Chapter 146: This Should Clearly Be the Protagonist’s Privilege!
Compared to the immediate crisis of his body being out of control, Ye Yan’s vacant gaze and look of disbelief showed that he had completely sunk into his own thoughts, completely ignoring the battle unfolding before him.
Although the situation looked favorable, Xu Zhi had an inexplicable feeling that something was wrong.
Instead of taking advantage of Ye Yan’s loss of control to deliver a final blow, she trusted her instincts and quickly retreated, putting distance between herself and him the moment she sensed danger.
Under the gaze of the [Eye of Secrets], the [Cup] attribute energy within Ye Yan’s body was running rampant—just like his chaotic thoughts—recklessly surging through him as his mind spiraled.
Yet faintly, amid the chaos, there was something odd—something deeply unsettling.
It was as if it was boiling.
Still kneeling on the ground, Ye Yan didn’t even notice Xu Zhi’s swift retreat. The intense ringing in his ears and the dizziness crashed down on him like waves, as if his fragile ego was screaming at him:
Why are you kneeling to a human Transcendents?!
As humiliation, shame, and regret threatened to drag him into an abyss and shatter him completely—something inside him began to rebuild.
Ye Yan once again saw his own pitiful, miserable past. He remembered that he never truly understood what “dignity” was. His so-called [Arrogance] was like a tree without roots—he had simply been intoxicated by the sudden power he received.
What if…
What if he had taken himself more seriously? What if he had truly reflected on the power he gained? Would everything be different now?
He shouldn’t have lost. Xu Zhi clearly didn’t have a 100% chance of killing him.
Then why was he kneeling here right now?
Ah—because he was too shallow!
He never understood the true meaning of arrogance. He’d simply thought that looking down on everything was enough.
But this—this was his own fault. Xu Zhi didn’t defeat him. He lost because he was too stupid!
As his self-blame reached its peak, and Ye Yan began to deeply reflect on his past—from his initial breakdown, his utter defeat, to now rebuilding himself and recognizing Xu Zhi’s strength while firmly believing his failure wasn’t due to a lack of ability—his [Arrogance] began to reform.
Just as Xu Zhi had seen, the [Cup] energy within Ye Yan began to boil. The “growing pains,” as if his body were being shattered and reborn, made him howl in agony.
He collapsed to the ground, fingers digging into the pavement so hard they gouged trenches into the concrete. His fingertips were shredded and bleeding profusely.
But compared to the pain searing deep within his body, the pain in his hands was insignificant.
Low, tortured howls echoed down the dark street. When the pain of transformation reached its peak, Ye Yan couldn’t hold back and let out a shrill, piercing scream.
“Aaaaaaaahhhh!!!”
A pillar of blood-red light erupted from his body, and the once-narrow magnetic field instantly expanded to nearly a kilometer. At its center, Ye Yan’s aura surged with the scream. The field itself began to emit a red glow, as if a massive ritual formation had been activated with Ye Yan at its core.
Dizzying, intricate patterns spread outward from beneath Ye Yan’s feet, covering the entire field. Once the pattern was complete, Ye Yan finally fell silent.
It was as if he had completed a transformation. His aura was no longer unstable—it had condensed into something more grounded, more shockingly powerful.
As the boy slowly stood up, his expression and gaze no longer held shallow arrogance. One could almost describe him as calm. Only those who looked closely would notice the trace of [Arrogance] still buried deep in his eyes.
Only when arrogance was no longer blind could it begin to show its true form.
“Xu Zhi,” he said.
“I should thank you.”
Though his tone was calm, there was a clear sense of condescension behind it—as if he were looking down on her. That calmness only made it worse, revealing how high above he believed himself to be.
Xu Zhi simply smiled. “You want to thank me?”
“Then kneel down and kowtow again.”
What the hell?!
She beats him up, and it actually awakens him and helps him level up?!
**Mid-battle evolution—**wasn’t this supposed to be a privilege reserved for protagonists?!
So what was her role now?
The villain who beats up the protagonist?!
Ye Yan’s expression flickered slightly at her words, but unlike before, he didn’t seem to feel deeply humiliated. He simply said coldly, “You still have time to joke around?”
The next second, an invisible attack came at Xu Zhi from the front—even though Ye Yan himself hadn’t moved.
Xu Zhi’s pupils contracted. She raised her blade just in time to block the invisible slash.
“…As I thought.”
“You can see it, can’t you?” Ye Yan said.
Only then did he raise his hand, forming a long sword made of blood, and slashed it toward Xu Zhi’s position. Judging from the motion, it was the same attack that had just appeared out of nowhere.
Since Xu Zhi had already seen through his ability, Ye Yan no longer bothered hiding it. As he swung the blood-colored blade with ease, he steadily approached Xu Zhi.
“In my ritual field, my attacks can reach you at any time, from any direction,” he said coolly. “All you can do is defend. Let’s see how long you can last.”
Due to Ye Yan’s steady advance, Xu Zhi had no way to escape the ritual field. Worse, the two remaining unawakened Archbishops weren’t idle either.
Xu Zhi could feel an ever-increasing lethargy building inside her—slowing her down more and more, until she began to suffer small injuries from Ye Yan’s attacks when she slipped up for even a moment.
The other priest had an ability related to illusions. He constantly tried to trap Xu Zhi in hallucinations, causing her to misjudge the timing and position of Ye Yan’s attacks.
Unfortunately for him, Xu Zhi’s mental resistance and her [All-Seeing Eye] countered illusion-type abilities perfectly, so his impact on her was actually the weakest of the three.
Still, even a weak effect wasn’t negligible. Even with the small smoky cat always by her side to help interfere, Xu Zhi still experienced auditory hallucinations and distortions in her senses. Sometimes, even the ground beneath her feet would suddenly feel soft, almost tripping her.
This couldn’t go on.
Xu Zhi barely managed to deflect Ye Yan’s omnidirectional, delayed attacks. Her blade left streaks of crimson afterimages in the air with each swing.
But right now, it felt like she was being slowly sliced apart with a dull knife.
If she fought any one of them individually, even the newly evolved Ye Yan wouldn’t be her match.
But all three together—this was becoming dangerous.
She couldn’t stall any longer. Ye Yan had to go. Now.
With that thought, a new idea arose in her mind.
A very special idea.
She had never actually tried this technique in combat before. But surely… it would work?
In a heartbeat, Xu Zhi dashed straight at Ye Yan.
Ye Yan sneered. “Walking into your own death?”
Xu Zhi didn’t reply. She simply withdrew her usual carefree smile, staring at him with a solemn expression.
“Walking into my own death?”
We’ll see who’s actually doing that.
