This villain is too popular.

Chapter 156 Sudden Attack

[The Steam City, the Bridge of Gears and Brass]

In the early morning, before the morning mist had dissipated in the steam city, Tiandao led Vivian to the underground parking lot of the Gear Building.

Before long, a convoy drove out of the Gear Building and onto the cement road with gear-patterned grooves, leaving the bustling commercial district of the steam city.

As the last row of shops was left behind, Vivian looked out the window through the iron bars, and a giant bridge spanning a sea of ​​steam and clouds slowly unfolded before her eyes.

The bridge deck is made of dark yellow brass plates, and the bridge's framework is formed by twelve interlocking giant gears.

The giant gear below slowly turned, making a heavy 'click-clack' sound.

This is the only path to the 'Cloud Garden' where the Twelve Brass Conference Hall is located—the Gear and Brass Bridge.

"Stop."

After the convoy reached the "Gear Pass" of the bridge, two guards clad in steam-powered armor stopped them. The visors under their helmets flashed red, as if they were alert to their arrival.

In response, Tiandao's voice came from the back seat of the lead vehicle.

"The Fifth Division is escorting suspect Vivian to the Brass Council for trial."

Upon hearing this, two steam guards stepped forward and began to verify the Heavenly Dao's documents.

After confirming Tiandao's identity, they insisted on checking every vehicle until they arrived at the prison van where Vivian was.

To facilitate the vehicle inspection, the doors of the prison van in which Vivian was being held were specially opened.

Behind the iron bars, she lowered her eyes, the star-patterned shackles on her wrists gleaming with a deep blue light.

That was a special creation capable of sealing the abilities of Star Envoys.

Just when everyone thought it was just a routine task performed by the two steam guards, something unexpected happened.

"Do it!"

A loud shout, like a thunderclap, completely shattered the peaceful and quiet morning.

Suddenly, the steam guard standing outside the car, who was a full two meters and two inches tall, threw a punch.

The brass gauntlets emitted exaggerated white smoke and fist wind, instantly blasting back two members of the Fifth Division next to him.

To Vivian's astonishment, the man on the right suddenly grabbed the shackles on her hands with his right hand.

In that instant, the metal surface of the shackles that could seal the Star Envoy suddenly burst forth with strange sparks!
Click!

The shackles that bound Vivian's star energy shattered with a snap!
"go!"

Before Vivian could react, the steam guard grabbed her from inside and dragged her outside.

During this process, Vivian saw his face clearly through the helmet visor that Chen Kong had deliberately opened.

Although all of this happened in the blink of an eye, the members of the Fifth Division were briefly stunned.

They all realized what was happening.

The first to act was Heaven.

He drew the Shattered Star from his waist, a perfect level two power, and the perfect star energy brought by the 'all S+' six-dimensional attributes, which transformed into black 'ink' and covered his Shattered Star.

He slashed his sword at the 'guy' who was trying to leave with Vivian.

The black sword energy cleaved through the ground, severed the steam carriage on the side, and precisely struck Chen Kong in the back.

Just as the sword energy was about to strike Chen Kong...

Liu Ma, who was not far away, suddenly jumped out.

"Don't think about it!"

Liu Ma leaped out, his entire body enveloped in golden star energy, his brass mecha gleaming brightly under the energy surge.

He suddenly lowered his waist and threw a punch.

The moment the golden fist collided with the black sword energy, a powerful shockwave was immediately generated.

In an instant, the ground cracked open and three steam cars were overturned.

The vehicle was overturned, and gravel flew everywhere.

Some of the weaker ordinary members of the Fifth Division were even forced to retreat.

Before the aftershocks had subsided, a figure emerged from the dust and approached Liu Ma with a blank expression.

"You have crossed the line."

Looking at the Heavenly Dao so close at hand, Liu Ma subconsciously clenched his fists, and a large amount of cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

Although he has now broken through to the second level of perfection, his strength has increased dramatically.

But when facing this seemingly refined but actually tough opponent, he couldn't help but feel a little apprehensive.

Because he now understands many things.

Take, for example, the current captain of the Fifth Division, Shuimo.

Liu Ma could never understand why he possessed 'two stars' and had completed a star core awakening.

However, he couldn't last three moves against 'Shuimo,' a mid-level awakened cultivator at level two.

But after a month of intensive training, he finally understood.

Star Source can certainly determine the strength of a Star Envoy.

