Chapter 1 The Intervention of Asura

Asura's intervention completely shattered any possibility of a truce between Order and the Mirror Demon.

Although the Mirror Demon never intended to let the group before him leave, verbal negotiations could at least allow the players to probe for some information.

Unfortunately, with the unleashing of an S-level skill, that possibility vanished…

[Name: Asura Vajra Overlord Fist - Modified]

[Skill Card Attribute: Active Skill, Permanently Learned]

[Skill Category: Martial Arts]

[Effect: Converts the user's stamina into fist energy, inflicting massive damage upon the enemy (Cooldown: 1 hour)]

[Consumption: 99% of current stamina]

[Learning Requirement: Martial Arts Specialization S]

[Remarks: An ultimate fist technique created by a martial monk from another world and improved by player Asura; Damage calculation formula: (User's base attack power * current stamina coefficient + skill attack power) * related attribute bonus multiplier]

From the skill description above, it can be seen that the technique Asura used had "Modified" appended to its name, but he didn't announce that word when declaring the move.

Because... he thought it sounded cooler this way.

Of course, in reality, the name of the move should be [Asura Vajra Overlord Fist - Modified].

Similar to Feng Bujue's [Ling Sense Gathering Technique - Modified], this skill has also evolved and upgraded through the player's constant use and refinement. Similar examples include Qian Shidao Wei Wang (Juan Menghuan)'s [Turning Cloud, Surging Waves] and Li Ruoyu's [Bipolar Sonata].

The original [Asura Vajra Overlord Fist] was merely a B-level skill. Although it was powerful, it had two very obvious flaws:

First, before launching the attack, the player had to use a preliminary skill to accumulate several "Qi Orbs" and maintain a "Burst Qi" state to unleash the Vajra Overlord Fist. This preparation was not only cumbersome but also made it easy for the enemy to predict your intentions before the attack. With the existence of match recordings, this move would be exposed after being used once. The next time you started bursting Qi, people would know what you were up to.

Second, the original Vajra Overlord Fist consumed 100% of the user's stamina, meaning... the player would immediately suffer the mental impact of zero stamina after using the move. Combining this with the first flaw... if the enemy saw through your intentions and played along, the consequences would undoubtedly be fatal.

To summarize, the characteristics of this move were: "It's either you die or I die. If the attack fails, wait to die."

Only a unique player like Asura would learn a skill like this. Because he was originally the "secret weapon" of the Gods' Studio, there was very little video footage of him. In his few appearances, he was very conservative and clearly hiding his strength.

Asura learned this move to catch someone like Feng Bujue or Gui Xiao off guard in the semifinals or finals. Unexpectedly, he ended up using it on the Mirror Demon...

Boom—

Faster than words could describe! In the blink of an eye, the ultimate move had arrived.

The moment the fist landed, the entire space seemed to tremble, and all the surrounding colors turned black and white.

The modified Vajra Overlord Fist retained its power, required no prior preparation, and left a sliver of stamina after use, thus avoiding the embarrassing situation of collapsing after unleashing the skill.

"Hmph… serves you right!" A second later, Asura flashed and appeared behind the Liuhe Mirror Demon.

The Mirror Demon behind him was now shrouded in a burst of energy dust... According to Asura's plan, after taking a nearly full-strength punch from him, the monster should have been shattered into pieces, possibly even reduced to ashes.

However, the reality was...

"Pfft—" Just a second later, Asura's expression suddenly changed drastically, and he spat out a mouthful of blood. "Wh… what?" He clutched his chest in shock, speaking in disbelief, "Why?"

"You should be grateful," the Mirror Demon's highly recognizable voice echoed from behind Asura in the next second. "If my body were as frail as yours, you would be dead right now."

Hearing this, Asura turned his head stiffly and looked at the Mirror Demon behind him.

He saw that the smoke and dust had cleared... The new god was hovering unharmed, and not even a crack was left on the surface of the Liuhe Mirror.

