Chapter 289: Looks Like 1v2, Actually 1v2

The silver‑haired man who suddenly appeared before him gave Chi Jinan an extremely strange feeling.

He seemed elegant and composed, like a scholar or noble, yet both the eight tentacles exuding a deep‑sea aura and the scrutinizing depth of his dark‑red eyes instinctively made him feel danger.

That sense of danger excited him further, but the surrounding viscous energy field made him feel intensely repulsed.

Although the enemy before him was far stronger than the Flame City Cannon, the fight was nowhere as enjoyable as last time.

"Who are you?" Chi Jinan's voice was hoarse from severe blood loss, yet his fighting spirit only grew.

"Just a passing researcher," Fang Zhiyan said with a faint smile, and the eight silvery tentacles behind him twitched.

The eight tentacles moved in a rhythm that seemed slow but was actually fast enough to leave after‑images, confronting the overwhelming blood thorns.

"Pupupupu—!!"

Muffled sounds kept echoing.

Fang Zhiyan's tentacles did not choose to clash head‑on with the blood thorns; they always interfered just before the thorns' power peaked, using clever angles and just‑right force.

The faint violet‑red sheen on the tentacle surfaces seemed to possess some energy resistance, making the energy attached to the blood thorns hard to penetrate.

More oddly, the tentacle attacks carried a peculiar rhythm; each contact caused a fleeting discord in the thorns' internal raging energy, which, while not enough to shatter the thorns, greatly reduced their attack continuity and threat.

Fang Zhiyan himself did not even move a step.

He stood there, hands still in his coat pockets, watching the tentacle‑and‑blood‑thorn clash with keen interest, occasionally nodding or shaking his head as if taking notes.

Chi Jinan's complexion grew increasingly grim; he could feel his attacks being casually dismantled by the opponent in a near‑playful manner.

The feeling was not a life‑or‑death battle, but rather like a doctor dissecting his own energy structure.

Blood light flared even brighter in Chi Jinan's eyes as he frantically squeezed his remaining strength, trying to make the blood‑thorn attacks more chaotic to break the opponent's annoying rhythm.

However, Fang Zhiyan's tentacles adapted even faster.

They seemed to possess independent thought and response ability, always anticipating the thorns' changes and delivering the most effective counter.

Several tentacles even began actively wrapping around finer thorns, and amid the flickering light they started to "analyze" and "simulate" the thorns' energy fluctuations.

Fang Zhiyan even had time to use the tip of a tentacle to collect a thin strand of the purest dark‑red blood filament, placing it into a miniature crystal tube to take back as a specimen.

"That's about it," Fang Zhiyan said suddenly, a flash of understanding crossing his dark‑red eyes.

"Your grasp of the annihilation principle is intriguing, but limited by your own perception and... hmm, the Church's purification procedures, you never reached the true Core, what a pity,"

As he spoke, the thickest silvery tentacle suddenly accelerated, bypassing the densest front‑row thorns at an impossible angle and gently touching the edge of the wound he himself had torn open on Chi Jinan's right chest.

It did not pierce, nor explode.

The tentacle briefly pierced Chi Jinan's raised wrist, abruptly halting his self‑destructive move, while the paralyzing toxin it secreted instantly entered.

Chi Jinan's entire arm went numb instantly, losing sensation.

Immediately, another tentacle, like a shadow, struck hard at his side.

"Bang!" Amid the dull thud, Chi Jinan was flung sideways, crashing heavily into a pile of rubble, and the blood thorns and blood mist gathered around him shattered and dispersed.

Fang Zhiyan gracefully retracted the tentacle, lightly flicking off the blood at its tip, his dark‑red eyes calm and still.

"Heh... researcher?"

Chi Jinan coughed up a mouthful of black blood mixed with organ fragments, yet his face broke into an even brighter, almost uncanny grin.

"Then I must cooperate fully with your research!"

He no longer tried to attack from a distance; instead, he surged forward, dragging his broken body still bleeding profusely, and charged straight at Fang Zhiyan.

The remaining Blood Crystals and blood thorns around him retracted and compressed, coalescing on his right fist into a dark‑red blood sphere that continuously emitted annihilation waves.

Facing this self‑sacrificial strike, Fang Zhiyan's face showed no change.

"Courage is commendable," he said softly.

In the next instant, the eight silvery tentacles twitched.

No longer simple blocks or counters, they displayed dazzlingly precise coordination and terrifying control.

They never met Chi Jinan's devastating blood sphere head‑on; instead, through interference, delay, consumption, and pressure, they gradually eroded his momentum, squeezed his space, and drained the little energy he had left.

Chi Jinan seemed trapped in a massive, viscous, resilient deep‑sea net woven from silvery tentacles.

"Pup!"

A tentacle seized the gap in his defense, precisely piercing the already wounded spot on his right shoulder, spraying a spray of blood.

Chi Jinan's body convulsed violently, and his charging momentum was finally shattered.

He still stared intently at Fang Zhiyan, his eyes lacking the fear of impending death, only a hint of unfulfilled regret.

He wasn't afraid of dying here today; if he had any real thoughts, they'd probably be a slight apology to her, but it didn't matter.

Fang Zhiyan slowly walked toward him, the tentacles behind him gradually retracting.

He looked down from his height at the dying Chi Jinan, his dark‑red eyes showing no murderous intent.

"A splendid performance, Sir Chi Jinan, you have shown me a personally colored interpretation of annihilation,"

He raised a hand, a tentacle slowly lifting, its tip aimed at Chi Jinan's brow.

"As thanks, I will return you to the most tranquil 'deep sea'."

The tentacle was about to descend, delivering Chi Jinan the final blow.

【Ying Duo: Teacher, my final strike.】

Fang Zhiyan's movement paused, his dark‑red pupils flickering toward the distance.

Lu Mu must have gone off to play sometime; it seemed he and Ying Duo were sparring back and forth, probably having a great time.

Shen Zexi focused solely on dealing with Lu Mu, but since Lu Mu was already wounded and energy‑drained from his recent battle with Chi Jinan, Shen Zexi and Ying Duo together could still trade blows with him.

It looks like 1v2, but in fact it's 1v2, only there are two actors.

Ying Duo still had time to divert attention to control all the small robots nearby; they were fully charged, their muzzles locked onto Chi Jinan.

He smiled faintly, the dim glow at the tentacle tip fading away mostly, leaving only enough intensity to ensure control.

【Fang Zhiyan: Of course, my student.】

He silently recited in his heart; meanwhile, the tentacle still poised to thrust downward, but its speed was deliberately slowed a bit, and he adjusted its angle.