Chapter 485: Level Twelve Power

"You're much stronger than I expected."

Ma Erke dropped from his hovering state, lightly stepped onto the ground, and looked at Lei En with sincere admiration: "At your age, perhaps a hundred of me combined wouldn't be your match."

Lei En smiled faintly and gave no reply.

He lowered his head to glance at his chest; when he first clashed, his war hammer was reflected back, his armor shattered, half his torso dented inward, and the Metal Undying Body was rapidly healing the wounds, his muscles flowing like liquid, still needing a few seconds to finish.

Ma Erke also saw Lei En's healing speed, and while surprised he was also puzzled: what ability is this?

It seemed even scarier than "Endless Spring Breeze", restoring to pristine in an instant, comparable to the legendary Element Undying Body spoken of in rumors!

Moreover, Lei En's power was only slightly less than his own.

His defense was absurdly strong.

Ma Erke thought his defense was already sufficient: Level Ten Toughness plus Level Ten Giant Deer Hide and three layers of magical protection, yet compared to Lei En it was still far lacking. If he took his own hammer strike, the injury would be far heavier than Lei En's, possibly killing him on the spot.

However, Lei En was merely injured and recovered within seconds.

Ma Erke completely set aside his previous contempt; the translucent wound on his face reconverted into flesh and blood, restored to its original state, and he said earnestly, "Blood and power! This is the highest honor I have ever held; I will unleash my greatest strength to defeat you, as a sign of respect."

As soon as the words left his mouth, he raised his head and roared.

"Roar!"

The deafening roar seemed to come from the void, not from a human mouth, imbued with iron-blooded and fearless Willpower, making everyone's blood boil.

Ring after ring of dark-red sound waves radiated from Ma Erke, forming a tangible sea of blood that, centered on him, covered a space dozens of meters wide; the blood sea churned violently, as if awaiting the arrival of something.

Lei En's gaze grew solemn as he sensed the disturbance above the void.

Looking up, a massive divine power resembling a flash of blood descended from the sky, landing atop Ma Erke's head and merging into his body.

Ma Erke's skin turned a boiled-red hue, and his body swelled another segment.

His soul eye saw his Power Element instantly rise one level, from Level Eleven to Level Twelve! Unsurprisingly, once the Power Element reached Level Twelve it immediately advanced to Legendary Element; the previously basic Elemental power runes became extremely intricate, and the dark-red runes emitted golden light, dazzling and vast.

Ge Luo Shi's battle roar!

Ma Erke's Divine Technique had to be completed within a breath; his power surged wildly, the infinite berserk amplification also rose, making him resemble a small giant.

In this state, merely the aura Ma Erke emitted had an effect similar to Fear Technique.

Ordinary people approaching him would be frightened into fainting.

Seeing Ma Erke's power still climbing, Lei En did not hesitate and launched a charge, using the momentum to boost his power, attempting to interrupt Ma Erke's Divine Technique.

The scenery in his view flashed backward like lightning.

In an instant, Lei En surged to Ma Erke's front, his war hammer smashing toward his head.

Bang!

The war hammer was blocked.

Ma Erke lifted the Furious Great Hammer with one hand, swung the hammer head upward to block Lei En's war hammer, nullifying the fivefold destructive critical burst; his arm sank only slightly, his body shook a bit, and he easily shed the force.

A smile appeared in his blood-red eyes as he raised his hand and lifted the Furious Great Hammer.

A terrifying force reflected back.

Lei En was instantly hurled away with his hammer, the recoil's massive force causing him to lose balance midair; from the corner of his eye he saw the Spirit Wind Leap Element in Ma Erke's soul flare, swiftly point at him, and unleash a Space-Time Shock.

Space trembled briefly, but Ma Erke had already vanished.

Ma Erke possessed the Super Elemental affinity granted by the Wind Child Element, allowing instant activation of Spirit Wind Leap; Space-Time Shock was also instant but could not interrupt the opponent.

A gust of light wind blew, its speed matching that of a flash.

Then, the light wind instantly turned into the fiercest storm, and Ma Erke's Furious Great Hammer, bearing endless tempest, slammed forward.

The storm's power was so strong it even bound space itself.

