ocean-life Chapter 128: Jiao Zhenqing (2)
Chapter 128: Jiao Zhenqing (2)
Chapter 128: Jiao Zhenqing (2)“Phew...”
“Hff- Haah.”
Maxien and Camilla locked eyes, unable to hide their frustration.
“So this is how it goes.”
“...Indeed.”
They had been radiating murder toward each other in the vast arena, but now expressed their disappointment with deep sighs.
“Consider yourself lucky.”
“That’s... my line.”
If they had just a little more time, there would have been a clear victory. But the commotion that arose before the finals forced them to withdraw.
“Hmph.”
“Tch.”
They knew opportunities like this were rare—a chance to fight on equal ground, using Avatars that allowed them to go all out without worrying about the aftermath or consequences.
In their original dimension, such a confrontation could never happen for many reasons. As great heroes of the Galactic Empire, each had numerous subordinates and devoted followers. A loss for either would inevitably affect the empire’s balance of power.
The two had hoped to settle things by vying to become Karlstein’s cultivation partner, but alas. They felt the sting of regret at missing the chance to definitively determine who was superior and more suitable.
“Revealing the spaceship must mean the situation is serious.”
“...We’ll duel another time.”
They could not act rashly, especially considering a certain watchful Chancellor back in the Galactic Empire.
“Let’s go. We may be needed.”
“...Don’t tell me you’re already out of steam?”
“Hmph. As if.”
With that, they returned to the space battleship where Karlstein waited. Above all, the woman who had leaped into the ship earlier continued to bother their thoughts.
***“These sons of dogs!! Koff.”
Jiao Zhenqing’s body was relatively intact, but his clothes were mostly burned away, leaving him in tatters like a beggar.
“They will pay for this.”
His eyes were bloodshot with fury, teeth gnashing.
“What pathetic trickery!!”
An area within a radius of several thousand meters had been reduced to ashes. Despite the explosion strangely concentrating on the center, it was enough to reduce the area into a barren wasteland.
Gnash-
Moreover....
“Blast it! Again?!”
The projectiles kept coming without pause, their piercing whistles tearing through the atmosphere. From the second attack onward, Jiao Zhenqing had attempted dodging and various other maneuvers, but....
BOOM-
“Aaagh!”
The peculiar attacks twisted direction to chase him relentless, each followed by an inevitable massive explosion.
VHOOSH-
Immediately after, a tremendous shockwave battered his entire body.
Gnash-
“Curses!!”
What’s worse, for some reason, each attack grew stronger.
“Aargh!”
If there was any consolation, it was that the attacks were not yet life-threatening.But at this rate, it would undoubtedly become perilous.
The surrounding Spiritual Power is gradually depleting...!
Jiao Zhenqing needed to draw on the Spiritual Power in the air, but with each overlapping explosion, that power thinned.
“What kind of technique is this?!”
He was furious. Somehow, even his defensive techniques were not working properly. It was as if the explosive energy was dismantling the solid connections of Spiritual Power, leaving him with disheveled hair and tattered clothes.
“Haa... Haa...”
Just as Jiao Zhenqin considered whether to use his hidden trump card while desperately enduring with various techniques, the incoming attacks suddenly stopped.
“Phew.... Is it over?”
He chuckled, musing that it was truly a close call.
“That almost ruined... the Blood-Draining Needle’s refinement.”
Right. After all the trouble he went through to refine this treasure, he could not carelessly waste it in a place like this.
Jiao Zhenqing released a sigh of relief, but his anger remained undiminished. Soon, what newly began to register in his senses was....
“Kahaha! After hiding like cowards, you finally show yourselves?!”
Hundreds of Nascent Soul cultivators were approaching in a surrounding circle.
“That’s right! Come! I shall slaughter you all!”
Surely not...? But it’s different from before. This is...?
The whistling grew near. A white line stretched from beyond the horizon, instantly connecting with his heart.
CRUNCH!!
“!!”
A thin metal object, about as thick as a finger, struck his heart directly, splattering blood.
The projectile was so ridiculously fast that even to Jiao Zhenqing’s eyes, it appeared as a single beam of light.
“Gah!”
BOOOM-
The moment it struck, it pushed away all the surrounding air, creating a vacuum and dispersing shockwaves.
CRAASH-
A beat later, the ground caved in with thunderous noise, and Jiao Zhenqing’s body was buried underneath.
“Koff! What in the...”
After barely regaining his senses, Jiao Zhenqing was dumbfounded.
And then he realized something.
“DAMN IT ALLLL!!”
The earlier explosion was not the end.
Another whistle came for him.
“Again?!”
KABOOM-
“GAARGH!”
It hit him in the same spot, and a copious stream of blood erupted from the wound.
BOOM-
The already collapsed ground crumbled once more, hurling dirt and rocks in every direction.
BANG- BANG-
Total annihilation. An unavoidable, acute physical force kept hammering his heart. A force that even Spiritual Power could not defend against.
BANG- BANG- BANG- BANG-
The projectiles, firing at a rate incomparably faster than before, began to drive Jiao Zhenqing deeper into the ground.
He sobbed in pain.
BANG- BANG- BANG- BANG-
BANG- BANG- BANG- BANG-
BANG- BANG- BANG- BANG-
“Hurk...!”
The relentless barrage was so intense that even the watching Nascent Soul cultivators broke out in cold sweat.
BANG- BANG- BANG- BANG-
BANG- BANG- BANG- BANG-
BANG- BANG- BANG- BANG-
A long time passed.
“Is, is it over?”
The Nascent Soul cultivators, who had been trembling in fear and could barely stand, slowly began to raise their heads.
“What... What just happened?”
“Who...”
“What’s going on?”
“I... couldn’t see anything.”
“Who in the world...?”
Despite trembling with fear, they had witnessed firsthand the power that mercilessly pummeled the True Immortal’s body with terrifying speed.
A massive crater marked the ground where the True Immortal had been driven in.
Physical power potent enough to topple a True Immortal... They had never encountered anything like it before.
Meanwhile...
Bebeep-
“Mmm... I guess this is about as far as conventional weapons can go?”
Karlstein muttered grumpily after testing his railgun.
Beeeep-
The life sign from his detection device flat-lined.