Boom!

The transport truck suddenly exploded!

·

·

The blast soared into the sky, illuminating the encampment a kilometer away.

"Heh."

Old Master Si toyed with a copper coin, his face full of chilling malice. He sneered coldly, "A futile struggle of trapped beasts."

The Twilight Candidates donned black hooded robes to conceal their identities in reality. Their attire was uniformly identical, each carrying their respective weapons.

Interestingly, their robes seemed to have been coated with some type of fragrance, emitting a strong scent.

"The warriors of the Dawn Combat Sequence are almost here. Their iron tide paired with alchemy technology—on this flat wasteland, it won't take ten minutes to grind us into dust."

He turned and spoke, "The Think Tank obtained this Soul-snatching Fragrance for you; it's incredibly rare. You only have about half an hour to act. Once the effect fades, you'll be targeted indiscriminately by the things that are about to awaken here, just like everyone else. Whether you survive or not depends entirely on luck."

"Our primary mission this time is to behead Lu Zijin. Whoever takes her head will gain an opportunity for evolution. The two Evolvers among you can also advance further."

"Perform well. You are all Fifth Rank elites comparable to Omega's first echelon. Advancing to Sixth Rank is practically certain. At that point, you'll only be one step away from becoming one of Twilight's members!"

A peculiar light flashed in the old man's eyes.

The Twilight Candidates grew restless, clearly enticed by the lofty promise.

Moon Princess stood silent among the crowd, aware of the urgency of the situation.

But this was different from the last time in the Returning Burial Forest.

This time, her companions were all formidable experts, leaving her little room to maneuver.

Especially that Old Master Si.

A Sixth Rank Divination Master.

With him watching, it would be very difficult to act.

She couldn't afford to misstep; she must bide her time and plan carefully!

"Why not choose a location outside the Heavenly Person Realm to start the battle?"

Jiang Hanyi rasped, "Here, I can't evolve at all. I'm itching to tear apart those greenhouse weaklings. Especially since I heard the King of Qing accepted another student. I wonder if he's in the group. If so, I'd gladly take his head and offer it to the Think Tank."

Moon Princess turned and glanced at her, as if staring at a corpse, coldly replying, "You foolish bitch. If you want to get stomped to death by the Dawn Combat Sequence, no one will stop you. Besides, before spouting nonsense, don't forget how you begged for mercy when Milo had you crushed underfoot."

After finishing, she suddenly fell silent.

Because those words had been her true thoughts, and she'd let them slip in a moment of irritation.

Dammit.

"What did you say?"

Jiang Hanyi erupted in fury, "Say it again, you bastard!"

"To think the Jiang Family gave birth to trash like you. Even if Wang revived, he'd be shamed because of you."

Moon Princess responded indifferently.

The tension exploded; sparks flew, and a clash seemed inevitable.

Si Wei'an observed the two women nearby, feeling deeply apprehensive.

On the way here, the two had already fought once. Each wielded their evolved forms—Ghost Slayer clashing with Divine. Their combat was ferocious and demonstrated astonishing power.

These two women were unexpectedly the strongest members of the team!

If Lord Youming and the Think Tank hadn't intervened to separate them, the fight might have ended in death.

The intensity of Jiang Hanyi's strength was undeniable. As a descendant of the Jiang Family, her dominance remained consistent. At just twenty-four, she had already reached Fifth Rank as Star Lord and was preparing for her Sixth Rank ascension ceremony.

Moon Princess's situation, however, differed. Despite also being of Jiang Family bloodline, she was an illegitimate child and had received no training growing up. Yet, she had ascended to Fifth Rank as Moon Master.

Thinking back now, the Moonstone Heart had been absolutely key.

"Miss Moon Princess, don't get angry,"

Poison Scorpion stepped forward to console her. "Don't stoop to that woman's level."

He, too, hailed from the Six Major Families of the Dark World. During the earlier clash, he had witnessed the petite girl's prowess and charm, deciding then and there to approach her. He had been trying to strike up conversation ever since.

Meanwhile, Jiang Hanyi was also persuaded to leave, preventing another fight.

Moon Princess gave the man a fleeting glance, "What are you? Get lost!"

Poison Scorpion, far from offended by the rebuff, became even more intrigued.

He was fond of cold, indifferent girls like her.

Old Master Si observed everything silently and spoke through Thought, "Miss, rest assured. Last time was our oversight, allowing this girl to obtain the Moonstone Heart and advance to Fifth Rank. But for this mission, feel free to target her. As the leader of this operation, I'll act as if I've seen nothing."

Si Wei'an overheard his uncle's message and began scheming.

To this day, he suspected the Qilin Wedge fragment had been stolen by this girl.

Jiang Hanyi, hearing this, calmed down considerably and turned away. "Let's move. Time to kill Lu Zijin."

Moon Princess sensed their gazes, instinctively becoming alert.

·

·

A massive military helicopter dove toward the ground, flanked by steel war machines like colossal beasts.

The iron tide of the Dawn Combat Sequence crushed the desolate earth below.

"What? A request for us to retreat? What kind of outrageous demand is that?"

A middle-aged man in a moon-white robe sat within the helicopter cabin, speaking into a communication device, "Director Chen, if you can't provide a compelling reason, we firmly oppose this. What exactly is happening? What are the specifics? Has the information been verified? What does the divination say?"

"If there's nothing concrete, how can you expect us to retreat? I am solely responsible for the Eastern Front, and if anything happens, I'll take full accountability. You won't need to bear the burden!"

He continued, "The You Ying Group has already trampled over us arrogantly. This time, we must show them the consequences, even if the Twilight Candidates show up. They'll be crushed into pieces today."

Communication ended.

Li Hanting sat nearby, quietly asking, "Saint, is it the King of Qing's new student again this time?"

The Profound Yin Saint replied with a grunt, "Who else could it be? What a nuisance."

Li Hanting stared blankly out the window. "Brother Shouheng was killed by him, wasn't he? It's hard for me to accept that someone I grew up with turned out to be a member of The Order of the Hidden."

The Profound Yin Saint said, "None of us wanted to believe it either. But this is no time for personal vengeance. Lord Rhine has issued strict orders; the President's days are numbered, and the handover date is drawing near. Nothing can go wrong at this critical moment. I won't let you stir up trouble."

"I know—I'm not that reckless."

Li Hanting took a deep breath, "Dawn, Poison Master, Nightmare, prepare for battle."

Boom.

Simultaneously, the ground began to tremble violently.

Voices crackled through the communication channels, sounding perplexed, "Did any of you hear something strange?"

The wind howled through Balensa City, as if awakening from slumber.