Chapter 65: The First Clash: A Sister’s Strength and a Sovereign’s Surprise

Ifis regarded the silver light whistling toward him, a hint of disappointment stirring within.

‘Alas,’ he thought. ‘Provoked by such a trifle? It seems she is still too green. I wonder if she will mature after three years, once she regains her karmic memories. If she remains like this, she can hardly shoulder such a heavy responsibility.’

‘And silver spirit power? Indeed, it’s attribute-less…’

This was his first encounter with an attribute-less Battle Sovereign, a truly novel phenomenon. However, being attribute-less meant an inability to wield magic, to leverage elemental properties in combat. Her fighting capabilities would be severely hampered.

This realization sparked a flicker of worry in Ifis. He had held considerable expectations for the new Battle Sovereign, partly because it meant a new sister and comrade, but also because a powerful Battle Sovereign would significantly bolster the Origin Star Universe’s defenses against external threats.

Unfortunately, Lin Ling did not seem to meet his lofty hopes. Not only was her spirit power attribute-less, but her spiritual energy reserves were even lower than Bisika’s. By his experience, she was merely average.

Nevertheless, it was an attack from a Battle Sovereign. Even if launched in her ordinary state, he had to take it somewhat seriously.

Azure light bloomed in Ifis’s eyes, and powerful spirit energy enveloped his fist. He launched a punch directly at Lin Ling, who was hurtling towards him.

Seeing this, Lin Ling refused to yield. She too swung her fist, meeting Ifis’s attack head-on.

In the next instant, the two fists collided. Silver-white and azure spirit energy intertwined, tearing at each other. Then, a colossal surge of spirit energy, laden with world-shattering power, erupted from the point of impact.

A mighty spirit energy storm scattered outwards, completely dispersing the surrounding clouds. For a moment, the sky was utterly clear, moonlight shining down upon the vast ocean.

While Lin Ling and Ifis had intentionally directed the spirit energy storm upwards, aiming to mitigate its harm to Blue Star, the residual power of the tempest was far from spent.

The diffusing spirit energy ripples showcased their might in every direction.

As the saying goes, when gods fight, mortals suffer.

Feeling the immense power erupting behind him, the Extreme Dust Bird couldn’t help but shudder. “‘Fortunately, I ran fast,'” it chirped nervously. “‘Otherwise, if I got caught in that, I wouldn’t even know how I died.'”

Many passengers on the plane, however, could not withstand the aftermath. Vomiting blood and fainting occurred frequently, though thankfully, no lives were lost.

Other creatures, or perhaps people elsewhere, were not so fortunate.

Numerous helicopters, which had just responded to distress calls to investigate the plane crash, were directly affected by the spirit energy fluctuations. Their bodies were damaged, and pilots were either knocked unconscious or killed instantly, plummeting into the abyss of the Pacific. A truly unlucky fate.

Shallow marine life also suffered a severe catastrophe. Millions of ‘corpses’ floated on the ocean’s surface.

Moreover, an M Nation high-altitude satellite, which had just arrived in the area of the plane incident to investigate, was torn to shreds by the spirit energy fluctuations surging from below.

This provoked the M Nation’s commanding officer into a furious rage, with a torrent of expletives, which have been censored, pouring from their mouth.

After all, satellites are quite expensive… =-=

Fortunately, there were no other passing passenger planes or fishing boats nearby; otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

****

As their fists separated, Lin Ling immediately retreated, widening the distance between them.

Observing Ifis, who had effortlessly parried her punch, a flicker of surprise finally registered in Lin Ling’s furious mind. Her single punch was potent enough to obliterate ten Qingfeng Immortals at once, yet he hadn’t even furrowed his brow, calmly retaliating.

‘Indeed, he lives up to his title as the Third Battle Sovereign. He is not to be underestimated.’

However, beneath Ifis’s seemingly calm exterior, a tumultuous storm raged within his heart.

‘Holy crap!!!!!’ (Elvish)

‘This monstrous strength… it’s quite brutal!’

Feeling waves of numbness surge through his right hand, Ifis was compelled to revise his opinion of Lin Ling.

‘This little sister might not be as ordinary as I first thought.’

During their previous fist exchange, Ifis had attacked with an equivalent level of strength, with no intention of holding back. Yet, Lin Ling’s punch had directly shattered his right arm. Its power was comparable to a full-force charge from an ordinary Sky Prison Beast, and she hadn’t even unleashed her full power.

