Chapter 4009: Beast Lord

Clang—

A weapon over seven meters long, half a meter wide, and irregular in shape—barely recognizable as a blade—was drawn. Though half a meter wide, its length made it look not bulky, but rather a slender, heavy blade. Its natural shape made one suspect it was a weapon naturally birthed in the Abyss.

Drip, drip—

Black liquid dripped from the black blade; the moment it hit the ground, it ignited into black flames with a 'whoosh'.

The Beast Lord stood casually, its black blade slanted toward the ground. Around it, faint, flowing slashes flickered. This was, shockingly, a... Technique Grandmaster?

And judging by its appearance, its technique level was likely above Lv. 100. The only good news was that it only emitted the aura of one technique; if it were a dual-technique Grandmaster at Lv. 100, this fight would be unwinnable.

Clang—

Checking Zhan Long Shan was drawn. Pale blue electric arcs surged along the blade, and blood energy gradually spread to the surroundings.

Upon sensing Su Xiao's Technique Grandmaster aura, the Beast Lord's pitch-black eyes, which held pale pupils, narrowed slightly. Its gaze was no longer as condescending as before.

The Beast Lord had lived too long. Obsessed with technique and combat, it was an outlier among the Abyssal race. Even as one of the three councilors, it was completely out of sync with the other two councilors and the Council Head.

Su Xiao had never clashed with a supreme-tier Technique Grandmaster before. This caused his pupils to turn blood-red—a result of switching to 'Soul Slash · Soul Core'. When clashing with a Technique Grandmaster, the triple soul slash was more suitable.

Su Xiao and the Beast Lord were evenly matched, but Xilin and the Abyssal Daughter were experiencing immense psychological trauma. Are you kidding? Two supreme-tier Blade Technique Grandmasters were about to fight, and they could only retreat slowly; they couldn't even run fast.

Dense slashing power was hidden in the surrounding space. A moment of carelessness could result in body parts suddenly falling off, or if unlucky, a throat being severed while taking a few steps.

The dark water droplets inside the Old Dragon Cathedral became denser, and the blood energy grew exceptionally thick.

Boom!

Su Xiao and the Beast Lord vanished from their spots simultaneously. When they reappeared, they were less than a few meters apart, Checking Zhan Long Shan and the black blade clashing.

Thud—!

It wasn't a crisp metallic clash, but a dull impact. Almost the instant Checking Zhan Long Shan and the black blade collided, the space within a radius of dozens of kilometers cracked, resembling shattered mirrors.

An intense dark aura rushed toward him. Su Xiao's perception was suddenly compressed to less than two meters. The next second, an extreme sense of crisis hit him.

【Perfect Block.】

Clang!

The slightly curved black blade slammed into Checking Zhan Long Shan. However, despite the blade's momentum, the slashing force wasn't as terrifying as imagined; it was on par with his own.

But Su Xiao noticed one thing: although he had 'Perfectly Blocked' this strike, his body felt numb. This sensation of being penetrated by technique energy was not entirely the same as the numbness he caused when he kicked an enemy, but it was definitely the same system.

This meant it was difficult for him to evade the next strike; he could only take it head-on. This was the Beast Lord's strength—after one clash, it was hard to find the strength to counterattack.

Another strike came. This time, the wind pressure hit him, and the space along the path shattered.

Clang!!

He successfully parried again with 'Perfect Block'. Sparks and black flames splattered. After blocking this strike, Su Xiao immediately realized the severity of the situation. The force of this strike was twice as strong as the previous one. Furthermore, since the first clash, the area ahead was pitch black, making it impossible to predict when the next strike would emerge from the darkness.

Clang!!!

Blocking the third strike, Su Xiao felt a wave of blood-red before his eyes. Assuming the power of the first strike was 2, the second was 4; this one was at least 8.

Clang!!!!

The fourth strike landed, missing the block by a hair. Su Xiao even developed several cracks on his body, with blood spreading from them.

With a 'crack', a thunderclap exploded in the sky, as if signaling the fall of the fifth strike. In an instant, Su Xiao saw something called death rushing toward him.

With a 'snap', the black blade shattered his crystal shell and slammed into the ground. The slashing momentum spread along the ground for thousands of kilometers, forming a giant canyon that grew wider and wider, eventually reaching a width of over ten kilometers. The canyon was pitch black, and only after a while did water begin to seep out.

Drip, drip—

Blood dripped from Su Xiao's chin. He had just evaded using a newly developed move. He had used it a few times while beating up various supreme-tier entities in the Dawn Ruins, and now it was even more refined.

The darkness ahead finally vanished, and the Beast Lord revealed its form. The arm holding the black blade was thinner than before, but the power surging in its arm was rapidly regenerating it.

【Blade Way Blade · Flow.】

Clang!

The elegant wind trail was shattered by the black blade. Without any visible movement, the Beast Lord took a step and arrived in front of Su Xiao, as if distance meant nothing to it.

Snap—!

Feather-like crystal fragments splattered. Su Xiao leaped backward, penetrating space. Then, as if his soul had left his body, the crystal shell he left behind was shattered by the black blade, while he himself successfully evaded the strike through this shell-shedding method.

Su Xiao named this move 'Feather Shell'. It was a defensive ability stronger than Dragon Shadow Flash but weaker than 'Replacement'.

Snap—, snap—, snap—!

The Beast Lord slashed three times in a row, all evaded by Su Xiao using 'Feather Shell', sending feather-like crystal fragments flying.

【Blade Way Blade · Blood Blade.】

A blood energy phantom appeared, holding a long blood blade, and slashed at the Beast Lord.

Clang!

The blood blade exploded upon contact, and the Beast Lord was blasted back a step.

