Chapter 38: Blackwing Jax

Shrugging, Kong Zhe said, “So? I looked into your eyes—why am I perfectly fine?”

“My eyes… this is… resonance…” The girl above suddenly clutched her right eye in pain.

After a moment, as the pain seemed to ease, she gradually calmed, still gasping for breath as she looked down at Kong Zhe in shock, exclaiming, “You—so it’s you! The young lord of the Demon Clan, the dark dragon knight, Blackwing Jax!”

“Huh?” This time, it was Kong Zhe’s turn to be stunned. Seeing her earnest demeanor, he instinctively pointed at himself. “Demon Clan? Me?”

He was just a regular human—how had he become a demon?

The girl pressed her right eye, her expression grave. “So that’s it. It seems you haven’t recovered your memories from your previous life yet. Well, I’ll explain it to you. Yes, you are the reincarnation of the Demon Clan’s young lord. In the distant past, we met before. Though your appearance has changed completely, my golden eyes could never be mistaken. Upon seeing you, they told me of this fate. You are my lifelong nemesis—Blackwing Jax. In our previous life, we both fell in battle against the Great Lord of Darkness. I never expected to meet you here again today…”

“…”

Kong Zhe was at a loss for words. He didn’t believe her at first, but the girl spoke with such conviction and seriousness that he began to question if he was truly human.

Her voice continued.

“As my eternal rival, you fought me over seventeen hundred times in our past life. Your body developed resistance to my golden eyes, so that’s why you’re unharmed when you look at them. About that setting—”

“Wait, did you just say ‘setting’?” Kong Zhe interrupted.

“No, you misheard,” the girl quickly retorted, attempting to gloss over her slip as if nothing had happened. “...Though you no longer have your former body…”

But Kong Zhe wasn’t so easily fooled. Her mistake had sobered him, and he couldn’t be bothered to listen to her nonsense any longer.

Still, he couldn’t help but marvel at her performance—her presence and eloquence were so strong that even someone as steadfast as himself nearly believed her. She’d make a remarkable missionary, he thought.

Shaking his head, Kong Zhe replied coolly, “Are you done? Delusional brat.”

“What—delusional…” The girl was momentarily stumped, then sneered, “Hahaha! Insolent fool! After all I’ve said, you still don’t believe me? Looks like I’ll have to teach you a lesson myself!”

Kong Zhe merely curled his lip in response.

The girl rose from her chair, stepped forward, and sprang lightly onto the second-floor railing. With a leap, she jumped straight down, her rabbit companion following closely behind.

Kong Zhe watched in surprise—the second floor here was no small drop, nearly five or six meters high. Even for an Awakened, that would be dangerous.

The girl descended rapidly, but as she neared the ground, her speed slowed as if something was cushioning her. She landed safely.

“Hmm, a slow-fall spell? Or flight?” Kong Zhe stroked his chin, pondering the possibilities.

Ding. Escort mission candidate detected. Select this person?

“Hm?”

Kong Zhe’s eyes widened—the system prompt targeted the girl in the distance!

He remembered clearly: the escort mission required an ordinary person, but this girl was clearly an Awakened. How could she qualify?

Was the system malfunctioning? No, impossible. In his three years of experience, he’d never heard of the system making a mistake. Kong Zhe shook his head in confusion—this girl must have something special about her.

She radiated blue luminescence, illuminating her surroundings.

“Tuan Tuan!” Xiao Lei cried out in delight upon seeing her close friend nearby and ran toward her.

“No, don’t come any closer. My vassal, I am currently in combat mode—I can’t distinguish friend from foe. Stay away while I can still restrain myself,” the girl said, kneeling on one knee and clutching her right eye in pain.

“Combat mode?” Xiao Lei tilted her head, troubled. “But Kong Zhe is here to rescue us!”

“Hm? Impossible! He’s a real demon, don’t believe a word he says! Or have you fallen under his demonic mind magic? Don’t worry, I’ll break the spell once I defeat him,” the girl replied, holding her right eye.

“No, please, Kong Zhe is my savior! Don’t fight, okay?” Xiao Lei pleaded.

“That’s impossible. He and I are thousand-year rivals—when we meet, combat is inevitable. We fought 1,763 battles in our past lives. My record: 881 wins, 882 losses—I lost by one! Now is the perfect chance to defeat him before he recovers his memories.”

The girl turned to Kong Zhe, a blue flame erupting around her as she grinned wickedly. “Are you ready, my nemesis? I’m about to attack—not to kill, just to break a few bones.”

Kong Zhe had been unconcerned, but the moment the blue flames appeared, he stared at her, incredulous. Her aura surged—from Level 1 to Level 2, then 3, 5… finally stopping around Level 10. He glanced at her status—still LV1. But the magic density around her was unmistakably at Level 10.

“Xiao Lei, get back!” Kong Zhe watched her warily. He’d thought her talk was just adolescent delusion, but now things seemed far more serious—was she really some kind of vampire queen reincarnated?

Whatever the case, if she truly was Level 10, even his best efforts might not win.

He drew his saber, bracing for battle.

Xiao Lei watched the tense standoff, worry etched across her face. How had things come to this? These were her closest friends, yet neither would let her approach. Trapped between them, she could only stand anxiously, unable to move forward or back.

“Oh? Finally taking things seriously? But it’s too late to surrender now! Hahaha! Come, Abyssal Blue Hellfire, gather the flames of darkness and incinerate the enemy—Inferno Flame Cannon!”

As she spoke, the eerie blue flames split, gathering in her outstretched right hand. With a throwing motion, she launched a blue fireball at Kong Zhe.

It was coming.

Kong Zhe held his breath—this was an attack from a Level 10 Awakened; even a glancing hit could be catastrophic.

---

Wait?

Kong Zhe quickly sensed something was off—the fireball wasn’t nearly as fast as he’d expected, instead drifting lazily through the air. He felt no danger from it.

Still, he didn’t dare let his guard down. Maybe the slow speed meant it was even more powerful.

He sidestepped easily, dodging the fireball, which continued its slow journey and finally burst against the wall.

That’s right—it simply burst, like a soap bubble, with none of the explosive force he expected.

“Uh…”

Kong Zhe was baffled—was the attack powerful or not? Maybe it only worked on people?

He didn’t have time to ponder, as the girl began hurling fireballs one after another. The blue spheres filled the air, raining down like a storm of bullets. Kong Zhe was forced to dodge constantly, keeping an eye on their trajectories. Yet he soon noticed: every fireball that struck the distant wall burst harmlessly, causing no damage whatsoever.

It seemed these things had no power at all.

Intrigued, Kong Zhe found an opening and slid to another side where the fireballs were sparse; only one was heading his way.

He decided not to dodge—it was time to test their true strength.

A surge of blue magic formed an armor around his body, draining his reserves. He didn’t care about wasting energy; this was his strongest defense. If the fireball was truly powerful, the magic armor would absorb most of the impact.

With a soft pop, the fireball exploded against his armor, and then—

Nothing.

Kong Zhe looked at his health—still full. Not a drop lost, nor any negative effects.

It was all for show!

He felt exasperated—he’d been leaping around like a monkey, only to be tricked by this little girl!

As she continued to hurl fireballs, Kong Zhe simply folded his arms and stood his ground, watching her coldly.

Every fireball burst on contact, having no effect on him whatsoever.