"What are you waiting for?"

X9500 felt a bit exasperated.

In the past fifty years, he had never encountered this kind of situation where a character card became uncontrollable.

A delayed reaction?

Or perhaps in Lin Qiubai's move just now, there was something of a higher level hidden that severed the connection between him and the card character?

X9500 didn't indulge in wild speculation for long.

He soon learned the outcome.

Not far away, the Grey-clad Sword Saint, standing like a statue, his skin seemed to have weathered countless years, eroding, rusting, flaking away.

The body of the Grey-clad Sword Saint, like the treasure sword in his hand, shattered into the grey mist, gradually dissipating, leaving only a pile of ashes in its place.

What does it mean, "turned to dust"?

This is literally what it means to "turn to dust"!

The Grey-clad Sword Saint, who previously toyed with Wan Haihao and Zhu Hanyi in the palm of his hand, left not even a shred of cloth after a single round with Sword Master Lin Qiubai.

"Dead?" X9500 was utterly baffled.

Zhu Hanyi laughed heartily, his laugh full of relief: "Dead!"

X9500 remained silent.

After all, the Sword Saint was a Golden Heroic Level figure, and unlike Ma Ran, whom he favored, the value of his entire being lay nearly entirely in his individual martial prowess.

He was by no means a dime-a-dozen, mediocre character, his rarity far exceeding that of a hundred Steel Puppets before him, much less some trifling beings.

He wasn't instantly killed because he was weak.

But because...

Lin Qiubai was simply too overwhelmingly strong!

Originally, when X9500 deployed the [Sword Saint] card, it was to test whether it could attract Ma Ran.

Even if Ma Ran was a Martial Arts Celestial Pride who pioneered a path to the Tenth Rank of Inner Qi, X9500 had plenty of trump cards to deal with it.

Now, instead of catching Ma Ran, he hooked a different big fish.

Moreover...

This fish seems bigger than expected.

The always silent Su Qiangwei slightly raised her delicate chin at X9500, her chin line clear and exquisite: "Thank you very much!"

"Today, you helped me review the use of four phrases."

At this point, Su Qiangwei smiled, counting on her fingers: "Grandiose words, mumbling to oneself, nonsense, silence."

"Hahahahaha..."

The girl laughed until her body shook like flowers in the wind, laughing maniacally.

Wan Haihao, barely standing, had a hint of worry in his eyes.

The Sword Master indeed did not lie, he only used thirty percent of his power.

Wan Haihao, who shared a mental connection, could attest to this.

But the issue is...

X9500 was right about one thing.

Lin Qiubai now doesn't even have a body, just a remnant soul!

He is like rootless duckweed, his cultivation a mere castle in the air, seemingly wonderful, but fraught with danger.

Lin Qiubai can only use thirty percent of his power to fight the world!

Exceeding it by a fraction could risk his soul scattering and falling on the spot!

Just now Lin Qiubai used his fingers as a sword, and with just two fingers, he executed the fully armed Grey-clad Sword Saint in one move.

Wan Haihao admitted that scene was very impressive!

The style was top-notch!

The fashion value was off the charts!

Even he was stirred, his blood boiling, eager to wield a long sword and fight alongside Lin Qiubai!

But...

Then what?

Lin Qiubai, having exhausted part of the remaining strength in his soul, could now mobilize even less power without harm!

Remnant soul, remnant soul!

As a soul body, Lin Qiubai wasn't even complete!

He was merely lingering in survival!

Back then, the sword that burned both his body and soul allowed Lin Qiubai to traverse space, leap through wormholes, cross the cosmos solo, arriving on Earth from Cangming Star. But...

That sword injured him too severely.

On Earth, each time Lin Qiubai acted, it was to subdue the enemy instantly, achieving an instant kill.

A man like Lin Qiubai, who nearly made Sword Dao his dream and ultimate pursuit, shouldn't he always first use one percent of his combat power against any enemy, forcing a stalemate, then gradually increase power, allowing the enemy to continually break through, level up, becoming a more advanced test sword stone?

He doesn't do this for one reason only — his soul injuries have grown increasingly severe over time!

The one who injures Lin Qiubai was never his opponents, but himself!

As a Sword Master, even now, he couldn't freely unleash the Spirit Sword and wantonly slay enemies as before when he instantly killed the Eye-Stealing Monster's true form.

"Hmm?"

X9500, nearly driven into a shutdown by Su Qiangwei's words, suddenly turned his head toward Wan Haihao.

The Thought Essence Extraction Device fed him some useful information.

"Your acting is quite good!"

"If it weren't for my grasp of higher-level technology, I might not have detected your true emotions!"

"Wan Haihao! What are you really concerned about?"

X9500 quickly stepped out of his shutdown state, his words tinged with a sense of confidence: "What are you worried about? Fearing?"

"I also know something about your connection with Lin Qiubai."

"Ah, don't look at me with that expression, after all, Earth is merely a low-level civilization, your network is virtually defenseless before me unless you physically disconnect."

"Even with a physical disconnect, I have means to acquire the intelligence I desire."

"Judging by your true emotions and the performance of this Sword Master, I have roughly deduced the truth."

X9500 glanced at Lin Qiubai, sneering: "My previous guess was correct!"

"In a short time, this Sword Master cannot strike many times!"

"He is someone who regards 'sword' as everything!"

"He respects any opponent wielding a sword!"

"The reason for using thirty percent power to kill the Sword Saint isn't that the Sword Saint wasn't worthy!"

"But because..."

"Lin Qiubai can only use up to thirty percent of his power."

"Any more and his soul would suffer irreversible harm!"

Hidden beneath the helmet of X9500's eyes, the light of intelligence flickered: "So!"

"The truth is..."

"This Sword Master needs just ten percent of his skill to slay the Sword Saint!"

"His obsession with Sword Dao granted him formidable strength."

"But his extreme mania for Sword Dao led to the most misguided decision in a critical moment!"

"Evidently, one percent power would be perfectly sufficient to take down the opponent, yet naive respect made him squander the ultimate comeback opportunity!"

At this point, X9500 crushed a card emblazoned with wings.

The next moment, snow-white wings appeared on his back, and in an instant, he soared into the air.

X9500, looking down from a high vantage point, surveyed the crowd.

"Su Qiangwei, Zhu Hanyi, Wan Haihao..."

"And of course, Sword Master Lin Qiubai, and Ma Ran, who pioneered the path of Tenth Rank Inner Qi."

"In gratitude for your spectacular contribution, I have decided to grant you a clean, painless death!"

Though saying this, in reality, X9500 only intended to eliminate Zhu Hanyi, Wan Haihao, and Lin Qiubai along with the over three thousand hostages behind them.

As for Su Qiangwei...

This sharp-tongued native girl, merely beating half to death would suffice.

Like Ma Ran, compared to Lin Qiubai, she was overly youthful, with great room for progress and growth.

As X9500's thoughts raced, his right hand slowly drew back, clenching into a fist.

The Red Rock Giant, which had been on standby since Su Qiangwei pulled him from the command room using [Domain Summoning], simultaneously made the same move.

Black and red energy surged behind the Red Rock Giant, forming a vortex.

This wasn't ordinary charging!

Eliminating this group of Earth's frail people didn't require charging!

This posture was to entirely annihilate the soul body state of Lin Qiubai!

At this moment, X9500 was employing the byproduct of the Thought Essence Extraction Device, filling it into the body of the Red Rock Giant.

It was the "thought residue" capable of effectively weakening soul strength!

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