[Moon Shadow — SSSS-rank Speed Talent]Description: Moonlight sweeps the ground, leaving no trace; distance and time are erased in silence.Effect: Grants the awakener the blessing of the moon god, making every movement as elusive and swift as moonlight.Note: Passive talent.
Another SSSS-rank talent — and a passive one at that. No drawbacks, no tradeoffs. If Divine Wind was a skill that required technique and practice, Moon Shadow was a raw, net-gain boost: pure, uncompromising speed. Exactly what Chen Xiao had needed.
The first moment it settled in, his body felt impossibly light, as if gravity itself had loosened its grip. If Cao Linxuan showed up again now, Chen Xiao vowed he would never let him escape. Opportunities and tricks only mattered when you could catch up with your opponent. Match his speed, and the rest became negotiable.
This newfound lightness seeped into small things too — the way he moved through a crowd, the way his step barely brushed a twig. A Yao noticed first.
"Chen Xiao!" she called. "Why are you moving like that all of a sudden?"
He let a faint smile curl his lips. "It's because of you."
The next day, Chen Xiao walked hand in hand with A Yao back toward the rendezvous as if they were taking a casual stroll. Zhang Longqi and Zhao Yuanhang exhaled in unison — relief and awe mixed in their faces. They had been terrified the Mad Ghost Boss would disappear. Now, with him close by, staying alive felt a lot more realistic.
"Hello, sister-in-law A Yao!" they chimed, grinning like fools. A Yao flushed, secretly delighted at the nickname.
"Sister Jiang Ling! You're here too!" she waved, spotting Jiang Ling nearby.
Jiang Ling smiled shyly, her eyes flicking toward Chen Xiao with a tension that betrayed how much the rumor of the Mad Ghost Butcher had unnerved her. She could not have imagined the butcher had been hiding in their ranks all along, wearing Zhou Xun's face.
"I found someone," Chen Xiao said, cutting to the point. "What did you find? Spit it out."
Zhang Longqi's chest puffed with importance. "Mad Ghost Boss, yesterday I met three groups — Free Nation, Combat Nation, and Samba Homeland. The first two kept their distance; Samba Homeland seemed eager to help… they shared intel. Most important: they hinted at the Underground Furnace's location."
A Yao's eyes brightened. "You found it that fast?"
Zhang grinned sheepishly. "They said they knew. But maybe they're lying — could be a trap."
Chen Xiao gave a short chuckle. "They don't have the guts."
Zhao Yuanhang stepped up. "I saw two groups fighting on the way: Euro Alliance and Combat Nation. Three fighters each. They were strong — one used lightning that felt even more vicious than Captain Cao's. I didn't hang around."
"That's Little Zeus," Chen Xiao said flatly.
A Yao cocked her head. "You know him?"
Chen Xiao shook his head. "Only by name. Don't take reputation for truth."
They moved fast once Zhang led the way. Now that there was a target, the forest seemed to bend for them: the once-impenetrable green thinned as if something was eating the life out of the trees. That was the third stage's secret; the closer you drew to the center, the more the forest surrendered.
They reached the heart in no time. Where the canopy opened, the scene was brutal: a circle of blackened trunks, jagged stumps standing like headstones, and the earth itself cracked and blistering with heat. Smoke curled from a yawning cavern at the center — the Underground Furnace, the stage's core.
Voices around them dipped into murmurs.
"Huaxia's here.""Why so late? Euro Alliance and Combat Nation already went down.""Maybe they've got tricks to save the best for last."
Many arriving parties had already been driven back by the furnace's unbearable heat. This place punished the unprepared.
"Why is it so hot? Like we're standing on a volcano," someone grumbled.
"Duh — it's a furnace," another snapped.
Zhao Yuanhang lowered his voice, eyes scanning the scorched ground. "We're a bit late. A lot of people went down."
Chen Xiao's tone stayed cool. "Coming early doesn't win you anything. It's not about being first — it's about taking enough."
Zhang nodded. "Exactly. If you only grab one seed and run, your points will be worthless. That hurts the national tally — and it'll affect who gets second animal forms."
A Yao bit her lip. "I just want one seed and to get out of here…"
Chen Xiao pinched her cheek, amused. "You always aim for survival. Not this time. We fight for more."
She frowned. "Fight for what?"
He walked to the cavern mouth and looked down into the furnace's throat. "For pride. For Huaxia's future."
It wasn't just about personal gain or the second animal type. How many opportunities the nation collected here would shape the balance of power later. Holding back was a luxury he couldn't afford.
Zhang and Zhao fell in beside him, eyes narrowed at the molten maw. Around them, other camps tightened their formations and readied themselves. The Underground Furnace demanded more than courage; it required calculation, speed, and nerve.