The trigger was pulled.

A flash of blue appeared and vanished.

Ivan was already on guard.

At the moment Xia Panqiu fired.

A decayed, worn-out piece of sheepskin paper around him suddenly ignited, and its ashes enveloped his figure, moving him to another location.

Boom—

An explosion sounded.

A frenzied Spirit surged forth.

Ivan saw a terrifying wave erupting from the position where he had just been standing, his expression slightly twisted, filled with both fear and excitement.

Xia Panqiu bit her lip, shifting the barrel of the gun once more, aiming at Ivan who had appeared at another spot.

But before she could shoot this time, a fallen shelf beside her suddenly stood upright and then crashed into the Celestial Punishment Weapon that she had lifted.

The Celestial Punishment Weapon flew out of her hands, falling to the ground.

At the same time.

The shelf Xia Panqiu was leaning against also seemed to come to life, twisting from both sides to bind her arms tightly, securing her in place.

"..."

Xia Panqiu looked ahead with an ugly expression... and saw that Yevgeny had also come downstairs.

After all.

No matter how powerful the Celestial Punishment Weapon was.

With only one controller, without someone to restrain, and without the intimidating force of a joint attack... it was still somewhat lacking.

"Quickly, retrieve the Celestial Punishment Weapon!"

The moment Yevgeny restrained Xia Panqiu, seeing the terrifying Celestial Punishment Weapon within reach, he began to tremble with excitement.

And upon hearing this, Ivan suddenly snapped back to reality and, with a ferocious look, lunged towards Xia Panqiu once more.

Meanwhile.

The fiery wind howled.

Not far away.

Zhou Jian, dragging a trail of splendid sparks, appeared from another direction, approaching the convenience store entrance.

Xia Panqiu, biting her lustrous red lips, tried to break free from her restraints while resorting to an old trick: "Zhou Jian, Chen Lusi..."

"Don't listen to her!!!"

Before she finished.

Yevgeny roared angrily: "Trust Mi Jie Celestial Strategy's judgment! Don't be deceived!"

And it seemed the name Mi Jie Celestial Strategy had an effect.

Although Zhou Jian paused momentarily because of Xia Panqiu's words, he did not stop but instead accelerated again, charging directly into the chaotic convenience store.

The temperature in the convenience store rose sharply.

Xia Panqiu felt the heat wave coming at her and, seeing no hope in struggling, chose to slowly close her eyes.

Chen Lusi... sorry.

At the same time, when they noticed Zhou Jian was not affected this time.

Both Yevgeny and Ivan displayed outrageously excited expressions on their faces.

The Celestial Punishment Weapon... was within their grasp!!!

As long as they took it across the border, even if it meant breaking ties, it didn't matter!!!

Because the Russian Orthodox Church would then possess such a fearsome weapon!!!

And they would become the greatest contributors in bringing back this terrifying weapon! Even becoming the Cardinals who command such a weapon!!!

Because... no one currently understands the terror of the Celestial Punishment Weapon better than they do!!!

Moreover, Zhou Jian's lack of influence means everything is going smoothly on Catherine's end, and if they can bring the Artificial Celestial Kingdom back... they will once again have a fully empowered Pope!!!

And by then, who needs allies? The Russian Orthodox Church doesn't need allies at all!!!

The more they thought about it, the redder their faces became with excitement.

Ivan's speed increased as well.

Only.

The anticipated scream from Xia Panqiu did not occur.

Zhou Jian charged into the convenience store, but he didn't approach her; instead, he went towards the shelf that bound her.

With overwhelming heat waves, he punched the shelf binding Xia Panqiu.

The shelf seemed to emit a wail, then instantly lost its vitality.

Xia Panqiu reopened her eyes, slightly stunned.

And at that moment, Zhou Jian had already picked up the Celestial Punishment Weapon from the floor, slowly turning to face Ivan and Yevgeny, whose expressions were contorted with excitement, and grinned fiercely: "Who were you talking about? Mi Jie Celestial Strategy? Can she compare to even a hair of Chen Lusi?"

