Kai stood at the edge of the bridge for a long moment, staring at its pale surface as if it might suddenly explain itself.Of course, it didn’t.He sighed slowly, rubbing the back of his neck.“Typical,” he muttered under his breath. “Zora throws us into something again and disappears without even leaving a hint.”The bridge looked harmless, it was too quiet, too calm and that alone made him more cautious. Nothing in this realm was ever simple. If there was an inheritance here, then it wouldn’t just sit politely waiting for someone to walk over and claim it.He studied the space ahead, eyes narrowing.No aura fluctuations and there were no obvious traps.And that… made it worse.Emily watched him from behind, her whip resting loosely at her side, while Vivienne stood slightly further back, hands clenched nervously around the strange dagger Emily had given her earlier.Kai exhaled.After hesitating for a while, he finally made up his mind.“I’ll go first,” he said, turning slightly tow

The fight began without warning.A faint shimmer flashed around Abigail’s fingers and the next instant a blade of pure sword Qi tore through the air, silent yet terrifying, cutting straight toward Kai’s chest.It came too fast and too clean.Kai barely had time to tilt his body before the attack landed.Slash...The sword Qi ripped through his clothes effortlessly, shredding the fabric like paper. Cold air rushed over his exposed torso, revealing his muscular chest beneath the torn cloth. The energy struck directly against his skin and for a brief moment the air trembled.A sharp white line appeared across his chest and it was deep and clear but it didn’t break through.The Qi dispersed with a faint crackling sound, leaving only a white mark behind.Kai glanced down, brows furrowing slightly.“Damn,” he muttered under his breath.He could tell immediately that Abigail had gotten stronger.Not just stronger, she was much more sharper than before Her attacks weren’t loud or flashy. The

The moment Kai reappeared on the bridge, the cold tension in the air snapped.Emily rushed forward immediately.“Where did you go? Are you alright, Kai?” she demanded, eyes scanning him quickly as if checking whether he had lost an arm or gained a hole in his chest.Kai exhaled slowly, rolling his shoulders as the lingering chill of the snowfield faded from his skin.“Snow world, unexpected travel, was fun though,” he said simply.Emily blinked.He continued, tone calm but serious now.“After I left here, I found myself standing in that frozen place. Abigail was there. Not… normal Abigail. She wasn’t possessed. She wasn’t wild like before. She was just… empty. Cold. Like she didn’t even recognize me.” He frowned slightly. “The place wasn’t fake. I could feel it. The pressure. The sword intent. It was real.”Vivienne listened quietly, her gaze attentive.Kai went on, explaining how Abigail attacked him without hesitation, how her sword Qi had cut through his clothes but failed to break

Kai frowned slightly, staring at the beast before him.Behind him, Emily and Vivienne had initially thought it was some grotesque hybrid, something between a wolf and a horned boar. But as the creature straightened fully and the dark energy around it thickened, their expressions shifted from confusion to stunned disbelief.Vivienne’s lips parted slowly.“That’s not a normal beast.”The body began to change.The fur receded in patches, revealing dark, scale-like skin beneath, it was not smooth scales, but layered, jagged plates that overlapped like crude armor forged by nature itself. Its torso broadened grotesquely, muscles swelling unnaturally as if something inside was forcing expansion. The head distorted next, the snout shortening while the jaws widened impossibly.Then they saw it clearly.There was no lower jaw structure in the traditional sense, its mouth split vertically, opening like a cavernous maw that seemed capable of swallowing half a tree in one bite. Rows upon rows of

As they fought, Kai’s mind remained frighteningly clear.Blow after blow, clash after clash, while halberd and claw tore through earth and air, he was calculating.Each time the Taotie fell, it rose stronger.Each time it rose, it lost something.First awareness.Then strategy and then restraint.What remained now was almost pure instinct.Which meant that the next resurrection could also be the last.The thought settled heavily in his mind and not because it would end easily.But because something about the beast’s energy felt unstable now, it was like a furnace burning through its final reserves of fuel.If it rose again, it might burn everything it had left and when a creature like this burned everything?It wouldn’t think, wouldn’t hesitate, it would simply destroy.Kai’s eyes narrowed slightly as he blocked another feral swipe and drove his knee into its chest cavity, cracking already fractured armor.Though the chances of him winning would increase if it lost its rationality com