“I hope you don’t die so easily or this won’t be fun at all!”
With a fierce roar and glistening eyes expressing his excitement, Shao Tao’s skin suddenly began to turn golden in color, and in just a few moments he looked like a small gold-plated giant.
Bang!
The earth shook and snow flew everywhere, and after a mighty stomp, Shao Tao’s golden body shot out like a cannonball towards Bai Zemin raising his giant hammer above his head and slamming downward with ferocity.
The distance of 100 meters was closed in a blink of time!
Bai Zemin did not dare to be careless, and at the same time, he brought one foot backwards and growled as he slammed his right fist forward without holding back at all.
BOOM!!!
Snow flew everywhere, swirling like a white whirlwind as the ground beneath the feet of the two soul evolvers clashing collapsed to take the form of a crater 200 meters in diameter.
Bai Zemin was forced to back up about ten steps, exactly the same number of steps Shao Tao Tao backed up as he clung tightly to his hammer that was almost sent flying during the previous clash.
In the distance, the eyes of the soul evolvers behind Bai Zemin grew wide in shock.
“That dude managed to force Leader Bai back and he didn’t even get hurt…” Teng Hua muttered with wide eyes.
Feng Tian Wu kept her eyes fixed on the two clashing figures and said in a firm voice, “Even though they seem to be tied, Bai Zemin clearly was the winner of the previous confrontation.”
“Why are you so sure?” Teng Hua asked in a low voice.
Feng Tian Wu looked at Bai Zemin’s straight back and said in a clear voice, “The other party not only activated a skill to boost his power but also made use of his running strength to boost the force behind his attack. On the other hand, Bai Zemin not only did not activate any skill but also just punched with a normal fist and is not even using his real weapon.”
When the people nearby heard Feng Tian Wu’s logical reasoning everyone’s eyes flashed, and when they looked back to the battlefield they began to roar and shout Bai Zemin’s name so loudly that the air around them trembled.
However, the Transcendent faction side was not the only one celebrating.
Amidst the surprise of seeing their leader pushed back by the enemy’s fist, the soul evolvers and then the soldiers following Shao Tao began to shout his name with fervor and fiery eyes.
“Hahahaha! It’s really funny!” Shao Tao laughed out loud while holding his giant hammer tightly and looking at Bai Zemin with a fierce smile: “Bai Zemin, aside from the President Xuanyuan you are the first one who manages to not only withstand one of my blows but also force me to step back! Damn, I almost lost my war hammer just now!”
Shao Tao and his subordinates believed that the dragon claw-shaped gauntlet that Bai Zemin had summoned was a skill, so they actually believed that the previous clash had been more or less something of a draw. However, what they didn’t know was that in reality, that gauntlet only gave Bai Zemin 1000 physical attack points, which was nothing compared to the war hammer Shao Tao Tao was wielding.
Bai Zemin was a little surprised in his heart.
This guy, Shao Tao, was actually a peak Second Order existence! He hadn’t even broken into the Third Order but he had managed to not only survive Bai Zemin’s full Strength punch powered by God of War’s Will passive skill but also managed to push him back!
Although Bai Zemin had expected to meet more humans who focused more on obtaining pure Soul Power instead of casually leveling up, when he finally ran into such an enemy he couldn’t help but be surprised. At the same time, he felt that it really was a pity.
“To have to kill such a warrior who could help the human race…. Really, what a pity.” Bai Zemin muttered under his breath, except that the coldness in his voice did not reflect the content of his words.
Since Shao Tao was determined to stand in his way, then there was no need for mercy!
Shao Tao was preparing to charge forward for the second time when suddenly his face turned red and a panicked expression flashed in his eyes as he felt as if a hand was trying to tear his heart apart from the inside. He quickly controlled his mana to put up that hand, but when he finally managed to stop the internal attack his pupils trembled as he realized that he had just been tricked.
