Chapter 257: No More Holding Back!

He was too lazy to bother with these noisy barrage comments, and refocused his attention on the target.

No matter if the opponent is disabled or whatever, since it's a fight, he'll speak with his fists.

He only hopes this guy isn't too fragile, turning to ash with a single punch; that would be too boring.

【System Prompt: Both sides are ready. Initiate program.】

The moment the cue sound dropped, Qianjie's body erupted with raging orange‑red Flame!

The extreme heat warped the air, and the sand beneath his feet instantly turned to glass!

He gave no prelude or probe; his figure blurred in place for an instant—

Boom!

Almost the same instant the sound rang, his Flame‑wreathed fist slammed hard onto the spot where the wheelchair had been!

The sand exploded into a several‑meter‑wide charred pit; its rim was molten, bubbling magma‑like material, and high‑temperature steam hissed upward.

But the wheelchair and the person were gone.

Qianjie kept his punching stance and slowly turned his head.

About ten meters to his side, the wheelchair sat quietly, only its orientation had turned.

On the wheelchair, the woman named A Ge Lai Ya now faced him.

She wore a simple yet exquisite pale‑gold long dress, hands clasped on her knees, her seated posture elegant as if at a tea party rather than a battlefield.

She had a pale, delicate face, but her eyes—green like the finest jade—were hollow, lacking any focus or highlight, merely gazing toward Qianjie's general direction.

No words, no expression, yet the invisible pressure was heavier than before.

The barrage instantly flashed across:

【Pa Duo Felice: Wow! So fast! How did you get there?!】

【Kaiwen: Spatial movement? No… it's pure speed. Only a extremely blurred afterimage was seen.】

【Ailixiya: Wow! Qianjie, you'd better be careful! This lady looks far from simple~!】

【Xi Lian: Mr. Qianjie, please be extra careful! Miss A Ge Lai Ya's condition may… differ from normal Cognition! Her "speed" is abnormal!】

A fervent grin spread across Qianjie's mouth beneath his Mask.

Speed is fast? Interesting!

"Dodging and weaving… what skill is that!"

He let out a low growl, holding nothing back!

The Flame around him surged severalfold in an instant, its hue shifting from orange‑red to a deeper crimson; the heat scorched the air within dozens of meters, crackling, evaporating seawater, and white mist spread.

The sand beneath his feet fully turned into a roiling magma pool!

This time, he no longer chased ultimate ambush speed; he concentrated the raging force into his right fist, his whole body like a fired meteor, bearing a blaze that would incinerate everything, and he thundered toward A Ge Lai Ya on the wheelchair!

Wherever his fist passed, space seemed slightly warped by the scorching heat!

However—

The figure on the wheelchair once again dissolved like an illusion.

Qianjie's mountain‑splitting punch only burst a cluster of suddenly scattering, hair‑thin pale‑gold light specks.

And an extremely sharp sense of danger suddenly surged from his side!

Qianjie's combat instinct spiked to the max instantly!

He didn't even turn; his burning left arm swung back violently as if anticipated, the Flame‑crystallized elbow colliding hard with some hard, sharp object!

Clang—!!!

The shrill clash of metal rang explosively!

The shockwave expanded in a ring, sweeping away the surrounding sand, gravel, and white mist.

Qianjie used the force to slide forward several meters, steadied himself, then turned to face the attacker.

It was a humanoid object hovering about half a meter above the ground…

It resembled an exquisitely crafted, perfectly proportioned classical mannequin, its whole body displaying elegant warm white and pale gold.

It had no head; its neck tapered smoothly.

It wore a sharply cut, aesthetically pleasing yellow‑white dress, a hand clasped behind its back, the other hand gripping a slender, guardless silver single‑handed straight sword, its blade exuding a faint golden aura.

"Yi Jiang".

