Chapter 40: Slaying
Boom~!
A thunderclap roared in the sky. At this moment, in Sky City's Lower City, the streets were crowded with commoners. Many carried large bags and small parcels. The cries of children, the honking of cars, and the curses of those being jostled mixed together.
If Sky City's Lower City, Mid City, and Upper City were divided into three parts, the Lower City was undoubtedly the largest in area. It was over a dozen times the size of the Mid City and over a thousand times the size of the Upper City, with a population far exceeding the former two.
However, after all residents of the Upper City and Mid City were evacuated to the Lower City, this place became somewhat cramped. Hotels and inns were fully booked, while stations, parks, and other areas were filled with the homeless.
In fact, the Witch Guild's original plan was to evacuate all residents of Sky City to Giant Armor City (the Fortress City). But unexpectedly, after Silver Lady had straightened things out in Giant Armor City, the officials of Sky City all obstructed the evacuation of civilians.
The Witch Guild had to settle for the next best option, transferring all residents of Sky City's Mid City and Upper City to the relatively safer Lower City.
This situation arose not because the Sky City Lord and the Witch Guild were at odds. Outsiders believed that this world only had two Supremes: the Guild Leader, Poe Yenn, and the Moon Witch, Sesshiris.
The Guild Leader was at the early Supreme stage, while the Moon Witch was said to be at the mid Supreme level. Specific intelligence was unclear. Many insiders thought this inaccurate, as when the Moon Witch had ascended to her high position back then, some believed she already possessed late Supreme strength.
If that speculation held, given the vast rare resources the Moon Witch had consumed over the years, she was likely in the same tier as powerhouses like the Underworld God, Soul Lord, Blade Demon, Immortal Elder, Deer God, and Spider Lady—at the peak of Supreme level.
Presumably, this was why Doom Star had not attacked for many years. The long-standing enmity between the two sides was bound to erupt eventually.
The Moon Witch and the Guild Leader had already maximized the Witch Realm's strength at the powerhouse level. Under these circumstances, the Witch Realm still concealed another Supreme—the newly ascended Sky City Lord.
In others' perceptions, the Sky City Lord and the Moon Witch were mortal enemies. In reality, this was a trap.
The origins of the Moon Witch, the Guild Leader, and the Sky City Lord were a miraculous story. All three grew up in Sky City's Lower City. The Moon Witch and the Guild Leader were members of two fallen witch families, while the Sky City Lord grew up in an orphanage. A chance encounter as children near the massive drainage ditch in the eastern part of the city brought them together. From then on, they became friends, playing in the mud and running wild on the steel pipes.
As they grew older, they had to part ways. When they met again, they had each gained some standing within the Witch Guild, though not much. Still, the reunion stirred their hearts. They parted again, only to cross paths years later, by which time all three held high positions. Eventually, each reached the pinnacle.
From then on, their respective acts began. The Moon Witch, the Guild Leader, and the Sky City Lord all had conflicts with one another. People had always believed the Guild Leader was the Moon Witch's greatest threat, seeking to replace the Witch Guild with the Star Research Society and become the new Moon Witch.
In truth, this was deliberately orchestrated by the Moon Witch. It helped her avoid many troubles. The Guild Leader was like a magnet. Those who sought to overthrow the Moon Witch would best choose to join the Guild Leader's ranks, pledge loyalty to him, and reveal words about forcing the Moon Witch to abdicate in disgrace.
Upon hearing this, the Guild Leader would think: 'Oh? You've got potential, kid.'
After some encouragement and praise, the Guild Leader would send his familiar to secretly deliver a letter to the Moon Witch. Her method was to stockpile these letters, waiting until she had four or five before dealing with them all at once. This was why the Witch Guild often suppressed the Star Research Society.
As for the Sky City Lord, this was an even more intricate setup. Under his leadership, Sky City's "Mutation" rate hit an all-time high. Was the Lord incompetent? No. The entire witch system was flawed, with the "Mutation" rate of all witches skyrocketing.
To stabilize this dire situation, the Moon Witch devised a plan: further perfect the "Madness Sequence" and "Filth Sequence." This stopgap secret method could not be widely publicized, so it was only made available in Sky City.
This gave witches facing "Mutation" two options: first, choose an unknown Mutation—how terrifying that was, past generations of witches had shown the world; second, defect to Sky City, obtain the "Madness Sequence" and "Filth Sequence" there, and even if they mutated, control the early stages within a relatively manageable range.
