You Can’t Do Anything

Hearing Marcus’s words, Jin Ping felt a sweetness rise in his throat, and a line of blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.

It was not from anger. Even with Fallen Cult members bound by contracts taking most of the damage for the old man, he still had to pay a considerable price.

After all, if it had not affected him personally, Jin Ping would never have chosen to strike at Marcus from the shadows in the first place.

As his aura gradually weakened, an extremely unstable Space Rift suddenly formed above the sea.

Such a massive disturbance naturally drew the attention of Bai Yueming and Ji Weirui.

"Jin Ping."

Without hesitation, Ji Weirui summoned Kunlun Hills.

"They’re trying to bring down a third Secret Realm."

Looking at the rift in the distance, spatial fragments drifting out in every direction, Bai Yueming’s expression turned grim.

Even without counting the newly appearing Secret Realm, they already had five Master Grade opponents to deal with.

If Fang Wenlong and Lu Su had not gone to Goryeo to eliminate that unknown Master Grade Demon, it would still have been four against five.

In that case, relying on Great Ming in battle, they might not have won, but at least they would not have lost.

But the truth was that only Bai Yueming and Ji Weirui remained in Great Ming.

Yet no matter how difficult it was, they had to fight.

"Little Ji, attack that rift directly. We must stop the third Secret Realm from descending."

Bai Yueming spoke in a low voice to the woman beside him.

Of course, even without him saying so, Ji Weirui had been planning to do exactly that.

Whoosh—!

A thick beam tore through the air and shot straight toward the Space Rift, which had begun to stabilize.

Unfortunately, just as the blazing beam was about to strike the rift, a pitch-black figure stepped in front of it.

It was Marcus.

Facing Ji Weirui’s attack, he did not move at all, allowing the beam to wash over his body.

At that moment, the Black man’s dark skin glinted with a metallic sheen. The scorching beam could only leave a few charred marks before being reflected onto the sea.

The seawater evaporated in an instant, and white steam carrying intense heat immediately spread across the ocean.

"We can’t let you ruin our plans so easily."

As he spoke, Marcus casually tore off a patch of charred flesh from his body, tossed it into his mouth, and chewed it. A chilling smile appeared on his face.

At that point, Bai Yueming and Ji Weirui also noticed that something was wrong with Jin Ping’s aura.

"So there really is a price."

Though they did not know why Jin Ping, who was always scheming, had been willing to pay the price himself, the two could not help but feel relieved.

No matter what, the other side was effectively down half a Master Grade combatant. It could barely be considered good news.

But before long, their hearts began sinking uncontrollably into the abyss.

In that short time, the newly formed Space Rift had already mostly stabilized and was beginning to transform into a Secret Realm Entrance.

There was no doubt that this was abnormal.

However, the people from the City within a City present knew the reason behind it.

Jin Ping had already paid a price, so how could he allow the Secret Realm to form at such a leisurely pace?

Just as they thought everything had been settled for the day, they suddenly noticed the rapidly rising temperature and seawater boiling like a cauldron.

"Watch out, it’s Ye Zhou!"

Jin Ping immediately shouted, his voice turning shrill with fear.

He did not need to remind Marcus and the others. They had already realized who was coming.

Unfortunately, it was too late.

The sun fell from the sky.

Endless radiance bloomed over the sea.

At that moment, everyone present felt an aura that scorched them from the depths of their souls.

Meanwhile, the Great Ming Card Masters in Shanghai City, who had been resisting the invading Demons, stared blankly as the enemies before them rapidly dehydrated and turned into desiccated corpses.

"Hall of Fame Master Ye…"

Even during the previous campaign to destroy the Imperial Court, they had never witnessed such a scene.

In mere seconds, every Demon in Shanghai City had perished.

The Great Ming Card Masters instinctively walked toward the coast, only to see crystallized land before them.

That was right. Land.

The sea was gone.

Even at the limit of a Diamond Grade Card Master’s vision, there was no trace of the ocean to be seen.

Burning Heaven and Boiling Sea was no more than this.

Drip, drip.

Torrential rain suddenly poured down.

No one knew how much seawater had evaporated, but within minutes it had formed a rainstorm system capable of affecting nearly half of Blue Star.

