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Eva knew it was bad; she couldn't let Cui Ming go. After a moment's hesitation, the smoke had already enveloped them. At the same time, Eva found it strange that the smoke did not obstruct the vision of the Force Practitioners. Why use smoke? Suddenly, a figure appeared beside Eva, raising a scythe. Just as Eva's Dark Frenzy ended and her body felt weak, she realized there was no escape. In that instant, Cui Ming appeared out of nowhere, and a Yellow Card immobilized the Masked Woman. Eva embraced the Masked Woman in pain as Cui Ming's cards flew through the air.
A fire circle appeared on the ground, and a Fire Bear wrapped in Force emerged before Cui Ming, slapping him away with immense force. As Cui Ming hit the ground, despite the shockwaves coursing through his body, he quickly commanded his flying cards with Force. The cards sliced through the Fire Bear's protective Force, causing blood to spray from its body.
Seven seconds later, the Masked Woman broke free from her immobilization. Enduring the pain of Eva's embrace, she formed seals with her hands, creating a phantom that flew through the smoke towards Cui Ming. The phantom passed by Cui Ming and struck him with a punch. This wasn't just impact; it was internal energy, similar to Zhao Wei's internal force. The power wasn't overwhelming, but then another phantom attacked at incredible speed, hitting Cui Ming again. A third phantom followed, then a fourth... Cui Ming felt as if his Force was being disrupted like a river blocked by massive stones.
He had already used his teleportation; the Fate Card was ineffective, and Card Play was still unavailable. His flying cards couldn't match the speed of the phantoms—he was in trouble.
At that moment, Eva summoned her last ounce of strength. Dozens of black whips shot up from beneath the Masked Woman's feet, binding her like chains. The black thorns embedded themselves into the Masked Woman's body, causing her to scream in agony. Eva's greatest ability was to absorb her opponent's pain. This energy flowed into her body as she digested it, preparing to strike once it fully merged with her own power. She would then invisibly attack and claim the Masked Woman's life. Just then, Ninja Man appeared from the smoke, placing seals on the Masked Woman’s body and exploding the black thorns. He grabbed her and threw her aside as they both quickly vanished into the smoke.
Just after Ninja Man and the Masked Woman left, a lightning ball surged into the smoke, sending shurikens flying towards Cui Ming. A figure landed before him, forming seals with their hands to prepare for a strike against him but froze upon seeing Cui Ming and turned to flee.
“Damn it! Mi Xiaonan, you bastard! Stop right there!” Cui Ming shouted in fury.
“Senior brother! Junior sister! Annie! Run!” Mi Xiaonan's voice echoed.
The ninja calmly stated, “You can't escape.”
As the smoke cleared, several ninjas stood at the center while Cui Ming and Eva were positioned behind them. To their left stood Jayce and to their right Yellen; in front of them was Mi Xiaoji holding a bomb ten times his size. Mi Xiaonan stared at Mi Xiaoji in shock. Looking around and spotting Cui Ming immediately made Mi Xiaonan realize two things: first, there had been a misunderstanding; second, they were doomed. The basic theory was that Annie could never outplay Cui Ming.
Jayce recognized Mi Xiaonan too and looked back at Cui Ming. “What’s going on? Is Mi Xiaonan part of Fire Cult?”
Mi Xiaonan giggled and jumped onto Ninja Man’s shoulder while bowing around nervously. “It’s a misunderstanding! Definitely a misunderstanding! Xiaoji, put down that bomb first! Don’t be impulsive.” Mi Xiaonan understood how devastating that bomb could be; even if they survived it would be catastrophic.
“Wait,” Cui Ming said. “Mi Xiaonan, explain what Balance Sect is about? It’s fine; no matter who you are or what your background is, I’ll ensure you’re safe. But as for those three—one woman will be sold off and the men will face immediate justice.”
The Masked Woman scoffed, “Hmph! I’m not afraid of you.”
“Cui Ming,” Mi Xiaonan interjected, “what’s so secretive about Balance Sect? It seems you’re not in an advantageous position either. Xiaoji, which side are you on?”
Mi Xiaoji paused for a moment before silently turning around and aiming his massive bomb at Jayce.
Cui Ming sighed, "So you think you're quite capable now? You can assess the battlefield situation?"
"There's definitely a misunderstanding here, Cui Ming. Yellen, Jayce, we don't want to hurt anyone, especially not each other. It seems like no one has suffered any losses, so why don't we just laugh it off and part ways?"
Cui Ming took two steps forward. "Mi Xiaonan, we still have ambushes in place. If we make a move, your friend Xiao Ji might get into serious trouble."
Mi Xiaonan glanced at Mi Xiaoji, who nodded. Beneath a rock ten meters away from him, Raefus stood up. Mi Xiaoji knew that throwing the bomb too close would mean getting caught in the blast himself. As Raefus charged forward, shotgun ready, Mi Xiaoji had no means of defense or escape with the bomb already in his hands.
At that moment, Yellen spoke up, "I have a question. Who is the Balance Sect targeting this time?"
Mi Xiaonan hesitated for a moment before replying, "I can't say."
Yellen gripped her sword tightly and shouted, "Then die."
