Chapter 65-The Manga Pariah's Guide to Self-Salvation

The messy blonde hair, like a high-hanging sun, tore through the gentle curtain of rain, leaping through the air towards the quietly seated black-haired girl.

Ye Zheng didn't dodge, allowing Sierra to descend from the sky and grab her by the neck, her red eyes burning as they bore into her.

The rain was still falling. The girl, whose neck was being choked, moved her fingers—good, as expected, there was no intent to attack Sierra, so her ability wouldn't be nullified.

"Hahaha, are you having fun? Are you happy watching me suffer like this!"

Sierra tightened her grip. Ye Zheng found it a bit difficult to breathe. She secretly covered her neck with a layer of water to buffer the force. After testing for a moment, she found her ability was still there. It seemed that mere defense wouldn't be nullified, though the line between offense and defense was always blurry.

Sierra looked at Ye Zheng's still calm face. Even with rain lashing her face and being choked viciously, this girl still had that disgusting, composed look.

So she let go of the girl's neck. Choking her to death like this was too easy. What would her years of suffering count for then?

Sierra's hand caressed the girl's smooth black hair. Such a silky luster could only be possessed by the elites.

I have the same blonde hair as Sykes, so why do I look so different from Sykes and this woman? Sierra thought, puzzled.

"Why? I was right there back then, why were you the one who was saved?"

Ye Zheng tilted her head and looked down at Sierra's hand playing with her hair. That extremely pale hand was noticeably rough, and her fingertips were even purplish—a symptom of anemia, or perhaps a more serious heart condition.

"Because Wen Jian needed someone to witness the most successful day of his life."

"At that time, I was well-dressed and looked young and innocent. I was convenient for him to pick up."

Ye Zheng stated calmly.

Sierra's eyes widened. "So that damn person's name was Wen Jian."

She seemed lost in memory, her red eyes a bit unfocused.

"Yes, I remember you were wearing a very beautiful purple dress that day. You looked plump and fair, clearly the daughter of a respectable family. And I was always dirty, skinny, and small, never changed... of course he would choose you."

"So that's how it was. No one would pick up a little beggar."

Sierra suddenly laughed, leaning close to Ye Zheng's ear. "Thank you for clearing up my confusion of so many years."

"Your name is Ye Zheng, right? It wasn't in vain that I remembered you for so long, so long..."

Sierra stared at the girl, whose face showed a hint of confusion, the smile on her lips growing colder and more mocking. She wouldn't tell her. She had known her long before that day.

It was rare to see such a delicate and lovely girl in the lower district. Once you saw her, you couldn't forget. The little girl had everything little Sierra wanted most: a privileged life, a gentle and respectable mother, the ability to shed two innocent tears for a little beggar of the same age on the street, and then have her mother take out some money as a reward.

"Look, even animals can listen to that little girl so obediently. You should also listen to your mother and eat fewer sweets—don't think I don't know you sneak them at your grandmother's house."

The little girl with smooth black hair hugged her mother's waist and acted cute, and her mother stopped scolding her, taking her hand and walking away.

And little Sierra could only watch blankly as the noble mother and daughter walked away, until her father grabbed her messy hair, a sharp pain on her scalp waking her from her daydream.

She didn't have a mother, only a father who gambled and drank all day. After discovering that his four-year-old daughter had the ability to control the minds of animals, he began to take her around to perform and make money for him.

This life continued until she was seven, searching for her drunken father to pay his liquor bill. She saw her tear-streaked father surrounded by a group of people and fierce knights.

Little Sierra hugged her piggy bank, not understanding what was happening.

Until her father, squeezed in the crying crowd, suddenly spotted her. His gaze towards his daughter had never been so eager, except for the day he discovered her ability.

"My daughter is over there! Can you swap her in? A wretch like me doesn't deserve to die for the nobles!"

Cold raindrops slid from the corner of Sierra's eye down her gaunt jaw. She suddenly grabbed Ye Zheng's collar, her voice nearly tearing. "You, Wen Jian, Sykes... noble or wretch, everyone should die!"

"I'm going to let this Demonic Domain swallow the entire Empire!"

The entire pale red forest seemed to sense Sierra's will. Even the tall tree trunks began to twist, and the roots buried deep underground broke through the soil, spreading in all directions like crawling red pythons, continuously devouring the normal forest.

Sykes, who had quieted down for a moment due to the rain, raised his hand again. He clenched his fist lightly, and the flat ground, as if hit by a huge impact, cracked open several meters wide in a cloud of dust, forcing the Cloud-Soaring Squad to the edge of the waiting forest. Pale red branches immediately wrapped around Roy.

And Bai Muqing, having lost her ability, was forced to follow Bai Mulin.

Ye Zheng took in all the commotion below the skull. She turned to look at the girl's crazed and desperate face. Suddenly, she grabbed the hand that was clutching her collar.

"If hatred can give you a little salvation from your pain and torment, then hate me."

"But—I don't like being hit."

Ye Zheng's grip on Sierra's hand tightened forcefully. She threw Sierra, who was holding her collar, to the side and immediately pinned her down.

The tables turned instantly. She looked down at Sierra, raised her fist, and quickly punched her, stunning Sierra, who tilted her head with wide red eyes.

Ye Zheng felt the soft impact from her fist. Abilities and weapons would be nullified upon attack, but thankfully, the human body wouldn't. Otherwise, it would be too ridiculous. She sighed softly.

Sierra quickly came to her senses, her red eyes darkening with extreme anger. Ever since she had awakened the ability of damage Nullification in this Demonic Domain, no person or monster had been able to harm her like this, not even the Exotic Plant under her feet that had once devoured hundreds of people!

