The six clowns were in the same realm as them, but their strength was far inferior. The fight ended in ten minutes.
Kanoru watched the last clown shatter into dust. Its body was made of clay.
He frowned slightly, wondering if all the attackers were nothing more than toys. His eyes swept over the amusement park again. It was an odd blend of ancient and modern elements from the amusement parks he remembered—a strange mix of large plastic toys and old-fashioned carnival rides.
Lu Yue resumed walking, and Kanoru followed. He had a growing sense they were heading toward the Ferris wheel.
"Are we going to the Ferris wheel?" he asked.
"Yes," Zhiyuan replied. "The invaders used a spiritual treasure to overlap this space with the underground forest."
As Kanoru listened, his eyes scanned the surroundings carefully, wary of hidden threats.
Zhiyuan continued, "We have to destroy the spiritual treasure to break free."
A few minutes later, they reached an open area with a large fountain in the center.
Without stopping, they moved toward the eastern path leading to the Ferris wheel.
Kanoru suddenly halted, his head tilting slightly. Faint sounds of clashing swords reached his ears.
His senses, honed by samurai cultivation that strengthened the body, were sharper than Zhiyuan and Lu Yue's, whose warlock cultivation refined the spirit.
Zhiyuan, noticing Kanoru stop, asked, "What is it?"
Lu Yue, walking ahead, also paused and turned to face them.
"I hear fighting," Kanoru said.
Zhiyuan's eyes narrowed slightly. "Let's go," he said, heading toward the Ferris wheel.
"Not that way. Follow me," Kanoru said firmly.
Without waiting, he retraced their steps, heading back along the path they came from, then veered north.
After a few minutes, he turned east again.
In front of them were twelve bizarre figures—humanoid bikers dressed in leather gear with helmets, wielding swords in both hands.
But where their legs should have been, a single motorcycle wheel replaced them, making them look like living machines.
They were locked in battle with a faceless humanoid made of ice, its hands ending in razor-sharp claws.
Kanoru's eyes narrowed as he observed the battle. The ice creature was using an Avatar spell—Faceless Demon—a water-elemental technique. Whoever was fighting the bikers was hidden inside the spell's construct.
He heard Zhiyuan, now close beside him, shout in recognition, "Fourth Sister!"
Without hesitation, Zhiyuan charged forward, flames erupting from his palms.
Gu Zhiyuan hurled two fireballs at the nearest bikers, aiming to support his sister.
Kanoru watched as the fireballs closed in on the bikers.
Just before impact, a grey light enveloped the two bikers, forming a barrier.
The fireballs struck the barrier but were deflected, crashing into a nearby tent and a streetlamp.
An explosion followed, sending debris flying.
A biker standing near the lamp was caught in the blast.
The debris pierced through his leather jacket, making him flinch in pain.
The grey light did not protect him.
Kanoru noticed this but paid it little attention, his focus on how Zhiyuan's fireballs were deflected.
Then, he heard a shout from inside the Faceless Demon.
"The grey light barrier deflects elemental attacks!" the fourth princess yelled.
"Only physical attacks can harm them!"
Kanoru's eyes narrowed.
He recalled how the biker near the lamp was injured by the debris.
The barrier only blocked elemental attacks, leaving them vulnerable to physical damage.
Realizing this, Kanoru drew his sword and sprinted toward the bikers.
He clashed with three of them.
Though weaker in strength, the bikers fought with flawless coordination.
Their single wheels, replacing their legs, allowed them to spin and dodge with incredible agility.
Their speed outmatched Kanoru's, forcing him to increase his tempo.
His sword moved faster and faster, shifting fluidly between different sword styles.
Though he had only mastered two of the five, he was already preparing for the day he would wield all five seamlessly.
He felt no pressure fighting the three bikers.
But the same could not be said for the others.
Zhiyuan, Lu Yue, and the fourth princess were also facing three bikers each.
Though they were nearly as strong as Kanoru, they were warlocks, relying on elemental spells rather than close combat.
Against the bikers, their elemental magic was useless, leaving them at a disadvantage.
