Chapter 232: Chu Xuan: I Have a Plan (Requesting Monthly Votes!)

"What? Captain… Wu Xian won't be participating in the next battle! What does that mean?!"

In a remote town near Cairo, Fu Zha looked at the members of the Zhongzhou team in surprise.

Not long ago, the Demon Team was cornered by the East Sea Team and two members of the chat group; even Fu Zha, relying on his dual bloodlines, barely held on and nearly faced total annihilation.

Fortunately, at the critical moment, the Zhongzhou team arrived in time and displayed overwhelming power, helping them repel the two powerful foes—Black Dragon and Gilgamesh.

Fu Zha's emotions were deeply complicated—he had expected to meet the Zhongzhou team in this team battle, perhaps not in open hostility, but at least as two mighty rivals clashing like heroes on Mount Hua; instead, his side had been reduced to such a pitiful state, and worse, they had been saved by the other side, leaving him with a face full of shame.

Fortunately, the issue wasn't fatal—the Zhongzhou team had many familiar faces; after a brief exchange of pleasantries, he set aside his discomfort and prepared to discuss cooperation against the East Sea Team.

But the moment they began discussing it, they received a small nightmare.

The unquestioned strongest fighter of the Zhongzhou team, Captain Wu Xian, had encountered problems and could not participate in the upcoming battle?

Fu Zha felt his entire body go numb—this was like someone going to the toilet only to find no toilet paper!

"There's no choice—during the last horror movie, due to certain reasons, Wu Xian began attempting to break through his inner demon; after failing, he easily slips into a state of madness and loss of control. If he fights for too long, he gradually loses the ability to distinguish friend from foe, and with Wu Xian's power, not only the enemy but also we ourselves could be wiped out."

Zhan Lan explained with feigned helplessness, reciting the lines she had prepared.

"Ah… so inner demons work like this?"

Fu Zha frowned—he had already reached the fourth stage and had attempted to break through his inner demon; though he hadn't succeeded, he certainly didn't descend into madness every time he fought. As long as his mental focus was strong enough, repeated attempts could suppress it, unless pushed to the brink.

"Yes, just consider Wu Xian's situation to be different. After all, he's so strong—it's only natural his inner demon is more troublesome."

Zhan Lan offered no further explanation, her gaze sweeping over the remaining members of the Demon Team.

Besides Fu Zha and the clone of Cheng Xiao, two other familiar figures stood out—Wang Chaozong and Du Gu Feng, the two newcomers who had entered the Zhongzhou team during the last horror movie.

When Zhan Lan had sensed them with her mental power earlier, she had been surprised, but remembering the Demon Team's powerful cloning ability, she found it perfectly reasonable.

According to her mental scan feedback, though both were badly injured, their strength was considerable—she felt they were no weaker than Mu Gang and Li Xiaoyi.

Keep in mind, these two veteran members had returned to the Fan Haixin world and trained for over a year, finally breaking their gene locks to the third stage under pressure, allowing them to unleash 70–80% of their A-rank enhanced bloodlines—a level that already placed them among the stronger members of any Lunhui team.

Yet Wang Chaozong and Du Gu Feng had only just been cloned into the Demon Team during the last horror movie; despite having the ability to return to previous horror movies for points, they had caught up to Mu Gang and the others in such a short time—this potential and willpower could no longer be described as mere talent.

By the way, according to the clone of Cheng Xiao, Zhu Peng had also been cloned into the Demon Team, but perhaps due to extreme bad luck, he was struck by Uchiha Madara's Susano'o at the very start of this horror movie, sustaining severe injuries, and later died beneath Gilgamesh's Noble Phantasms, hence his absence.

Hearing this, Zhan Lan sighed deeply—they were all talents who had come from their own team; had they been more careful in the last horror movie, the Zhongzhou team's strength might have grown even further.

"Alright, set Wu Xian's situation aside for now—this team battle won't consider him."

Zhan Lan rallied her spirits and asked the team's strategist: "Chu Xuan, what's your view on fighting the East Sea Team?"

"Difficult."

Chu Xuan, facing the holographic screen, rapidly typed in midair; without turning his head, he replied:

"The Demon Team has suffered heavy casualties; only the clone of Zheng Zha remains as a true fourth-stage fighter. On our side, excluding Wu Xian, we have Zheng Zha, you, and Zhao Yingkong—three fourth-stage fighters, still at least two short compared to the enemy, and that's without counting any other East Sea Team members who haven't appeared."

"Even if they have no additional fourth-stage fighters, the remaining two are extremely hard to deal with… you all understand: the fourth stage is a watershed in the transcendental system. Unless you have enough numbers, or like Zhan Lan have exchanged for an S-rank bloodline, a typical third-stage fighter stands little chance against a fourth-stage one."

Everyone nodded solemnly, their expressions darkening; only Fu Zha glanced at his original self, silently thinking: isn't there a special case right here?

What? You say that's my original self? Then never mind!

"Then what do we do? Are we doomed to lose this team battle to the East Sea Team?"

The clone of Cheng Xiao said bitterly.

He had been cloned into the Demon Team for some time; with his cheerful personality, he quickly bonded with the other members and accepted them as comrades. Now, seeing these people die at the hands of the East Sea Team's bastards, how could he not feel rage?

"That bastard Zhao Zhui!"

Fu Cheng gritted his teeth and growled: "The others in the East Sea Team are one thing, but Zhao Zhui, that traitor, must die! We can't let him get away with this!"

"His life is mine."

At that moment, Zhao Yingkong's voice drifted softly over, drawing everyone's attention.

The Zhongzhou team wasn't surprised—they had already heard of Zhao Yingkong's dual personalities—but the four members of the Demon Team couldn't help but look curious, eager to know what tangled history existed between the siblings.

"Fine. Zhao Zhui is yours."

Chu Xuan paid no mind to the others' reactions and continued calmly to formulate tactics: "Also, I have a plan. If successful, it might quickly neutralize one of the enemy's fourth-stage fighters—but it requires the cooperation of all of you."

"What plan?"

…

Meanwhile, in another dimensional universe, a massive warship glided silently forward.

The view shifted inward, passing through layers of armor and shielding, finally reaching the ship's core.

There stood a palace nearly one-tenth the size of the entire starship.

Supported by dozens of pillars over a hundred meters tall, a golden throne stood tall at the palace's end; a figure draped in a long robe sat motionless upon it, silent—yet an invisible pressure spread throughout the entire hall, making the air feel unnaturally heavy, so much so that even guards far outside the palace struggled to breathe.

The figure upon the throne remained utterly unmoved, as if nothing in this entire universe could capture its attention… or perhaps it was waiting, waiting for those worthy of its notice to appear?

Hummm—

Suddenly, above the palace, space warped slightly, and a colossal face, its features indistinct, appeared, gazing down upon the figure on the throne.

————

Requesting monthly votes!

(End of chapter)