Cui Ming looked at Yellen, sensing that she knew about the Balance Sect and did not consider them to be good people. He asked, "What is the Balance Sect?"
"A sect passed down from ancient times, a self-righteous sect. A hundred years ago, they assassinated the Alliance President for no reason. That President was quite capable and had begun negotiations with Silent City. If he hadn't died, within three years the Alliance would have merged with Silent City, regulated its management, curbed dark magic and the study of magic, and established a division for mages within the Alliance. It's infuriating that this Balance Sect not only assassinated the President but also framed Silent City. In anger, the President's students clashed with the elders of Silent City, leading to the death of an elder in Hero City. This caused what could have been a successful negotiation to fall apart."
Cui Ming was aware of this history; during the negotiations between the President and Silent City, there was a possibility of amnesty for all past crimes committed by those from Silent City and the cancellation of all warrants. However, Silent City had to control the actions of rogue mages and agreed to have Lord of Quiet City oversee the mage division while allowing people from Silent City to appear normally in Three Continents. The only constraint was that their actions would be bound by Alliance rules. These rules were minimal; the President had actively lowered these standards. It could have been resolved peacefully if not for the sudden assassination of the President and his students killing an unresisting representative from Silent City, which led to both sides maintaining their distance.
No one ever knew who the assassin was; many speculated but never expected Yellen to firmly declare that it was the Balance Sect.
The ninja said, "The Balance Sect is neither righteous nor dark; their mission is to maintain balance in the eternal world. You claim that President was very ambitious; his first step was to merge with Silent City and his second was to interfere with the Eternal Alliance by waging war against Fire Cult to achieve universal harmony. Where there is light, there must be shadow; existence itself requires both yin and yang. The mission of Balance Sect is to maintain this balance. Just like your Four Great Families—the Alliance cannot allow one family to dominate alone. Similar to Twilight City's Regime where three parties keep each other in check—no one can hold absolute power. We are those who maintain balance; this is our mission."
Cui Ming replied, "Don't make it so complicated. I don't care about your mission; I just want to know who your enemies are and who your friends are."
Yellen stated, "They have neither friends nor enemies; their existence is solely for balance's sake. Currently, it appears that the Eternal Alliance's strength exceeds that of Fire Cult; they fear that balance may be disrupted, which is why they act."
"You are mistaken," said the ninja. "The strength of the Eternal Alliance must exceed that of Fire Cult because if it does not, war will ensue. If Fire Cult's strength surpasses that of the Alliance, then they will initiate conflict. The deceased President whom you regard as a great man was among the most dangerous types—once someone possesses enough prestige and power, they inevitably become self-righteous in their actions. They believe everything they do is justifiable; but who defines what justice is? From Balance Sect's perspective, the current structure of city-states on Eternal Planet is quite stable."
Yellen questioned him further: "Then why do you intervene?"
The ninja replied, "However, Force Practitioners are very unstable."
"Just say it directly—who are you helping this time?" Cui Ming sensed something amiss; this so-called Balance Sect seemed like an organization full of self-righteousness. Their intentions might seem noble in seeking balance among powers on Eternal Planet but how could they assume they were right? He decided to bypass their claims about being Balance Sect and simply asked where their loyalties lay.
The ninja looked at everyone, pondering for a moment before saying, "This time, we are not enemies of the Alliance. Instead, we are allies. You may not know this, but the number of practitioners from the Fire Cult is vast and of high quality; they are united and have strong beliefs. On the other hand, you in the Force Alliance are like a scattered bunch. The Four Great Families act independently, with internal strife in the Ding Family and the Ye Family focusing more on the interests of Twilight City. Practitioners from the Eastern Continent are wandering around leisurely, while those from the Western Continent are divided into factions of the Dawn Empire and non-Dawn Empire. Even if some perceptive individuals sense a crisis, they still move slowly, hoping to unite hearts through the Competition Match."
"Oh?" Yellen asked, "Are Fire Cult practitioners really that powerful?"
Cui Ming was more practical: "Let's start with this matter."
Mi Xiaonan explained, "Annie's parents are from Silent City. After having her, they left Silent City to live on Roni Islands. The Balance Sect originated from Roni Islands, and we've known each other since childhood. This time she came out with us for travel. Not long after we got on the train, she contacted my senior sister and said she discovered two Fire Cult practitioners. Then... well, you can probably guess what happened next. Brother Cui Ming, I truly didn't know it was you."
"Are you blind?" Cui Ming asked angrily.
Mi Xiaonan replied, "You were wearing a cloak and a hat, and you had grown a beard. How could I possibly recognize you from afar? Besides, the Alliance reported you missing; how could I think it was you?"
Cui Ming pointed at Eva and asked, "What about Eva?"
Mi Xiaonan smiled wryly: "I was an ambush personnel, just waiting for you to enter the ambush zone without participating in planning the attack. I really didn't know it was you all. Plus, it's been years since I last saw Sister Eva; she's become even more beautiful, so I barely recognized her."
"Damn," Cui Ming stepped back. "You can say such shameless things."
Eva was displeased: "Isn't he speaking the truth?"
Mi Xiaoji interjected, "Hey, can you guys stop discussing this? Can you consider that I'm holding a bomb here?" (To be continued.)
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