【Blood Smoke Cannon.】

The Blood Smoke Cannon hit the Beast Lord's head, shattering nearly half of it.

The Beast Lord covered its shattered face with one hand. It wasn't flesh and blood scattering, but a substance similar to pottery clay.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

After these shattered clay-like substances hit the ground, the earth trembled incessantly. Their weight was unimaginable. The key wasn't their terrifying physical weight, but the weight in terms of world, causality, and destiny.

Amidst the 'crackling' sounds, the 'Beast Lord' began to shatter. The clay-like chunks hit the ground, causing the entire world to tremble. This wasn't as simple as weight training; the Beast Lord had destroyed many worlds, collected their causality and destiny, and added them to itself, intending to use this causality and destiny to advance its technique ability.

Only very ancient Technique Grandmasters would use this method. It wasn't that the method was bad and discarded, but the pain during the cultivation process, combined with the weight of causality from many worlds and the resentment of countless dead beings, would gradually affect the practitioner's sanity.

This cultivation method either results in assimilation into a dead statue or breaking through the seal, possessing even stronger technique and a more powerful soul will.

Clearly, the Beast Lord had succeeded long ago. As for why it hadn't shed its shell, it was unnecessary. Since the Second Era, none of its opponents were worth it. Now, a strong enemy worth shedding its shell for had appeared.

The Beast Lord finally revealed its true form. It stood about five meters tall, with messy wooden horns on its head. Its bare upper body had muscle contours like marble sculptures, its skin was slightly dark, and its right arm was covered in eyes, though these eyes had all been destroyed.

Outsiders didn't know that the Beast Lord had destroyed these eyes itself. It always believed that relying on the powerful abilities innate to the Abyssal race would eventually lead to stagnation, and these innate abilities had limits.

The Beast Lord had its waist tightly bound with layers of straps. It raised its hand, and the outer shell of the giant black blade shattered, revealing a long blade over three meters long, slightly wavy in shape, and overall curved.

The long blade was dark gold, with the hilt occupying one-third of the blade. The hilt was wrapped in some kind of animal skin, with black-haired leather strips, exuding a thick, fierce aura.

The Beast Lord's hand was large but slightly withered, a result of long-term bitter cultivation. It was different not only from its own race but also from its subordinates. What it pursued wasn't occupying or swallowing anything, but its own ultimate strength and the experience of constantly climbing to higher positions.

The Beast Lord's large hand raised and gripped the hilt of the 'Abyssal Weapon · Chi Sha'.

Boom!

A muffled thunderclap sounded in the sky. The Old Dragon Cathedral where the two were located had its roof and upper walls blown away by the impact of the battle, but the lower half of the walls remained remarkably sturdy. From afar, Su Xiao and the Beast Lord looked like they were in a death-match arena. The gap the Beast Lord had just slashed looked like the only path to survival from which only the winner could emerge.

After the drizzling rain, a torrential downpour fell. The two figures, each holding a long blade, stood in a standoff dozens of meters apart in the rain. The weathered stone slabs on the ground and the half-ruined ancient rock dragon roared in the rain, the murderous atmosphere growing ever more intense.

Suddenly, everything around slowed to the extreme. A raindrop landed on the tip of Checking Zhan Long Shan; the moment it shattered, Checking Zhan Long Shan had already vanished.

With a 'clatter', the two long blades clashed. The torrential rain curtain seemed to have been hit by an emergency stop switch, suddenly halting. Even the raindrops falling in mid-air vanished, shaken into water vapor and steaming upward.

Crack, crack, crack—

Blades grinding, Checking Zhan Long Shan and Chi Sha refused to give an inch. Su Xiao and the Beast Lord stared at each other.

Su Xiao felt a muffled 'thud' in his brain. Everything around him vanished, and he arrived in a dark space. His body became translucent—he was in a soul state. Opposite him was the Beast Lord, holding the soul-state 'Abyssal Weapon · Chi Sha'.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Soul blades clashed. Su Xiao hadn't expected that the 'Soul Blade · Sub-Weapon (Passive, Lv. EX)', which he felt had no other use in actual combat other than enhancing the 'Pride Crystal', would now play a life-saving role.

Otherwise, a single strike from the soul-state 'Chi Sha' would have shattered the soul blade he formed, rather than the continuous clashing happening now.

【Blade Way Blade · Extreme.】

With a resounding 'clang', Su Xiao forced the Beast Lord back a step. In his soul state, other than abilities derived from technique, he couldn't use any other abilities.

If he didn't have 1500 points of soul strength, in this soul-body clash, his strength and speed would have been crushed by the Beast Lord, who had a powerful soul, in this special space, rather than being evenly matched as they were now.

Successfully forcing the Beast Lord back, Su Xiao delivered a straight kick.

With a 'boom' in his ears, everything around Su Xiao changed abruptly. He and the Beast Lord opened their eyes almost simultaneously.

【Extreme Blade · Bai Ye.】

【Chi Head.】

Both sides had the exact same idea: to hit the other hard just as they exited the soul-combat state.

After a brief silence, golden light and black light erupted, clashing for a moment before fading.

Feather-like crystal fragments scattered. Su Xiao leaped backward as if his soul had left his body. While in mid-air, his form exited the space-penetrating state and became solid.

The moment he landed, his aura surged.

【Blade Way Blade · Swift.】

Su Xiao vanished abruptly, moving several meters forward at ultra-high speed, slashing three times in a row. The power of this move wasn't as good as 'Extreme', or even 'Blue Ghost', but it was fast.

Even so, the first strike was blocked, the second was dodged by the Beast Lord with a casual sidestep, and the third grazed its shoulder.

