The purple sphere shot past, its size seemingly too small to attract anyone’s notice. It didn’t even give off the faintest aura of a Combat Skill! It had almost no presence; if one didn’t look closely, its form would be completely lost amidst the floating dust and sand.
But this nearly unnoticeable purple sphere underwent a drastic transformation the moment it slammed into the ground!
Upon contact with the ground, the purple sphere actually began to slowly sink into the earth! It was just like the first time Mu Chen had used his Ice Extreme Demonic Flame, when the purple sphere had melded into that massive golden Sword Blade! Ring after ring of ripple-like gray Primordial Power surged outward, sending shockwaves in all directions. In an instant, it encompassed a radius of over two thousand meters, blanketing one-thirtieth of the tens of thousands of Magical Beasts!
Seeing this, a light flashed in Mu Chen’s jet-black right eye. The Ice Crystal flower in his pupil suddenly emitted a dazzling glow as he let out a sharp cry, "Burst!"
ZING!
FWOOSH FWOOSH FWOOSH FWOOSH...!
There was no deafening roar, no earth-shattering tremor! There were only dazzling beams of gray light erupting from the ground, shooting upward from within the area of rippling energy!
The power bursting from those dazzling gray beams was on par with the Elemental Power Cannon fired by the Roaring Celestial Tiger! Moreover, the fluctuation of Primordial Power they emitted sent shivers down everyone’s spines!
THWIP THWIP THWIP THWIP!
"AWOOOO!! ROAR! WHIIIINE!!"
Agonized roars erupted from the Magical Beasts below. After being pierced by the light beams, the opposing forces of scorching heat and extreme cold from the Ice Extreme Demonic Flame subjected them to a level of pain they had never before experienced!
But this wasn’t the true power of the Ice Extreme Demonic Flame! The power displayed by a perfectly compatible Combat Skill is never about blind explosions, violent bombardments, or even world-shattering Destructive Power born from immense might!
A truly powerful and compatible Combat Skill is about one thing: control! The ability for it to be completely controlled by its caster! If the powers of ice and fire were completely controlled by a single person, what would be the consequences of infusing that power into an enemy’s body?
"Burst!"
THUMP!
THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP...
A series of muffled explosions erupted from within the bodies of the Magical Beasts pierced by the light beams! In the blink of an eye, the beasts that had just been charging forward were instantly transformed into a shower of gore, flying into the sky before raining back down to the ground!
At that moment, a gap was instantly torn through the middle of the Beast Tide army! Apart from a few powerful Sect Realm Magical Beasts, a full one-thirtieth of the beasts were utterly annihilated, leaving not even a scrap of meat behind!
...
Silence! Shock! Looks of terror spread through the ranks of both humans and Magical Beasts alike as a bone-deep chill crept into their hearts!
’So strong!’
Only now did Di Cang and the others finally understand just how powerful the Combat Skill Mu Chen had intended to unleash during the Empire’s tournament truly was! Even though the explosion from the attack colliding with the mountain peak after being cleaved in two by Dilaka’s sword had been horrifying, that was merely a form of Destructive Power—a terror that could be perceived by the eyes and senses! But the complete Ice Extreme Demonic Flame? That was a terror of a purely unknown nature!
Focus will always be stronger than dispersal, and fusion will always be stronger than opposition! That was the fundamental truth!
"What are you all staring for?" As Mu Chen charged downward, he saw the battlefield had fallen silent and quickly shouted a reminder. Now was the perfect time to strike!
!
Di Cang was the first to snap back to reality. He instantly unleashed his Primordial Power, forming a massive Defense Barrier right before Luofeng City’s North City Gate. Although this Defense Barrier appeared quite flimsy, a defense erected by a Venerable Realm Martial Artist was not something even an Emperor Realm Martial Artist could break through so easily!
"A mere Tier Two Martial Venerable thinks he can block our path? In your dreams! Charge! I’d like to see if your defense can stop my army, the Master of Ten Thousand Beasts!" The Dark Kui Ox Red Eyes stared intently at Di Cang, the corner of its mouth twisting into a cruel arc. It stomped its hooves, and a roar echoed through the space! The Magical Beasts, who had been dazed by the blast, all snapped out of their stupor.
Looking at the transparent barrier before them, all the Magical Beasts revealed disdainful expressions. The old man ahead of them was indeed frightening, but they had so many High Tier allies on their side. What could a single, pathetic human possibly accomplish?!
At this thought, the tens of thousands of Magical Beasts let out a furious roar and charged toward Luofeng City, completely unafraid of Di Cang and his Martial Artist Realm.
"Hmph! You think you can break through just like that? You’re seriously underestimating us humans!"
With a SWOOSH, Qin Garden leaped off Xiaobai’s back. Revealing her cultivation as a One-Ring Martial Venerable, she dove straight toward the Magical Beasts below! To everyone’s great surprise, Qin Garden, who had always seemed so stern and fierce, was actually a Water Attribute Martial Artist—an Attribute usually associated with a gentle and graceful personality!