But for some, it is precisely their own strength that allows the Star Source to shine so brightly. This was the case for the Heavenly Dao Fate Master, who stood atop the stars in his childhood.

The Fifth Division Captain, Suimo... is the same.

However, this guy, Tiandao, is a monster among monsters.

He not only perfects all his attributes, but also manages to efficiently develop Star Source, leaving no room for others to survive.

Shuimo, on the other hand, devoted most of its energy to attribute development, and didn't have much time to pay attention to Star Source.

The former is powerful in every way, so powerful that it leaves no room for even the thought of catching up, only despair.

Although the latter is far superior to ordinary people, it still has obvious 'weaknesses'.

It refers to the 'star energy' of the mid-level awakened star source that failed to reach perfection.

"Little Liu, the reason why a perfectly awakened Star Envoy can suppress those who are not perfectly awakened is partly because the Star Source of a perfectly awakened Star Envoy is inherently stronger than that of a normally awakened one."

"On the other hand, after perfect awakening, the star energy becomes nearly perfect."

'Huh? Boss, what does this mean?'

What do you think will happen if a drop of ink is put into a clean glass of water?

'Of course the whole glass of water turned black!'

Halfway through his sentence, Liu Ma suddenly widened his eyes.

"Ah! Big Sister, you mean when perfect star energy and imperfect star energy come into contact, the other party's star source operation will be affected?"

"Yes, that's roughly the idea, but there are always exceptions."

"Special case?"

Simply put, if someone reaches S-rank in a certain attribute, then even if their star energy isn't perfect, the attribute difference alone can compensate for the weaknesses in their star energy.

Are there many S-rank individuals?

"A lot?" Yu Qianxia scoffed.

'You think mastering a single attribute is easier than perfectly awakening a Star Source?'

You should know that some things are determined from the moment you are born.

That's talent.

As this brief flashback ended, the Heavenly Dao in the scene raised its hand again, holding the sword overhead.

Upon seeing this, a glint of light flashed in Liu Ma's eyes.

Fifth Division Captain Suimo!
I, Liu Ma, am no longer the person I used to be!
"Moo!"

Liu Ma roared, and the golden star energy surging around him surged out like a tide, sweeping towards the Heavenly Dao.

He wanted to use this method to suppress the opponent's star energy operation, thereby suppressing the opponent's strength to a certain extent!
However, the next second, he noticed the mocking look in Tiandao's eyes behind his black-rimmed glasses.

And the subtle, almost imperceptible, playful glint in the corner of his mouth.

hum!
When Liu Ma's golden 'Perfect Star Energy' clashed with the vortex-like black star energy surrounding Tian Dao, it was as if it had hit an invisible wall and was violently repelled.

"Eh?"

Liu Ma froze, his eyes widening like saucers, and exclaimed in a trembling voice, "No, didn't you say before that you've always been at least A-level in multiple attributes?"

"Why didn't you mention that you've developed at least one skill to S-level?"

In response, Tiandao calmly said, "It's not that I didn't say it, it's just that you didn't notice. After all, the person next to you at the time knew all of this."

Having said that, Heaven brought down its sword in Liu Ma's astonished gaze.

scoff!

The sword energy of the Heavenly Dao easily cleaved through his steam armor, and even the mask on his face was cut in half.

Liu Ma's seemingly honest face was revealed, but his heart was filled with cunning and ruthlessness.

Just as Tiandao raised his empty left hand, preparing to activate the 'Star Energy Technique Ink Coffin' to grab Chen Kong and Vivian who had already escaped far away.

A voice suddenly came from behind him.

"Captain, don't panic, I'm here to help you!"

The next second, a silver bullet whistled out from behind Tiandao, heading straight for his shoulder!

Without hesitation, Tiandao swung his sword backhand, precisely slicing the bullet to the ground.

I stared at the bullet lying on the ground, cut in two.

The Heavenly Dao raised its head.

The Fifth Division Vice-Captain, Yu Chen, who had nearly injured an ally, said apologetically, "I'm sorry, Captain, I don't know what happened, my shot suddenly missed."

Heavenly Dao: "."

Although Yu Chen's apology was sincere.

But everyone, including the anime/manga audience, knows this.

He's doing that squinty look on purpose!
It's so salty it's almost gone!

PS: That concludes today's update. The outline is mostly finalized, and the pace should pick up from here on out.

(End of this chapter)