# 576
Chapter 577: I Came to Kill Him
“Deification?”
An Qingyu saw the blood mist and white threads drifting from the figure’s body, disbelief filling his eyes.
They knew this scene all too well.
Not long ago, Zhou Ping—who had stepped into the divine realm and seized the Law of the Sword—had vanished in just this way during his own deification…
And now, this man was undergoing the same process?
Which meant he, too, had entered the divine realm and claimed a Law?
An Qingyu, Jiang Er, and Jialan were baffled, but the other four stood like statues, frozen in place.
Lin Qiye, Cao Yuan, Baili Pangpang, and Shen Qingzhu exchanged glances, shock blazing in each other’s eyes!
The gray cloak, the white straight blade at his waist, the mask emblazoned with the character “王”… everything declared his identity.
They had seen this man before.
Captain of Great Xia Night Watch’s fourth special squad, the Mask Squad—Wang Mian.
Lin Qiye could never mistake him. Back when they’d first entered training camp, the Mask Squad had run joint drills with them; he’d even fought Wang Mian face-to-face while the man suppressed his own realm.
He still remembered that Mandarin Arrow.
But… Wang Mian had only been a Klein-level captain, not yet at Human Apex. How could he be undergoing deification?
More importantly, he was a man not yet thirty—so why had he aged into a white-haired elder of sixty or seventy?
And why was he alone, seated in a tiny boat upon the sea, blade across his knees?
Endless questions surged through their minds. Lin Qiye stared at the snow-haired figure and called tentatively:
“Wang Mian?”
Splash——!!
A wave slammed into the skiff, spraying foam in every direction, yet not a single drop touched the aged figure; even the boat’s interior remained dry.
He sat upon the tossing sea like a statue, unmoving.
No reply. Behind the “王” mask, deep eyes studied the seven of them. At last he slowly closed them.
His wrinkled, liver-spotted right hand settled on his blade’s hilt.
The churning sea froze.
Whitecaps locked in place, clouds pinned against blue sky, scattered droplets hung like polished spheres, each reflecting the seven stiff figures.
Within the drifting mist, the Mandarin Arrow slid silently from its sheath.
The bright blade mirrored a silken river of time, glowing pale blue. The moment it emerged, the old man broke into violent coughs.
“Haa—hk, hk, hk…”
Scarlet blood spattered the boat. He clenched the hilt and swept the blade toward the seven suspended figures.
Slap—!
A footstep landed, splashing water upon the time-locked sea.
Behind the “王” mask, aged eyes snapped open.
Among the seven who should have been frozen, the girl in deep-blue hanfu, hair like a black waterfall, had stepped forward, arms spread, shielding the other six. Her gaze was wary and fierce.
The masked eyes narrowed; after a moment he sighed in resignation.
“Your time… I almost forgot. At this moment, you are indeed here.”
“Who are you? What do you want?” Jialan demanded coldly.
“Who I am… doesn’t matter,” he answered slowly. “I… came to kill.”
Jialan’s brows locked, killing intent flaring.
“You want to kill them? Try it.”
She slapped the black case on her back; the golden Celestial Gate spear leapt into her grasp, its tip blazing gold, rippling the calm sea anew.
The man shook his head.
“I won’t kill them all. Only one.” His aged voice echoed. “He must die here… or in the future he will become the world’s nightmare.”
“Who?”
The white-haired figure lifted a finger, pointing to one among the seven.
Jialan’s gaze followed; her frown deepened.
She turned back, voice iron: “I won’t let you kill him.”
“If he lives, billions will die because of him.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“I have seen it.”
“I haven’t!” Jialan stared into the eyes behind the mask, each word a hammer. “We are the Nightfall Squad. He is one of us. We swore to sweep all before us beneath that night sky…
I will not, because of your vague words, watch my comrade die before me.
I trust every one of them.
But I do not trust you.”
Golden spear in hand, resolve blazing, she declared, “While I stand, you will kill no one.”
The old man in the lone boat fell silent.
“Comrades, huh…”
He lowered his eyes to the worn yet immaculate gray cloak upon his shoulders.
Memory and sorrow welled in his gaze; spotted fingers unconsciously brushed a corner of the cloth.
Time itself seemed to pause.
In those murky eyes reflected gray-cloaked, masked youngsters—laughing, cursing, alive.
The faintest smile tugged at his lips, gone in an instant.
He lifted his head to the girl standing upon the sea, spear gleaming.
“You truly intend to stop me?”
“Yes.”
“I came back with such difficulty.”
“Then go back again.”
“I refuse.”
Dangerous light flared in Jialan’s eyes.
“Since I’m here, I will act.”
He studied her, hesitated, then drove the Mandarin Arrow downward—into the sea.
Time swirled along the blade, converting into a titanic slash that plunged beneath the waves. A colossal maelstrom yawned open beneath their feet!
The spinning sea seized the six frozen figures, dragging them into the vortex and scattering them into the depths in the blink of an eye.
Jialan’s pupils shrank; teeth clenched, she shot forward like lightning, spear raised!
“You still can’t beat me.”
He shook his head, swept the blade again. A heaven-splitting arc nearly cleaved the entire sea, striking Jialan. No wound opened, but the terrifying force hurled her beyond the horizon!
Her figure vanished.
Shattered seawater drizzled from the sky like a thin rain.
Alone in his boat, the old man coughed violently, sheathed the blade slowly. Pale hair danced in the wind—an image of unspeakable loneliness.
A faint river of time appeared behind him; the skiff stirred, carrying him away, fading upon the sea.