Chapter 550: One Claw Pierces the Heart

Ying Nuo La looks only a little over thirty, of medium build, a plain magical robe hangs loosely on her, graceful, with beautiful features, black long hair neatly tied at the back, exuding an intellectual beauty.

Even when angry, Ying Nuo La gives the impression of a gentle, independent, elegant woman.

Nevertheless, no one underestimates a nineteenth‑level Arcane Mage because of her looks.

Lei En admired her with both eyes, shaking his head regretfully.

He looked toward the stand on the Western Tower and said contemptuously, "Nai Se has so many men yet can't match a woman's backbone; I suspect they don't even have balls under their hips—if they're not useless, then what?"

"You…" Ying Nuo La's face flushed instantly.

The audience in the Phoenix Arena burst into uproarious laughter, the men winking with a knowing look. The Nai Se Wizard on the Western Tower was about to be depressed; male wizards, whether Legendary or not, had faces flushing red and white, almost exploding with rage.

"Shameless!"

Ying Nuo La shouted curses.

Lei En shrugged indifferently; his words indeed contained gender bias, and on the social media of his previous life they'd probably be reported by feminist fighters, the tower would be blown to pieces.

"It's a pity we meet this way, good luck to you." Lei En suddenly bowed slightly, his expression turning serious, "Let's begin."

With that, he entered stealth mode.

A light screen descended over the arena's center, displaying numbers and starting the countdown.

Ying Nuo La froze for a moment, unwilling to waste time, and immediately cast a self‑buff spell.

Her weapon was neither a staff nor a wand, but a thick magic tome held in her left hand, while her right hand flipped pages in the air, the pages rustling loudly.

It was an epic‑level magic book called "Nai Se Secret Arcane Codex".

It grants the Arcane Mage a Void Resonance affinity and speeds up casting, not limited to Arcane; each page is enchanted with a spell.

As the pages fluttered, soul energy surged, surrounding rune lights danced, and spells fell onto Ying Nuo La, empowering her.

True Knowledge Technique, Tide of Arcane Power, Secret Arcane Eye, Stone Skin Technique, Accident Technique, Prism Light Shield;

Spell Deflection, Spell Reflection, Spell Nullification Barrier, Spell Trap, Protective Element Damage, Spirit Armor Technique, Psychic Shield…

In just a few seconds, Ying Nuo La layered dozens of magical protections on herself, the layers of magical radiance almost obscuring her figure, making it impossible to look directly.

The audience gasped in awe.

The vast majority could not recognize how many layers of protection Ying Nuo La now had, nor could they name their effects; they only thought, can Chairman Lei En break through?

Some wizards familiar with Elder Ying Nuo La knew this Arcane Mage excelled at defense, so she knowingly entered the duel despite Lei En's terrifying power.

But the Legendary Peaks who truly saw Lei En's background all shook their heads in secret.

Magical protection blocks spells.

And Lei En's greatest strength lies in his power, the purest power attack.

Wielding a war hammer, even without magical effects, a Legendary‑level twelfth‑rank power burst erupts instantly; shields below the ninth ring cannot hold it!

Those spell deflection, reflection, traps, protective energy damages are all decorations; adding more layers does nothing.

Ying Nuo La herself knew this well.

The dozens of protective layers on her body gave her little sense of safety, yet she dared not abandon the buffs—some are better than none, and Lei En also mastered high‑ring spells, so she must defend.

Magical protection is only basic; her real survival method is displacement.

Ying Nuo La added a "Calm Mind" to herself, slightly increasing casting speed again and calming her emotions, dispelling the tension.

The countdown on the light screen was about to hit zero.

In the final second, Ying Nuo La flipped to a page in the "Nai Se Secret Arcane Codex" and activated a seventh‑ring High‑Level Stealth Technique, vanishing instantly.

Tens of thousands of spectators widened their eyes.

Many visually‑Element endowed super‑naturals and wizards triggered their abilities, only to find they could not locate Ying Nuo La's figure.

Immediately, the light screen vanished.

In that instant, the arena's protective dome erupted with dazzling multicolored light, filling every inch of space; the audience was caught off guard, many were flashed so hard their eyes streamed, temporarily blinded. When they regained sight, they saw fluttering sparkling dust falling in the arena, five‑colored and very beautiful.

Six‑ring Arcane—Shining Dust!

Well‑read wizards recognized the spell; its main function is to reveal hidden enemies, and the dust clings to the body for hours, hard to wash off, breaking stealth.