Sizzle—

The blade edge grazed the sharp blade, and a piece of shoulder and blood splattered. This strike was originally intended to slash off a piece of the shoulder while diagonally slicing off half of the Beast Lord's head. However, the opponent tilted 'Chi Sha' as if it had foresight, forcing Checking Zhan Long Shan's slash to slide diagonally upward along the edge of 'Chi Sha'.

Although the Beast Lord tilted its head to use the momentum, a piece of its wooden horn was still slashed off.

"Hmph!"

As the Beast Lord let out a muffled roar, it stepped forward with one foot. Su Xiao felt as if his chest had been hit by a hammer, followed by a feeling of being firmly locked on; he could only take it head-on.

【Perfect Block.】

Clang!

Successfully blocking the strike, the sensation of full-body numbness appeared again. Before this feeling vanished, the area ahead turned pitch black, and a second strike slashed out from the darkness.

Clang!!

The Beast Lord was now in its peak state, incomparable to before. The power of this second strike wasn't just increased by two times, but was increasing at an outrageous rate.

Su Xiao was certain that if he dared to take the third strike head-on, his life-saving ability 'Blood-Governing User' would be forced out, and he would die on the fourth strike.

Just as Su Xiao prepared to evade the incoming third strike with 'Feather Shell', the air around him became viscous, and the next moment, it solidified like glass.

With a loud bang, the Abyssal blade 'Chi Sha' shattered the solidified space, along with Su Xiao inside it. The dark gold slashing momentum didn't stop, spreading far into the distance before halting.

Su Xiao used one of the five 'Replacements' available for this battle, swapping positions with the Blade Spirit dozens of meters away.

This was the technique type; the abilities looked plain and simple, but they were exceptionally deadly.

Su Xiao stood on the Old Dragon stone statue. The torrential rain that had been slashed to a halt began to fall again. His whole body was in excruciating pain, and blood flowed from his sleeves, indicating that his body had been cracked by the shockwaves.

He had to find a way to break the ability that caused body numbness after a clash, otherwise defeat was only a matter of time. He now understood what it felt like for enemies to be kicked to their knees and paralyzed by his straight kick.

A hundred meters away, a 'snap' came from the Beast Lord's mouth—the thread sewing its mouth shut had been snapped by the force of its lips. Accompanied by the continuous snapping of threads, the Beast Lord's mouth opened, exhaling white mist.

"Marvin's... disciple."

The Beast Lord spoke, its 'Chi Sha' slashing through the air. Why was this battle so difficult? The reason was that the Beast Lord's strength had severely declined after a death-match with Marvin Waltz in the Second Era. The Beast Lord was originally a 'Supreme Peak'!

"Ha—"

The Beast Lord exhaled cold mist and whispered: "Slept too long, finally awake."

As soon as the Beast Lord finished speaking, it seemed to take a step forward, but it crossed a hundred meters as if ignoring spatial distance, appearing in front of Su Xiao and slashing with a strike that felt perfectly natural.

Clang!

As the strike landed, the Beast Lord was forced back a step by the shock. It narrowed its eyes slightly.

"Moon Wolf!"

Almost as it spoke, it slashed again.

"Swallow Dark · Reveal Moon!"

Clang!

Although Su Xiao successfully blocked the strike, the sky suddenly turned pitch black, and a pale crescent moon appeared above. The Beast Lord's wild, messy hair was dyed white by the pale moonlight.

"Moon Lion · Wild Song!"

The Beast Lord's wild lion-like hair flew, and it slashed with full force again.

Snap—!

Feather-like crystal fragments flew. As Su Xiao leaped backward, a large amount of blood splattered from his chest, and a slash mark appeared diagonally across his torso.

The Beast Lord stabbed its long blade into the ground, and the earth was shrouded in darkness. It pulled the blade out with all its might, and the dark ground within dozens of kilometers gathered toward the Beast Lord due to this action.

Su Xiao, leaping backward, felt a pulling force hit him, and he flew toward the Beast Lord uncontrollably.

"Dark Moon · Lion Dance."

After the Beast Lord leaped, its form rotated, and 'Chi Sha' was fully charged. A spinning slash headed toward Su Xiao. Perhaps feeling its master wake up, dark golden flowing flames appeared on 'Chi Sha', like ignited liquid, dripping and burning as they fell.

The Blade Spirit was shattered by the slash, turning into black mist, and was stained with quite a bit of the burning dark golden liquid. This caused the Blade Spirit to be unable to condense in the short term, meaning the 'Replacement' god-tier skill couldn't be used.

【Blade Way Blade · Flow.】

An elegant wind trail slashed out. Although both were Technique Grandmasters, Su Xiao would never get close. An Abyssal race member suspected of being a max-level Blade Technique Grandmaster—that was suicide. Furthermore, the pale moon in the sky was getting rounder.

"Moon-Stealing, Heaven-Changing!"

The Beast Master pointed the long blade in his hand toward Su Xiao; the next second, Su Xiao felt a slashing edge rushing toward his face.

"Blade Dao Blade · Extreme!"

With a 'Clang', Su Xiao used "Blade Dao Blade · Extreme" to shatter "Blade Dao Blade · Flow." His right arm went numb in waves; it was indeed his first time experiencing the slashing power of "Flow." As for why this was the case, the Beast Master had just swapped positions with him.

"Full Moon · Mad Wolf!"

The Beast Master suddenly vanished from where he stood. The "Chisha" in his hand changed from its original dark golden flame to a silver lunar flame.

"Blade Dao Blade · Extreme."

Ignoring the pain in his right arm, Su Xiao slashed forward to meet him.

With a 'Clang', blue electric arcs and moonlight scattered. Su Xiao flew backward for a distance before landing in a half-crouch, sliding a hundred meters before stopping. Fresh blood dripped down his chin.

