Chapter 200: The Critical Moment
She might only have one pair of eyes—but she had her familiars.
With a single thought, Xu Zhi tried to use her [Authority] to communicate with the tattoos on her arms. The result was even smoother than she had expected. The moment her [Authority] connected with the markings, she gained more delicate control over them. Perhaps this was only natural—those familiars were, after all, hers.
Instantly, knowledge flooded her mind—how to understand and use those tattoos in new ways. The next second, the tattoos that had gathered on her arm shifted positions. On the back of her neck and the backs of both hands, three symbols appeared—each representing a different familiar—and their shapes slowly transformed into “eyes,” allowing her to see all around.
Through [Authority], those familiar-eyes linked to her [Eye of Secrets], granting her an almost completely panoramic field of vision.
Now, she no longer had to worry about missing its attacks because of blind spots.
——Boom!
A violent gust exploded from above, the punch’s force mixed with the aura of [Cup]. This time, it clenched its fist and swung straight down, aiming to crush Xu Zhi into the surging waves below—using its full strength.
The air split with the speed of the blow, sharp detonations bursting at the edges of its fist. It came too fast for Xu Zhi to dodge, and since the attack was infused with [Cup] energy, she couldn’t simply evade by phasing her body.
She could only face it head-on.
Black scales began to shimmer faintly across her skin—the black cat’s traits enabling partial phasing, while Xiaoyi’s power enhanced her strength, endurance, and defense. Her pale gray pupils almost slitted like a serpent’s when—
Bang!
The sound of flesh meeting force exploded through the air. Xu Zhi stood suspended in the void, right hand gripping her blade upright, its tip aimed toward the sky. Her left arm rose to guard her head. When the fist came crashing down, her left arm took most of the impact while her right hand drove the blade upward, pushing it straight into its knuckles. Golden energy from the [Lamp] surged through the blade, piercing entirely through its massive hand—turning its own strength against it.
A heartbeat later, Xu Zhi was sent flying.
She tumbled backward through the air—her left arm dangling uselessly, every bone shattered, muscle reduced to pulp.
Pain flooded her nerves, burning through every inch of her body. She clenched her teeth, refusing to make a sound. Though she had regenerative power, the [Cup] energy that had seeped into her body rampaged within, tearing at her flesh and slowing her healing to a crawl.
Worse, she had to spend even more of her supernatural strength just to suppress that destructive [Cup] energy.
Frustration flickered in her heart—but she quickly recognized it wasn’t truly hers. The [Cup]’s influence was corrupting her emotions.
That single exchange had cost her dearly: the opponent had lost only a hand—while Xu Zhi had nearly lost an arm, suffered internal injuries throughout her body, and had her emotions and energy disrupted. A trade heavily in its favor.
But—
While it continued its unrestrained assault, a tiny, almost invisible sprout suddenly grew from its chest—like a seed buried deep within its flesh, finally germinating after absorbing enough strength.
That was the signal.
Xu Zhi hadn’t been smashed into the sea as it expected. She stopped just above the surface, coughing blood mixed with fragments of her own organs.
Clearly, she couldn’t win head-on. But that didn’t matter—she had never planned for a fair, one-on-one battle.
Following the signal from the parasitic offshoot, Xu Zhi finally activated one of the backup plans she had planted long ago: the fragments of [Authority] that had been absorbed into its body with the black mist earlier.
She could feel parts of her supernatural power residing within it. Those fragments had been dormant, waiting for the right moment. As the narrator might have said—she was waiting for her cue.
That cue had arrived.
The critical moment.
She could use [Authority] to briefly disrupt its internal flow of energy. The effect wouldn’t last long before it expelled her interference—but it would be enough.
A pale gray light flickered in Xu Zhi’s eyes. She lifted her hand slightly, as though tugging invisible threads—and the instant she did, the dormant [Authority] fragments inside its body detonated.
The turbulence spread rapidly—pulling the energies of Cloud City that it had absorbed into chaos as well. Its colossal form froze mid-motion, as if its own limbs had suddenly tripped each other. For those few seconds, its awareness of its own body faltered; its control over its supernatural systems collapsed into momentary disorder.
During those two fleeting seconds, the small parasite embedded in its flesh erupted in growth. Countless tendrils burrowed deeper, weaving through its heart, limbs, and even stretching faintly toward its brain.
All of this happened within the two seconds Xu Zhi disrupted its control.
When it finally regained awareness, the parasitism was complete.
And then it realized—inside its body lurked a detestable, traitorous creature, one that carried the same aura as itself. A kin turned rebel.
“ROAR!!”
A piercing, monstrous cry burst from within its body, the air trembling from the force.
It had no mouth—the sound came directly from its body. Its gaunt, elongated form twisted violently, and from beneath its skin, black blood-soaked spikes erupted outward, like a hedgehog’s spines driving through its own flesh.
It raised its right hand, clutching one of those spikes. With a grunt of effort, it tried to pull it free—but the moment it did, all the other spikes quivered, tearing new cracks across its body. It could feel that the spike had taken root inside it, intertwined with others—and with its heart.
If it forced it out, most of its organs would be torn apart.
Realizing it couldn’t remove the parasite so easily, it roared again—this time in pure fury. Then, gripping one of the spikes that had pierced through its body, it snapped it clean off.
With a violent motion, it hurled the broken spike toward Xu Zhi—
Whoosh!
The same tendril that had once pierced it and devoured its flesh was now turned into a weapon, slicing through the air with a shriek sharp enough to split the wind—hurtling straight at her like a living spear.
