Above Broken Shell Island, the grayish-white Light of Slumber poured down like a silent tide; wherever it passed, colors faded and vitality froze.

Bai Cheng stood atop the stone mountain. Facing this law-based erasure from above the Enforcement Officers, specifically targeting the origin of faith and life, she did not retreat.

star tracks circulated within her silver eyes. Behind her, the phantom of a corner of the Star Rail Gate slowly unfolded, and the silver glow flowing from it, though not blazing, was exceptionally resilient—like a warm crack sliced through the absolute silence of the grayish-white.

"Ning Xue, analyze the law structure of the Light of Slumber and find its connection nodes with the purifying world net!" Bai Cheng's voice transmitted directly into Leng Ningxue's consciousness inside the train through the faith connection.

"Blue Bird, lightning techniques are pure Yang; disrupt its aura of deathly silence to buy time for the analysis."

"Zi Yuan, follow me—we will meet the Star Guard Battle Group head-on."

The moment her words fell, Blue Bird had already transformed into a streak of blazing lightning and soared into the sky.

Nine Lightning Dragons roared out from behind her. Instead of charging straight at the Light of Slumber, they circled and collided at high speeds along the edge of the grayish-white tide, exploding into clusters of blinding electrical light.

The pure Yang and unyielding power of lightning clashed violently with the deathly laws of the Light of Slumber, producing a piercing sound like shattering glass.

It forcibly tore unstable, lightning-dazzled gaps along the edge of the grayish-white tide, briefly slowing its progress in submerging the island.

At the same time, data cascaded like a waterfall in Leng Ningxue's icy eyes. Using the perception transmitted through the resonance of Bai Cheng's Star Rail Gate, she rapidly analyzed the grayish-white light curtain shrouding the world:

"The Light of Slumber is essentially the stripping of law activity, released synchronously through nodes on the purifying world net to form a domain-type suppression."

"The core weakness lies in the synchronization frequency between the nodes."

"By finding the main node and interfering with its frequency, we can cause structural disorder in the light curtain."

"The main node's coordinates have been marked; it's located at the intersection of the net to the due east. However, it's heavily guarded—I've detected energy signatures from three Mind-Eroding Demon Generals."

Bai Cheng's silver eyes locked onto that direction.

Meanwhile, the twelve figures of the Star Guard Battle Group had already plummeted like /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ meteors onto the other side of the island. The leading Leo Star Guard pointed his spear at Bai Cheng, his voice coming through his star-helmet, cold and ruthless:

"Cease your resistance and hand over the embryonic Sovereign Brand, and you may be allowed to enter the Star Rail Reincarnation as a remnant soul."

"Those who resist shall have both body and soul extinguished."

Bai Cheng did not answer.

With a flash, she appeared a hundred meters in front of the Star Guard Battle Group. Zi Yuan followed her like a shadow, her long blade pointing diagonally toward the ground, purple electricity flowing silently along the edge. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

"The Star Rail Orthodoxy?" Bai Cheng's voice was calm, yet it carried a hint of faint mockery.

"An orthodoxy that disregards life and fights only for authority—how is it any different from the Enforcement Officers you so despise?"

The gaze beneath the Leo Star Guard's helmet suddenly turned sharp. "Blaspheming the star track is an even greater crime—Kill!"

Twelve starlights erupted simultaneously like twelve falling stars, forming a profound Star-War Killing Array that enveloped Bai Cheng and Zi Yuan.

star spears, star swords, star hammers... weapons condensed from various stellar powers bombarded them from all directions, each strike carrying the terrifying might to tear space and crush laws.

Clearly, they intended to use the fastest and most violent means to completely erase this "Usurper," Bai Cheng.

Zi Yuan moved first.

Her long blade drew a perfect purple arc. Her blade intent flowed like spring water around stones, gently yet firmly parrying and redirecting the first three incoming star spear attacks.

Simultaneously, her figure cut into the flank of the battle array like a ghost. The blade light was no longer soft, turning into something of extreme concentration and sharpness.

Although she couldn't fully unleash Tide Breaker again, the slashes containing its intent remained fierce, aiming directly for the neck of a star guard wielding a star hammer.

That star guard reacted extremely quickly, pulling his star hammer back to defend. It collided with the blade light, exploding in a cluster of blinding starlight and purple electricity.

