When Quan Juehua slew Margot Moxi, he made no effort to cover his tracks.
Having decided to go all out, why would he care about what anyone else thought? If they wanted to watch, let them; he would just cut them down later anyway.
It was precisely because of his brazen display that those aboard the Aska also sensed Quan Juehua's presence.
They had not spotted him with their physical eyes, but rather perceived his existence through their senses. His terrifying aura cast a solemn pall over everyone present, stripping away any desire for banter.
"Careful, here it comes!"
Zhang Shou was a bladesman after all. When Quan Juehua's blade energy surged forth, he was the first to detect something dreadful closing in through the pitch-black void.
Only then did the others sense the blade energy, one by one.
"How can there be so many?" Chi Feihong looked up in shock. The threats registered in his mind like tagged red dots of light—and his consciousness was already crowded with a sky full of stars.
Niman furrowed her brows. "Can the Aska defend against this?"
"Don't pin your hopes on the Aska. If it fails us at the crucial moment, we're done for," Nora said gravely.
Right now, Transcendence-grade items were undeniably powerful, but they were also something of a mixed blessing.
Once an opponent wielded an item of the same caliber, the Transcendence-grade effects would cancel each other out and become useless. Thus, the Aska could not guarantee their safety a hundred percent.
"Then let's all strike together and block it!"
Zhang Shou leaped into the air at once, drawing his blade to slash at one of the beams of light.
Yet when his blade energy collided with that beam, it was like glass smashing against diamond—shattering to pieces in an instant. His pupils dilated slightly; then, gritting his teeth, he teleported directly before the blade light and brought his long blade down against the energy.
Under the force of this clash, he was instantly thrown back, his hands jarringly numb.
"How is this possible? What kind of blade energy is this?"
Zhang Shou muttered in disbelief. This blade energy was harder than his own weapon.
Under normal circumstances, blade energy could hardly match a physical blade in hardness. After all, energy was energy, and steel was steel.
When a Mighty One wielded their beloved weapon, almost any blade energy could be cleaved apart. But this time, Zhang Shou felt as though he were hacking at solid iron.
Yet he refused to back down.
Gritting his teeth, he flashed before the blade energy once more, unleashing a frenzy of slashes—front, left, right, he tried every possible angle, but none of it produced the slightest effect.
"Dammit, I don't believe this!"
With fighting spirit blazing in his eyes, Zhang Shou gripped his hilt with both hands, his aura erupting violently.
Absolute Blade—Life-Sacrificing Strike!
With a low roar, he appeared directly in front of the blade energy, his long blade slamming head-on into it. This time, he finally carved a breach into the blade energy, and a terrifying force instantly erupted from the fissure.
*Boom!*
The energy, which had maintained the shape of a blade beam, abruptly turned erratic and volatile, venting a torrential backlash. Zhang Shou took the brunt of the impact; a gaping hole was blasted clean through his chest, and he was hurled backward through the void, coughing up blood as he flew.
"Zhang Shou, you're being far too reckless!"
Niman flashed behind Zhang Shou in an instant, supporting his back with one hand.
"Heh heh, at least I stopped it!"
Zhang Shou's mouth was filled with blood, yet he couldn't help grinning proudly.
"Head back quickly. Little Nora has already prepared healing food," Niman sighed, ushering Zhang Shou toward the Aska.
Then Niman turned toward the surrounding blade energy and continued clearing it away.
She did not confront it head-on like Zhang Shou. Instead, she used spatial abilities to divert the blade energy straight into the misty regions of the Tree Universe, where it quickly dissipated into the fog.
In truth, ordinary spatial abilities could not budge Quan Juehua's blade energy at all.
Niman was able to redirect it primarily because over the years, she had ceased studying other laws, dedicating herself entirely to spatial laws and journeying exceptionally far along that path.
Her choice of space over time had stemmed from the fact that the Tree Universe possessed space but lacked time. She viewed this as a wondrous state of affairs—perhaps space was closer to the true Great Dao than time was.
Since she had to commit to mastering one rule, why not choose the one closest to the Great Dao?
Naturally, inherent talent was equally vital.
As a rare former Creator God and guardian god, Niman had possessed an extraordinary comprehension of spatial laws upon advancing to Mighty One—a gift beyond the grasp of ordinary humans. That was why she had been able to progress far faster than anyone else.
By contrast, even though Feng Mingge also cultivated spatial laws, he was utterly incapable of shifting Quan Juehua's blade energy, unable to divert its trajectory even slightly.
Within mere seconds, Quan Juehua's barrage of blade energy was completely neutralized by the group.
Niman contributed the most, followed by Nora, Chi Feihong, Feng Mingge, and Zhang Shou. Many watching Mighty Ones were thoroughly astonished, having never suspected that the Columnar Universe harbored such a formidable faction.
Naturally, certain factions already familiar with Nora and the others were startled by their demonstrated prowess, only now realizing they had grossly underestimated them.
"To actually block my blade—how interesting!"
Quan Juehua had witnessed it all. He raised the blade in his hand, pushed off his feet the next instant, and vanished in a flash.
Elsewhere, Chi Feihong was flying back. Just moments earlier, relying on his formidable defense, he had held off a ray of blade light until Niman arrived to assist.
"That blade energy was truly terrifying, beyond imagination..."
Chi Feihong was conversing across the distance with Feng Mingge when he suddenly stiffened. The next instant, his body slowly split in two.
Immediately after, Quan Juehua altered the trajectory of his blade light, slashing directly toward Feng Mingge. Feng Mingge had already reacted and swiftly attempted to teleport away, but after shifting barely a single meter, he felt the surrounding space clamp shut.
"Trivial parlor tricks. How can a mere firefly rival the blazing sun?"
Quan Juehua sneered as he swung his blade, but out of the corner of his eye in the next instant, he saw a bullet hurtling toward him.
Forced to adapt, he shifted his blade's path, turning his strike from Feng Mingge toward the bullet. The moment the edge struck the projectile, a violent explosion erupted.
In an instant, Quan Juehua was blasted backward, completely unable to arrest his momentum.
Standing on the deck of the Aska, Nora did not stop, emptying every chamber of her revolver in a single breath.
*Pfft!*
Quan Juehua was sent hurtling across dozens of light-years before finally spitting out a mouthful of blood.
He was thoroughly shocked by the bullet's power. This was completely abnormal—it was almost on par with certain weaker Transcendence-grade items.
Seeing more bullets flying toward him, he dared not meet them with his blade again, raising a hand across the void instead.
Although his bladesmanship was his greatest asset, his other abilities were by no means weak.
If skills had levels and 100 was the maximum, then while his blade was at level 100, all his other skills were at level 99. The only reason they were not maxed out was that they lacked that final sliver of true devotion.
"Overturning Heavenly Demon Palm!"
Quan Juehua thrust out a palm, which instantly materialized into an immense handprint.
The bullet struck the handprint, immediately detonating in a violent explosion that blasted right through the palm.
*Just as I thought... These bullets were definitely forged with the aid of certain Transcendence-grade items, but that assistance must be indirect several times over, which is why they aren't neutralized by Transcendence-grade items!* After close observation, Quan Juehua's near-max-level experience allowed him to deduce the truth in an instant.
In reality, this was indeed viable.
For example, Yu Xian and the others' Mighty One strength actually originated from the Zhen Realm.
Yet whether the Zhen Realm was neutralized or other items were countered, it did not diminish their Mighty One strength, nor did it cause that power to disappear.
This proved that abilities indirectly derived from Transcendence-grade items would not be invalidated by the neutralizing effect.
Chapter 721