However... on the surface of the mirror, a horrified human face with blood at the corner of its mouth had appeared.

"Uh... I say, Mirror Brother," Meng Jingchan's voice came again two seconds later, "This guy has nothing to do with us. About what we were talking about earlier..."

"Enough nonsense!" This time, the Mirror Demon interrupted Chan-ge loudly. "Do you take me for a fool? You pretended to negotiate with me, and when I let my guard down, you had your hidden accomplices launch a sneak attack. Hmph... Even a three-year-old could see through that trick. How dare you try to deny it?"

"Well... it seems like this matter can't be explained clearly..." Meng Jingchan muttered helplessly and looked back at his teammates with a questioning gaze.

"Then there's nothing to say!" Anyway, Gui Xiao never expected to solve the problem before him through diplomatic means. Ever since the Truth Tribunal's hearing, he had been holding back his anger, and it was time to explode. "I don't care what kind of new god or old god, Liuhe or Qihe you are!" He turned to glare at the Mirror Demon and shouted, "You're just a god, so what? You disagree? Let's fight!"

…………

At the same moment, the Realm of the Dead.

In front of the Royal City, there was a plaza made of piled-up white bones.

Since its completion, a statue of the Underworld Nether King had stood in the center of the plaza.

But now, the statue was gone, replaced by... a towering Demon Gate.

"Yo~ yo~ This lil' lady, this… this this this… this gate is all built, yo~"

"Hey~ hey~ We two hey, sh… sh… sh-sh-should be heading back, yo~"

In front of the gate, a "black guy" with four arms and a purple-skinned guy with gills on his neck and four eyes but no nose... each said a sentence to Hua Jian in rap.

These two brothers with strange bones and dressed like rappers (loose clothes, mid-length pants, sneakers, various exaggerated accessories) were directly under Samodier's command; one was called Dian San, and the other was called Dao Si. Their distinguishing feature... was that they didn't like to speak properly.

"Oh my god…" Hua Jian shook her head, covering her forehead, and rolled her eyes as she replied, "Please, you two, hurry up and leave! I really appreciate it!"

For a long time, Hua Jian had been enduring the awkward rap of the two people before her, and it was driving her crazy.

Compared to the other members of Hell's Vanguard, An Yueqin had been assigned the safest but also the most tedious task this time... She didn't have to face any powerful and hostile NPC monsters, but she had to take care of many miscellaneous things.

First, she had to rush to the front of the Royal City to meet Dian San and Dao Si and scout for Brother Zun and the others' actions; after those fierce demons entered the city, she had to continue to wait outside the city, preparing to receive Fuling... In case Fuling was injured in the battle with Jiu Kui, Hua Jian could treat her before she entered the city; then, after Fuling and Zero's incarnation of the Invisible Demon also entered the city, Hua Jian had to command the two stuttering rappers to create the Demon Gate (this gate was a specific teleportation gate, designed jointly by Samodier and Feng Bujue).

In short, it was all logistical work.

Logistics... is usually very important, hard to do, but not very glamorous work.

And Hua Jian, completed it very well...

After being Feng Bujue's editor for a while, An Yueqin had been tempered. She was no longer the arrogant Miss An of the past, but a workplace elite who had become accustomed to nightmarish work pressure; things like this in the game... were nothing to her.

"Che-che~ check it~ then we'll… say goodbye… yo~"

"Yeah~ yeah~ see ya… at a later date!"

Dian San and Dao Si said goodbye to Hua Jian while swaying to the rhythm they imagined, and then they turned and headed towards the Royal City.

Seeing them walk away, Hua Jian breathed a sigh of relief, rejoicing that her ears no longer had to suffer such torment.

Buzz buzz buzz—

A moment later, the Demon Gate suddenly emitted a deep hum.

Accompanied by two fleeting flashes of light, Ruoyu and Xiaoling walked out of the gate together.