Cowardly Lizard (x), Cowardly Fox

(√)

City within a City.

Jin Ping was meditating with his eyes closed.

After a moment, the old man opened his eyes, his gaze filled with gloom. "Still no way to take another step forward."

He could still continue accumulating Spiritual Power, but he had never been able to touch the threshold of Hall of Fame Grade.

"And I can’t make any new cards either."

"Looks like I can only wait for that one to descend before seeking a solution."

Thinking of how his plan was steadily progressing, Jin Ping’s brows immediately relaxed.

Just then, his expression froze. A communication device appeared in his right hand.

This was an Item Card exclusively for the Spirit Summoning Society. Lu Su had possessed one before, but after his rebellion, Jin Ping had revoked his access.

The Fallen Cult members who later joined Jin Ping’s ranks naturally possessed this Item Card as well.

After reading the message on the communication device, Jin Ping’s expression instantly darkened. Nearly gritting his back teeth, he growled, "Lu Su, you again!"

The old man had never expected their arrangements in Goryeo to be exposed so early. If they had not sent that foolish fox over beforehand, the plan might already have miscarried.

Without further hesitation, Jin Ping immediately summoned the Skin Peeler and Marcus.

They had frequently held meetings like this recently, so neither of them initially thought much of it.

That was until Jin Ping revealed the current situation.

Silence fell over the scene. Yet it was obvious that they could no longer afford to delay. Everything Great Ming had done was simply meant to cut away their wings bit by bit.

Today, it was Goryeo. Next, it would likely be the two secret realms outside Shanghai City.

Thinking of this, Jin Ping closed his eyes and said reluctantly, "At this point, it seems we can only launch the operation early."

At his words, the Skin Peeler rarely showed a trace of hesitation. "But…"

"The arrangements in Shanghai City haven’t been fully completed yet, have they?"

Launching early would come at no small cost. Unless it was the final step, the Skin Peeler did not want to do this.

But for Jin Ping, he was already standing at the edge of a cliff.

"There’s no time to delay any longer. We’ll do as we discussed before."

As he spoke, the old man discreetly glanced at Marcus, who was scratching his head and staring blankly into space.

The Skin Peeler clearly understood the meaning behind his words as well. After a moment of silence, she finally nodded.

Seeing her agree, Jin Ping could not help but sigh inwardly in relief. He said in a low voice, "Then let the situation in Goryeo ferment a little longer."

The reason they were not immediately activating their backup plan was naturally because Lu Su and the others’ battle had not yet reached its climax. They were only testing each other now and could withdraw at any time.

The Skin Peeler had no objection. In just a few minutes, the matter was settled.

From beginning to end, neither of them asked for Marcus’s opinion.

Dust that blotted out the sky filled the air. The massive commotion caused the Demons in the city, who had no idea what was happening, to panic.

Yet the culprit behind it all, the sinister-looking man—no, he was no longer a sinister-looking man, but an incomparably massive nine-tailed fox.

Though it was a fox, an extremely gloomy expression could still be seen on its face.

He did not believe an attack of that level could cause him much trouble.

More importantly, the Demon Fox was feeling somewhat apprehensive. It was obvious that the kid opposite him had grown much stronger than when they had last fought.

Besides that, there was also a Master Card Master present.

The Demon Fox’s enormous crimson eyes continuously swept across the ground as he silently thought, How cautious. But if that’s the case, only those three should be left within Great Ming, right?

"Hehehehe."

At the thought, he grinned, exposing a mouthful of sharp fangs.

Ordinarily, given the Demon Fox’s nature, he would never have faced two opponents of the same level at once. But right now, he was not the only Master Grade Demon present.

Although he was thinking about other matters, the fox’s attacks did not stop.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Nine tails that reached from heaven to earth continuously smashed into the ground. The tremendous vibrations caused buildings throughout Hancheng to collapse one after another.

After seeing this, the Demons in the city naturally realized that invaders had likely arrived and rushed toward the imperial city.

Meanwhile, on the ground.

Lu Su and Fang Wenlong did not look good. After all, both of them had recognized who had launched that attack just now.

Fang Wenlong blocked the attacks descending from above and said grimly, "I didn’t expect that fox to be here."

"Good thing Xiao Luo and I came together."

Their prudent arrangement had paid off at this moment.

The middle-aged man did not dare imagine what would have happened if only Lu Su or only he had been present.

"Be careful. That Master Grade Demon who hasn’t shown himself yet still hasn’t acted." Lu Su focused completely, frowning as he observed the surroundings. "It seems he was the one who saw through our tracks."

