A massive hand suddenly emerged, pinning Sam Li and Moon Carver beneath it.

Immediately after, a colossal beast ripped through the ground and crawled out, while in the sky above, a gigantic Ethereal appeared, blotting out the sun.

Keqing's expression darkened.

"An ambush. Damn it, how did they know we'd be here?"

Ever since they had stepped into the Hollow, something had felt off. From the beginning until now, they had only encountered ordinary Ethereal, yet not a single high-tier one had appeared.

Keqing was about to rush forward and rescue Sam Li and Moon Carver, both struck by the colossal monster's hand.

But Cloud Retainer suddenly leapt into the air, soaring straight toward the massive Ethereal looming in the skies.

"Leave the one above to this immortal—"

"In that case, I'll take this giant beast..."

With those words, Mountain Shaper suddenly produced a long spear and launched himself toward the charging colossus.

On one side stood a towering Ethereal over a hundred meters tall...

On the other, the human-sized Mountain Shaper.

Seeing this, Hoshimi Miyabi narrowed her eyes and turned to the members of the Hollow Special Operations Unit 6 beside her.

"Protect the Proxy. I'll handle the Ethereal..."

With blade in hand, she rushed toward the massive hand descending from above.

She knew Moon Carver wouldn't die so easily. But because she didn't know Sam Li's true identity, she feared for his safety and struck out without hesitation.

However—just as she was about to act, a brilliant golden light flared through the dust-filled air.

A golden spear shot upward from within the haze.

The next moment, a colossal Ethereal roared in pain and burst out of the dust first, as though wounded.

Only then did Hoshimi Miyabi clearly see its true form: a Destruction-class Ethereal, an enormous beast resembling a giant ape, seventy to eighty meters tall. Every step it took sent tremors rippling across the land.

Her grip tightened on her blade. With one hand on the sheath, the other on the hilt, she pressed her thumb against the fingerprint lock on the guard.

In a flash—steel cleared the scabbard.

A dazzlingly cold light blazed as she swung the blade, striking toward the towering ape-like Ethereal.

In that moment, her mind wasn't on the Destruction-class Ethereal itself, nor on the sword techniques she had trained for years. Instead, she recalled the words Cloud Retainer had shared with her earlier.

According to Cloud Retainer, that strike was known as the Blade of No Thought.

Hoshimi Miyabi couldn't wield that technique. But after understanding the pinnacle of martial arts, she had gained her own new insight into the blade. With Cloud Retainer's guidance and her own realizations...

This time, she swung her own strike.

The blade gleamed with a fierce, icy light. As it cut through the air, the surrounding temperature plunged. Frost crept over her hands and the hilt, ice spreading rapidly up her arms until nearly half of them were encased.

At that instant, her martial path broke into a new realm.

With a sharp cry, the ice shattered from her hands, and a blade of light dozens of meters long erupted forth, colliding with the colossal ape Ethereal.

When the strike ended, Hoshimi Miyabi gasped for breath.

"It worked..."

At last, she had unleashed a strike that was truly her own.

Looking up again, she saw the ape-like Ethereal frozen solid, transformed into a seventy- to eighty-meter-tall sculpture of ice.

At that moment, the golden spear spun once in the air before shooting back down as a flash of gold.

One strike.

It pierced straight through the Ethereal's skull.

Hoshimi Miyabi's eyes widened in shock.

She had faced Destruction-class Ethereal before and knew their overwhelming power—especially their nigh-impenetrable defenses. She could force one back, but never kill it. Even the Defense Army's heavy weapons couldn't break their defenses, let alone harm them.

Yet now, with a single thrust, the golden spear had pierced its skull.

Such a strike—if it didn't kill the beast outright—would surely force it into a second form.

And just as she expected, the towering ape-like Ethereal toppled like a mountain, but moments later, its "corpse" began to change.

A pair of massive hands burst out from its back, ripping its enormous hide apart as a new form clawed its way free.

It was a nightmarish entity made entirely of Ether crystals, with four arms and three heads.

Though smaller than before, standing just under fifty meters, the Ether it radiated was even more terrifying than in its previous form.

Hoshimi Miyabi's brows furrowed tightly. She clenched her blade, ready to swing again.

But then—two figures stepped out of the dispersing dust, landing beside her.

One was Moon Carver.

The other was Sam Li.

And what startled her most—the golden spear that had pierced the ape's skull, the strike that had forced it into its second form—was clutched in Sam Li's hands.

Up close, she recognized it instantly. It was the same spear she had seen him wield months ago in the Old Capital Hollow.

Understanding dawned.

She had underestimated Sam Li all along. His strength was no less than an Adepti's—or perhaps, he was one himself. That would explain everything.

Sam Li, meanwhile, noticed her condition.

She hadn't yet mastered the technique of her strike, and the effort had drained her heavily. Her state was far from good.

With the Vortex Vanquisher in hand, he spoke calmly.

"You fall back. Leave this Ethereal to me."

Hoshimi Miyabi hesitated, intending to fight alongside him against the three-headed giant ape in its second form. But after a moment's thought, she retreated.

She knew her condition was too poor. If she couldn't contribute, she would only burden Sam Li and Moon Carver. Better to recover first before stepping back in.

At her side, Moon Carver approached Sam Li and let out a sigh.

"After all these years, I never imagined we'd stand together against an enemy once more."