The crowd erupted into commotion, their gazes piercing through the curtains of rain to the Statistical Department agent standing atop the main house roof!
Le Yu nearly lost his composure, his knees almost giving out.
"Shit, they're not talking about me being the traitor?"
Swoosh!
A tall man jumped from the rooftop, striking like thunder and landing as lightly as a feather, his feet barely kissing the puddled ground, sending out only the tiniest ripple.
Both brutally fierce and incredibly gentle, equally dynamic and utterly still—seeing those contradictions coexist in one man gave Le Yu a full-body shiver, even at a distance. He could feel how deadly this guy was!
"There really are way too many monsters with powers in this world!"
"Li Shijie, a graduate of Yanjing Royal Academy, excellent grades, outstanding abilities, once awarded the 'Sun Medal' by the Imperial Family, truly a favored son of heaven, a pillar of the nation." Lan Yan's voice was filled with admiration, "I didn't expect you to be hiding your cultivation too, and so young yet you brought the Water Moon Battle Technique to the threshold of mastery. Give it a few more years, maybe you'll be another Imperial Grandmaster."
"But … 'Such a beauty, why become a thief?'"
Li Shijie, captain of Team Five of the Statistical Department—Le Yu had found in Qian Yuliu's memories that this person usually kept a low profile, had no extraordinary battle record, and looked like just another mediocrity leaning on his diploma.
No matter the world, there was always a hierarchy of education. The top institution in Huyao was obviously Yanjing Royal Academy in the capital; compared to it, Qian Yuliu's own Star Engraving Military Academy was strictly second-rate. Likewise, Star Engraving County counted as a major stronghold, but was nothing beside Yanjing. For Li Shijie to come to Star Engraving County was like a higher-order invasion; it was only natural he became the Statistical Department's team captain right away.
Yet it shocked everyone, including Qian Yuliu, that not only had Li Shijie hidden his true power, but was also a Backlight Particle spy!
Li Shijie laughed.
"Why do you call it rebellion? Not at all—I'm forsaking darkness for the light, setting the world right!" Li Shijie declared, head high, voice ringing out, "Ever since you decided to come to the Lin family, everything has followed my plan. This is where you meet your end!"
He snapped his fingers; Team Five agents immediately turned their guns, pointing them at the other agents.
"He actually turned his own team against us too!"
"The tide just completely turned!"
"Now, when it comes to numbers, the Backlight rebels outnumber the Statistical Department!"
"No wonder Lin Jinyao and Li Shijie dared to flip the table right now. Maybe I should turn my own gun on Lan Yan and Kui Zhao beside me, give them a surprise assist in their darkest hour…"
Before Le Yu could finish considering whether to shoot Kui Zhao first or take out Lan Yan, Kui Zhao strode forward, his long braid whipping through the rain.
"It's my fault as commander for not keeping traitors like you in check," Kui Zhao tossed his sidearm to one of the agents behind him, going barehanded, and beckoned toward Li Shijie. "Better late than never to mend the pen. Li Shijie, I'm giving you a shot at killing me."
"Kui Zhao actually challenged him barehanded!?"
Li Shijie drew the straight blade at his waist and handed his pistol to a nearby agent as well, "Hard to turn down a chance to turn the Statistical Department's lapdog into a sacrificial lamb."
"After working together for months, I know exactly how challenging you two are. As long as both of you die here, Ding Yi will have no right hand left. Take out the real problems one by one, and things get much simpler."
Kui Zhao grinned savagely, "Let's see if this traitor's got it in him!"
"Why a duel, and barehanded at that? What, out of bullets, or everyone just suddenly feeling cocky…" As Le Yu's mind spun with these nagging questions, the scene shifted again!
Two thunderclaps cracked, the two men charged and clashed—fist against blade, sending out invisible shockwaves!
The rain curtain tore open, and ordinary agents had to raise their hands to shield their eyes; only a handful, Le Yu among them, kept their eyes wide, catching every flicker and bang of the energy detonations between the two!
"Hell yeah!"
"Energy bombardment!"
One wielding his bare hands, the other with a straight blade, yet in midair, they actually threw out blade-like force and palm gusts—making the whole world seem to fracture, their figures blurry and out of phase, the space where they clashed twisting with energy vortices!
"But Le Yu quickly realized, that 'fracture' was only an optical illusion—because the energy these two were channeling came from the light source!"
"After human Spiritual Power was transmuted by Luminous Stone, it didn't just bolster the body. Since Luminous Stone had that burning-light trait, humans who Awakened thanks to it also gained the ability to channel Light Energy."
"All kinds of Combat Techniques and Secret Techniques were, at their core, energy tech for tapping into light sources!"