If not for his blended spirit power of life and light attributes, which granted him potent healing abilities, his arm would likely have been gone entirely.

That would have been utterly humiliating, potentially stripping him of his brotherly authority.

‘It seems I cannot directly block her attacks.’

Ifis gradually shed his testing mindset, growing serious. A peculiar energy began to circulate within his body.

Lin Ling, poised to attack, also sensed this unusual shift. However, before she could even process it, the surrounding environment underwent a drastic transformation.

The endless ocean and starry sky vanished, replaced by an unknown space composed entirely of azure spirit energy. She and Ifis now stood upon this green plane.

‘Green again…’

‘It’s like a vast green grassland.’

‘But is this to prevent repercussions for Blue Star’s ecosystem?’

‘Still, for such a massive spatial displacement to occur without any spirit energy fluctuations…’

‘Does this guy’s authority relate to space? I think I’ve just figured out how he entered Blue Star…’

Lin Ling had no time for further contemplation, as Ifis had already lunged forward, appearing before her. He raised his right foot, kicking towards Lin Ling’s head with pure physical force, devoid of any spirit energy.

‘No spirit energy? I don’t know why, but I’ll play along.’

Thinking this, Lin Ling refrained from mobilizing her spirit energy. She raised her left hand, effortlessly blocking the incoming attack.

‘The attack isn’t very strong, and there’s an opening!’

Lin Ling seized the moment, lifting her leg to kick Ifis in the abdomen.

Just as this explosive strike was about to connect, Ifis planted his right foot, using Lin Ling’s left hand as a springboard. He leaped into the air, evading Lin Ling’s attack.

‘Huh? What?’

Before Lin Ling could react, Ifis delivered a kick to her chest. The force of this blow far surpassed the previous one.

“BLOOM!!!”

After a thunderous impact, Lin Ling, whose chest seemed to have flattened, was sent flying hundreds of meters backward. Only then did she manage to adjust her posture and stabilize her continuously retreating body.

‘This scoundrel! Playing dirty!’ Lin Ling cursed internally.

Ifis, standing steadily in his original spot, had assumed his single strike would be effective and was about to pause to strike a pose. However, Lin Ling’s counterattack followed unexpectedly fast.

The distance of several hundred meters was rendered meaningless. Without using any spirit energy, Lin Ling launched herself forward with a single powerful push of her leg, appearing before Ifis and throwing a punch at his irritating face.

‘So fast!’

Ifis was inwardly alarmed, but years of combat experience had long since trained him to react flexibly to all sorts of sudden situations.

Ifis dodged the close-range punch with a sidestep, then grabbed Lin Ling’s wrist with his right hand and pulled her forward.

Instantly losing her balance, Lin Ling uncontrollably lunged forward.

In the next moment, Ifis’s fist rapidly grew larger in Lin Ling’s eyes.

Lin Ling: ‘Damn it…’

With no time to dodge, Lin Ling’s own momentum, combined with Ifis’s full-power strike in his current state, landed squarely on her face without any mercy.

“Bloom!”

A powerful shockwave swept through the entire independent space. Cracks even appeared at the edges of the space, only to be immediately repaired by Ifis.

Lin Ling’s body was embedded in the ground nearby from the force of the punch.

Her posture was somewhat comical…

‘It’s over. Her body should temporarily enter a chaotic state,’ Ifis thought.

Just as he was about to step forward to help Lin Ling up, she unexpectedly pushed off the ground and stood. Aside from a fist print on her face, she seemed completely unharmed. Her gaze remained resolute, staring at Ifis with defiance and anger.

Seeing this, a hint of surprise touched Ifis’s expression.

‘??? This is truly unexpected,’ Ifis mused inwardly.

Though he maintained his poker face, his heart was now filled with excitement and relief. This little sister continued to surprise him.

To be able to withstand such a blow so easily in her ordinary state… an ordinary Battle Sovereign, or even some Original Battle Sovereigns like Bisika and Vanmo, would certainly be temporarily incapacitated if they took such a hit without spirit energy.

Ifis himself wasn’t confident he could take that attack and remain unscathed. From this perspective, his little sister’s physical constitution was truly terrifying, perhaps even comparable to the Dragon Emperor.

“What a pity, to have strength but no technique.”