Stepping on the Demoness to become the strongest

The thorn bird, impaled through its chest, shrieked pitifully.

The next second, Yan Yu had already lightning-fast withdrawn his arm, while underneath the corpse, blue flames erupted, instantly turning it to ashes.

At this, both the phoenix and the thunderbird's expressions immediately fell.

Was the thorn bird dead? Not dead.

As good as dead.

The wizard's spell schools are myriad and bizarre, boasting a variety of styles. The thorn bird's choice of tactic was simple, one was to survive, the other to steal.

He specialized in this rare spell called "Magic Body", which, as the name implies, is using magic to create a body in advance and hide it somewhere.

If he suffered a fatal injury in battle, he would instantly switch places with the magic body, leaving it to die on the battlefield... The cost was a period of weakness where his abilities would sharply decline, essentially leaving him crippled, but it would still ensure 100% preservation of his life, hence it was still considered the world's number one survival technique.

As for the phoenix and the thunderbird, the dramatic change in their expressions was because they knew the thorn bird's nature—if this damn wizard used his life-saving technique, then his magic body was definitely not hiding in the mysterious realm, and might not even be within Mitchi Country.

Chances were it was stashed in some remote village in Northern Ereland, such as a tiny port fishing village of barely a dozen, in a desolate place unlikely to be hit even in a nuclear war.

At this point, it could be announced that the thorn bird had honorably left the battlefield!

Looking back at the state of the battle, what was originally a favorable three-on-two had been forcefully turned into a two-on-two by the opponent, without a scratch—a clear indication that there was a significant disparity in strength between the two sides.

Although the cameras continued to live-stream, the two superheroes exchanged glances and quickly reached a mutual understanding.

A strategic retreat is in order.

Becoming a dead legend is not the kind of legend we wish to be!

Phoenix again initiated his Self-Combustion divine art, thunderbird launched his lightning speed, and without a trace of reluctance, each turned around, carrying a do-or-die attitude, dashing through the passage away from Yan Yu and company.

Li Minghu: ...

Yan Yu: ...

"Shall we give chase... Forget it." Li Minghu unconsciously asked a question but quickly realized.

If Yan Yu intended to give chase, he wouldn't be standing here, he would have already been in pursuit.

"Let's find our teammates first," Yan Yu calmly stated.

Eliminating Mitchi's superheroes is good.

Chasing superheroes to the point where teammates are injured or even killed is not good.

Since Yan Yu aims to be the strongest in the world, he cannot afford a stain on his illustrious record. There will be plenty of chances to eliminate superheroes in the future, but he can't resurrect the dead, so he knows well what is more important.

Li Minghu, of course, had no objections since his brother, Li Zhaojiang, was also missing; naturally, finding teammates was more critical.

Yan Yu turned to survey the surroundings of the cabin. Since the San Yu treasure ship was much larger than an ordinary boat, the interior cabin space was also geometrically larger. Just this one cabin had 8 spiral staircases leading to the lower levels, and a central staircase to the upper levels.

Which way to go?

Before Li Minghu could speak, his face suddenly changed, as loud talking came from the direction of the staircase leading to the upper level.

Having had encounters with monsters, most Transcendents were unlikely to converse loudly like this, which meant that it was definitely a monster leader talking, and with high probability multiple monsters were approaching.

"Let's go." He quickly grabbed Yan Yu and chose the nearest lower-level spiral staircase, rushing towards it.

Descending the staircase at speed, Divine Sense continuously scanning behind them, Li Minghu noticed the monster leaders weren't following the noise and let out a sigh of relief.

Only then did he notice he was still holding Yan Yu's hand.

Of course, the situation was urgent before, so he had no time to think and besides, it was not the era of etiquette where a lady's reputation is ruined by a touch. Thus, he simply let go of Yan Yu's hand as if it was nothing and was about to say something to relieve the awkwardness, when suddenly he heard Chen Lingyun's voice not far away:

"Oh, thank you, Deputy Captain Li, for bringing our captain back~"
Stay tuned to empire

As both turned their heads, they saw the sweetly fake smiling Chen Lingyun, the stunned Lin Ning, the expressionless Su Yunjin, and of course, the gritting Zhao Yuanzhen, all four standing at the entrance to the water prison, their gazes burning like angry lionesses who had caught a lion stealing food.

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Their experience was actually not complicated. After entering the mysterious realm, Yan Yu and Li Minghu were locked in one level of the water prison, while the girls were locked in another level.

The intelligence of the monster leaders wasn't high, and if Yan Yu could trick them, Chen Lingyun certainly wasn't without strategies. After luring the guards on their level to open all the prison doors, the four girls joined forces to ambush and take down the guard.

The battle segment was also fraught with peril. Facing the monster leaders' dragon roar blast and spear throw, the girls were initially caught off guard and lost their balance en masse.

The only piece of luck was that the subsequent iron spear throw was aimed at Zhao Yuanzhen rather than someone else.

In a moment of crisis, Zhao Yuanzhen couldn't afford to keep playing dumb and suddenly turned into black mist to sidestep, avoiding the rival's mountain-splitting strike.

After that, they learned from the experience, and with Su Yunjin's Taoism Method and Chen Lingyun's ghost manipulation, they managed to distract the monster leader from attacking again, then Lin Ning utilized her Sword Control Technique to break through the front lines, while Zhao Yuanzhen activated the White Bone Heart-locking Hairpin for a sneak attack, delivering the final killing blow.

Yan Yu listened and couldn't help but break out into a cold sweat: Goodness, while the Valkyrie and I faced three and didn't feel that tense, now hearing your four-on-one story is truly chilling!