Kanoru's wind-elemental attacks were also ineffective, cutting his combat strength in half.
But he was a samurai.
Kanoru's superior physical strength and refined swordsmanship allowed him to handle the three bikers with ease.
After fighting for some time, he grew familiar with their attack patterns.
He shifted his stance from defense to offense.
His chakra began circulating in a new pattern, and he thought, "Snake Bite."
In a burst of incredible speed, he lunged forward, dodging an incoming strike, and drove his sword into a biker's chest.
With a sharp twist, he dragged his blade to the right, sending sparks flying from the biker's torso as it collapsed.
"Robot," Kanoru thought, eyeing the exposed mechanical parts.
Without hesitation, he turned on the remaining two bikers.
His chakra shifted again, and like a wolf sweeping through its prey, he swung his sword in a fluid arc, severing the head of the second biker.
Now facing the last one, he ended the fight in under a minute.
The bikers wielded swords, but their movements were riddled with flaws.
Kanoru had spotted the gaps early on but couldn't exploit them due to their seamless coordination and superior speed.
Once he adapted to their attack rhythm, he was able to overwhelm them.
With the new attack moves he had created himself, he fully mastered both the Snake and Wolf styles.
The battle ended swiftly.
Kanoru glanced at the fallen bikers.
From their damaged bodies, he spotted wires and circuits sparking from the wounds.
They were indeed robots.
What he wanted to know was whether they were being remotely controlled or acting independently.
He suddenly heard a voice shout, "What are you standing there for? Help us!"
He turned toward the fourth princess, Gu Siyu, still inside her Faceless Demon avatar.
She lashed at the bikers with her claws, but they dodged every swipe, striking back and landing blows on her icy body.
Kanoru's eyes shifted to Gu Zhiyuan, who had yet to activate his avatar spell.
Wielding a spear, Zhiyuan fought the three bikers evenly, his movements steady and precise.
Then Kanoru glanced at Lu Yue.
Her body was now marked with light green runes, and she wielded her whip against three bikers.
Though her whip technique was unrefined, her speed and reflexes surpassed the bikers.
Her whip lashed across their bodies repeatedly, leaving visible gashes.
The fourth princess needed help, but she was at a distance and could still hold her own.
Kanoru decided to assist Lu Yue first.
He charged into her battle and quickly dispatched the three bikers fighting her.
With Lu Yue freed, she went to aid Gu Zhiyuan while Kanoru rushed toward Gu Siyu.
Kanoru's sword flashed as he swiftly cut down the bikers surrounding the fourth princess.
After the last one fell, Gu Siyu kicked its lifeless body and grumbled, "What monsters are these? No elemental attacks affect them."
Kanoru knelt beside a fallen biker.
With a quick slice, he pried open its chest panel and found a dark crystal embedded inside.
He extracted the crystal and inspected it.
Seeing Kanoru retrieve one, the others followed suit, opening the bikers near them and pulling out dark crystals.
Lu Yue held one up and asked, "What is this?"
Gu Siyu frowned, "It looks like a demon core."
Kanoru moved to another biker and removed another dark crystal.
Gu Zhiyuan nodded and said, "Let's collect them all. We can show them to our elders and family members outside."
Kanoru gathered five dark crystals before stopping to let the others collect the rest.
As they worked, he remembered something he had meant to ask.
"Zhiyuan, you mentioned the Spirit King?" he asked.
Before Gu Zhiyuan could answer, Gu Siyu interjected, "The Spirit King realm is the current peak of our cultivation system."
Gu Zhiyuan added, "Divine Samurai, Great Warlock, Great Blood Knight, and other such powerhouses are collectively called Spirit Realm cultivators. Beyond that is the Spirit Lord realm, and finally, the Spirit King."
Kanoru didn't ask further.
He had only just reached the Spirit Realm—there was no point in dwelling on higher realms that were far out of his reach.
Knowing more would only distract him.
Right now, escaping this place was more important.
After they finished collecting the dark crystals, they made their way toward the Ferris wheel.