Chapter 76: Rooftop Battle: Refined Armor

On the rooftop, Fang Shi stood with sword in hand; the wind from the high-rise formed a vortex, swirling around him and tugging at the strands of hair on his forehead.

Beneath his feet, the corpses of interdimensional beings and humans covered the entire roof, staining every tile with blood.

The thick stench of blood clung to his nostrils, never fading.

After half an hour of slaughter, Fang Shi had finally cleared all interdimensional beings from the building and reached the rooftop.

The carnage along the way was enough to give any ordinary person post-traumatic stress disorder.

But to Fang Shi, it was like the wind on the rooftop.

Strong, yet only swirling at the surface—unable to penetrate his body or soul.

It wasn’t that he was heartless; the end times were simply this cruel.

Those who couldn’t adapt had already been eliminated—now they quietly hid behind the strong.

Live as civilians, producing supplies day after day.

Until the strong could no longer protect them.

Fang Shi, whether before or after his rebirth, was never one of them.

In this life, he would dominate his own fate.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

His long sword slashed through the air, severing three arrows mid-flight.

Fang Shi turned his body and looked upward.

A fire-feathered being clad in silver-blue armor hovered twenty meters above.

He stood three meters tall, wielding a white-jade longbow.

The bowstring still trembled, humming softly.

Fang Shi said coolly, “Lu Xiusi. So it’s you.”

“Huh?” Lu Xiusi asked, puzzled. “You know me?”

Fang Shi, of course, knew Lu Xiusi—he was one of the nine kings of the fire-feathered clans.

A legendary archer who ruled the skies, his arrows never missed.

He specialized in sniping human elites.

The draw weight of his longbow alone reached eight hundred pounds.

With magical enhancement, the arrows exceeded the speed of sound.

Combined with his unique shooting techniques, they were nearly impossible to block.

And as king of the fire-feathered people, he certainly didn’t fight alone.

In Fang Shi’s keen spiritual sense, Lu Xiusi’s magical auras were densely packed.

He bore countless buffs—no weaker than those on Zhao Wensong and Luo Xiu.

And due to his higher spellcaster rank,

Lu Xiusi’s buffs were even stronger.

In contrast, Fang Shi’s magical auras were painfully sparse.

Clearly, a lone wanderer with no support.

It wasn’t that Fang Shi refused to let Luo Song’s men buff him—magic durations were limited.

By now, after fighting his way up, all buffs had expired.

How could he possibly compete with Lu Xiusi?

Fang Shi sneered, “I don’t just know you—I know Emi, Ma Shu, and others too.”

“Why leave your homes, you kings? Why risk yourselves?”

“One misstep and you die on Blue Star—your wives and children become someone else’s.”

Though the fire-feathered had kings, their system resembled nomadic tribes on Blue Star.

Upon a king’s death, the strongest among the tribe takes his place—and his wives and daughters.

Lu Xiusi showed no reaction to Fang Shi’s mockery.

Or rather, their mindsets differed—he simply didn’t care.

He nodded and said, “So the Promised Land knows something of Etna World.”

“At moments of survival or extinction, every race gives birth to miracles.”

“You are one such miracle—no wonder you’ve slaughtered so many of my kin.”

“But your miracle ends today. I will extinguish it.”

Fang Shi chuckled. “You’ll need the skill to do that.”

“But I’m curious—why must you attack Blue Star?”

“Isn’t Etna World enough for you?”

“You know full well,

Even with your strength, invading Blue Star comes at a cost.”

“Don’t you care about the deaths of your own people?”

“Etna isn’t a gentle land—how will you survive the winter after such losses?”

Lu Xiusi said, “You’re right—but precisely because Etna isn’t gentle,

We must seize the Promised Land. If we succeed, we’ll weather this winter safely.”

Fang Shi asked, “Would you sacrifice nearly your entire clan for it?”

Lu Xiusi replied coldly, “Yes. As long as any remain, we can reproduce.”

“No matter how many die, if it buys us a safe land, it’s worth it.”

Fang Shi pressed, “Once you take Ancheng, no new portals will open?”

“No more monsters will descend? How will you hold it?”

Lu Xiusi sneered, “No new portals will appear—we have divine protection, so we won’t suffer divine punishment.”

