# 599
Chapter 600: In the Rain Curtain
Lin Qiye’s pupils contracted slightly.
The Oracle Envoy’s body was made of some unknown material; not only could it effortlessly block Lin Qiye’s slashes, it also isolated every form of mental perception. Even when Lin Qiye tried to probe its structure with his psyche, he was stopped at the surface of its skin.
What was certain was that, in some sense, the Oracle Envoy was no longer purely human.
After all, no human could project surveillance footage from their eyes.
A cyborg?
The thought had just surfaced when the white-robed Oracle Envoy stepped forward. The stride was small, yet in an instant he closed nearly a hundred metres, flickering directly in front of Lin Qiye.
The white ring in his left eye locked onto Lin Qiye’s face—and onto the White Slash in his hand.
“A blade that ignores space… one of the Nine Magatsu Blades? No, this sword has no soul.” The Oracle Envoy frowned, puzzled.
He shook his head and sighed. “The things invaders carry are always so incomprehensible.”
The next moment his gaze sharpened. A terrifying, invisible slash condensed in front of him, radiating lethal danger. Instantly Lin Qiye whipped White Slash across his body.
Boom—!!
The unseen strike slammed into the blade, making the entire sword tremble violently. Strangely, Lin Qiye felt no force transmitted through the hilt—as if every shred of the blow had been forced into White Slash, not the slightest leaking out.
The sword shook, screeching like a thousand birds. Lin Qiye’s brows knitted; something was wrong. At the same instant the Oracle Envoy raised a finger again.
Lin Qiye flashed sideways, but the Envoy shifted once more, appearing right in front of him.
His palm drifted like a ghost, lightly touching the flat of White Slash—and flicked.
Clang—!!!
A thunderous boom rolled through the busy street.
The violently vibrating blade froze, fell eerily silent, then a web of hair-thin cracks exploded across its centre. The snowy steel, mirror-bright with neon reflections, snapped; the upper half whirled through the night, trailing a halo of light, and buried itself in a traffic light, showering sparks.
Lin Qiye gripped the broken remnant, pupils shrinking.
The sword… was severed.
Exactly where the Envoy had flicked it. Two moves had been enough to cut in half White Slash, one of the twelve ultra-high-risk relics of the Baili family.
How?
A thousand thoughts flashed through his mind, but the fight allowed no pause.
The white-robed Envoy lifted a hand, traced a casual line through the air—deathly crisis flooded Lin Qiye’s senses.
He could no longer worry about the mysterious gaze overhead; if he held back his Forbidden Ruins, he would die here and now.
Night burst over his body—and he vanished.
Night Flash.
A Forbidden Ruins born from the night origin Nyx had left him. If that origin was fertile soil, this Ruins was the first fruit.
The instant he flickered away, the two six-storey malls behind where he’d stood exploded: every window shattered, their midsections sliced clean, collapsing like paper houses. With a roar and a cloud of dust the buildings crashed down, flattening a dozen cars into scrap.
Lin Qiye stood amid the rubble, half a White Slash in hand, face grave.
The mental pressure radiating from the Oracle Envoy marked him a peak Klein—coupled with those bizarre abilities, his threat level soared.
In his current state, Lin Qiye stood no chance.
And the Envoy wasn’t his only enemy…
He glanced at the dark sky; the unseen gaze from the shallows was sweeping the area again. Using Night Flash had drawn its attention once more—keep using Forbidden Ruins and he would be locked on.
“Divine wrath is descending. If you keep wielding invaders’ tricks, you’ll be smitten to ash without my lifting a finger. Today, you cannot escape.” The white-robed Envoy felt the gaze too and sneered.
Lin Qiye studied him in silence, mind racing for a way out.
Use Forbidden Ruins—be spotted and die. Don’t use them—can’t escape the Envoy, still die.
A dead end.
While he racked his brain, a drop of rain fell from the clouds, landed on his shoulder, burst into tiny beads.
Plop!
Rain?
The droplet drew no notice from him, but across the street the white-robed Envoy’s brows twitched.
He tilted his head, scanning the sky.
Second drop, third, fourth…
A patter became a drizzle, then within seconds a steady rain, then a downpour!
Torrents washed the neon streets, pooling in puddles, mist rising, veiling ordinary eyes, turning the night into a silver curtain.
Neon glows drowned in the flood, rippling across asphalt rivers, shimmering in restless puddles like dazzling pools of light.
The Oracle Envoy stood in the rain; water slid off his robe without leaving a trace.
His expression darkened.
Lin Qiye lifted his head, staring at the sudden storm, doubt in his eyes.
This rain… felt wrong.
A figure swept across the sky.
He turned.
Above the intersection’s giant screen—glowing in the black rain—a silhouette stood beneath a paper umbrella, poised upon the rolling billboard, rain drifting around them.