The mist-like sword-light pursued the Hell Wyrm. It seemed slow, yet was as swift as lightning.
The moment the sword-light slashed out, the Hell Wyrm halted its fleeing strides, its body convulsing violently as it fell into the grip of a rule-based power from which "not even death could grant escape."
There was no dodging it; he could only face it head-on.
Seeing this, the two Overlookers in the distance immediately lent assistance, erecting two wind walls between the sword-light and the wyrm.
The wind walls rose, only to shatter an instant later.
A cruciform shield manifested, solidifying into a Wall of Protection, only to collapse with a thunderous roar.
The Hell Wyrm shifted into a glittering golden lion, roaring as it erected a golden barrier, but upon making contact with the sword-qi, it crumbled inch by inch.
Within a single second of the sword-light's release, the wind walls, the cruciform shield, and the golden barrier broke down almost simultaneously.
This single strike condensed all of Fu Qingyang's sword-qi and willpower, augmented by 40% through the Swordsman Cloak. While it appeared plain and unexceptional, it was, in fact, fully stacked with buffs.
At the very last moment, faint white, illusory fish scales surfaced on the golden lion's body.
In the limited time he had, he had done everything in his power.
The sword-light cleaved through the fish scales, sheared across the golden lion's neck, and hurtled shrieking into the arena below, blasting earth and stones into the air.
The lion's head slid down slowly. Flesh and blood writhed at the severed stump of the neck, and a hideous canine head grew out as its body shrank and turned into a pitch-black, lean demon hound.
The Purgatory Demon Hound was down to its final head.
Fu Qingyang turned pale, looking worn and depleted. His eyes shifted from clear and bright to cloudy, displaying the ominous signs of exhaustion nearing death.
A swordsman killed with one step, one sword, at its most unadorned. His two strikes might have seemed unremarkable, but their power was evident from the fact that they had cleaved a fellow Dominator of the same rank twice in a row.
Power and expenditure were strictly proportional, and this was already his present limit. If Art Approaching the Dao could be slashed without limit, every Level 8 Dominator under the sun would fall to their knees and beg, "Father, spare my life!"
"President, counterattack!" the Purgatory Demon Hound bellowed, quickly bounding away to put distance between himself and Fu Qingyang.
Famed for many years, this was the first time he had felt terror before a newly ascended Dominator. Fu Qingyang looked spent, like an oil lamp burning out, but who knew if he might risk his life for one final burst to drag him back to the Spirit Realm together?
Among the orthodox professions of the Second District, Fire Mages were the fiercest, followed closely by Swordsmen.
In the distance, Stephen Simpson's body shifted rapidly. Goat horns sprouted from his head, his legs transformed into cloven hooves, and blue flames ignited across the membranous wings on his back, exuding a pungent stench of sulfur.
His muscles were sharply defined, and wicked fiendish runes were etched across his dark crimson skin.
He transformed into a demon with goat hooves, goat horns, and membranous wings—Chromie!
One of the Ten Sons of God, the very demon Typhoeus had once assumed.
Among the Ten Sons of God, Chromie possessed the most balanced combat capability. He wielded a mighty physique, formidable martial prowess, petrifying beams, and toxic smoke, and specialized even further in aberration incantations.
He was a powerful demon adept at both close combat and spellcasting.
The Chromie demon flapped the membranous wings on his back, soaring into the sky. With a flurry of wingbeats, he swooped toward Fu Qingyang like an eagle diving for prey. When he was less than ten meters away, he snapped his wings open to hover in midair, opening his maw to spew eerie blue flames.
Fu Qingyang produced a rust-mottled black-iron shield and raised it toward the sky.
The eerie blue flames slammed into the shield's surface, licking around the edges and burning toward Fu Qingyang behind it. His flesh rapidly carbonized, exposing his shoulder and skull bones.
In the arena, Zhang Yuanqing was just about to switch the Golden Crow Seal from purification to scorch to fire a searing beam at the Chromie demon, but out of the corner of his eye, he spotted three Disarray Dominators, led by Cowboy Locke, glaring hungrily at Fu Qingyang.
He could only suppress his anxiety and maintain the purification.
On the battlefield, the Dominators were fighting their own battles, pinning one another down.
The Palace Master of Halting Slaughter and Zhang Yuanqing were in a standoff against Catherine; the latter looked for an opening to seize the Golden Crow Seal, while the former stood guard over her little lover.
Chris was locked in a struggle against the other Gigant, being pushed back step after step, surviving solely on her illusory fish-scale armor.
Demon Eye battled two Wind Mages simultaneously, suppressing both with his solitary might.
Winnie was likewise fighting one against two, but under great strain; the federal inspector even found the leeway to summon lightning to strike Demon Eye, lightening the burden on the two Wind Mages.
Panxi Edison was locked in close-quarters combat with Cowboy Locke. A Merchant's combat techniques were formidable, backed by survival abilities like Teleportation and Voidform, leaving the two peak Dominators locked in a bitter stalemate.
