If we can't save them, we just can't. It's better to let them die quickly.

Yet, even such terrifying power seemed barely enough to preserve themselves amid the cataclysm.

A force akin to a natural disaster could hardly be countered by just one or two cards.

The sky overhead grew ever darker.

In the distance, the roar of explosions echoed—violent clashes unfolding in other sectors.

The two had no time to spare for it.

They simply pressed forward along the path carved out by the Black Knight's strikes.

But as they advanced,

the Black Knight's 'light cannon' hesitated, its blast withheld.

"Hm?"

"What's wrong?"

"Need to recover?"

At first, Yun Huang had kept count of how many times the Black Knight unleashed its light cannon.

All known card powers required the wielder to sustain them with soul energy, bound by the law of equivalent exchange.

Yet the Black Knight defied this principle entirely.

After the fifth blast, Yun Huang stopped counting.

This wasn’t a basic attack, but it certainly wasn’t some ultimate technique either.

Now that it had abruptly stalled, she felt a twinge of relief.

Not out of envy, but sheer bewilderment.

At least its energy wasn’t infinite.

Before Liu Yuan could respond,

a faint, pained groan drifted from the ashes ahead.

Yun Huang froze, her gaze sharpening with caution.

The Black Knight fired another light cannon diagonally upward.

The veil of ash thinned slightly,

revealing a blurred figure curled on the ground, twitching weakly.

A candidate.

His custom combat suit was in tatters, his exposed skin a ghastly gray-black, like charred coal scorched by flames and then brutally cooled.

Fine cracks riddled his flesh, wisps of dark energy seeping out.

Yun Huang and Liu Yuan exchanged a glance.

They decided to approach—after all, he lay directly in their path.

Half a minute later, the candidate seemed to sense Yun Huang’s presence, lifting his head with effort.

His face was caked in ash, only his eyes visible—clouded with agony yet flickering with a faint, desperate hope.

"Save… me…"

His voice was a ragged whisper, like the creak of a broken bellows.

His consciousness had faded, leaving only survival instinct.

Yun Huang stayed silent.

She could feel his life force draining rapidly,

the corrosive power gnawing at his soul, devouring his last shreds of vitality.

How could she save him?

She was barely holding on herself in this sea of ash.

And given the extent of his corruption, there was no hope left.

Truth be told, the path of the transcendent was never easy.

It offered a chance to change fate—but demanded readiness for death.

If one lacked the strength to endure such brutality, they could always choose to step back, return to the ordinary world, marry, raise children, live in peace.

No one forced anyone onto this thorn-ridden road.

But once chosen, life and death were left to fate.

This candidate had clearly faltered before the sudden calamity.

Yun Huang slowly raised her weapon.

The candidate seemed to sense it—his dull eyes flashed with terror.

"No… please… beg…"

Thud.

The cold blade silenced him.

As she withdrew her sword, a dark crimson splashed onto the ash, swiftly buried under fresh embers.

Yun Huang’s expression remained impassive.

This wasn't her first time killing someone, nor would it be the last.

In the face of this sudden calamity, any excess emotion was a luxury.

If someone couldn't be saved, then they couldn't be saved.

Better to die cleanly—an early release, in a way.

Just then, an abrupt mutation occurred!

The ashen ground beneath her feet suddenly bulged, forming a massive mound.

Then, with a thunderous explosion, it burst open!

A monstrous centipede, its entire body armored in dark cyan plates and stretching dozens of meters long, erupted from the depths.

Its countless segmented legs churned like scythes, whipping up swirling clouds of ash.

Blood-red compound eyes gleamed with ravenous, brutal light.

The gargantuan centipede gaped its horrifying maw—lined with layer upon layer of razor-sharp teeth—and in one swift motion, devoured the examinee whole, even sucking in the surrounding ash.

Then came the sickening crunch of its feast.

Finished, its massive head swiveled toward Yun Huang, clearly marking her as the next target.

A chill ran down Yun Huang’s spine.

The aura radiating from this creature far surpassed any seventh-tier Source Realm beast she’d encountered before—it was likely nearing the eighth tier!

And that examinee… had been its…

Bait?

It had waited for some soft-hearted fool to lower their guard, bending to carry the body, before striking from below in a lethal ambush.

But when Yun Huang proved ruthlessly decisive, it couldn’t bear to let its prey escape and had no choice but to attack outright.

A mere beast, yet capable of such cunning?

Truth be told, in this ash-choked wasteland, engaging such a monstrosity in prolonged combat was far from wise.

Yun Huang gave herself less than a ten percent chance of victory.

But here was the problem.

Circumstances had changed.

Silently, she retreated behind the Black Knight.