Die, Replay, Repeat

"Fang Moli, now! We’ll hold him off!" 

Li Xiaoru’s voice rang out in fury as he charged at Joker with a fierce army behind him. His eyes were blazing with determination.

Luo Qingxin and Xiong Tianguang followed without hesitation, their faces hardened with resolve. They sprinted alongside Li Xiaoru, not a word exchanged, focused solely on the task at hand.

"Out of my way!" Joker roared, his voice filled with rage. He could see Fang Moli and Fang Xiu drawing closer, their hands nearly touching.

Panic gripped him.

"Thunderous Hell!"

BOOM! 

Dark clouds churned overhead, thunder boomed, and blood-red lightning poured from the sky in a violent storm, as if the world itself was ending.

Luo Qingxin, Li Xiaoru, and Xiong Tianguang found themselves in the center of the storm, eyes wide with shock. But not a single one of them stepped back.

Summoning every ounce of their power, the three captains unleashed their full strength to hold off the lightning storm. But even together, they managed to withstand it for only a second.

In the blink of an eye, they were overwhelmed, crashing to the ground, unconscious.

Fang Moli’s eyes flared with anger, his face contorted in rage as he saw his comrades fall. His bloodshot eyes locked onto Fang Xiu, and instead of attacking, he used every last bit of his strength to make a final dash toward him.

Fang Xiu, now fully consumed by black flames, looked almost divine. His silver hair swirled wildly in the wind, and his robes fluttered violently around him. From a distance, he seemed like a god descending, about to unleash heavenly fire upon the earth.

But Joker was closing in fast.

Fang Moli made his move.

"Sword Infinity!"

A wave of tens of thousands of swords materialized, streaking toward Joker in a blinding storm of steel.

Crimson lightning clashed with the incoming swords, shattering them one after another. 

Despite the relentless barrage of blades, Joker pushed forward, enduring the pain as he hacked his way through.

Meanwhile, Fang Xiu and Fang Moli were mere inches apart, their hands just about to meet.

"Not a chance!" Joker bellowed, fury echoing in his voice. A brilliant flash of light exploded from his hands, and the Thunder Sword materialized.

In the next instant, the sword expanded, growing impossibly large, as Joker swung it down with lethal force.

SLASH!

Fang Xiu, still mid-air, was split cleanly in half. His body began to drift apart, severed at the waist, and the once-roaring black flames around him began to fade, flickering as they slowly died.

Time seemed to freeze.

"No!" 

Fang Moli’s voice tore through the air, filled with anguish as he watched in horror. His eyes were wild with disbelief. 

Fang Xiu had been cut down right before his eyes, and with him, their last hope for victory was snuffed out.

Not far away, Luo Qingxin and the others lay battered on the ground. Their faces mirrored the despair they felt deep inside. The hopelessness in their eyes was clear as if the last bit of strength had left them, their bodies heavy and worn.

Joker, seeing his strike land, felt a wicked grin creep across his face. His lips curled in triumph, convinced he had finally won.

But then, something unexpected happened. A faint whisper slipped from Fang Xiu’s lips, barely audible.

"Pain... absorption..."

And then the unthinkable.

Fang Xiu’s body, which had been cleanly severed, began to mend itself. His upper and lower halves, which had started drifting apart, were pulled back together by an unseen force, healing completely in a matter of seconds.

BOOM!

A surge of black fire erupted from Fang Xiu’s body, shooting up into the sky once again.

Fang Xiu... had come back to life!

"What?" Joker stood frozen, disbelief flooding his mind. He was unable to comprehend what had just happened.

Fang Moli, standing just a few feet away, could only gape, his mouth hanging open in shock.

Even Luo Qingxin and the others, who had been teetering on the edge of despair, now felt a flicker of hope return to their eyes.

Fang Xiu, still cloaked in black flames, extended his hand toward Fang Moli and placed it firmly on top of his head. 

Everyone watched, stunned, as his calm, emotionless voice echoed across the battlefield:

"In the name of the Foreseer, the fifth tier... achieved!"

A violent explosion of black flames erupted, engulfing Fang Moli completely. 

The spectacle unfolded like a grand performance, with dramatic effects meant to sell the illusion in the most theatrical way possible.

As this unfolded, Xiao Chuxia, who had been lying on the ground pretending to be dead, heard the secret signal loud and clear. 

Without hesitation, she activated her ability.

"You are now a fifth-tier psychic!"

"You are now a fifth-tier psychic!"

Fang Moli’s eyes widened in disbelief as a sudden surge of power flooded his body. He felt his strength skyrocket beyond anything he had ever imagined. His gaze shot to Fang Xiu, who stood tall, masked in black flames.

Fang Xiu’s mismatched eyes—one black, one red—stared calmly at Fang Moli, as if peering deep into the cosmos. His steady gaze was unwavering, filled with purpose.

A powerful, swirling energy erupted from Fang Moli, sending waves of energy rippling across the battlefield.

Joker’s face twisted in fury as he took in the scene. The terrifying energy that radiated from Fang Moli left no doubt—he was rapidly advancing to the fifth tier. 

Joker no longer questioned the validity of Fang Xiu’s method. His mind raced with only one desperate thought: 'Stop Fang Moli before it’s too late!'

With a flash of light, Joker transformed into a bolt of lightning and shot forward. He charged toward Fang Xiu and Fang Moli, ready to put an end to their ascension.

But Fang Xiu was prepared for this exact moment. He had planned for this, weaving his schemes and faking countless scenes to get here. There was no way he would let Joker stop them now.

Though Fang Xiu didn’t have the power to block Joker’s charge, someone else did.

His eyes flickered, and he whispered, almost tenderly, "Come forth, my 'wife'."

WHOOSH!

A graceful, ethereal figure materialized in the air. Her skin was pale, her face soft and serene, framed by a flowing white dress. She was none other than his "wife."

She glided silently toward Joker, her ghostly feet barely touching the air as she floated.

"Out of my way!" Joker bellowed, fury ripping through his voice as he swung his Thunder Sword at her. 

The blade crackled with electricity as it sliced straight through the air. It cut cleanly through "wife's" forehead, tracing down to her chest as though to split her in half.

But instead of resistance, the blade met only air. "Wife" remained unscathed, completely untouched by Joker’s attack.

"An illusion?!"

Joker froze for a moment, his mind struggling to grasp what had just happened. "Is she just a distraction?"

He prepared to charge through her, dismissing her as a mere trick. But before he could move, a sudden, icy chill brushed against his neck.

"Wife’s" delicate hand had sliced through the air, and a thin red line appeared across Joker’s throat.

Alarmed, Joker instinctively leaped back, putting distance between himself and the ghostly figure.

This was "the first time" Joker had encountered "wife" and experienced her chilling, otherworldly attack. 

Despite his strong Mindflare, her strike had slipped right through, rattling him in ways he hadn’t expected. Her attack, though not lethal, left him visibly shaken.

While her abilities were eerie and unpredictable, it quickly became clear to Joker that her strikes were more psychological than physically dangerous.

But in the seconds that Joker hesitated, "wife" had already done her job. The precious moments she delayed him were all that was needed.

BOOM!

A massive surge of power exploded from Fang Moli, his body radiating with overwhelming energy that engulfed the battlefield like a tidal wave.

A brilliant white light poured from his body, growing brighter and brighter until it enveloped him completely.

It was the Mindflare, signaling the arrival of the fifth tier.

…

Translator’s note: Wait… I thought Fang Xiu was trying to ascend to the fifth tier himself? Now he’s helping Fang Moli instead?