Chapter 79: The Fire Master
The flames dispersed, the air became scorching hot, and the oxygen content in the air dropped significantly. Su Xiao took out a miniature oxygen tank and inhaled deeply.
Bang~
The oxygen tank in Su Xiao's hand exploded. Although Duoyin Wang didn't know what it was, he immediately stopped it.
Su Xiao stepped forward, and Duoyin Wang, dozens of meters away, did the same.
"Let's have a fair fight."
Clang!
Su Xiao raised his blade to block, another long-range slashing attack. This was very much in line with Duoyin Wang's style—he spoke of a fair fight but immediately launched a sneak attack.
If Su Xiao's technique type was about crushing everything head-on, then Duoyin Wang was about adaptability. His entire life was summed up by one phrase: victory is justice, regardless of the process.
Having eliminated the surrounding threats, Su Xiao focused all his perception on Duoyin Wang. From the very start of the battle, he sensed an immense energy hidden within this old man.
Unless absolutely necessary, the other party wouldn't use that power. Once released, it would likely be irreversible, and Duoyin Wang might not even be able to maintain his human form.
All of Su Xiao's killing moves had been saved until now. Whether he could end the fight quickly depended on a newly developed technique—or rather, it wasn't a new ability but a combination of two existing ones.
With a boom, the ground beneath Su Xiao's feet caved in. He charged in front of Duoyin Wang and thrust his blade forward.
The long sword pierced through the air, aiming straight for Duoyin Wang's head. Duoyin Wang didn't dodge or evade; instead, he swung his scythe. In terms of ruthlessness, Duoyin Wang was no less than Su Xiao.
With a sharp sound, the long blade pierced through Duoyin Wang's chest. Before being struck, the old man took a small step back, so the blade aimed at his head only pierced his chest instead.
Ignoring the excruciating pain in his body, Duoyin Wang's war scythe slashed into Su Xiao's side, just over ten centimeters below his armpit. If Su Xiao hadn't raised his left arm, it would have been severed.
The scythe cut into his chest cavity, directly severing his ribs and heading straight for his internal organs. Su Xiao phased through space, and the scythe passed through his body.
Seizing the opportunity, Su Xiao delivered a straight kick to Duoyin Wang's abdomen. A surge of energy pierced through Duoyin Wang's body, flying out from his lower back. He staggered back a few steps, dropping to one knee while raising his left arm to block. That kick had truly dealt him a heavy blow.
Taking advantage of the enemy's numbness, Su Xiao slashed at Duoyin Wang's neck. Just as the blade touched the skin of his neck, the corner of Duoyin Wang's mouth slightly curled up.
Everything around them froze. Several flames appeared around Su Xiao and Duoyin Wang, and everything within this range came to a standstill.
Duoyin Wang rose from the ground, flipped his war scythe, and without any hesitation, swung it straight at Su Xiao's head.
As the scythe approached, the air around Su Xiao shattered like glass. He didn't dodge or evade but thrust his blade straight at Duoyin Wang's head.
Blood splattered. Su Xiao's long blade only pierced through Duoyin Wang's neck, while the enemy's scythe hooked beside his own neck. At this moment, his left arm was blocking the side of his neck, covered in a crystalline layer. Even so, the scythe's blade had cut into his left arm.
'Confusion: Living Being.'
Duoyin Wang continued swinging his scythe, intending to sever Su Xiao's left arm and head. Su Xiao leaped sideways, and a ring-shaped slash spread beneath him as the scythe blade hummed.
'Confusion: Dark Flame.'
Flames spread outward from Duoyin Wang, and scorching heat surged around Su Xiao.
"Roar!"
The Blood Beast coalesced and pounced on Duoyin Wang. Blood energy exploded, dispersing the surrounding flames. Both Su Xiao and Duoyin Wang retreated, now less than ten meters apart.
