Completely different from what should theoretically happen when two extremely powerful power sources collide with each other, when Crimson Thunder Dragon’s Last Words being wielded by Bai Zemin met the fist of Kang Guiying coated by his Rank 4 gauntlets, there was no immediate earth-shaking explosion that shocked the earth and deafened the world.
The thunderously fast speed at which Bai Zemin was falling from the sky after the activation of Gravity Manipulation x30 times the Earth’s gravity was stopped in its tracks, and if a person were to look up at the sky from a distance, they would be able to see a golden-colored dot with red and purple shades floating in the nothingness.
You have learned Third Order active skill level 4 ‘Rumbling the Heavens, Shaking the Earth’.
Bai Zemin was not surprised by the green message that flashed in his retina, and in fact, he was not in the position to care about it.
During the first second that the two attacks connected, the red-eyed and black-eyed gazes met in silence.
During the second tick of the finest hand on the clock, a huge bubble of vacuum began to grow from the focal point where the greatsword and gauntlet joined, spreading rapidly outward in the shape of a sphere. The air and all its components were expelled from the bubble of nothingness and all matter other than the two powers facing each other high in the sky was destroyed without any resulting sound.
By the third second, both Bai Zemin and Kang Guiying began to experience what was the beginning of the end of this short but undoubtedly majestic confrontation never before seen between a First Order powerhouse and what was once a Fourth Order powerhouse.
Bai Zemin again felt the terror of a Fourth Order powerhouse as a monstrous amount of force traveled from his greatsword to his hands, easily penetrating his body and beginning to wreak havoc on his not yet fully healed internal organs. But that was not the end as Bai Zemin could feel his blood vessels exploding one after another, and out of the corner of his eye, he could see huge drops of blood floating inside the bubble of nothingness before being shattered by the silent pressure inside.
But Kang Guiying did not take the damage he was inflicting on Bai Zemin for free this time.
While Bai Zemin was feeling overwhelming amounts of pain and struggling to maintain his consciousness, Kang Guiying felt for the first time in his life-death admiration and even a bit of fear toward a First Order existence that was barely in his early twenties.
The weight of Crimson Thunder Dragon’s Last Words was around 6 tons but one of its Options doubled its weight when it found too much resistance in its cutting trajectory. As if the above was not enough, those 12 tons were powered by an existence whose body held the strength of over 300 men as it fell from over 1000 meters high at a speed equivalent to 30 times the force of attraction of the world.
The Rank 4 gauntlet was a weapon that had been forged for Kang Guiying by the best blacksmith in the Kang Kingdom, however, that Rank 4 weapon was losing against a Rank 3 weapon at this moment. It started with a small silent crack, but in a split second, that small crack spread all over the fist of the gauntlet and was spreading quickly all over its body, even reaching the right arm of the armor.
By the fourth second, a strange sound similar to a high-pitched whistle blowing at high frequencies began to be heard inside the bubble of nothingness that after reaching 400 meters in diameter stopped spreading, and with its edges now fully visible, it began to contract even faster than its previous growth.
By the fifth tick of the clock hand, a kind of black hole with dark lightning and golden edges appeared right in between the two weapons.
At the same time, Bai Zemin could do nothing even with Blood Manipulation to prevent a large torrent of blood from spurting out of his mouth even though he had his teeth clenched as he activated Overlap Regeneration for the eighth time in the day to keep his Strength at the highest possible level.
As for Kang Guiying…
Half of his body from the waist down had surprisingly disappeared as if it had never been there, just like his armor. Purple flames and crimson lightning spread from his right arm to every part of his body, burning his soul and speeding up his demise forever.
There was no blood, it just… Disappeared.
“What a shame…” Kang Guiying sighed with a regretful expression on his face.
At first, Bai Zemin did not understand what the words of Kang Guiying meant, however, the next moment his expression, which until now was as hard as a rock trying to push down his enemy, changed.
Rumble….
It started with a very small and almost inaudible rumble.
However, in a matter of fractions of a second, that rumbling began to spread everywhere. At the same time, before Bai Zemin or Kang Guiying could do anything to stop it, the bubble of nothingness had finally compressed to its maximum and then happened what by nature took place when anything of large size and density was compressed beyond what its laws allowed it to do.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
“Ugh!” Bai Zemin frowned hard as the armor on his arms exploded, revealing his arms not so pleasing to the eye due to all the blood and flesh revealed underneath the shredded skin.
However, the shockwave that swept the sky and wiped away the few clouds within 100 km around did not manage to push back Bai Zemin’s body at all and he continued to push down hard with resolution in his pain-filled gaze.
He knew… He knew that this was his last chance! If Bai Zemin failed now, then there was no turning back!
Therefore, even if his soul was torn apart he had to endure!
The shockwave swept the nearby trees detaching them from the earth and tearing them apart, the mutant beasts that were hunting or just resting were not even aware of what happened as their bodies exploded into a bloody mess, parts of the mountains broke off and the earth split as huge mountain fragments began to fall from great heights.
