"Mommy... mommy... can Anna fight now? Anna hates those people. Anna wants to kill them all. Anna doesn't want Mommy to suffer anymore." Since Chu Lian had returned, Anna had stayed quietly by her side without interrupting. But now, she crawled over, leaning close to Chu Lian and whispering softly.
"Anna, it's dangerous. Are you sure you can handle it?" After giving the youth another round of mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, Chu Lian turned toward Anna, who still wouldn't look up at her. "Anna, lift your head and show Mommy your eyes. Don't be afraid—Mommy will never dislike you." Her voice was soft and gentle.
"Mommy..." Anna's consciousness seemed somewhat hazy, but she always obeyed Chu Lian's words. Despite the faint resistance in her heart, she couldn't help but lift her head, revealing her eyes.
The black runes within them radiated an ominous aura. Just looking at those intricate, ancient markings brought a sense of dread—as though a primordial dragon was sealed within, eager to devour all creation.
"Anna, promise Mommy—if you can't bear it, come back immediately, all right?" Seeing this, Chu Lian realized she couldn't stop her. If she tried, something even worse might happen later. So, she reached out and stroked Anna's cheek, her tone as tender as a spring breeze. The warmth in her voice soothed Anna's trembling heart.
She no longer feared that Mommy would hate her. Instead, she rubbed her cheek against Chu Lian's hand affectionately and whispered, "Anna will. Anna won't disobey Mommy. Anna will take good care of herself."
"Go then. Don't worry about me. No one here can harm me." Chu Lian remained utterly calm, even as the incoming missiles drew nearer.
"Okay... Mommy, wait for Anna. Anna will be back soon." Gently licking Chu Lian's palm, Anna slowly stood. Her dark eyes turned to a deep golden hue, and in the next instant, her figure vanished.
"What an overwhelming killing intent and malice... just how much has she been hiding from me all this time?" Chu Lian murmured, watching the spot where Anna disappeared. Then, seeing that the two girls had completed the chest compressions, she bent down once more to give the youth another breath of life.
She could feel it—this would be the last attempt. The body of an Earth-tier expert was not easily destroyed; as long as a single spark of life remained, it could recover. All she needed to do was help that spark reignite.
"No one can harm Big Sis while I'm here." Chu Chu kept repeating the words her sister had just told her: "Stay here and don't let anyone else come close."
Now that her Big Sis had no fighting strength left, it was her turn to protect her. No matter the cost, she would not let anyone hurt her.
"Because... Big Sis is the one I swore to protect for my entire life!" Her gaze locked onto the missiles rapidly approaching, and in her mind flashed countless memories—of Chu Lian standing before her, shielding her from danger again and again.
No matter the enemy, no matter how insurmountable they seemed, Chu Lian had never once backed down.
From the earliest days of her memory, that image—her slender figure standing unyielding against all odds—had burned itself into Chu Chu's heart. That fragile back had always been her greatest source of safety and warmth.
That was the person she looked up to, the one she relied on—the harbor that gave her peace, the strength that made her unafraid.
"Big Sis... you've never taken a single step back, always protecting me from everything. Back then, I wondered... when the time came, could I stand before you like you once did for me?" Her eyes flared with crackling violet-blue lightning.
The sky—already dark and unstable after Chu Lian's summoning of the Divine Spirit—now roared with violent thunder. Lightning surged, writhing impatiently across the heavens, as though ready to descend and destroy everything that dared to restrain it.
"Mom, to protect Big Sis, Chu Chu's will can break through the limits you placed on me!" Her mental cry echoed like a summons to the heavens.
Purple-blue lightning crashed down from above, blinding in its brilliance.
Chu Chu's body rose into the air, suspended in the storm. Behind her, the figure of a mature woman—stunningly beautiful, with a commanding presence—appeared, mirroring her every movement.
"Lightning, heed my call—destroy everything before me!" With the missiles only three hundred meters away, Chu Chu extended her finger and commanded them.
Lightning raged like a prison of light. Blinding violet-blue flashes illuminated the entire area so intensely that it was impossible to look directly at it.
Bolts of lightning poured down like torrential rain, striking the missiles one by one and detonating them midair, leaving not a single chance for any to draw near.
At that moment, the golden halo of light—symbolizing the seal that bound her—silently vanished, as though it had never existed at all.
Her aura instantly surged upward.
Spirit-tier Beginner. Spirit-tier Intermediate. Spirit-tier Advanced. Spirit-tier Peak. Her power soared past each boundary, reaching the same realm as Chu Lian—a half-step Earth-tier.
"This feeling... this overwhelming strength... it's like I could destroy the heavens and the earth themselves. Everywhere I look, it feels like I could crush everything in my sight." Clenching her fist tightly, she murmured, "So this is the lightning that's been sealed within me all along?"
