After midnight

"Sorry, I made a meal for Jiu first, and then came over after he finished eating and assigned homework."

On the evening of the 12th, just after eight o'clock, Lin Xuanfeng arrived as scheduled. He said to Song Xinjun who opened the door to greet him.

"I just finished it too, why don't you bring Jiu with you? I've done a lot."

"Why bring a child?" Lin Xuanfeng said as he entered the room. There was a lot of beef, mutton, fish balls, and all kinds of green and white vegetables filling the entire table.

"Why, eating hot pot?"

"Yes, it's so cold outside. I also prepared some wine. But this wine is for me. You've just been discharged from the hospital, so you should drink less."

"If you want to drink, that's great. But you have to drink less, I have to go back later." Lin Xuanfeng sat down on the sofa happily, holding the handle of the spoon and fiddling with the hot pot base that had not yet boiled in the pot, not mentioning the fact that he had promised not to drink again.

"You're not staying at my place tonight?"

"What are you living in? It's not like we were kids anymore."

As they were talking, the water started to boil. Song Xinjun put the two plates of mutton in and then a plate of beef. Lin Xuanfeng stirred it casually and waited for it to boil.

"After I came back, I had a lot to learn and a lot of things happened. Recently, I finally had time to spend time with you alone."

"Yeah, I'm still getting used to it."

Song Xinjun shook his head. "To be honest, I'm not used to it. Although I've only been away for a few years, I was really not used to it when I first came back. It's only now that I'm feeling better. I didn't dare tell Uncle Fang about this."

"Really? Is life in the New World so good? I've only been there once, and that was when An Yan got into trouble."

"I can't say for sure." Song Xinjun put down the chopsticks that were fiddling with the meat slices and continued, "It's not hard to adapt. After all, I was already that old when I left, and I'm still very familiar with this world when I come back. And there haven't been too many changes here. Except..."

"Except you, you didn't expect that water abilities could be copied, right?" Lin Xuanfeng asked.

"Yes, I knew that when I came back, Xindu and Jiudu would be at odds, so I was well prepared and didn't dare to relax for a moment there, but I still didn't expect something like this to happen..."

"It's really causing panic among the people. The weather in Luo City is abnormal right now, so An Yan rushed over. But what about later? If there's snow in Sand City or waves in the North Sea, does An Yan have to go there? An Yan can't handle it in two places."

"But now we only have An Yan." Song Xinjun said.

Lin Xuanfeng fell silent. This was what Lin Xuanfeng was most worried about right now.

"How's Luocheng?" Song Xinjun changed the subject.

"I heard that it has been resolved. Shangguan Can wrote a letter to Uncle Fang. I think An Yan and the others will be back early tomorrow morning."

"That's great, the meat is ready, let's eat it quickly." Song Xinjun put a large piece of meat into Lin Xuanfeng's bowl and started eating. The two chatted while eating, and before they knew it, it was late at night. After drinking the last sip of wine, the clock hand had already pointed past eleven o'clock.

"Xuanfeng, it's so late, do you still want to go back?" Song Xinjun stood up and asked.

"Yes, Ajiu is at home. You can pack up and you don't have to see me off." After saying that, Lin Xuanfeng put on his coat and went out.

Standing outside the door, Lin Xuanfeng exhaled a breath of mist. Even in the middle of the night, Xindu was still shining. Song Xinjun lived in the house left to him by his father. The geographical location was very advantageous. As long as he raised his head slightly, he could see the shining Xindu Building and the dark and deep night sky over the sparse tree branches.

Lin Xuanfeng stood there and watched quietly for a while. When he put his hands in his pockets and was about to walk out from under the eaves, he noticed that a black shadow seemed to suddenly shrink back on the side of the house.

Someone! Who is it? Lin Xuanfeng looked at the colorful night and clenched his fists and walked over there. This person had been lying in ambush next to Song Xinjun's house for a long time.

"Who are you? Why are you here so late at night?" Lin Xuanfeng turned the corner of the room and sure enough, there was a man standing there.

"Aren't you going to leave? Why are you meddling in other people's business?"

"So, you didn't attack me just to wait for me to turn around so you can persuade me to leave?"

"Yes, you are not within my scope of mission. I advise you to leave as soon as possible."

"Mission? You want to kill Song Xinjun?" Lin Xuanfeng glanced quickly to the right. Song Xinjun was in this house at the moment, cleaning up their leftover food and dishes.

"Wait, you are... Lingyi?" Lin Xuanfeng suddenly remembered something and was quite surprised. Yes, he finally remembered where this familiar feeling came from. He had seen the portrait of Lingyi brought by Yin.

"Oh? You recognized me. Who are you, then?"