Looking at the Beast Master now, his entire body was covered in silver-gray fur, and he had a wolf's head, though there were still messy, wood-like horns on his head.

Su Xiao seemed to understand why this Abyss descendant was called the Beast Master. The opponent could seize the abilities and combat states of powerful beast races through killing or devouring. The Moon Wolf was clearly also a beast race.

And at this moment, what the Beast Master was displaying was an old Silver Moon Wolf he had once devoured.

The good news was that although the Beast Master was clear-headed, his strength was still at the "Top-tier Supreme" level, on the same tier as Su Xiao. This also meant that this battle was not without a chance of victory. The Beast Master's ability foundation was deep, but Su Xiao was not weak either. Furthermore, in terms of technique and ability, Su Xiao had no flaws, while the Beast Master did. Although nine out of ten enemies wouldn't be able to see them, Su Xiao was the cream of the crop among that one-tenth.

The Beast Master looked up at the full moon in the sky, flames suddenly igniting in his eyes. He didn't have the habit of shouting out his moves; instead, he was using Abyss language to control the changes in this world in a way similar to "speaking it into existence."

"Moon-Seizing · Blazing Sun."

As soon as the Beast Master said this, a corner of the full moon in the sky began to burn, causing the entire moon to show a trend of transforming into a sun. The Beast Master was about to enter his strongest state, which was also the form most compatible with his technique abilities: the Sun Ancestral Beast.

The blazing sun in the sky seemed to be burning. The Beast Master had transformed from half-man, half-wolf into a figure five meters tall, entirely humanoid, with sparse grayish-white fur on his body, though his head was still covered in messy, wood-like horns.

After entering this form, there was no more confusion in the Beast Master's eyes. Or rather, the state of confusion from before was one of the aftereffects caused by being severely wounded by the Law-Breaker Waltz back then.

Under the scorching heat of the blazing sun above, the accumulated water on the ground began to turn into steam. Sun patterns appeared on the Beast Master's bare upper body. The "Chisha" long blade in his hand secreted a type of golden oily substance that was still burning with sun flames; even a slight drip of the golden liquid energy would continue to burn domineeringly after hitting the ground.

The Beast Master took a step forward, and the surrounding space emitted a loud boom, as if his movement could ignore space and distance. He had been a hundred meters away from Su Xiao just a moment ago, but now he was within arm's reach, and the golden long blade in his hand slashed down fiercely.

Su Xiao felt that before the blade even arrived, a heavy pressure landed on his shoulders. This blade could not be dodged; it could only be blocked. Following the numbness in his body from the direct kick, he once again experienced the feeling of having to take a hit head-on against a technique grandmaster, unable to dodge.

"Perfect Block."

Clang!

The numbness transmitted from his blade-wielding right arm, eroding most of his body. Not only that, the powerful slashing force arrived, giving Su Xiao the feeling of blood rushing to his head.

Splashing golden liquid arrived. Just as it landed on Su Xiao, the crystal layer attached to his body surface fell off, allowing him to avoid being burned by these golden liquids. If he were to be stuck by this stuff, it would be troublesome; having his soul burned through would be the least of his worries.

Su Xiao was forced to retreat half a step. Before he could stabilize his breath, another blade arrived.

Clang!!

Clang!!!

The second and third blades arrived one after another. Fortunately, "Perfect Block" had been upgraded to a "Supreme-tier Passive," otherwise, his block would have definitely been broken by now.

Clang!!!!

The fourth blade was blocked by Su Xiao. Under his clothes, more than a dozen flesh wounds were added to his body.

"Feather Shell."

Su Xiao leaped backward as if his soul were shedding its shell. The fifth blade, which slashed diagonally, shattered the crystal shell with a boom, turning into a terrifying slashing force that swept past Su Xiao's side and disappeared far away.

Su Xiao landed on a large, evaporating pool of water. As soon as he landed, his body went numb, and he was forced into a half-crouch on the ground. His left hand pressed against the water surface as he spat out a large mouthful of blood containing organ fragments. The vibration damage to his lungs was severe; not only was he spitting blood, but he could feel a stinging pain with every breath.

A pillar of blazing sun light struck from above. Su Xiao leaped to the side to avoid it, but he was still affected, flying sideways while burning. After flying a thousand meters away, he fell into the accumulated water.

"Cough, cough~"

Fresh blood seeped out between Su Xiao's fingers. Before he could stabilize his breath—

Clang!

The golden long blade slashed again. As Su Xiao performed a "Perfect Block," the blood in his body seemed to boil. This feeling of fighting against a technique powerhouse was truly... indescribably wonderful.

Clang!!

The second blade was blocked, and Su Xiao almost had his block broken directly. His body, which was about to enter a state of severe injury, warned him again and again that even with "Perfect Block" to block most of the enemy's slashing power, he might not even be able to stand steady after this round of blocking.

Clang!!!

The third blade was blocked. The world before Su Xiao's eyes suddenly turned red, and there was a buzzing sound in his ears. The numbness in his body was about to reach a critical point and explode, leaving him unable to move.

Clang!!!!

The fourth blade of this round was blocked. Almost at the same time as the "Perfect Block," he activated the "Spirit/Body Resonance" ability awakened by the Magic Spirit.

"Spirit/Body Resonance (Passive): When 'Blade Magic Spirit' is released, this characteristic can be activated by resonating with the Blade Magic Spirit to achieve spirit-body resonance. 50% of the damage you sustain will be transferred to the 'Blade Magic Spirit.' This state lasts for 5 seconds.

Usage count: 1/1 (Using it more than once per natural day will significantly increase the risk of being backlashed by the Blade Magic Spirit)."

Even so, the blood-red vision before Su Xiao's eyes became even more severe, but he knew that victory or defeat would be decided at this very moment.