"With power like this, I can finally stand beside Big Sis... I can protect her now. She was always there to protect me when I was weak. Now it's my turn." What filled her heart most was joy—not the thrill of newfound strength, but the happiness of finally being able to protect Chu Lian rather than burden her.
The missiles were powerful, but they had met their perfect counter. Lightning shredded their inner circuits, forcing premature detonations mid-flight, ensuring none could come close.
"Failed, have we? Unexpected, yet entirely reasonable..." Colonel Harland's fingers stopped tapping on the table. Watching the endless explosions on the screen, he gave a bitter smile and quoted a famous saying from Huaxia.
"In the end, America still falls short of a nation with millennia of heritage. Even with the legacy of the Age of Discovery and technological supremacy, in cultivation and talent... we cannot compare." Though not part of the cultivation world, he knew well that his country's hidden strength was far weaker.
If not for the unspoken rule that cultivators must never interfere in mortal affairs, those hidden powers could have crushed the world long ago.
"Even if we've failed, the responsibility is still mine." He shook his head, turning his gaze to another screen—the one showing the dragon.
The half of the missiles aimed at Chu Chu had all been intercepted, never coming within a hundred meters. They only destroyed the ruined cityscape along their path, leaving the city even more devastated. The rest, targeting the dragon, had to succeed—or everything would be for nothing.
Roar... The dragon's pained bellow echoed through the monitor. Deprived of its aura's protection, its wings severed, its body grievously wounded—it had little means to defend against the incoming barrage. After destroying half of the missiles, the rest struck its massive frame.
Fortunately, its scales were of Heavenly rank and above. The missiles couldn't pierce them—unless mixed with special-grade warheads, they barely caused any pain.
But there were too many. Even halved, even after it destroyed half again, over a hundred missiles still remained.
Its scales could block most of them, but the exposed wounds were vulnerable. The agony of a dozen missiles striking its injuries was unbearable.
Even so, it retained much of its combat strength. Grounded and stripped of its aura, it switched to magic, blasting tanks and troops that dared to approach. Jets in the sky were either struck down by summoned lightning or melted by its dragonfire.
Most of the so-called superheroes dared not face it directly. They turned instead toward Chu Lian—leaving only a handful of A-class warriors to assist the army against the dragon.
The intentions of those who left were obvious—they sought Chu Lian's cultivation arts, and the answers she held. Now, when she was at her weakest, they had their perfect chance.
However, none of them had anticipated that the beautiful creature who had taken Chu Lian away possessed such terrifying combat power. Though perhaps not quite on par with the dragon, she was not much weaker than the strongest of the S-class heroes.
And because she was a beast, her natural attributes far exceeded theirs. A single Water Lord alone managed to hold back three S-class powerhouses. The remaining opponents—A-class superheroes—found themselves facing only one foe: the white-haired, red-eyed girl in a black sailor uniform, her bare legs glinting under the fading light.
They might have possessed some strength, but before Kurosaki Satsuki—whose spiritual rank was High Spirit-tier and whose assassination ability rivaled a half-step Earth-tier—they were nothing more than prey awaiting slaughter.
Each time she vanished, she reappeared only long enough to strike. A single flash—one sword of Shun—and another life was snuffed out. They couldn't even locate her position, forced to remain constantly on guard for her sudden attacks. Within moments, they were already exhausted, their nerves frayed to the breaking point.
A few S-class heroes tried to split off one or two among them to assist their A-class comrades—but each time one broke away, Water Lord would immediately launch a fierce assault, forcing the others into peril until that hero had no choice but to return.
After several such attempts, they finally realized that without taking down Water Lord first, there was no way forward. They stopped trying to help the A-class fighters and focused their full attention on the beast before them.
But Water Lord was far from a simple-minded creature. The reason it only attacked with full force when fewer enemies stood before it was because it understood human nature—their paranoia, their fear. Its sudden aggressions weren't just attacks—they were tactics to force its enemies into defense.
When besieged by multiple opponents, it shifted to defense, weaving gracefully through their strikes. With water's fluidity and adaptability, the S-class heroes found themselves powerless to harm it. When they attacked, it evaded. When they held back, it countered, clinging to them relentlessly and preventing any chance of retreat.
In just three minutes, half their number had fallen. On average, every ten seconds, another A-class hero was silently executed by Kurosaki Satsuki. At this rate, it was only a matter of time before the same fate befell them.
"Idiots! A bunch of useless idiots!" The drone footage displayed the chaotic battlefield on Colonel Harland's command screen, making his blood boil. He slammed the table repeatedly, his voice thundering with rage.
But he failed to notice—a small, shadowed figure, wrapped in an aura of endless darkness, had already descended onto his aircraft carrier...