“These abyssal beasts seem terrified of you.”
Watching the creatures that had been advancing toward them suddenly turn and flee, Yan Yu realized their reaction had everything to do with Yan Qi.
“If they weren’t afraid of me, we wouldn’t have made it down the mountain so easily earlier,” Yan Qi replied.
“So that means… Miss Blue Twin-Tails, you must be an incredibly powerful superhuman, right?” Xu Ziqi, who was supporting Yan Yu, couldn’t help but ask curiously.
Yan Qi knew her electronic songstress avatar’s strength was roughly equivalent to a mid-tier three-star superhuman, but she was also acutely aware that the avatar itself lacked real combat prowess.
“I’m not that powerful—at least not in terms of fighting ability,” she answered.
“‘At least not in terms of fighting ability’? What does that mean?”
Xu Ziqi blinked, confused by the response.
“It means I’m not skilled in combat. But enough talk—stay close and don’t fall behind. If you get eaten by an abyssal beast, that’s on you.”
After answering Xu Ziqi and warning the others, Yan Qi quickened her pace toward the abyssal rift ahead.
No one objected. After all, it was only by following her that they’d made it this far safely.
But just as they were about to reach the rift—their gateway out of the abyss—Yan Qi suddenly sensed something.
No, two somethings.
Two terrifying auras of abyssal beasts, closing in fast.
“Danger! Two powerful abyssal beasts are heading straight for us! Run!”
Shouting the warning, Yan Qi immediately snatched Yan Yu from Xu Ziqi’s arms, cradling her sister in a princess carry before sprinting toward the rift at full speed.
Though confused, the group trusted Yan Qi’s judgment. Without hesitation, they bolted after her.
Yan Yu, suddenly swept up in the blue-haired girl’s arms, had no idea this was her sister’s avatar.
She looked up, puzzled by the stranger’s protectiveness. She wanted to ask why, but seeing the grave expression on Yan Qi’s face, she held back.
Instead, she wrapped her arms around the girl’s neck, steadying herself to make it easier for her rescuer to carry her.
Feeling her sister’s adjustment, Yan Qi didn’t waste breath acknowledging it. She took a deep breath and pushed herself even harder.
She had to reach the rift before those two abyssal beasts cut them off.
But despite her speed, the creatures—both three-star abyssal beasts—intercepted them just in time.
“Damn it! Too late!”
Before them stood two monstrosities:
One was a three-star Heartreaver—a grotesque, purple-skinned creature with a bulbous head and a shrunken body.
The other was a three-star Silver Jiangshi—a Daoist-robed, silver-skinned revenant with elongated fangs.
Yan Qi cursed inwardly.
At first, the students didn’t understand why she had stopped. But when they saw the two abyssal beasts blocking their path, realization dawned.
The Heartreaver wasted no time. It unleashed its psychic power, attempting to drag everyone—including Yan Qi—back into hallucinatory torment.
Almost instantly, blank expressions overtook the group. Their bodies swayed, on the verge of collapsing.
Seeing this, Yan Qi knew exactly what was happening.
To counter the illusions, she immediately activated her skill—singing.
Her voice, infused with stabilizing energy, shielded the group from the Heartreaver’s influence.
But she knew this was only a temporary fix.
“This avatar won’t last much longer… And with the electronic songstress’s power, there’s no way I can defeat two three-star abyssal beasts, protect everyone, AND escape the abyss.”
Then, like lightning, the solution struck her.
“The only way out… is to rely on my sister—and the six-star transformation card I brought for her today.”
Remembering the real reason she’d sought out Yan Yu earlier, Yan Qi acted swiftly.
Following the system’s method, she materialized the card in her hand—the six-star Servant Transformation Card: Blood Empress.
“On the way here, I was still figuring out how to convince her to accept this card… I never expected things to turn out like this. Not ideal, but at least it saves me the trouble of persuasion—AND solves our current crisis.”
She glanced at the card, its dark aura pulsing faintly.
Then she turned to Yan Yu, who was still dazed from the shock of facing two three-star abyssal beasts.
“Xiao Yu… I need your help. Please, accept this power.”
“W-what?”
Before Yan Yu could fully process the words—before she could even turn her head—Yan Qi pressed the card against her forehead.
A blinding crimson light erupted.
When it faded, Yan Yu was no longer in Yan Qi’s arms.
In her place stood a woman clad in an elegant black hanfu, her long snow-white hair cascading down her back. Her piercing blood-red eyes gleamed with otherworldly intensity.
Her beauty was peerless—rivaling even the legendary Daoist Empress. And strangely… she bore an uncanny resemblance to an older version of Yan Qi’s true form.
The woman blinked, utterly bewildered.
“…Huh?”