Luke Ling shouted loudly, his massive fist above his arm creaking as he clenched it. Both hands pulled back, and suddenly, he roared in fury.
All of us turned to look in that direction.
"Don't go over there! Old Nine, Miss Lin, pull Miss Simons back!"
Hugh Thompson shouted. Around Luke Ling, I saw a layer of black, particle-like substance gathering rapidly toward his body.
Mia Lin's whip accurately wrapped around Samantha Simons. At that moment, the Blue-Faced Men closed in. With a thunderous sound, streams of fire suddenly erupted around the whip, spinning outward and shooting in all directions.
Then Mia Lin yanked the whip, pulling Samantha Simons back.
"That's enough, Ray Lin, let go."
Hugh Thompson shouted again. Ray Lin opened his eyes, raising his hand. I noticed blood streaming from all seven orifices on Ray Lin's face. With a crack, the green box Ray Lin used to restrain Luke Ling shattered, and he immediately stood up.
"Everyone, get back!"
Ray Lin cried out in alarm, then immediately flew up into the air.
"You all seem to take things for granted. If I wanted, I could finish you off right now."
In an instant, Luke Ling was upon us. Behind his back, a vortex as dark as a black hole appeared, unleashing a tremendous force that lifted all of us off the ground.
"Chaos... to the extreme..."
"Heavenly Path, open..."
Suddenly, Ray Lin stepped in front of Luke Ling, brandishing Ten Directions Annihilation. A blinding green light erupted, enveloping Luke Ling. Then, with a deafening roar, my head rang, and hot blood spurted from my nose and mouth.
All of us were floating, our bodies completely out of control, drawn by an overwhelming force.
"Water Severed, Flow Soft..."
Just then, Old Nine shouted, sweeping his left hand. A wide, pale blue ribbon of water appeared, surging toward the green light that enveloped Luke Ling.
With a bang, Ray Lin and Old Nine were hurled back. A shaft of black light pierced through the green glow, and for a moment, the world seemed to turn pitch black. It was Luke Ling, laughing madly, his arms crossed, muscles bulging on his shoulders, as if time itself had frozen.
My consciousness dulled. What had just happened? We were still floating in midair, and all I could see was Luke Ling slowly raising his fist, aiming it at us.