Chapter Sixty-Three: Ruolan Flows Through the Stream

Thunder rumbled! The building collapsed with astonishing speed and force, but in Yin Seventeen’s eyes, none of this posed any real threat. With a velocity approaching a hundred thousand times the speed of sound, he could accomplish in mere seconds what ordinary people would find impossible.

Cries of terror rang out as faces twisted in despair. Yet, in the blink of an eye, they found themselves far from the collapsing structure—almost as though someone had whisked them away to safety in an instant. If not for the sight of the building crashing down, many would have doubted whether they were dreaming.

“What’s going on? I was just under that building—how am I suddenly here?” someone gasped to a companion, their voice still trembling.

“I have no idea! I’m just as confused as you are!” came the bewildered reply.

On the rooftop of a nearby tower, Yin Seventeen watched the bustling street below and shook his head with a sigh. “He got away after all.”

Though only a handful of seconds had passed, to an extraordinary warrior who had ignited his cosmos, that was enough time to accomplish almost anything. The evil god’s fighter had seized the brief distraction to unleash a burst of speed, fleeing tens of thousands of meters away. The distance, trivial for Yin Seventeen—he could cover it in a thought—yet the fugitive’s trail was lost, and it was impossible to pick him out from the endless sea of people.

“Forget it. Best to meet up with Ruolan at Mount Lu,” he murmured. He leapt lightly from the high-rise and began walking south.

Since leaving the small village where he had paid his respects, he had wandered for three days, taking in the sights as he traveled. Today marked the tenth day since his promised rendezvous with Ruolan. The distance from Mount Lu to this city was vast, but such a journey was a mere thought for him. He had time to spare, and so he allowed himself to slow down, savoring the scenery along the way.

Streets, crowds, forests, streams, lakes, mountains—scenes flickered before his eyes like a lantern show. He crossed countless mountains, forded rivers, passed through cities, ever drawing closer to Mount Lu.

Suddenly, he sensed the ripples of a battle ahead. At once, he suppressed his cosmos and crept closer.

There, a young man and woman faced each other in confrontation.

The woman wore white armor trimmed with pink—Ruolan of Lepus. The young man was clad in dark green segmented armor, unmistakably a kind of protective gear akin to a sacred vestment.

By strange coincidence, this was the very evil god’s fighter who had eluded Yin Seventeen moments before. To think Ruolan had managed to intercept him here. Yet it was clear from the scene that Ruolan was at a disadvantage, appearing somewhat battered while her opponent remained composed.

Yin Seventeen was about to intervene when the young man suddenly spoke: “Sister, you’re no match for me! Stop pestering me!”

“Sister? They know each other?” Realizing this, Yin Seventeen held himself back for the moment.

“Liuxi, weren’t you supposed to be training at Mount Lu? How did you become a fighter for the evil gods? Why are you clad in their armor? We made a promise, remember? To become glorious Saints together!” Ruolan’s voice broke as she questioned him, finally covering her mouth in tears.

Upon returning home, she had learned from her parents that Liuxi had disappeared from Mount Lu. She had hurried ahead to investigate, and only then did Master Tonghu reveal that Liuxi had joined the evil gods. She had searched for him like one possessed, scouring the land for any sign. Today, by chance, she intercepted a fleeing, abnormal cosmos—only to discover it was her long-lost brother.

“Sister, the training at Mount Lu was too harsh! Igniting the cosmos is too dangerous! Seeing so many companions fall, I was terrified!” The boy’s face twisted in pain at the memory.

Ruolan, anguished, replied, “But every Saint has endured countless hardships and grueling training before achieving greatness.”

Liuxi retorted angrily, “That’s because they’re fools! Why cling to a single path?”

“There are so many choices! There’s no need to train so bitterly, to risk everything for the cosmos! Just change your faith, and the gods will grant you power! It’s so easy!”

“But don’t you know those are evil gods, rejected by the world? They are enemies of the Sanctuary!” Ruolan cried, her voice trembling.

Her brother’s allegiance to the evil gods meant he was now her foe. Inevitably, they would clash.

“I don’t care what gods they are!” Liuxi replied with a careless wave. “If they grant me power, I’ll serve them! And if you don’t want to fight, why not join me? Serve a new god by my side!”

“Never!” Ruolan refused without hesitation, her voice firm and righteous. “I am a Saint of Athena, sworn to uphold peace and justice on this earth! Now that I’ve found you, I can’t turn a blind eye!”

She clenched her fists and charged at Liuxi once more.

“Meteor Rush!”

The girl leaped into the air, a meteor streaking toward the boy below.

“Don’t waste your strength, Sister! You’re no match for me!” Liuxi stood his ground, meeting the falling meteor with a punch.

“Greedy Wolf Howling at the Moon!”

In an instant, the power of the cosmos exploded in his fist, forming a massive gray-blue wolf that lunged at the meteor.

Boom!

The wolf snapped its jaws around the meteor, but the meteor didn’t halt; it struggled on, forcing the wolf back a step. Yet after a brief stalemate, the meteor’s momentum waned. The wolf turned, crushed it in its jaws, and shattered it.

A scream rang out as Ruolan plummeted from the sky.

“If you won’t come with me, I won’t force you. Perhaps we’ll meet again someday, my dear sister.” Looking down at the battered girl, Liuxi sighed softly.

“Don’t go…”

Seeing him about to leave, Ruolan struggled desperately to rise, but agony wracked her body—she could only reach out a trembling hand, hoping to hold back her wayward brother.

But Liuxi ignored her plea, his heart unmoved as he turned to go.

“We meet again, young man.”

At that moment, a stranger’s voice sounded behind him.