The queen looked at Zhou Lin's face, her eyes narrowing.
The red skull eyes on the mirror in her hand began to emit red light. As this light appeared, many wandering souls emerged from the sky, identical to the statues.
Seeing this, Zhou Lin's expression turned grim. He couldn't help but lament the ruthlessness of these people.
They had destroyed the physical bodies of these commoners and now held their souls captive. It was truly detestable.
These wandering souls glared ferociously at Zhou Lin and the mercenaries below, their expressions contorted as if ready to pounce.
"What are these things? Professor Zhou Lin, can your vacuum cleaner handle them?"
Professor Lin, seeing the distorted faces of the souls above, felt a flicker of nervousness.
"Mere wandering souls, nothing to worry about. Watch this."
As Zhou Lin spoke, he raised the head of the vacuum cleaner high. Then, the wandering souls above were all sucked in.
The previously ferocious souls began to show signs of panic upon seeing the device, attempting to flee, but it was too late.
They could only watch helplessly as their companions were sucked in, and their own fate of being absorbed loomed.
Captain Lin and the other professors' jaws dropped when they saw the vacuum cleaner.
What brand of vacuum cleaner was this, capable of absorbing wandering souls?
But at this moment—
Zhou Lin felt a chill emanating from the queen's position. He looked sharply and saw that her body and face were beginning to change.
Her previously fair and smooth skin was now covered in numerous red纹路 (wénlù - patterns/lines). These lines started from her face, following the path of her eyes, and were spreading continuously.
The skin on her face also began to turn a sickly green. A sword, emitting a chilling gleam, was slowly appearing within the mirror.
Upon seeing this, Zhou Lin handed the vacuum cleaner to Captain Lin.
"This is for you. Deal with these things."
Captain Lin reached out and quickly took it, then turned it towards the wandering souls.
Zhou Lin then picked up the Azure Dragon Sword in his hand, exerted force with his feet, and moved towards the queen.
It was this Yin Yang Mirror causing trouble. If he could destroy the mirror, everything would return to peace.
However, it seemed destroying this mirror would be quite difficult.
*Clang...*
The two weapons collided. Zhou Lin looked at the sword in the queen's hand and couldn't help but be surprised. This was the Azure Dragon Sword, forged from dragon scales.
Why couldn't he break this thing? It seemed he had encountered a tough opponent this time.
The queen and Zhou Lin closed the distance.
"I am the Queen, the mother of all under heaven. How can your mere sword compare?"
The queen suddenly spoke, her words filled with coldness.
"I thought you wouldn't speak human language, but it seems you can."
Zhou Lin raised an eyebrow, then unleashed his bloodline. This invisible pressure caused the queen's expression to darken.
She began to panic internally.
This aura was even more potent than hers…
Then, a dragon's roar emanated from her.
The queen forcefully pulled herself away and stood a short distance away, her scarlet eyes becoming even redder.
Her pupils were now completely replaced by blood-red, as if blood would spill from them at any moment.
*"Chirp~"*
A bird's cry suddenly echoed.
Captain Lin, Elder Tang, and the others, who had just finished clearing the wandering souls, froze upon hearing this bird call. Their heads also ached, a sensation that felt more like a spiritual dread.
Rather than dread, it was a feeling of sorrow.
Finally, everyone looked towards the queen and saw a pair of wings suddenly appear behind her. The wings were enormous, but their feathers were dark and utterly devoid of luster.
The dark gray feathers contrasted sharply with the queen's body, especially her eerie eyes.
But those eyes… they were truly…
As the wings appeared, feathers began to sprout on the queen's face. Finally, before everyone's eyes, she transformed into a dim, lusterless phoenix.
Phoenix…
It was a symbol of auspiciousness and the emblem of empresses throughout history, representing maternal grace and peace.
But the phoenix before them evoked only a sense of unease.
And an ominous feeling.
Was this a phoenix? Why did it look so terrifying?
Elder Tang, Professor Lin, the metaphysics professor, Captain Lin, the mercenaries, and the archaeology team behind them all felt a sense of dread upon witnessing this transformation.
Was this a phoenix? Why did this phoenix look so bizarre?
Instead of auspiciousness, they saw only terror.
"Elder Tang, you are knowledgeable. Is this indeed a phoenix? Not something else?"
The metaphysics professor, his voice trembling, looked at Elder Tang, his gaze fixed on the dim phoenix, especially its eyes, which filled him with unease.
"It should be… I'm not entirely sure."
Elder Tang was equally hesitant. He had never seen a phoenix like this before, even in paintings or virtual representations.
The others behind him also stared in astonishment at the phoenix the woman had conjured…
In the live stream.
"Holy crap, is this a phoenix? What kind of phoenix has this color? Can anyone explain?"
"I don't know. This is my first time seeing a phoenix like this. I'm stunned. Even the Great Dragon from the big shot was better; they feel completely different."
"But what's going on with this phoenix? Did the queen transform like this, and the phoenix followed suit?"
"What you're saying isn't unreasonable. But the phoenix is a symbol of auspiciousness. Why would it turn out like this? Maybe it's a fake phoenix."
"It might resemble it in form, but not in spirit, right?"
In the dean's conference room.
All the professors and experts felt a profound sense of horror upon seeing this scene.
"How can there be a phoenix? And a phoenix like this?"
One professor stared at the large screen, utterly shocked.
"You should ask Zhou Lin, not talk to yourself. Let's focus on what Zhou Lin will do next."
Professor Hu became curious, feeling a strong sense that Zhou Lin would not disappoint them.
"Perhaps it will be a dragon and phoenix battle. I wonder who will emerge victorious?"
The dean, seeing this scene, began to anticipate Zhou Lin's performance.
From Zhou Lin's expression, it was clear he was not panicking at all.
Therefore, they would be safe. They just needed to wait for his performance.
Everything else was secondary.