The scissors fiercely pierced the sun’s casing, and the tentacles covering it suddenly cracked. Soon after, layers of obsidian-like hard substance splashed out.

In an instant, streaks of black turbulence erupted from the surface of the scissors. The black sun split in two, and after emitting a brief wail, the demon completely disintegrated and vanished.

Warm sunlight cascaded down, enveloping the entire world. The sky cleared as if washed clean.

At this moment, the Doll Princess unfolded the scissors and sat atop the cross-shaped blades, descending from above. She pressed down her flying skirt and landed above the paper butterflies.

Xia Pingzhou then withdrew them onto the Black and White Ring Road surrounding him, secretly exhaling a sigh of relief as he sat on the giant butterfly’s back. He glanced down at Swallowing Silver, who was actively rescuing people around the city, and then at You Ruirui standing on the glacier.

At that moment, the Extreme Ice Maiden seemed to hesitate whether to chase after them but ultimately chose to return and aid the refugees trapped in the rubble.

Meanwhile, Ayase Origami also sat down, staring blankly at the azure sky above.

Xia Pingzhou leaned on her shoulder, raising his eyes to look at the series of settlement panels that popped up in front of him.

[Detected: An S Level demon has been slain, the cumulative kill count of the "Winter of the Wild Hunt" system has been updated: 138/140 (2 more kills needed to complete the mission)]

[Current progression of the Celestial Driver "International Chess" for number two: 88% → 100%]

[Congratulations, Celestial Driver "International Chess" for number two Xia Pingzhou has advanced to Tier Three! (Reached the highest tier)]

[Progression Reward 1: Obtained a new Celestial Driver ability: "Black King Domain" (When you open the "Chessboard", no entity can leave the "Chessboard" freely unless permitted by you or by killing you)]

[Progression Reward 2: The Chess Species "Bishop’s Statue" has acquired a new ability: "Holy Light" (Frees any entity from any control status) (Excluding Spiritual Ability)]

[Progression Reward 3: Acquired an empty slot for a Contracted Demon’s Celestial Driver.]

[Current number of demons that can be contracted with this Celestial Driver: 1 (Contracted demons: Shadow Demon, Cloning Demon)]

[Due to the passive skill "Soul Eater", the attributes of the "Queen Giant" have been slightly enhanced.]

[Due to the passive skill "Demon Hunter", a one-time use Chess Species - "Black Sun Demon" has been obtained.]

"When demons at the Catastrophe Level turn into chess pieces, shouldn’t they at least retain a Quasi-Calamity level of strength?" Xia Pingzhou thought, "And what will emerge after merging with the Empress?"

[Completed Li Jing’s card event number 15 - "Darkness Within the World".]

[As a reward: A card has been added to your Event Card book.]

Xia Pingzhou raised his eyebrows, opened the Event Card book, and found the recently acquired Event Card in the slot, clicking to view.

[Event Card Name: Darkness Within the World]

[Event Card Number: Li Jing ①⑤]

[Event Card Effect: Immediately absorb all surrounding sunlight, causing the world to briefly fall into darkness.]

[Hint: The Event Card will disappear after use, or you may choose to sell the card to exchange for "1" skill point.]

"What is the significance of this thing?"

Xia Pingzhou only glanced briefly and then closed the panel.

"Kitten, you’ve quietly strengthened again." The kimono girl cast a sideways glance at him.

"Oh right, I suddenly remembered." 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

"What?"

"You mentioned, once I become stronger than you, we should switch positions."

"...Yawning." Ayase Origami looked away.

"As expected, women’s words are not to be trusted."

Xia Pingzhou shrugged his shoulders.

"Leaving?" After a moment of silence, Ayase Origami asked.

"Yes, let’s fly straight to the train station." Xia Pingzhou said, lowering his head to check the time on his phone, "We still have time."

"Oh."

After the kimono girl spoke, she maneuvered the paper butterflies to fly toward the distance.