Thus, witches on the verge of "Mutation" flocked to Sky City to survive, even if the place grew increasingly eerie and dark, even if it seemed at odds with the Witch Guild. For survival, none of that mattered.
This directly caused Sky City's witch "Mutation" rate to soar. Coupled with the deliberate guidance of the Moon Witch's subordinates, people came to believe that the Sky City witches' "Mutations" were self-inflicted, not natural. Excluding these numbers, the overall "Mutation" rate of witches outside remained stable.
They say a triangle is the most stable shape. The Moon Witch, the Guild Leader, and the Sky City Lord were exactly that. Despite the Dark God Cult's recent activity in this century, before the Archbishop of the Abyss returned, the cult's high-ranking members were toyed with by these three.
But now, the Sky City Lord opposed the Moon Witch's order, refusing to evacuate Sky City's residents to Giant Armor City. This meant only one thing: in the confrontation with Shenfu, the Platinum Apostle, and the Archbishop of the Abyss, the Sky City Lord had lost.
Shenfu's strength was never judged by his power, let alone that he now had Absolute Strength. As for the Platinum Apostle, he was once the No. 1 member under Tuanzhang. Whether he was an Absolute Strong or a Supreme was hard to determine. It was plausible that Tuanzhang's injury reduced him to Absolute Strong, or that he retained early Supreme strength.
As for the Archbishop of the Abyss, when he was still a World-Destroying Calamity, he was at the Supreme peak. Back then, all Law Destroyers had to join forces to capture him. It wasn't that the Archbishop could match all contemporary Law Destroyers in combat—his odds of winning a one-on-one were low. The key was his conceptual immortality. As long as other worlds had Abyss God Cults with their own Archbishops, he could be reborn through them.
The Archbishop's current strength was estimated to be between Supreme and Absolute Strong, likely recovering to the Supreme level soon. And don't forget, the historically strongest backstabbing weapon, "Scorn," was in his hands. The Eternal Dark Lord, one of the Eternal Light World's Four Giants, had been killed by a single backstab from him.
Facing these three, the Sky City Lord's death was not unjust. As for why the Moon Witch and the Guild Leader didn't come to help, the Underworld God had left Doom Star days ago. This was a choice between Moon Ring City and Sky City. Whether it was the Moon Witch, the Guild Leader, or the Sky City Lord, they all chose to protect Moon Ring City, the heart of the Witch faction.
At this moment, on the ancient ritual ground, darkness like inverted incense spread along the ground.
The black cloud vortex in the sky grew larger. The darkness and blood qi on the field gradually dissipated. Su Xiao drew the Dragon-Slaying Flash at his waist, along with its scabbard.
Clang~
The long blade was unsheathed. The blue light in his pupils became more pronounced due to the activity of the Cyan Steel Shadow Energy within him.
Amu, over three meters tall, let out a "Moo" behind Su Xiao. One hand gripped the handle of the Bloodthirsty Battle Axe, while the other pressed a dark red metal mask onto his face. This mask was a part derived from the Bloodthirsty Battle Axe. As soon as it touched Amu's skin, blood vessel-like structures spread from its edges, burrowing into his flesh.
This Bloodthirsty Battle Axe was forged from the quasi-Original Sin Object "Bloodthirsty Battle Armor" and the "Dragonheart Axe." Interestingly, among the two quasi-Original Sin Objects, "Bloodthirsty Battle Armor" and "Primordial Mask," Su Xiao had high hopes for the former. He invested a large number of "Original Sin Buds" and Original Sin-attribute items to feed it, yet it failed to achieve greatness, ultimately serving only as the main material for Amu's weapon. In contrast, the neglected "Primordial Mask" was now very close to becoming the weakest tier of Original Sin Objects.
Truly, a wolf raised in a cage with three meals a day could never defeat a stray dog wandering outside, starving one meal and full the next.
"Moo!!"
Amu roared, unleashing a freezing aura that made even the vigilant Baha turn his head.
With a bang, Amu, wielding the Bloodthirsty Battle Axe, left a crater in the ground as he charged alone toward the Ancient King. It could be said that at the start of every battle, Amu had the aura of an MVP.
The wind pressure was fierce, stirring the Ancient King's cloak. The Ancient King, who had risen from his throne, pulled out the Abyss Greatsword in front of him with one hand. This greatsword was about 20 centimeters wide. Given its overall length of nearly three meters, the blade wasn't wide, but its pitch-black edge gave a sense of unparalleled sharpness and a powerful chopping force.
Just as Amu closed in on the Ancient King, the King's vertical pupils turned dark gold, locking onto the approaching Amu.
