“Dammit, how did this little brat's Thunderfire Whip suddenly reach Great Success?!”
The seven-segment Thunderfire Whip in Lu Ming's hand was reflected in Xu Jushi's eyes. The fierce, violent fluctuations radiating from it finally caused his expression to change drastically.
Previously, he had been confident that, with the advantage of his twelve Divine Ability Dharma Inscriptions, he could withstand Lu Ming's Thunderfire Whip at Initial Success. But at Great Success, its threat was amplified immensely.
Yet at this point, his charge had reached full momentum. The two were inches apart, leaving no room for maneuvering or retreat.
“Since there's nowhere to hide, then just die!”
Brutality erupted in Xu Jushi's eyes as killing intent flowed. As a member of the Peach Mountain Bandits, he made a living licking blood off the blade. Having walked the line between life and death countless times over the years, he certainly didn't lack ferocity or courage in his bones.
In this critical, hair-trigger moment, he knew full well there was no turning back.
When two brave foes meet on a narrow path, the fiercer one wins.
Only by giving it everything he had and using a sudden explosion of ferocious might to overwhelm the youth before him could he seize victory.
Swinging the blood-red axe in his hand, Xu Jushi channeled astonishing primordial energy and chopped down viciously toward Lu Ming's head.
Faced with such ferocious might, he refused to believe this youth would dare take it head-on!
However, as the blood-red axe swung down, Lu Ming swung the Thunderfire Whip in his grip as well, a violent roar of thunder and fire echoing through the dense forest.
Xu Jushi suddenly realized that Lu Ming's Thunderfire Whip wasn't moving to block the axe at all. Instead, it swung in from the right, whistling straight for his own head.
A life for a life?!
Xu Jushi's eyes turned blood-red as he let out a furious laugh. This little bastard was truly ruthless, daring to compete in savagery against a desperate outlaw like him?!
“Let's see who dies first!”
Xu Jushi showed no sign of pulling back either, bringing the blood-red axe down with all his might.
As the blood-red axe and Thunderfire Whip crossed paths, ferocious glares burned intensely in both of their eyes.
Yet at the final instant before impact, both tacitly twisted their necks, meeting each other's strike with their shoulders instead.
Boom!
The blood-red axe, laden with violent force, cleaved into Lu Ming's shoulder. His clothes shredded instantly as flesh was torn apart; a horrifying, gruesome wound carved down from his left shoulder all the way to his lower abdomen, nearly cleaving his torso in two.
Meanwhile, the fierce Thunderfire Whip shattered Xu Jushi's shoulder, collapsing his shoulder bone inward in a mangled mess of blood and pulverized flesh.
Violent primordial energy erupted, sending both figures flying backward like cannonballs and snapping several thick trees in their wake.
The two lay on the ground, gasping heavily for breath.
Mutual destruction, horrific beyond measure.
A moment later, however, Xu Jushi's tower-like figure forcefully pushed himself up. He couldn't help bursting into wild laughter, his voice thick with mockery. “Foolish little brat, trying to trade your life for mine? Don't you know every divine ability I cultivate is a physical body divine ability? That whip strike was fierce, but it's not enough to take my life!”
He stood up unsteadily. Though soaked in blood, with his shoulder bone shattered and flesh collapsed, he was still alive.
Physical body divine abilities vastly enhanced bodily toughness and durability against trauma.
“That axe strike of mine didn't feel good, did it? You've lost half your life! Little brat, you're not that old, so where did all that ruthlessness come from?” Xu Jushi stared at the distant form of the youth lying on the ground, his breathing faint as a thread. He grinned savagely, blood streaking his white teeth.
Lifting the blood-red axe again with his left hand, he staggered forward, intending to finish the job once and for all.
Yet before he had taken more than a few steps, he saw the youth—who had looked on the verge of dying moments ago—suddenly sit up. Bare-chested, the gruesome wound across his shoulder was now healing at a startling speed.
Faint green flames seemed to dance over the wound, while deep within the flesh, threads of golden light flowed, forcefully knitting the torn muscle and skin back together.
Working together, the wound that would have mortally wounded an ordinary person rapidly closed into a shallow gash barely half a finger deep.
Xu Jushi froze in his tracks, the sadistic triumph in his eyes replaced by a dazed stupor.
He thought his eyes were playing tricks on him.
A recovery speed like that was far beyond even someone like him who specialized in physical body divine abilities. How could a mere brat pull that off?
While Xu Jushi was questioning his own sanity, Lu Ming picked himself up from the ground. He glanced down at the still-healing wound on his shoulder, then looked up. “What are you muttering over there?”
“Did you think this fight was over?”
