Chapter 51: Bai Li’s Unveiled Power

Now, let us return to the present.

No sooner had Bai Li emerged than she witnessed a colossal monster poised to unleash an extremely high-density energy orb, an attack that, if left unchecked, threatened to obliterate the entirety of Tiangong City; thus, with a reluctant sigh, Bai Li decided to intervene.

Before their eyes, the energy orb, spanning several stories in radius, was effortlessly batted away by a staff Bai Li conjured out of thin air, detonating in a distant burst across the sky.

The sheer force of the explosion’s updraft alone was enough to fell trees, and its blinding radiance momentarily dimmed even the sun, a testament to its devastating power.

“…You are…”

Yu Menghua and her injured companions gazed upon the sudden apparition: Bai Li, clad in a black Gothic dress, a somewhat incongruous yet strikingly eccentric pink headband adorning her hair, radiating an aura of sinister charm, her features and expression so distant and unattainable that for a moment, they could not ascertain her identity.

“It’s Xiao Bai, you know.”

Despite the drastic change in her demeanor and attire, and a lingering sense of cognitive dissonance, Lin Xi, whom Bai Li had brought safely to the ground, recognized her instantly.

“Xiao Bai… are you Bai Li, classmate?”

In response to the others’ bewildered queries, Bai Li merely offered a slight nod.

“It’s actually Bai Li… Wait, that energy orb just now…”

Once Bai Li’s identity was confirmed, Yu Menghua’s thoughts immediately returned to the energy orb from moments before.

If her eyes had not deceived her, that very energy orb – one that even the combined might of all Tiangong City’s awakened individuals and even its monstrous beasts might not have been able to stop – had been casually batted back by Bai Li as if playing baseball.

Could such a thing be possible?

After all, according to official records, Bai Li was still merely a D-rank lower-tier awakened individual!

“…How is this possible!? A mere human, casually swatting away my attack?”

Evidently, Qing Na refused to believe what was unfolding before her.

Possessing strength comparable to a C-rank mid-tier, she was considered an apex being in this era; yet, an unknown challenger had dared to defy her supremacy?

“Don’t get ahead of yourself!”

With this declaration, Qing Na commanded the monster fused with her to swing its arms and other appendages, including thorns and tentacles, lashing out at Bai Li with a speed that tore through the very air from its inception.

In response, Bai Li merely lifted her staff, sweeping it with a sound that cleaved the wind, and every incoming attack was severed on impact.

“This…”

Qing Na was utterly baffled by what had transpired; from her perspective, Bai Li had simply waved that ordinary-looking staff, and all her limbs had been simultaneously severed.

In truth, Bai Li had merely imbued the staff with compressed magic, forging a colossal sword with a blade made entirely of magical energy.

Her precise control over the compression density rendered the magic itself invisible; even if one could perceive magical energy, the blade’s atomic-level thickness made it appear entirely transparent.

“…Is it an awakened weapon, then…?”

Unable to comprehend, Qing Na could only attribute the phenomenon to the seemingly ordinary staff in Bai Li’s hand.

It was rumored that some high-tier awakened artifacts disguised themselves as mundane objects to deceive onlookers.

Of course, in reality, it was simply a staff Bai Li had spontaneously manifested with magic.

“I’ve seen through your tricks; it’s time to end this!”

Qing Na roared, and immediately, her severed limbs simultaneously sprouted even more branching appendages.

If she couldn’t ascertain her opponent’s power ceiling, then overwhelming numbers would prevail. As long as the attack density was high enough, any attempt to counter would inevitably expose a weakness!

Under Qing Na’s command, a torrential tide of bizarre limbs surged towards Bai Li like a tsunami. Yet, the outcome remained unchanged; Bai Li cleaved through them all with a single strike, the severed appendages piling up on the ground into a small mountain.

Just then, Bai Li felt a distinct tugging sensation on her hand.

“Hahahaha! Didn’t expect that, did you? This was merely a diversion!”

Qing Na, having learned from the tactics Yu Menghua and others had recently employed against her, used the preceding attacks as a feint, all to extend an nefarious, invisible tentacle and seize Bai Li’s weapon.

As long as her weapon was restrained, there would be nothing to fear… or so Qing Na believed.

“Die!”

Qing Na swiftly regenerated even more limbs, coiling them into an even more colossal fleshy hammer, intending to smash the restrained Bai Li into a bloody pulp.

However, Bai Li simply released the staff, then swung her fist to meet the fleshy behemoth, striking with such immense force that the hammer, hundreds of times her size and resembling a towering building, was sent hurtling back.

“Wh—!?”

Before Qing Na could even react, Bai Li had already appeared atop the retreating hammer, grasping it firmly and flinging it forcefully upwards.

Compared to Qing Na’s current form, Bai Li was no larger than an ant; yet, this very ant proceeded to uproot Qing Na entirely, tossing her into the sky with a single motion.

“W-what in the world is happening!?”

Qing Na grew increasingly perplexed by the situation, though she still managed to sprout dragon-like wings, intending to reorient herself in mid-air.

However, Bai Li would grant her no such opportunity. Just as she had seized and hurled her skyward moments before, Bai Li had already anticipated her trajectory, appearing directly above the airborne Qing Na to deliver a devastating downward kick.

The immense impact generated an explosive roar, distorting Qing Na’s very flesh as she was sent plummeting towards the ground.

Yet, this was not the final blow; Bai Li, employing the same tactic, reappeared in Qing Na’s path, striking her back upwards once more.

At this moment, Qing Na resembled a ball being continuously tossed between children, though her speed was such that she traced a nearly spherical trajectory through the air.

Under this relentless barrage, she was utterly powerless to retaliate, forced to endure Bai Li’s ceaseless onslaught, being knocked away by fists or kicks, struck by the staff, or cleaved by the living greatsword detached from her own body, pummeled like a meatball being prepared, until she became a truly colossal, battered mass of flesh.

Finally, as she was propelled to the height of the clouds, Bai Li reappeared, circling her with blinding speed, unleashing countless slashes.

Blade aura, 瞬身 (TL Note: Japanese for ‘body flicker’ or ‘instant movement’, a technique allowing for high-speed movement or teleportation)… Countless attacks were delivered in a single instant, culminating in a final kick that sent Qing Na crashing down like a meteor onto an open field outside Tiangong City, leaving a massive crater in the earth.

Qing Na, now an unrecognizable amalgam of herself and the monster she had fused with, lay mangled in the center of the impact crater.

“Do you wish to continue?”

Bai Li descended nearby; unlike her usual self before transformation, her crimson eyes, devoid of highlights, gazed down upon Qing Na with a demonic intensity.

“…Ah…”

With her human half and the monster’s body grotesquely intertwined, Qing Na struggled to articulate any coherent sound.

“No…”

“No?”

“It’s not over yet!”

Qing Na shrieked hysterically.

The next moment, a dark, black barrier materialized around them, engulfing both Qing Na and Bai Li.