Boom!

The car slammed straight into the ground. The fuel tank exploded, sending a massive pillar of flame shooting more than ten meters into the air.

Not far away, a figure stood silently, coldly watching the burning car.

Pei Ye had died just like that. Trapped inside, plummeting down like a butterfly with its wings torn off.

The black-haired man turned to leave, but from nearby came a lazy voice. "I say… after all these years of avoiding me, your first meeting gift for your brother is such a grand one?"

The man floated in the air, blood trailing from the corner of his eye, with his uniform torn in places. It was clear that his escape had been hurried, but he survived.

Unbelievably, his control over wind had reached near perfection. He could even ride the wind.

Pei Yi turned slowly, looking at the man before him, lips parting slightly.

He brushed back his slightly messy hair, cupped his ear in mock curiosity, and said, "What?"

Pei Yi's voice rose a bit, and at the same time, the air currents around them began to shift.

"I said, why did you come here?!"

A massive wind blade formed before him, like a great scythe, sweeping across in an attempt to take a life.

Pei Ye's smile finally faded.

He let himself drop toward the ground, dodging the wind blade at the cost of risking a deadly fall. But of course, an experienced wind ability user would never allow himself to die from a fall.

Two or three meters above the ground, Pei Ye stopped mid-air.

He lay back as if on an invisible rocking chair, staring up at the sky, as though waiting for something.

It didn't take long. Pei Yi's figure blinked into view, the white tassels on his epaulettes swaying violently with his movement.

He descended from above, wind blades slicing down toward the ground with every motion.

Pei Ye smiled. "Alright, I'll play with you."

The next moment, he was weaving through the blades with ease.

In aerial combat, Pei Ye was even more agile, like a fish in water. Instead of controlling his body, he commanded the wind around him.

Pei Yi's attacks were fierce, showing no sign of his earlier injuries. Pei Ye's life was not in danger, but being suppressed like this made him feel stifled. "Do you really want to kill me again?"

Pei Yi's movements faltered for an instant.

Seizing the chance, Pei Ye struck. Countless tiny wind blades compressed from the surrounding air shot outward, the pressure making the air hum.

Hands on his hips, Pei Ye said, "My foolish little brother, this move was mine to begin with. And now you're using it against me? Your brother's not dead yet!"

Clearly, Pei Ye's mastery of powers surpassed Pei Yi's. Once he found an opening, a storm of blades surged toward his opponent.

An unmistakable look of irritation crossed Pei Yi's face.

At that moment, a wave of red heat flared behind Pei Ye. His danger sense spiked, so he turned and raised a wind barrier, just in time to block the flames.

His expression darkened in surprise. "You awakened fire powers?"

Wind and fire: two abilities ideally suited to each other.

Now that his fire ability was revealed, Pei Yi stopped hiding it. Wind fed fire, fire rode wind. Under his control, what had been a single attack style now erupted with the force of an army.

Pei Ye was singed again, the burn stinging sharply. He glared at his brother and cursed under his breath.

The flames curled like a dragon, racing toward him.

Pei Ye inhaled deeply, moving his hands in opposite circles before reversing them several times. A visible hollow of air formed between his palms, and the incoming fire dragon was drawn in. It twisted into a flaming hoop, like a circus ring of fire.

Then Pei Ye exhaled sharply. Like hot oil meeting a flame, the compressed little fire dragon burst forth in a violent blaze.

Like the tail thrust of a rocket, it shot straight at Pei Yi, far more ferocious than the earlier sluggish flame.

Pei Ye grinned, showing eight teeth. "You're still far from beating me!"

Boom!

The explosion resounded. It was far from Fu Zhi's location, but it was enough to confirm that a battle was underway.

He swung his vehicle around, taking a shortcut toward the sound.

In his rearview mirror, another car appeared, marked with the Tower's insignia, though he couldn't see the driver.

Fu Zhi floored the accelerator. The other car sped up as well, and whether modified or not, it was faster than his own.

The chase was on.

The pursuing vehicle rammed him once, and Fu Zhi's gaze went cold.

When it moved in for another hit, Fu Zhi slammed the accelerator to the floor, wrenched the wheel, and spun the car 180 degrees on the spot, then charged head-on toward them.

The other driver clearly didn't expect such aggression. Their car swerved out of control and smashed into the curb.

