# 85
Chapter 85 – Duel of Agents
Lin Qiye stopped walking, looked straight into Wang Mian’s eyes, and spoke slowly:
“Giving up on ganging up on one teammate and instead coming to duel the captain one-on-one—this is probably the dumbest decision I’ll make in this fight…
But being wilful once in a while feels good.”
The key to winning wasn’t to wipe out every Mask, but to tear the mask off just one of them. At this point the smartest play was to swarm the weakest link, not charge off for some macho duel, and Lin Qiye knew it perfectly well.
Yet he wanted—more than victory—to learn about Agents of the Gods.
Ten years ago the Seraph had glanced at him for no reason, left without a word, and made him an Agent; but his own God’s Ruins remained incomplete… All those doubts weighed on him, and there was no one to ask.
Wang Mian was the first Agent he’d met. He wouldn’t miss the chance.
“I know you’re full of questions…” Wang Mian rested his hand on his hilt and said calmly. “After the match, win or lose, come find me and we’ll talk.”
“Thanks.”
Lin Qiye gave a sincere nod and placed his own hand on his hilt.
“You still plan to use that cheat in our duel?” He eyed the black blade at Wang Mian’s waist.
Wang Mian raised a brow. “I’m using my own weapon—how is that cheating?”
“…Shameless.”
“Thanks for the compliment.”
Clang—!!
Lin Qiye moved first.
Straight Blade flashed free; his body shot forward like a phantom skimming the rubble.
Night had fallen long after the start of the match, and under Stellar Night Dancer his speed was terrifying.
Wang Mian gave a soft exclamation at the burst of speed, then slowly drew the Mandarin Arrow at his waist…
Whoosh—!!
An invisible God’s Ruins unfolded. To Lin Qiye, Wang Mian’s draw blurred; without mental perception he wouldn’t even see the strike.
A monstrous sword-qi ripped the air and slashed at him.
The instant Wang Mian drew, Lin Qiye’s dynamic vision had already traced the path; he twisted early. So though the slash was shockingly fast, he slipped past by a hair’s breadth.
The qi sheared off a lock of black hair. After that textbook dodge he sprinted straight for Wang Mian.
“Oh?” Wang Mian hadn’t expected such agility. He paused, then sent out a second, third, fourth slash…
Dense arcs of qi wove a net before him. Lin Qiye narrowed his eyes, pushing his dynamic vision to the limit.
Wang Mian’s motions slowed frame-by-frame; he could barely spy the gaps between blades—
Within seconds his eyes stung.
He blinked hard; the net was already on top of him.
Without hesitation he threw himself backward as if slipping, about to crash to the ground.
At the same moment he rammed Straight Blade into the rubble, anchoring his tilted body, and slid beneath the lowest edge of the net. The keen qi grazed the tip of his nose; he felt its icy breath.
Once past, he yanked on the embedded blade, kipped up, and closed in on Wang Mian.
After the qi swept by, the pressure vanished—Wang Mian’s speed dropped.
The temporal God’s Ruins had ended.
Lin Qiye’s eyes flashed. As expected: at his current stage Wang Mian couldn’t sustain time manipulation for long.
From the start he’d conserved strength, letting the other four fight; only when ambushed by Shen Qingzhu and the rest had he acted—and even then, for barely three seconds.
If Lin Qiye was right, Wang Mian’s limit was five seconds a pop, each use draining huge mental energy, so he saved it for crucial moments.
Time God’s Ruins was too powerful for his level; lasting even this long was impressive.
By contrast, Lin Qiye’s own Mortal Divine Realm, incomplete though it was, cost nothing to keep its mental sense and dynamic vision running 24/7—an upside to being broken, or he’d be a five-second man like Wang Mian.
Seizing the gap, he burst to close quarters and slashed.
Clang—!
Mandarin Arrow parried Straight Blade. A faint tremor reached Lin Qiye’s hand—nothing more.
Without its speed boost, the blade was just a tingling nuisance.
“Mortal Divine Realm gives acceleration too? How are you this fast?” Wang Mian asked, surprised.
He’d thought those strikes would knock Lin Qiye out, yet the boy had matched his speed inside time dilation.
“Well, it’s 003—of course it’s a bit OP.” Lin Qiye brushed it off.
“Fair.”
Wang Mian didn’t press. The next instant, time unfolded again.
Short duration, but after a brief cooldown it could restart.
The cooldown was over.
To Lin Qiye, Wang Mian blurred into afterframes.
He knocked Straight Blade aside, raised Mandarin Arrow—and delivered a casual chop.
“This time you won’t dodge,” he said calmly.
Clang—!
Straight Blade stopped the Mandarin Arrow easily.
Wang Mian froze.
Where’s my qi? My huge sword-qi?
He looked down: a strip of tape now clung to the blade.
“Seal Scroll?” His face changed.
In slow motion he saw Lin Qiye’s grin.
“Now your cheat’s useless…
Let’s fight properly!”
Straight Blade whirled, and Lin Qiye struck first.