Boom!!
Gravity, like countless black vertical lines, descended. Amu's charge came to an abrupt halt. As the Ancient King's left hand slowly clenched, the Bloodthirsty Battle Armor, starting from the axe and spreading across Amu's body, creaked and began to rapidly collapse. Blood gushed from Amu's mouth, nose, and ears.
Clang!!
A massive sword strike, laden with powerful gravity, came down. It sliced into Amu's left shoulder, pierced through his torso, and exited from the outside of his thigh. With one blow, Amu was cleaved in two, with many organs spilling from his abdominal cavity.
The Ancient King's oppressive presence was unparalleled.
After the first strike, the Ancient King immediately followed with a second. The attack frequency seemed slow, but it left no room to breathe.
The black blade shattered space as it came. Amu's bull eyes widened. This was the most formidable sword strike he had ever faced.
Clang!!
The crisp sound of clashing blades rang out simultaneously with the thunderclap in the sky. Echoing each other, the might of this strike seemed as if it would shatter the heavens.
Yes, Su Xiao had swapped positions with the Blade Demon Spirit. Just as Amu was about to be slain, he perfectly parried this strike.
Every time he fought a strong enemy to the death, sending Amu up to test and take a beating was standard strategy. But this time, Amu had nearly been one-shotted as soon as he charged in—a rare occurrence.
Crack, crack, crack~
The Abyss Greatsword and Dragon-Slaying Flash's blades ground against each other. Su Xiao, holding the blade with one hand in a "Perfect Parry," felt his blood surge and his bones creak under the strain.
The enemy's Strength attribute was 662 points, while Su Xiao's was 539 points. A gap of 123 points in true Strength attribute was evident. Theoretically, as long as the enemy's Strength didn't exceed Su Xiao's by more than 257 points, "Perfect Parry" couldn't be broken. But in actual combat, relying on that 257-point threshold to block was suicidal.
Su Xiao's health was dropping at a not-so-slow rate. He knew this couldn't continue, so he angled the long blade in his parry, letting the enemy's greatsword slide toward the tip.
Sizzle~
The blades scraped past each other, leaving a trail of sparks in the air. Taking advantage of Su Xiao blocking the Ancient King, Baha suddenly appeared, taking the falling Amu away. Even Bubu Wang, who had been blending into the environment and providing auras at the edge of the field, quietly approached, taking the severed half of Amu and his vital organs.
Thud!
A wave of black pressure surged forward. Su Xiao was sent flying backward. It was the incoming gravity. After flying nearly a hundred meters, he clawed his left hand into space, leaving several spatial tears in his wake before his momentum stopped.
Cough, cough~
Su Xiao coughed dryly, spitting out some blood. His right lung was severely shaken. Even with the Spirit Shadow Thread's stitching, another such shock would be troublesome.
When the dark impact had struck, Su Xiao had blocked it with his left arm wrapped in a crystal layer. Now, raising his left arm, he saw the crystal layer on his forearm crumbling and falling off. It hadn't been shattered by the impact but frozen and broken by the accompanying cold. Without the crystal layer, his entire left arm would have been destroyed, shattering like ceramic.
The Ancient King now had only 65.3% health. It seemed like a single "Extreme Blade: World," a "Azure Shadow King," and a "Demon Blade" finisher would win. But in actual combat, it was completely unworkable.
Blood dripped from Su Xiao's chin. He confirmed one thing: if he fought this powerful enemy as he had in the past, victory was absolutely impossible. The only chance was to exploit the Ancient King's weakness of having only 65.3% health remaining.
With this in mind, Su Xiao ordered Baha through the team channel to take Bubu Wang and Amu and retreat. This battle had to be decided quickly, in an extremely perilous way to overcome this foe.
"Not good, let's go."
The three council elders who had been watching gradually vanished. Truly, old ginger is spicier. Seeing this, the Ghost Sisters immediately leaped off the high wall, drifting down toward the Mid City below.
With a bang, blood qi erupted from Su Xiao, shooting out in needle-like rays in all directions. Even the Ancient King was momentarily slowed by this impact.
A crimson robe appeared on Su Xiao. It had a slight battle armor feel but was mostly thick fabric. The collar was high, and the hood was low, hiding his face. On the front of the hood, the rune pattern resembled a vertical pupil. At the waist, many intricate runes spread upward.
Donning the crimson robe, Su Xiao floated a few meters above the ground. World Thunder was the highest tier of lightning, but it also had the characteristic of violently exploding upon contact with the ground.
