Xi Renjie’s body slammed heavily onto the ground.
The crimson figure approached, the steel sword in its hand morphing incessantly—a broom, a torch, tentacles, a toilet plunger… Each transformation was more absurd than the last, flickering like a glitching television screen, dizzying to behold.
Before Xi Renjie could rise, the scarlet phantom flashed before him, raising the ever-shifting blade high—then stabbed down!
Clang—!!
A cane scraped against [Iron Clad], sparks flying.
Terrifying force transmitted through the fishing pole in Chen Ling’s hands, piercing inch by inch into Xi Renjie’s skin. Pinned to the ground, Xi Renjie poured every ounce of strength into reinforcing [Iron Clad] against the tennis racket’s assault. Even so, his face visibly paled.
Then—the earth trembled beneath them.
Chen Ling tilted his head slightly, his hollow eyes shifting toward the charred warehouse. On the deepest wall, a streak of gray seeped into existence from the void…
He released the steel sword and turned away. The swirling scarlet paper butterflies retracted, folding back into his wide sleeves.
“Chief Xi!! Are you alright?!”
The remaining enforcers dropped their bananas and rushed forward.
Xi Renjie, spared from death, sucked in a sharp breath. He yanked the blade embedded centimeters into his chest free, blood soaking his clothes. A fraction deeper, and his heart would have been pierced.
“…I’m fine.” With help, Xi Renjie stood, his gaze fixed on the retreating crimson figure with undisguised terror.
Though brief, the battle had left them all shaken. They’d never heard of a divine path granting such bizarre abilities… and the figure had used only that single skill the entire time.
Xi Renjie could tell the figure hadn’t been intent on killing. Otherwise, within thirty seconds, he could have slaughtered them all.
“He’s just… leaving?”
“Wait, why is he going back into the warehouse? That’s a dead end—”
“—Gray Realm convergence! It’s converging again!”
Someone spotted the gray stain spreading inside the warehouse and cried out. Xi Renjie’s heart lurched.
Wasn’t the convergence point at the steel factory? How is there another one here?!
Two simultaneous convergences in the Aurora Domain… That shouldn’t be possible.
The crimson figure wove through the charred centipede corpses, stopping before the gray-tinged wall. Slowly, he raised a hand and pressed against the surface. Ripples spread across the wall as he stepped through—vanishing without a trace.
“He entered the Gray Realm,” Xi Renjie murmured.
“A human going into the Gray Realm? Is he suicidal?” An enforcer’s face twisted in disbelief. “That’s the Calamities’ territory! Humans are detected and swarmed immediately… And the convergence portals are unstable. What if it collapses while he’s inside?”
“Not our concern.”
Xi Renjie shook his head. The crimson figure wasn’t an enforcer—where he went was none of their business. Besides, they couldn’t stop him even if they wanted to. His strength was unfathomable. Worrying about him was pointless when District Three had its own crises.
Xi Renjie’s gaze fell to the scattered bananas on the ground. As he watched, they shimmered—then reverted to guns. Once again, he hadn’t caught the moment of transformation.
“Just who… is that guy?”
Xi Renjie exhaled softly.
---
Gray Realm.
A brief wave of dizziness passed as Han Meng’s boots touched black soil.
He surveyed his surroundings. The ashen sky pressed down like leaden weights. In the distance, jagged peaks stabbed into the gloom, interspersed with bizarre, unidentifiable structures jutting haphazardly from the earth. Above him, the gray vortex he’d fallen through still swirled in the void.
Han Meng looked down. His body seemed filtered—his black trench coat remained, but all other colors had been stripped away.
The red threads along his shirt’s hem, the deep brown of his shoes, even the silver patterns on his coat’s tail… all reduced to monotonous gray.
This world seemed to permit only black, white, and gray. No other hues existed.
This was Han Meng’s first time in the Gray Realm. Though he’d heard tales, standing here now, he truly felt the alien vastness of this place. It bore no resemblance to the human world.
Spotting the shadow centipedes scurrying across the black earth, Han Meng took flight again, giving chase!
As he ascended, his view expanded. Mountain ranges stretched endlessly, their slopes dotted with colossal, shifting silhouettes… But what truly unsettled him were the nascent vortices forming nearby.
These miniature whirlpools were far smaller than the one he’d entered through, but they were steadily growing. Given time, they’d mature into full convergence points.
Each vortex marked a future bridge between worlds.
“This can’t be…” Han Meng’s heart sank as he counted the dozens of budding portals.
He’d entered the Gray Realm from District Three’s factory zone. These convergence points would link to District Three and its neighboring regions. If such a large-scale convergence occurred, no number of enforcers could hold the line—this would be the Seven Districts’ doom!
As Han Meng pursued the centipedes, an enormous shadow suddenly engulfed him. His pupils contracted—
A skeletal claw the size of a mountain descended from above!
Boom—!!
A bone-white eagle crashed down, slamming Han Meng into the black earth. Dust exploded skyward.
Pinned within the gaps of the skeletal talons, Han Meng stared up at the massive skull looming over him. A presence no less terrifying than the mother centipede’s radiated from the creature.
I’ve been marked.
Han Meng’s heart plunged into ice.