving into afterimages as he vanished.

Mind control, lightning manipulation, flesh enhancement—

this woman knew quite a few psychic techniques,

though they were disorganized, clumsy, and unpolished.

That punch had clearly enhanced her flesh, turning her fist into a lethal weapon,

had Zhou Yun’s clay-like skin not provided some defense—especially against blunt force—he’d have broken several bones.

Seeing that Zhou Yun had only suffered strange wrinkles on his skin, twisted like clay molded by a child,

“What kind of monster are you?!” the Ark Sect leader gasped,

resistant to hypnotic sound, able to dodge lightning with teleportation, skin that deflects punches—

the Ark Sect leader couldn’t help but feel fear—what kind of monster was this?!

She swung her arm again, yanking a bolt of thunder directly from warp-space and hurling it at Zhou Yun.

Zhou Yun flickered once more and vanished.

“If you’re this bad, practice more. If you can’t lose, don’t play.”

Zhou Yun reappeared not far from her, taunting.

“Bastard, if only you could resist my hypnotic sound—” the Ark Sect leader gritted her teeth.

“Past is past. Present is present.” Zhou Yun shrugged, focusing his awareness on his eyes again.

The Ark Sect leader gathered her will,

mind control useless, warp-space lightning missed, pure physical attacks barely hurt—

she drew a deep breath, psychic energy flooding into her flesh.

Swinging her fist, she closed the distance to Zhou Yun in an instant.

“Bang! Bang! Bang!”

Zhou Yun spat three “bangs,” firing air bullets from his fingertips.

The Ark Sect leader didn’t dodge or flinch, enduring the dizziness from the bullets as she charged straight into Zhou Yun’s face.

Zhou Yun held his breath, using X-ray vision to peer into the Ark Sect leader.

A flicker of lightning rose from her fingertips—

not warp-space lightning, but bioelectricity generated by enhanced nervous system, too fast for Zhou Yun to dodge.

The Liangyu School, famed among the Thousand Sons for psychic flesh manipulation, used this same method—her technique was identical in essence.

The fist wrapped in lightning slammed into Zhou Yun’s face, stripping away layers of clay skin.

Zhou Yun stepped back, staring at the Ark Sect leader with stunned confusion—

not because of the electric numbness on his face, but because

“You’re not a traitor? You’re human??” Zhou Yun blurted out, staring at her internal organs.

The Ark Sect leader blinked, dumbfounded, watching the clay peel from Zhou Yun’s face to reveal human skin beneath.

“You’re human too? You’re not a servant of the Star Demon?!” the Ark Sect leader couldn’t help but blink.

Brothers, join the group—become traitors

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(End of Chapter)