The engine died with a sputter. Zhou Zheng climbed out of the smoking wreck and, seeing Fu Zhi, swore inwardly.

Why was it him?!

"Major General Fu, it seems I mistook you for someone else."

Fu Zhi stepped out as well, glancing at Zhou Zheng and then at the other car. "Where are you headed?"

Zhou Zheng hesitated. When Fu Zhi drew the white blade from his waist, Zhou's eyelid twitched, and he forced a friendly smile. "Mr. Will sent me to check on Mr. Pei. I thought you were going to kill someone, must've been my mistake."

But Fu Zhi said, "No mistake. I'm going to kill him."

Zhou Zheng's face darkened.

Ice spread over his body as he lunged forward, deep footprints marking each step, every stride covering two or three meters.

The distance between them closed in an instant. Any slower and Fu Zhi would have been hit before he could even draw his blade.

Zhou Zheng smiled. He had never imagined that he would cross blades with Fu Zhi. As his former captain, Fu Zhi had inspired both fear and respect. But after these years, he seemed neither stronger nor as invincible as Zhou Zheng remembered.

His blood was boiling.

He wouldn't take his old captain's life, but he would defeat him.

But Fu Zhi had no intention of dodging.

The rush of air that came with Zhou's charge was thick with dust and debris, a blow strong enough to crush an elephant.

Zhou Zheng believed it was his most perfect punch.

Then his smile froze.

The swirling dust and air stopped dead in their tracks before Fu Zhi, forming a triangle with its apex at his position.

With just a light draw of his blade, Fu Zhi had blocked the strike. Even calling it effortless would be an understatement.

The thick ice coating Zhou's fist shattered. A crack formed along the white blade, but Fu Zhi didn't step back. He only shifted slightly to bleed off the force.

Impossible.

Zhou Zheng retreated quickly, staring at his palm in disbelief. He didn't even touch the man's body.

"You've improved," Fu Zhi said evenly.

Zhou Zheng's pupils shrank as an oppressive force rolled off Fu Zhi, stealing his breath.

Then a flash of pain shot from his wrist. The hand he had just used to strike was sliced clean through its ice armor and the flesh beneath.

So strong!

Could such a man even be defeated?

Zhou Zheng's expression twisted into fear.

Meanwhile, Pei Ye clutched his burned arm, swiping at the blood on his forehead. The stinging could have been from fire or wind, but it hardly mattered.

Pei Yi's strength had grown far beyond what Pei Ye expected from someone who had once been below the First Squad's average.

He was badly hurt, but so was Pei Yi. Taking a deep breath, Pei Ye began to taunt. "Enough fighting. We share the same roots. Why the rush to harm each other? We're brothers. Do we have to go this far?"

Different as they were, the brothers understood each other well. Pei Yi knew from his tone that Pei Ye wasn't beaten. He was just using words to distract, as he always did.

Pei Yi's voice was cold. "Didn't you come here to kill me?"

Pei Ye froze, speaking softly. "I never wanted to kill you."

Pei Yi threw aside his jacket, torn by wind blades and stained with blood. A sharp contrast to his brother's words.

"Why didn't you come before? Was it not because someone ordered you to kill me?" Pei Yi's face was expressionless.

Pei Ye rolled up his sleeves. "Looks like you won't listen unless I beat some sense into you."

As he prepared his wind blades, he noticed a small mirror in Pei Yi's hand.

The instant it appeared, the surrounding pollution level spiked.

A bad feeling prickled at him. Pei Ye instinctively stepped back.

"If you want to kill me, I'll let you. But not now."

Pei Ye's pupils contracted. Just as he was about to curse, his body vanished.

In Pei Yi's mirror was now a tiny figure of Pei Ye.

Realizing where he was, Pei Ye ignored his injuries and pounded on the glass. "Pei Yi! Let me out, damn it! You little—!"

Pei Yi lightly brushed the surface. "Brother, you'll have to bear with it for now."

He tucked the mirror into his coat and turned toward the newcomer.

A black-haired man emerged from the dust, his black shirt stretched over powerful muscles. "Pei Yi, let your brother out."

Pei Yi shook his head. "I can't."

Fu Zhi raised his eyelids, his ice-blue eyes locking onto him. "Are you insane?"

Pei Yi bowed slightly. "Captain, I just don't want to see all of you walk to your deaths."

The wind began to rise.