Chapter Thirty-Six

"My lady... please, spare me." Mazi collapsed on the ground, his voice slurred as he begged for mercy, as if that alone could make Yu Niaoniao let him go.

While she was busy disciplining Mazi, no one noticed Li Luyan push open the fence and step inside. The air outside was stifling; if these fools were willing to bake in the sun, she certainly wasn't. The camp’s layout was simple, consisting of makeshift sheds divided into several distinct zones. Closing her eyes, she began to project her supernatural senses to locate Zhang Min and Pei Siying.

At that moment, Zhang Min had just risen from her chair. She pinned a nearby commoner to the ground and, using a broken chair leg, struck the man's head again and again. Seeing the red and white mess staining her hands, she curled her lip in disgust. Having just recovered her abilities, she had converted her supernatural energy into raw physical strength to shatter her bonds. An ability user was, after all, an ability user—even those with support-type powers were far beyond what these ordinary people could handle.

As Li Luyan turned, she ran into Zhang Min, who had just emerged from the shed, still clutching the blood-and-brain-spattered chair leg, which dripped onto the ground with every second. Zhang Min seemed surprised—genuinely so. In her mind, it was impossible for Li Luyan to have been captured, not with that devouring ability of hers. "Why are you here?" she asked.

What Zhang Min didn't know was that the so-called "devouring" was actually Li Luyan simply stashing the ice spikes Pei Siying had fired into her spatial storage.

Li Luyan shrugged, looking indifferent. "Yu Niaoniao said you were captured."

Yu Niaoniao? A flicker of light passed through Pei Siying's eyes. It seemed this "vessel" still had some use; she would let her live a little longer then.

"My psychic detection indicates Pei Siying is over there." She pointed to the shed on the left, directly opposite Zhang Min’s location.

"However..." Li Luyan suddenly called out to stop Pei Siying, who was already heading toward that side. "Don't you find this a bit strange?"

Zhang Min thought for a moment and said, "Why isn't there a single person around? Even if we killed quite a few, there should still be a dozen or so left."

Li Luyan looked at her with appreciation. As expected of a top-tier scholar, her mind moved quickly. If it were that guy Yu Yue, he would only be standing in front of her asking, "Sister Yan, what’s so strange about it?" But Zhang Min was too calculating; they weren't well-suited to be on the same path. Only someone like Yu Yue, who had few schemes and would sell his life for a bit of benefit, was fit to follow her.

"So, do you think these people..." Before Pei Siying could finish her sentence, she saw Li Luyan reach out and grip the neck of a man creeping up behind her with a knife, lifting him into the air.

A wave of cold fear washed over her. She had been too careless; she had almost been slashed just moments ago.

The remaining men swarmed in, but Li Luyan moved like a cat playing with mice. She darted past them, and their blades and weapons vanished instantly. Before they could even look at each other in confusion, Zhang Min channeled her energy into her limbs, swinging the wooden chair leg with lethal grace.

*Whoosh.*

The wood sliced through the air with a mournful whistle, ending with a sharp *thwack* as it connected with the temples of the attackers.

As the last of them fell, Zhang Min stood up like a demon from hell and sighed irritably, "My newly restored energy is already drained. Level one is just too useless."

Li Luyan looked away, having spotted a fireball hurtling toward Zhang Min’s back. Zhang Min was no fool; it was as if she had eyes in the back of her head. She instantly ducked and rolled across the ground. The fireball exploded exactly where she had been standing, scorching the earth black.

The attacker was a man under 1.6 meters tall but just as wide—a literal ball of fat. Beside him stood an older man with a scar over his right eye; he was the one who had thrown the fireball.

Li Luyan narrowed her eyes at the intruders.

The man spoke, "You've killed so many of my brothers; wouldn't it be inappropriate to leave without giving us something in return?" He looked at Li Luyan’s chest, licking his lower lip with a sickening expression.

A wave of indescribable revulsion surged from Li Luyan's stomach and exploded in her mind. Compared to these disgusting humans, she preferred the mindless water monsters; at least they didn't engage in such nauseating behavior.

"You?" she stared at the man with a sneer. "Are you worthy?"

Old Zhou’s expression darkened, turning truly menacing. "You bitch, I gave you a chance."

He clapped his hands together and formed another fireball. It writhed in the air like a tiny dragon, charging toward Li Luyan. She stood perfectly still, a smile playing on her lips. Old Zhou waited for the flames to reduce her to ash.

But the fireball simply stopped in front of Li Luyan, and then, just like that, it abruptly vanished.

Beside him, the man with the yellowed teeth rubbed his eyes in disbelief. "What’s going on? Old Zhou, am I hallucinating? Where did your fireball go?"

Old Zhou’s face grew even gloomier, as if a dark cloud had descended upon him. "Impossible!" He hurled several more fireballs in rapid succession.

Strangely, Li Luyan remained unmoved. Each time a fireball reached her face, mere inches from burning her, it vanished instantly. It was as if it had never existed—not even a trace remained.

He pointed a shaking finger at her: "You... you’re an ability user too."

Li Luyan didn't answer. She simply walked toward him step by step. Old Zhou reacted as if she were a plague, retreating with every step she took. Seeing an opening, he pulled a small knife from his waistband and lunged at her.

Just as the blade was about to strike, Li Luyan vanished from where she stood, reappearing beside the man with the yellowed teeth, having ripped through space itself. Old Zhou, carried by his own momentum, tumbled forward and fell flat on his face.

Seeing Li Luyan appear beside him, the man with the yellowed teeth dropped to his knees and began kowtowing. Li Luyan ignored him entirely, grabbing the air with her hand. The man instantly crumpled and twisted like a piece of dough. The sickening sound of bones grinding against one another filled the air.

Old Zhou’s teeth chattered. This woman was far too monstrous; he knew his level-two fireballs were no match for her.

Suddenly, Li Luyan stopped in front of him. Old Zhou, terrified, lost control of his bladder, a stream of foul-smelling liquid soaking his trousers. Li Luyan turned her head in disgust and looked at Zhang Min.

"Finish him off yourself."

After all, revenge was only truly sweet when taken with one's own hands.

Sensing his end, Old Zhou suddenly erupted with a surge of intense power. A wave of heat swept through the entire camp. Li Luyan found herself unable to keep her eyes open.

"Look out, it's a self-detonation!"