"Time · Dominator."

With a 'Thud', a "sluggishness" appeared in the time force field centered on Su Xiao. He had a feeling that the "Time · Dominator" he had mastered was about to break out of its cocoon and be reborn. Or rather, because this ability was too powerful, what he had mastered initially was merely an adaptive version of "Time · Dominator."

That was the limit of what he could withstand at the time, not the limit of the "Time · Dominator" ability itself.

Everything around him slowed down. Su Xiao gradually saw through the darkness ahead. He saw the Beast Master slashing a blade in the hazy darkness. Because the power of this blade was too great, the Beast Master's body also had to bear a huge load to execute it.

Su Xiao didn't retreat but advanced instead, taking a step forward and slashing with the long blade in his hand.

Clang!

The Beast Master staggered back several large steps. From the first head-on clash, Su Xiao had discovered one thing about the Beast Master's increasingly powerful consecutive slashes: the opponent's first, second, and third blades were simply natural and seamless. It was a case where if you took the previous blade head-on, you were forced to face the next one.

However, there was a clear sluggishness and flaw in the span between the fourth and fifth blades. This led to Su Xiao using "Feather Shell" to avoid the fifth blade twice and "Replacement" to avoid it once; otherwise, he would have already died in this battle.

When Su Xiao endured the 'incremental slash' for the third time, he tried to counterattack after dodging, but his intuition told him that doing so was meaningless and would instead let the enemy discover that he had seen through a flaw in this ultimate move.

Su Xiao didn't believe that a technique powerhouse like the Beast Master would tolerate such a flaw. There was only one possibility: this was a drawback caused by the Beast Master being severely wounded by the previous Law-Breaker, leading to a serious decline in strength. It couldn't be avoided and could only be compensated for in other ways.

Because of this, the Beast Master kept switching combat forms—first Moon Wolf, then Sun—just to prevent the suppressed Law-Breaker from discovering this flaw.

Although the Beast Master executed the fifth blade, he was instead slashed back several large steps by Su Xiao. This caused his hatred for the Law-Breaker to soar to the extreme. His originally flawless "All Living Things" was forced to be split into six blades, and there was still a slight flaw between the fourth and fifth blades.

If the opponent were of another system, it wouldn't matter, but if the opponent were also a technique-type powerhouse, it would be disastrous once discovered.

In fact, the Beast Master's six-blade consecutive slash ability could originally be executed in one strike—that is, stacking the full power of the first to the sixth blades into one strike to shatter the enemy.

"Blade Dao Blade · Swift."

Su Xiao instantly surged forward and slashed with his blade.

With a crisp 'Clang', it seemed to be easily blocked by the Beast Master, but this meant that from the beginning of the battle until now, the Beast Master's continuous suppression of Su Xiao had been broken, and Su Xiao had found an opportunity to counter-suppress.

Bang!

With a direct kick, the Beast Master retreated several large steps while his body went numb, forcing him to one knee, and he subconsciously raised his left arm.

"Blade Dao Blade · Extreme."

Zing!

The long blade slashed across, and half of the Beast Master's left arm flew off.

"Extreme Blade · World!"

A sharp, metallic-sounding slash echoed. Centered on Su Xiao, a spherical "Extreme Blade Domain" appeared. It only appeared for an instant; it looked as if the color of the surrounding air had deepened, and every ten centimeters or so, there was a grain-of-rice-sized flickering point of slashing force.

The Beast Master was bathed in blood, but the numbness in his body had disappeared. He roared, and the long blade in his hand swept forward. Simultaneously with a sonic boom, golden liquid flames surged forward in a fan shape.

"Time · Domination."

The golden liquid flames surging toward Su Xiao suddenly slowed down. He pressed his left hand, which was wrapped in a crystal layer, forward, touching the golden liquid fire wall. Surprisingly, the golden liquid fire wall became semi-transparent, passed through Su Xiao's body, and returned to normal a few meters behind him.

Why was this? The answer was that Su Xiao used the "Dragon Shadow Flash" ability to make the golden liquid fire wall pass through space.

To be more precise, if he had used "Dragon Shadow Flash" to pass through space himself to dodge, then this large area of golden liquid flames would have burned through the space-penetration zone where he was located, inevitably burning through that small spatial area in an instant. But if these golden liquid flames passed through space, because of their huge volume, they would have to burn through a much larger area of space before they could touch Su Xiao.

The Beast Master had, of course, seen Dragon Shadow Flash; it was one of the abilities that the Law-Breaker system found very difficult to deal with. But he had truly never seen any Law-Breaker use Dragon Shadow Flash like this.

"Blade Dao Blade · Blue Ghost."

A cyan-blue slash flew out. The greatest characteristic of Blue Ghost was its speed.

With a 'Snap', the Beast Master easily shattered the incoming Blue Ghost. However, based on his knowledge of Su Xiao's blade technique abilities, he was certain that this seemingly useless move must have a second-stage characteristic. He naturally diverted a bit of his attention to guard against this, yet Blue Ghost had no second stage.

Was the Beast Master's combat experience not rich enough? No, it was that the Beast Master truly hadn't expected the Law-Breaker opposite him to have such a... well, it couldn't be called weak, but it was an ability that was simply not in the same tier as the opponent's other blade technique moves.

The guarded-against second stage of Blue Ghost didn't come, and correspondingly, the bit of attention he had diverted was naturally wasted. This immediately gave Su Xiao an opportunity.

Clang!

Su Xiao slashed with force. The Beast Master's strength was above Su Xiao's. After the Beast Master blocked this blade, the golden "Chisha" long blade in his hand slashed back. This was clearly a forced activation of some of the power of "All Living Things," intending to knock away Dragon Flash while simultaneously cutting off Su Xiao's head.

