To be overly tense due to a potential crisis and then attack a passerby was a terrible thing to do.
If the person struck was weak, it could easily lead to disability or even death.
If she had actually caused a casualty, the situation would have become incredibly difficult to resolve.
Fortunately, that did not happen.
However—
If the reason no one was hurt was that the target was strong enough to simply ignore the magical attack, then that was another kind of misfortune entirely.
The white-haired, blue-eyed girl stared at the youth who had so effortlessly taken her attack, her expression a little stiff.
The reason was simple: she was panicking.
It was common sense that the weak should show respect when encountering the strong.
And just a moment ago...
She had tried to hit him with a kill shot.
Granted, the way this person had appeared was so ghostly and unpredictable that he hardly seemed like a righteous character.
But—
She had, in fact, attacked him.
And, well, she had dealt "0" damage and been disarmed in the process.
This matter was unlikely to be settled amicably.
Facing an opponent who was overwhelmingly superior in combat power, the girl, who didn't even have absolute confidence she could escape if a real conflict broke out, felt her heart sink further.
She had truly been having a string of bad luck these past few days, running into one misfortune after another.
Therefore, it was best to try and persuade him with words to not pursue the matter.
I've already cast a speed-enhancing spell. The moment I see any sign of a dangerous move, I'll run, the girl thought.
"My apologies. The error was mine."
Without any hesitation, the little white-haired fuzzball directly apologized to the person whose power level was leagues beyond her own.
"I should not have attacked so recklessly under unclear circumstances."
"If it is possible, I am willing to invite you to Huangyue City and host a banquet in your honor at the finest hotel there—Fengjia Manor—to express my sincere remorse."
With the Mop-Head having been sent flying and no way to find her way home for the time being, the girl looked at the youth before her and spoke with great sincerity.
"However, because I am currently searching for the Immortal's husband, I am temporarily unable to take you there to apologize with a feast..."
"Therefore, before then, I can first offer some silver as compensation. Once I have found the Immortal's husband, I will arrange the banquet for you."
The girl, who could sense the dangerous nature of the person opposite her through sheer intuition, did her best to convey her sincerity.
"Writing me an empty check and then asking me to wait?"
The youth, the suppression on his Origin impulse now removed, looked at the girl's delicate face, raised an eyebrow, and let out what sounded like a soft sneer.
The sound reached the girl's ears, causing her heart to plummet.
As I thought... this won't be resolved so easily, will it?
The girl, who had never let her guard down, glanced at the alley walls on either side, contemplating the "Kun" spell she had learned.
If I just run, I'll definitely be caught in an instant.
The girl, well aware that this person possessed the ability to teleport, pursed her thin lips, her mind racing.
Therefore, what I need to do is create a large enough distraction in an instant to shift his attention slightly. Then, I'll try to hide somewhere else to evade pursuit and figure out my next move.
Before a single blow had been exchanged, the girl was already cornered, desperately trying to think of a way out.
And then—
"Don't expect to make the walls collapse to throw me into a panic, then use the chance to escape or hide, and maybe create an illusion to lead me away."
The youth, having noticed Miss Stargazer's eyes darting toward the surrounding walls, said with a smile.
His voice reached her ears, and the girl's heart sank to the very bottom.
It was as if he had seen right through her in an instant.
The girl, whose escape plan had just been formulated, wore an unprecedentedly stiff expression. Her palms began to sweat from anxiety.
If she were the future Sage King, she would naturally have been able to adjust her mindset with ease, try to read his mood from his expression, and then restart the conversation.
But—
Right now, she was just a runaway princess.
The distance between her current self and the future Sage King was roughly the same as the gap between Teri-derp and Otto.
Completely outmatched in power and with no intellectual advantage either, the girl couldn't help but feel a surge of panic.
She still bore the mission of finding the Immortal's husband to ask how to save her world. If she was detained here, then everything would truly be over.
"What exactly do you want?" the girl asked slowly, looking at the person who felt as elusive and unpredictable as the clouds in the sky.
"How about you join me for dinner?"
Quite unexpectedly, the youth smiled. It was a bright, dazzling smile that involuntarily made one think of the warm sun.
Miss Stargazer froze.
She couldn't quite comprehend what he was saying.
"After you've hurt someone, immediately treating them to a meal to make up for it... is that so unreasonable?" the youth, who showed no signs of injury whatsoever, asked with great earnestness as he looked at the seemingly dazed girl.
Huh?
The girl, who had just offered to host a grand banquet for him at a later date, looked even more bewildered.
This guy had demonstrated a power that utterly crushed hers, then casually revealed her every thought, only to make this kind of request?
A profound sense of absurdity rose in the girl's heart.
This person... is he insane?
Or are all powerful people a little... abnormal?
"After a while, I'll have other things to do. I won't have time to attend any banquets. That feast you mentioned is nothing more than an empty check to me."
The youth's words left Miss Stargazer at a complete loss for a retort.
It was the truth.
The power system of the Shinza Series' Fourth Heaven—Eternal Destruction—was a bizarre system.
The fourth stage was called Emanation.
The conditions to achieve it were to possess a soul in the "Emanation" domain or a fanatical obsession. And the simplest way to obtain a soul of the Emanation rank was...
...to reach the Emanation domain.
Excluding certain bug-like existences born with "Emanation" level souls and freaks so paranoid they believed they were the only living being in existence, the limit for this path was roughly the third rank—Creation.
And the combat power of the Creation rank...
Excluding those few bugs, Li Zihan could slap dozens of them to death with one hand.
Clearly, sending a Creation-rank being to fight the Imaginary Tree was just sending them to their deaths.
Therefore, Li Zihan had to find other things to strengthen his soul, to allow him to break through to the "Emanation" rank that normal creatures could never hope to reach.
That was what he needed to do next.
"So, are you willing to have dinner with me tonight?" the youth continued his invitation, looking at Miss Stargazer's bewildered expression.
"So, what is your answer?"