Crack, crack, crack~
A crystalline long blade formed in Su Xiao's left hand. He had activated the Azure Shadow King ability.
'Confusion: Eternal Life.'
With a hum, over a hundred wind-blade-like slashes spread outward from Duoyin Wang. Several struck Su Xiao, and his health plummeted sharply.
'Blade Dao Sword: Time.'
Everything around them slowed down. Su Xiao wielded two blades—the Azure Shadow King in his left hand, and the Dragon-Slaying Flash in his right, which was enveloped in dark blue smoke as the Demon Blade ability activated.
Wind blades came flying. Su Xiao charged through them, using the speed reduction from 'Time' to dodge each one. These wind blades were terrifyingly lethal; with his survivability, he could withstand at most six before it became fatal, and he had already been hit four times.
Duoyin Wang, spinning his war scythe, widened his eyes. His aura condensed, and he slanted his scythe in a seemingly ordinary slash—but this was his strongest ability. He had used this move to cut down countless powerful enemies.
Bang.
A not-so-loud explosion occurred beneath Duoyin Wang's feet. It was a spike formed from blood energy that had detonated beside his foot. This was a small portion of blood energy that Su Xiao had deliberately left behind after the Blood Beast's explosion—a total of seven blood spikes, all embedded in the ground near Duoyin Wang.
It was only a momentary distraction, but Su Xiao had already reached Duoyin Wang. He swung both blades, the left one striking Duoyin Wang's neck and the right one also aiming for the same spot.
Clang.
Blood sprayed out, forming a fan shape as the blade dragged through the air. The floating embers around them dimmed and turned to ash.
Duoyin Wang's headless corpse took a step back. His war scythe clattered to the ground. Flames surged all over his body. This headless old man seemed to still have a trump card.
The flames barely appeared before dissipating. Duoyin Wang could no longer activate the hellfire power within him. It would have made him stronger, but it would also have turned him into a monster.
"This... is fine too."
Duoyin Wang's head, still flying in the air, spoke softly. Flames ignited on his head, and it eventually turned to ash, scattering in the air.
The Fire Master was ultimately consumed by flames.
Su Xiao's crystalline long blade in his left hand shattered. He pressed one hand against his side, which had been completely cut open.
[Notification: You have killed Duoyin Wang · Gladstone.]
[You have obtained Holy Spirit Chest: Eternal One (100%).]
[You have obtained 21.73% World Source.]
[You have obtained Residual Fire Ashes (Special item, usable only within this world).]
...
Su Xiao picked up the chest on the ground. This was the first time he had obtained a Holy Spirit Chest with 100% purity.
Taking out a bottle of [Vitality Essence], he drank it to stabilize his injuries. Then, he began searching the empty room. Soon, he found a hidden compartment at the innermost part of the room and forcefully opened it. He wasn't worried about damaging the Void Tree Fruit.
Smashing through the stone slab, Su Xiao retrieved a wooden box from the hidden compartment. Opening it, he saw a fist-sized fruit covered in patterns, resembling a wooden carving.
[You have obtained Void Tree Fruit (Pending Notarization).]
[After returning to Reincarnation Paradise, the Hunter can notarize this item for free.]
...
The Void Tree Fruit was in hand. Su Xiao let out a long breath. The battle with Duoyin Wang had been dangerous. The other party was also a technique type, but fortunately, he wasn't a technique type forged through killing but through practical experience. Otherwise, the fight would have been even harder.
[Notification: Detected that the Hunter has killed Duoyin Wang · Gladstone.]
[Main Quest deviation detected. Recalibrating...]
[Main Quest: Third Ring completed.]
[Main Quest: Fourth Ring completed.]
[Main Quest: Fifth Ring completed.]
[Main Quest: Sixth Ring triggered (Final Stage).]
[Due to the Hunter completing the Main Quest through unconventional means, Main Quest rewards have been accumulated. Upon completing the Sixth Ring, all task rewards will be distributed together.]
...