Centered on Su Xiao, the surrounding "time slowed down" suddenly. Su Xiao leaped back three meters with "Feather Shell," and the moment his toes touched the ground, he leaped back again.

This resulted in the Beast Master, who had slashed out a truncated version of "All Living Things," having his chest wide open, and the left forearm that had just been severed hadn't finished regenerating.

Pfft!

The long blade slashed across, and fresh blood splashed wildly from the Beast Master's chest. But this wasn't the end; Su Xiao had already delivered a direct kick. Being suppressed by a technique-type was just like this; unless you found an opportunity, it was very difficult to counterattack.

Bang!!

The Beast Master knelt on one knee, the pale pupils in his eyes trembling slightly.

"Blade Dao Blade · Extreme."

The long blade slashed toward the Beast Master's neck. The edge of Dragon Flash successfully broke through the Beast Master's tough skin and sank into the flesh of his neck. The next second, he would behead the Beast Master right here.

Suddenly!

Su Xiao felt a sharp pain in his neck. He and the Beast Master had swapped positions—no, they had swapped situations. The one who was numb and kneeling on one knee was now him, and the Beast Master in front of him had already used the "Chisha" in his hand to slash one-third of the way into his neck.

This was not caused by any illusion; it was a real, physical, and causal-level swap of situations by the Beast Master.

His head was slashed off by "Chisha," but it turned into black-blue smoke and dissipated while falling. The dark golden flames stained by the black-blue smoke significantly extended the interval for the Magic Spirit's "Replacement" ability.

Washinoki Washinoki Jishi of meters away, Su Xiao held his neck with one hand, fresh blood seeping out from between his fingers. Spirit Shadow Lines spread out from his hand, entering the wound to perform simple and rapid cell-level suturing, making the wound bleed only slightly and minimizing the impact on the battle.

"Blood Smoke Cannon."

Su Xiao pointed at the Beast Master, but the incoming Beast Master just calmly sidestepped, dodging the "Blood Smoke Cannon." The golden long blade in his hand struck fiercely. A feeling of being firmly locked on made Su Xiao certain that this was a blade that could not be dodged. If he dared to try to avoid it, this seemingly ordinary blade would trigger a continuous and terrifying chain of blade technique moves and further severely injure him.

With a crisp 'Clang', the surrounding space was shaken into ripples. After taking the blade head-on, the locked-on feeling not only didn't disappear but became even stronger. This was another powerful method of the Beast Master.

Clang, clang, clang...

After five consecutive slashes, although all were "Perfectly Blocked," the pale pupils in the Beast Master's eyes suddenly condensed to the size of needle points. A buzzing sound erupted in Su Xiao's brain.

【Warning: You have been subjected to the "Dark Beast Blade" execution.】

【Execution judgment successful!】

【Blade Technique Grandmaster · Blade Heart (Passive) has been activated. One "Blade Heart" has been consumed to resist this execution.】

【Resistance successful.】

A warm sensation came from Su Xiao's ear canal, as if fresh blood were flowing out. He slashed out with his blade almost instinctively.

Clang!

【Warning: You have been subjected to the "Dark Beast Blade" execution.】

【Execution judgment successful!】

【Blade Technique Grandmaster · Blade Heart (Passive) has been activated. One "Blade Heart" has been consumed to resist this execution.】

【Resistance successful.】

【Current remaining Blade Heart count: 1/3.】

A buzzing sound rang in Su Xiao's ears, his vision was pitch black, his heart was pounding, and his brain felt as if it were being pricked by a thousand needles. Yet, in this very situation, his "Intuition" ability made the scene within a dozen meters around him exceptionally clear.

A few seconds passed, and Su Xiao discovered that it wasn't his vision that had a problem; his five senses had been suppressed. This was another powerful method of the Beast Master.

Tap, tap, tap~

Footsteps came from all directions. He could faintly perceive the Beast Master walking over calmly, then slashing toward his throat.

"Feather Shell."

Su Xiao leaped back as if shedding his shell. The surrounding dark void suddenly shattered, and the crystal shell he left behind didn't explode but remained in place, gradually being assimilated by the darkness and turning into a dark shell.

With a 'Snap', Su Xiao crushed the potion bottle in his hand. The semi-fluid "Bright Red Secret Medicine" sank into his skin and began to recover him.

The moment he escaped the darkness, he was uncharacteristically fierce, slashing his blade toward the Beast Master, whose strength was greater than his own.

Washinoki Washinoki Jishi of kilometers away, Xilin and the Dark Daughter, who had fled to this place, both let out long sighs of relief. Xilin said:

"It should be fine now. The range of influence of technique-type abilities is generally small among those of the same tier. This distance of dozens of kilometers..."

Thud!

A slash like colliding meteorites caused a wave of pressure to strike. Xilin was forced to lower her body, crossing her hands to block her face. She looked in the direction of the source of the loud noise.

With a 'Boom', a figure turned into a blur and flew straight into the sky. This was clearly being knocked away by immense force, and there were golden liquid flames burning on this figure's body. However, after flying to an altitude of several thousand meters, the figure turned into a blood line and crashed down, and it seemed to have slashed out a blade, fiercely knocking away the figure that had hit it.

With a 'Boom', the ground within a range of dozens of kilometers around them became further covered in cracks due to the aftermath of this slash.

Seeing this scene, the corners of Xilin's eyes twitched. If anyone said again that the range of influence of technique-type battles wasn't large, she would definitely give them a punch. Other systems used skills for large-scale attacks, but good heavens, every basic slash from a technique-type was terrifyingly powerful.