Under the attack of a Hall of Fame Card Master, a terrifying celestial phenomenon capable of changing an entire planet’s climate had appeared in this world with ease.

That was why Hall of Fame Card Masters from every nation avoided fighting on Blue Star whenever possible.

After all, with their power, the life on this planet could not endure much devastation.

As two of Great Ming’s high-ranking figures, Bai Yueming and Ji Weirui were naturally among the few who had witnessed a Hall of Fame Card Master fighting at full strength.

The Hall of Fame Grade Secret Realm in the Shu Region, which had already been suppressed, was a living example.

Bai Yueming remembered that the Secret Realm had not been much smaller than Blue Star, yet in the end, all that remained was a vast expanse of white land and a sky constantly shedding white ash.

If Ye Zhou were willing to spend more than a decade, he could completely burn a planet into a glass marble.

Compared to that, the scene before them could only mean that Great Ming’s Hall of Fame Card Master had still been holding back.

Of course, there was another possibility.

"Little Ye, how much longer can you hold on?"

Looking at Ye Zhou beside him, whose face was so deathly pale that he barely looked human, Bai Yueming bluntly asked the most crucial question.

In this situation, asking whether he was all right would have been meaningless.

Since Ye Zhou had made his move, he had intended to kill every enemy present.

Hearing Bai Yueming’s voice, Ye Zhou laboriously raised his eyelids and said weakly, "One minute?"

"Two minutes?"

He did not know how much longer he could live.

He only regretted that he seemingly would not make it to the end of the journey.

But someone always had to pave the road in this world.

"Sorry, Master Bai. Looks like I’ll have to go on ahead."

Seeing Ye Zhou, who was practically on the brink of death, Bai Yueming was momentarily lost in thought.

Unlike Ji Weirui, Ye Zhou had practically grown up under the old man’s watch.

He still remembered the high spirits of the child before him when he had broken through to the Hall of Fame Grade.

But who could have imagined that, in order to curb the Association’s influence, the Imperial Court would deliberately bring down a Hall of Fame Grade Secret Realm in the Shu Region? It had forced Ye Zhou, who had only just created a Hall of Fame Grade Card, to go alone and suppress it.

Over the years, almost all his time had been spent confronting that Hall of Fame Grade Demon.

Then, forcing himself to kill that Demon some days ago had left him with irreversible injuries.

Coupled with the internal turmoil and external threats of recent times, Ye Zhou’s life had entered its final countdown. His attack just now had merely hastened it a little.

"Little Ye." Thinking of this, Bai Yueming could not help pursing his dry lips. "Leave the rest to us."

Hearing that, Ye Zhou forced a faint smile, then closed his eyes and softly sighed. "That’s good."

"Now…"

"Let me rest for a little while."

He burned away, turning into white ash.

Bai Yueming and Ji Weirui silently looked at the Great Ming pillar before them, now stripped of all brilliance, unable to speak for a time.

Just then, a voice full of relief suddenly rang out from the seabed, where some seawater had begun to gather again. "I-I survived?!"

It was Jin Ping.

He had survived Ye Zhou’s attack, though he clearly had not come through it well.

There was not a single patch of intact flesh left on the Hook-nosed Elder’s body. Golden flames flared across him from time to time, reducing the newly growing flesh buds to ash once more.

But no matter what, he was alive.

Not only him. The Skin Peeler and Flesh King had also survived.

Instead, Marcus, who had plotted against Jin Ping, and the other Master Grade Demon had lost their lives under Dongjun’s attack.

It was laughable. Though the Black man had successfully schemed against Jin Ping, he still could not escape death.

Looking at the two humans and one Demon, all in terrible condition, Bai Yueming took a deep breath and softly said, "It’s our turn, Little Ji."

"Don’t let Little Ye’s painstaking effort go to waste."

Ji Weirui solemnly nodded at those words.

Yet the instant Jin Ping saw Bai Yueming and Ji Weirui’s cards, he caught an extremely crucial detail.

An incomparably ugly smile appeared on his skull-like face, his crimson gums sending chills down one’s spine. "So that’s how it is."

"Ye Zhou…"

"Is already dead?"

"Am I right?"

