The Glorious Evolution

Just like Feng Ling and Dominic, he also believed that it shouldn’t be possible for Blake to drop dead on the spot... but still, he had a feeling that her attack wasn’t 100% a bluff since he knew her bloodline wasn’t normal... an Inkrith was also an Ancient Bloodline, which meant her powers should never be judged by common logic.

’Nothing... at least, not with my current energy level.’

Jasmine anwsered with a finger near her mouth, seemingly telling him to stay hush about it... Levi chuckled and nodded in understanding. But, he swiftly asked the experts in his mind, wanting to know if she was telling the truth.

’None of us has any interactions with the Inkrith or their powers... we already told you, they existed before our time.’ Ash’Kral responded, ’Still, I do believe her powers can kill someone purely with their name... to link to reality meant linking to the universe and everything in and in between. But, unless she is a Radiant Daywalker or higher, it shouldn’t be possible.’

’Makes sense.’ Levi nodded.

After keeping a close tab on Jasmine for a while now, Levi had been getting more and more intrigued by her ancient bloodline and their powers... since he was told that Shadowlife seeds struggled immensely in awakening dormant Ancient Bloodlines, this drove him to believe that either Jasmine or her nightcrawler had their bloodline already awakened.

In other words, one of them had a high purity percentage, which was all the more shocking when considering that the Ancient Inkrith Bloodline was far older than the Radiant or Oblivar bloodlines.

’She is truly a riddle... and one day, I will be the one to solve it.’

Levi murmured inwardly, his gaze lingering on Jasmine for a while... his sickness of solving mysteries and reclaiming knowledge was always there to guide him... to trouble or something better? Who could tell?

For now, their team needed only five more wins to earn their slot in the exploration.

”Jojo, you’re next,” Levi said after noticing that the arena was already cleaned up by the staff.

The girls wished her good luck like normal people, while Arthur couldn’t help but say, ”Break a leg.”

”I will come back and break yours.” Jojo gave him a death glare as she walked away.

”Heh... come back first,” Arthur said, noticing that her opponent was none other than Tyrese.

From his stride alone, it was clear he had no intention of fooling around. Jasmine had already done a number on their minds, and as captain of the USA team... the second-strongest region in the world... he carried a duty to uphold. Or so everyone believed.

”Girl... as much as I like your style, and wouldn’t mind grabbing a drink after, I am not going to show mercy,” Tyrese said, his smile widening a bit at Jojo’s cute appearance.

Although she was bald, he didn’t seem to mind it in the slightest... in fact, he liked her even more because of it.

”Oooh, someone is checking your girl.” Nurah giggled, seeing Arthur’s expression turn somber all of a sudden.

Before he could respond to her teasing, Jojo bowed her head in Tyrese’s direction and said, ”One annoying gorilla is enough for me, Namaste.”

Then, she summoned her twelve prayer beads and had them hover around her, awaiting the start of the battle.

”Gorilla? You mean ponytail?” Tyrese laughed, ”Fine by me... I will break his legs next and show you that he is nothing before me. Let’s see, then, if you will still respect him as your man.”

”He wishes to be my man, and so as you.” Jojo narrowed her eyes coldly, not pleased with being seen as a reward for men.

”Who wants to be a man with a foul-mouthed egg!”

Arthur’s voice echoed from the distance, making Jojo’s eyelids twitch... but her heart couldn’t help but flutter for a little.

Jojo hated nothing more than men, who saw women as objects for their sexual desires... as much as she bickered with Arthur, he always stayed true to himself and said how he really felt about her.

No ulterior motives, nothing... just an honest hostility between them... She would rather hang out with men like him than Tyrese, any time of day.

But for now, she was cursed, and the bastard was too far from her to retaliate, leaving her with a burning desire to unleash her rage at Tyrese.

”Fight!”

No further ado, Jojo stood on top of a prayer bead and took off into the sky, putting a great distance from Tyrese... she had seen videos of his battles, and knew just how powerful he was up close.