Xilin and the Dark Daughter looked at each other and decided to run further away. As for why they didn't use spatial abilities or items to teleport away—don't joke around. Every time those two monsters slashed at each other, the space within a range of hundreds of kilometers would tremble. Spatial movement at this time? Were they looking for death?

And at this moment, at the center of the life-and-death battle between Su Xiao and the Beast Master, Su Xiao slashed two blades with force. Although his right arm was numb in waves, he forced the Beast Master to retreat half a step. However, this was not an advantage; the Beast Master raised his long blade and slashed down with force.

Clang!!

Su Xiao succeeded in a "Perfect Block," but his blood surged. He could be certain that if this continued, he would undoubtedly lose. He could only try using "Honor Recovery Potion" + "World Thunder Fall" to see if he could severely injure the Beast Master with this.

Although he would also die by then, the 【God Clan Holy Emblem · Soul】 gave him one chance to enter a state of suspended animation and then be reborn, provided his body wasn't too severely damaged.

"God Clan Holy Emblem · Soul: If you face death, you will not die completely. After 30 minutes of suspended animation, you will regain vitality due to the 'Warm Sunlight' effect, and damaged body parts will gradually regenerate until your health recovers to 30%."

Coupled with the Beast Master's current Sun form, the 【God Clan Holy Emblem · Soul】 was even more foolproof. Now, he was just waiting for an opportunity.

Just as Su Xiao was preparing to do this, his intuition suddenly stung. Something dangerous was about to happen.

The Beast Master opposite also knew he couldn't drag this out. He was, of course, wary of the Law-Breaker's hidden means. His vertical pupils began to turn blood-red, his right arm visibly expanded by a circle, the dark golden flames on the "Chisha" long blade extinguished, and darkness once again dominated this Abyss weapon.

With a 'Bang', the earth under the Beast Master's feet groaned in pain. He seemed to have crossed space and distance, appearing in front of Su Xiao in an instant, the black blade in his hand slashing down.

Clang!

After the first blade slashed down, the Beast Master didn't give Su Xiao any room to catch his breath. The second blade arrived immediately, and judging by the posture, it would be faster and heavier with every strike.

Clang! Clang! Clang...

Su Xiao performed consecutive "Perfect Blocks," but he was certain that he was about to be unable to block them. Furthermore, a wave of darkness was invading along the enemy's weapon, spreading over Dragon Flash, eroding his right arm, and moving toward his shoulder and chest.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang...

Sparks flew from the clashing blades. With every slash, Su Xiao's body was further eroded by the darkness, and his health dropped rapidly from 42.6% toward 30%.

During the tenth blade of the "Perfect Block," Su Xiao's aura suddenly weakened. This meant that the protective energy derived from his technique ability had been exhausted due to the continuous use of "Perfect Block."

"Ultimate Perfection (Passive): After a successful perfect block, you will only consume 10% of your maximum protective energy, and the cooldown of the perfect block ability will be refreshed immediately, instantly entering an available state. Only after you successfully perform ten consecutive perfect blocks will your protective energy be exhausted, causing the perfect block to enter a cooldown phase."

Not only that, Su Xiao's health suddenly dropped by a large chunk, from 29.8% to 9.8%, but his aura surged to a shocking degree.

"Perfect Block · Skill Effect 3 · Limit Counter (Passive): Each perfect block will accumulate 1 layer of 'Power Surge' state. When this state reaches 10 layers, it will immediately detonate your power, consuming 20% of your current maximum health, converting the consumed health into surging power, and allowing your next blade technique melee attack to gain double attack intensity."

Boom!

Blood energy erupted centered on Su Xiao. The long blade in his hand was wrapped in golden energy; this was clearly a sign that he was about to use "Extreme Blade · Bai Ye."

And opposite him, the Beast Master, after his consecutive slashes, seemed to have accumulated enough darkness; he was shrouded in darkness behind him.

"Swallow Heaven."

"Extreme Blade · Bai Ye."

The two long blades clashed.

Crack!

A muffled sound came from the sky. It wasn't thunder, but the firmament being slashed open. This world had been eroded by the Abyss for a long time, so after the sky cracked, black liquid seeped out from within, causing a winding black crack to appear in the sky.

Golden-red blood energy clashed and eroded with the darkness. At the boundary, Su Xiao and the Beast Master were both pressed by the opponent's slashing power, their expressions like those of fierce ghosts, but neither side retreated in the slightest.

"Ha!"

The Beast Master roared, his right arm expanding by another circle. Opposite him, the blood light in Su Xiao's eyes grew even more intense. Just at this moment, a subtle, crisp 'crack' spread between the two. Su Xiao's expression didn't change in the slightest, but the Beast Master's expression changed abruptly.

Crack, crack, crack~

The originally tiny cracks on the edge of the blade spread rapidly on "Chisha."

With a 'Bang'!

The long blade fragments scattered. Dragon Flash slashed through, cutting off more than half of the Beast Master's upper head, as well as his entire left arm and more than half of his left shoulder.

Not giving the Beast Master any chance to turn the tables, Su Xiao delivered a direct kick.

Bang!

The Beast Master staggered back. Darkness surged in his eyes, and he was about to swap situations with Su Xiao.

Su Xiao fished "Dead Silence Ember" out of thin air, aimed, and pulled the trigger with his index finger.

With a 'Bang', the grayish-black Ember bullet flew out of the muzzle, flying with a slight spiral. The speed of this Ember bullet was extremely fast, and since the distance between Su Xiao and the Beast Master was very close, it drilled into the Beast Master's brow in the next instant, causing the Beast Master's ability to be interrupted. The "Must-Interrupt Characteristic" was just that top-tier.

The Beast Master didn't fall; instead, he was just knocked back slightly by the "Super Ember Bullet." He raised his hand to grab at Su Xiao, and black threads already appeared in his hand.

