He can totally kill me!"
The realization struck Mingyin like a lightning bolt. Halting his forward momentum, he scrambled backward, desperate to put distance between them.But retreat was a luxury he didn't possess.Before he could even register the movement, a heavy blow caught him completely off balance.
Mingyincrashed into the dirt, but the assault didn't stop there. As he scrambled to turn around, a devastating force slammed directly into his chest. A sickening crunch echoed as he was sent flying, tossing across the rough ground like a ragdoll.Dazed,
Mingyin's eyes clouded with brief confusion. Yet, there was no fear in his gaze—only a blazing, golden resolve.This won't cut it!Roaring inwardly, he unleashed his soul force energy,
pouring it directly into his two spectral dragons. The beasts manifested instantly, coiling around his battered body to form an impenetrable, swirling shield.
Together, the dragons threw back their heads, their massive maws glowing with a blinding, gathering radiance. They aimed their jaws straight ahead, piercing the suffocating darkness.
Boom!
A torrent of energy erupted, scattering through the air and violently colliding with the liquid cage that trapped them.
Through the cascading sparks, the heavy sound of approaching footsteps vibrated through the floor. Mingyin whipped around, his sharp eyes instantly tracking a dark silhouette moving through the shadows."What?!"
Mingyin gasped.In an instant, the flames binding the liquid cage vanished, converging into a searing trail of fire that lunged directly toward his dragons. The dragons twisted, but the arc of fire was too fast.
Boom!
The counter-blast struck a hidden figure, sending the intruder hurtling through the air. Even without the illumination of the fire, Mingyin's activated spirit vision pierced the dark, allowing him to track the falling body perfectly. Sensing the danger hadn't passed, the two dragons tightly wrapped their tails and bodies around him, keeping a vigilant watch.
Mingyin quickly glanced down at the artifact bottle in his hand. It was still filled with a massive reservoir of the mysterious liquid.Releasing a breath, he willed the surrounding liquid cage to collapse. The massive barrier shrank rapidly, transforming into a fluid stream that arced gracefully through the air and drained into the mouth of the bottle.
Mingyin quickly jammed a unique sealing rock from his pocket into the opening, locking the power inside. With their job done, the two dragons shrank back to their original size, curling protectively around the glass before dissolving back into his soul realm, settling deep within his dantian.His vision blinked out three times from exhaustion.
Shaking off the vertigo, he locked his gaze forward.Bam!He took a heavy step forward, the thud echoing ominously.
Bam!
He took another, channeling the remnants of his soul force energy directly into his feet. He forced his aura to flare, projecting a presence so terrifying and oppressive that it was borderline unbearable to look at. For a moment, his spirit vision remained active, threatening to see right through the physical flesh of anyone standing before him, but he quickly dismissed it to conserve his draining power.
Yet, even without his special sight, the eerie flame burning from the stranger—the one known as Loki Thorn—was impossible to miss."
You truly look harrowing," a voice drifted from the gloom. "No... maybe dreadful is the word."
Standing a short distance away was a tall, middle-aged man draped in a tattered green cloak. Beneath the cloak, he wore short trousers made of rough hemp silk, paired with a sinister vest crafted from interlocking bones and heavily caked in dried blood.
His face was surprisingly ordinary—neither handsome nor ugly. In fact, if a passerby saw him on the street, they would likely view him as a gentle, trustworthy soul.
But his head told a completely different story.
He wore a tribal, horned mask covered in breathtaking, intricate markings. The sheer level of craftsmanship was insane; the detail was so beautifully complex that the world's most creative artists would die of envy. Through glass-like eyeholes in the horns, a pair of sharp eyes peeked out, framed by a gorgeous lotus pattern carved from fine red threads.Suddenly, the eerie flame around the man vanished completely
. Mingyin froze.The masked man opened his mouth. The only thing visible inside his throat was that very same, terrifying flame
.Bam!
