Black evil energy seeped from Bai Ye's body, forming six rings of gaseous waves around him. Bai Ye smiled amidst the myriad of crows, his pale skin as cold and alluring as moonlight.
He raised his hand, his index and middle fingers tracing a line from the silver crown of his hair downwards. A six-holed black mask covered the lower half of Bai Ye's face, and the aura around him immediately surged.
A thousand crows obscured the night, black feathers filled the sky, and the dark king descended.
"You've discovered my secret," Bai Ye's eyes smiled, yet they exuded extreme danger.
"Then you shall be buried with your secret."
Wu Suowei raised his hand, and a faint golden light materialized behind him. The light intertwined and tore at the dark crows, burning and exploding incessantly, forming brilliant, silent fireworks.
An exchange of immense energy at a speed beyond the perception of normal eyes.
Suddenly, a crow broke through the encirclement, its pupils shooting out a cunning killing intent. It spread its wings and lunged fiercely at Wu Suowei's back. Bai Ye showed a triumphant expression.
Who knew that in the next second, Wu Suowei vanished from his spot.
Immediately after, two icy, skeletal hands emerged from behind Bai Ye, grabbing his neck and giving it a fierce twist—
Bai Ye's head snapped to the side at an unnatural angle with a 'crack.'
*Boom—*
Bai Ye's body transformed into a dead crow, black blood scattering from the sky onto the earth.
"Shape-shifting?"
Wu Suowei dropped the crow corpse in his arms and grabbed backward, seizing Bai Ye, who had snuck up from behind, by the neck.
With a squeeze, black blood exploded, once again a crow as a decoy. The real Bai Ye had already leaped far away.
"You're strong, I underestimated you," Bai Ye smiled faintly. "Someone who knows of the Evil God should indeed not be ordinary, but you seem to have also underestimated me—the [06 Apostle, Dark Raven]."
Bai Ye spread his arms, his body covered by crows. Then, the crows took flight, and Bai Ye vanished without a trace.
In an instant, the moon was obscured by swarms of crows.
They cawed and churned, countless dark crows sacrificing themselves to become pitch-black, distorted evil spirits that surrounded Wu Suowei. The Grim Reaper, scythe in hand, advanced with the dark crows.
"Blood Rite Fury," Bai Ye said lightly, sticking out his tongue to lick his lips.
Immediately, immense thunder split the sky, erupting with terrifying demonic energy.
"All show, no substance."
Wu Suowei snorted and caught the frenzied attack with one hand. His indifferent gaze swept out, and a spiritual pressure surged towards the top floor.
*Boom!*
The impact of the explosion sent Bai Ye tumbling across the rooftop, his hair disheveled.
He got up, licking the blood from his lips. "Oh dear, I can't win. Could you be a god?"
*Boom!*
Continuous explosions rang out, flames surged into the sky, and the rooftop collapsed. Debris rained down, and Bai Ye was directly blasted to the ground, creating a deep crater.
"Cough, cough, cough."
Dust billowed, and Zhu Fanfan crawled out of the ruins, her head bleeding.
She looked up and saw Bai Ye had also fallen. Her eyes immediately lit up. "Damn it, Bai Ye, you threw me off the building!"
Her small body lunged forward, pinning Bai Ye down and delivering a flurry of punches.
"Oh dear, Zhu Fanfan, why are you still here?"
"Nonsense, I was just about to climb up and beat you to a pulp when you fell yourself... Hey, wait a second, what's with this mask? A ghoul? Don't tell me, with those red eyes and white hair, you really do resemble Kaneki Ken."
Bai Ye smiled, removed his mask, and gently lifted Zhu Fanfan off him, his movements as soft as if he were lifting a kitten.
"The enemy is still here, it's not the time for affection."
"Aff-affection, you big dummy!"
Just then, the hotel doors were kicked open, and a throng of terrified civilians rushed out, scrambling, shoving, and screaming, turning into a scene of chaos.
Wu Suowei walked slowly among them, his expression indifferent, detached from the world.
This cinematic scene deeply shocked Zhu Fanfan.
"Is that guy the enemy? A temporary formaldehyde tester?"
"His strength is above mine."
"Impossible, you're the second-ranked ability user in the country. Who in this small city of Sucheng could be your enemy?"
"Isn't there still a number one?... Besides, that ranking is from a long time ago."
Bai Ye stood up, dusting himself off. "You should run first."
"Ha? I, Zhu Fanfan, traveled all the way to Sucheng just to be a deserter?"
"Or would you prefer to be a corpse?"
Bai Ye smiled gently, then took another solid punch to the abdomen from the girl.
Wu Suowei walked up to them, adjusted his glasses, and said, "If you're done chatting, then die."
"Hmph, you're the one who's going to die!" Zhu Fanfan stepped forward, assumed a stance, and a straight blade materialized in her palm.
She lowered her eyes, formed a hand seal, and chanted:
"In the name of the heavens and earth, I summon the lightning of all directions. All the electric currents of the Twelve Realms, heed my call! With blue fire and white light as my might, sweep away all enemies!"
Bright blue phantom energy attached itself to the blade, illuminating the night as if it were day. The girl stepped forward, her waist coiled, and let out a delicate cry as she charged.
"Phantom Strike!"
*Shu—!*
Hundreds of blade lights slashed towards Wu Suowei, but he neither dodged nor flinched, his eyes devoid of any emotion.
The girl smiled triumphantly, but soon, her smile faded.
Because the long blade in her hand snapped in two.
"How is this possible!"
Zhu Fanfan's pupils trembled. The seemingly ordinary youth before her hadn't even made a move.
Wu Suowei walked closer step by step. Zhu Fanfan, terrified, retreated step by step. Her foot caught on a protruding stone, and she fell onto her backside.
"You, you, you, don't come near me!"
Zhu Fanfan's face turned ashen. She simply closed her eyes and swung her broken blade blindly.
She was still young, she didn't want to die!
Wu Suowei, however, seemed not to see her and walked straight past the girl. He raised his right hand and unleashed a spiritual pressure blast towards Bai Ye.
Dozens of crows sacrificed themselves and were blasted into oblivion. Bai Ye's true form flickered to appear beside the girl.
Not far away, a truck sped out of the parking lot. Bai Ye grabbed Zhu Fanfan's arm and swung her around like a windmill in the air—
"!! Damn it, Bai Ye, again?!"
*Bang!* The girl flew, landing precisely on the truck.
"What the hell, Bai Ye! This is a truck for transporting pigs ahhhhh—!" Zhu Fanfan's voice receded rapidly.
Bai Ye had no time to respond as Wu Suowei's world-shattering blow arrived at his face.
*Boom—!*
There was no time for the dark crow decoy. Bai Ye was sent flying backward like a cannonball, rolling and tumbling onto the asphalt road, run over twice by passing vehicles.
Black feathers lay scattered on the ground, stained red with blood. Bai Ye swayed, trying to stand, but his vision blurred.
He swayed his body, and crows began to converge.
*Sizzle—!*
The sound of metal wires tightening was heard. Bai Ye suddenly felt sharp pain all over his body, as if sharp, thin lines were digging into his flesh.