Xia Panqiu: "......?"

In the distance.

Upon hearing this, Ivan and Yevgeny were taken aback and then slowly widened their eyes.

...What does that mean?

Can just a name override the Authority Ability of Catherine Judge?

Impossible! Are you kidding me!?

Ivan, who was heading towards the convenience store, sped up once again.

Yevgeny took a step forward, glaring at Zhou Jian, just about to shout, urging him to remember Mi Jie Celestial Strategy from his memory.

However.

Before he could speak.

A cold female voice suddenly rang out.

"Is this how you treat guests?"

"..."

"..."

Ivan and Yevgeny's movements halted.

At the same time.

The surrounding temperature... dropped directly below zero.

Both, who were still in short sleeves, felt the chill rush to their heads as if they had fallen into an ice cave.

But that wasn't the most important part... The crucial issue was that they felt as if their bodies had rusted, even moving their gaze became laborious.

Ivan stood in place, desperately trying to control his body to move forward, but no matter how hard he tried... he couldn't move an inch.

So soon.

The twisted excitement on his face gradually faded, replaced by fear.

He abruptly turned to escape.

However, as soon as he turned, he found a tall woman standing right in front of him.

"I asked, is this how you treat guests?"

Shan Li stood before Ivan, her expression calm, her ice-blue eyes reflecting his image, asking once again.

"..."

Facing Shan Li, who completely blocked the sunlight, Ivan felt his extreme fear turn into fury.

He defiantly raised his hand, manipulating the sheepskin paper around him to float, chanting loudly: "You summon..."

Crack—

But the chant had just begun.

Ivan turned into a human-shaped ice sculpture, unmoving.

Shan Li, expressionless, quickly moved her gaze away and began walking towards Yevgeny.

Witnessing Ivan instantly become a human ice sculpture, Yevgeny's entire body trembled. He immediately searched around and shouted, "Catherine Judge! Catherine Judge!! Please show yourself!"

He wanted to seek help.

Such combat strength... only with Catherine appearing was there a chance of victory.

Even if it was just to briefly influence the opponent.

But. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

No matter how much he shouted, Catherine's avatar did not appear.

The surroundings were quiet, only the sound of Shan Li's footsteps echoed.

"Catherine Judge! Catherine Judge!! Catherine!!!"

As Shan Li came closer and closer, Yevgeny, becoming more frantic, continued to shout for Catherine.

But.

Until Shan Li stood in front of him, the Catherine he called did not appear.

Yevgeny stiffly raised his head to look at Shan Li standing before him.

Shan Li tugged at the corner of her mouth, displaying a look of disgust on her face: "——Presumptuous, worthless insect."

Crack—

As soon as the words fell.

Yevgeny also turned into an ice sculpture, his last thought being — Where did Catherine Judge go?

[Folklore System, Level 1 Authority, Frost Snow Goddess—Qing Nu.]

Elsewhere, because everything had happened so quickly.

Zhou Jian and Xia Panqiu both remained where they were, doing nothing.

Until.

Yevgeny also became an ice sculpture, and they snapped back to their senses.

Xia Panqiu saw this scene, exhaled sharply, and then her knees softened, causing her to kneel on the ground, her hands supporting her finely sculpted and rounded legs, relaxing.

But soon, she recalled something, looked up suddenly, and turned to Zhou Jian: "That's not an enemy, Chen Lusi..."

"I know."

Zhou Jian turned back, looking playfully at the girl sitting on the ground at this moment: "I've already remembered, Miss Xia Panqiu, you don't need to use the idea of being Chen Lusi's wife to convince me any longer. I believe you."

"..."

Xia Panqiu's expression froze, recalling the many things she had just said, and her face immediately turned bright red.

...immediate social death on the spot.