Moreover, targets coated with the dust take higher damage when struck by Rainbow Light spells.

However, the arena was empty.

It looked desolate.

The Shining Dust was released by Ying Nuo La, unaffected herself, yet Lei En was not uncovered, nor was his Mirror Image.

This left everyone baffled.

The next second, a huge bang rang out in the arena, boom!

Elder Ying Nuo La's figure materialized, her high‑level stealth failed, she was struck by a hammer and sent flying, revealing Lei En's figure behind her.

The Prism Light Shield was riddled with spider‑web‑like cracks, but did not collapse, instantly restoring.

"It's a Mirror Image!"

The audience now understood; a Mirror Image has only half the strength of the original, and an eight‑ring shield can withstand two to three hammers.

A hammer strike cannot make the Mirror Image stay hidden any longer.

Ying Nuo La reacted swiftly; just after being flung, she flashed, changed direction to avoid being surrounded by the hidden Lei En and his Mirror Image, and simultaneously pointed at the exposed Mirror Image, firing a straight green ray.

"Disintegrate!"

It was her long‑planned counterattack; the Mirror Image couldn't dodge, seemed unwilling to evade, letting the Disintegrate ray hit its chest.

A layer of colored light appeared, beneath it a dragon‑scale skin, nullifying the Disintegrate effect.

The Mirror Image remained unharmed.

"My God!"

The on‑lookers' eyes bulged; a six‑ring Disintegrate, even Legendary practitioners dare not meet head‑on, yet it couldn't even kill a Mirror Image.

Everyone knows Lei En's physique is terrifyingly strong, but this is just too far‑fetched!

After Ying Nuola released Disintegrate, she couldn't bother to observe the result, flipped through the Naisier Secret Manual at lightning speed, and in one breath instantly cast five identical spells.

Each spell summoned five fist‑sized fireballs.

The blazing fireballs each contained a hard black core, like a meteor, hovering around her. After five consecutive casts, a total of twenty‑five meteors surrounded her as she flew rapidly, forming an offensive protective wall.

Ma Youfu—Micro Meteor!

On the southern tower's viewing platform, a wood‑elf mage dressed as a ranger couldn't help but stand up.

He is the inventor of this spell, a member of the Franlis Eight‑Leaf—"Flame Prince" Ma Youfu.

This spell is also called "Small Meteor"; it was originally a three‑ring spell, high in power and long in range. Ying Nuola upgraded it to five rings, making it stronger and controllable at will.

After she summoned a cluster of Small Meteors, she dared not linger in place and instantly flashed again.

Appearing over the arena, Ying Nuola thought quickly; five Small Meteors plummeted at Lei En's Mirror Image at breakneck speed, trailing flames over three meters long, dazzlingly bright. While the meteors struck, she simultaneously summoned five more to replenish them.

Boom!

Boom!

Boom……

Several massive explosions rang in succession, shaking the arena floor; each Small Meteor's power rivaled that of Flame Burst, its hard core generating a fierce shockwave accompanied by high‑temperature flame damage, sweeping the space within dozens of meters.

The Small Meteors rained down, covering the entire arena in just a few seconds.

The exposed Lei En Mirror Image was focus‑fired upon, repeatedly flashing to evade, then opening a random gate to the opposite side of the arena, yet it was still struck by a Small Meteor.

Boom—

The Mirror Image was blown away, slightly wounded, but it still did not dissipate.

This left the spectators speechless; they could not imagine how formidable Lei En's true body must be, able to withstand a lethal Disintegrate, and even this physical attack with flame‑damaging Small Meteors only managed to tear a bit of its skin.

Ying Nuola also felt a tightening in her heart.

She wasn't afraid of a single Mirror Image; she feared the whereabouts‑unknown Lei En true body and the remaining four Mirror Images, none of which the meteor barrage could destroy.

Higher‑ring area spells require casting time; she feared they would be interrupted before she could release them.

"Time to change positions."

Ying Nuola strictly adhered to her pre‑entry plan, never staying in one spot for more than three seconds, lest she be swarmed by Mirror Images.

Another flash, and Ying Nuola's figure appeared in mid‑air a hundred meters away.

As soon as she emerged, she sensed something amiss.

"Someone nearby!"

Not only was someone there, but they were very close—perhaps less than five meters away, as if they had come right to her doorstep.

