The Black Book: Seven Deadly Sins

Boom!

Jin Zhuxian stomped on the ground, creating two face-sized craters on the hard bluestone road, and her figure transformed into a stream of light shooting into the distance.

Realizing the opponent's Dexterity attribute was far superior to his own, Zhu Haomiao unhesitatingly infused his Inner Breath into the katana in his hand, causing a dark black light to suddenly condense on the blade's edge.

[Flying Brilliance·Star Fall] + [Original Sin·Greed]

"Go!"

Lightly tossing the katana upward, Zhu Haomiao pointed a finger, and the long blade suspended in mid-air transformed into a sharp black light, shooting straight at Jin Zhuxian's back.

A horrifying sensation of danger suddenly descended upon her, and with a glance behind, Jin Zhuxian caught a glimpse of a black shadow out of the corner of her eye. Instinctively, she performed a scorpion's tail whip, kicking the katana away.

Just as the crisis was averted, she had no time to catch her breath when the enemy behind her closed in during this brief delay.

Zhu Haomiao leaped over, bringing with him a fierce power as though descending from the heavens, like an eagle from the sky, fingers like hooks diving straight for Jin Zhuxian's forehead.

Before the attack even reached, the surrounding space several meters in radius was already sealed off by the Qi aura. Jin Zhuxian had no time to dodge. A glimmer of madness flickered in her eyes, and a blue energy circuit surged across the sci-fi armor covering her body.

Firming her stance and lowering her waist, Jin Zhuxian pulled back her fist to her side, concentrating all her strength into one point. With the momentum to shatter the heavens, she swung a punch, meeting the young man's eagle claw head-on without any flourish.

Boom!

The punch and claw collided, and a milky-white shockwave instantly spread out, leveling the buildings within several meters around.

Zhu Haomiao held Jin Zhuxian's fist, shaken by the energy she infused into his body, causing his Qi and blood to churn, and a metallic taste rose in his throat.

Amidst the intense pain, a crazed excitement flashed in the young man's eyes. The Qi Force surrounding his body transformed into a misty, translucent red lotus, wave by wave converging into his palm, and with a powerful push, it was solidly infused into Jin Zhuxian's body.

[Stacked Waves Strength·Fierce Wave] + [Anger]!

In the brief stalemate, Jin Zhuxian was nearly destroyed by the savage force, her internal organs feeling like they were being consumed, as blood spurted from her mouth.

But before she could even catch her breath, an unstoppable Power of Destruction tore through her defenses, rushing up through her fist, swept through her body like a landslide, and the residual energy even spread out, impacting the ground beneath her feet.

Boom!

The ground beneath her feet sank with a boom, as if struck by an invisible meteor, forming a radial deep pit several meters in diameter.

"Pff!"

A stream of blood spurted from her mouth, and Jin Zhuxian's entire lower body sank into the ground. From her forearm participating in the fight came a crackling sound, her bones breaking section by section, even the alloy-made sci-fi arm guard twisted and deformed, hanging at her side in a grotesque posture.

The shockwave swept across dozens of meters, amidst flying sand and gravel, Zhu Haomiao looked down at the woman half-buried in the ground like a radish, condescendingly meeting her insane and humiliated eyes.

"Mere aborigines... mere aborigines..."

Listening to her gnashing murmurs, Zhu Haomiao only placed a palm on her forehead, and the violent power penetrated her skull, instantly putting her into a slumber like a baby.

After knocking out Jin Zhuxian, Zhu Haomiao extended his hand in a grasping motion, and the falling katana suddenly changed trajectory, drawing an arc before flying into his palm.

"Yan Yunsheng!"

Watching from afar for an opportunity, Yan Yunsheng rushed over, looking at the young man with a face full of reverence.

"At your service!"

"Take these two back and have someone keep a good watch on them."

"Yes, sir!"

After handing over the trivial matters to Yan Yunsheng, Zhu Haomiao lightly twirled the blade, looking up at the fiercer battlefield not far away, and with a tap of his toes, he transformed into a shadow rushing straight toward it.

Meanwhile, on the other side, the large melee of a dozen people was nearing its end.

Detecting the fast-approaching local high-end combat power, a tall and sturdy man stood hovering in the void, with a radiant ball that looked like a miniature sun floating behind his head.

"Park Sang-pil, when will vengeance ever end? This fertile virgin land holds countless resources awaiting our exploitation. If we mutually destroy each other, it will only benefit other pioneering teams..."

With that, the man waved his hand, and the miniature sun behind his head disintegrated into thousands of fist-sized fireballs, densely covering the entire battlefield's sky.

"Stop chasing, this world is large enough for coexistence."

"Once we get our hands on the resources, it's not too late to settle the score..."

The man pressed down with both hands, and the fireballs rained down like raindrops, covering Park Sang-pil and his companions like a doomsday firestorm.

By the time they survived the assault, bodies smoking, scanning the surroundings, the enemies had already taken the opportunity to escape.

Immediately after, sensing numerous sharp auras rapidly approaching, Park Sang-pil gritted his teeth fiercely.

"Let's go!"

Thus, when Zhu Haomiao arrived at the battlefield, there were only the burning buildings, scattered ruins, and charred corpses left on the scene.

......

Several hours later, after the fire was extinguished, standing on the scorched earth, the smell of roasted meat filled Zhu Haomiao's nose as he squinted his eyes, the drooping gaze flickering with a faint light.

As a descender, he didn't have deep feelings for the local people, but at least saw them as living beings with flesh and blood. Even in combat, he would try to avoid harming the innocent whenever possible.

But those foreign pioneering teams, twisted and brutal in nature, likely didn't even consider the Illusion Realm's people to be human, viewing them more as mere background in a game, completely indifferent to their lives and deaths.

They were like two warring elephants, not noticing how many ants they crushed underfoot, let alone sparing the effort to avoid or even protect them.

On the level of existing law, they hadn't committed any crimes.

But on a moral level, they were guilty of heinous sins!

On the other side, sensing Li Lin staring silently at the charred ground, surrounded by a chilling aura, Yin Tianze patted his shoulder reassuringly.

"Neither Zuo Jinwu nor Hu Ben Middle Lang General caught those madmen, this isn't your fault, don't take it to heart."

At these words, the young man did not answer, but simply looked at the devastated scene and let out a long, deep sigh.

"All conditioned phenomena are like dreams and illusions. Like dew or lightning, they should be viewed as such."

"I know full well that the living beings under heaven are but hollow straw dogs, yet I still find it hard to reconcile..."

Watching the young man gazing remotely at the sky and mumbling to himself, a shiver inexplicably ran through Yin Tianze, goosebumps rising all over.

In a moment of trance, he felt the young man wasn't really at his side, but standing in a higher dimension, overlooking the multitudes with a gaze of pity and sighs.

Among them, even Yin Tianze himself!

He, too, was among the straw dogs the young man spoke of!

An indescribable shock resonated within Yin Tianze's chest, and not far from him, Zhu Haomiao gently patted his own chest, murmuring softly words only he could hear.