The moment the metal door was fully opened, the oppressive feeling in the core area struck everyone's chests like a heavy hammer.
The dragon scales of Long Wu were the first to glow with a scorching golden light—he could smell the corrosive odor permeating the air, the remnants of a high-level energy weapon.
Twelve mechanical guards rose from the shadows in a circular formation, their diamond-shaped pupils glowing with a ghostly blue light, their cannons simultaneously aimed at the squad.
The lead guard's shoulder armor was engraved with runes identical to those on the hilt of the Night Owl Sword, and a mechanical voice, resembling rusty gears, announced: "Intruder, execute the elimination procedure."
"Clear?" Long Wu grinned, revealing his gleaming white dragon teeth, and a dragon roar that shook the ceiling erupted from his chest.
His right arm instantly transformed into a dragon, and his fist, covered in dark gold scales, smashed the nearest guard. "Clean up your father first!" Dragon flames spewed from between his teeth, and crimson-gold tongues of fire swept over the group of guards, melting three machines into molten iron in the high temperature.
But the remaining guards moved backward in unison, turning their cannons towards Chu Yao's direction—
"Protect the technical position!" Lin Yi shouted, and the power of spacetime condensed into a dark blue light blade at his fingertips.
His figure blurred for a moment, and when he reappeared, he was already in front of Chu Yao, his light blade accurately deflecting two energy bullets.
Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed that Chu Yao's terminal screen was filled with gibberish. She bit her lower lip, her fingers flying across the virtual keyboard in a blur: "The encryption level is three levels higher than expected... These runes are of the same origin as Night Owl's sword patterns!"
Night Owl remained standing at the deepest part of the core area, his gray cloak billowing in the turbulent energy currents. He didn't even draw his sword, but simply looked down at the "performance".
Only after Long Wu destroyed two more guards did he slowly clap his hands: "Not bad beast transformation ability, but unfortunately..." He flicked his finger, and spiderweb-like purple patterns suddenly appeared on the ground. As soon as Long Wu's dragon claw stepped on it, it was as if it was stuck—that was spatial confinement!
"Old Dragon!" Xuanmingzi threw out three talismans, and the talisman fire exploded under Long Wu's feet, but it only loosened the restraints for a moment.
Long Wu's neck veins bulged, and dark red blood seeped from the gaps in his dragon scales. He roared, the earth shaking: "What the hell is this bastard doing!"
"He's wearing down our fighting strength." Lin Yi's pupils shimmered like a galaxy, and his unique insight as a Mythical class allowed him to see through Night Owl's plan—the guards were deliberately stalling, the energy fluctuations in the core area were rising at a visible speed, and the key pendant on Night Owl's waist would resonate with the phantom key in the air every three seconds.
He touched the burning badge on his chest, the power of time and space forming a vortex within him. "Chu Yao, how much longer?"
"Three minutes at most!" Cold sweat beaded on Chu Yao's forehead. Suddenly, a sharp alarm sounded from the terminal: "The defense system has begun to counterattack!"
"The repair bees have been hacked!" Before she could finish speaking, the ten repair bees suddenly turned around, their stingers flashing a poisonous, eerie green.
Lin Yi grabbed it with his backhand, and time stood still in his palm. The mechanical bee's movements were as slow as a movie in slow motion.
He flicked his finger, sending out seven spacetime blades that precisely pierced the core of each mechanical bee: "Hold on, you haven't cracked the system, you've cracked the Night Owl's authority."
The owl's smile finally cracked.
He finally gripped the sword hilt, and the runes on the bluish-gray scabbard lit up, accompanied by the sharp whistling of metal scraping against metal: "Interesting...you can actually see through this is my domain." As he drew his sword, the space of the entire core area began to distort, and the group of guards suddenly disappeared, replaced by twelve phantoms made of energy—the "echoes" of the guards that Long Wu had previously destroyed, rushing back with the same attack trajectory.
Long Wu's dragon claws finally broke free of their restraints. He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and swept his dragon tail across, shattering two echoes: "Echoes?"
"I'm not even afraid of the real thing, why would I be afraid of an illusion?" Before he could finish speaking, the muzzle of the third cannon, still ringing out, was suddenly pressed against his throat—it wasn't an illusion, but a physical manifestation of energy!
The dragon scales were scorched, and he groaned as he retreated. The dragon flames uncontrollably spewed towards the ceiling, burning a hole in it.
"Long Wu is injured!" Chu Yao's fingers paused, and a red light flashed on the terminal screen. "Cracking progress 67%... Give me one more minute!"
