Chapter Seventy: Crimson Attire, Shattering Across the Void!

A crisp chime echoed through the air. The door of the café swung open. Lin Liuli, hands tucked into her pockets and silver heels clicking beneath her, stepped out into the street. Her expression was tinged with gravity—trouble was brewing.

Azure Dragon had unexpectedly allied with a Celestial Demon Dragon King, intending to make a move against Du Fang. Lin Liuli, having a clear sense of both their strengths, knew that within the Demon Organization, each Celestial Demon Dragon King was a force comparable to a City-level Dreamweaver. Their status in the organization was paramount. As for Azure Dragon, his power was formidable in its own right; within him slumbered a minor Divine Core, coupled with the will of a Fallen God. He himself was a high-ranking Dreamweaver, and strictly speaking, even without utilizing the Divine Core, Azure Dragon wielded strength on par with a quasi-City-level expert. With the addition of the Savage Bull, Plague Rat, and Blood Rabbit, even Tang Nai, president of the Jinling Dreamweavers’ Association, would have his hands full facing such a lineup. And that was not even counting Yellow Springs.

The Divine Core Organization, though not one of the three great Nightmare Factions, was by no means weak—if anything, their true capabilities were even more mysterious and unfathomable. This time, one could say that all three major organizations had set their sights on Du Fang. For him, escape seemed all but impossible.

Lin Liuli glanced up at the sky—a cerulean expanse with drifting wisps of white cloud. From the direction of the stadium, cheers wafted on the breeze to her ears. Yet beneath the joy and applause, there lurked an undercurrent of lethal intent. Outwardly, Azure Dragon claimed to be assisting her, but in truth, he had entirely usurped her role as leader of this mission. He was too forceful, too domineering. Or perhaps, the death of Lord Monkey had caused the organization to lose trust in her.

“So this is what they mean by… for the sake of world peace?” Lin Liuli murmured. Increasingly, she felt the organization’s ideals were twisted, perhaps even grotesque. Closing her eyes, she recalled Du Fang’s radiant smile and the gentle tone he used when speaking of Luoluo. Exhaling slowly, she whispered, “I must find a chance to warn him.”

…

Azure Dragon watched Lin Liuli’s slender figure disappear down the long street. He donned once more his fearsome dragon-head mask. Beside him, the Savage Bull, Plague Rat, and Blood Rabbit exchanged puzzled glances.

“We’re about to unleash a large-scale Dream Disaster over half the city… Shouldn’t we inform Vermilion Bird?” Blood Rabbit asked, her voice melodious, even a touch gentle.

“No,” Azure Dragon replied, standing straight. “Vermilion Bird’s mindset is problematic. She has begun to question the organization’s grand vision and is growing indecisive.”

“But Vermilion Bird is one of the four minor Divine Core holders…” Blood Rabbit hesitated, pressing on.

“So what? Divine Cores can be replaced.” Azure Dragon’s tone grew ever colder, his eyes flickering with a glacial, murderous light.

“I suspect… Vermilion Bird may even be entangled with this Du Fang. She… has betrayed the organization!” As he spoke, a crushing wave of Dreamforce erupted from him. The Savage Bull, Plague Rat, and Blood Rabbit staggered back beneath its weight, their eyes behind their masks filled with awe and fear.

“To cast a Dream Disaster over half of Jinling is no simple feat. I intend to use that forbidden Sequence Artifact—this is an operation of the utmost magnitude and cannot afford failure. If we lose, the cost will be too great. That’s why I need each of you to hold a key position.”

“The purpose of the Dream Disaster is not only to keep the Dreamweavers’ Association and President Tang Nai occupied, but also to pin down our target, to draw Du Fang into the heart of the disaster zone.”

“We will eliminate Du Fang in the shortest possible time. With the Celestial Demon Dragon King, Yellow Springs Ghostcatcher, and myself, Azure Dragon of the Divine Core—three City-level combatants—even if the Fallen God within Du Fang awakens, he is destined to fall into our hands!”

Azure Dragon’s eyes blazed with fanaticism. The autopsy of Lord Monkey had led him to deduce that the Fallen God within Du Fang’s body was unimaginably powerful—very likely one of the Seven Great Fallen Gods. If he could seize one of these seven, perhaps… he could ascend into the management of the Divine Core Organization, to become a true player outside the chessboard.

For this, he would stop at nothing.

…

Jinling City, Central Stadium.

Outside the cage, Dreamweavers tasked with security watched the prisoner intently, fingers clenched around their shock remote controls. At the slightest sign of trouble, they would press the button, restricting the nightmare creature’s actions.

Overhead, four-directional LCD screens began projecting the live feed of Du Fang stepping into the cage, facing the nightmare monster. The audience remembered him vividly—after all, during a previous Dream Disaster, a single wedding blessing from him had caused Lan Xiang, the prodigy of the Gold Team, to lose all control in a most humiliating fashion. Thus, everyone remembered this odd rookie Dreamweaver.

Suddenly, the crowd fell silent, holding their breath as they stared at the screens. Members of the Wildfire Squad watched with eager anticipation, waiting to witness their new teammate’s debut.

Within the cage, battle erupted as expected. Du Fang stood motionless, watching the savage middle-aged man before him. Wisps of Dreamforce flickered around the man, who leapt up in an instant, clinging to the cage ceiling like some vengeful spirit. His mouth gaped wide, tongue lolling out like a forked serpent, slowly snaking forth—a venomous lizard biding its time to strike.

Suddenly, the man scrambled directly above Du Fang, then pounced downward with the ferocity of a tiger. Du Fang, having called upon the aid of his Wife’s Hand, stood calmly, unmoved, sensing the Dreamforce thickening in the cage.

The Wife’s Hand, perched still as a spider on his shoulder, instantly scuttled down his back and embedded itself with force. Du Fang’s aura changed in a heartbeat.

“Wife! Red Dress!” he called softly.

Facing the nightmarish man hurtling down from above, Du Fang took a single step forward. His coat billowed without wind.

In the next instant, the black coat began to change from the hem, in a flash turning as red as molten iron—brilliant and searing, like a fire blooming in the night, like a divine flame cast down upon a desolate wilderness.

The nightmare, mid-pounce, was suddenly engulfed by a wave of blistering heat and a terrifying pressure that froze his very soul. In that moment, only one thought remained in his mind: Was this really a rookie Dreamweaver? Were all the new recruits this fierce?

Terror overwhelmed him, wiping the ferocity from his face. His limbs flailed wildly in the air, like a drowning dog scrambling for the shore.

“Wait—” He tried to shout, tried to call for a pause. But battle offered no such mercy.

There was no time.

As his body closed to within a meter of Du Fang, even the air seemed to warp, as if an invisible hand gripped his insides and wrenched them outward.

Then—

Bang!

The once-arrogant nightmare exploded on the spot, reduced to a spray of flesh and blood that splattered in all directions. The farthest fragments flew over a dozen meters, painting the cage in a wash of crimson.

It was a gruesome scene.

Throughout the stadium, every spectator stared, stunned and silent, at the display on the big screen—one could hear a pin drop.

Inside the cage, only Du Fang remained, face blank with confusion, looking about. Finally, his gaze settled on a dazed security officer outside the cage, whose face was flecked with blood and gore. Raising his arm, Du Fang opened his mouth and declared,

“Report!”

“Fraud… This is fraud.”

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