Like a ghost, Bai Zemin’s image flashed and in an instant appeared before Shao Tao’s surprised eyes. With a crimson flame burning around the golden dragon claw, Bai Zemin’s right fist split the atmosphere in two, and before Shao Tao could even react, he received a heavy blow on the chin.
BOOOOM!
Shao Tao felt his mind go blank for an instant and all he felt besides a lot of pain was the wind around him howling noisily as he soared hundreds of meters in an instant.
Bai Zemin stomped hard on the ground and soared like a rocket into the sky, his speed shot up even more when he practically canceled the gravity pulling him to the ground and in just seconds he soared above Shao Tao’s still soaring body.
Bai Zemin spun in the mid-air, and before Shao Tao’s body rose above his position, he fiercely slammed his knee into his enemy’s chest.
BOOM!!!
[Critical Hit!]
Shao Tao was sent flying back towards the ground at the same time as his mouth opened to let the blood spill out freely, and before his brain processed the pain in his chest, he slammed into the ground with such power that was plunged more than 200 meters.
Rumble….!!!
As the Transcendent faction’s army victoriously raised their weapons in excitement while looking up to the sky in adoration, the New China army felt as if the world was collapsing over their heads as the snow cloud slowly ascended and revealed the crater in which the person who led them had been buried.
Bai Zemin activated Gravity Manipulation in reverse, slowing their falling speed tremendously. Annihilation of the Falling Sky had morphed into an exquisite golden bow under his command and a deep blue arrow was on the string waiting to be released with the center of the crater as its target.
Bang!
The blue arrow broke the sound barrier, spawning several sonic cones that closed what appeared to be a thin but bright laser beam that rained down from a great height before burying itself in the ground.
Contrary to everyone’s expectations, there was no loud explosion but instead, the ground melted rapidly, turning into lava that in just seconds became a huge 250-meter pool that burned strong enough to melt all the snow in the vicinity.
In the sky, Bai Zemin frowned slightly as he received no notification, let alone felt an orb of Soul Power rushing into his body.
His enemy hadn’t died despite all that?
Bang!
The pool of lava split and a torrent of fire rose over 60 meters high as a shadow shot into the sky.
It was difficult to move in the sky when one did not have the ability to fly, however, the current Bai Zemin possessed the passive skill Super Warrior so his combat prowess was simply monstrous and in just an instant he found the best course to follow in the face of his enemy’s surprise attack.
Activating Gravity Manipulation to the maximum and with his knee pointing downwards, Bai Zein’s body fell like a torpedo. The cold glint of one of the scythes of his Legplates of Unholy Vengeance reflected in Shao Tao’s eyes and for a moment his heart clenched, but it was too late to retreat so he could only continue his assault.
BOOOOOM!!!
Shao Tao’s body was forced to retreat while Bai Zemin’s trajectory changed due to the previous collision, however, to his surprise and disbelief, Shao Tao did not fall to the ground like him but after some effort stayed suspended in the void.
Shao Tao’s body was covered by a strange layer of black skin with glowing red veins that seemed to pulsate, his eyes had turned blood red and on his hands were powerful claws of more than 20 centimeters long each. However, what attracted the most attention was that pair of fleshy wings that came out from his back and stretched out proudly as they flapped and held Shao Tao in the sky.
“… Honestly, I didn’t expect this at all.”
Shao Tao’s voice was hoarse and deep, like that of a demon that had just come out of hell. His red eyes looked at Bai Zemin with respect and seriousness as he spoke from over 600 meters high.
“In such a short time you forced me to use this skill… I guess it was to be expected from someone whom even that sword lunatic didn’t dare to underestimate.”
Black blood was sliding slowly down Shao Tao’s right claw, and on his chest, there was a hole that narrowly missed showing his heart beating. However, everyone noticed that those wounds were healing at monstrously high speeds to the point where it seemed as if a powerful mage was healing him; even the smoldering burns on his skin began to disappear quickly.
