Chapter 248: Fenfeng

He prepared to, as he had handled other planets before, use his own body as a spear, a single strike to pierce the core, trigger a chain collapse, and cause the planet to be completely shattered in a brilliant explosion.

The speed kept increasing.

The planet's rugged surface terrain rapidly enlarged in his view.

It is now—

Just the instant before Fenfeng's sword tip was about to touch the planet's atmosphere.

A slender, purple figure appeared without warning directly in front of him.

The distance was so close it was almost face to face.

Fenfeng: "…?"

Black Tower: "…?!"

Time seemed to stretch.

Fenfeng flashed a thought:

(Obstacle? Destruction emissary? Intellect? Why appear here?)

But his charging stance and gathered energy had already reached the critical point, with no concept of "braking."

Moreover, the moment he confirmed the opponent was of equal level, the Flame in his heart burned even brighter— a worthy opponent!

So, within a ten‑thousandth of a second, Fenfeng decided: crash into it!

Black Tower was even more stunned.

She had been sitting on the sofa of the Star Dome Train a second ago, and the next second the surroundings turned into a starry sky and that black‑and‑white figure, wrapped in terrifying energy, charging straight at her face!

(Spatial coordinate shift!)

Her reaction was astonishingly fast.

After seeing the trajectory of that thing ahead, she chose neither to meet it head‑on nor to attempt a defense.

Her figure vanished instantly on the spot.

Almost the same instant, the white Destruction figure surged past where she had just been, its turbulence shifting the planet's orbit.

Had Black Tower not dodged in time, even with a Destruction emissary's body, such a frontal collision would have been unbearable.

The white figure, after charging through, suddenly stopped.

Ignoring the planet below, now riddled with cracks.

He floated there in midair, slowly turning.

It was a tall figure of black and white.

He wore no helmet or visor, but his face was covered by a flowing "veil" of countless tiny gray crystals, obscuring his features as he looked toward Black Tower.

Black Tower's figure re‑coalesced several thousand kilometers away on the other side.

She likewise floated in the vacuum, her skirt hem and long hair drifting gently in the weightless environment.

She stared at the white figure, then with a sidelong glance quickly scanned the surrounding star‑system debris that had clearly just undergone a "violent demolition."

(Extinction Great Lord…)

A judgment instantly formed in her mind.

(This power, this manner of action, and that sword… it is Fenfeng.)

A barely‑smiling curve tugged at Black Tower's mouth corner.

(So that's it. Forcibly pulling me off the Ascension path and dumping me before an Extinction Great Lord…)

(This method of obstruction is truly simple, direct, and effective.)

(It seems that the cryptic fellow is determined not to let me act with the Train Group. Last time Beloberg was sent to another world; this time Xianzhou was thrown straight onto a Destruction emissary's face… Test successful, the pattern is clear: whenever I try to join the train's Exploration itinerary, I encounter "accidental" obstruction.)

Black Tower sneered inwardly.

(Unfortunately, it's limited to this extent only.)

She stopped overthinking, raised her hand and traced a vague arc before her, a complex purple technique instantly forming.

Target coordinates: current position of the Star Dome Train.

Since she had already identified the opponent's method, she had no need to waste time here with a lunatic whose mind contained only "Destruction."

The technique's light flared, and spatial ripples began to spread.

However—

Swish!

A gray‑white sword flash sliced across without warning.

There was no earth‑shaking clamor, but where the sword flash passed, the spatial technique Black Tower had just completed, along with the spatial structure of that region, was smoothly cut through.

The technique collapsed instantly, its light extinguished, and even the lingering spatial coordinate traces were erased completely.

Black Tower's movement halted.

She, expressionless, attempted teleportation again.

"Swish!"

The second sword flash, at an even more cunning angle, slashed, sealing off her retreat in the opposite direction.

The Destruction within the sword flash even interfered with her perception of the surrounding space.

She slowly turned her head, looking toward the distant white figure.

Fenfeng still floated in place, the long sword in his hand hanging slightly low, its tip pointing at emptiness.

His gaze locked onto Black Tower; though there were no words or expression, the crystal‑clear, rock‑steady yet wildfire‑fierce battle intent conveyed everything.

(Not letting me go?)

Black Tower slightly narrowed their eyes.

She lowered her hand, and a faint Purple Aura began to flow around her.

The light wasn't dazzling, but it formed an invisible yet absolutely solid domain around her.

"Hey."

Black Tower spoke.

Her voice was clear and Calm, yet carried a lofty, condescending aloofness.

"Over there."

She lifted a finger and, from a distance, pointed toward Fenfeng's direction.

"If your mind hasn't been gnawed clean by 'Void', or burned to ash by 'Destruction', then you should know—"

A violet aura gathered at her fingertips, forming a slowly rotating, three‑dimensional rune of such intricate structure it dazzled the eyes.

"—What price one pays for angering a 'genius'."

In response, Fenfeng's long sword lifted ever so slightly.

On the blade, the gray‑white Destruction energy pulsed rhythmically like breathing.

He said nothing—perhaps he was never loquacious, perhaps he deemed words unnecessary.

Yet the suddenly soaring battle intent, which made the surrounding shattered planetary debris tremble and begin to crumble, was already the best answer.

Black Tower watched the opponent's "must fight either way" stance and suddenly found it a bit amusing, and also… itchy.

The resentment built up from that guy's covert meddling, rumors, and obstruction over this period seemed to have finally found a good outlet.

Even though the one before me might be a Destruction envoy whose mind now only contains "fight, fight, fight", … a foe of envoy rank should be quite a stress reliever to dismantle, right?

She hummed softly, the tone revealing no joy or anger, yet a dangerous signal flickered deep within her violet eyes.

The next second—

A Magic Staff, almost as tall as her body and extravagantly ornate to the extreme, materialized in her hand.

The staff's shaft swirled with deep violet radiance, its tip set with a dazzling gem that seemed to contain an entire miniature star system.

Black Tower grasped the staff with one hand, the tip angled toward the distant Fenfeng.

Her skirt and long hair moved on their own within the invisible field, windless.

She lifted her chin slightly, her tone Calm yet tinged with indifference:

"Since that's the case..."

The gem at the staff's tip suddenly erupted with a blinding violet brilliance!

"... Then let me vent my fire properly."

The moment the words fell—

Buzz!!!

Centered on Black Tower, countless violet sigils so complex they surpassed ordinary comprehension blossomed like flowers, instantly covering tens of thousands of kilometers of space!

Each rune computed at high speed, turning this dead, desolate ruin of a star sector into one belonging to the Intellect envoy—

an Absolute Domain.