The Hunter's Mockery
Li Shulai's sword aura of flame, condensed with all his hope and remaining Mana, tore through the air with a desperate, tragic momentum, slashing directly toward that fatal gray-white line above the Poison Leech King's sucker mouth!
Yet, the beast seemed to have anticipated their final, desperate move.
Just as the sword aura was about to hit, the Poison Leech King suddenly released its bite on Lin Yan's nearly severed arm. Its massive body, moving with an agility and speed utterly disproportionate to its size, ducked and sank like a phantom!
"Plooop!"
It plunged directly into the murky, foul-smelling mud and water below, vanishing without a trace.
The burning sword aura and Chen Ruipeng's ferocious axe wind both struck empty space, succeeding only in blasting the swamp mud several zhang high, along with the shredded remains of countless common leeches.
As the foul wave of water settled, the battlefield fell into a moment of absolute silence.
The next second.
"Goo-doo…"
In another small pool not far from Li Shulai and Chen Ruipeng, the water surface silently parted, and that repulsive, dark-red patterned head slowly emerged.
It tilted its eyeless head toward the two staggering figures—their movements ragged and their Qi severely depleted from the failed, all-out strike. The massive sucker mouth opened and closed slightly, emitting a "Jee-jee" sound—a noise of extreme discomfort, yet utterly reminiscent of mocking laughter.
It was mocking them. A raw, undisguised contempt from a predator over its dying prey.
The endless tide of common leeches continued to pour in from all directions, relentlessly consuming their final reserves of strength.
The paralysis from the wounds on his back was creeping further up. His Mana Sea was nearly dry. Li Shulai leaned heavily on his sword, gulping for air, sweat mixed with blood dripping from his temples. In his eyes, a look of utter, profound despair appeared for the first time.
Chen Ruipeng propped his great axe into the ground. His massive body swayed slightly. He remained silent, a monument of muscle and sheer will, yet even he was on the precipice of total collapse.
He Lingxuan was half-kneeling, tightly supporting the completely unconscious and barely breathing Lin Yan. She had given him her last pill.
The Golden Eye Opens
Just at this moment, when even despair seemed a hollow emotion—
Lin Yan, held in He Lingxuan's arms, who should have been completely unconscious, gave an almost imperceptible, extremely subtle tremor.
Then, his hand, which had been weakly dangling, slowly curled its fingers and formed a fist.
He Lingxuan felt the subtle shift instantly and looked down in astonishment. An ancient, overwhelming spiritual pressure, far surpassing anything the Academy Masters possessed, began to seep from his body, forcing her to instinctively gasp for breath.
Lin Yan's tightly shut eyelids fluttered slightly, and then, slowly, they opened.
What kind of eyes were these?
They were no longer the gentle, even slightly timid black pupils she knew. Instead, they glowed with a dazzling, molten gold radiance, streaked with what appeared to be infinite, flowing runic symbols!
The gaze was distant, indifferent, and profound, like that of a Deity seated high above the Nine Heavens, looking down upon mortal ants.
All traces of "Lin Yan's" personal emotion vanished in that instant, replaced by an absolute rationality and majesty that transcended all mortal things. His face, though deathly pale, had hardened into a mask of pure, indifferent power.
He merely raised his uninjured right hand with an elegant, unhurried motion, carrying the cadence of an ancient rhythm. He lightly raised it to his nose, using his index finger and thumb to pinch the mud-splattered, cracked-lens black-rimmed glasses. He then casually removed them, tossing them onto the filthy mud nearby.
It was as if he had discarded a trivial, insignificant constraint.
This simple act seemed to press the mute button on the surrounding scene: the insane surge of murderous intent, the screeching of the leeches, and the heavy breathing of his teammates all seemed to quiet down.
An indescribable aura, vast as the star sea and ancient as the cosmos, silently radiated from him. Li Shulai felt the hairs stand up on his arms, a primal terror replacing the combat adrenaline. This power wasn't just strong; it felt like an inherent law of the world, something utterly beyond human cultivation.
His golden pupils swept indifferently across the water where the Poison Leech King was currently rearing its head in silent mockery.
Then, he raised the hand that had just removed the glasses, stretching his fingers toward that water patch as if grasping a corner of the universe. With a voice that was cold, utterly clear, and devoid of any emotion, yet resonated with the fundamental laws of Heaven and Earth, he softly uttered the words of the decree:
"Fire, Thunder, Biting."