The youth did not think the fox possessed such an ability. Combined with the fact that their target this time was highly skilled at concealing himself, it was not strange that they had been discovered.

It was simply a pity that they had lost the initiative.

Just then, Lu Su’s pupils contracted. A sudden chill crawled over his entire body.

He instantly realized that the other Master Grade Demon hidden in the shadows had acted.

And the target…

Was Fang Wenlong.

Without question, this Demon knew exactly how difficult Lu Su was to kill. Thus, he had immediately chosen Fang Wenlong, who was fighting the Demon Fox.

But Lu Su was no slouch.

In the blink of an eye, the cards belonging to him immediately rushed forward and collided fiercely with the descending tail.

At the same time, Fang Wenlong had clearly sensed the threat coming from nowhere.

Whether it was the unknown Master Grade Demon launching the ambush or Fang Wenlong being ambushed, both used their full strength at once.

Bang—!

Along with an earth-shaking explosion, an invisible gale suddenly surged outward from Fang Wenlong’s position.

The earth instantly split apart with an enormous scar, dividing all of Hancheng in two.

This was only because both sides had concentrated their attacks entirely on each other. Everything happening now was merely the aftermath that had leaked out.

To Master Grade beings, such aftershocks were negligible. But to the low-level Demons within the city, they were undoubtedly a catastrophic disaster.

The sudden fissure swallowed an unknown number of Demons. The survivors stared in terror at the man and Demon locked in a deadlock in the center of the city.

Moments later, the two figures violently separated and flew backward in opposite directions.

Fang Wenlong drove his legs firmly into the earth, carving two long trenches across the ground. He only stopped beside a towering wooden giant clad in purple armor.

This was naturally Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha’s combined technique, the Armored Wooden Giant.

Lu Su stood atop the wooden giant’s head with Little Spider, protected by Susanoo.

"Lu Su, Lu Su, Little Spider has already identified all their information. You have to give me extra food when we get back."

"Sure."

Casually brushing off Spider-girl’s attempt to claim credit, Lu Su carefully examined the appraisal information she had sent over.

Name: Fox Jiu

Title: Venerable Great Nine-Tailed Fox

Level: Master Grade

Possible Drop Material: Calamity Fox Spirit

Name: Zero

Title: Perfect Creation

Level: Master Grade

Possible Drop Material: None

There was nothing strange about the information on the Nation-Destroying Fox Spirit. It had merely let Lu Su learn the other party’s name.

But the newly appeared Master Grade Demon was a major problem.

He thought of the Void Soul, the Demon he had encountered in City within a City that did not drop materials.

Without question, the two came from the same source. But unlike that test subject from back then, this Demon called Zero far surpassed it in both intelligence and strength.

Lu Su silently thought, So after obtaining the Demon Army’s information, Jin Ping’s own experiments have made progress as well?

No wonder Great Ming had no information on Zero. This Master Grade Demon, formed by consolidating the Demons within Goryeo, was simply City within a City’s newest experimental subject.

At this moment, Fang Wenlong’s voice, faint as a mosquito’s buzz, suddenly sounded beside Lu Su’s ear. "Xiao Luo, leave that fox to you."

Before he could react, Fang Wenlong had already flashed to Zero’s side.

Seeing the two begin fighting again, Lu Su grimly looked toward Fox Jiu.

At the same time, when he noticed Diamond Grade Demons trying to approach the battlefield from the corners of his eyes, he released Zhang Jingxing and the others from False Karakura Town.

Without turning his head, Lu Su stared seriously at the giant fox in the distance and casually said, "Senior Disciple Brother, leave the low-level Demons around us to you."

It was Zhang Jingxing and the other Diamond Grade Card Masters’ first time seeing Lu Su’s cards in person. Feeling the aura emitted by the enormous purple-armored wooden giant beneath their feet, they could not help feeling inwardly shocked.

After hearing Lu Su, they immediately came to their senses and nodded. "Yes."

With that, the five used their own methods to leave the center of the battlefield and intercept the Demons coming to provide support.

Fox Jiu did not stop them.

It was not that he did not want to, but that he could not. At this moment, all his attention was focused on guarding against Lu Su’s cards.

Fox Jiu had not expected the kid opposite him to have grown this strong since their last meeting. Although Jin Ping had informed him of the Demon Army’s previous battle situation, the lack of firsthand footage had left him with no real sense of it.