Crack!
Terrifying World Thunder gathered in the sky above. Yes, this deathmatch began with a finishing move.
Down in the Lower City, the once-chaotic streets and parks fell silent. People stared blankly upward at the golden World Thunder. Compared to these commoners, the witches were even more disheveled. A young witch apprentice, seeing the World Thunder above, was so terrified of death that tears and snot streamed down her face. Sometimes, having perception above average wasn't a good thing.
Boom!!!
A golden thunder pillar, over a hundred kilometers thick, descended. It first struck the Upper City, centered on the ancient ritual ground. Everything within the Upper City instantly shattered and vaporized. The Upper City's area couldn't withstand this World Thunder pillar. After the thunder poured through, it fell toward the Mid City below.
The Mid City, a floating island, could barely withstand the hundred-kilometer-thick thunder pillar. But everything inside quickly crumbled. Just as the floating island was about to give way, the cascading World Thunder suddenly contracted, converging back toward the only remaining ancient ritual ground above.
Amid the golden lightning, Su Xiao's "Crimson Robe" was torn apart by the thunder. To prevent "Wild Hunt Night" from being damaged beyond repair, he had stored it away beforehand, as its lightning resistance wasn't outstanding. This left him bare-chested, with blood seeping from numerous wounds.
Su Xiao's passive abilities like "Thunderfall: Soul Core" were all activated. With his health dropping to 35%, "Immortal Constitution" also activated, granting him high physical defense.
Being in a Transcendent Primordial World, using elemental affinity to summon World Thunder and enduring it to this extent was quite an achievement. Of course, this was also thanks to his use of "Dragon Heart Potion" and "Sanctuary Potion."
"Dragon Heart Potion: After use, max health +15%, physical toughness +10%, lasting 600 seconds."
"Sanctuary Potion: Crush this potion to immediately generate a tough shield equal to your health, lasting 10 seconds or until broken."
After using the Dragon Heart Potion, Su Xiao's original 1.83 million health temporarily reached an unprecedented 2.1 million. Thus, the Sanctuary Potion formed a shield with 2.1 million durability.
Su Xiao had 674 points of lightning resistance + Crimson Robe + Thunderfall: Soul Core + Immortal Constitution + Dragon Heart Potion + Sanctuary Potion.
This combination allowed him to withstand this World Thunder. This was the terrifying power of a Law Destroyer using elemental affinity to summon World Thunder in a Transcendent Primordial World.
Within the World Thunder domain, as Su Xiao activated "Heaven's Wrath: Torrent Strike," all the golden World Thunder in the surrounding area converged, clinging to his long blade. This caused the Dragon-Slaying Flash's durability to suddenly drop by a fifth, the entire blade turning gold from the intense World Thunder.
"Heaven's Wrath: Torrent Strike: Lv.50 (Absolute Strong Level: Active): 5 seconds after summoning World Thunder, gather all summoned World Thunder onto your held weapon. Then perform an ultra-high-speed, unstoppable charge. Your next attack will deal 85% of this World Thunder's lightning damage plus your slashing damage (including blade damage, soul damage, etc.). If the enemy blocks with a weapon, this attack will carry a 'Break Extreme Effect,' damaging the enemy's weapon."
World Thunder surged on the Dragon-Slashing Flash's surface. Su Xiao crouched low. The mere motion caused the rocky ground, which had withstood the World Thunder's onslaught, to crack and lift. He vanished as a golden arc of electricity, charging fiercely toward the Ancient King.
The Ancient King, having endured the World Thunder, was covered in cracks on his black armor. His floor-length cloak was now only half intact, looking even more battered. Yet, facing Su Xiao's charge, the Ancient King seemed to foresee it, swinging his sword in a counterattack.
Clang!
The thunderous long blade and the Abyss black sword clashed. First came 0.1 seconds of absolute silence, then the space within several kilometers exploded like shattered glass. The spatial cracks behind Su Xiao were golden from the World Thunder, while those behind the Ancient King were pitch black.
Originally, a clash with a Strength difference of over a hundred points would have favored the Ancient King. But with the World Thunder's enhancement, Su Xiao's strike overpowered him. Moreover, the Dragon-Slashing Flash gradually cut into the Abyss black sword, embedding a few centimeters before stopping, leaving many cracks on the greatsword.
Taking this thunderous strike, dark red blood spurted from the cracks in the Ancient King's armor. At the same time, dark gold runes appeared on the spine of the Abyss black sword, causing the entire blade to vibrate with a hum.
