联会大楼。

Liu Tongbei ambled out of the restroom, a look of contentment on his face.

"Ah, bliss!"

He rubbed his stomach. He had no other hobbies in his life but eating, something he could never get enough of.

So stomachaches were a frequent occurrence.

Edible or not, he had to put everything in his mouth once, which was practically courting death.

He'd gotten a sudden urge to try a new seasoning that a friend was still developing in the lab, and ended up addicted to it.

Walking through the pristine corridors of the Lianhui Building, his mood lifted again.

Things had been quieter lately, with increased oversight, and even those who occasionally caused trouble in the blind spots had stopped, thanks to the hope that Mingyuan provided.

Everything was moving in a positive direction.

He felt he'd made the right choice coming to this jurisdiction. Even though being part of the Eleven Flying Streams and coming to develop the nine central provinces was frowned upon.

After all, this area mainly focused on economic logistics, mostly low-level industries with high replaceability, and there were no experts here. Not even any opportunities for exchanges or sparring.

But this place was perfect for retirement!

Liu Tongbei hummed a little tune, fastening his belt, ready to head back to the massage center from yesterday for some relaxation.

"Son's calling!"

"Son's calling!"

Suddenly, a loud ringtone blared from his pocket.

He pulled out his phone, an unfamiliar number. He lazily answered it.

"Hello? Who is this?"

"Is this Commissioner Liu? This is Li Shenhui from Zhongyi University. I need to come to your jurisdiction on a business trip soon. Please grant me Tianyan (Sky Eye) security recognition." A cold, husky female voice came from the other end of the line.

"Ah, no problem. Li Shenhui from Zhongyi University, right? Good." Liu Tongbei pressed a silver necklace he wore around his neck, and a holographic screen instantly floated in front of him.

He tapped around on the screen for a bit, then confirmed the completion.

He'd already taken care of the Tianyan security recognition.

"Okay. Thank you," said the voice on the other end.

"You're welcome. May I ask what you're planning to do here?" Liu Tongbei asked casually.

"Well, I heard that Fengnan Province has a nice, livable climate, so I'm coming for a bit of tourism."

What a load of bull!

Liu Tongbei cursed inwardly, but on the surface, he had to pretend to believe it.

"That's good then. If you need any help, you can call the Lianhui's number directly and contact the staff. I'll give them your name."

"Thank you, Commissioner."

"You're welcome."

The call ended.

Liu Tongbei stood there for a moment, then touched the smart life assistant bracelet that Syndra had just given him.

He immediately picked up his phone again and dialed another number.

"Hey, Brother Li, I have something to tell you..."

Inside Yong'an Garden.

Li Cheng Yi put down his phone, lost in thought.

He was just about to leave for Long'an, but he didn't expect the people from Zhongyi University to arrive so quickly.

"No matter how exaggerated Liu Tongbei makes it sound, I'll only know their true strength once I experience it myself."

Given the Rainbow Candy's influence and his own Lianhui identity, according to Liu Tongbei, the other party wouldn't kill people, but they would issue a warning.

After a moment of thought.

He stood up and walked out of the living room door.

Everyone in the team was guarding the base in Yunshan at this time, leaving him alone here.

The whole manor seemed somewhat empty.

Li Cheng Yi didn't pay any attention to this, walked straight out of Yong'an Garden, and activated his scrambler. He headed towards the outside of the city's Tianyan coverage.

He moved faster and faster.

A moment later, a silver metallic line flashed beneath his feet.

He had completely left the Tianyan range and entered the wilderness area between cities.

In this era of complete reliance on underground transportation systems for exchanging goods, the inter-city area was a veritable chaotic zone.

The sky was a bit gloomy, with thick clouds like a cotton blanket, blocking the sunlight completely.

Below, on a straight, somewhat old and damaged highway amidst the continuous mountains and forests.

Li Cheng Yi began to run, just like a small black dot, inconspicuous.

Soon.

He passed through a dense forest that blocked the road surface.

When he reappeared, he was already wearing a purplish-black Wisteria Scale Armor.

Streaks of purple light flowed slowly across his body like circuits.

*Poof.*

Suddenly, he stopped, stood straight, and turned to look in the direction of Suiyang City.

'They're here.'

Li Cheng Yi's heart tightened. The other party's reaction speed was too fast. Clearly, they also possessed extremely powerful large-scale reconnaissance capabilities.

*Buzz.*

In the distant sky, a streak of azure blue light was rapidly flying towards him.

As it approached, Li Cheng Yi was somewhat surprised to find that the speed of this shadow was not even as fast as Ding Zaocheng's group from before.

It wasn't even supersonic.

Having fought so many times, he now had a direct sense of what the concept of supersonic speed was.

So, he could tell at a glance that this shadow wasn't fast.

The distance grew closer and closer.

Soon, the shadow approached to about a hundred meters away.

Li Cheng Yi could now see what it was.

It was a blue short sword without a handguard, about the length of an arm. The whole thing was shaped like a fish, and its surface was covered with incomprehensible black complex symbols. The edge of the blade was rippling with subtle white airflow, he had no idea how it was generated.

'Flower Utterance – Fortification.'

Li Cheng Yi bent down, staring intently at the short sword.

A layer of golden light flashed across his body.

*Tzz.*

Soon, the short sword flew to a point more than ten meters away from him and stopped.

"Thug, you shouldn't have touched the Noir Group's Cadis."

A grating synthesized electronic voice sounded from the short sword.