Animal-like instincts drove her to immediately counterattack Ye Zheng. A flurry of undisciplined punches rained down on the saintess in her pristine white dress.

One, a saintess who appeared elegant and holy in everyone's eyes, and the other, a madwoman who threatened the entire Empire, wrestled on the cold white remains like two beasts who had shed all social constraints!

The towering branches held up the giant skull, and the flat ground below was equally devastated.

After losing her ability for the second time, Bai Muqing was calmer and more composed than the first time, even though her brother was leading the blind her around, desperately dodging the Exotic Plants' attacks.

She could feel that after the rain started, the attacks of the entire forest seemed to have slowed down, as if a soothed beast. But after a while, these things went crazy again as if stimulated by something.

And now, the offensive of these Exotic Plants had slowed down again. It was strange.

What was even stranger was that her ability flickered like an intermittent rain line, the energy within her body flaring and dimming. Bai Muqing looked up, feeling the raindrops carrying a faint power.

Suddenly, she clenched her fist. [Divine Domain] was back!

Based on her experience the first time she was hit, it shouldn't have returned so quickly. However, Sierra, who had temporarily suppressed her ability, seemed to have unstable power this time, and the Nullification effect on her ability quickly wore off.

Bai Muqing blinked her vacant eyes. She could now "see" her surroundings, even things far away and high up.

"Muqing, don't worry! Your brother is fine!"

Bai Mulin shouted, tearing apart one Exotic Plant branch after another with his bare hands. Suddenly, an extremely dangerous premonition welled up in his heart. He pulled Bai Muqing to dodge a huge impact from the side. A row of trees that had been behind them was completely destroyed.

Bai Mulin saw the tall golden figure and cursed, "Damn it! What is Crown Prince Sykes doing?"

Suddenly, his hand was released. Bai Muqing walked in front of him, her white eyes facing Sykes's direction. He was like an out-of-control monster, attacking everything in the forest indiscriminately.

"I'll deal with Sykes."

Bai Muqing closed her eyes.

"Huh? You'll fight Sykes?"

He was the Empire's SSS-rank powerhouse, not seen in five hundred years, and in a berserk state!

Just as Bai Mulin was about to shake his sister awake, he saw a red branch suddenly wrap around Sykes, who was about to attack Lucy. Sykes's golden eyes darkened, and the branch immediately shattered. However, what greeted him was an overwhelming wave of wildly growing branches that instantly sealed his movements!

"You guys go southeast. The true core of this Demonic Domain is there."

This location was where the energy of the entire Demonic Domain was most concentrated, so everyone naturally assumed the core was hidden here.

But most of the energy here belonged to Sykes and that strange giant skull, which meant the true core of the Demonic Domain had taken the opportunity to hide elsewhere!

Bai Mulin stared blankly at his sister's pale body, which was gradually becoming ethereal, as if it were about to merge with the heavens and earth.

"Divine Domain, descend."

The white-haired, white-eyed girl completely dissipated, and then holy specks of light fell with the rain, like a true miracle.

Watching his sister disappear, Bai Mulin did not feel panicked. He even felt that at this moment, Bai Muqing was everywhere, almost becoming the space of this world itself!

So he didn't step forward. Taking advantage of Sykes being trapped by Bai Muqing, he turned and pulled the Cloud-Soaring Squad, who were nearby, and sprinted towards the direction Bai Muqing had indicated, where the true core was.

This was the first time Bai Muqing had used her complete [Divine Domain], not to find people or cats, but to deal with the Empire's most proud Crown Prince.

She felt as if her soul had floated to the highest point, or had split into countless parts and merged into every blade of grass, every grain of sand. All of Sykes's movements were slowed down and magnified countless times, presented before her in minute detail, even the dilation and contraction of his pupils were crystal clear.

Of course, Bai Muqing also saw Ye Zheng. She had trapped Sierra on the skull, brought down the healing rain, freed her ability, and paved the way for everyone.

So she emptied her mind and completely unleashed her [Divine Domain].

The soil beneath the golden-haired prince's feet rolled as if it were about to collapse, the wild grass grew taller than the trees, and even the gentle rain instantly sharpened into killing blades.

Sykes, his mind in chaos, took a few steps forward, then suddenly felt his body lighten, and he was floating in mid-air.

This was her [Divine Domain]. Within the domain, she was the one and only god!

The strongest female ability user of the Empire's younger generation? She never wanted to be qualified with a condescending label like 'female ability user'!

If she couldn't even claim the title of the Empire's strongest, what right did she have to be Ye Zheng's rival? What right did she have to become the Agent of the God of Hope in Ye Zheng's place?

Sykes, having lost his gravity, reached out towards the opposite forest. A huge destructive force instantly destroyed a small half of the forest, and the recoil sent his body backward, allowing Sykes to successfully grab a branch, land on a trunk, and find his footing.

His unfocused golden eyes exuded an inhuman pressure. He raised a hand, and the wildly growing grass trying to pull him down instantly turned to ash!

Bai Muqing looked down coldly at the battlefield. She was fed up with the miserable state of the past few days. She would let everyone see, let Ye Zheng see, who was truly qualified to take the title of the Empire's strongest!

Sykes seemed to sense something and raised his cold golden eyes, locking onto the formless enemy. The tense hostility was on the verge of erupting.

Author's Note: Two high-talent ability users fought for a long time, but the ultimate strongest is actually a certain little girl who is still engaged in a fistfight...

← Previous Chapter Next Chapter →