Clang!
The Abyss black sword shook violently, forcing Su Xiao back a large step. Then, the Ancient King delivered a simple, unadorned downward slash. Su Xiao felt the fierce wind pressure coming at him. Death was so close. He was certain that even if his health cap were doubled to 4.2 million, this strike would still kill him.
After a deafening crash, the strike landed. The ancient ritual ground, which had endured the World Thunder, couldn't withstand this blow. Nearly half of it shattered, falling toward the ground tens of thousands of meters below.
A hundred meters to the side, Su Xiao crouched. After a brief delay, several bleeding gashes appeared on him. He hadn't been directly hit, but the sword pressure had wounded him. The wounds were deep enough to reach bone. If not for swapping positions with the Blade Demon Spirit at the critical moment, this strike would have killed him.
This terrifying strike sealed spatial and temporal abilities. It felt like his body had turned to stone and his soul was frozen. If not for the "Substitution" ability developed by the ancestral Law Destroyers being strong enough, he would have died this time.
In the previous world, he had fought the Ancestor, who had also fallen from Supreme. But that situation was completely different from fighting the Ancient King. Fighting the Ancestor was like facing filthy insects surging from all sides—stressful but manageable, with room for mutual maneuvering. Now, fighting the Ancient King felt like standing on a lone boat on an endless black sea, enduring the fury of the dark tides.
The golden arcs on his blade dissipated. Su Xiao stared at the Ancient King across from him. The enemy had 35.8% health left, nearing the kill threshold. But that previous strike was too dangerous; he had to figure out why.
His first thought was the Ancient King's Supreme-level ultimate with a 127,750 natural-day cooldown. He then dismissed this. The Ancient King was a War King, and his mortal enemies were the Sun God Clan. So his strongest ability must be massive in range and power.
Thus, the terrifying strike was hard to explain. The Ancient King had indeed fallen to Absolute Strong. Then Su Xiao realized: had that strike borrowed the power of "Torrent Strike"? The enemy, in human form, was also a technique-type. That strike might have been stronger the stronger the attack it countered.
In simple terms, after receiving Su Xiao's attack, its power was added to the Abyss black sword, lighting up the dark gold runes on its spine.
That strike was the Ancient King's slashing power plus the Torrent Strike's power, making it so terrifying.
This probably wasn't the Ancient King's ability. This former War King seemed unable to use many active abilities anymore. Otherwise, he wouldn't still be in human form. That delayed counterattack ability was a characteristic of the Abyss weapon.
He no longer needed to fear the Ancient King transforming into an Ancient Dragon God form. Given the enemy's current state, he couldn't do that. But he couldn't be careless. In human form, the Ancient King's technique-type abilities were at their peak.
This analysis seemed to take seconds but was actually instantaneous. Su Xiao took a deep breath, tasting the darkness and the burnt smell of World Thunder. He suddenly charged at the Ancient King.
'Blood Smoke Cannon!'
Su Xiao pointed his left index finger forward, firing a Blood Smoke Cannon straight at the Ancient King. Just as it was about to hit, black gravity appeared, refracting the compressed thumb-thick Blood Smoke Cannon by 90 degrees.
Deathly stillness spread. Su Xiao abruptly stopped, pulling "Dead Silence Annihilation" from the spreading death behind him.
Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang!
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
The Annihilation bullets were blocked four times by the Abyss black sword. The last one was swallowed by a suddenly appearing Ancient Dragon head, which exploded before the power could erupt.
A three-meter-tall crystal container appeared—the "Sun Holy Sword." Su Xiao, his left forearm wrapped in a crystal layer, smashed it with a side swing. Liquid Apollo splashed out, floating in a space-like state without falling.
Almost as soon as this setup was complete, Su Xiao charged at the Ancient King. No matter how it looked, engaging in close combat now was unwise. The enemy's Strength was 123 points higher, a huge gap. Plus, the enemy had two technique abilities: one at Lv.92 and the other at a ridiculous max level, X. This was the first time Su Xiao had seen a max-level basic technique ability.
In an instant, Su Xiao closed to within a dozen meters of the Ancient King, entering the range of "Extreme Blade: World."
'Extreme Blade: World!'
Clang!!
A sharp, metallic slashing sound rang out. A spherical "Extreme Blade Domain" appeared centered on Su Xiao, lasting only a moment. Every dozen or so centimeters, there was a grain-of-rice-sized flashing slash point. The Ancient King was naturally caught within.
Facing this, the Ancient King's black sword slashed diagonally forward.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang...
