# Chapter 1190: No Levitation
The moment Vermilion Bird furrowed his brow, he suddenly realized that everyone before him had begun to move.
"Shuttle" – Cui Fourteen placed one ring on the ground and set the other beneath Vermilion Bird's feet, preparing something unknown.
Qian Five closed his eyes and charged forward quickly. From a distance, Feng Seventeen activated "Blinding Flash," causing excruciating pain in Vermilion Bird's eyes.
Just as Vermilion Bird lost his vision, "Gale" Qiu Twenty hurled a flying knife from afar. The blade, swept by fierce winds, flew at incredible speed toward Qian Five and Vermilion Bird.
Vermilion Bird knew he was in trouble and wanted to phase away on the spot. But when he tried to use "Warp," he discovered that his left hand was firmly bound to the ground—as if to "Warp," he would have to bring the entire earth with him.
His grip loosened slightly, and Earth Pig finally gained freedom. His body slowly slumped down, caught by Zhou Six.
Qian Five seized the moment and grabbed hold of Vermilion Bird's wrist. The touch felt completely different from when he had held Xuan Wu.
He could clearly feel that he was gripping something tangible, but there was no time to think. Qian Five reached into the air, caught the flying knife, and in the blink of an eye, deliberately stabbed it into the artery of his own neck.
The next second, cracks appeared simultaneously on the necks of both Qian Five and Vermilion Bird. A jet of blood sprayed from the artery in Qian Five's neck.
Then he released his grip on Vermilion Bird and dropped to one knee.
"Shuttle" Cui Fourteen immediately reached into the circle before her, and her hand extended out from the circle beneath Vermilion Bird's feet.
Qian Five was prepared. Seeing a hand emerge from the ground, he immediately stepped forward and grasped it.
The wound on his neck began to heal visibly, and at the same time, his body transformed into that of a woman. Once he could move, Qian Five quickly retreated, putting distance between himself and Vermilion Bird.
All the "Cats" around them began to frown at the sight of Vermilion Bird—
Because Vermilion Bird was bleeding.
A thick, black blood began to slowly trickle from the wound on his neck, as viscous as oil that had been sitting for a long time.
The entire venue fell into dead silence. Even without "Silence" being activated, no sound could be heard.
Everyone knew that Vermilion Bird could not heal himself… which meant that any wound inflicted upon him was permanent.
"What's going on…" Bai Jiu stared at the massive gash on Vermilion Bird's neck and swallowed hard. "Did we… wound Vermilion Bird…?"
Vermilion Bird turned his head to the side, slowly reaching up to cover his neck. His eyes snapped open, filled with considerable rage.
"Truly… too unruly…"
A hoarse voice issued from Vermilion Bird's mouth, and then he dropped to one knee, as if all strength had left his body.
Zhou Mo supported Earth Pig, staring incredulously in Vermilion Bird's direction.
Vermilion Bird's neck had been sliced open…?
Countless questions began swirling in Zhou Mo's mind. Though she had already known that Vermilion Bird's strength was inferior to Xuan Wu's, she hadn't expected the gap to be so vast.
Could a direct use of "Twin Flowers" actually take Vermilion Bird's life?
"…"
Earth Pig murmured something weakly in Zhou Mo's ear, but due to excessive blood loss, his voice was nearly inaudible.
"Little Pig?" Zhou Mo lowered her head. "Are you okay…?"
"No 'Levitation'…"
"What?" Zhou Mo leaned down, pressing her ear close to Earth Pig's mouth. "What did you say?"
"Warp'… 'Soul Steal'… 'Soul Shift'…" Earth Pig said in an extremely faint voice, "and one very distant… 'Echo'… I don't know…"
"Distant? What do you mean by distant?" Zhou Mo shook Earth Pig, only to find he was on the verge of unconsciousness. She slapped his cheek hard. "Hey! Little Pig, don't you fucking fall asleep! If you sleep, you'll die!"
She then lifted her head and called out to Qian Five: "Fifth Brother! We've got trouble here!"
Taking advantage of Vermilion Bird's immobility, Qian Five first signaled the people behind him, then hurried over to Zhou Mo's side.
The men behind Qian Five immediately understood his signal. Wu Thirteen, Yun Nineteen, Qiu Twenty, and Liu Twenty-One each drew daggers and strode forward quickly. Taking advantage of Vermilion Bird's inability to move, they stabbed him one after another.
Under everyone's disbelieving gaze, countless blades began piercing Vermilion Bird's body.
His heart, neck, abdomen—every vital point was stabbed. Even if he hadn't died before, he certainly couldn't survive now.
A large amount of pitch-black blood began to ooze from Vermilion Bird's deathly pale body. Those closest felt something was off; they wrinkled their noses, sniffed, and frowned.
The smell of this blood… was far too foul.
At that moment, Officer Li and Su Shan appeared behind the group. They hadn't expected to arrive just as the battle was about to end.
"Fourth Brother!" Bai Jiu called from a distance. "Take his heart!"
"Ah! Okay!"
Officer Li quickly stepped forward. While the others were stabbing Xuan Wu, he reached into his trouser pocket and pulled something out. Whether it was due to his training or his "Echo" strengthening, he could now extract a target's heart almost with absolute certainty.
A pitch-black heart appeared in Officer Li's hand. But before the two could rejoice, a foul stench emanated from the organ.
The smell was so pungent that Officer Li and Su Shan nearly vomited.
Qian Five led Luo Eleven to Earth Pig's side and, without a word, immediately replicated Luo Eleven's body for Earth Pig.
"Though this will cost Earth Pig his 'Brute Force'… it's still better than dying…" Qian Five wiped the fine sweat from his brow, then pinched Earth Pig's philtrum. Earth Pig slowly opened his eyes.
"Little Pig!" Zhou Mo cupped Earth Pig's face. Though his body had become that of an adult, he still had a pig's head.
"Temperamental woman…" Earth Pig opened his eyes and instantly remembered where he was. "Trouble… watch out for Vermilion Bird…"
"What exactly is the problem…?" Zhou Mo asked, bewildered. "No 'Levitation,' but he has 'Soul Shift'… Even so, Vermilion Bird can't heal his wounds."
Qian Five furrowed his brow and was about to speak when suddenly several dull thuds sounded. He turned to look—Vermilion Bird's body levitated at an extremely bizarre angle. He ripped apart the vines binding his hand and then, spraying black blood everywhere, crashed into the men before him.
The immense impact snapped "Gale" Qiu Twenty's body in two. The others were sent flying, crashing heavily to the ground.
Qian Five slowly rose to his feet, staring at Vermilion Bird, who fluttered in the air like a tattered banner.
"Without 'Levitation'… yet able to fly…" Qian Five pondered for a moment. "Could it be 'Puppet'?"
But what did "Soul Shift" mean?