Chapter 260: He's Raising a Flag

Qi Junyi turned and had just taken two steps when his footwork was forced to stop.

A small robot of delicate construction, steadily holding an energy rifle, hovered less than ten centimeters in front of him, its barrel aimed at his brow.

Immediately after, the second, the third…

A total of four identical robots flew out from behind Ying Duo, each sealing off his left, right, and rear escape routes, their movements perfectly synchronized.

Qi Junyi: "........"

He slowly turned his head to look at Ying Duo, still seated on the bench, his posture as obedient as a model student.

"What do you mean?"

Qi Junyi's tone remained relatively calm, but the veins at his temples were about to burst.

He is a distinguished Heresy Tribunal squad leader; what dangerous scene hasn't he seen?

But being forced not to move by someone with a homemade robot wielding a toy gun (?), that's a first for him.

Ying Duo lifted his face, his golden pupils unusually clear in the dawn's morning light.

"What you just said sounds like someone who runs to settle affairs right before going to their death."

He paused, as if weighing his words, then added:

"In situations like this, if you don't clarify before you die, we'll have to scour the world for clues, which is a hassle, so just explain it all at once."

Qi Hengyu's heart tightened at the words, his brows knit as he looked at Qi Junyi, "Is what he said true? You........."

Qi Junyi's mouth twitched sharply, and he could only patiently explain to Ying Duo:

"I just have a mission and am racing against time; it's not as complicated as you think."

He looked at Qi Hengyu, his tone softening, "Don't listen to his wild guesses; this is Tianmian City, the Church's headquarters."

Oh, but I blew this place up last night as a rookie barely past the twentieth level.

Ying Duo's face wore an unmistakably skeptical "I only believe you if there's a ghost" expression.

"Oh." Yet he replied, and perfunctorily pressed on with the main question.

"Then stop being a riddler. What exactly is Qi Hengyu's Aberrant Arts? What does it do when controlled? Explain clearly and we'll let you go."

Qi Hengyu, whose heart was a swirl of emotions, could only twitch his mouth as he watched Ying Duo threaten, with his palm-sized robots, a notorious Heresy Tribunal figure known for strength and temper, to explain everything before leaving.

Even worse, two especially agile robots crawled up Qi Junyi's pant leg, and in a blink perched on his left and right shoulders, each pointing its barrel at his temples—threat evident.

He suddenly felt that coming here might have been a mistake.

A huge mistake.

"........ Fine."

Qi Junyi, in a self‑destructive manner, wiped his face, abandoned his plan to leave immediately, and turned back to face Qi Hengyu.

"How did it feel when you used Aberrant Arts before? Explain in detail."

Qi Hengyu was startled, apparently not expecting the topic to circle back to him, and furrowed his brows; it was an unpleasant memory.

"Back then I hadn't been in the Slum long; the group that took me in was fighting another small gang for territory, and I wanted to help, so... I tried using Aberrant Arts."

He paused, his face a mix of embarrassment and gloom.

"As a result, the weapons in both sides' hands suddenly became much heavier; many almost couldn't hold them, yet we couldn't simply stop fighting."

"In the end they tossed the weapons, bit with teeth, pinched with hands, pulling each other's hair... rolling on the ground, until their reinforcements arrived just in time."

"Most of our people were wounded then and were driven out; after that we could only move to the garbage hill of the Fourth District... many developed ailments from those injuries."

"Since that incident, I never used it in battle again."

"Later, as I grew up, I used it secretly and found Aberrant Arts only made me weaker, completely uncontrollable; eventually I pretended it never existed."

He lifted his head, his gaze at Qi Junyi carrying a hint of self‑mockery.

"After arriving at Mitra Academy, I privately asked teachers of domain‑type Aberrant Arts; they said precise control of area and targets is possible, but it requires extraordinary talent and long practice, and now almost no one can achieve it."

"Someone like me who can't even trigger it stably has no hope of controlling it."

"So it's a useless ability; besides being a hindrance, it serves no purpose."

After hearing his younger brother's account, Qi Junyi was silent for a while, then shook his head.

"A bunch of big shots fighting for territory... pulling each other's hair?"

He whispered and repeated it, his tone oddly strange.

"The scene... does have some imaginative space."

Qi Junyi paused, his gaze at Qi Hengyu complex and unusually keen.

"It's a pity you grew up in that place yet turned out so... 'proper', at least you didn't come back with a whole set of low‑grade tricks."

Qi Hengyu's eyes flickered at the remark.

"Actually... I also learned a bit..."

He just hasn't had the chance to use it; after all, his martial arts later improved, and normally those underhanded moves aren't needed.

Qi Junyi ignored his slight timidity; his expression hardened, and his tone grew serious.

"Your Aberrant Arts isn't a junk ability; it involves the 'Balance' principle."

"Balance principle?"

Qi Hengyu was taken aback.

Time, space, and consciousness principles are rare, but he's heard of them to some extent.

But 'Balance'…

It's a niche within a niche; he had never heard of anyone's Aberrant Arts linked to it before.

"Yes, Balance." Qi Junyi nodded affirmatively.

"Before Balance, all are equal; forcibly pulling the power of all targets within a certain range onto a single level line is the core manifestation of your Aberrant Arts."

"After all, as a child you could pull a group of adults' strength down to a child's level; as you grew, your emotions became more volatile, making the Aberrant Arts' activation and effects unstable."

"In the end, this is exactly your inner 'imbalance' affecting your Aberrant Arts, preventing you from controlling the direction and scale of 'balance,' which causes it to backfire on you."

He stared directly into Qi Hengyu's eyes and asked:

"You've never considered trying to use your Aberrant Arts on those true 'strong ones'?"

The moment the words left his mouth, Qi Junyi himself halted, then immediately showed a hint of frustration.

He forgot that Qi Hengyu grew up in the Slum, where there were hardly any decent 'strong ones' around him.

Although he had arranged for people to protect him covertly, those people would never reveal their true strength before him; let alone in a crisis—no one would use an ability they aren't confident in, especially one that could even weaken themselves.

A child who has never seen a high mountain naturally wouldn't think that his own 'little mound' also contains the potential to move mountains and fill seas.

Qi Hengyu was also stumped by the question, "Pull the strong ones... up to my level?"

Qi Junyi explained plainly:

"Your Aberrant Arts essentially can pull everyone's combat power onto a single level line; simply put, whoever is strong gets weakened. You should learn to control your temper to keep the domain stable, and try to shift the position of that level line."