The fire erupted from his jaw, charging directly at Mingyin.
Mingyin threw his body to the side to avoid it, but the attack defied logic—the flame passed straight through his torso like a phantom.
Had it been a physical blast, he would have been obliterated on the spot, left begging for death."What?!" Mingyinyelled, checking his uninjured torso.Where did the flame go? How had it vanished into thin air, why was it inside the man's mouth, and who exactly was this monster,
Loki Thorn
It was just another layers of mysteries, perhaps ones he would never live to solve."Ahahaha!" the man laughed, the sound echoing off the walls. "
The law of the jungle dictates that the strong pick off the weak, ensuring the weak can never climb the mountain to stand beside them.
I will always live by that ideology!"Hearing those words, Mingyin knew with absolute certainty:
This is my last moment.He didn't hesitate.
He spun on his heel and sprinted!He sprinted to keep breathing. He sprinted for the chance to see his family just one more time. He sprinted to achieve the lofty goals he had set for himself. He sprinted toward a dream that felt further away than ever:
peace
.If the heavens themselves demand chaos in this world, then I will gladly become the source of that chaos
!In the lonely, expansive darkness, Mingyin fled for his life, a flickering, menacing sound snapping at his heels. He didn't dare look back. Every survival instinct in his body screamed at him to turn his head, but his iron will held firm, refusing to yield even an inch.
As he ran, the terrifying noises grew louder, accompanied by booming, sadistic laughter and heavy, overlapping footsteps."Are you worried whether you can actually do anything to stop me, Mingyin?"
Bam!
Behind him, Loki Thorn's eyes flashed with a dark, malevolent light, his pupils shifting into a predatory amber hue.
Boom!
Suddenly, a violent wave of external energy rushed through Mingyin's own veins, forcing his legs to pump at an impossible velocity, moving as fast as a jet. But before he could make sense of the sudden speed, he froze in horror.
Bam!
Loki Thorn caught up instantly, colliding with him like a battering ram. With thick veins popping from his forehead, the man lunged forward and clamped his hand tightly around Mingyin's throat.
He squeezed, lifting him off the ground to suffocate him. Mingyin's face turned paper-pale, his oxygen cutting off instantly. Desperate, his consciousness plunged deep into his spirit realm, searching for any salvation.
There, floating in the misty depths of his mind, he spotted a massive, primordial feather covered in thick fog.Without a second thought, he summoned the artifact into reality, pumping every drop of his remaining soul force energy into it.
The feather began to glow with a brilliant, blinding light.Sensing the sudden spike in energy, Loki Thorn tried to twist away, but it was too late
.Bam!
The feather slammed directly against the man's shoulder and detonated. A massive, pure white explosion erupted, swallowing both of them in a fraction of a second
.Bam!
The concussive force sent Mingyin skimming across the floor. He rolled violently, sharp shards of stone and debris ripping at his clothes and skin. Groaning, he pushed himself up and forced his spirit vision to scan the area.Wait... we are on a solid floor. This is it.
This is my escape!Steeling his nerves, Mingyin released a massive, explosive burst of soul force energy, forcing the surrounding dust and smoke to thicken into an impenetrable fog.
Loki Thorn was caught entirely off guard, coughing violently as he struggled to stand within the cloud.
Mingyin didn't waste the opening. He summoned his black blade, using his soul force to instantly fuse the two dragons into the weapon. The draconic constructs rushed out of the steel, expanding to a monstrous scale.
They opened their massive maws as Mingyin pointed the tip of his blade straight down at the ground."Break!
"Bam!
The entire foundation shattered.
A massive crater ruptured outward, tearing the floor to pieces. Large chunks of debris plunged into the darkness below, causing the very cavern to violently tremble.
Revealed beneath the broken rock was the fabled a abyss !
Without a single shred of hesitation, Mingyin threw himself into the crumbling void, diving headfirst out of the abyss.