The monster leader's iron spear throws were terrifying, and if the target had been the slower-reacting Su Yunjin or Chen Lingyun, the Zhenhai Team might have suffered an immediate casualty.

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Even if she had chosen Lin Ning, who was quick enough to dodge vitals, she might not have escaped serious injury.

In the era of the Spiritual Energy Resurgence, strength speaks volumes, and being weak means deserving death. Even if the girls really suffered casualties, Yan Yu had nothing to complain about.

All he could say was, "Thank you, Sister Zhao, for your grace! Lucky for us, you were born with a face that invites mockery!"

Zhao Yuanzhen was still submerged in the unease of having her dark fog spell exposed and didn't dare to subject Yan Yu to severe interrogation, choosing only to glare at Li Minghu with eyes that seemed capable of murder.

But some questions didn't need to be asked by her—everyone was so unconcerned with what spell Sister Zhao had used that their scrutinizing gazes were now all directed at Li Minghu.

"Were you and our captain imprisoned together?" Su Yunjin asked with a smile.

"Uh, yes," Li Minghu replied, "Our cells were on the same floor."

Lin Ning stared silently at her, then suddenly said:

"That's the captain's coat, isn't it?"

Li Minghu startled slightly, then realizing the implication, started to take off the coat sheepishly.

"She had been soaked in the water cell for too long," Yan Yu explained, "I was worried about her health, so..."

"We're not asking about the captain," Chen Lingyun interrupted him.

Her face still wore a forced smile, but the intense and chilling vibes she gave off were unmistakable.

Yan Yu instinctively recoiled, a reaction ingrained through millennia into the DNA of men, an instinctive coping strategy titled "Shrink back like a turtle, let her have her way, and soon, all will be well."

But he was determined to become the strongest man in the world—how could he be controlled by such despicable, base, shameful garbage genetic instincts?

Get lost, inferior feelings!!!

Reason once again overcame instinct, and Yan Yu suddenly stretched out his hand, stopping Li Minghu who was still in the process of undressing, and mocked:

"What's the matter, you want to teach me how to do things?"

The girls' unfriendly glances shifted swiftly back to Yan Yu, glaring as if they were ready to tear him to pieces.

But Yan Yu was fearless! At that moment, he was like a pine weathered by cold winds, rocks battered by waves, the sun surrounded by stars—immovable! He was determined to shatter this fragile battlefield!

"Li Vice-captain and I have fought our way here side by side, with seamless cooperation," Yan Yu declared authoritatively, "Li Vice-captain has been a great help, and I acknowledge her strength! From now on, you are to respect Li Vice-captain as you would me, understand? Now is not the time for idle talk. Get ready, we're heading out soon."

His words had so many laughable points that the girls were dumbfounded and speechless for a moment.

However, the perceptive Su Yunjin and the intelligent Chen Lingyun, of course, read between the lines of Yan Yu's words.

"I acknowledge her strength," could also mean "What I acknowledge is her strength" (not something like love at first sight), so their expressions gradually softened—thinking it over, Yan Yu was always recklessly outspoken, even capable of saying things like "You're not even worthy," so there really seemed no need for him to lie to us on purpose.

As for the straightforward Lin Ning and the clear-cut Zhao Yuanzhen, although they still felt uncomfortable as if something precious had been stolen from them, they couldn't refute Yan Yu's words either.

This Mysterious Realm was no private karaoke room where they could sit down to brood over love and longing... After all, once the Realm adventure was over, there'd be plenty of time to grab him, interrogate him from start to finish, and clear things up!

They had been delayed here slightly longer than planned, so the group quickly returned to the stairs and started moving back up.

Now that their troop had grown to six people, their overall combat capacity had expanded, permitting bolder tactical choices.

Enemies they would have previously avoided could now simply be steamrolled.

Approaching the upper deck, the group suddenly heard violent explosions, the whistling of objects speeding through the air, and the faint sounds of screams and groans from above.

Another battle was underway!

Yan Yu gestured for everyone to halt on the staircase before stealthily approaching the upper level himself to use his Divine Sense, furrowing his brows slightly.

The cabin area, previously empty, now housed at least thirty individuals divided into three groups, fiercely battling each other.

Three groups... Yan Yu quickly assessed the situation, signaled "action," and then led the charge into the upper cabin.

True enough, the moment they stepped inside, they saw seven or eight dragon-like beasts rampaging around, with the Mitchi Country Allied Forces retreating, bodies strewn everywhere, and the Rikoku Cultivators, a group of four, in disarray.

Tao Xingyuan had suffered a shoulder puncture from a spike and was being dragged into a corner by Wang Haoran, while Jiang Hong and Li Zhaojiang were holding the front lines, using their Sword Control Technique and Taoism Method to fend off and sustain the fight.

Fortunately, the four of them didn't stand out much, and since the enemy cultists from the allied forces outnumbered them by more than four to one, the dragon-like beasts only sent two to kill them, and their defenses weren't immediately breached.

Yan Yu and his team charged in valiantly, delivering a just and stealthy killing strike, instantly coordinating with Jiang Hong to take down one of the dragon-like beasts confronting them.

The girls quickly rushed out and subdued the other beast.

Li Minghu hurried back to her team, first rapidly checking on Tao Xingyuan's injury, then asking Li Zhaojiang for an update.

But instead of replying, Li Zhaojiang stared intently at his sister's clothes, exclaiming:

"Sis, that jacket..."

"What time is it to care about clothes!" Li Minghu interrupted him sharply, urging.

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