Countless crisp sounds echoed from the black sword. Somehow, the Ancient King blocked all the slashes from "Extreme Blade: World" that could reach him.
Hum~!
The runes on the black sword lit up. The Ancient King held the sword with both hands for the first time, slashing at Su Xiao from over a dozen meters away. Because the Blade Demon Spirit had taken that terrifying strike earlier, "Substitution" was temporarily unavailable for at least 2-3 minutes. Su Xiao could only leap sideways.
Pfft!
After the black slash passed, blood splattered. Su Xiao's entire left arm fell with a thud.
Before Su Xiao landed, now one-armed, he had no time to form a crystal left arm. He pointed the Dragon-Slashing Flash's tip at the Ancient King.
'Blood Smoke Cannon.'
Thud!
The Blood Smoke Cannon hit the Ancient King's shoulder, followed by a bolt of World Thunder.
Crack! Golden arcs surged over the Ancient King's body, freezing his movements.
Almost simultaneously, all the floating liquid Apollo gathered around Su Xiao's calf. He broke through a layer of air, using Dragon Shadow Flash to move in front of the Ancient King, less than three meters away.
'Sun Straight Kick.'
Thud~!!
Su Xiao's straight kick landed on the lightning-stunned Ancient King. A blazing sun erupted, engulfing Su Xiao as well.
"Inscription Base: Divine Sacrifice: Supreme Sun (Core: Passive: Overloaded), immune to 85% of Sun Flame damage (in overload state, this Inscription Base consumes durability at 7-8 times the normal rate and cannot be repaired while overloaded)."
If one looked up from the Lower City, they would see a blazing sun beneath the black clouds and the crumbling ancient ritual ground—a spectacular and epic sight.
Within the raging sun, Su Xiao's long blade hummed softly. Dark blue smoke appeared on the Dragon-Slashing Flash, activating the Demon Blade ability.
World Thunder + Torrent Strike + Sun Straight Kick were all used to lower the Ancient King's health to the kill threshold. Now, the Ancient King had only 20.6% health left, his body burning with Sun Flame.
The long blade, coated in dark blue smoke, left a black slash in the air as it aimed for the Ancient King's throat. But at that moment, gravity appeared. Layers of gravitational shockwaves slowed the slash. In that brief moment, the Ancient King absorbed the trace amount of Ancient Dragon God blood remaining, recovering a small portion of his health.
Clang~
The long blade cut through. The Ancient King's health plummeted by 20%. But the kill failed.
Practical combat proved that the true damage from a failed Demon Blade kill didn't disappear. In fact, its power had increased, as the Blade Demon Spirit's intensity had reached 560 points. This damage depended entirely on the demon spirit's intensity.
'Extreme Blade: World!'
Blood sprayed from Su Xiao's wounds, but he still used this "Extreme Blade: World."
After a series of clinking sounds, although the Ancient King blocked many slashes from "Extreme Blade: World," several deep gashes appeared on him. The damage didn't reach the theoretical "25% of max health in true slashing damage," but it wasn't low.
"Roar!"
An Ancient Dragon roar came from behind the Ancient King. The upper body of an Ancient Dragon materialized, spewing a dark purple laser ray from its mouth. Sizzle! It swept across.
Rubble flew. Su Xiao, leaping back, had missed the death ray by only a few centimeters. This was also a kill technique. The enemy had also failed to kill.
Sizzle~
The death ray swept again, cutting off Su Xiao's head. The next moment, this scene shattered. It was a vision predicted by "Grandmaster Instinct."
Crack, crack, crack~!
A crystal layer spread behind Su Xiao. He crouched, seemingly pushed by the forming crystal layer, leaving a series of crystal torso shapes behind him, as if the crystal had captured his movements.
The death ray swept across at the same angle as in the "Grandmaster Instinct" vision, but this time, it cut off the crystal shell's head.
Su Xiao stood up, flicking the blood off his long blade. He stared at the Ancient King across from him, who held the Abyss black sword, his black armor covered in cracks, his tattered cloak blowing in the wind. Both had failed to kill.
The battle wasn't over. Su Xiao crouched slightly, his pupils glowing blue. He exhaled cold, misty blood qi. The Ancient King had only 3.6% health left, while Su Xiao had 4.5%. Both had the ability to finish the other in one blow. Under this lock of aura, neither could use external recovery methods to restore health.
Thus, the next slash and sword strike would decide both victory and life or death.
PS: (Recommending a friend's new book, titled "Starting Over from Conan.")