Chapter 338: Instant Kill! The Holy Maiden

Aside from ferocious beasts, Xu Jingming was not actually a bloodthirsty man.

As long as you didn't offend him or those he cherished, you could be as arrogant as you liked.

But once you crossed the line, even your ashes would be scattered!

In fact, upon advancing to Fourth-Rank Upper Tier.

Xu Jingming already possessed the capability to single-handedly kill any team from the Sakura Nation's Tianyu Dojo.

Yet he had no intention of doing so.

On one hand, he had no interest in slaughtering the weak.

On the other, the ones seeking to kill him were the Tianyu Dojo's Eighth-Rank Master Zongshi.

Even if one sought the source, it should be that Eighth-Rank Master Zongshi they pursued.

But unexpectedly, while he had no desire to act, the Tianyu Dojo's people came to him first.

Since they had brought death upon themselves, Xu Jingming would show no mercy!

He decisively activated Thunder Extreme State!

Upon reaching Fourth-Rank Upper Tier, the power of the SS-Rank Dou Tian Shen Lei had increased more than tenfold from before!

As soon as he entered Thunder Extreme State, crimson-gold thunder charged with terrifying energy erupted outward from Xu Jingming's center!

Crackling—

Violent thunder raged like a storm, swallowing trees and soil around him.

And Xu Jingming, as the source of the thunder, began to change in form.

His height of one meter eighty-nine surged to two meters twenty; his already balanced muscles swelled slightly.

Beneath the S-Rank battle suit, his broad back knotted with muscle, faintly forming the shape of a demonic face!

At vulnerable points—knees, elbows, ankles—crimson scales grew to protect him.

His once sharply black-and-white eyes transformed into golden, reptilian dragon pupils!

A savage, formidable aura exploded outward from Xu Jingming!

A crushing pressure, like a mountain peak, bore down on everyone present!

"What is this...?"

Not far away, Sakura Rin's almond eyes widened in shock as she stared at this scene.

The greatest difference between a lone-wolf power-user and one from a major faction is inferior equipment and inferior combat techniques!

Yet who could have imagined that this lone-wolf power-user, known as the Ferocious Beast Hunter, possessed such a formidable technique!

And why does this transformation look so familiar?

Hiss!

Isn't this the combat technique used by Xu Jingming, the SS-Rank power-user of Great Xia, during the recent Great Xia National University League?

Sakura Rin's pupils shrank sharply!

Could this Ferocious Beast Hunter be from the same sect as Great Xia's SS-Rank? Otherwise, how could their combat techniques be identical?

But when she saw his signature brilliant golden dragon pupils, she immediately dismissed the thought.

No, no!

Such eyes could only belong to Great Xia's SS-Rank!

As she confirmed this, a great confusion rose in Sakura Rin's heart.

But wasn't Great Xia's SS-Rank only Fourth-Rank Lower Tier? How had he already reached Fourth-Rank Upper Tier?

"Xu Jingming! Great Xia's SS-Rank?!"

Like Sakura Rin, Mark also recognized Xu Jingming's identity.

Amidst shock came a surge of elation:

"You actually dared come to Ruin Site #9? Perfect—I'll take your corpse back with me!"

The SS-Rank power-user emerging from Great Xia had a bounty placed on him by the United States.

If he completed the kill, the reward alone—without relying on the William Clan—would sustain him for years!

As for the change in Xu Jingming's cultivation aura, he paid it no mind.

So what if he's Fourth-Rank Upper Tier?

I'm two full ranks above him—could he possibly kill me?!

Thinking this, Mark lost all interest in playing cat-and-mouse.

With a single step, he crossed dozens of meters and appeared before Xu Jingming.

"Star Shatter Slash!"

Blood qi surged wildly; his battle blade, sharp as a blade of wind, became a meteor hurtling toward Xu Jingming!

Star Shatter Slash!

S-Rank combat technique! Usually reserved by Mark for Sixth-Rank ferocious beasts.

Yet now it was being used against a Fourth-Rank Upper Tier power-user!

"Die!" Mark's face twisted with glee.

He already imagined Xu Jingming's corpse severed by his blade, himself returning to claim the reward.

But at that moment, Xu Jingming moved!

His black spear, wrapped in thunder, thrust forward—faster than Mark's blade could strike!

"Thunder Piercing Demon Killing Spear!"

Boom!!

A flash-bright golden Lei Guang erupted; the spear became a black-gold phantom, slamming into Mark's body!

A golden Lei Zhu as thick as an adult's waist instantly pierced through his body.

It blasted a trench over a hundred meters long into the ground behind him before gradually coming to a stop!

In the face of this ferocious attack, Mark didn't even have time to let out a single scream.

His entire head, along with the upper half of his torso, was directly obliterated within the Lei Guang!

"What?!!"

The searing heat from the lightning instantly set the surrounding shrubs ablaze; flames and Lei Ting intertwined, raising the ambient air temperature by more than ten degrees!

Yet watching this scene, Sakuragi Rin only felt as if she had been plunged into an ice cave, her limbs going cold and a chill gripping her heart.

Dead?

Mark was actually dead?

Although she didn't care for Mark, among the five of them,

Mark, who possessed an A-rank ability at the lower tier of sixth-order, was the strongest!

Yet in just a single exchange, he had been instantly killed by Xu Jingming!

What terrifying power was this?

"Is this what an SS-rank ability is?"

Still in shock, Sakuragi Rin hurriedly commanded: "Teacher Mizuki, Teacher Yamashita, let's go together!"

"Yes!"

The two Sakura Nation ability users immediately nodded, and the middle-aged white man likewise flew into a frenzy:

"F**k, Mark is actually dead? I'll take your life!"

Mark was the most promising heir of their branch within the William family, and now he had been slain on the spot—how could he not be enraged?

"Shikigami, Yuki-onna!"

"Shikigami, Kamaitachi!"

"..."

Over a dozen shikigami were summoned by Sakuragi Rin first, lunging toward Xu Jingming!

"Shikigami? Mere child's tricks!"

With a cold snort, Xu Jingming raised his right hand and gently clenched it: "Lei Prison!!"

Violent golden Lei Ting formed a cage, locking Sakuragi Rin firmly in place,

And the golden Lei Ting merely splashed out from the release of Lei Prison was enough to obliterate every single shikigami!

Apart from Sakuragi Rin, the remaining three ability users were all Enhancement-type ability users.

After pinning Sakuragi Rin in place, Xu Jingming, wreathed in Lei Ting, charged at the other three sixth-order ability users with his long spear.

"My shikigami..."

Within Lei Prison, Sakuragi Rin's pretty face instantly went pale.

She knew her shikigami couldn't beat Xu Jingming.

But she hadn't expected that the mere aftershock of his Lei Ting would be enough to obliterate every single one of her shikigami...

"Is an SS-rank ability really this strong?"

At this moment, Sakuragi Rin—the heaven-blessed prodigy who had awakened an S-rank ability and been adored by the entire populace of the Sakura Nation,

Even crowned with the title of 'Holy Maiden'—felt a sense of defeat she had never experienced before.

"Still, three sixth-order ability users should be enough to suppress and kill him, right?"

Sakuragi Rin's entire strength was built upon her shikigami.

Now that all her shikigami had been obliterated, recovering them would take some time.

And her own strength was even inferior to that of an ordinary mid-tier fourth-order ability user.

Faced with this terrifying Lei Prison, she could only shift her gaze to the battlefield...