The barrage immediately reacted:

【Da Ti Bao (TirixiBiyosi): Careful! That's A Ge Lai Ya's "Yi Jiang"! It's her romantic divine‑authority creation! Very agile and highly damaging!】

Qianjie merely snorted coldly, "Flashy junk!"

Before the words finished, he had already taken the initiative to strike!

He stomped the ground with his right foot; amid splashing magma, his whole body shot toward the hovering Yi Jiang like a cannonball, his burning right fist bearing mountain‑crushing force, smashing into its chest!

Yi Jiang did not block hard.

Its silhouette left a pale‑gold afterimage in place, while its body appeared behind Qianjie at near‑teleport speed, the slender sword like a snake's tongue, silently stabbing at the vulnerable spot on Qianjie's rear neck.

Speed is too fast!

But Qianjie seemed to have eyes on his back; his burning left arm blocked with an impossible reverse‑joint Blocking, deflecting the strike again.

However, this time, the sense of danger he felt not only remained but surged toward him from all sides like a tsunami!

His scarlet pupils suddenly contracted.

Centered on him, within dozens of meters of sky, ground, and even the gloomy sea surface, countless fine, almost transparent threads that refracted pale gold in the light silently appeared at an unknown moment…

These threads interlaced densely, forming a massive, intricate invisible cage that completely enveloped him.

Each thread seemed alive, trembling faintly to some rhythm, transmitting the subtlest air currents, falling sand grains, flickering flames…

All information streamed toward a single source.

Qianjie followed the direction where the threads converged— it was exactly the spot where the wheelchair stood.

Those countless Golden Thread ultimately all connected to the tips of her overlapping fingers.

She still wore a blank expression, her hollow green eyes gazing at the battlefield as if reading a poem composed of countless details.

The barrage area erupted:

【Hua: What are those threads? Some kind of perception network?】

【Da Ti Bao: It's "Golden Thread"! Because A Ge Lai Ya's defect is blindness, she weaves these Golden Threads with "Romantic Divine Authority" to replace visual perception of the world! They can capture the slightest movements, and all information is fed back to A Ge Lai Ya's fingertips in real time!】

【Na Ke Xia: Trouble. With Golden Thread present, every move of Qianjie, even the subtle muscle exertion trends, are under A Ge Lai Ya's absolute control.】

【A Bo Ni Ya: Not only that… she might be able, through the information transmitted by the Golden Thread, to predict Qianjie's next move. This is… Insight into the Opportunity.】

【Pa Duo Felice: Hiss— this, how do we fight? Qianjie seems trapped in a spider web… uh, a big fireball? Will those threads slice Qianjie into pieces? So scary!】

Just as Pa Duo said, the battlefield situation turned sharply downhill!

Yi Jiang's figure, within the network formed by Golden Threads, had its speed terrifyingly amplified!

It was no longer a single attack, but transformed into countless pale golden streams of light, from above, below, left, right, front, back, every inconceivable angle, in a seamless manner, launching a torrential barrage of thrusts at Qianjie!

Each sword was precise, swift, and ruthless, striking directly at weak points!

Qianjie roared repeatedly, using fists and feet, Flame raging, burning away the approaching Golden Threads, and blasting Yi Jiang's attacks apart.

But his speed, compared to Yi Jiang, who moves like a fish in the Golden Thread domain, was clearly far slower!

His massive force often struck empty air, or was evaded by the opponent by a hair's breadth, while the opponent's slender swords always managed to find gaps, leaving deep or shallow wounds on his sturdy Flame armor and resilient flesh.

Chirp! A flash of sword light swept across the shoulder, kicking up a trail of sparks and blood droplets.

Chirp! Another sword flash brushed the calf, slicing through Flame protection.

Qianjie's red Health Bar above his head, symbolizing his life state, began to decrease at a steady, slow yet unmistakable rate.

At the same time, the wounds accumulating on his body grew increasingly numerous; though not fatal, they continuously drained his stamina and concentration.

Suppressed!

Ultimate suppression!