A new deep blue arrow burned in Bai Zemin’s right hand. His expression was indifferent as he placed the arrow on the golden bowstring, and as he pointed towards the sky, he gave the final warning.
“This is the last chance I will give you, Shao Tao. Surrender, only then will you prosper…. All those who get on my path will perish!”
His voice was lethal at the end of his warning. Although Bai Zemin was amazed by Shao Tao’s battle capability and overall resistance as he clearly possessed the power of an intermediate Third Order existence despite being only a Second Order existence, Bai Zemin’s patience had limits.
Moreover, for some reason, Bai Zemin began to feel somewhat anxious but he temporarily did not know where this anxiety was coming from.
“Even though you’re strong, that old Xuanyuan Wentian is a monster…. If you manage to defeat me today you will probably face him soon…. and then you will understand my words.”
That was Shao Tao Tao’s reply.
“I see… In that case, just die please.”
Bang!
The arrow shot out like a beam into the sky once Bai Zemin released his grip, forcing Shao Tao to hastily move to the side and barely dodging the attack. However, a new sense of danger assailed him so without even looking down he quickly resumed evasive maneuvers, which saved him from a second arrow.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!….
Shao Tao had no time to attack at all as he was bombarded by terrifying arrows from the ground as Bai Zemin’s right arm became a blur and released arrow after arrow at lightning speed.
The seconds passed as slowly as a snail’s pace, and while the Transcendent faction’s army nodded in satisfaction and pride, the New China’s army had ashen expressions on their incredulous faces.
Although Shao Tao had managed to avoid most of the arrows, his body had still been hit by some. Not only had he been superficially brushed and burned, but some arrows had pierced his legs and arms leaving deep black holes that had difficulty healing despite the bestial regeneration that his Demon Transformation skill conferred on him.
Bai Zemin continued to attack calmly, waiting for the perfect opportunity. When the opportunity he was trying to create with his attacks presented itself, just one attack would be all it would take for Shao Tao to lose his life; Bai Zemin was just that confident.
Finally, one of the soul evolvers belonging to one of the most powerful legions of the faction under Xuanyuan Wentian could not bear to continue watching at what would eventually lead to the defeat of the commander in charge.
If Shao Tao fell then who would stop that monstrous young man with the golden bow? They would all lose their lives!
“Die!”
The vice commander of the Swift Wind Legion took a step forward, and while pointing both hands towards Bai Zemin in the distance, he launched a magical skill called Dark Wind Blade.
The deep black wind blade shot forward, slicing the air in two halves and splitting open the ground even though it did not touch it. With a total diameter of over 20 meters, the wind blade had the ability to cut through ten war tanks side by side like a hot knife slicing through butter.
This was an attack from a level 65 soul evolver whose Soul Power was very pure, therefore, Bai Zemin could not treat it lightly. However, he ignored the enemy attack as if he had not noticed it and focused completely on Shao Tao, overwhelming him with arrows made with the power of his Endless Blue Lotus Flame.
The black wind blade had only reached halfway when a flame blade bright red in color appeared seemingly out of nowhere in its path.
BOOM!!!
The explosion of both attacks blocked everyone’s view for an instant as the snow evaporated, and had it not been for the fact that the soul evolvers near the explosion were all high level with considerably pure Soul Power several of them would have been cut by the small black wind blades that flew everywhere after the main attack was destroyed or would have received severe burns from the abrupt rise in temperature.
The vice-commander of the Swift Wind Legion gritted his teeth in anger and turned his face toward the snowy hill in the distance. There, he saw a beautiful woman in a fiery red magic robe glaring at him as she raised her right hand skyward.
“Looks like you all have forgotten that our Leader is not alone…”
Feng Tian Wu’s voice was dripping with indifference as she looked at the enemies in the distance. The mana inside her body trembled and moved to her right hand, fueling the increasingly large glowing fireball suspended 300 meters above.
“Surrender and live, oppose and perish…. Is it so hard to understand?”
* * * * * * *