In the stone square, the magic circle constantly glowed trying to withstand the destructive pressure coming from the sky but it was clear from the ever-growing cracks that it would soon collapse. At the same time, the ice stronghold erected by Shangguan Bing Xue began to tremble and the walls strengthened by her mana soon began to lose thickness and firmness.
Shangguan Bing Xue had no choice but to grit her teeth and while the ground beneath her feet shook as if an earthquake was shaking the entire world she continued to pump her Mana into the ice fortification.
In the sky, purple flames and lightning began to spread from the impact center outward. More than three kilometers were illuminated under the purple and crimson radiance, frightening the most distant mutant beasts that fortunately managed to survive the shockwave or those that were powerful enough to manage to survive with wounds of varying magnitudes on their hardy bodies.
Kang Guiying used his tired eyes to stare at the face of the young man in front of him… and he couldn’t deny that what he saw pleased him; even though his vision was covered in blood, Bai Zemin’s eyes were wide open and amidst the blood-red, those two bright crimson eyes were especially striking.
But what pleased Kang Guiying was the steady, determined look in those eyes.
Forget a child of only 20 years old, even a war veteran who experienced the terror of the battlefield would definitely have difficulty keeping such a firm expression and mentality while every fiber of his body was being torn apart and his very soul was being threatened to be wiped away.
Kang Guiying wondered if he would be able to do the same during the early years of his evolution, and it was not difficult for him to find an honest answer to his question.
“I would really like to stay to see who comes out with the upper hand…. But I’m afraid that won’t be possible in this life, brother Zemin.” Kang Guiying said with a touch of regret as he looked at the stone square on the verge of being destroyed.
Bai Zemin’s expression changed slightly as he realized the obvious change in the way Kang Guiying called him.
For a proud and powerful existence who in his lifetime had been the King of hundreds of millions, as well as a great soul evolver of Fourth Order to call him ‘brother’… It was Kang Guiying’s way of showing his approval and respect for someone who deserved it from him.
“Brother Zemin, after this, ignore the fourth pagoda.”
Kang Guiying’s voice sounded from behind that black sphere with lightning that had grown large enough to divide the two fighters.
“The fourth pagoda is actually the key to the fifth pagoda, where the real treasure is hidden. After you fully recover, go to the fifth pagoda, the magic circle will teleport you there immediately. But remember, don’t enter before you fully recover because there are powerful enemies even for you due to their numbers.”
Bai Zemin opened his mouth to say something but all he managed to do was to get more and more blood coming out of his organism along with small fragments of flesh that were swallowed by the black sphere that was actually an even more terrifying representation of the space cracks.
“If this world was in its second stage we could have had more fun, but there is nothing we can do….. Brother Zemin, if there is an ‘afterlife’, let’s drink someday! But don’t you dare go unless you die of old age hahaha!”
“The pride of my rule, I hand it to you!”
Leaving those words behind, Kang Guiying, who at this point only existed from the chest up stopped pushing upwards, and immediately, the fragment of his soul that was contained within the special armor thanks to one of its Options and the power of a Fourth Order Soul Stone suffered the consequences of the attack pressing down from above.
Everything happened too fast, Bai Zemin didn’t even have time to do anything when the swing of his greatsword that had been obstructed halfway through was finally completed.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!
Another terrifying explosion shook the mountain range and from a distance could be seen what looked like a small object being sent flying down surrounded by flames and lightning, leaving a trail wherever it passed at the same time as another surrounded by a golden aura fell but far slower in comparison.
The black sphere that had been born as a result of the world barrier breaking due to the clash and resistance between two forces too large for its current capacity quickly vanished without a trace after one of the two resistances suddenly stopped fighting.
Just before, if Kang Guiying continued to fight and persist until the last moment, there was some possibility that Bai Zemin would be defeated as the impulse was slowly leaving him.
However, if Kang Guiying and Bai Zemin continued to fight, everything around them would have been destroyed except for the ruins that were located who knows how many meters or kilometers underground.
With the destruction of the stone square, the magic circle of access to the ruins, the runes of protection and damage absorption would have been destroyed as well…. In short, it was by no means incorrect to say that Kang Guiying had saved the lives of the people in the square and the lives of those in the third ruin who might have been buried there forever.
As Bai Zemin fell from the sky uncontrollably, exhausted, and with his body covered in blood and cuts, he naturally realized the reason why Kang Guiying did what he did… and upon realizing it, he could not stop a single tear of gratitude from falling from his right eye even though he had not shed any tears even with all the pain he felt.
This kind of victory… It was a victory that if possible Bai Zemin hoped he would never have to experience again in his entire life.
Although in theory he had won, far from feeling the joy or happiness that any victor would normally feel, what Bai Zemin felt was bitterness that would probably accompany him throughout his life.