Bang!!

A shot full of power, the "Super Ember Bullet" hit the Beast Master's right hand, shattering more than half of that arm.

"Super Ember Bullet · Characteristic 2: If this attack successfully interrupts the enemy's attack or ability, the enemy will enter a state of body paralysis with their guard broken. The ultra-high concentration of Dead Silence power exploded by this 'Super Ember Bullet' will be immediately recovered by the Dead Silence Ember in your hand, thereby forming a 'Super Ember Bullet' that exists for at most 3 seconds..."

Ignoring the sharp pain all over his body, Su Xiao used "Extreme Blade · Bai Ye" once again, but this time, black-blue smoke clung to the long blade.

Su Xiao turned into a blur, brushing past the Beast Master. The Beast Master's head flew up fiercely. It was just that clean and neat. If viewed from the side, combined with the black blood splashing from the Beast Master's severed neck and the endless water surface on the ground, this scene looked like an ink painting.

The long blade left a semi-circular slash mark like black residual flames where it had passed. As the Beast Master's head fell, his vertical pupils were angry but devoid of fear. Yet, even with a heart that was powerful to the extreme, he could only face the fact that he had been executed.

Technique-type clashes were just like this; life and death were decided in an instant. Not to mention, the Beast Master had been seen through by Su Xiao. The blade technique flaw that appeared after he clashed with Marwen Waltz and lost in the past was absolutely fatal.

With a 'Splash', the Beast Master fell onto the water surface. An eye opened on his chest, looking at Su Xiao, who had stopped in front of him. A mouth appeared on his abdomen.

"Law... Break... er, it's the Law-Breaker again!"

"..."

Su Xiao didn't speak. The black-blue smoke on the Dragon Flash in his hand didn't dissipate. The long blade pierced into the Beast Master's chest. This was using the "Magic Spirit Awakening" ability to devour the Beast Master's "Abyss-system Origin Power." The eye the Beast Master had opened became completely lifeless.

After letting the Magic Spirit finish absorbing the "Origin Power" as quickly as possible, he forcibly suppressed it from falling into a deep sleep. Suppressing it like this all the time was, of course, impossible, but it was fine for a short time.

The Magic Spirit turned into black-blue smoke and sank into the water surface under his feet. Su Xiao seemed to be using the Magic Spirit to perceive the surroundings, preventing any enemies from attacking when he was at his weakest. After confirming there were no enemies around, he stopped controlling the distant Magic Spirit and let it sink into the water.

"Hoo~"

Su Xiao let out a long sigh of relief and almost collapsed to the ground. He took out 【Self Power】, holding this badge-like item in his hand. He glanced at the team channel, and after seeing the message Ignoring Bubu Wang had sent, he decisively used this item. Almost simultaneously, he swapped positions with the Magic Spirit.

"Usage Effect: After using this item, you will mimic yourself to form an avatar that possesses 100% of your abilities. This avatar has two modes: Control Form and Automatic Form. In Control Form, you will control this mimic avatar; in Automatic Form, the avatar will autonomously attack enemies (the duration of the mimic avatar depends on the user's real Intelligence attribute).

Hint: Because you are a technique grandmaster, this avatar will not be able to fully exert the combat power that a technique grandmaster should have..."

Because he used 【Self Power】 and the "Replacement" ability at the same time, in the eyes—and even perception—of others, it just looked like Su Xiao had suddenly recalled his Magic Spirit, as if he were about to leave this place.

"Cough, cough, cough~"

Su Xiao let out a series of dry coughs. He raised his hand to cover his mouth and nose, only to find that the specks of blood he coughed out were actually black. Moreover, the pitch-black blood on his palm had seeped into his skin, forming a mark, and this mark was rapidly spreading to all parts of his body.

A hulking brute nearly ten meters tall, with layers of fat all over his body and pitch-black, shiny skin, was walking over step by step. He was holding a large piece of flesh in his hand, tearing at it with his teeth and gorging himself. But this hulking brute didn't walk many steps before stopping.

"Pain Priest · Zdenek."

The hulking brute spoke in a muffled voice.

That's right, standing beside Su Xiao was none other than the Pain Priest · Zdenek, who had been acting as a powerful helper but hadn't appeared until now. There were two reasons: first, a technique-type clash truly didn't need the assistance of others, especially a clash between two supreme technique-types. What was even more marvelous was that, if things went wrong, the side being assisted might instead fall into a disadvantage because of it.

The second point was to prevent the current situation. The members of the Dokain family weren't just the Beast Master; there were also the Twin Kings and Lady Scorpion. The hulking brute who had just arrived was one of the right-hand men of Lady Scorpion's faction.

"The last time the two of us fought was a few years ago. We're old friends."

The hulking brute laughed, but his smile became increasingly like a treacherous plot succeeding.

"It's a pity you appeared too late. You can't save this Law-Breaker."

Just as the hulking brute finished speaking, the black mark on Su Xiao's body activated. He was suddenly swallowed by darkness and disappeared from this place.

"Goodbye."

The hulking brute was also swallowed by the same dark vortex, leaving only the Pain Priest · Zdenek on the water surface.

At the same time, a dozen kilometers away, Su Xiao, who had completely concealed his aura in the water and entered a breath-holding state, suddenly opened his eyes. Because he had just fought a life-and-death battle, there was still red light in the center of his pupils that hadn't faded. The one who had just been swallowed by darkness and teleported away was the avatar he had created using 【Self Power】. This precious item produced by Reincarnation Paradise had a very powerful effect.

The first step of the plan was successful.

And this plan was named: Lady Scorpion's Treasure Vault Cultivation and Looting Plan.

PS: (Seeking monthly tickets).