Fang Shi scoffed, “Divine protection? The same deity who let you suffer countless deaths, who couldn’t even protect Etna World?”

“What use is such a god? In our China, we’d drag him out for a public parade.”

“Like a dragon king who refuses to bring rain in drought—he needs ten or twenty lashes before he listens.”

Lu Xiusi’s face darkened. “Do not slander my lord.”

Shhh! Shhh! Shhh! Shhh! Shhh!

In moments, Lu Xiusi’s bow trembled, launching five arrows simultaneously.

Their speeds varied, forming a blockade that sealed off every escape route.

And that wasn’t the end.

A figure suddenly appeared in the sky, murmuring incantations.

A spell aura shot toward Fang Shi—late to launch but faster than the arrows, striking him first.

Spell Upgrade—Human Paralysis!

The target becomes paralyzed, frozen in place.

Their senses and breathing remain normal, but they cannot move—not even speak.

Flying humans will plummet; swimmers will drown.

Designed specifically for humans, its resistance threshold is extremely high.

Thud!

Tiles shattered, blood sprayed; a small crater formed in the solid concrete.

Fang Shi leapt upward, soaring ten meters, his foot landing precisely on the path of the incoming arrows.

He steadied himself on the arrows, then pushed off again.

He charged upward, flying against the wind toward Lu Xiusi.

Lu Xiusi was astonished by Fang Shi’s maneuver—simple in theory, impossibly difficult in practice.

Arrows exceeding the speed of sound are fast enough; judging their trajectories accurately in such a short time?

No wonder he slaughtered my men—this ability is truly extraordinary.

But that’s all it was. Lu Xiusi remained calm.

His earlier conversation with Fang Shi had one purpose: to distract him.

To let the hidden priest cast the spell undisturbed.

Of course, even if it failed, it didn’t matter.

A seasoned warrior plans for failure and prepares contingencies.

Fang Shi’s speed was fast, but not unmanageable for Lu Xiusi.

If he dodged, Fang Shi would lose his footing.

He’d lose balance, exposing a fatal opening.

Then a single arrow to the vital point—easy kill.

But Lu Xiusi refused to dodge. He thought Fang Shi wasn’t worth dodging.

He was king of the fire-feathered, Life Rank 9.

His physical prowess far surpassed ordinary fire-feathered, and he bore priestly buffs.

If he had to dodge under these conditions, Lu Xiusi felt he should abdicate the throne.

Clang!

The longsword and longbow collided, sparking scattered flames.

Lu Xiusi did not use any other weapon, but relied on the longbow in his hand.

This longbow, forged from the bones of a legendary creature, was indeed unbreakable.

Such a violent impact still left wind elements swirling around the longsword.

Yet not a single mark remained on the pure white bowstring.

Instead, the blow sent Fang Shi crashing toward the ground.

Lu Xiusi used the recoil to step back, drew his bow fully, and shot toward Fang Shi.

He did not believe Fang Shi could dodge this time—there was no air to push off from.

No matter how great your abilities, you cannot twist or evade.

You can only endure it directly.

Meanwhile, the fire-feathered priest hiding nearby completed his second incantation.

Instant spell—Dispel Magic!

The fire-feathered priest sensed magical energy surging from Fang Shi.

He decisively used Dispel Magic to interrupt Fang Shi’s casting.

Even the power of magical items could be undone by this spell.

He gave Fang Shi no chance to counter.

Yet even facing such dire circumstances, the falling Fang Shi showed no panic.

His expression was calm, a smile on his face, radiating absolute confidence.

Earlier, while chatting with Lu Xiusi, he had already sensed someone casting nearby.

He understood Lu Xiusi’s intentions—but this was exactly what Fang Shi wanted.

Fang Shi had grown beyond being a petty soul struggling for survival.

He now sought to uncover the deeper secrets of the apocalypse.

Unfortunately, Lu Xiusi revealed nothing.

The things he said, Fang Shi already knew—whether Lu Xiusi truly did not understand, or simply refused to speak, he could not tell.

The confidence behind Fang Shi’s actions came from his newly acquired talent: Arcane Intuition.

Before this, Fang Shi’s perception and spell identification could detect hidden casting.

But he could never have identified the exact spell as easily as he could now.

Unless the caster stood face-to-face with him and cast directly.

But with Arcane Intuition, Fang Shi became far more sensitive to the flow of spiritual energy.

