The Three-headed Thunder Lion was very satisfied with its attack.

Although it wasn’t its strongest attack, its calculations showed that an attack of this intensity was the best way to slow the array’s contraction and buy the most time, given its current stamina.

While preparing its second attack, it spared a glance for Mo Qi, only to find the human boy had no intention of making a move. He was just staring at it with a grin. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

"Don’t want you to say I’m bullying you, so how about I spot you three moves?" Mo Qi flashed his signature, good-natured grin.

The Thunder Lion was stunned for a moment, but then, instead of anger, it felt a surge of joy.

’This human brat dares to underestimate the Five-Finger Cage Heaven-locking Array!’

’Spot me three moves? Heh!’

If, at the beginning, the Thunder Lion had only been fifty percent confident it could kill Mo Qi and survive, now it was one hundred percent certain!

When the Five-Finger Cage Heaven-locking Array was not under attack, its contraction speed would accelerate.

Don’t be fooled by the offer of just three moves. In the time it took to execute them, the Five-Finger Cage Heaven-locking Array’s contraction would accelerate to a point that not even thirty subsequent attacks could make up for.

Therefore, by the time the Thunder Lion had finished its three attacks, the part of the array constricting it had only shrunk by about three yards. However, the thirty-yard space Mo Qi occupied had already dwindled to less than nine.

Meanwhile, the Thunder Lion still had a full twenty-seven yards!

What it didn’t know was that Mo Qi hadn’t acted not because he underestimated the Five-Finger Cage Heaven-locking Array, but because he was completely ignoring it. There was simply no need for him to act.

The Chaos Scripture had already begun its analysis: ’Five-Finger Cage Heaven-locking Array. Analyzing... Analysis complete... Acquiring central control of the array... Acquisition successful... Rewriting array... Rewrite successful...’

"Human, you’re dead!" the Thunder Lion roared with delight, watching Mo Qi as it relentlessly attacked the massive array hand.

Mo Qi’s smile didn’t waver. "Is that so? You might not believe this, but your array knows me. It won’t hurt me."

’The array knows you?!’

The Three-headed Thunder Lion looked at him as if he were an idiot. "You must be dreaming!"

"Don’t believe me?" Mo Qi rubbed his nose. "Don’t blink. Now it’s time to witness a miracle."

SNAP!

Mo Qi snapped his fingers softly and uttered a single, quiet command: "Stop!"

The massive array hand, which had shrunk to just three yards and was about to completely envelop Mo Qi, froze.

That’s right. It just stopped, abruptly and completely.

Startled, the Three-headed Thunder Lion stumbled. Its attack weakened and went off-target, and the array hand immediately began to contract faster.

Without a moment to think, the Three-headed Thunder Lion quickly stabilized itself, restoring the power and speed of its attacks.

Only then did the array hand’s contraction slow down again.

"You... This... It’s impossible!"

Staring at the part of the array around Mo Qi, which had now halted, the Three-headed Thunder Lion said it was impossible, but in reality, it was too shocked to know what to say.

It wasn’t the only one. Bai Fa and the Wolf Demon were also completely baffled.

"Uncle, you didn’t make a mistake when you tampered with it, did you?" Bai Fa asked the Wolf Demon, his face full of suspicion.

The Wolf Demon’s face darkened as he vehemently denied it. "Of course I didn’t make a mistake! It’s that human brat’s doing!"

"Uncle, are you saying he broke the Five-Finger Cage Heaven-locking Array?"

The Wolf Demon shook his head. "Arrays aren’t something you can learn in just a few years. At this kid’s age, he’d be lucky just to have grasped the basics. Besides, even if he had the ability for Array Breaking, he didn’t have the time. There must be another reason!"

"Another reason?" Bai Fa frowned. "Could he have cheated and used some external power?"

"I can’t rule that out," the Wolf Demon said. "But we have no proof."

Bai Fa was taken aback. "Since when do we need proof to fight a human? Uncle, why don’t you just intervene directly?"

The Wolf Demon gave a bitter smile. "If I could intervene, don’t you think I would have done so by now?"

As he spoke, he pointed to the sky. "There’s an incredibly powerful expert who won’t allow me to act rashly."

Bai Fa’s expression changed dramatically. He asked in astonishment, "There’s an expert here even more powerful than you?"

The Wolf Demon nodded. "There’s no harm in telling you. It’s the Nether Race—a clan that once dominated the entire continent, their might unchallenged."

"The Nether Race?!" Bai Fa was so shocked he almost cried out.

"But aren’t they said to have vanished many years ago?"

"Vanished doesn’t mean extinct."

"Then what do we do now?"

"We’ll just have to wait and see. If things get really bad, you’ll have to be the one to step in."

...

Over at the Hall of Envoys, the Immortals exchanged glances, their expressions strange, as they secretly passed messages among themselves.

Mo Qi’s performance was simply too dazzling, too miraculous. Even the two old women, Silver Hair and Jin Hua, were whispering to each other, occasionally pointing at him.

An inexplicable tension began to build among the assembled Immortals.

’Sigh... Master Mo, oh, Master Mo, you’ve really gone too far this time. I can’t cover for you anymore,’ the Feng Family’s old ancestor lamented inwardly.

The Liu Family Immortal was in a similar state. His gaze swept back and forth between Liu Ruyan and Mo Qi before finally landing on Liu Ruyan, a flicker of determination in his eyes.

...

"Human, we agreed to a contest of Attack Power, but you haven’t made a single move! You used some special trick to interfere with the array. This is a dishonorable victory!" the Three-headed Thunder Lion said, panting heavily.

It had been attacking nonstop for a quarter of an hour, and its stamina was completely depleted. The space within the array’s five fingers had shrunk to less than six yards across.

It knew that if this continued, there was only one fate awaiting it—to be crushed into a pulp by the massive array hand.

In stark contrast, Mo Qi was lying between the array’s fingers with his legs crossed, yawning contentedly.

"A dishonorable victory?" Mo Qi laughed. "You’re a great demon of the Void Realm competing in Attack Power against a mere human from the Vajra Realm. You’ve got some nerve to say that."

The Three-headed Thunder Lion froze, at a loss for words.

"Besides, how do you know I haven’t made a move? Can’t you tell that my aura is so powerful it’s constantly battering the array, forcing it to stop?"

The Three-headed Thunder Lion: "..."

’To be honest, I really can’t see it...’

’You look like you’re about to fall asleep!’

’Aura?!’

’My ass, aura!’

’Do you think I’m blind?’

Enraged by Mo Qi’s words, the Three-headed Thunder Lion’s stamina finally hit rock bottom.

It collapsed, sitting right in the center of the array. Its body shrank and transformed back into its human form.

Its once-flowing blue hair was now dull and lifeless, and the currents of electricity that had wrapped around it were gone.

Its face was deathly pale as it stared at Mo Qi, its eyes filled with unwillingness.

With no more attacks to slow it down, the array’s contraction suddenly accelerated, and it quickly enveloped the Thunder Lion.

CRUNCH! CREAK!

The sounds of twisting bones and collapsing flesh rang out.

"Wait!" Mo Qi suddenly thought of something, and his expression turned grim.

’If I let the array keep going, won’t I just be left with a pile of mangled flesh? How the hell am I supposed to eat Lion’s Head meatballs then?!’

The Chaos Scripture had only analyzed the part of the massive array hand on Mo Qi’s side, not the part on the Three-headed Thunder Lion’s.

It was too late to analyze the other side now. In ten seconds at most, the Three-headed Thunder Lion would be crushed into paste.

’Since there’s no time to analyze it, I’ll just have to break the array myself!’ Mo Qi thought, gritting his teeth.