"Lin Xuanfeng."

"So it's you. Then let me complete the mission for the dead Sanwu and Baer."

As Lingyi was speaking, a strong stream of water hit Lin Xuanfeng's body. When Lin Xuanfeng recognized him, his heart was alarmed. He jumped quickly and fell on the flat grass on the left. The pure power he was about to transform was also interrupted by this action and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

The water column followed him and continued to hit the grass, but he escaped at lightning speed.

This time the water column did not move with it. It rushed into the earth, digging a deep hole and stirring up a thick layer of dust.

In the shadows, Lin Xuanfeng saw a large area of ​​transparent light emerging from the water. It was solid ice. When the water splashed onto the ground, it had already turned into solid ice. The solid ice curved horizontally or vertically into beautiful arcs, standing there to form a solidified three-dimensional sculpture.

With just this one move, Lin Xuanfeng knew that this person called Lingyi was much more skilled than those two. The move was clearly water, but it turned into ice when it hit the enemy. This was a move that An Yan had used before when he was helping him in actual combat.

"Is this a move you came up with yourself?"

"Of course not. This is the invention of the Son of God. I have perfectly copied all the data he left there."

"In other words, you are just the thirteen-year-old An Yan." Lin Xuanfeng sneered.

"Whether it is true or not, you will know later." Lingyi was not angry. He would prove who was more powerful between him and Anyan.

The branches were shaking, the wind was howling, and the thick yellow leaves on the ground were blown up by the strong wind. Lin Xuanfeng clenched his fists, and the wind blades came suddenly. When the strong wind blew, only the whistling sound of the wind could be heard. When Lin Xuanfeng walked out of the shadows, he found Lingyi standing there intact. Behind him, the wall was mottled, with deep and long cracks all over it.

Lin Xuanfeng narrowed his eyes and saw that the thing wrapped around Lingyi was nothing but "absolute defense".

"I told you, I copied them all perfectly. Not only what the Son of God left there, but I know everything he used. For example, this absolute defense, I have never seen it with my own eyes, but I will use it as soon as someone tells me about it."

Lingyi stood there motionless, stretched out his hands, and water gushed out like a fountain. Lingyi pulled them and chased Lin Xuanfeng as easily as pulling a ribbon. Suddenly, the mud wrapped around the water and tangled together and fell to the ground with a plop.

"Song Xinjun." Lingyi called out to the man who had just appeared, "Your ability is actually the same as the previous owner?"

"Previous master? Are you talking about Song Hongtian? Then you are wrong, he is just mud, and I am the swamp." As if to confirm what Song Xinjun said, a whirlpool suddenly appeared on the ground, and the swamp quickly surrounded Lingyi.

"It's useless for him to do this." Lin Xuanfeng said. He was now standing behind Song Xinjun.

Song Xinjun immediately looked towards Lingyi, and saw that he was holding up a round and shiny ball with the bottom of the ball touching the surface of the swamp. No matter how the whirlpool under his feet spun, he remained motionless.

"That is An Yan's absolute defense. It is a very sophisticated pure ability. The swamp alone cannot trap him."

"What should I do?"

"Let's leave here first and buy time. Don't forget, he is in Xindu's territory."

Without waiting for Song Xinjun to speak, Lin Xuanfeng grabbed him and ran in the opposite direction. He clenched his fists as he ran, and Dr. Wang's words echoed in his mind again and again. Xuanfeng, unless it is absolutely necessary, you must not use pure power within three months.

You can't use pure abilities, right? Okay, Lin Xuanfeng counterattacked with his backhand, and each wind blade accurately knocked down the icicles that were chasing after him one by one. Lingyi had already left the swamp and was speeding up to chase them.

"Xinjun, trap him in a swamp."

Song Xinjun nodded, turned around and raised his hand. A wide ditch had appeared in front of Lingyi, and the swamp in the ditch was slowly swallowing up the surroundings. The sound of the wind suddenly became louder, and the two rows of trees in the green belt swayed in the wind.

Lingyi ran to the swamp that was blocking his progress, and without hesitation, he created a more than one-meter-long pure energy and chopped it down. With a tearing sound, the flat swamp was cut upside down, revealing the cement that had not been completely devoured.

The ground was torn back to its original shape. Zero One jumped onto the ground swiftly and then somersaulted over.

Song Xinjun repeated his old trick, and Lingyi easily passed through again and again. When Lin Xuanfeng and Song Xinjun finally left the alley in front of Song Xinjun's house, a distant bell rang.

It's past midnight and a new day has arrived in darkness.

