"Thousand Illusions Ice Crystal!"

In an instant, six ice crystal barriers rose around Aier. The white man's Thunder Snake Drill shattered the crystals in a flash, grazing past Aier like a bolt of lightning piercing the night.

BOOM—

The aftershocks burst forth, and Aier's figure hurriedly retreated to her three subordinates' side.

"Are you all okay?"

"Princess, we're fine... Ah! Princess, are you injured?"

On Aier's arm, blood suddenly spread like a blossoming rose, the stain so vivid.

"This little injury is nothing..." Suddenly, Aier's footsteps faltered. She appeared slightly weak-kneed, her face losing all color in an instant.

"Star Martial Toxins!"

"Correct. Star Martial Toxins, a specialty of the Kingdom of Ice and Snow, eh!" the white man said with a sneer, licking his lips.

"Protect the princess! Retreat!" one of the subordinates commanded. Two Galaxy Stage warriors drew their swords and charged at the white man.

"Come back! You're no match for him!"

"Earth Summon Dragon—"

BOOM—

A resounding blast echoed. Suddenly, a massive dragon head emerged from the ground. It bit the two men before plunging back into the earth and vanishing, as if the scene had merely been a temporal illusion.

The two Galaxy Stage experts had been devoured in an instant, unable to even resist.

"Princess Aier, I would advise against any resistance. The more you use your Star Power, the quicker the Star Martial Toxins will conquer your body. By then, even an antidote would be useless."

"Ice Snow White Whale—"

Aier let out a cold snort. Instantly, a strong current of cold overflowed from her body. A whale, as if made of crystal, burst forth from the Array, charging directly at the white man.

The white man fiercely clenched his fist. Flames erupted around him, causing the ground beneath to fracture. Fiery red magma flowed through the cracks. With one punch, he met the white whale head-on.

The white whale instantly turned fiery red, then exploded mid-air. Its scattered ice fragments fell like cherry blossom rain.

The white man took a step forward, but Princess Aier's figure had already disappeared from sight.

"You can't escape."

The remaining Galaxy Stage master carried Princess Aier on his back, swiftly weaving through the dense forest. Suddenly, he stopped by a huge tree root. He skillfully tucked Princess Aier into a cavity within the main root and used a Star Martial Skill to create a disguise.

"Your Highness, I'll lead him away. You must stay safe," he said. With a flash, the young Galaxy Stage man was gone.

In a daze, Aier frowned slightly, struggling to stay awake. At this crucial moment, she couldn't afford to lose consciousness. If she did, she might never wake up.

"AH—"

A scream echoed from afar, jolting Princess Aier's spirit.

She knew all three of her Galaxy Stage subordinates had met their end. But who is this white man? He couldn't possibly be from the Kingdom of Ice and Snow; the kingdom only has one Star Sea Stage Star Martial Warrior. But if he's from an international organization, why come to the Kingdom of Ice and Snow? The Kingdom of Ice and Snow is a forsaken land; in five years, not a single nation has wanted to take it over, even for free. Why would he come to the Kingdom of Ice and Snow? He earlier said he was waiting for me... could it be because of me?

"Princess Aier, you might as well come out. Even if you hide, the Star Martial Toxins will still claim your life. You're still young; it would be a pity to die at this age."

"Still not willing to come out, huh... then don't blame me."

Princess Aier held her breath, trying to reduce the activity of the Star Power within her body. Suddenly, she felt an immense Star Energy Fluctuation. Before she could think, her body shot out of hiding and soared into the sky.

The moment Princess Aier flashed out, the ground beneath her erupted with endless molten lava. Only when Aier leaped out did she clearly see that an area hundreds of meters around had become a sea of churning lava.

She had only managed a quick glance at the molten rock when an intense sense of danger struck her. A figure cut through the red, twisted lava and flashed beside Princess Aier, hand transforming into a claw reaching for her throat.

At this critical juncture, another figure suddenly appeared. A flash of blade light swept by, forcing the white figure to retract its claw and dodge the eerie strike.

Startled, Aier felt an arm wrap around her chest. Suddenly, her vision blurred. When it cleared, she was no longer in the same place.

To the white man, Wang Lan had appeared like a ghost, delivered a single slash, and then vanished without a trace just as quickly.

When her vision settled, Wang Lan was already a hundred meters away with Aier, flanked by a man and a woman.

"Mr. Wu, leave him to me!" Yu Ruoyun declared, his voice low and determined. As soon as the words were spoken, his figure vanished instantly.

"Wait..." The word was still in Wu Shaohua's throat when Yu Ruoyun had already charged forward. His speed surpassed even Wu Shaohua's ability to track him visually.

This meant that if Yu Ruoyun charged at Wu Shaohua with that speed, Wu Shaohua might not be able to react effectively in time. In the world of Star Martial Warriors, the strong are not necessarily fast, but those who are fast are certainly strong.

Being fast enough to catch an enemy off guard meant that even a degree of recklessness was no longer a significant issue.

Indeed, Yu Ruoyun's movement technique troubled his Caucasian opponent. Even though Yu Ruoyun's Star Martial Warrior level was still at the Galaxy Stage peak, his speed far exceeded that of a Star Sea expert.

The white man had instantly killed two Galaxy Stage opponents earlier. Now, however, he could only hurriedly defend against Yu Ruoyun's attacks.

