Chapter 143: Turned Into a Cat

Lin Zhi Jing's double blades in his hand suddenly turned scarlet‑black, shot out as chains, wound around the beastman, crisscrossing left and right, forming an airtight iron cage that trapped him inside.

Watching the iron cage gradually shrink, the beastman's expression unchanged, flames burst from inside out, as if every pore were a flamethrower, continuously gathering fire.

The flames tangled with the chains like poisonous snakes, each resisting the other; the chains tried to bind the flames, while the flames tried to melt the chains.

For a moment neither could defeat the other; seeing this, Ye Xi'an grew anxious, she shifted her gaze, leaned close to Ji Jiangci's ear and whispered softly: "Ji Jiangci, are you sure you can kill this beastman in one strike?"

Ji Jiangci raised his eyebrows, looked down at Ye Xi'an in surprise: "You want me to sneak attack?"

"Shh!" Ye Xi'an frowned, lowering her voice to a whisper: "If you speak so loudly and he hears, what then?"

Ye Xi'an glanced at the beastman fiercely fighting Lin Zhi Jing, making sure he hadn't heard, then continued speaking to Ji Jiangci: "So, can you do it or not?"

"Of course I can, Yi Yang—you protect your wife well."

Yi Yang patted his chest: "Don't worry; even if I die, I won't let your wife lose a single hair."

Ji Jiangci knew his ability level was inferior to the beastman's, so this time he had to focus all his strength together to have any chance of wounding him.

He closed his eyes, mobilized his ability, and beneath the ground unseen by others, countless plant roots rapidly swelled and grew; when these roots nearly filled the entire underground, Ji Jiangci's ability was almost depleted.

Exhausting his last ability, the sky‑covering plant roots burst from the earth; nobody reacted in time, including the beastman fiercely fighting Lin Zhi Jing, and by the time he noticed, vines had already wrapped his hands and feet.

Although he quickly used fire to burn the roots in time, these roots seemed endless—burn one batch and another appears.

Lin Zhi Jing seized the moment and struck; the beastman's perpetually solemn face finally showed a hint of panic.

He shouted at the grass: "Come out already!"

Unlike the beastman's appearance, his voice sounded hoarse and harsh, as if corroded by sulfuric acid.

A shudder ran through the grass, but nobody emerged; Ji Jiangci smirked, used his ability to make the clump of grass move aside, revealing the beastman already bound in chains inside.

They writhed on the ground like caterpillars, with a metal gag strapped between their mouths, so they could only whimper and could not speak at all.

Ye Xi'an's mouth twitched; it turned out her ability could produce something this intricate.

Seeing his last resort also thwarted, the beastman grew angry, his expression slipping control; his already gloomy face now almost showed black vapor rising from his pores.

He shouted loudly, clearly preparing to go all out: first he blasted a flame from his palm to block Lin Zhi Jing's attack, then turned his hand into a fire fist, the flame's hue faintly revealing a blue tint.

Lin Zhi Jing's heart jumped; this beastman's ability was about to upgrade—no doubt he was a beastman of exceptional talent.

Ji Jiangci and Bao Jing also noticed; only Yi Yang, who had never upgraded, and the clueless Ye Xi'an, who had upgraded without realizing it, failed to see it.

Bao Jing struggled to rise, and with Ye Xi'an's support staggered over to Ji Jiangci's side: "Let me help you!"

Wind blades mixed among the roots, constantly seeking a chance to sneak‑attack the beastman, leaving a few light wounds on him.

Bao Jing frowned; his ability was still too weak against a seventh‑level ability user, whereas Ji Jiangci's third‑level ability proved more useful than his.

"Bao Jing, strike his left knee!"

Ye Xi'an suddenly said, because she saw the white light again—this time it hovered over his knee.

Bao Jing didn't question further, he acted on Ye Xi'an's words; a fierce gust of wind slammed into the beastman's knee, and a anguished cry rang out instantly.

"There's hope!" Bao Jing's eyes flashed with delight as he looked at Ye Xi'an: "An'an, you're amazing!"

Ye Xi'an's face flushed at the praise; she waved her hand bashfully: "Not really that impressive."

Lin Zhi Jing saw that Bao Jing's wind blades could hit the knee, realized this was the beastman's weak point, and, while the beastman hadn't fully upgraded, concentrated his force to attack only the knee.

The beastman kept retreating, finally becoming flustered and exasperated.

"You're bullying the few with the many! Do you have any shame?"

Lin Zhi Jing scoffed, as if he still had the nerve to say "bullying the few with the many."

"You're truly shameless—what happened on the train earlier was your doing, and now you dare to bring people to sneak‑attack us; watch yourself in your next life."

Lin Zhi Jing gathered his strength, preparing to deliver the final blow; just then the sky suddenly darkened, but it did not hinder him from continuing his gorgeous killing move.

This move, Lin Zhi Jing called it "Heaven‑Flower Rain": using his ability, he formed countless golden needles in the high air; when they fell, they resembled scattered flower rain, gorgeous and powerful, though it consumes a lot of ability.

Now that the sky is dim, the golden needles shine with dazzling light, like fireworks ending, meteors chasing the moon.

The golden needles pierced the beastman's body; unwilling to the end, he turned his head to look at Ye Xi'an and told her his name: "I am Gu Xu!" Then he breathed his last.

But Ye Xi'an didn't hear his words, because something went wrong on their side.

After the sky darkened, the grass sprouted many pretty, cute flowers; their color was pale, tinged with pink, their petals like moonlight made, shedding a soft glow, and many sparkling specks drifted from their stamens.

Ye Xi'an originally thought these were probably just like that whatever spirit-dream Flower, merely pollen that refracts light.

But when those specks landed on the skin, they instantly merged into the body; as more accumulated, everyone began to feel off.

Consciousness grew hazy, as if the world were splitting into a new one.

Bao Jing and Yi Yang were all right, at least protected by their abilities; Ji Jiangci fared worse—his ability was completely exhausted, he collapsed even before Ye Xi'an did, and at the instant he fell, Ye Xi'an caught him, a thread of mental power shooting from her own body to wrap around his wrist.

The next second, both passed out, while Lin Zhi Jing was busy slaying Gu Xu and had no chance to notice what was happening here.

In a daze, Ye Xi'an blinked open her eyes; she must be lying on the ground, for all she saw was a blue sky and a gentle sun.

What's going on? She recalled having embraced Ji Jiangci, then wondered what had happened after that.

She sat up and noticed something odd—how close she was to the ground.

Ye Xi'an hastily lifted her hand—and sure enough, she saw her own cat's paw.