Not even the torrential rain could stop that demon-like whisper from reaching the ears of the Great Ming Card Masters far away.

Hearing those words, everyone’s faces showed bewilderment mixed with disbelief.

"Hall of Fame Master Ye is dead?"

"No way. He’s lying, right?"

"I don’t believe it!"

Fear spread through everyone’s hearts like a plague.

But when Bai Yueming and Ji Weirui still failed to react after so long, most people realized that it was probably true.

And that was precisely Jin Ping’s goal.

"Hahahahaha!"

Seeing this, Jin Ping laughed without restraint. This was a sight he had only ever seen in his dreams.

In his eyes, no one could stop him from achieving his goal today.

At that moment, Bai Yueming’s voice drifted over. "Jin Ping, with the three of you in your current condition, do you really think you can stop Little Ji and me?"

At those words, hope reignited in the hearts of the Great Ming Card Masters in the distance.

That was right. Though they were outnumbered, the three enemies on the other side had already suffered devastating injuries from Hall of Fame Master Ye’s attack.

It was still too early to tell who would win.

Just as everyone thought so, Jin Ping sneered and said mockingly, "Bai Yueming."

"We’re not just three people."

As soon as he spoke, an utterly unfamiliar Master Grade aura suddenly appeared on the battlefield.

The newly arrived Master Grade being surveyed the scene, then appeared beside Flesh King. "Flesh, where’s Ulrich?"

"Dead."

The unfamiliar Master Grade being paused, then turned to look at the enormous mountain range floating in the sky in the distance. "I see."

Looking at the scene before him, he had roughly guessed what had happened.

And with his appearance, the scales of victory once again began to tip toward the City within a City.

Bai Yueming and Ji Weirui had also recognized his identity by then. He was the Master Grade Demon from the newly descended Secret Realm.

Deathly silence began to spread across the battlefield. Neither side made the first move.

But in the end, Bai Yueming and Ji Weirui could not hold back any longer.

It was obvious that merely bringing down a Master Grade Secret Realm could not possibly have been Jin Ping and the others’ ultimate goal.

Fortunately, though it was two against four, the two of them could still barely fight the enemy to a standstill with Ji Weirui’s Kunlun Hills.

But a stalemate was not enough.

Because Bai Yueming saw one of Jin Ping’s cards carrying a contract as it rushed into the newly appeared Master Grade Secret Realm. Clearly, the Hook-nosed Elder intended to form a contract with the Secret Realm.

Just as he had done earlier in Shanghai City.

"Everyone, attack the newly appeared Secret Realm at all costs!"

Without the slightest hesitation, Bai Yueming gave the order to the Great Ming Card Masters behind him.

But attacking was often far more difficult than defending, especially against a place like a Secret Realm, which was easy to defend and hard to attack.

With the Demons inside the Secret Realm assisting them, Jin Ping’s group only needed to allocate a small part of their strength to hold back Great Ming’s offensive.

Seeing this, Bai Yueming immediately took out a communication device, preparing to mobilize most of Great Ming’s forces to Shanghai City for support.

Just then, an unexpected figure suddenly appeared within Kunlun Hills.

It was Fang Wenlong.

Bai Yueming and Ji Weirui were immediately taken aback by his arrival. "Master Fang, why are you back?"

"Where’s Xiao Luo?"

Facing their questions, Fang Wenlong took a breath to settle his disordered aura, then explained, "That stupid fox is still over in Goryeo. Xiao Luo and I both felt that something was wrong, so we decided one of us should return to Great Ming to provide support."

"Xiao Luo said he could hold out alone, so I came back first."

At that, he paused and looked at Ye Zhou, who no longer showed any sign of life. In a low voice, he said, "Little Ye died for the country."

"…Yes."

Fortunately, Fang Wenlong quickly gathered himself. He knew this was not the time for sorrow, so he merely asked in a grave tone, "What do you need me to do now?"

"I need you to lead people into that newly appeared Secret Realm. You must kill Jin Ping’s card."

The moment Bai Yueming finished speaking, Fang Wenlong transformed into a streak of light and flew toward the battlefield.

Jin Ping and the others also noticed the refined middle-aged man who had suddenly appeared on the battlefield. "Fang Wenlong?!"