It was at this moment that the roaring wind suddenly materialized. The tornado swept through the entire alley, taking the residents nearby with it. Every window creaked, every tree was torn apart, and even the hanging windows quietly resting on the street and the isolated stones that had just been cut were all sucked into the tornado.

Needless to say, the storm was directed at just that one person this time, and it was heading towards Zero One.

"Xuanfeng, your ability has improved again." Song Xinjun, who witnessed all this, said to Lin Xuanfeng with admiration.

Lin Xuanfeng clenched his fists and frowned at this moment, because he saw Lingyi coming from the wind again with a pure power sword. He swung his sword from time to time to cut off the invisible wind blades, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and stood steadily in front of the two again.

"Lin Xuanfeng, you are able to make the absolute defense fluctuate. You are indeed quite capable. But as far as I know, the previous battle left you with some sequelae. For example, you are still unable to use pure power."

Hearing Lingyi's words, Song Xinjun widened his eyes. If this was true, it would be terrible.

"It's alarmist. You can try it." Lin Xuanfeng said as he transformed pure power into a shield in front of Song Xinjun.

"Okay." As he said that, Lingyi rushed over quickly and Lin Xuanfeng went forward to meet him.

Bang! The blades met, and the two began to fight. Five minutes later, Lingyi suddenly stabbed upwards, and Lin Xuanfeng was caught off guard and had to slide and lean back to receive the attack. When the two changed positions, Lin Xuanfeng's entire arm was covered in blood. He only took half of the attack.

"You're slow."

Lin Xuanfeng covered his arm and said nothing. He was a step slow, and the burden of gathering pure energy slowed him down.

"Where is Song Xinjun?" Lingyi looked around but didn't see any trace of him.

"It's been five minutes. Are you just remembering him now?"

After Lin Xuanfeng finished speaking, the swamp quickly grabbed Lingyi's feet and legs from the ground. Lingyi looked down and saw whirlpools around him pulling him down one after another. Where is Lin Xuanfeng? Lin Xuanfeng jumped onto the eaves of a store not far away, where Song Xinjun was standing.

The grass, land and he in the swamp were gradually swallowed up. Lingyi tried to struggle but could not muster any strength.

"Stupid." Seeing the swamp about to reach his knees, Lingyi said calmly.

As if wanting the two people standing on high to see, Zero One raised his left and right hands at the same time, and then a steady stream of water poured in, and then a dazzling light of pure energy began to flash.

Oops! This scene seemed familiar. Lin Xuanfeng suddenly remembered what the two had done in the desert before. Just as Lin Xuanfeng feared, the swamp was instantly frozen. Lingyi used pure power to draw a circle under his feet, and then the swamp cracked easily.

The dark swamp was frozen in place by ice, forming a crystal. Ling Yisan flicked the crystal lightly, and it broke into pieces. He lifted his legs and walked up.

Only then did Song Xinjun realize how terrifying Lingyi was, and he couldn't help but take a half step back, rubbing his shoe soles.

"Xinjun, please leave here."

"How about that?"

"I'm telling the truth. Zero One's target is you. I'm not within his mission, so he won't kill me."

"Do you think this will work? Let's try it again. While I grab him, you also attack him with the wind. Didn't it work just now?" Song Xinjun pondered for a moment.

"No chance. He won't let your swamp near him again."

"But……"

"Don't say but, there's no time, hurry up and leave!" Lin Xuanfeng pushed him hard, then jumped down himself.

Although the previous plan failed, Lingyi also reminded him that he could use the same trick again. Lin Xuanfeng deliberately raised the blade of pure energy and rushed towards Lingyi. He was majestic and imposing, and Lingyi was ready for it. He stopped and took a stance, waiting for Lin Xuanfeng's attack.

It's getting closer! The tip of the knife is getting closer! It was at this moment that Lin Xuanfeng had a flaw! Lingyi raised his arm to fight back, but suddenly he felt something powerful holding him tightly, making it difficult for him to attack. What on earth could have made him unaware?

It was the wind! It could only be the wind! The opportunity was there in a split second. He flipped his wrist downward, and the sharp blade of pure energy cut through the tight and transparent wind. Lingyi regained his freedom, and Lin Xuanfeng's attack was in vain. But this was not without cost. Blood oozed from the inside of both wrists of Lingyi's arms. This was an artery, and the degree of danger was obvious.

Reiichi covered his left wrist with his right hand. "I noticed that Sanwu and Yaji had cuts on their wrists. I was wondering how they got cut there, and it seems like this is how they got cut."

"Well, that's right. It's an old-fashioned method, but it works."

Lingyi nodded in understanding. "I finally understand how Sanwu and Baji died. They didn't lose anything by your hands, but you... that's it."

As Zero One finished speaking, 'Absolute Defense' appeared again.