The star guard was forced back three steps, a tiny crack appearing on his star-helmet, while Zi Yuan used the recoil to spin and retreat, avoiding the pincer attack from two other star guards.

In the gap of this lightning-fast exchange, Bai Cheng moved.

She did not directly participate in the close-quarters combat. Instead, she raised her hands, the embryonic Sovereign Brand reappearing on her forehead as the phantom of the Star Rail Gate behind her expanded slightly.

"Star Rail Boundary."

With a soft whisper, a pale silver domain with a radius of about fifty meters quietly unfolded with her as the center.

Within the domain, the violent stellar power seemed to have fallen into an invisible mire; its speed, power, and even the efficiency of law condensation showed obvious stagnation and disorder.

As for the attacks coming from the star guard battle array, the moment they entered the domain, their trajectories underwent imperceptible deflections, as if gently nudged by an invisible hand.

This was precisely one of the law applications of the embryonic Star Rail Gate: defining order and interfering with established trajectories.

Though limited by Bai Cheng's current realm and power, the domain's range was restricted, and its effect was far from reaching the level of "Defining Laws with a Single Word."

But in this rapidly changing King-level melee, even the slightest interference was enough to create an opportunity.

The Leo Star Guard's pupils constricted. "It truly is a law of usurpation... But an embryo is an embryo after all!"

The star rail spear in his hand erupted with brilliant starlight, forcibly breaking through the slight stagnation of the domain. He thrust the spear directly toward the center of Bai Cheng's forehead; wherever the spear tip passed, space cracked inch by inch, revealing the dark void behind it.

This thrust condensed the full power of his Middle King-level and even contained a hint of the Star Rail Authority pressure bestowed by the Constellation Leader, vowing to shatter that blasphemous brand in a single blow!

Bai Cheng's silver eyes remained calm. She neither dodged nor avoided it, her hands tracing patterns in the air before her.

The silver glow flowing from the Star Rail Gate phantom suddenly accelerated, weaving into a translucent silver light shield flowing with star-map patterns in front of her.

"Clang—!!!"

The star spear struck the light shield, producing a deafening boom like a great bronze bell!

A terrifying energy storm exploded from the point of impact, shaking several surrounding star guards and forcing them back. The coral rock on the ground flew up like powder.

The light shield vibrated violently, the star-map patterns on its surface flickering. Spider-web-like cracks appeared, but it ultimately did not shatter.

Bai Cheng let out a muffled groan as a trickle of silver-colored blood seeped from the corner of her mouth. Her figure slid back over ten meters, each step leaving a deep mark on the hard coral ground.

Using an embryo to hard-block the full-power strike of a Middle King-level infused with authority was, after all, too much of a strain.

But she had blocked it.

Moreover, at the moment of impact, she had clearly captured the fluctuation frequency and structure of the hint of Star Rail Authority contained within the Leo Star Guard's attack through the resonance of the Star Rail Gate.

This planted a seed of information for a possible future confrontation.

"Miss!"

Seeing Bai Cheng injured, Zi Yuan's gaze sharpened. Her blade light suddenly flared as she stopped holding back, pushing her newly realized Flowing Blade Intent to the limit.

Purple electricity swept out like a tornado, temporarily forcing back the three surrounding star guards as she flashed to Bai Cheng's side.

"I'm fine." Bai Cheng wiped the blood from her mouth, her silver eyes looking toward the east. "Ning Xue, progress on the main node analysis?"

"Seventy percent! But the three guarding Mind-Eroding Demon Generals are shrinking back toward the node core; they seem to be preparing some kind of defensive or counter-attack ritual!" Leng Ningxue's voice carried urgency.

Bai Cheng's gaze swept over the Star Guard Battle Group, which was closing in again, then looked up at the sky where the Light of Slumber curtain, though continuously disrupted by Blue Bird's lightning, was still slowly but firmly pressing down.

Time was running out.

Once the Light of Slumber completely enveloped the island, the two thousand-plus residents of Broken Shell Island, including the Old Priest who maintained the faith network, would have all their vitality and activity stripped away in an instant, turning into eternal sculptures of sleep.

And the presence of the Star Guard Battle Group eliminated any possibility of them destroying the main node at their leisure.

They had to... break the deadlock!