"One minute?" Night Owl's sword tip flicked up a wisp of dragon flame, which he casually tossed towards Chu Yao. "You think I'd give it to you?"
At the critical moment, a dark figure fell through the hole in the ceiling.
He was wrapped in a pure black cloak, his face covered by a metal mask, revealing only a pair of eyes that gleamed coldly.
He raised his hand and flung out three diamond-shaped blades, precisely shattering the dragon flames. He then spun around and kicked away two lingering echoes: "Master of Time and Space, do you need support?"
Lin Yi's pupils contracted slightly—he had heard this voice before in a fragment of time three hundred years ago!
But there was no time to think about it. He shouted, "Clear the area!" The shadowy figure nodded. The arm that emerged from under the cloak was covered with silver scales, and each punch could shatter a lingering sound.
His attack style was different from Long Wu's; it was more like a sophisticated war machine. His punches were always aimed at the guard's power joints, and the twelve echoes couldn't even last half a minute under his control.
Night Owl's expression finally changed.
He swung his sword, unleashing a crescent-shaped energy slash. The shadowy figure dodged to the side, his cloak torn open, revealing a tattoo on his arm—half a key!
Lin Yi's breath hitched; the tattoo's pattern perfectly matched the key's phantom image in the air.
"An outsider." For the first time, a chill ran through Night Owl's voice. "You shouldn't have gotten involved in this mess."
"Whether it's right or wrong is not for you to say." A crack appeared in the shadowy figure's mask, revealing tightly pressed thin lips. "I've come to fulfill the promise made three hundred years ago."
These words struck Lin Yi like a thunderbolt.
He finally remembered the figure he had seen in the spacetime rift—the figure had been tossing half a key into the river of time, saying, "For the ruler of spacetime three hundred years from now."
"So you were..."
"Take care of what's in front of us first." The shadowy figure interrupted him, tossing Lin Yi a silver medal. "Wear this; it will shield you from Night Owl's domain interference."
The moment Lin Yi caught the medal, the Time-Space Badge on his chest suddenly emitted a buzzing sound.
The moment the two energies resonated, the spatial distortion in the core area suddenly weakened.
Chu Yao's terminal beeped with a notification: "Cracking progress 92%!"
Defense system privileges are being transferred... 5, 4, 3...
"Impossible!" Night Owl swung his sword, unleashing three energy waves that struck Lin Yi, the shadowy figure, and Long Wu respectively.
The dark figure spun around to block the attack aimed at Lin Yi, while Long Wu used his dragon claws to take the second attack head-on, breaking off several scales. Lin Yi seized the opportunity, his spatial and temporal power condensing into star trails beneath his feet, and he rushed towards Night Owl like a meteor.
"Time-Space Flash!"
As his Time Blade pressed against Night Owl's throat, Chu Yao's cheers rang out at the same time: "Successfully cracked!"
The core defense system is paralyzed!
Night Owl suddenly laughed, his hand resting on the keychain at his waist. The same patterns as the energy wires in the core area appeared on the keychain's surface: "You think you can win by cracking the system?" He flicked his wrist, and the keychain merged into his body. His aura began to surge wildly. "Look behind you—"
The moment Lin Yi turned around, his pupils contracted sharply.
At the core of the defense system that Chu Yao had cracked, the seven phantom keys were merging, and the center of the merging... was Long Wu!
Purple patterns had somehow appeared on Long Wu's dragon scales, and his dragon flames had turned into an eerie, ghostly blue, moving uncontrollably toward the core.
"Old Dragon!" Lin Yi tried to rush over, but was blocked by Night Owl's energy barrier.
The shadowy figure's fist slammed into the barrier, creating only a ripple: "This is a side effect of the key's resonance; he's been chosen as the vessel!"
The owl's voice was laced with madness: "The Seven Keys of Creation need a vessel, and your dragon will... possess the purest energy constitution!"
Once the seven keys are fully integrated, it will be your death day—
His words came to an abrupt end.
Lin Yi looked at the spot on Night Owl's waist where the key used to hang, where faint spatial fluctuations remained.
He suddenly remembered that the tattoo on the shadowy figure's arm was half a key, while the owl's pendant was the other half...
"I see." A cold smile appeared on Lin Yi's lips, and the light of the Time-Space Badge surged. "You thought you could control the fusion by hiding the key itself?"
But you forgot... the ruler of time and space can see the truth of all timelines.
A more dazzling power of spacetime gathered at his fingertips than before, and amidst the horrified gaze of the Night Owl, he whispered, "The key pendant on your waist is fake."
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