It was actually a woman, dressed in pure black combat gear. The flexible material outlined her beautiful curves, and she stood tall like a crane.
“They were all asleep,” the woman said.
“Now that everyone’s here, shouldn’t we get started?” Mai said. “Does everyone here know how to play mahjong?”
“Of course—eat from the player on your left, guard against the player on your right, and block the opponent directly across.” The KFC man said confidently.
As he spoke, he slowly stepped back, his muscles bulging, veins on his arms snaking like tiny serpents. Generally, the more powerful a Yanling was, the smaller its domain. “King’s Blaze,” being a high-risk Yanling, had a domain diameter of only 5 meters if it didn’t explode. Before the “mahjong game” even began, the KFC man had retreated to a relatively safe position. Clearly, he was a sly guy.
The unsettling air currents came from Parsi. No one heard him chant Yanling, but the domain had already been activated.
This wouldn’t be an easy mahjong game. Though there were plenty of casual words spoken, they couldn’t hide the killing intent. All those daring to come here were desperate. The Dragon King’s bones couldn’t be divided among everyone—there was no possibility of cooperation.
Mai remained relaxed, her arms crossed, not even touching her sword hilt.
“You seem to be in the worst position; to play mahjong, you should sit around the table for fairness, yet you’re in the center.” Mai said to the shadow near the Dragonbone. “You could easily take the Dragonbone, but we’ll all attack you first—maybe you should step back a little?”
“Yeah, she’s trying to be the dealer!” The KFC man said.
But the shadow couldn’t even be bothered to look at them. She lowered her head and gently stroked the Dragonbone. “Mahjong is a fair game, but slaughter isn’t—it’s not a game, not fun. In the face of those with power and authority, there’s no such thing as an even fight. You weaklings can only die like ants!”
“Oh dear, is she planning to kill us all at once?” Mai spoke lightly, but she shivered a bit.
“You sing well. I like it. ‘Perhaps it is because we do not know dreams, that the drifting chase illusions.’” The shadow said softly, “You miserable people, chasing illusions.”
As her voice fell, death knells sounded!
An organ two stories high among the relics suddenly began to play—a masterpiece with an alchemical mechanism at its core. It played a mass, a summoning of souls, the roar of a thousand and ten thousand reapers! Everyone felt the pressure emanating from the shadow—it wasn’t wind or intense heat; it was a majestic force! Like a mountain slowly collapsing in front of you, about to crush you! A transparent domain spread out from the shadow, gently covering the Dragonbone. The bone remained still, but the metal ground began to crack. Countless metal fragments floated up within the domain, accompanied by intense magnetization. The metal fragments clung together, revolving around the shadow like reapers with scythes circling a divine throne.
Five meters, ten meters, fifteen meters, twenty meters… the domain rapidly expanded. No one knew the effects of this Yanling, but being caught within it could only mean death.
But how could such a powerful Yanling have such a vast domain? This nearly overturned the existing principles of Yanling studies!
Twenty-five meters, thirty meters, thirty-five meters… the domain continued to grow. The air within was pierced by flickering currents, and the currents scorched the floating metal fragments red-hot.
The KFC man leapt back violently, clearing the circular pool beside the altar. This wasn’t an escape but the prelude to an attack. He began to chant, his already massive body swelling even further, his T-shirt slowly tearing apart. He lifted a relic—a granite sarcophagus from the Mayan era, containing the remains of an unknown important figure, an A-grade rare relic weighing three tons. The world champion in weightlifting could only lift around 200 kilograms, but this scene was like a worker ant lifting an object fifty times its weight.
Yanling: Bronze Throne.
The man’s entire skeleton made faint cracking sounds, and his skin took on a bronze hue. He threw the sarcophagus high into the air!
The sarcophagus pierced the air curtain, its speed unabated. It was a three-ton cannonball, about to crush the slender shadow into a pool of blood and flesh. But suddenly, it halted in front of the shadow, as if held aloft by an invisible hand. The shadow clenched her fist and struck the front of the sarcophagus, causing a small crack to appear. A few seconds later, the crack spread to every corner of the sarcophagus. It held its form for a few moments, then was blown apart by the swirling currents of the air curtain! The important figure’s remains disintegrated into drifting ashes.
Everyone’s faces changed. They all realized their mistake—this wasn’t a game of mahjong but a slaughter. The shadow’s initial caution was only because the powerful alchemical domain was still in operation, restricting her. But now she had broken those shackles.
Parsi drew an old flintlock pistol from his coat, along with a brass box containing a bullet with a dark red carved crystal tip. The domain was not far from him, but instead of retreating, he quickly loaded the gun. Retreating had no meaning; the shadow was toying with them in a cat-and-mouse game, and she could definitely prevent these mice from escaping.
If they wanted to live, the three mice had to unite to kill the cat!
A bullet tipped with the Philosopher’s Stone—an ultimate alchemical achievement, a pure spiritual element transcending the four classical elements. The Dragon Kings and their descendants, who wielded mastery over the four elements, could not command such transcendent elements, making this bullet invincible, able to pierce anything.
Parsi raised his gun and fired. The dark red bullet penetrated the air curtain without resistance, hitting the shadow.
The immense impact forced her back a step, but she straightened again. A metallic-like layer had formed on her body, as the metal fragments coalesced on her. The dark red crystal shards fell, crumbling to dust.
The bullet had shattered on her skin!
“Did the person who gave you that bullet not teach you how to use it?” the shadow said softly. “Once a spiritual element is forged into a crystal, it takes on a physical form. Its limitless power only applies to Yanling, but as a tangible object, if it strikes something as tough as metal, it will shatter. You should have ambushed me, shot it into my body, and hit my core. Only that would kill me.”
The air curtain was now just a few meters away from Mai. She trembled slightly under the immense pressure. Her Yanling was Dark Light, and in this darkness, if she chose to escape, no one would notice. But running away now was pointless—the Yanling unleashed by the shadow was like death itself; within its domain, nothing could survive, and eventually, this domain would cover the entire space!