The blades that had been embedded in my body suddenly fell away as the air grew heavy.
Li Ming stared in disbelief, his expression shifting from confusion to cold calculation.
"So, the truth has finally been revealed," he said.
His earlier demeanor vanished completely.
A terrifying surge of energy radiated from him, causing the ground to tremble violently.
His body began to change. Muscles expanded and shifted beneath his skin as he tapped into a hidden, darker power.
Nearby, Zhang Lei, Li Na, and May remained motionless, still recovering from the previous battle.
As the heat of the sun intensified, the atmosphere between us sharpened to a deadly edge.
Then, in an instant, the confrontation reached a new level.
Li Ming's claws nearly scratched my face, but I dodged effortlessly.
He tore a massive boulder from the ground—one nearly twice his size—and hurled it at me.
I sank into my own shadow and avoided the attack.
Appearing from Li Ming's shadow, I drove my fist into his stomach.
He retaliated immediately, but I moved like the wind, avoiding every strike.
Then he unleashed a wave of light.
I jumped back.
Another followed.
Then dozens.
The attacks struck me one after another, yet they vanished upon contact as if they had never existed.
Before Li Ming could launch another attack, every shadow around him materialized.
Even his own shadow rose and grabbed him.
The darkness wrapped around his body and began pulling him downward.
Li Ming roared in pain.
Steam rose from his body as the darkness consumed him.
The deeper he sank, the louder he screamed.
With a furious roar, he finally broke free and leaped high into the air.
His feet looked pale and lifeless, as though the light had been drained from them.
Moments later, they recovered.
Several glowing lights appeared within his chest.
Suspended in the sky, Li Ming raised both hands.
Lightning erupted across the battlefield.
Bolts scattered in every direction, destroying everything they touched.
This time, they weren't aimed at me.
They were aimed at everyone else.
Li Na.
I grabbed her and avoided the strike.
Afterward, I carried her beneath a pile of fallen rocks that had formed a small cave.
Then I rescued Zhang Lei and hid him beside her.
All the while, I continued avoiding the lightning.
Several bolts targeted May.
Without hesitation, I used my body as a shield.
The pain stung for a moment.
Then I began absorbing the lightning.
Li Ming smiled when he noticed.
I carried May to safety as well.
Then another bolt struck me.
And another.
And another.
The pain intensified with each strike.
Dark clouds gathered above.
Thousands of lightning bolts descended from the heavens.
I couldn't move.
Lightning struck me continuously.
Li Ming's laughter echoed across the battlefield.
"I am all-powerful!"
"I am immortal!"
"I am Fate!"
"I am the most powerful being to ever live!"
"I am invincible!"
Large rocks were ripped from the earth and hurled toward me.
Each impact shook the battlefield.
Li Ming's laughter grew louder and louder.
Then something changed.
The stinging sensation disappeared.
The lightning no longer hurt.
It was simply being absorbed.
My shadow began spreading across the ground.
Then I sank into it.
In moments, the entire battlefield was covered in absolute blackness.
Li Ming stood alone within the darkness.
He cast every spell he knew.
Nothing worked.
"Where am I?" he asked.
"You are inside me," I answered.
Even I was struggling to comprehend what was happening.
In desperation, Li Ming released a flash of light brighter than the sun itself.
The darkness consumed it instantly.
The light vanished.
Li Ming stood there panting.
The only light remaining came from his chest.
I reached out from the darkness and placed my hand against it.
Immediately, I began absorbing the energy.
The power within him was greater than all the lightning he had thrown at me combined.
"No!"
Li Ming screamed.
"No! No! No!"
"I spent years!"
"Centuries gathering those powers!"
"My power!"
The light within his chest slowly dimmed.
Then it disappeared completely.
The darkness faded.
The battlefield returned.
I stood beside Li Ming as he rapidly aged before my eyes.
Wrinkles spread across his face.
His teeth began falling out.
His body trembled uncontrollably.
"For more than five hundred years..." he muttered weakly.
"I was the one who decided everything."
"I gathered power."
"I distributed it to pawns."
"I controlled both good and evil."
"I maintained my innocent appearance."
"Until you showed up."
He looked at me one final time.
"Now tell me... what are yo—"
Li Ming collapsed before he could finish.
Dead.
For a moment, I simply stared.
"I never expected this," I whispered to myself.
I looked around.
Everything had been destroyed.
The battlefield was covered in rubble.
Bodies lay everywhere.
Smoke continued rising from the burning remains of the battlefield.
Slowly, I walked toward May.
Wei flew down and perched beside her.
The owl gently pecked her shoulder.
"Mom..." I whispered.
Wei looked at me for a moment before turning away.
May's eyes slowly opened.
The moment she saw me, tears rolled down her cheeks.
She hugged me tightly.
"Is it over?" she asked.
"Yes," I replied softly.
"Yes, it is."
I glanced at Li Ming's corpse.
"It was Li Ming all along."
Nearby, Zhang Lei and Li Na finally emerged from their shelter.
Both of them limped through the ruins.
Li Na stopped when she noticed the body.
"Is that Li Ming?" she asked.
Zhang Lei frowned.
"How did he die?"
I looked down at the old man's corpse.
Then I answered.
"I killed him."