Chapter 523

"Crushing a skull with bare hands—so cool!"

Bloody, yes, but also utterly imposing! No wonder he's Lei Di!

"Lei Di! Strongest!"

"......"

Bloodshed and brutality were the audience's first impression of Xu Jingming.

Yet precisely because of this, they felt a visceral, blood-pumping aesthetic of violence!

Especially the young people in the audience from Daxia, who shouted and screamed wildly.

In contrast, the American audience section remained utterly silent.

As an SS-rank ability awakener, Xu Jingming's strength was understandable.

But over a dozen attacking one, and not a single scratch was inflicted on him.

Instead, he annihilated them all with Lei Ting's fury—this was downright humiliating.

"Hmph, Kate may be first in this zone, but among our U. S. prodigies, he's only mid-tier!"

"If the Saint stepped in, a single ray of Holy Light would obliterate him instantly."

"No need for the Saint—even Sam or Leo could handle him alone."

"Let Xu Jingming boast for now—his real suffering comes in the one-on-one matches ahead!"

"......"

Many American spectators spoke bitterly.

The Saint they referred to was naturally Catherine, from the Holy Church, possessing the SS-rank 'Holy Angel' ability.

As for Sam, Leo, and others, they were the U. S.'s top S-rank ability awoken prodigies, only slightly below Catherine.

"Kill!"

On the arena, the remaining Matthew and others snapped back to reality and charged again!

But Xu Jingming's figure vanished instantly from his spot.

Shhh—

Golden spearlight flashed, and within mere seconds, three were slain in succession!

Of the dozen or so who had surrounded Xu Jingming, only Matthew remained.

Meanwhile, the other awakened fighters maintained a respectful distance.

They merely fought elsewhere, terrified of being drawn in.

In truth, the deaths of Kate and others benefited them—they freed up several promotion slots.

"You think a few of you can ambush me? Arrogant fools. You too—die!"

Crrr—

Golden Lei Guang flared; Xu Jingming surged forward instantly, his spear wreathed in furious thunder, striking like lightning toward Matthew's chest.

Matthew was the only elemental ability awakener among the three, possessing an A-rank Earth-element ability.

As an elemental master, his physical frame was not strong.

If this spear pierced him, he'd be obliterated instantly!

Yet Matthew showed no sign of dodging—instead, a chilling smile spread across his face:

"I've been waiting for you! Gray Earth Shackles!"

Boom!!

He slammed his palms together; endless earth elements coalesced from the air.

Forming over a dozen chains, they instantly bound Xu Jingming's limbs, halting the spear mid-thrust.

"Gray Earth Shackles! An SS-rank Earth-element restriction technique!"

"It can briefly immobilize any ability awakener who gets too close—no one expected Matthew to master it!"

"So what if he's immobilized? Matthew's teammates are all dead—who's going to deal damage?"

Matthew's sudden outburst surprised the audience, but no one was truly worried.

Earth-element ability awoken users lack offensive power; without teammates to support, their damage is negligible.

Yet at that very moment, a shadow wielding a dagger silently appeared behind Xu Jingming in the empty air.

"An assassin-type ability awakener?!"

"So this was Kate's hidden trump card!"

"I know her—she's Lisa from the U. S., runner-up in Zone 143!"

"Her assassination skills are flawless; none of us noticed her—turns out she'd been in stealth since the start!"

The Daxia audience erupted in startled cries.

Assassin-type ability awoken users, when used properly,

can easily assassinate higher-ranked opponents—making them a nightmare for many.

Seeing Lisa appear behind Xu Jingming, the Daxia spectators shouted desperately, trying to warn him.

But how could sound outpace Lisa's dagger?

"SS-rank from Daxia, you never imagined I'd be your final kill, did you?"

"Kill you, and I'll gain endless glory! Backstab!"

Lisa's eyes glowed with boundless longing; her dagger, aimed at Xu Jingming's throat, plunged like lightning!

Yet at that instant—whirr—a brilliant golden Lei Ting barrier erupted around Xu Jingming's body!

Ding!

The dagger struck it—and rang like it had hit hardened alloy.

At the same time, terrifying Lei Ting traveled down the dagger and into her body!

"Bad!" Lisa's face changed instantly; she hurled the dagger away and stood firm at a distance.

Even so, her skin had already turned slightly black.

It was easy to imagine that if she had hesitated just a moment longer, she would already be a charred corpse.

"A Perfect-grade Lei Ting barrier?!" Lisa stared at Xu Jingming, uncertain and alarmed.

Before this, through gathered intelligence, she had known well most of Xu Jingming's combat techniques.

This instant Lei Ting barrier was a technique especially worth noting.

Thus, the tactic they had devised was to have Matthew draw Xu Jingming's attention.

So that when she struck, Xu Jingming would have no time to react and activate this Lei Ting barrier.

But unexpectedly, it still failed!

"A good tactic, but unfortunately, your assassin was already sensed by me."

From within the golden Lei Ting barrier, Xu Jingming's deep voice rang out.

His SS-grade technique, "Heart Net," had already sensed the hidden adept.

He simply could not pinpoint the exact location, so he had remained on guard.

Only when Matthew suddenly used a restriction technique did he instantly activate the Lei Ting barrier in defense.

"Your American adepts may have some clever ideas, but ants are still ants—no matter how cleverly you scheme, you cannot bite into a dragon."

Boom!

With full force, Xu Jingming shattered the earth-element chains instantly!

"If that's all the tricks you have, then die!"

Sssshhh—

Xu Jingming's towering figure, gripping the spear, suddenly became a golden phantom, lunging toward Matthew and Lisa.

Matthew and Lisa—one was an elemental master, the other possessed a enhancement-type ability.

But her ability leaned toward agility; her physical body was not strong.

Two such adepts, if Xu Jingming closed in, could only have one outcome!

Sploosh—

Sploosh—

Two sounds followed in quick succession; both their heads were shattered by the spear at nearly the same instant!

Thus, the dozen or so who had ambushed Xu Jingming were all slain!

Meanwhile, the other adepts still fighting nearby had only just lost less than a third of their number!