To No Avail

As Old White and the others arrived, K was supported by several soldiers, his grievous wounds leaving him weak and faltering. He looked anxiously at Old White and said, "White, don't worry—Xiao Feng has been taken by those temple bastards."

Old White's fury flared instantly. "What? Taken? What the hell have you all been doing? And where's Tugu? Wasn't he supposed to come with Xiao Feng?"

A few soldiers then carried an ice pillar before Old White, placing it heavily on the ground.

"This is Tugu."

"We didn't have time to free him from inside."

"Tugu's been beaten badly too."

Silence fell.

The soldiers explained the situation, and Old White stared bitterly at the transparent ice block containing Tugu's form. Frustrated, he raised his fist, intent on shattering the frozen prison.

But a hand grasped his wrist. "Let me handle this. If you punch it, you'll shatter Tugu inside." The voice belonged to Rice.

Rice stepped forward, studying the frozen Tugu with a grave expression. "I hope you're still alive, brother…"

Flames flickered into being on Rice's palms. As the twin fires neared the ice pillar, the scorching heat slowly melted the frozen block, gradually reducing it to a pool of water. When only a thin layer of ice remained, Tugu suddenly burst free, breaking the icy bonds.

He glanced at the gathered X Legion commanders with surprise. "Where's Xiao Feng?"

Old White answered sharply, "I was just about to ask you the same."

Tugu's mask snapped open, revealing a pale, enraged face. "Xiao Feng was surely taken by those temple bastards. We must find a way to rescue him."

"Why were you frozen? Weren't you supposed to be strong? Who did this to you?"

"Don't ask. Those temple bastards somehow brought in a strange old man. After he unleashed a green light, Xiao Feng lost the strength to even lift the Black Angel. That's how they took him."

Rice's brow furrowed deeply. "What did you say? A green light? An old man?"

"Yeah. An old man who can emit green light."

Rice's frown deepened. "What kind of ability is that? I've never heard of it before. You mean Xiao Feng lost his powers after being struck by that green light?"

Tugu nodded solemnly. "Yes. Xiao Feng lost his powers the moment he was hit by that green light."

"Purification," K murmured weakly from the side.

Rice looked at K sharply. "What do you mean?"

"Purification is a powerful ability that strips a user of all powers. It's an ability so strong, it can even reshape the world."

"You mean Xiao Feng was struck by purification?"

K nodded gravely. "If my guess is right, Xiao Feng is now completely powerless. The most critical question is why those temple bastards took him. I'd bet they want to force him to reveal Athena's whereabouts."

Rice and Old White exchanged a knowing glance, as if Old White fully understood Rice's meaning, and nodded in silent agreement.

Rice spoke into his comms: "Everyone prepare to assemble. We move out in five minutes."

Tugu looked at Rice in surprise. "Where are we going?"

K replied, "Don't ask. Rice has his plans. But I can help you track Xiao Feng's presence—then you can decide whether to launch a military strike."

Hearing this, Old White and Rice turned to K. "You say you know where Xiao Feng is?"

K nodded. "Finding him won't take long—just a few minutes." He picked up a communicator and connected to Lin.

Pausing, he looked at Lin on the screen. "Lin, track Xiao Feng's signal. He's been captured by those temple bastards."

Lin was lying in bed beside a stunning blonde woman. He sprang to his feet immediately. "What? Who took Xiao Feng?"

Lin and Xiao Feng shared a deep bond, having faced death side by side many times. Hearing this was like a thunderclap for Lin. Snatching a pair of underwear, he hastily dressed and rushed out, leaving the communicator on the table. His voice was still audible: "Lei Yan! Lei Yan, wake up! We've got work to do!"

The transmission cut. Moments later, Lei Yan's image appeared on the screen, brow furrowed. "Xiao Feng is likely no longer on our continent. According to satellite data, he's en route to North America."

Everyone was stunned. Lei Yan's reputation was unquestionable—if he tracked someone, escape was impossible.

Only Lei Yan could locate Xiao Feng in such a short time.

Rice sighed in frustration. "You mean they really took Xiao Feng back to the Alliance headquarters?"

Tugu added, "They probably did. They wouldn't dare linger here."

Rice and Old White nodded. "Since we know where Xiao Feng is, we must act quickly to rescue him."

The group frowned deeply. Though they knew his location, every temple warrior was a formidable opponent. Even K, an eighth-tier psychic, had barely escaped with his life.

Aboard Zeus's plane, the gathered gods watched the captured Xiao Feng with cold eyes. Xiao Feng's brow was furrowed in concentration; having lost all his powers, he was little more than an ant before these mighty psychics.

Ares glared fiercely, itching to crush Xiao Feng with a single blow. But Zeus had commanded they extract Athena's location from him first, so Ares restrained himself, staring at Xiao Feng with bitter contempt and vowing to personally interrogate and torment him upon return.

Zeus sneered, "You punk, if you want a quick, painful death, tell us where Athena is."

But Xiao Feng remained dazed, refusing to utter a word.

Hades, his face marked with a fresh wound, slapped Xiao Feng across the forehead. The sharp crack echoed loudly. "Speak! Where is Athena?"

Hades' strength was unbearable now; the blow nearly knocked Xiao Feng unconscious. Stars danced in his eyes, and though he wanted to curse Hades, he held back—knowing that no matter what he said, it would be futile.