The other two Disarray Dominators were essentially half-crippled. As they were not peak Dominators, casting strong crowd control to disrupt the orthodox Dominators under the shining light of purification was exceedingly difficult.
As for the Dominator of the Eternal Night profession, he was lounging casually in the distance, lying on his side in a semi-conscious, half-slumbering state.
His assignment was to seal off space so that Panxi Edison could not open teleportation portals. He would not join the fray because his slumber domain made no distinction between friend and foe.
If he entered the battle, chances were both sides would end up laid out flat.
Seeing that the president's Chromie form had suppressed Fu Qingyang, the Hell Wyrm immediately shifted into Scylla, preparing to shout Fu Qingyang to death.
Demon Eye Heavenly King suddenly glanced back, and the Eye of Bewitchment on his forehead shot out a crimson-gold beam of light that struck Scylla.
The demon, masked in keratin, tall and slender like a woman, let out a miserable shriek as the spiritual energy in its body spiraled out of control. Wings sprouted from its back, its legs turned to goat hooves, and its head shifted into a lion's.
Demon Eye Heavenly King shifted his gaze toward Chromie, who was spewing eerie blue flames.
The Chromie demon Stephen Simpson had transformed into fired two pale beams from his eyes, colliding head-on with the incoming crimson-gold beam.
The crimson-gold and two pale beams clashed, annihilating each other.
Demon Eye's rescue attempt failed.
Down in the arena, Zhang Yuanqing suddenly brought out the Armor of Lightning and the Bracers of Lightning, swiftly equipping them before donning the Purplish-Gold Set. Then, he spread his palm, aiming it at the ground.
*Bzz, bzz...*
Arcs of electricity exploded around him, turning him into a cluster of bright blue light. Immediately after, the electric glow across his entire body surged toward his right arm, compressing over and over again...
His strange movement was noticed first by Catherine, though she could not comprehend what Jumang was doing, knowing only that he was likely preparing another maneuver.
As the lightning-attributed spiritual energy compressed, its power broke through to the Dominator rank. The Dominators across the field took note of the abnormality on his end and turned their gazes toward him.
But it was too late!
The instant the electricity compressed to its utmost limit, Zhang Yuanqing dissolved into dazzling starlight. Right after, a pillar of starlight rose right beside the Hell Wyrm.
At that moment, the Hell Wyrm was reeling from the Eye of Bewitchment, the spiritual energy in his body running amok. Multiple demonic forms surfaced and clashed within him, preventing him from casting skills. Seeing the starlight rise beside him, his heart lurched. With no time to steady his spiritual energy, he hurriedly pulled out a fish-scale tunic and draped it over himself.
The next second, a barrel-thick beam of brilliant blue light blasted from Zhang Yuanqing's palm, engulfing the Hell Wyrm. Arcs of electricity crackled throughout the air.
Moments later, the electromagnetic cannon faded, leaving behind a massive, charred body staggering upright, radiating scorching heat and a burning stench.
"Ant... you ant..." the Hell Wyrm uttered a feeble roar. "I will crush you!"
He spewed toxic smoke from his mouth and shot petrifying beams from his eyes—the only two attack methods he had left. His spiritual energy remained in turmoil, and after taking the full brunt of the electromagnetic cannon, he was already thoroughly weakened.
The Golden Crow Seal hovering above Zhang Yuanqing's head continuously radiated pure, crystalline golden light, eradicating the toxic smoke and dissolving the petrifaction. Combined with his innate 50% resistance, the Hell Wyrm's attacks achieved virtually nothing.
Concealed beneath his purplish-gold mask, he calmly retrieved the Form and Spirit Annihilation Blade, activating its Slash Form skill.
The short blade was cloaked in a milky-white glow. Holding a shield in one hand to erect an electromagnetic barrier before him, he charged toward the heavily wounded Hell Wyrm in heavy, rapid strides.
In that split second, the two Disarray Dominators rained down heavy crowd control upon him: limb dysfunction, distance disorientation, sensory disruption, revelry... Yet all of them were dissipated and dissolved by the Golden Crow Seal.
When it came to debuff immunity, Zhang Yuanqing—wielding the Golden Crow Seal and having cultivated the Pure Yang Body Cleansing Record—was even stronger than Fu Qingyang and the others.
The Chromie demon Stephen Simpson had transformed into whipped his head around, his eyes shooting out two pale beams.
*Bang!*
The electromagnetic barrier shattered first. The purplish-gold shield met the pale beams, swiftly petrifying and bursting apart, followed by the Purplish-Gold Set taking on a pale hue, freezing his entire body.
Three defensive props failed to hold out for even a single second.
A single glance from a peak Dominator broke through his strongest defensive system, but Zhang Yuanqing had already achieved his objective. He swiftly unequipped the Purplish-Gold Set, slipping free a split second before his physical body was affected.
By this point, he had already closed in on the charred wyrm. His short blade flared with brilliant white light and cleaved down sharply.
