Chapter 225: The Clash

The cracks in the world hung high in the dome, and bone-chilling cold winds and white-hot flames squeezed into the void of the mind simultaneously. Luo Qi and Clownfish retreated at the same time; the excruciating pain forced them to flee the clash involuntarily. Two Mind Archmages far beyond their era—one was laying out a full-force strategy while waiting for an opening, while the other, though not yet mature enough, was fighting with everything he had.

Neither of them had expected to encounter such a situation. The force of their clash was like a Thunderstorm occurring within the Consciousness Space, carrying enough power to tear a soul apart; as a result, the third soul present suffered a disaster of no fault of his own. The catastrophe happened without warning. The Gatekeeper watched a man and a boy speaking strange words in the morgue corridor. In that final moment, the boy's emotions grew increasingly agitated, yet there was always a distance of at least one meter between the two. From his perspective, nothing had happened in that split second.

Yet, in that very instant, his consciousness was interrupted, as if folded into a box.

Luo Qi turned his head to look at him. The Gatekeeper was still sitting against the wall by the window, appearing as if nothing were different, but his eyes were nothing but a blank void.

"What happened?" Luo Qi muttered, a flicker of panic crossing his heart.

A swift force swept past Luo Qi, carrying the particle storm he was familiar with. That force, like an invisible giant hand, grabbed the Gatekeeper and flung him toward the window. The man shattered the glass on the window and fell straight out.

Luo Qi turned his head in terror to glare at Clownfish. The man in black straightened his clothes and said in a low voice, "I am helping him. If he is lucky, he will wake up. If he continues to stay here, he will surely die; this is a Mage's battlefield."

"Would a Lotus Burner spare a human's life?" Luo Qi asked, disbelieving.

The man in black smiled and did not answer Luo Qi's question. He stepped forward, legs spread, knees slightly bent, and his center of gravity lowered. Luo Qi became vigilant. Having watched Du Zhengyi beat people up so many times, he could not fail to understand these physical postures.

The man in black's hands clenched shut abruptly, and two long, narrow blades flipped out from his hands. The blade in his right hand was close to the size of a common knife, while the blade in his left was nearly a dagger. Luo Qi suddenly realized his Combat style was very mature; this was not a common situation for a Mind Mage.

As if guessing his thoughts, the man in black smiled and said quite modestly, "I cannot reach the Combat ability of a Battle Mage, but I don't need to reach that level to deal with you."

Luo Qi said nothing. He could understand Clownfish; there were always times when relying solely on Telepathy was far from enough. However, Luo Qi still asked, "Aren't two Mind Mages supposed to duel in the mental horizon?"

"A Mind duel without a Sandbox is an absolute disaster. You wouldn't want to involve innocent bystanders, would you?" the man in black said. "I want to ask you one last time: do you really know where I come from?"

"Probably," Luo Qi said, biting his lip.

This answer earned a sudden lunge from Clownfish, his right-hand long blade hacking toward Luo Qi's left shoulder. Luo Qi's attention had already been highly focused; catching the attack in the corner of his eye, he dodged to the right with all his might. Even after dodging, Luo Qi could hardly believe it, but he immediately realized that not everyone could reach the speed of Du Zhengyi. He was not completely unable to deal with the attack of a non-Battle Mage.

However, just as this thought crossed his mind, Luo Qi realized Clownfish's short blade was stabbing toward his stomach at an insidious angle. He struggled to dodge it; by this time, he was already very close to Clownfish, within an arm's length. He threw a sudden punch at Clownfish, who dodged to the side, but Luo Qi's left fist had already struck, and a bloody gash appeared on Clownfish's shoulder.

Clownfish was shocked and retreated violently, only then seeing that Luo Qi was holding daggers in both hands.