Chapter 268: The Return of the Old King

A tremendous pressure once again enveloped the two-meter radius around Li Hao; this time, his entire person felt as if he were locked inside a pitch-black cage. It was not physical, but rather a form of sensory perception; the stronger a person's Mental Power, the more clearly they could see it.

Just as Li Hao attempted to break through this pressure, Boom, boom, boom, boom...

Beside Li Hao, streaks of black radiance exploded.

Mental Blast!

The most direct and overbearing means of attack after comprehending the Golden Zone, but in the hands of Chao Qinglong, it had already turned into a terrifying, cannonball-like lethality.

How many people present could withstand this kind of Mental Blast?

At this moment, everyone also saw Li Hao's defensive method clearly: in front of Li Hao was a pale golden wall. All the Mental Blasts slammed into it, only able to stir up ripples.

... It actually couldn't break through???

The next second, Chao Qinglong appeared in front of Li Hao, threw a punch that directly pierced through the golden barrier, knocked Li Hao back with one strike, arrived at Li Hao's side in an instant, kicked Li Hao flying with a roundhouse kick, grabbed Li Hao's feet with hands burning with black flames, and suddenly slammed him into the ground.

Boom...

The ground exploded into a crater. Chao Qinglong soared into the air and hovered, a ball of light wreathed in black electricity condensing between his hands; the very Space Ability around the ball of light was distorting.

The black ball of light slammed toward Li Hao.

Hum~~~~~~~~~~

The ear-piercing sound pierced straight through the brain membranes. Everyone covered their ears. A black shockwave swept out, exploding on Li Hao's body. The aftershock swept directly away, and the ground had another layer of soil scraped off.

Although Aofei and the others defended with all their might, they were still blown back several meters; that is, they were far enough away.

Although disheveled, Perkins finally let out a sigh of relief. Scared to death, Chao Qinglong was still reliable. Back then, his talent was second only to Li Hao, and after five years of tempering, how could he not defeat someone who had been stagnant for five years? One had to trust one's own judgment and logic; he had bet correctly!

However, Li Hao was also truly fierce; to have such skills after wasting so many years.

Sazerac and Lu Donglei were no less shocked than the team members. They had anticipated that as the strongest, Chao Qinglong had a high probability of having comprehended Flowing Heart Martial Arts, but they had not expected him to be proficient to such a degree; his understanding of energy completely exceeded expectations.

Neither of them hid the joy in their hearts. They sincerely admired Chao Qinglong. Standing at the peak of the USE, not arrogant or impetuous, calm and steady, ambitious—these were all leadership qualities the military needed.

Li Hao still played a certain role; without competition, Chao Qinglong would not have been able to improve further.

"Brag, why don't you keep bragging," Kiran Rao laughed. "If Brother Long hadn't held back, this guy would have been beaten to death long ago. He just had to court death himself!"

No one responded. The faces of Zhou Naiyi and the others had lost every trace of blood. Was there any way to survive under this kind of attack?

For a moment, no one even called the medical team; they were all stunned by Chao Qinglong hovering in the air.

"This is still a bit interesting," a sudden voice suddenly issued from the hole, and Li Hao slowly rose up.

With a pat, he landed on the ground and gently shook the dust from his hair.

At this moment, the entire venue was dead silent. Even Lu Donglei and Sazerac could not believe their eyes. They had seen quite a bit of data that others could not see, and had even inferred the current limits of Human ability.

But what was the situation with Li Hao?

And up to this point, it was still impossible to tell what ability Li Hao actually had, or what stage he was at.

Zhou Naiyi and the others, meanwhile, had flushed faces; in their eye contact, one could see excitement, joy, and unbelievable incredulity.

"Still hiding it? Bring it all out. You know, if you want to defeat me, probing won't work. Are you afraid of not being able to control your power and killing me, or are you afraid of being killed by me?" Li Hao continued.

Chao Qinglong gritted his teeth, his expression turning murderous. His pupils turned completely into pitch-black flames. He spread his arms, and black flames surged continuously on his body. Hum~~~~

"Not enough, still not enough!" Li Hao's voice, like a morning bell and evening drum, rang out.

Every word

was stimulating Chao Qinglong. The black flames in Chao Qinglong's eyes began to rotate and explode. The black flame radiance all over his body shot out, only to violently shrink back into his body the next second. The next moment, those surging flames formed a giant black dragon behind Chao Qinglong, coiling around him. A suffocating Dragon Might enveloped the entire training ground.

At this moment, Chao Qinglong truly looked like a demon god who had walked out of a myth.

Lu Donglei and Sazerac could not suppress the excitement in their hearts and cheered fiercely, because they knew that the current strongest stage of the Golden Zone was Flowing Heart Martial Arts, and the strongest manifestation of Flowing Heart Martial Arts was the Black Dragon Soul Essence—the projection of the essence of the Spirit, and also the affirmation of the self!

Chao Qinglong's Flowing Heart Martial Arts—Black Dragon Soul Essence!

Chao Qinglong had not only mastered Flowing Heart Martial Arts, but also the strongest method of using it. This meant that in terms of top-tier combat power, Earth had finally reached the peak. Regardless of the outcome, they were not at a disadvantage in terms of realm!

Like a dragon god, Chao Qinglong flicked his fingers. Bang, bang, bang, bang~~~~

Four walls formed by black flames rose from the ground, circling Li Hao within them. The terrifying black flames had deadly burning damage to both the physical body and Mental Power.