And far more easily—even without seeing it directly.

With this perception, he could analyze the nature of the spell.

After determining the spell was Human Paralysis.

Fang Shi deliberately did not dodge or evade—his innate force resistance made him hard to affect.

Moreover, Human Paralysis’s saving throw was Willpower.

That was Fang Shi’s strength.

He possessed Iron Will II, meaning he could almost always resist any first-tier spell targeting Willpower.

Fang Shi could almost always pass the saving throw.

Stepping on the arrow and leaping through the air was no reckless move.

First, it lulled Lu Xiusi and the others into complacency.

Second, it lured the fire-feathered priest into casting.

The magical fluctuation on Fang Shi’s person came from the Summoning Ring.

After the fire-feathered priest cast Dispel Magic, Fang Shi directly hurled the ring into the spell’s ray.

Only then did he begin his true incantation.

[Bai He Sword Art (Perfected)]

In an instant, Fang Shi vanished midair, becoming an invisible wind.

He passed through the arrows and swept toward Lu Xiusi.

In a mere flash, he closed the distance between them.

This was the brilliance of Bai He Sword Art—merging with the wind.

Becoming true wind.

Except for extreme physical attacks and supernatural forces,

Ordinary physical strikes could not harm Fang Shi—and he could also ride the wind to fly.

A divine technique, perfect in both offense and defense.

This was the true reason this spell cost 4 magic points.

Burn the Qin, Boil the Crane!

Lu Xiusi had no time to react.

After casting Bai He Sword Art, Fang Shi’s every movement doubled in speed.

Exceeding Lu Xiusi’s reaction threshold.

This was why Fang Shi stepped on the arrow.

If he had not shortened the relative distance between himself and Lu Xiusi,

Lu Xiusi would have reacted—and possibly countered.

And delaying the attack until now also avoided giving the enemy time to prepare.

To this end, Fang Shi had even spent some magic points to test them.

The results proved that, aside from Dispel Magic,

Lu Xiusi’s group had no other means.

Even their numerous magical auras were merely passive buffs enhancing themselves.

No anti-magic field, no chain mishap spells.

The gale, like blades, severed Lu Xiusi’s head.

“You dealt 11 damage to the target.”

…

“You dealt 12 damage to the target.”

…

“You dealt 10 damage to the target.”

“Target dead.”

“Extracting target’s soul energy: you gain 630 experience points, 63 survival points.”

After killing Lu Xiusi, the gale did not pause—it surged toward the fire-feathered priest.

“Aah!”

With a scream, the fire-feathered priest died.

“You dealt 20 damage to the target.”

…

“You dealt 15 damage to the target.”

“Target dead.”

“Extracting target’s soul energy: you gain 432 experience points, 43.2 survival points.”

Whoosh!

Fang Shi returned to the rooftop, dismissed the spell, and resumed his form.

In his hand, he held Lu Xiusi’s armor and longbow.

He fell into deep thought.

Was Lu Xiusi weak?

Not at all. In the brief moment they clashed,

Fang Shi sensed the man’s strength was at least 30.

Two points higher than Fang Shi’s after Double Force.

The fire-feathered were naturally resistant to magic, and Lu Xiusi had stacked every possible buff.

At this stage, he was nearly invincible—capable of battling weaker second-tier creatures.

Fang Shi also noticed Lu Xiusi’s blue-silver armor contained adamantine.

A metal harder than diamond.

Diamond’s Mohs hardness is 10; adamantine is 20.

This was not merely double the difference.

Human skin is 1.5; steel is 5.

Yet even if human skin were ten times tougher, it still could not match steel.

Thus, armor forged from adamantine was extremely durable—a 100% pure adamantine suit was practically a quasi-artifact.

Even armor with just some adamantine added was formidable.

Fang Shi’s attack left only a single scratch.

If not for the gaps between the armor plates.

Lu Xiusi was even more invincible.

No wonder he barely brought any retainers—anyone with this gear and strength would have such boldness.

Moreover, Lu Xiusi, for safety’s sake, had fully stacked his buffs and even brought along a priest.

If Lu Xiusi had been even more cautious and brought a whole troop, this battle would not have been so easy.

Too bad, there were no “what ifs.”

Dead is dead; there is no second chance.

“Wrong! This longbow is flawed!”