It was a little hard to believe, but what Qin Garden did next made everyone understand instantly. It turned out that Water Attribute Martial Artists could be just as zealous and wild as Fire Attribute Martial Artists, possessing immense killing power!
"Water Blades, Spiral!"
SHREEEED!
As Qin Garden’s hands became wreathed in curtains of water condensed from Water Attribute Elemental Power, one after another, water pillars as sharp as blades erupted from the ground! These pillars weren’t like the piercing attacks from Mu Chen’s Ice Extreme Demonic Flame. The moment a water pillar appeared at a Magical Beast’s feet, it would instantly transform into a thin sheet resembling a Spiral Sword Blade. When it struck, it would instantly dice the beast into several pieces! Its sharpness was so intense that it made Mu Chen momentarily suspect Qin Garden was actually a Gold Attribute Martial Artist!
Seeing this display of power, Mu Chen refused to be outdone. Although the Magical Beasts were numerous and there were only a dozen or so of them, among their ranks were two Venerables (though Mu Chen was still unaware that Wu Changqing had also just broken through to the Venerable Realm). The power of two Venerables might seem precarious, even insignificant, against an army of tens of thousands of Magical Beasts! But that was only in terms of offense. If these two Venerable Realm experts fell back to a defensive position, they could naturally hold out for a very long time!
"Dual Blade Mode!"
Seemingly out of nowhere, two black Fan Blades appeared in Mu Chen’s hands. They glinted darkly under the reflection of the sun! His Profound Dragon Arm and Nether Bone Arm wielded them, instantly channeling the Primordial Power of Extreme Ice and the Demonic Flame into the blades.
VWOOSH!
With a push of his foot, he instantly executed the Instant Body Technique. Mu Chen’s figure shot through the air like a bolt of lightning, vanishing into the Magical Beast horde in the blink of an eye. The two Fan Blades, one of Ice Extreme and the other of the Netherworld Demonic Flame, immediately began to dance among the beasts!
SLICE! SLICE! SLICE! SLICE!
Arcs of black and blue light flickered in and out of sight among the swarm of Magical Beasts. Each time a flash appeared, another beast would collapse! Deep, fatal gashes were carved into their necks, their eyes, or their abdomens! Without a doubt, every one of these wounds was lethal!
"We’re going in, too!"
Watching Mu Chen cut down beast after beast below, Qing Lei, Little Tiger, and the others couldn’t sit still any longer! At their Martial Artist Realm, facing Royal Beasts would be suicide, but killing a few Magical Beasts below the Sect Realm was no great problem!
"Heaven-Shaking Fist!"
Needless to say, on solid ground, Little Tiger’s Heaven-Shaking Fist was the most effective. Once his fist struck the earth, any Magical Beast within a thousand meters in front of him would be rattled. Although the shockwave’s effect wasn’t enormous—some beasts were only stunned for the blink of an eye—that fleeting moment was enough to create a perfect opening for Qing Lei, Ye Shuangshuang, and Mu Bingling to strike!
"Ice and Fire Burst!"
BOOOOM!!
A deafening explosion! A violent mushroom cloud suddenly erupted in front of Mu Bingling and Ye Shuangshuang, and a massive wave of Primordial Power swept out from in front of Little Tiger!
"Heh! I really love fighting with Sister Bingling. It’s so exhilarating!" Ye Shuangshuang said, admiring her handiwork. She snapped her fingers and put her hands on her hips.
"Mm." Mu Bingling also quite enjoyed this synergistic method of fighting where the sum was greater than its parts. But just then, a massive black shadow lunged at her. Its sharp claws were caked with fresh blood, and its enormous mouth looked as if it had been torn open by some force, still gushing blood! It was clearly on its last legs. But clinging to its last breath, the Magical Beast seemed to be filled with an endless hatred, determined to take at least one human down with it!
SHLICK!
Just then, the lunging Magical Beast’s eyes suddenly bulged. Its entire body slammed to the ground with a THUD right in front of Mu Bingling. Its eyes rolled back into its head, and a deep gash had appeared on its neck.
"There’s nothing wrong with feeling exhilarated, but you always have to watch out for these brutes’ dying counterattacks."
The air shimmered, and a figure shrouded in darkness slowly materialized. It was Qing Lei, clad in his trim Institute Uniform. He held two short blades, one of which was still glistening with blood. It was obvious that Qing Lei had been the one to ambush and kill the lunging Magical Beast.
"Whew! You scared me to death!" Ye Shuangshuang patted her chest, her heart still pounding with fear. She took a deep breath and said, "If it weren’t for Ah Lei, Sister Bingling and I might have perished under that Magical Beast’s claws."
Little Tiger had also gotten quite a scare. After unleashing his Heaven-Shaking Fist, he had gone to engage in close-quarters combat with another Magical Beast whose strength was close to that of a First-Ring Martial Sect. He naturally hadn’t had time to react to what was happening with Ye Shuangshuang and Mu Bingling.