"Who are you?" Li Cheng Yi said in a low voice. "From the Noir Group?"

"You don't need to know who I am. I'm here because you crippled Cadis." The voice on the short sword replied.

"You want to avenge her?" Li Cheng Yi asked.

The other party didn't respond.

Clearly, it was to make him aware of why he was being attacked. To warn Mingyuan that they were not allowed to target the Noir Group again.

As an attacker, it had to be said that the other party's actions were quite stylish.

Before attacking someone, first notify the other party, and then act.

Li Cheng Yi felt a little strange in his heart.

"I will only strike three times. Whether you live or die depends on your strength." The voice on the short sword sounded again.

How disciplined.

Li Cheng Yi suppressed the strange feeling in his heart and stared intently at the other party.

After being strengthened by Dragon Blood, all his senses were heightened. Instantly, everything around him seemed to become clearer and slower.

*Boom!!*

In an instant, a ball of blue light exploded from the tail of the short sword.

Under the terrifying acceleration, the short sword instantly turned into a blue line, shooting towards Li Cheng Yi's chest.

But although the speed was fast, it was still not supersonic.

'I can react!'

Li Cheng Yi gripped the Golden Sword in his hand, sidestepped, and slashed diagonally.

*Clang!!*

The Golden Sword and the short sword collided head-on without any surprises.

But this one collision made Li Cheng Yi's expression change.

The Golden Sword shattered silently like tofu.

Not cut off, but directly exploded, shattered, and blasted into dozens of pieces scattering everywhere.

And the blue short sword did not slow down, continuing to fly towards his chest.

In a flash.

Even his dragonized body couldn't react in time at this distance.

*Chff.*

The short sword pierced through the surface of the Scale Armor and stabbed towards the deep layers of skin and flesh.

*Boom!*

A burst of dazzling golden light suddenly exploded.

Shine Burst!!

The powerful impact force, accompanied by the golden light, slammed heavily into the short sword.

The short sword deflected, and was knocked sideways.

*Chff!*

A half-meter-long sword mark cut halfway through Li Cheng Yi's Wisteria Scale Armor from his chest.

He retreated several steps and looked down at his chest.

The strength of the Wisteria was completely unable to block it!

He didn't hesitate.

The Scale Armor scattered, transforming into countless Sunflower petals.

The ultimate form of the Titan Sunflower, as the Scale Armor with the strongest defense, quickly covered his body.

At this time, the short sword flew again.

Shine Burst!!

*Boom!*

An even more blinding golden light, along with the scattering hot radiant force field, scorched the surrounding road slightly black.

But this time, the short sword actually flashed rapidly, forcibly shifting a small distance to the left, perfectly avoiding the greatest impact of Shine Burst.

*Chff!*

This sword was blocked by Li Cheng Yi's shield-like golden right hand.

But a smooth cut more than ten centimeters deep was also cut into his palm.

The short sword flew diagonally out from the left, and continued to turn around.

Li Cheng Yi raised his hand and used his right hand to block again.

But that strange shift came again!

The short sword suddenly flashed, shifted more than ten centimeters downwards out of nowhere, hitting him in the waist.

The sword blade pierced through the Scale Armor without any resistance, heading towards his flesh and blood.

In an instant, Li Cheng Yi turned with all his strength, and all the Scale Armor rapidly scattered, transforming into a purplish-black Bristleleaf Nightshade Scale Armor.

*Whoosh!*

Black Qi rolled and spread around.

He had already disappeared from the spot.

Half a second later, in the shadows under a tree not far away, the shadows converged, and Li Cheng Yi's figure silently appeared, kneeling on the ground, clutching his abdomen.

What was with that shift!?

And this penetration was too strong, wasn't it??!

Back then, when he had resisted Ding Zaocheng and others' Flying Instrument cuts head-on, the Scale Armor was far less consolidated than it was now, and it could withstand them, only suffering minor injuries.

Now it couldn't even block a single blow.

If he hadn't shadow-shifted away at the end, he would have definitely been pierced through the waist.

Without hesitation.

Li Cheng Yi looked at the blue short sword, which was circling aimlessly in place after losing its target.

Immediately, his figure flashed again, disappearing from the spot and leaving towards the depths of the forest in the distance.

Three strikes had been delivered, and his purpose had been achieved.

That was to test the true strength of a Flying Stream Flying Instrument Master.

Now he knew.

No wonder these high-level Flying Instrument Masters cut down Ideal Township's complete bodies like they were cutting down grandsons. They turned this biggest terrorist organization into a cripple and chased them out of the country in a few strikes.

No wonder the highest level of modified humans was the complete body, and they didn't even move the main body to come forward.

With the Flying Instrument Master's speed and lethality.

Without resorting to attrition tactics, it was impossible to win a head-on confrontation.

In the forest, Li Cheng Yi continuously flashed through the shadows.

Each time, the distance was ten meters, but the direction was uncertain, making it impossible to capture or predict.

After several minutes of this.

He had completely moved away from that highway and returned to the inner side of the Tianyan line.

After crossing the Tianyan line.

He stopped flashing and looked at his abdomen.

The Scale Armor on his lower abdomen had a clear cut, the powerful Scale Armor defense had not provided any resistance and had been breached.

'That strange shift, and the terrifying cutting power... Although the speed is similar to an ordinary Flying Instrument, it's impossible to defend against!'

The key was that it was impossible to defend against.

(End of this chapter)