He was a true Enhancement Specialist Daywalker.

”How unfair, I can’t fly.”

Tyrese pouted while watching Jojo kick the illuminating prayer beads in his direction... although the beads were flying rapidly, there was enough distance for him to react in time and dodge.

Yet, he didn’t bother doing so.

He pulled the black gourd from the side of his waist... then, he shook it once and pulled the cork out. Tyrese brought the gourd close to his lips and drank its whole contents in one chug... Then, he burped while wiping his lips.

Ting! Ting! Ting!...

The prayer beads landed on him during the entire process... yet he didn’t move, yelp, or even twitch! They bounced off him like they had hit a steel wall!

’As expected, his physical and spiritual defenses are in a different league.’ Jojo frowned as she recalled her spirit-infused beads.

’Jojo is going to suffer against him... in fact, many will.’ Levi held his chin thoughtfully, recalling the days of their preparations for these battles.

He watched Tyrese rip a Tier 4 nightcrawler in half with his bare hands while roaring into the sky... showering with its blood like a tribal barbarian.

Yet, his strongest perk was his enhanced spiritual subconsciousness and physical body... although he couldn’t use spiritual attacks, it didn’t mean that he couldn’t enhance his soul’s defenses.

Many Enhancement Specialist Daywalkers took this route to ensure that their defenses were top-notch... but only a few were capable of balancing out the enhancements while still keeping their strength as their main focus.

Tyrese was one of the few Daywalkers talented enough to pull it off... the secret? His insane genetics, which were complemented by his contracted nightcrawler and peculiar Aspect.

”Cutie... we can do this all day long, and you will be the one exhausted in the end.” Tyrese yawned while sitting on the floor with one hand resting on his knee and the other holding the black gourd, taking a few sips once in a while.

Ting! Ting!

He allowed Jojo’s prayer beads to smack his head and body around like a training dummy.

Yet, he felt nothing... his defenses unbreakable.

’I have to go all out, and still pray that his spiritual defenses will break apart.’ Jojo frowned while summoning back her prayer beads.

Jojo understood that her basic attacks and such would do nothing but waste her energy slowly without resulting in any positive outcome.

Tyrese’s subconscious barrier was believed to be as tough as a Solarbound entry-level Daywalker after drinking from the Gourd... This was too much for Jojo, who was still treading on the Pathfinder rank.

But if she went all out from the start, she might put some serious damage, weakening him for her next teammate.

Making her decision, Jojo lifted her feet off the prayer bead and used her will to keep herself in the air... She sat cross-legged, spine straight, shoulders relaxed.

Her hands rested lightly on her knees, palms facing upward, with her thumb and index finger touching to form a circle... the classic gesture of calm focus and inner balance.

”Karmic Pendulum Arts: Oblivion Prayer...” she whispered, her voice barely audible, yet somehow everyone heard her.

Tyrese, being the closest and the target of her ultimate ability, heard her voice akin to a church bell ringing in his mind... His instincts tingled in danger, making him knit his eyebrows solemnly.

’Looks like she has more in her than what she showed in their raid.’

His solemn eyes stayed fixed on the spinning prayer beads as she whispered a Sutra under her breath... the louder her voice grew, the faster the beads whirled, and the brighter their glow became.

Golden script, invisible to the naked eye before, had now taken form from the prayer beads’ illumination.

With a graceful sweep of her hand, the words detached from the air and began orbiting her like a halo of judgment... Each character was written in IIthorien runic letters, the spinning prayer beads manifested them, akin to how anime was created in the old days.

’I should shield up just in case.’

Tyrese brought the gourd close to his lips and murmured under his breath, ”Bacchanalian Arts: Toast to the Soul.”

The gourd shook a little bit, and it was filled to the brim with a new type of vintage. Tyrese removed the cork and drank it whole in one chug.

”Give it your best...”

Tyrese laughed as he smacked the gourd on the ground in front of him, seemingly getting slightly tipsy.

”Sutra of the Silent End... finish him,” She intoned.