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.
agon king storylines. At the start, I obtained the "Ultimate Lackey System" - the more I act as a lackey, the stronger I become. What else could I do? I chose to become the personal henchman of the ultimate villain, Su Muwan. I provoke all sorts of chosen ones, snatch away their opportunities, and commit every evil deed imaginable. You ask who's behind me? Hmph! You're not worthy of knowing my lady's name! ...... ....... I am Su Muwan, the eldest daughter of the Su family. Since childhood, I've possessed extraordinary talent in martial arts, which led to my arrogant and domineering personality in my past life. I was even foolish enough to repeatedly challenge those favored by heaven, ultimately resulting in a tragic death. In this life, I must behave and absolutely cannot walk the same path again!! However... SLAP!! "So you're the Dragon King, huh?!" When I saw my little lackey swagger over and viciously slap the Dragon King who was hiding his identity, I felt my heart sink. Su Muwan's suspended heart finally died as she watched Qin Luo, her utterly loyal lackey, standing before her. She fainted on the spot from shock. Heaven is determined to destroy me!! (Pure love 1v1, light-hearted, no angst, single female lead, villain, reincarnation, lackey)
ing gift was a patch of barren land, and disciples were all picked up along the way. He spent fifty years diligently building three "ramshackle little sects," thinking he could finally live a carefree life relying on his disciples. But right at the fifty-year mark, he was suddenly swept away by a spatial rift and exiled to the Chaos Desolation, the Disorderly Ruins. There was no spiritual energy there, only slaughter. Relying on the cultivation feedback from his disciples, Gu Changyuan hacked his way through a sea of blood for eleven hundred years. When the system finally fished him back out, he discovered the ramshackle little sects he'd built back then had developed a rather... unusual style. Hold on... I vanished for a thousand years, so how did my ramshackle little sects become holy lands?!
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
for mindless slaughter, this isn't for you.] My name is Ye Shu, and I'm a transmigrator. It seems I'm supposed to be the protagonist, but that feels pretty unlikely. This world has been invaded by a system. The antagonists on the other side have suddenly become pure, flawless saints. The female leads have been force-fed the so-called "original plot," making them think they've been reborn. Now, everyone thinks I'm scum. Including the old lady in my ring. And here I am, in the Monster Beast Mountain Range, braising pork. To put my situation in perspective— It's as if, the moment Xiao Yan stepped into the Monster Beast Mountain Range, the Soul Emperor already knew he would become the Flame Emperor, and Yao Lao had been turned to the enemy's side. I have nothing right now. Oh wait, that's not true. I do have a white-haired loli child-bride who's the Heavenly Dao, and her only skill is acting cute. So, tell me guys... what are my chances of making it to the end?
