Fourteenth Street, within the Cretan Hollow.
A newly born upper-rank Ethereal named Dullahan collapsed quietly in the Hollow before it could harm a single person.
Its once-impenetrable Ether crystal shell was shattered, and its body had been smashed deep into the ground by immense force.
Now, its deactivated body slowly dissipated, returning Ether energy back into the Hollow.
Sol walked up to the embedded Dullahan and picked up the fractured core of the Ethereal, now split into several large pieces.
In terms of Ether quantity, one Dullahan core was equivalent to dozens of level-one Ethereal.
And in terms of Ether energy density, the Dullahan's core far surpassed any level-one Ethereal.
From what Sol had learned these past two days, a single Dullahan core alone was worth a million dennies.
"Did I see that right? Sol jumped up and killed Dullahan with just four slashes!?"
Nicole wiped her eyes, her chest rising and falling rapidly.
She seemed to have seen Dullahan slash Sol once, only for Sol to leap up with a snap, and crack crack crack crack—four slashes later, the shield and the Ethereal were both completely destroyed.
That was just way too savage!
Usually, upper-rank Ethereal were the stronger side attribute-wise, even newly formed ones.
But Sol had completely overwhelmed Dullahan with just a few strikes.
Was this guy even human?
Who's the real upper-rank Ethereal here, huh!?
"Boss Nicole, you weren't seeing things. Boss Sol really did jump up and crush Dullahan."
Billy confirmed that Nicole's eyes hadn't played tricks on her—his camera had captured the same scene.
"Rationally speaking, I've seen a human rip the head off a Notorious Ethereal bare-handed. This kind of strength isn't exactly rare."
Anby thought for a moment before adding, "Though I can't do that myself."
"Anby, that's something you saw in a movie, right?" Billy quipped. "Also, what kind of director would make a movie that exaggerated!?"
Ripping the head off a Notorious Ethereal with bare hands? If someone could really do that, the original seven Void Hunters would have to call him boss.
"Hmm…" Eous mused, then remarked, "Honestly, what Sol just did wasn't that much less exaggerated than those movies. If he really did rip off a Notorious Ethereal's head right now, I wouldn't even be surprised."
"You guys are exaggerating. How could I possibly do something like that?"
Sol walked over to the group, sounding a little speechless.
He had gotten the Yàn Shuāngyīng template, not some Hercules template.
Even if the Yàn Shuāngyīng template were strengthened tenfold, there was no way he could rip a Notorious Ethereal apart with his bare hands—that'd be even more absurd than a soap opera.
"Hehe, just kidding."
Eous chuckled awkwardly.
Belle also realized she might've gone too far. Tearing a Notorious Ethereal apart? That was straight-up god-tier nonsense.
"Actually, it's not entirely impossible."
Sol thought of something and gave a mysterious smile.
If he pulled a magnetic maniac, a Moon-Drinker Lord, or maybe even a Silver Superman when he rolled gold…
Maybe he really could pull off something as wild as tearing a Notorious Ethereal apart.
Eous laughed awkwardly.
"You're the one who started joking."
Sol was just playing along.
He only knew gold drops after 30 rolls—but what kind of gold, he had no control over.
"Let's go. The upper-rank Ethereal is down, and no one's left to stop us from taking the safe."
Sol chuckled. "We can talk more when we're back."
Nicole, Eous, and the others all nodded in agreement.
Following the simple Carrot displayed on Sol's phone, they all headed toward the Hollow's exit.
On the way, Billy clung to Sol. "Boss Sol, that jump-and-slash combo was so cool! What's the technique behind it?"
That leap-and-slash pose—it was just too stylish.
If he could pull that off, he couldn't even imagine how awesome he'd look.
Sol smirked. "What, you want to learn?"
Billy's robotic eyes lit up—literally. He nodded eagerly. "Boss Sol, I really want to learn it!"
"If you want to learn, I'll teach you!"
That technique was flashy but not very practical—mostly good for showboating in low-level fights.
He could have rolled and dodged behind Dullahan, then slashed its core in one hit.
So why did he leap and slice through both shield and Ethereal?
Because it just looked so much cooler.
Being strong is temporary, but being stylish is forever.
"Really? That's awesome!"
Billy danced with excitement, walking with a spring in his step.
As the group walked off, Zhu Yuan and Qingyi watched them from the distance.
"Senior, what do you think?"
Zhu Yuan turned to Qingyi and asked for her thoughts.
"Stand up and see for yourself."
Qingyi answered calmly.
Zhu Yuan blinked in confusion.
"Stand. Up. And look."
Qingyi clarified offhandedly.
Zhu Yuan held her forehead and sighed helplessly. "Senior, please, now's not the time for jokes."
This senior was great in every other way—just liked cracking jokes from time to time.
"His strength is formidable—stronger than mine." Qingyi's expression turned serious. "His martial skill is terrifying as well. Even though those slashes were flashy, they required a master's technique."
As an Intelligent Construct, she had the strength to flip a small delivery truck.
But compared to the power Sol had just displayed—it was nothing.
As for technique, Sol's leap and four-strike combo avoided Dullahan's attack while maximizing his own damage output.
That flashy-looking combo wasn't even practical in most cases.
Normally, anyone leaping in front of Dullahan would be torn in half.
But Sol had jumped it to death—proving just how terrifying his combat skills were.
Did that man think doing that looked cool?
Qingyi remembered the image of him cleaving the Ethereal apart and had to admit—
Not gonna lie, that was cricketing cool.
"Senior, you're right—that lines up with my thoughts exactly."
Zhu Yuan nodded in agreement. "Mr. Sol really is powerful. No wonder he dared take on the Hollow-clearing commission."
He could solo hordes of weak Ethereal and swiftly suppress a powerful upper-rank one in single combat.
With that kind of strength, clearing the Cretan Hollow they were in wasn't just possible—it was likely.
"A guy like that joining the Hollow Investigative Association? I'd say he has what it takes to be an ACE Investigator."
Qingyi sighed. "If he joined our Public Security Bureau, he'd be Chief Peacekeeper material."
"Huh?" Zhu Yuan looked at Qingyi, eyes wide with confusion. "Senior, didn't you say the exact same thing about me just a while ago?"
Chief Peacekeeper material—that was praise Qingyi had previously given to her.
What, just one battle and the title gets reassigned?
"Eh-he~" Qingyi tilted her head and changed the subject. "Since they've already left, let's continue our mission."
"Yes, Senior Qingyi!"
The moment the mission was mentioned, Zhu Yuan perked up, throwing all other thoughts aside.