The Nanjiang high command watched in shock at the scene transmitted by the satellite feed.

In the distant, dark sky, a streak of red light caught their attention. It was a giant Firebird, neck held high as it soared through the heavens, advancing at incredible speed.

It was like a creature straight out of mythology!

"My God! What in the world is that thing?"

"A phoenix? The Vermilion Bird? A Divine Beast?"

"It's so fast! It's already broken the sound barrier by a long shot! Is it friend or foe?"

...

Seeing this, the crowd erupted in an uproar, their hearts leaping into their throats.

They had no way of knowing if this suddenly appearing, abnormal creature was friend or foe.

"Wait! Look closely! That's not a living creature, it's... a fighter jet?!"

As the giant Firebird drew closer, everyone gradually saw the truth on the satellite feed.

It wasn't a mythical creature at all, but a fighter jet enveloped in a blazing red light!

"Reinforcements! It's reinforcements from the Shangjing headquarters! My God, Shangjing is so far from Nanjiang, how did they get here so fast?!"

"This is great! The reinforcements are here! We're not going to lose!"

...

Cheers erupted throughout the hall. The staff of the Secret Inspection Bureau looked incredibly excited.

"The reinforcements have arrived? That's wonderful news."

The mayor of Nanjiang City couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. He turned to the on-site director and asked, "Can you tell me now? Who exactly is this reinforcement from headquarters?"

"Of course," the on-site director said with a smile. "This reinforcement is the honorary vice president of the Martial Arts Association and Principal of Donghua Martial Arts University, Mr. Zhou Yuanjue!"

"Principal Zhou... so it's him?!"

Hearing this name, the Nanjiang City mayor's expression brightened. Recently, that name had become legendary throughout Donghua.

***

***

「On the Galaxy Pedestrian Street battlefield.」

The entire street was a wreck. The concrete ground was completely shattered, pulverized by the terrifying power of the clash, and the surrounding buildings were heavily damaged.

Zhao Beidou and Liehong Mountain were back in their previous back-to-back stance. Neither of them was in good shape.

Zhao Beidou was covered in blood. Blood was also seeping constantly from Liehong Mountain's nose and mouth, but the moment it appeared, it was vaporized by the terrifying heat radiating from his body, forming a bloody mist that swirled around him.

Although Liehong Mountain seemed to be in much better shape than Zhao Beidou on the surface, his condition was actually far worse.

On his resolute face, the muscles at the corners of his mouth twitched intermittently, as if he were trying to suppress a strange, unnerving smile.

Just now, he had spent most of his time in direct combat with Seven Desires and Wei He. As a true First Generation, Seven Desires' abilities were bizarre beyond imagination.

At the start of the fight, Liehong Mountain seemed able to hold his own, but as the battle wore on, he could no longer fully resist Seven Desires' strange magnetic field.

Releasing his Heart Core meant that the core of Liehong Mountain's abilities was intimately linked to his heart. Seven Desires naturally noticed this during their exchange and focused most of the influence of his Seven Desires on the emotion of "joy."

There's a saying: "The heart governs joy, but too much joy damages the heart." The magnetic field fluctuations of joy had the greatest impact on the heart. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

This placed an immense burden on Liehong Mountain's cardiac function, making it difficult to suppress a certain emotion welling up within his body. If that emotion were to run rampant, it would mean his heart function had become disordered. The vast power centered on his heart would instantly spiral out of control, like a nuclear reactor meltdown. The consequences would be unthinkable.

Just a moment ago, Liehong Mountain had been forcefully repelled by Seven Desires. If Zhao Beidou hadn't noticed something was wrong and expanded his Guiyuan Martial Qi to its maximum extent—at the cost of overloading himself—to filter out most of the influence from Seven Desires' magnetic field, Liehong Mountain's current state would be unimaginable.

And this action was the root cause of Zhao Beidou being covered in his own blood.

"Can you still go on? That guy's ability seems to be a perfect counter for you. And your body..."

Zhao Beidou glanced at Liehong Mountain and saw that the translucent red glow on his skin had deepened. It was originally just on the surface, but now it seemed to have spread into his muscles.

This was the side effect of the Path of Extremes: enduring Magnetic Field Power with a transformed body. But if it was sustained for too long, this transformation would become irreversible.

"I can manage," Liehong Mountain said, taking a deep breath and forcibly suppressing the distorted emotion on his face. "But I'm afraid I won't be able to spare any attention. You'll have to help me hold back that guy who uses the black fire."

"How much longer until reinforcements arrive?!" Zhao Beidou asked.

"Soon," Liehong Mountain said faintly.

"You old bastard, I can't believe a single word you say!" Zhao Beidou cursed, his face grim.

"Aren't you two the only Saint Awakenings in the Southern region? The Saint Awakenings and Guardians in other regions can't make a move rashly. And if you were to dispatch someone from your headquarters, even with the most advanced aircraft, it would take nearly an hour to arrive. How much time has passed?"

"You won't live to see your reinforcements. The next round will be your last."

"Liehong Mountain, to die in a state of joy... it would be a fitting end for you!"

Seven Desires' hoarse voice was filled with savage malice.

VMMMM!!

Behind him, on the face representing joy over the black, faceless figure's heart, an intense, eerie smile appeared. Beneath his own black bodysuit, an extremely obvious, abnormal bulge also appeared over his heart as a vast magnetic field spread out.

"Old Lie, I can't hold on! Watch yourself!"

Under the pressure of this immense magnetic field, Zhao Beidou's Guiyuan Martial Qi could no longer maintain its expanded state and instantly contracted back around his body.

Liehong Mountain took a deep breath, preparing to resist this bizarre magnetic field with all his might.

SCREEECH!!

Just then, a piercing avian cry tore through the sky. Everyone on the scene froze and looked up.

They saw a massive Firebird diving down from high in the sky, approaching the ground at extreme speed.

'This familiar feeling... It's that guy?!'

Seven Desires' pupils contracted violently. His mind flashed back to some rather unpleasant memories from the battle at Songyang University.

"Reinforcements are here? This magnetic field... Zhou Yuanjue?" Zhao Beidou said with a frown. "Why is it Zhou Yuanjue? That kid... he's strong, but he's still a step below the level of power needed to influence a battle of this magnitude. I thought it would be a Director Level expert like Daoist Bailong, Li Zhaonan, or Chen Qingmu."

"The Chief Commissioner must have his reasons for sending him. In any case, the kid's arrival is timely. I just don't know what method he used to get here so much faster."

Liehong Mountain inwardly let out a slow breath of relief.

On the other side, Seven Desires stared at the massive Firebird diving rapidly from the sky and suddenly spoke to Wei He, his eyes narrowed. "Wei He, didn't you just ask me if there was a suitable physical body?"

"Oh?"

Hearing this, a trace of surprise appeared on Wei He's face. He didn't know what Seven Desires meant.

"I'll give you one of my subordinate bodies. I have only one condition: you can ignore the other two, but the one in the sky... he must be left here tonight."

Seven Desires' voice was overflowing with immense killing intent.