Wang Lan gently placed Princess Aier down. A white light flickered around him, and a chain of white light connected to the princess. Just after connecting, Wang Lan couldn't help but frown.

"Wang Lan, what's wrong?"

"Star Martial Toxins," Wang Lan replied grimly. "And it's a difficult variant to deal with; my healing might take a full minute."

"It needs that long?"

Wu Shaohua knew Wang Lan's capabilities. Even when healing someone on the brink of death, thirty seconds were usually enough. Princess Aier, however, barely had any wounds, yet her treatment would take a minute. This demonstrated just how resistant Star Martial Toxins were to Medical Star Martial Techniques.

Meanwhile, the battle between Yu Ruoyun and the white man suddenly intensified.

This time, Yu Ruoyun's fighting style had greatly changed. When teaming with Wang Lan, Yu Ruoyun's combat method primarily involved long-range attacks, fitting a Mage. But this time, Yu Ruoyun focused on close combat, and the Star Martial Skills he used were suited for melee attacks.

Sharp, instantaneous, fast!

This style was very similar to Wang Lan's current combat approach: Phantom Tracer plus Zanpakuto, combined with the Thunder Snake Flame Knife. Unpredictable, with instant kills and swift vanishes.

A perfectly good Mage, and yet the Qing Emperor managed to turn him into an agile warrior within a month. Qing Emperor, your remodeling is quite thorough.

Yu Ruoyun's attack speed was extremely fast, and his power was incredibly strong. Gradually, the white man realized something was amiss. He couldn't handle Yu Ruoyun alone. If the nearby warrior, who clearly emitted Star Sea Stage Star Energy Fluctuation, joined the fray along with Wang Lan and a healed Princess Aier, he was certain to die here.

I work for the society, but I didn't plan on sacrificing my life for it!

In an instant, the white man's movements faltered slightly. Yu Ruoyun seized the opportunity. A rapidly spinning wind drill materialized in his palm and, in a flash, struck the white man's chest.

BOOM—

The white man had only a bowl-sized wound in his chest, but his entire back had exploded outward.

Scattered flesh and blood landed on the ground, turning into countless sparks.

"He ran?" Yu Ruoyun's brows furrowed, and he fiercely stomped the ground.

The earth trembled violently. The ground surged, and terrifying energy currents rampaged beneath the surface. If the opponent had fled underground, this stomp was sure to force him out, unless the white man's subterranean escape speed surpassed the activation speed of Yu Ruoyun's Star Martial Skill.

But... even after a long wait, there was no sign of movement.

"It seems he really got away," Wu Shaohua said softly with a sigh.

Yu Ruoyun turned towards Wang Lan. "How is Princess Aier?"

Princess Aier was still somewhat weak, but her vital signs had stabilized. Suddenly, her expression changed drastically. "Careful—"

Behind Yu Ruoyun, a paper-thin figure suddenly appeared. It rose from the ground and lunged towards Yu Ruoyun's back. Instantly, Star Power surged from Yu Ruoyun's body. The violent gust of wind, filled with countless needle-like wind blades, tore the paper-thin figure to shreds.

At that moment, Yu Ruoyun finally realized how the opponent had evaded his detection. The foe hadn't fled underground. Instead, he had flattened himself into a two-dimensional state, clinging closely to the ground's surface. By maintaining this transformation and disguise, he avoided Yu Ruoyun's stomp, as its force was directed deep into the ground, not along the surface.

From this, it was clear Yu Ruoyun still lacked experience. Of course, such a peculiar ability was extremely rare; even the experienced Wu Shaohua hadn't detected it.

Yu Ruoyun thought he had completely dealt with the opponent this time, but he underestimated this kind of desperado, one who constantly fought on the brink of life and death.

Behind Wang Lan, a strange figure materialized—the blood-drenched white man. He was suddenly behind Wang Lan, holding a javelin seemingly pulled from nowhere, and thrusting it towards Wang Lan's back.

It appeared silently and struck with the speed of Swift Thunder, too fast to react.

If it were Wu Shaohua, he could have evaded the attack through Elementalization. But Wang Lan, at the Star Cloud Stage, had obviously not yet mastered this skill.

As the javelin thrust down, a full moon manifested behind Wang Lan. It was as pure and flawless as a jade disk and as large as a pot lid. The javelin clashed fiercely with the disk and shattered before it like glass.

This was the white man's last-ditch sneak attack. If this failed, he would turn and flee. No matter how severe the punishment for failing the mission, it was better than death.

But just as the thought of escape surfaced, he suddenly discovered that he couldn't move.

Wang Lan still had his back to the white man. However, his right hand, at some unknown moment, had drawn a knife in a reverse grip. The sharp blade effortlessly pierced the white man's abdomen. The blade was so sharp that the white man didn't even realize he had been impaled.

Only when he found he couldn't move did he realize his final sneak attack hadn't been an attack at all, but a fatal miscalculation.

Wang Lan stood up, turning around coldly.

"Who sent you?"

"Wang Lan... you're dead! From now on, we will become your nightmare, making you live forever in fear and despair! You're done for..."

Wang Lan reached out his hand, intending to perform a Spiritual Engraving.

Instantly, the white man's bald head burst open like a smashed watermelon.

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