Fox Jiu was getting scared and instinctively began considering a retreat.

That was simply his nature. Otherwise, he could not have survived all the way from Diamond Grade to Master Grade on Blue Star.

But the fox quickly came to his senses. No, I have to put in some effort no matter what. Otherwise, Jin Ping will probably give me trouble.

With that thought, he immediately looked at Lu Su atop the Armored Wooden Giant in the distance.

Yet Lu Su did not feel much tension at all.

Because…

He had discovered that compared to Tempest, Fox Jiu was far too weak!

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Amid heavy footsteps, the Armored Wooden Giant charged toward Fox Jiu.

At the same time, the other cards present attacked as well.

Kurosaki Ichigo, Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto, Luffy, Aizen… and even the souls slain beneath Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto’s blade.

Seeing this, Fox Jiu’s fur instantly stood on end. A terrifying shriek burst from his mouth. "Screech!"

Purple foxfire instantly emerged around him. His nine massive tails were like pillars holding up the heavens, protecting him as they continuously defended against attacks flying in from every direction.

Unfortunately, Lu Su had long since undergone a complete transformation.

"Kidō #90: Kurohitsugi."

Aizen, who had entered the third stage of Hogyoku Fusion, wore an indifferent expression as he mercilessly recited the name of his most proficient high-level Kido.

In an instant, a massive Black Coffin formed out of thin air. It swallowed Fox Jiu whole in the blink of an eye and silently stood between heaven and earth.

Crack—!

The next moment, a crisp shattering sound rang out, and the fox reappeared before all the cards.

It had to be said that Fox Jiu’s defense was much stronger than Tempest’s, as was his vitality.

After taking a Black Coffin head-on, only a few small wounds appeared on his enormous body. Given his size, those wounds were completely insignificant.

Fortunately, Aizen had never expected to injure the opponent in the third stage.

What he was doing now was merely providing cover for the other cards, just as he had cooperated with Kurosaki Ichigo to defeat Yhwach in the original story.

"Sage Art: Myojinmon!"

Fox Jiu had only just escaped the Black Coffin and had no time to react before red torii gates descending from the sky pinned him firmly to the earth.

Realizing something was wrong, the Demon Fox began struggling violently. The ground constantly shook beneath his movements as though a magnitude-ten earthquake had struck, while the Myojinmon responsible for restraining him began to tremble as well.

But this was enough.

The Armored Wooden Giant crossed the distance in a few strides and arrived before Fox Jiu. Its left hand, wrapped in purple armor, tightly gripped the fox’s head, while its right fist carried boundless Killing Intent as it smashed down.

One punch, two punches, three punches.

The terrifying force pulverized the ground beneath Fox Jiu’s head.

Watching the fox get pummeled by the Armored Wooden Giant’s heavy fists, Madara Uchiha, standing beside Lu Su, could not help feeling somewhat complicated. It reminded him of the time he had controlled the Nine-Tailed Fox, only to be pinned down and beaten by Hashirama Senju.

But unlike the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox he had controlled, the fox before them was even more massive and far more powerful.

At this moment, Fox Jiu felt nothing but humiliation.

He never could have dreamed that one day he would end up in such a state.

Besides humiliation, there was fear.

Although he had not suffered much damage yet thanks to his defenses, if the battle continued, his instincts told him that he would truly die!

Fox Jiu could not help consoling himself inwardly. Jin Ping, I’ve done my best. You can’t expect me to actually throw my life away, can you?

With that thought, he struggled even more fiercely. The terrifying strength made it difficult for the Armored Wooden Giant to keep him restrained.

Finally, Fox Jiu broke free. His nine massive tails merged into one and swept across the ground.

In the blink of an eye, the cards surrounding the Demon Fox were forcibly driven back. The Armored Wooden Giant directly in front of him had nowhere to dodge and took the attack head-on.

Boom—!

The enormous purple figure was flung into the distance, rolling uncontrollably and leaving behind a devastated stretch of land.

Seeing this, the hearts of the five Diamond Grade Card Masters controlling their cards in the distance leaped into their throats.

To be honest, it was their first time witnessing a battle between Master Grade beings from such close range.

Everything that had just happened had undoubtedly left them deeply shocked.

Based on the strength Lu Su had displayed, he did not resemble a Card Master who had only just advanced to Master Grade.

Unfortunately, they did not know that this still was not Lu Su’s full strength.

After all, Aizen had not even entered the fifth stage, much less the sixth, while Madara Uchiha still held onto the Outer Path: Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique without using it.