Jin Ping was extremely shocked by his appearance.

But soon, a malicious smile spread across his face. "Where’s Lu Su?"

"Did you abandon him?"

"Or…"

Jin Ping did not believe Lu Su and Fang Wenlong could have dealt with Fox Jiu and Zero so quickly. Since Fang Wenlong had appeared here, Lu Su was undoubtedly holding the rear in Goryeo.

"One against two? You really trust him."

The Hook-nosed Elder could not help but sneer. Though it seemed he would not be able to personally execute that traitor, this outcome was not too bad either.

In the face of Jin Ping’s mockery, Fang Wenlong merely remained silent as he led the Great Ming Card Masters in repeatedly assaulting the newly appeared Master Grade Secret Realm.

But after he appeared, the Flesh King, Flesh, took the initiative to confront him.

Although this Master Grade Demon was already seriously wounded, it would still take considerable effort to finish him off completely.

As time passed second by second, Great Ming seemed to be falling into an abyss from which there was no return.

Perhaps feeling that he was drawing ever closer to his ultimate goal, Jin Ping’s smile grew increasingly unrestrained. "More than a decade of planning will finally succeed today."

"Bai Yueming, Ji Weirui, Fang Wenlong, and Ye Zhou, who is already dead."

"I will spend every day from now on mourning you."

"And that period…"

"Will be forever."

Upon hearing those words, despair rose within the hearts of the Great Ming Card Masters on the battlefield. Though they still did not know what would happen next, anyone who was not an idiot could realize that today would likely be Great Ming’s end.

Bzzzz—!

At that moment, three thick beams of light shot straight into the sky from the three Secret Realms.

After that, space began to shatter piece by piece, and enormous cracks like wounds appeared in the sky.

A gigantic blood-red fissure stretched from east to west. It was so immense that even the ordinary Great Ming civilians who had begun retreating to the rear could clearly see its true shape.

The two Master Grade Demons could not help but sigh in relief at the sight, muttering inwardly, Finally.

As long as they held on a little longer, they would be able to help their superior descend. By then, the destruction of this world would no longer be far away.

As for Jin Ping, he was already wholly intoxicated by the terrifying, apocalyptic sight before him.

Just when even Bai Yueming and the other two felt that Great Ming was beyond saving, a massive character for "Stasis," formed from pitch-black ink stains, suddenly appeared beneath the fissure. Immediately afterward, time in the sky seemed to freeze, and all movement ceased.

The sudden development left everyone rooted to the spot.

"What is that?"

Confusion rose in their hearts. At that moment, whether Card Masters or Demons, everyone was wondering who had intervened in this battle.

Only Jin Ping suddenly turned to look into the distance.

He sensed the traitor’s aura.

It was Lu Su.

Jin Ping’s movement also drew the attention of every Master Grade being present.

Following his gaze, Bai Yueming saw Lu Su standing there, his expression incomparably grim as he stared at Jin Ping and the others.

It was the first time he had ever seen his youngest disciple wearing such an expression.

Seeing the youth arrive, Jin Ping’s face darkened at first, but then he revealed a smile dripping with mockery. "Lu Su."

"I really didn’t expect you to escape from Fox Jiu and the others."

At that, he paused. Not seeing that foolish fox behind Lu Su, he immediately said with some admiration, "Or have you already killed Fox Jiu and Zero?"

"With your strength, you’ve indeed done well enough."

"But unfortunately…"

"You came one step too late. If you had been a little faster, perhaps Ye Zhou would not have had to die."

As he spoke, Jin Ping revealed an utterly vicious smile and tried to find a trace of him breaking down on Lu Su’s face.

But unfortunately, all he saw was Lu Su’s expression growing colder and colder.

The Hook-nosed Elder clicked his tongue in boredom, then glanced at the Blackbeard Great Monk beside the youth. "This new card of yours truly surprised me."

"But you don’t think this is enough to stop me, do you?"

As his words fell, the enormous "Stasis" character in the sky slowly dissipated, while strands of incomparably terrifying aura gradually leaked from the fissure.

"If this is all you can do…"

"You can accomplish nothing."

"Lu Su."