"A swansong!"
As Tun Yue's words faded, a fierce wind suddenly whipped around them. Listening closely, one could hear a low, ethereal hum within the gale, a song that seemed to permeate everyone's ears.
"What..."
The crowd clutched their ears, faces contorted in pain.
The sound felt as if it pierced their flesh and reached directly for their souls!
Even Duan Chen gritted his teeth to resist the resonant chant.
Only Mi Xue'er stood unperturbed.
"Brother Duan Chen, Qin Ze, you..."
She stood frozen in place, stunned.
"Why is this girl unaffected?"
Tun Yue, now appearing as a middle-aged man in his forties or fifties, his face etched with wrinkles and his hair mostly white, gritted his teeth and intensified his efforts.
No matter what, he could not fail the expectations of Agent 01!
"Xue'er, you..."
No, Qin Ze's mind was in chaos, unable to cast his Coin of Right and Wrong.
*Hum!*
A flash of pink light flickered in Duan Chen's mind. Instantly, he seemed to have blocked out the strange sound, unable to hear it at all.
In stark contrast, everyone else remained in expressions of unbearable agony.
"Brother Duan Chen!"
Mi Xue'er cried out in delight.
"Xue'er, this won't do. We have to make him stop."
Since Qin Ze's Coin of Right and Wrong was unusable, Duan Chen had to resort to his own.
Duan Chen repeatedly posed questions in his mind and tossed his coin.
Watching his actions, Mi Xue'er's eyes suddenly lit up.
"Brother Duan Chen, I know!"
"What?"
Duan Chen was startled.
Mi Xue'er's gaze was resolute. "Brother Duan Chen, do you trust me?"
Though unsure of her intentions, Duan Chen nodded.
"I do!"
The next second, his eyes widened.
Mi Xue'er directly pulled off the sword-shaped pendant from her chest, which rapidly transformed into a longsword.
"Unswerving Sword Technique, Fifth Form: Moon Slash!"
Duan Chen surmised that Mi Xue'er might have discovered something and did not intervene, allowing her to attack.
Even from a distance, he could feel the sharp sword energy emanating from Mi Xue'er, as well as the pure power of Bai Qi.
Bai Qi...
Duan Chen narrowed his eyes and closed them. At this moment, the Bai Qi within him also stirred, as if resonating with the power in Mi Xue'er's sword technique.
In that instant, Duan Chen suddenly understood.
*Clang!*
The sword light flashed past!
*Sizzle! Sizzle!*
*Spurt—*
Across the altar, a crescent-shaped sword qi suddenly sliced through, and Tun Yue violently spat out a mouthful of blood.
Simultaneously, the chanting abruptly ceased.
Mi Xue'er exhaled. "Fortunately, my guess was correct."
"Based on my observations, Tun Yue could only use his three ultimate moves. I deduced that this final move, the swansong, was likely a combination of those three. During the earlier test, Tun Yue had indeed used all three simultaneously, and at that point, Qin Ze had already calculated its trajectory."
Duan Chen managed a wry smile. "That was quite an unsubstantiated deduction, wasn't it?"
Mi Xue'er stuck out her tongue, a hint of embarrassment on her face.
"Damn you... you all deserve to die—!"
Tun Yue spat a mouthful of blood onto the ground. He had now reverted to an aged elder, his hair white, his back stooped, and his clouded eyes filled with unyielding resentment.
He reached out and, to his surprise, a small boy materialized in his hand.
"Hey!"
Duan Chen's brows furrowed. He dared not act rashly, fearing for the child.
Tun Yue let out two sinister laughs.
"So what if you defeated me? Hey! You, and the rest of you! All of you, get back upstairs! Otherwise, I'll kill him!"
Tun Yue bellowed, his voice outwardly strong but inwardly weak, while steadily backing away.
"Is that a child from the kindergarten? How did the teachers miss one!" Jun Ci, finally suppressing the ringing in his ears, frowned and said.
"Perhaps... one was missed?"
Seeing that the group dared not advance further, Tun Yue roared with laughter.
Zhan Ning, held by him, dared not move at all, tears welling up in his eyes, on the verge of spilling.
"You apostles are truly despicable and shameless."
"So what?! I won! Did you hear me! You all get back upstairs! Otherwise, don't blame me..."
"Hey, attacking a child is not a good idea,"
A lazy voice suddenly echoed from behind.
Tun Yue froze.
Immediately after, a glinting dagger was pressed against his throat.
It was Qi Qing.
"Master!"
Sheng Chen cheered.
Duan Chen also let out a sigh of relief.
"Little Duan, don't just stand there. I'm practically naked. Come and take this little boy to your side."
Facing an apostle, Qi Qing maintained his guard.
"Damn it—"
Tun Yue's eyes turned red with rage.
Even after being tricked by Apostle No. 01, Tun Yue's faith remained unshaken.
Duan Chen stepped forward and took the child from Tun Yue's grasp.
Tun Yue, now devoid of energy, was incapable of using any of his ultimate moves, rendering him completely safe.
"It's over."
"Is it?"
This voice...
Duan Chen turned to the side, showing no surprise.
"You're quite late."
"As long as the altar isn't destroyed, it's never too late for me to arrive."
Gu Sang emerged from the shadows. He glanced at Tun Yue, seemingly unsurprised by his current state.
"Do you think you can defend this altar by yourself?"
Gu Sang sneered twice. "Duan Chen, don't think too highly of yourself."
Duan Chen smiled faintly.
"Sequence 016: [Fae Law!]"
Gu Sang's expression remained calm as he waved his hand, tossing a small black cube that landed atop the altar.
It seemed he had come prepared.
A golden stream of light streaked through the air, its target not the altar, but...
"Duan Chen! You—!"
Upon guessing Duan Chen's objective, Gu Sang's face finally changed. Without using an ultimate move, he sprinted towards Tun Yue's position.
Duan Chen's target, of course, was not Tun Yue himself.
But the bronze mask on his face!
Last time, when Mi Xue'er unleashed the fifth form of the Unswerving Sword Technique, she had merely knocked off the masks of Gu Sang and Niya. This time, Duan Chen intended to shatter Tun Yue's mask directly!
He suspected that the reason apostles could be "inherited" indefinitely was likely due to these bronze masks. After all, apostles wouldn't wear them just for aesthetics, would they?
The golden light veered in mid-air.
*Bang!*
*Cough!*
Tun Yue's head was struck, and his upper body lurched backward.
Simultaneously, the bronze mask on his face was sent flying, emitting a shattering sound in the air.
*Crack—*
Gu Sang's eyes turned red.
He had believed that by protecting the altar, everything would be settled.
Who would have known that Duan Chen would suddenly act erratically, focusing his attention on the mask on Tun Yue's face!
As the bronze mask shattered mid-air, he froze completely.
"Duan Chen—! I'll kill you—!"