Ying Nuola was about to flash away, but a sudden Space‑Time distortion scrambled her senses, leaving her dazed for an instant, and her flash lagged half a beat.

Space‑Time Shock!

This spell can interrupt casting; even if the target is not casting, it creates a momentary lag that is almost inescapable.

By the time Ying Nuola recovered from the confusion, it was already too late.

A figure pierced the Small Meteor barrier, flashing directly to the front; at such close range she could see its form, a war hammer swung with a fierce whoosh, and the hammer struck her Prism Light Shield.

Bang!

The Eight‑ring Prism Light Shield was incredibly hard, yet under that hammer it was as fragile as an eggshell, shattered in a single blow.

"This is his true body!"

Ying Nuola was horrified; she had actually flashed right beside the enemy's true body!

Lei En's gaze was indifferent, his hand merciless.

However, as the hammer, having broken the shield, was about to strike Ying Nuola's body, a brand‑new Prism Light Shield sprang up, deflecting the hammer.

At the same time, Ying Nuola vanished from sight.

"Accident Technique!"

Ying Nuola appeared on the arena floor, a wave of dread in her heart; she had applied Accident Technique to herself, setting the trigger to activate when the shield breaks, instantly restoring the shield and flashing away.

But before she could breathe a sigh of relief, an explosion sounded behind her.

A Mirror Image charged forward, letting Small Meteors explode upon it; while Ying Nuola was still unsteady, it snatched the war hammer and hammered down hard.

Bang—a massive blast.

Ying Nuola was blasted upward again; fortunately, this time she was only hit by a Mirror Image, and the Prism Light Shield held.

Another Mirror Image appeared immediately ahead in mid‑air; its wind‑and‑thunder wings fluttered, and the wind pressure from its swinging war hammer made the shield wobble on the brink of collapse.

If struck again, the shield will surely break!

At the very last moment, Ying Nuola triggered her "Flash Return".

This is a rare time‑type spell that can revert one's state to one to five seconds earlier—including spirit power, injuries, and position—much like Time Reversal, but it only affects the caster.

The Mirror Image swung its hammer through empty air.

Ying Nuola returned to the ground, choosing her state and position from one second ago; the Prism Light Shield was untouched, intact.

But this created a problem: she was now mere inches from the Mirror Image on the ground.

Ying Nuola had assumed the Mirror Image wouldn't have time to react, yet unexpectedly, the image seemed to have known she would "Flash Return", raising its war hammer to meet her.

Bang!

A crack appeared on the Prism Light Shield, and Ying Nuola was blasted away again.

This time she rolled across the ground, evidently the Mirror Images were coordinating, rolling her toward the third one's direction.

Before she could get up, the third Mirror Image's war hammer also came down.

A booming roar.

Ying Nuola's Prism Light Shield was finally shattered; this time she lacked Accident Technique, unable to instantly restore the shield.

However, her flash had already passed the casting interval, allowing her to evade in the instant the shield broke.

Yingnuola flashed into mid‑air; she did not forget that Lei En's true body was in the sky, but a quick glance failed to find his figure.

Just as she was about to reopen her protective shield, a rainbow light beam pierced her from behind.

Pff!

Spirit Armor Technique manifested on her, yet it could not withstand the destructive power of the rainbow light beam; the several layers of magical protection were shattered by the hammer blast, instantly pierced front and back, but no drop of blood fell, and her form turned into a vanishing illusion.

"Misdirection Technique!"

The substitute illusion generated by the Seven Ring Misdirection Technique blocked the lethal blow.

At the moment Yingnuola's true body was hit, she entered invisibility state and teleported several meters away. Before she could rejoice, a flying hammer struck her; invisibility offered no help, and her Stone Skin Technique barely resisted the war hammer.

A gush of fresh blood erupted.

Yingnuola was gravely wounded; on the brink of death she even dared not look for Lei En's true body, instinctively raised a prismatic shield, and flung her last life‑saving spell, the Eight Ring Rainbow Light Orb, outward.

This was the most powerful spell she had mastered, spraying rainbow light beams in all directions.

Unexpectedly, the rainbow light orb directly hit.

She saw Lei En's true body, as if passing through a water curtain, ignore the rainbow light beams striking her, instantly fly to the front, his right palm turning into a sharp giant claw that easily broke the shield she had just raised and pierced his own heart.

Pff!

The light in Yingnuola's eyes dimmed, and there was no more sound.

(End of Chapter)