Lantern Sister is still very capable.

Chapter 234 A Desperate Soldier

The third regression pulled the panda back from the brink of death, but the near-death experience was so profound that the pain seemed to linger in its brain.

He gritted his teeth and steadied his trembling muscles, his stone axe still wielding immense power as he swung it at Chu Deng.

Actually, Panda knew he had already lost this match. He kept trying to win despite repeated defeats, which was honestly a bit embarrassing, but he really wanted to go to the world stage.

It wasn't for fame or fortune, nor was it to push the limits; it was for revenge!

Panda's real name is Xiong Ying, and he is already thirty-eight years old this year. He is about to turn forty. His early missions have left him with many old injuries, which are accumulating as he gets older. In addition, with the rise of the younger generation, it is very likely that he will not be able to participate in the next World Championship.

Years ago, Xiong Ying participated in a Level 3 World Team Championship with her team captain. They were wiped out by a Level 3 ability user from France, who single-handedly defeated three of their five-person team. Panda was the only survivor, simply because the ability user contemptuously told him, "Useless trash. But that's fine, all the strong ones are dead. In the future, China will only have scum like you left."

For so many years, this insulting remark has been etched into the panda's soul. He went to Xinjiang Province and ventured deep into the desert, training himself rigorously like an ascetic. He even went abroad to remote and desolate places to hone his skills, killing supernatural beings and destroying alien plants. He seemed to be living a life of endless glory, but he has never been able to escape the past.

The image of his companion's death kept appearing in his dreams. In the dead of night, the panda could only remember the deepest despair and the hatred that drove him to seek revenge.

The level 3 ability user from Gaul failed to place in the team competition back then and did not participate in the World Championships for two consecutive years. This time, Panda received news that the person has advanced to level 4 and will participate in this year's World Level 4 Championships.

"I can't lose..." he murmured, his eyes red as he looked at Chu Deng in front of him.

She was young and unaware of the deep-seated hatred her predecessors had harbored, nor of the dangers of the World Championship.

Upon learning that their enemy was going to participate in the Level 4 competition, Panda's other two teammates, whom he hadn't contacted for years, invited him to dinner. The three men, who were nearly a hundred years old combined, got drunk at the dinner and cried like children, hugging Panda and howling, "Yingzi, it's up to you! We've been useless, we haven't been able to advance for so many years, we've been stuck at Level 3, only you can help... to avenge the captain and Xiaohua!"

Xiaohua was the only girl in their team competition. She advanced to level three at the age of twenty and was exceptionally talented. At the age of twenty-four, she went to the World Team Championship with them. The other four treated her like a little sister. No one expected that she would perish there, dying at such a young age.

"I can't lose..." the panda murmured, his brow burning. He swung his stone axe at Chu Deng, who calmly countered. The stone axe transformed in mid-air, spreading into soil that enveloped her head.

Chu Deng briefly lost sight, held her breath, and raised her hand to remove the dirt from her nose and eyes.

The soil stretched out like water. Chu Deng frowned, flames erupting from her body and burning the watery soil to ash. But then the panda punched her in the stomach, and as she opened her mouth, soil burrowed into her throat.

The feeling of suffocation slowed her breathing. Panda squinted, manipulating her powers to directly block Chu Deng's airway with the small amount of soil, causing her to suffocate to death.

Chu Deng didn't let him succeed. The burst of flames forced the panda to stay away, and the soil in its throat suddenly stopped moving. Chu Deng knew that this thing could only be controlled by the panda within a certain range.

I reckon it was something the panda just came up with.

Chu Deng retreated away from the panda, took a moment to burn the threat in her throat to ashes and spit it out. She coughed and looked up at the clock face on the tower—8:11:16.

But in reality, it was already around 8:30.

Chu Deng promised Pei Hanxing that she would go back before nine o'clock to accompany him for the third check-up, in an attempt to peel off the mutated insect armor.

Let's make a quick decision.

Panda and Chu Deng exchanged a glance and thought to themselves at the same time.