Chapter Forty-Seven: Growth After the Battle

The battle, of course, was far from over. Before Teng She could even process a change in emotion, that dazzling beam of light had already faded away.

Wu Yue felt a bit embarrassed. He had spoken with such confidence, only to be forced into using his ultimate move after a single blow.

Within the world of Midsummer, Wu Yue stood alone.

The scorching sun. The chorus of cicadas. Towering trees. Flowing rivers.

On Shen Gonglei’s side, the atmosphere was one of pure shock. With that one inescapable attack, they had slain countless formidable foes before. After all, under normal circumstances, most would keep their focus on Shen Gonglei. It was hard to imagine that the one who struck first would actually be a decoy. The real killing move—the laser cannon—was infamous for its immense power and long charge-up time. Yet, they had staged the perfect psychological diversion, crafting a flawless drama. It was supposedly an unsolvable strategy, and it had always worked.

Yet now, their enemy had blocked it effortlessly. This was even more despairing than outright defeat—truly a nightmare. Looking at his opponent, Shen Gonglei inhaled deeply, bitterness surfacing on his face despite himself.

A world-class opponent. No wonder the other was so fearless—this was the foundation of his confidence. But Shen Gonglei would not resign himself to defeat! He raged inwardly.

Yet his face remained honest and affable, as if what had just happened had nothing to do with him.

“Brother, your way of greeting is certainly unique,” Wu Yue said with a gentle smile, showing not the slightest care for what had just happened. At the same time, he worked to recover from the damage he’d just sustained.

“Ah, well, misfire,” Shen Gonglei replied sheepishly, maintaining his innocent demeanor, though his hand subtly gestured behind his back.

Wu Yue chuckled, “No harm done. We’ll just peel off his skin.”

The atmosphere grew suddenly tense.

“You’re welcome to try—if you can defeat me,” the man in the sci-fi armor replied coldly.

Wu Yue slapped his forehead and laughed, “I was talking about your mecha.”

“Oh? So you know about mechas?” Shen Gonglei asked.

“I’ve heard a little,” Wu Yue replied. In fact, I even know about Transformers.

The armored man retorted coldly again, “Then you might as well kill me for it.”

“Wealth is but a worldly thing,” Wu Yue said with a smile. Then, with a flick of his finger, he unleashed the Sevenfold Stacked Fire Technique!

Wu Yue, seizing the moment, struck while they were off guard.

Shen Gonglei repeated his old trick, leaping aside. His timing was impeccable, leaving Wu Yue no chance to curse the heavens. Suddenly, another laser beam shot toward him.

The laser cannon.

As the laser entered the world of Midsummer, it began to weaken endlessly, vanishing completely before it could reach Wu Yue. Yet Wu Yue’s expression only darkened. He had thought he’d successfully stalled for time, never expecting to fall right into the enemy’s plan.

After taking two consecutive blasts from the laser cannon, even the world of Midsummer began to warp.

Neither side wasted words. Wu Yue struck out with a fist, channeling surging spiritual energy. Shen Gonglei, refusing to dodge, let out a howl and met Wu Yue’s blow with his own.

Their fists collided—Wu Yue stood firm, while Shen Gonglei was sent flying. Yet Wu Yue didn’t look much better; he could already sense the spiritual energy in this place was extremely thin, and he could only muster about half of his usual strength. Truthfully, it was still a matter of cultivation; if Wu Yue had fully transcended the mortal realm, just pulling them into the world of Midsummer would have been enough.

As Shen Gonglei crashed to the ground, a fierce light shone in his eyes, and he howled at the sky. Though his body hadn’t grown larger, golden wolf fur sprouted all over him.

Wolf clan blood, Wu Yue couldn’t help but think.

Speed. Blinding speed.

Shen Gonglei’s movements were almost faster than lightning. Wu Yue had barely swept his spiritual sense across the area before realizing Shen Gonglei had already changed positions. In such a small space, he was performing feats nearly miraculous.

“Still too few techniques, not enough combat experience,” Wu Yue sighed, genuinely a bit disheartened. Other protagonists always managed to triumph over higher-level foes, but here he was—struggling so much against someone far weaker than himself.

Feeling his power and spiritual sense rapidly draining, Wu Yue had a sudden inspiration. With a quick motion, he plucked the sun from the world of Midsummer and slammed it down. Area-of-effect damage! Wu Yue wanted to see just how his opponent would dodge this.

Blinding brilliance erupted as the blazing sun exploded. If not for Wu Yue standing at the forefront, it would have been a case of self-damage nearly equal to the harm dealt to the enemy.

When the dust settled,

The land lay in complete ruin. Scattered across the ground were tiny shards of glass. So the encyclopedia was right—intense heat really could turn sand to glass.

As for the others, they were all stunned.

Li Suizhu looked utterly confused.

Teng She was in shock—was this really how the one who had annihilated her entire team would meet his end?

Ren Ruyi, on the other hand, wore an expression as if this was only to be expected.

Zong Shen was so overcome with emotion that he fainted on the spot. Later investigation would reveal that the cause was a combination of severe injuries and the overwhelming force of the recent energy fluctuations.

The imperial sister began to laugh madly.

Wu Yue withdrew the world of Midsummer, voicing his doubts, “I can’t guarantee the enemy is dead.” He truly couldn’t be sure; though his spiritual sense detected nothing, Wu Yue found it hard to believe. Could it really be over so simply? Admittedly, he had learned a great deal from this battle.

Meanwhile, beneath a mound of sand, inside a tunnel, two figures huddled together—it was Shen Gonglei and the armored man. They were both in wretched condition. Shen Gonglei was covered in blood, one eye glowing, the other gone without a trace. The armored man fared a bit better—except that his once-impressive suit now looked like a heap of battered scrap.

“Captain…” The armored man still seemed a bit dazed; it had all happened so quickly, so violently, leaving him no time to react. His mind was a whirl of confusion and conflicting emotions.

“It’s nothing,” Shen Gonglei replied with venom in his eyes. The gap in cultivation was simply too great; he had been left almost powerless to resist. “But haven’t we at least gained from this disaster, arriving here?”

“But—”

Shen Gonglei cut him off brusquely, “Stay alert for anything nearby. If there’s treasure here and we get it, we’ll have our revenge.”

The armored man hesitated, wanting to bring up their fallen comrades, but in the end he said nothing. The two fell silent, inching deeper into the tunnel. Such was the nature of the Garden of Immortality—at any moment, a great opportunity could arise.

“Next time, let’s fight together,” Wu Yue said to Ren Ruyi. After all, they were hardly close—Wu Yue bore no responsibility to protect him, and besides, with Ren Ruyi’s deepening aura, he hardly seemed to need it.

Ren Ruyi was straightforward, replying, “If there’s an enemy you can’t handle, leave it to me.”

It sounded righteous and inspiring, though there was something oddly unsettling about it.

Wu Yue nodded, already reflecting on the recent battle—a rare and commendable habit of his, constantly reviewing his own performance.

“Huh, what’s that hole over there? Let’s go take a look.”

Meanwhile, the two men in the tunnel quickened their pace.

Will fate reunite those destined to meet, even across a thousand miles?