“Kid, hand over what you stole, and we might consider letting you live.” The group of mechanical beings blocking the doorway stared at Jasmine and Jiang Wen, their faces twisted into menacing smiles.
Similar to the one-eyed gang they encountered before, this group blocking the door was clearly here to cause trouble. The black object Jasmine stole must be what they needed to retrieve.
“What do you want? Please, let Jasmine go,” Jasmine pleaded, looking at the group with a pitiful expression.
“Let you go? Hmph, where was this attitude earlier? Quickly hand over what we want, or perhaps you can still save your life.” Among the group, a mechanical being with golden hair held a long blade, glaring coldly at Jasmine.
Jiang Wen could tell from his expression that they were not here for anything good.
Seeing the opponent's stance, Jasmine knew there would be no peaceful resolution. Even kittens have fangs.
She drew a steel claw from her waist, held it in her hand, and looked at the golden-haired mechanical being: “If you want it, then come and take it yourself.”
The golden-haired mechanical being stared at Jasmine holding the steel claw, twisted his neck, and looked down at her with contempt: “Trash, I didn't expect you to dare resist. Originally, I just wanted to make your reforging a little easier. Who knew you would be so arrogant? But it doesn't matter, since I'm taking action myself, I'll make you wish you were dead!”
“Enough nonsense, I said, if you have the ability, come and get it yourself. Let's see who has the ability to get the thing. If you can't get it, you can only blame yourself.” Jasmine pointed at the golden-haired mechanical being, her gaze suddenly becoming as stern as a cold river. “The bad things your Tai Prefecture has done are not few. Others may be afraid of you, but I'm not.”
“Is that so! Then let me test your mettle! Remember, my name is Tuo Quan!”
“铮 — — ！” Tuo Quan's long blade was unsheathed, and he leaped forward like a sprinting cheetah, covering a distance of ten zhang in the blink of an eye.
“Little piece of trash, you’re all talk!”
That slash came down like a mountain collapsing, the powerful blade wind stirring up the surrounding dust. This speed far exceeded Jasmine's body's ability to react. At the moment the blade fell, she instinctively used the steel claw in front of her to block the force of the blade.
Tuo Quan drew his blade extremely quickly, the cold light of the blade flashing across Jasmine's scalp, accompanied by a chilling blade wind. The sturdy steel claw snapped in response, and with a clang, Jasmine nimbly rolled to the side. Missing the strike, he didn't seem willing to give up. He stepped forward and, before Jasmine could react, delivered a slash like a tiger descending the mountain, unstoppable.
Jasmine immediately threw up a handful of dust. Tuo Quan didn't expect the other party to use such a dirty trick, and sand got into the mechanical eyes on his face. The fierce tiger-like blade force was forcibly withdrawn by him, and he took a few steps back to what he felt was a safe position, rubbing his eyes: “Rotten thing!! You dare to trick me! I'm going to strip off your copper shell!”
Although throwing sand could delay the opponent's attack, the steel claw was broken, and she lacked an offensive weapon. If this continued, the situation could be extremely dangerous.
Before Jasmine could think of a countermeasure, Tuo Quan quickly attacked. Obviously, the strength of this golden-haired youth was comparable to that of an ordinary Lamp Lighting Realm cultivator. Jiang Wen was somewhat amazed at how these mechanical beings acquired power, being able to make such agile movements with their mechanical bodies.
“Give up, I have reached the Transcendent Mortal Realm of Martial Machines.” Tuo Quan laughed arrogantly.
Jiang Wen had heard Jasmine talk about the so-called Transcendent Mortal Realm Martial Machines. Mechanical beings use the spiritual energy in the spirit crystals to temper their mechanical bodies, enabling them to do what ordinary mechanical beings cannot, transcending the limits of ordinary mechanical beings. That is, the mechanical body is transformed under the tempering of the spirit crystal, possessing extremely lasting stamina and powerful strength.
Jasmine resolved Tuo Quan's attacks with her rich experience. Even if the opponent's speed was so fast that she couldn't capture it, she could accurately find the position of the attack. She knew that she was inferior to the opponent in terms of both weapon quality and physical strength. Whenever the long blade howled, she cleverly used the broken steel claw to touch the weakest point of the long blade's power to deflect it.
Using skill to overcome strength, Tuo Quan was unable to hurt Jasmine after dozens of moves, and couldn't help but feel greatly humiliated.
“Tch, Transcendent Mortal Realm? Really useless after so long!”
“Isn't he a fake! Haha.”
Jasmine mocked, looking quite smug.
Damn it! Tuo Quan gritted his teeth fiercely. Jasmine's ridicule made him feel humiliated. A luster rose from the long blade, and an arc of light slashed out of thin air. Jasmine's eyebrows twitched frantically, and she rolled to the side at the moment the arc of light slashed past. Her thigh, unable to dodge in time, was cut with a wound deep enough to see the bronze bone, and orange-yellow machine oil poured from the wound, instantly dyeing her thigh yellow. These were all “lubricants” that maintained the normal operation of the mechanical being, equivalent to human blood.
“Hmph, being able to dodge my Void Piercing Slash, you do have some ability.” Tuo Quan smiled contemptuously. “The game of hiding is over, let me end you with one strike, and send you and your good friend back to the embrace of the Ancestor of All Machines to be reforged.”
The long blade pointed at Jasmine, Tuo Quan gripped the long blade with both hands and took a deep breath. The breeze swirled on the blade, bringing up countless scraps of garbage. His figure disappeared, vanishing from the field.
“Tooth Shatterer!”
A thunderclap suddenly rose from the ground, the sound of the wind piercingly sharp. Dust and wind swept down, and the sharp blade energy crisscrossed. Tuo Quan descended from the sky, splitting towards Jasmine with unstoppable force.
“Die!”
A tornado rose between the two, carrying countless pieces of garbage and dust, blocking everyone's sight, and no one could see what was happening inside the sandstorm. A mournful cry of a gun blade flashed across the noisy street, accompanied by the sound of weapons exploding.
The wind subsided, Tuo Quan stared wide-eyed at the steel claw inserted into his chest. The steel claw that he had broken was inserted into an important part of his chest, and even if he returned to Tai Prefecture, it would be difficult to recover, let alone in his current environment.
The blade flashed, and orange-yellow liquid splattered on Jiang Wen's body. Tuo Quan's unwilling head rolled to the ground, his eyes staring straight at him.
“Who exactly are you? How can you be so powerful. I have never heard of your name in Mo Du.”
“Me? I'm just a passerby acting on a whim.” Jiang Wen smiled, plunging one hand into Tuo Quan's head. Amidst the horrified look on Tuo Quan's face, he took out a triangular prism that shimmered with a faint light.
“Is this the soul core?” Jiang Wen examined it carefully, applying a little force to his hand. He never expected that the soul core would crack with a 'ka beng' sound, and then split into fragments.
“Ah! Why did you damage his soul core!” Jasmine exclaimed.
Jiang Wen looked at the scattered white spots of light. They landed on his hand, instantly plunging Jiang Wen into a memory.