The Decree of Fire and Thunder
Rumble—!!!
There was no prelude, no process! Centered on the Poison Leech King, the marsh water and the air above it, within a ten-meter radius, were instantly saturated with countless violet-gold rings of Thunder-Fire, born from thin air!
The moment the command left his lips, the air didn't just heat up—it ignited with pure elemental energy. The violet-gold light was so bright it momentarily washed out the oppressive gray mist, making the scene startlingly clear.
This was not ordinary flame; it was the ultimate Yang-aligned Fire and Thunder, condensed to its peak! Its essence was so purified that it repelled the chaotic swamp Qi instantly. This was not common lightning; it was the Wrath of Heaven, imbued with the will to incinerate all evil and filth!
Chen Ruipeng instinctively tried to raise his axe for defense, but his body—trained to the absolute peak of mortality—froze in sheer, petrified awe. He realized that if this power wished him harm, no defense in the mortal world could save him. This wasn't Mana; this was decree.
Sizzle-sizzle-sizzle—!!
The violet-gold rings of Thunder-Fire converged, clashed, and exploded like sentient snakes of destruction!
Terrifying heat and violent lightning energy were compressed and unleashed intensely in that area! The explosion sounded less like a blast and more like the ripping of the fabric of space itself. Water vaporized instantly, the underlying mud was directly atomized, and even the air was ionized into blinding light!
The Poison Leech King, which had been arrogantly mocking them a second before, didn't even manage to let out a single howl. Its enormous body, like snow thrown into a forge, was instantaneously vaporized and annihilated within the boundless violet-gold Thunder-Fire!
Not a single scrap of residue remained!
Not only the King, but every common leech caught in that ten-meter area was swept by the residual Thunder-Fire, turning into dust!
In a single instant, the fan-shaped area directly ahead of "him" was completely cleared! All that remained was scorched earth and plumes of blue smoke spiraling into the gray mist.
This scene, far beyond mortal comprehension—a true Divine Miracle—plunged the entire battlefield into a deathly silence.
The Cold Indifference
Li Shulai stood with his mouth agape, his sword almost slipping from his grasp. His pupils trembled violently. The arrogance he once held for his skill was utterly crushed. He was staring at a power that redefined the laws of cultivation he had always believed in. The very fact that this supreme power originated from the weakest among them added a layer of profound, dizzying confusion. His mind was a total blank slate, filled only with the image of the cleansing fire.
Chen Ruipeng froze in place, his great axe propping him up. He stared at the scorched earth and the lingering blue smoke, his rugged face etched with utter shock. A deep, involuntary sense of humility and fear washed over the massive man. He recognized the gulf between mortal strength and this celestial decree.
He Lingxuan's hands, gripping "Lin Yan's" arm, trembled violently. She was the closest, and her perception of the change was the most intense. The vast, ancient, transcendental aura emanating from him made her soul tremble with fear. "This isn't Qi," she thought, her rational mind frantically searching for a label. "This is... the voice of the Dao itself."
Li Shulai slowly lowered his sword, his voice barely a raw whisper. "Lin Yan? A-are you alright? What was that power…?"
He Lingxuan, though equally terrified, managed to voice a more pragmatic concern. "You must stop! That power—it will destroy your body!"
The figure with the golden eyes finally moved. He did not respond in words. He simply tilted his head, his luminous gaze passing briefly over Li Shulai, then He Lingxuan, without any flicker of recognition or concern. The look was utterly devoid of human warmth, a scientist observing two irrelevant specimens. The lack of emotion was more terrifying than any roar.
The terrifying silence only lasted a few seconds. The vast, ancient aura in the air was so intense that the surrounding common leeches, having lost their king, paused in complete terror.
However, the sheer density of the black tide and the deep-seated hunger of the swamp quickly overcame their fear. The hundreds of remaining leeches, unable to coordinate but driven by the smell of blood and the survival instinct, began to surge again.
From the surrounding thick, gray mist, a dense, chaotic rush of sss-sssh sounds arose. The black tide, though leaderless, was preparing its final, desperate, disorganized counter-attack. They were driven to consume the four intruders before the strange, terrifying power could strike again.
The golden eyes swept over the incoming wave, the expression unchanging, like a judge preparing to deliver a final verdict.