After the Space-Time Shock, Lei En instantly used Electric Flash Teleport, narrowly evading the Furious Great Hammer's strike, yet a massive steel spike on the hammer head snagged him; with a crack, the thorny electric armor shattered like paper, and the exposed dragon scales also fractured.

He teleported a short distance away, and acute pain immediately surged into his brain.

A wound deep enough to see bone tore from his shoulder to his abdomen, its sides covered with dense wind-blade slash marks; had his teleport been half a step slower, his entire arm would have been smashed off.

"Sss..."

Lei En took a light breath, suppressed the pain, and activated Metal Undying Body to heal the wound.

Level Twelve Power truly is terrifying; from quantitative change came qualitative change, and Ma Erke's current strength is several times what it was moments ago, a casual strike would break his own defense!

He looked back and saw Ma Erke sprinting at high speed.

Within his soul, the flickering light of the Spirit Wind Leap Element had not fully faded, in a casting gap—that is, cooling down—but Ma Erke's speed was unimpeded. Level Seven Swiftness augmented the six-ring Acceleration Technique; a few strides covered half the distance, then he launched a charge, arriving almost instantly.

Ma Erke was still dozens of meters away, yet the swirling storm already whipped his face painfully.

Lei En's mind shifted quickly; he did not immediately use Electric Flash Teleport to dodge, as he possessed two displacement spells he could alternate, a strategic advantage to be saved for the most perilous moment.

He vibrated his Wind-Thunder Wings and retreated violently, deciding to temporarily evade the onslaught.

Simultaneously he raised his hand to lock onto Ma Erke, condensing an Electric Blast Orb, intending to test the opponent's resistance with the spell.

During his high-speed retreat, he delayed the time it took Ma Erke to charge forward.

This allowed Lei En to cast at leisure; a head-sized Electric Blast Orb formed in his hand, Lightning Fire emitted a sharp whine, enhanced by the Thunder-Electric Form Element and the Thunder-Electric Talisman at his waist; this five-ring Electric Blast Orb's power was comparable to a typical seven-ring spell.

Hoo!

Ma Erke had already charged beyond ten steps, and Lei En flicked his hand to hurl the dazzling lightning sphere.

Suddenly, Ma Erke's left hand released the hammer handle and swung at Lei En; an invisible blade materialized out of thin air, like a giant pair of scissors descending.

Lei En's soul sense preemptively detected Ma Erke's spell; trying to cancel it was already too late.

Wind Cutting Technique!

This is also a spell capable of interrupting casting, extremely rare. Lei En instantly lost connection with the Electric Blast Orb, which detonated in his hand, simultaneously backfiring, causing his soul energy to quake in his brain.

Truth Willpower immunized him against the negative effects of the spell's backlash.

However, the explosion of the Electric Blast Orb filled Lei En's vision with electric light, obscuring the enemy; his movements inevitably became distorted, and the soul energy quake temporarily stripped him of casting ability.

A pig-headed hammer head pierced through the sky of electric light, charging straight for Lei En's chest.

He only managed to swing his war hammer forward.

Boom!

Lei En flew backward like a cannonball, his palms cracking, the hammer's handle bent from the impact, then it struck his chest, nearly cleaving him in two, and a spray of fresh blood erupted.

He frantically activated the metal‑reviving repair on his wound, still suspended in mid‑air; the sound of all things signaled a breeze approaching, and a corner of his eye caught Ma'erk's hidden figure in the wind, currently in a spirit‑wind leap, closing to within a few meters.

Fortunately, his soul‑force vibration had settled, and he could cast spells again.

Lei En forced the blood down his throat, let out a thunderclap, and turned into lightning to escape.

Almost as he fled, Ma'erk's raging heavy hammer slammed into that space, a terrifying roar sounded, the air exploded from the hammer into a white shockwave, whipping up a hurricane that spread outward, sucking in the falling snow within several hundred meters and turning it into a tornado.

Ma'erk's power rose again.

The infinite berserk amplification grew stronger; now his casual strike's damage already surpassed a seven‑ring single‑target spell, and under the Holy Soul almost no one could stand.

Golden lightning struck a hundred meters away, revealing Lei En's figure.

He gasped heavily, his chest wound healing rapidly; he immediately re‑applied Thorny Lightning Armor, gaining a bit of defense, and the activated metal also straightened the Thunderbolt Hammer's handle to keep the hammer's balance.

