Ye Zhongming appeared furiousâboth outwardly and inwardlyâbut he knew his inner rage wasn't as intense as it seemed.
Since his rebirth, the area where he felt the most improvement, aside from his combat prowess, was his mental fortitude.
To any observer, he was currently facing a hopeless dead end.
Nine level-nine beings had surrounded him. Though one lay severely injured on the ground, he wasnât deadâhis companions had fed him healing medicine, and there was no telling when he might rise again.
On his side? Only two people. One had a broken arm and, after colliding with the little girl earlier, his breathing remained erraticâa clear sign of internal injuries.
Trapped in this mucous prison, afflicted by an unknown but undoubtedly severe curse, burdened with an injured comradeâŠ
Every single factor was stacked against him.
Yet, having lived two lives, Ye Zhongming found himself eerily calm beneath the anger.
He was analyzingâhow to kill.
Thatâs right. Ye Zhongming wasnât thinking about fleeing immediately. He wanted to kill.
Could he slaughter all nine enemies here at once? Obviously not.
But he still wanted to kill.
His reasoning was simple.
Since their hatred was irreconcilable, a life-or-death struggle was inevitable. Even if he escaped now, it would only be temporary. The only solution was for one side to be completely wiped out.
Ye Zhongming didnât want to die. So, he had to find a way to make them die instead.
"Seize!"
Aimusi, standing to the side, seemed to share Ye Zhongmingâs mindset. Amid her stream of curses, she suddenly spat out a single word.
Ye Zhongmingâs head suddenly felt heavyâand then, the world fell into absolute silence.
Not just quiet. A soundless void, as if all noise had been erased from existence.
Ye Zhongming immediately understood: his hearing was gone.
"Hahaha! Ye Zhongming, how does it feel? The King of Nakaâs curse will strip away your five senses, one by one. Each day, I can erase another. Which one did you lose today? Let me guess, let me guessâyouâre still looking at me, so itâs not sight. What a shame, that wouldâve been the most useful!"
Aimusi cradled Adamâs corpse, her once-beautiful eyes now alight with a twisted mix of excitement and hatred.
"Youâre still gripping your weapon, no strange movementsâso itâs probably not touch either. Otherwise, youâd be checking your gear or body."
"Then which is it? Smell? Taste? Or⊠hearing?"
Among the five senses, vision was the most critical in combat, followed by hearing and touch. Taste and smell were far less essential.
Ye Zhongming moved.
He had to. If these people realized heâd lost his hearing, theyâd have countless ways to exploit it.
A massive shadow descended from above, forcing the surrounding enemies to look up. The colossal silhouette of a mountain loomed over them, its range encompassing them all.
Mountainâs Crushing Shadow!
One of the Mountain King Crownâs abilities!
A trickle of blood seeped from the corner of Ye Zhongmingâs mouth.
The Mountain King Crown, Sea King Crown, and other ruler-grade equipment were unique. Once obtained, they fused directly with their wielder, and their cooldowns could be forcibly resetâbut at a steep cost, draining both mental and physical energy.
Using Mountainâs Crushing Shadow twice in one day was pushing even Ye Zhongmingâs Beautiful Heavenly Body to its limits.
Especially since heâd been fighting nonstop all day.
The Netherworld Starbeing floated in the air, his robes billowing as strands of white energy surged from his body. Within seconds, they wove into a dense net, intercepting the descending mountain shadow.
Meanwhile, the Tearhound Ghost tribesman controlling the mucous prison made his "creation" pulsate rapidly. The membrane vibrated at high frequency as the bone framework stretched it outward like countless loaded slingshots ready to fire.
"Ye, if you donât think of something fast, weâre really done for."
Ye Zhongming couldnât hear, of courseâbut he could see. He knew the enemyâs attack was imminent.
This was their assault⊠but also his opportunity.
Heâd hoped to use the mountain shadow to shatter the prison. But now, it seemed the prisonâs own attack mechanism might break it open preemptively.
Ye Zhongming decided to gamble. His already-moving body veered toward one sideâwhere the mucous membraneâs "surface" was thinnest due to the irregular shape of the cage.
Stretched to its limit, the membrane rebounded with a series of booms, sending vibrations shooting toward Ye Zhongming and Jie Kui from all directions.
"Save yourself!" Ye Zhongming shouted (though he couldnât hear his own words) as his Black Earth Armor materialized. Simultaneously, seeds heâd planted earlier sprouted wildly, forming barriers in front of and behind them.
Heâd said to let Jie Kui fend for himselfâbut the Cloud Peak King wouldnât let a comrade die so easily.
The membrane fired shockwaves of compressed airâand as Ye Zhongming predicted, it shattered upon release.
The prisonâs purpose had been to trap Ye Zhongming and Jie Kui, preventing their escape. That goal was achieved. Whether it remained intact now hardly mattered.
To these enemies, the two were already trapped prey with no way out.
The plants Ye Zhongming had grown provided meager defense against the shockwaves, crumbling almost instantlyâbut they bought just enough time for both men to dodge. They split, each lunging in opposite directions.
Seeing the mucous prison break, Jie Kui didnât hesitate. He activated Arc Shadow Shift again.
One advantage of skills learned in the celestial realm was their lack of cooldownsâas long as the userâs body could endure the strain.
This time, Jie Kui wasnât targeting the little girl. He was fleeing for his life.
His body traced a wide arc, flashing through the broken cage toward a gap in the enemy formationâand bolted outward.
"Iâll handle him." This was an easy jobâchasing down a severely injured man with minimal risk and a chance to earn points. Compared to staying here, where they could only attack but not kill Ye Zhongming, it was far more appealing. Both the hunched long-armed creature and the little girl spoke simultaneously.
Hawkins nodded at the long-armed being, signaling him to go, and motioned for the tracking-specialist Tearhound Ghost tribesman to join.
The two of them were more than enough to handle one wounded man. The rest would stay to ensure Ye Zhongming didnât escape.
"Give me ten extra points."
The little girl seized the chance to negotiate.
"If you can beat me when this is over, Iâll give you twenty."
Ye Zhongming had moved at the same time as Jie Kui, charging toward the two humanoid enemies. As Aimusi shut down the little girlâs demand, she rewrapped Adamâs corpse, slung it over her back, and followed her husband into the fray.