Chapter 4: Mount Changyang

Li Mingxing quickly adapted to the role reversal between the man and the woman. He immediately devised a plan and shouted, "Hold that woman off for me! That guy has shifted into a Genie bloodline; he has no offensive power, and he’s far less troublesome than a Titan. I can take them out in a heartbeat."

Hearing Li Mingxing call out their bloodlines, the Lightning Man was startled, but he soon chuckled, realizing that Li Mingxing had not fully grasped the true nature of their arrangement.

In truth, the woman was the one with the true Titan bloodline, but because of her love for magic, she had temporarily swapped bloodlines with the man. This allowed the man to become a Titan capable of wielding lightning, while she used the Genie’s lineage to control magic.

Faced with Li Mingxing’s strategy, they had no choice but to revert to their original bloodlines. Although they hadn't tapped into their innate powers for years, such fundamental traits are never forgotten.

Once they reverted, the Lightning Man gathered electricity in his palms and struck at Li Mingxing. Meanwhile, the blue-skinned woman, back in her Titan form, began a brutal melee assault on Zheng and Aisha.

Seeing this, Li Mingxing shouted, "Aisha, advance! Zheng, prepare a magical attack!" Zheng was stunned; she had never learned any magic, and she was confused by the command.

However, Aisha caught on. She tapped Zheng, gestured toward the sky, and charged directly at the woman.

Seeing that Aisha understood his intent, a faint smile appeared on Li Mingxing’s face. His silver rapier struck like lightning, targeting the Lightning Man’s hands, heedless of whether the electricity would travel through the blade to him.

As Li Mingxing lunged, Zheng began to run away. At first, the woman assumed Zheng was merely distancing herself to cast a spell, as that was standard procedure for mage-type units. Rumors had already established that one of Li Mingxing’s trio was capable of wide-area magic, so the blue-skinned woman paid her little mind.

But when Zheng reached a distance of a hundred meters, the woman realized something was wrong—this was well beyond the range of a typical mage.

When she caught the look of surprise on Aisha’s face, she understood. She assumed Zheng had been terrified and fled. Now, it was two-on-two; it wouldn't be long before she and her companion killed the two sixth-tier subordinates, and hunting down the runaway would be trivial.

Just as she thought this, she felt as if someone were staring at her. Before she could react, Aisha nimbly circled behind her, landing strike after strike.

Dismissing these as mere physical attacks, the woman paid them no heed, continuing to scan the area for the source of her unease.

Li Mingxing seemed to notice the situation as well; his rapier ceased its assault on the Lightning Man and turned toward the woman.

The Lightning Man chuckled, assuming Li Mingxing intended to team up to take out one target first, and proceeded to lure him away.

When Li Mingxing and the Lightning Man were about fifteen paces away from the woman, a piercing whistle suddenly echoed from afar. A streak of black light surged forward from hundreds of meters away in an instant.

The blue-skinned woman had no time to react before the black light struck. She felt a sharp pain in her throat; a black spear had pierced through it. Behind the spear, she saw Zheng, drenched in sweat. It was clear that without a dragon mount, executing such a high-altitude charge had drained her completely.

As the light of life faded from the woman’s eyes, Zheng, ignoring the danger of their surroundings, collapsed heavily to the ground.

Aisha, knowing Zheng had no strength left to fight, glanced at her and then rushed to assist Li Mingxing. With no other enemies nearby, she had no concerns for Zheng’s safety.

With Aisha’s help, Li Mingxing found the tide turning. The Lightning Man, distraught over the loss of his partner, faltered. The battle ended quickly. After being shocked three times, Li Mingxing drove his rapier into the Lightning Man’s chest, and Aisha shattered his head with a massive stone.

The three of them breathed a sigh of relief. After a brief rest, they collected the heads of the pair and their weapons, heading toward the territory of the Headless God of War.

Since their battle had taken place quite close to the territory, the headless beings had witnessed the entire fight. They held a profound respect for three sixth-tier subordinates who had used wit and courage to slay two seventh-tier enemies.

As they entered the territory carrying the heads, a headless knight on a black warhorse stopped them. "Cast those heads aside. Your auras prove you are warriors; you have no need for such trophies. That is merely the behavior of the weak."

Li Mingxing obeyed without hesitation and asked the knight, "Are you also a subordinate of the Headless God of War? Why do I sense the aura of death upon you?"

"That is because I am a Dullahan by nature," the knight replied with a laugh. "After coming to this world, I was hunted and sought refuge under the Headless God of War. Seeing that I, too, lacked a head, he took me in. Unfortunately, I was unable to master his technique. Tell me, are you here for that?"

"Of course not," Li Mingxing smiled. "I am quite fond of my head."

The Dullahan looked surprised. "Oh? You aren't here for the Decapitation Technique? You should know that once mastered, your strength would quickly reach the seventh tier. You wouldn't have to fear combinations like the one you just faced."

"No, thank you. If I were alone, perhaps, but I have two women with me. I hear that technique requires one to use their nipples as eyes and their navel as a mouth after the head is removed. I’m afraid I cannot agree to that."

The Dullahan was stunned. He drew a long blade from his neck and pointed it at Li Mingxing. "Who are you? How do you know the specifics of the Advanced Decapitation Technique? Only two seventh-tier headless warriors know of that."

"Please, tell Lord Xingtian that someone has come to visit the one who defied the heavens," Li Mingxing said calmly, ignoring the blade pointed at him.

Before the Dullahan could reply, a resonant voice boomed from the distance: "It seems someone from my homeland has arrived. How many thousands of years has it been? Let them in."

The Dullahan sheathed his blade and turned his horse. "Follow me."

Li Mingxing finally exhaled. He knew he would meet the Headless God of War; as for persuading him, that would depend on his own silver tongue.

After following the knight for ten minutes, they arrived before a mountain that rose like a blade. It stood at least a thousand meters high, its slopes smooth as jade and angled at nearly ninety degrees.

Carved into the mountainside with extravagant flair were two ancient seal-script characters. After a long moment, Li Mingxing recognized them as "Changyang."

The Dullahan retreated. Before the mountain stood two headless warriors. Their strength appeared to be around the high seventh tier, yet despite what the Dullahan had said, they still wore heavy plate armor. As Li Mingxing puzzled over this, one of them stepped forward. "Please proceed. The Master is waiting for you above."

Li Mingxing looked up at the towering Mount Changyang. There were no paths in sight. How was he supposed to climb it?

Seeing Li Mingxing and his companions standing blankly at the base, the two headless warriors laughed. Li Mingxing shook his head helplessly; it seemed those who attained great power often viewed themselves as superior, always setting tests for those who sought them out. Though dissatisfied, he knew he had to climb to see Xingtian.

"Wait here," Li Mingxing said to Zheng and Aisha. "I will be back shortly."

With that, he lunged at the mountain, beginning his ascent. Zheng and Aisha were startled and moved to follow, but were blocked by the two headless warriors, leaving them to watch helplessly as Li Mingxing climbed step by step.