*Squelch!*
The wyrm's body was sliced clean in two, blood and steaming viscera spilling across the ground.
Slash Form! It completely bypassed physical defense.
Next, thick, viscous black energy surfaced in Zhang Yuanqing's eye sockets. He saw the Level 8 Dominator's origin soul drifting into the sky, attempting to flee.
At the Level 8 position, one's mental power was already overwhelmingly formidable, condensing an origin soul. Even if the physical body died, the soul would not dissipate on the spot and could even continue fighting.
Zhang Yuanqing switched to the Soul Reaper skill, cloaking the blade in pitch-black light.
He opened his palm and aimed at the origin soul in the air from afar, drawing it back to his side. He then activated the Battle Soul skill and slashed down.
Slash Spirit was equivalent to Slash Form: the former delivered a lethal strike against spiritual bodies, while the latter bypassed defense against physical bodies.
Throughout this process, Chromie abandoned Fu Qingyang and flew over on flapping wings, his eyes shooting pale beams.
Zhang Yuanqing's chest took on a pale hue. Yet a peak Dominator's petrifying beam produced little effect on a Saint; the pale hue spread languidly, failing to petrify him immediately.
The purification of the Golden Crow Seal and the 50% resistance from Unyielding Will were Zhang Yuanqing's greatest assets, which was precisely why he had suggested killing the Gigants first.
The jet-black blade cleaved through the Hell Wyrm's spirit body.
Amidst a shrill scream audible only to Night Wanderers, the origin soul dissolved into black smoke.
The corners of Zhang Yuanqing's mouth curled upward. The instant the Chromie demon descended, he dissolved into starlight, returning to the Palace Master of Halting Slaughter's side and leaving the Purplish-Gold Set behind where he had stood.
Almost simultaneously, the half-skeletal Fu Qingyang rode a streak of sword-light back to the arena.
Drenched in blood, Chris spurred her mount to scoop up Winnie, maneuvering nimbly to escape through a barrage of lightning pillars and wind blades.
Demon Eye Heavenly King stayed behind to cover their retreat. Crimson-gold demonic pupils opened all over his body, tainting the mental faculties and spiritual energy of the enemy Dominators. Only after his allies had regrouped did he withdraw back to the arena.
As Panxi Edison teleported back, the clash ground to a halt.
The Dominators of the evil faction glared darkly at the orthodox Dominators, not uttering a word.
The Saints fortunate enough not to have been caught in the crossfire stood dumbfounded, completely unable to accept this outcome.
Twelve Dominators on their side, including two peak Dominators—yet such a lineup had suffered a crushing defeat, losing a Level 8 Dominator. A Level 8 Dominator!
In relatively peaceful times, the fall of a single Level 8 Dominator was massive news.
And after losing a Level 8 Dominator, they hadn't even managed to slay a single orthodox Dominator.
Stephen Simpson walked over to the Purplish-Gold Set, bending down to pick it up and claim it as a trophy. Suddenly, he froze.
He couldn't lift it?!
The three purplish-gold pieces of equipment seemed to weigh a million jin, anchored firmly to the ground and refusing to budge no matter how he pulled.
A bound-type item?
Experienced and knowledgeable, Lieutenant Stephen came to a sudden realization and felt a pang of regret. Through the battle just now, he could tell these three pieces of equipment formed a set and were also rule-based.
The Palace Master of Halting Slaughter gently stroked the side of her bronze pot, causing streams of glittering golden life fluid to spout from the nozzle and pour over her companions.
Chris, Winnie, and Demon Eye Heavenly King wore expressions of relief and comfort. Flesh regrew across Fu Qingyang's face and hands, returning to smooth, fair skin. Zhang Yuanqing's body, scorched by the Golden Crow Seal and carbonized by the Thunder God Set, also surged with renewed vitality.
Winnie Berrent appraised Jumang with a complex, astonished gaze. Just a few days ago, in her eyes, Jumang had merely been a subordinate—a talented individual worth looking after and nurturing.
Yet today, the combat prowess and stockpile of props this subordinate had displayed left her thoroughly shaken.
She realized one thing: Jumang's props had not come from Fu Qingyang, because Fu Qingyang did not possess so many high-tier props.
Just who was he?
Chris held up the fish tank, nodding in satisfaction as she gave her approval to this Musician who had barely participated in the fighting.
Ruth, the little fish in the tank, spoke on her mistress's behalf: "The quality of this life fluid is higher than any I've ever used."
Life fluid normally could not restore stamina, but the golden liquid from this Musician's pot had replenished most of her stamina, proving remarkably miraculous.
Chris turned her gaze back to Jumang, and the little fish Ruth exclaimed in marvel, "Their numbers really did go down! I feel like we can turn the tables on them."
Successfully eliminating an enemy Dominator caused the morale on the orthodox side to soar.
Just then, Cowboy Locke sneered in the distance:
"We haven't even used our props yet!"
Chapter 763