Chapter 686

Luo En nodded, then he spoke.

"Get them all moving—now we must defeat him."

The girl looked troubled.

"But the flames he just unleashed strongly suppress curse energy—those curses are no match for him; even a thousand of them are merely cannon fodder."

Luo En shook his head.

"I'm not asking them to fight—I'm asking them to move and distract his vision, so we'll have an opening."

After a moment's thought, the girl nodded, and Luo En headed toward the academy. Though he had escaped the opponent's attack this time, Luo En knew the opponent would not let it go—he would return. And with the opponent's silent, unseen speed, Luo En knew he couldn't escape for long.

Before reaching the academy, Luo En encountered Taiyaro and Naiji, who had run out from within.

Taiyaro stared at Luo En in surprise.

"When I suddenly realized you were gone, I went to your academy to look for you, but I never expected a great battle had broken out here."

Naiji looked deeply troubled.

"I don't know what that thing is, but it's so powerful—our entire academy, faculty and students combined, couldn't stop it. And it's clear their strength keeps growing—we're no match for them."

Luo En quickly comforted Naiji, then spoke to Taiyaro.

"This is a long story, but now we've found the enemy—the man who killed countless people is now hunting us, and he plans to kill ten thousand."

Taiyaro's expression changed slightly. He said:

"Where is he? Let's go kill him."

Luo En shook his head.

"This isn't the time for rash actions. His strength is terrifying. What we must do is plan carefully—use every means to lure him into a trap and kill him with other energies."

Taiyaro said to Luo En:

"Give me any orders you need."

So Luo En led Taiyaro and Naiji to the castle where the girl was.

The girl said to Luo En:

"Everything you arranged has been done—all the curses have gone out to distract his vision, but they won't last long. That guy is too clever—he'll figure out our plan soon."

Luo En said:

"It's fine now. I've found everyone I needed to find. Recall all the curses—we're launching a full counterattack."

Luo En's side now had decent combat strength—both Taiyaro and Naiji possessed formidable power.

When Naiji saw the curses, she nearly drew her blade; only after Luo En's strenuous explanation did she reluctantly sheathe it, though her expression remained grim.

"They're curses—why team up with them? And how do you know this battle isn't their doing?"

Luo En said:

"This matter is extremely complex—we still can't confirm anything. But our strength is too weak. We must unite to oppose that force."

Naiji gave a slight nod, then turned to the girl.

"Are you the leader of the curses?"

The girl nodded, then shook her head.

"More accurately, I am their creator."

"Creator?"

Naiji stared at the girl in surprise, not understanding her meaning.

Luo En spoke from beside her:

"Don't dwell on this now—we must concentrate all our strength. That man could kill over ten thousand people—it would be a great human catastrophe. If we don't stop him, this world will become a wasteland."

Suddenly, a booming sound echoed outside the castle. The girl's face paled. She said:

"It seems the enemy has arrived."

Taiyaro and Naiji had already drawn their twin blades and moved to the door.

"Let's see who this guy really is."

Luo En gestured for them to hold their ground.

"Don't move forward yet—let me check the situation first."

Saying this, Luo En stepped out immediately. When he reached the gate, he saw thick clouds gathering outside—within them, countless tormented souls churned wildly, struggling to break free.

Luo En felt the deathly aura radiating from the clouds—a presence that infected the mind. At that moment, his arms trembled slightly.

Then a massive humanoid shadow appeared above the clouds. Luo En looked up and met its eyes—huge as bronze bells. The shadow was the enemy himself.

"What do you want before you stop?"

Luo En shouted.

"Is mastering this cultivation art really that important to you?"

The shadow chuckled.

"You don't understand what's so valuable about those ants. Their lives mean nothing. When we gain infinite power and infinite life, that's true exploration of the divine. Only then will I rival the so-called gods. Can you mortals even comprehend such a feeling?"

Luo En shouted:

"We don't care to understand such a feeling. The so-called gods are nothing but false deities. I will stop you."

The shadow laughed loudly.

"With you now? No matter how many you gather, you're no match for me."

Before he finished speaking, the clouds began to burn.

Boom—a deafening roar engulfed the entire castle in flames. These were the flames of the Phoenix's rebirth, devastating to curses. Fortunately, the girl had not yet recalled all the curses.

Luo En lunged forward to stop him—but was thrown back by immense force, crashing hard into the castle wall.