His fingers tightened, and the Thunderfire Whip roared violently in his grip once more.
Xu Jushi remained silent for a few seconds before abruptly spinning on his heel and bolting. Half his body was a mangled mess of blood and flesh, his injuries devastatingly severe. Lu Ming, on the other hand, had gone from near death to merely light injuries in the blink of an eye.
With something this bizarre, there was no way in hell he could fight!
Only now did he finally realize why Lu Ming had chosen such a brutal, suicidal trade: the brat held such a terrifying trump card all along.
The kid had healing methods, whereas he had nothing but sheer toughness to endure the damage.
I fell into his trap!
Chill flooded Xu Jushi's heart. He originally held a distinct advantage in primordial energy. Had he avoided this life-for-life trade, he would never have ended up in such a miserable state; at worst, he could have retreated completely unscathed.
Yet, blinded by overconfidence and relying on his mastery of physical body divine abilities and astonishing defense, he had sneered at the youth, only to find himself cornered in such a humiliating predicament.
Fight my ass! I need to get the hell out of here first!
Boom!
The moment Xu Jushi turned to flee, a violent crash of thunder boomed from behind. Lightning flashed across the edge of his vision as Lu Ming's figure closed in instantly.
Not a shred of emotion showed on the youth's immature face, only a lethal glint that flared with terrifying intensity in his eyes.
The Thunderfire Whip in his hand smashed down mercilessly toward Xu Jushi's head.
Every hair on Xu Jushi's body stood on end. Sensing the scent of death, he unleashed a manic roar. The blood-red axe swept in a vicious arc, chopping directly toward Lu Ming's throat.
It was a calculated, desperate counterattack.
Yet just as his attack launched, Lu Ming's charging form came to a sudden halt.
The axe blade swept past, grazing empty air inches from Lu Ming's neck.
The surefire strike had missed completely. A chill gripped Xu Jushi's heart. He couldn't comprehend how Lu Ming had dodged with such pinpoint precision, almost as if he had anticipated the exact angle of the counterattack beforehand.
Why?!
Xu Jushi's mind swirled with bewilderment, feeling that this youth before him was profoundly eerie and bizarre.
His primordial energy foundation was clearly far inferior, yet it had culminated in an outcome like this.
Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of the youth's pupils glowing with a golden light. At the same time, the Thunderfire Whip, shrouded in the aura of death like a razor-edged iron rod, crashed down with tremendous force.
Crack!
Like a watermelon being smashed to bits.
Xu Jushi's burly, fleeing figure crashed lifelessly to the earth.
Lu Ming's figure landed unsteadily. The Thunderfire Whip in his hand dimmed and dissipated into embers and sparks. Staring down at Xu Jushi whose life was rapidly ebbing away, he muttered quietly, “I only wanted to stay home, cultivate, and refine pills peacefully. Why did you people have to force me out?”
“I hope you live a decent life in your next incarnation, and don't become a bandit again.”
Then he picked up the blood-red axe from the ground, delivered a finishing strike to ensure the bandit was truly dead, and only then turned toward the final restriction flag to tear it down.
With this restriction flag dismantled, the Divine Ability Restriction shrouding the dense forest was thoroughly broken. The poisonous mist permeating the area began to disperse at an astonishing rate, and within just over a dozen breaths, the forest cleared up completely.
The chaotic melee was still raging back in the camp.
Soon, however, Lu Qingyan, Lu Jinglei, and the others noticed that the poisonous mist forcing them to divide their attention had completely vanished.
In an instant, everyone from both sides was stunned in disbelief.
Shock and fury seized the Peach Mountain Bandits, while Lu Qingyan and his side were overcome with wild joy.
“The Divine Ability Restriction is broken! Doesn't that mean A-Ming won?”
“That kid actually took down Xu Jushi?!”
Let alone the others, even Lu Qingyan, who knew some of Lu Ming's trump cards, was utterly shocked. After all, Xu Jushi was a Grand Divine Ability Practitioner who had condensed twelve Divine Ability Dharma Inscriptions, whereas Lu Ming had only six.
To emerge victorious across such a vast divide?
This kid is kind of a monster.
Beside themselves with joy, everyone's morale soared. Erupting with primordial energy, they charged forward, clashing violently with the Peach Mountain Bandits once again.
Deep within the forest, Lu Ming did not rush back to provide support. He knew full well that tonight's battle would not be decided on their front, but by the Divine Ability Masters on both sides.
Lu Ming retrieved a Lesser Primordial-Restoring Pill, popped it into his mouth, and raised his head to look at the sky in the distance. As the poisonous mist cleared away, the clash between the two Divine Ability Masters up above came into sharp, clear view.
Rate on N.U.