"This guy really has skill, too strong!"

Lei En felt unprecedented pressure.

Ma'erk has almost no weakness, the strongest power, extremely fast speed, defense perhaps slightly weaker, but compensated by "Endless Spring Breeze" and a Level‑10 "Self‑Heal"; unless a single blow kills, it is almost impossible to kill him. Moreover, the fight cannot be delayed—the longer the battle, the stronger Ma'erk becomes, which is detrimental to him.

The only way Lei En can think of defeating Ma'erk now is to brandish the Thunder God's Hammer!

But the Thunder God's Hammer is of great significance; it is a symbol of the Empire's imperial authority, and once revealed, it will cause massive upheaval throughout the Empire and invite countless calamities.

Even with the teacher's protection, he cannot guarantee a safe passage.

Moreover, the teacher is a member of the Supreme Council, and the Supreme Council would never tolerate anyone threatening their rule; Lei En cannot be sure of the teacher's inclination, nor whether he would protect him.

Unless absolutely necessary, Lei En does not wish to employ the Thunder God's Hammer.

Even if he must use it, he cannot let outsiders notice any sign.

Tens of thousands of dragon‑blood troops and the thousands of guards on Kingslan's walls, among them dozens of legends, plus two councilors of Weizelan, under the watchful eyes of all, make it very hard to conceal any abnormality.

What makes him hesitate most is that this duel will inevitably attract the gods of Kangjiatuo.

Using the Thunder God's Hammer under the gods' watch is too risky!

"Continue the skirmish for a while, see if another chance arises; if not, consider using the Thunder God's Hammer." Lei En calmly made the decision; he is not Ma'erk's equal now, but as long as he avoids a direct clash with Ma'erk, survival is still possible.

Ma'erk had just used the Wind Spirit Leap, so he cannot instantly teleport, and can only swing his raging heavy hammer to chase.

Rapid run;

Acceleration Technique;

Seven‑Ring Swiftness;

Ma'erk's massive body sprinted at exaggerated speed, not far behind spell‑based teleportation; a single breath carried him to the front.

Lei En's injuries had not fully healed, and he did not want to fight him head‑on; his Soul Eye locked onto Ma'erk's "Wind Shear Technique" still cooling, calmly opened a portal and stepped through, instantly appearing several hundred meters away, keeping a safe distance from Ma'erk.

Ma'erk stopped before the portal, a hint of helplessness in his eyes.

This is the Wizard's strength, and also its most unscrupulous side. If a Wizard seeks to avoid battle entirely, other transcendental professions find it hard to keep up, left helpless, perhaps unable to even brush a hem of clothing.

He immediately found the other side of the portal, yet dared not enter to pursue.

Ma'erk could only turn his head to chase.

In a few seconds he covered three hundred meters, about to land a charge on Lei En, but watched Lei En slip through the portal. Ma'erk suddenly turned, as if having predicted Lei En's portal exit, shouted loudly, and cast a spell toward Lei En across the void.

The Soul Eye sensed Ma'erk's spell.

Eight‑Ring Hurricane Spell!

This spell's range is enormous, able to cover an area nearly a mile in radius, forming countless sharp wind blades that shred targets, and it also has a slowing effect.

Hurricane Spell is the highest‑ring spell Ma'erk has mastered, and the only Eight‑Ring spell he knows; although he has "Wind's Child" affinity that speeds casting, he is not a specialist, his magical knowledge is limited, and years of practice have only reduced the casting time to about six seconds.

That is enough for Lei En to close in and interrupt the casting.

But he did not do so.

First, Eight‑Ring spells consume massive soul‑force, which weakens Ma'erk; second, once Hurricane Spell is released, it whirls up raging wind and snow‑mud, which can block spectators' view.

As for the damage and slowdown of Hurricane Spell, Lei En believes he can endure it.

He watched Ma'erk cast coldly; the afternoon sky was shrouded in dark clouds, turning to dusk within seconds, gale howling, each gust like a true blade, crazily slicing everything. The wind blades cut Lei En, sparking flares.

Simultaneously, the gale coiled and compressed around Lei En, as if he had fallen into the deep sea, drastically reducing his movement speed.

Every moment, Lei En was sliced by wind blades, leaving white marks on his skin that healed instantly.

(End of Chapter)