"When Le Yu was killed by Qian Yuliu, Qian Yuliu was standing right at the alleyway entrance, precisely because there was sunlight there, which is why he struck so quickly, so cleanly, and so deadly!"
"That's also why the Statistical Department always brought three giant floodlights to investigations—not just for illumination, but because 'light' was a key energy source for their agents' fighting power."
"Trouble is, using 'light' is a basic trait all Awakeners share. If Statistical Department agents can do it, so can Backlight Particles!"
"Le Yu's confusion from earlier was completely wiped away."
"At the Awakener level of Kui Zhao and Li Shijie, a firefight was pointless—they were far better off in a head-to-head, no-guns brawl."
"Never mind that Awakeners have a sixth sense that lets them dodge bullets—just the way light bent and warped around them threw aim off for any shooter. Even in a hail of gunfire, they could blast out a burst of light and deflect bullets!"
"If a full-on melee started, Kui Zhao and Li Shijie would plow through the crowd like tigers among sheep—ordinary agents didn't stand a chance."
"No wonder Kui Zhao called for a duel and Li Shijie jumped right in—their side seemed to have only one real powerhouse with Li Shijie, and Lan Yan was definitely on par with Kui Zhao on this side. If they could take out Kui Zhao before the brawl broke out, the odds would tip hugely in their favor."
"Of course, if Li Shijie just bit it right off the bat, this whole Backlight Particle ambush could be chalked up as a total bust. With such high stakes for the winner, neither man believed they'd lose—they were both gambling their lives!"
Clang—
Teeth-grinding blasts rang out in quick succession, fist and blade bashing with a ringing clash; they jumped straight into a fever-pitch fight with zero warmup, more like a viper biting a tiger—earthshaking ferocity!
"First move." Li Shijie stepped back two paces, spinning his blade like moonlight—more spirit than human.
"Warm-up's done." Kui Zhao flashed an arrogant grin, his right hand clawing upward, drawing five bloody arcs!
Sima Clan's Wolf Eagle Fist Secret Move: Wolf Devour!
Li Shijie showed no fear at all, suddenly stepping in with both hand and foot, right foot and right hand moving as one, blade flashing forward—the light focusing at its tip, slashing with blade-light like the moon!
Water Moon Battle Technique: Moon Spit!
"In a flash, Le Yu's mind filled with recognition for every Combat Technique they used—the truth was, these weren't obscure or forbidden moves; they were extremely popular Body Refining Techniques."
"Combat Techniques were all about manipulating light energy, and like any tech, if it stayed closed off, it faded into obscurity. Only methods everyone knew, that faced widespread competition and improvement, stood a chance at evolving and thriving."
"Qian Yuliu, for example, had learned eighteen different Combat Techniques in military academy, but chose to specialize in Ba Dao Flow, as it best suited him to this day. Still, he understood the others well, which was why Le Yu could see just how strong these two really were."
"Moon Spit" and "Wolf Devour" were both advanced moves; on paper, any Awakener could pull them off—but in practice, only someone who had achieved Integration and Mastery with their Combat Technique could make them work. Back in my last life, that was like multi-tasking micro in an RTS or landing a quad jump in figure skating."
"Le Yu knew how to perform both 'Moon Spit' and 'Wolf Devour' in theory, but his brain was the only one that understood—his body sure didn't."
Clang-clang-clang-clang-clang—
Moonlight slashed through wolf claws, wolf claws tore up moonlight!
Rain and light burst apart in chaos, turning the courtyard into something far from the human realm, more like a battlefield of gods!
"Second move!" Kui Zhao laughed as he closed in, blood-red light forming armor over him, a blood wolf devouring the moon—thunderous and fierce!
Light Armor!
"Le Yu had his mind blown all over again—this was a Combat Technique Qian Yuliu had only heard about, never seen: condensing Light Energy into actual armor for a brief period. Light Armor was weightless but could deflect any attack; back in ancient times, it was nothing short of divine protection. Even now, only Awakeners who mastered Light Armor truly deserved to be called powerful!"
Li Shijie didn't give an inch, attacking low, flowing like light, blade arcing like a rainbow—within a heartbeat, he landed more than a dozen strikes—Le Yu lost count—slashing through the blood-red armor and even forcing Kui Zhao back three steps!
But Kui Zhao didn't give Li Shijie the slightest breather, instantly closing in again, never letting himself get caught at the distance where Li Shijie's strikes were deadliest!
"Le Yu watched, eyes never blinking. The two moved with substance, not flash; steady, but ruthless. With Qian Yuliu's eye, never mind five moves—if they weren't dead tired after fifty, it would still be a toss-up!"