And even more terrifying was Chao Qinglong's own terrifying power. Although that black flame radiance was only about a meter in range, it had become pitch-black and deep. That black dragon also began to bare its fangs and brandish its claws. The ground began to vibrate, and then the training ground began to collapse. Aofei and the others scattered, dodging the falling rubble. Accompanied by Chao Qinglong's roar, the roof of the training ground was directly blown away, and violent power was gathering on his body.

He extended a hand, and a K23 Titanium Sword was in his grasp, instantly merging with the black flames. The overwhelming pressure dominated the entire venue.

Black Dragon Soul Essence—Ghost Extinction Soul Strike Slash!

Roar~~~~~~

Exhausting all his power, he slashed out with the K23 Titanium Blade in his hand. Instantly, the training ground was filled with black flames. A black dragon opened its blood-red maw and lunged at Li Hao with the power of extinction. At the same time, the black prison surrounding Li Hao instantly contracted.

Hum~~~~~~~~ Boom, rumble, rumble...

Violent power poured out. The deafening infrasound waves ravaged the five senses. This kind of power had already exceeded the cognition of all the contestants participating in this Mid-Season Tournament.

Everyone knew Chao Qinglong was very strong, but no one would have thought that Chao Qinglong had reached such a stage.

Under the Dragon Might, everything turned to ashes.

After a long while, everyone finally came to their senses. The training ground had completely turned into ruins. Chao Qinglong had landed, and Li Hao...

Li Hao was gone...

Where he had been was a pitch-black hole more than ten meters in diameter.

No expression could be seen on Chao Qinglong's face. He had won; this was finally over, yet there was not a hint of joy.

The faces of Wuzang and the others had lost their color. Zhou Naiyi's eyes instantly moistened, and she bit her teeth powerlessly, as if her Spirit had been pulled away. The others had not recovered; to have fought to this point was no longer something they could evaluate. They could only say that Li Hao had met Chao Qinglong.

"Medical team, hurry!" Lu Donglei roared. If there was even a sliver of possibility, he hoped Li Hao was alive. This damn thing was also Earth's absolute combat power.

"Hurry, hurry, hurry!" Sazerac waved his hand hurriedly. While they needed Chao Qinglong, this Li Hao would also be the second person of the USE. To deal with the Moon, just having Chao Qinglong was definitely not enough.

Not one could be missing. The rules of the competition were set by them. The competition was not the goal; digging up experts was!

Without waiting for the medical team, Aofei and the others reacted the fastest, but just as they had started moving a few steps, Aofei suddenly stopped the group. "It's not over yet."

Inside the pit, a surge of black flames shot into the sky, and a figure slowly floated out, his entire body shrouded in black flame radiance.

???

Chao Qinglong's Black Dragon Soul Essence was absorbed by Li Hao???

"Wow, wahahaha, Brother Hao, you're awesome! I knew it, I knew it, he wouldn't be okay!" Ma Long roared, dancing with joy.

Zhou Naiyi hurriedly wiped her eyes on the sly; damn it all.

Chao Qinglong, who had already relaxed, focused his gaze, and the black flames on his body burned once more; let alone the Black Dragon Soul Essence, at most it was just the Flowing Heart

state of Martial, which was quite forced.

Cang Gongtian and the others looked at each other in dismay; what the hell is this?

He still isn't dead after this?

It seems he even absorbed Chao Qinglong's Black Flame power; what kind of ability is this, devouring others' power???

Sweat poured down Perkins; he hadn't been this nervous even when fighting Depuya just now. Looking at Li Hao in the air, he felt like running away. Is there a spaceship back to Earth, damn it? This guy is simply not human.

What kind of sickness did I have, why did I have to provoke him!!!

"Your usage method is wrong; it should be used like this." As he spoke, a black shadow flickered, and Li Hao appeared in front of Chao Qinglong. Chao Qinglong let out a muffled roar, and the Titanium Blade in his hand slashed rapidly toward Li Hao, but Li Hao's fist had already slammed into Chao Qinglong's chest.

Hum~~~~~~~ Boom……

The ground beneath the two men shattered, and the surging black flames poured directly into Chao Qinglong's body. In an instant, blood splattered all over Chao Qinglong as the terrifying power exploded directly into his body.

With just one strike, Chao Qinglong crashed to the ground.

The entire scene was deathly silent. Everyone looked at the only man still standing—Aofei, Luo Bi, Yan Peng, Depuya, and the Hunter team members all stared at this man with burning gazes; time seemed to have stood still.

He was still the same as he was five years ago.

Pfft~~~ Pop~~~

Blood seeped from Chao Qinglong's mouth, eyes, ears, and skin, still emitting black light and flames; Li Hao's strike had completely broken his defense.

Still as unsolvable as it was five years ago.

"Kill me," Chao Qinglong said with hollow eyes.

Li Hao just looked at Chao Qinglong without making a move. Aofei, Luo Bi, and the others sighed; what was meant to come had come, but when it actually arrived.

"Do it! Why aren't you doing it? Cough, cough, cough!" Chao Qinglong suddenly roared wildly.

"Still as stubborn as ever, Lao San," Li Hao sighed and said softly.

Chao Qinglong, whose eyes were bloodshot, suddenly stopped moving, and then his body began to tremble violently. The dignified number one person of the USE had teeth that wouldn't stop chattering.

Li Hao slowly helped Chao Qinglong up, "I know; you did it to save me. In the end, you are still more like me."

"You knew it was targeted at you, why did you still come back!" Chao Qinglong clenched his fists.

"Knowing the consequences of my absence, why did you still tell me?" Li Hao said.

Chao Qinglong's eyes were blood-red as he gritted his teeth tightly, letting Li Hao support him, and slowly closed his eyes.

One big brother, one second brother, they were both brothers; the big brother wanted to set a trap to finish off the second brother, so what was he supposed to do?