Chapter 97: Fierce Battle Upon Emergence, Part Two

Although Le Kai’s strength had surged dramatically, facing a master of mental power armed with a real weapon was still extremely dangerous. His mistlike energy was stronger than true qi, but it was not yet enough to serve as full protection. In other words, if he were struck by a laser gun, even the most formidable fighter would be finished.

But the true terror of his ability now revealed itself: with precognitive awareness that ran several times faster than ordinary thought, he could clearly catch the trajectory of an attack and evade it in advance.

The laser slammed against the shuttle as if striking a halo of blue light, merely scattering into a burst of ripples without leaving the slightest damage. Le Kai, however, broke out in a cold sweat. If not for the unfathomable mystery of his Return-One Step movement, that single shot from the soldier would probably already have killed him.

With his life on the line, he held nothing back.

Le Kai let out a thunderous shout. His eyes blazed with divine light as his feet shifted and crossed, and he charged straight at the man.

The soldier was ruthless as well. The moment he got back on his feet, he began moving at once, trying to widen the distance between them. He was a born sharpshooter who relied on mental power; so long as his target was locked, he would not miss. Yet today, Le Kai had shattered his plans again and again.

Now, to his alarm, he discovered that the mental lock that had always served him so well had completely lost its effect against Le Kai.

Once Le Kai entered battle, every emotion in him was shut away. He became terrifyingly calm. Since his gift had already shown him the enemy’s weaknesses and strengths, how could he possibly allow that mental lock to work on him? For most martial artists, this would have been an impossible feat, but before this abnormality whose mental power far exceeded his cultivation, it was nothing unusual at all. He no longer used his mental force for offense. Instead, he wrapped it around himself completely in defense, like donning a skin-tight suit of slippery armor. The other man’s mental lock would simply slide away on contact and could not take hold.

For a true master, combat depended on absolute strength. There was no such thing as luck. Without complete certainty, he would never fire rashly. The instant he did, his mentality would break, his calm would vanish, and with it his greatest reliance.

Le Kai’s figure flickered like a ghost. Though he seemed to be charging in a straight line, in truth he had twisted through countless detours, changing direction every second, never lingering at any single point for more than half a second.

“Sharpshooter, what are you doing? Fire already!”

At the earlier warning, several figures also rushed out from the shuttle. Judging from their identical uniforms, they were clearly a squad. The one in front carried an unusually shaped sniper rifle, but with Le Kai and the sharpshooter nearly aligned on the same line, he did not dare shoot casually. This was no ordinary sniper rifle. One shot was enough to vaporize anything within ten meters in front of it.

The soldier known as Sharpshooter was so frustrated he nearly coughed up blood. He kept forcing his mental power to its limit, yet still could not lock on. With the two of them about to clash at close range, he had no confidence whatsoever.

No matter. If he did not fire now, he might never get another chance.

At last, Sharpshooter could bear it no longer. Taking a gamble, he pulled the trigger.

A faint hiss.

A white beam flashed and vanished in an instant, missing its target as expected. But then one of his teammates screamed curses in fury.

“Damn it, Sharpshooter, are you trying to kill me?”

The sniper’s face went pale with fright. They had always trusted Sharpshooter’s marksmanship without question, and no one had expected this shot to threaten one of their own. If he had not happened to stumble on the descending steps and sway just a fraction aside, he would have been dead for sure.

Sharpshooter’s face darkened completely.

Inside Le Kai’s eyes, light flickered, but it was a cold and lifeless brilliance, devoid of all emotion. The moment he moved, he drove his body forward like a launched sword, suddenly crossing the ten-meter gap and appearing behind Sharpshooter. His five fingers spread wide, and pale red mistlike energy surged forth like smoke, making each finger seem armed with a set of vicious spikes. The sight was horrifying.

Bang.

A dull impact rang out. Sharpshooter groaned and suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood. The laser pistol in his hand flew away at once. An icy chill swept through him, as if his whole body had frozen rigid. He did not dare move even a little. The murderous aura locking onto him was actually even denser than his own. He had every reason to believe that if he made the slightest movement, the owner of that killing intent would finish him without hesitation.

Le Kai did not kill him. Instead, he gripped Sharpshooter’s throat with fingers still wrapped in mistlike energy, forcing the tall man’s body down until he bent at the waist and stood a full head lower than Le Kai.

“Let go of Sharpshooter.”

“You’ve got some nerve, hijacking a member of our Blue Shark Battle Team. Put him down, and I’ll let you die cleanly.”

“Don’t act rashly. We can talk this through.”

One by one, soldiers from the three shuttles stepped out, their weapons trained nervously on Le Kai.

When they finally saw that the one restraining Sharpshooter with one hand was only a teenager, the three warriors of the Blue Shark Battle Team could not help but freeze. Their expressions became wonderfully complicated.

Le Kai stood behind Sharpshooter with one palm pressed against him, forcing the man to crouch almost before him, his own body serving as a complete shield. He regarded the three powerfully built soldiers with a calm, indifferent gaze.

Altogether, there were four warriors from the Blue Shark Battle Team. Aside from Sharpshooter, who stood at the peak of the martial path, the others were all warriors at the Unity of Mind realm. They could indeed be called elite. Yet with the strongest among them already in Le Kai’s grasp, none of them dared move recklessly. At the same time, they were shaken to the core.

When had a mere slave planet produced such a terrifying native?

The one who had spoken of talking things through wore a pair of glasses and was clearly the squad’s strategist. He raised a hand to stop the other two, lowered his rifle, and said in a gentle tone, “Don’t be nervous. This may all be a misunderstanding. Could you release Sharpshooter first? Whatever the matter is, we can discuss it. We are at the top of City Hall, within the firmament. Ordinary people certainly cannot get in here. We are guests of the mayor, escorting an honored visitor to this place. We mean no harm.”

“Since you know this is the roof of City Hall, and you also know outsiders cannot possibly sneak in, why did you try to shoot me the moment you saw me? Or were you already here with killing intent, up to no good from the start?”

Le Kai understood that this might well be a misunderstanding, but before the situation was fully clear, he would never allow himself to be placed at a disadvantage.

“Boy, mind your mouth. Our Blue Shark Battle Team belongs to the Shark Fleet’s special operations unit. To bear the name of the shark is an honor above all honors. Even the mayor treats us with courtesy. And who exactly are you? From the looks of it, you’re not even a citizen of the empire. After such insolence and provocation, do you think you can afford the consequences?” the bespectacled man said sharply.

The Blue Shark Battle Team was, even within the entire Shark Fleet, considered an ace unit. Though this squad was only a reserve team, they still carried the great name of the Blue Shark Battle Team. Normally, they cruised through space, and whenever they carried out ground missions, who would dare yap nonsense before them? Now their captain had even been taken hostage. Such humiliation was enough to drive anyone mad.