Chapter 264

In the Six Paths state, Li Ang's Susano'o had surpassed the Complete Form, and its size had grown enormously.

But compared to Duonuo, it still appeared tiny.

A long spear of cyan-red energy tore through the air, shrieking as it was hurled toward the endless towering tree.

Boom—!

With a violent explosion, gale-force winds flattened the lush trees across the land.

Only upon seeing this did the tourists behind truly realize someone was fighting a fourth-tier planetary Viceroy.

And what did fourth-tier mean?

Any official citizen of the Federation had some vague notion.

It was a catastrophic disaster capable of utterly obliterating a planet's surface if one were willing to spend the time.

To be honest, Li Ang couldn't understand why Duonuo was so arrogant.

If he'd initially thought Li Ang was merely third-tier and tried to imprison him by force, that might have made sense—but Li Ang had already demonstrated fourth-tier combat power, yet this planetary Viceroy still showed no intention of reconciliation.

'So he's acting with impunity?'

Li Ang stood within Susano'o, his gaze flickering slightly.

But whether the opponent was pretending to be foolish or truly was, he didn't care—in a world saturated with extraordinary power, fists still spoke the loudest.

Duonuo didn't even attempt to block Li Ang's attack.

The explosion from the cyan-red energy left only a small charred mark on his trunk, negligible against his colossal size.

'Tsk. Strong defense.'

Undoubtedly, as compensation for his immobility, Duonuo's defense had reached an absurd level.

And

Li Ang glanced at the ground, a thoughtful glint flashing in his eyes.

The Tenseigan evolved from the Byakugan and inherited its functions, so he clearly saw streams of energy continuously flowing from beneath the earth into Duonuo's body.

'The Earth Guardian.'

At that moment, Duonuo's aged voice rang out: "Are your attacks scratching my itch?"

As he spoke, a cyan-green energy spread from the tree's crown outward, and instantly all plants in the mountains came alive, surging toward Susano'o.

Seeing this, Li Ang clasped his hands together, and Susano'o mirrored the motion, its surface radiating brilliant cyan-red energy.

"Sage Art: Wood Release: True Thousand Hands!"

A colossal wooden Buddha statue burst from the earth, countless arms extending from its back to block the attacking plants.

The next instant, the Buddha was clad in cyan-red armor.

Susano'o Over the Great Buddha!

Li Ang stood atop the Buddha's head, now able to see Duonuo's canopy.

This sudden wooden construct left the plant-based planetary Viceroy momentarily silent.

After a pause, Duonuo spoke: "So that's it."

"So that's it! No wonder you stirred my impulses! Hahaha. Fifth tier!"

?

Li Ang stood atop the True Thousand Hands, frowning slightly as he stared at Duonuo across from him.

'What's this old man suddenly going mad over?'

As he thought this, Duonuo launched his own attack.

Thick roots tore through the earth and shot instantly toward the True Thousand Hands.

Seeing this, Li Ang smirked and merely directed the True Thousand Hands to perform Top-Down Buddha.

The next moment, countless palms wrapped in cyan-red armoring slammed down upon Duonuo.

Boom boom boom—!

The earth groaned under relentless punishment.

Each punch from the True Thousand Hands triggered tremors rivaling earthquakes, and the gales scattered the surrounding clouds.

Many tourists fleeing the battle center stumbled and fell to the ground, their faces pale as they watched the apocalyptic scene in the distance.

This was the battle of a high-tier professional—mere ripples could shatter mountains and split continents.

The Top-Down Buddha assault lasted several minutes before gradually subsiding.

From the obscuring dust, an aged voice reached everyone's ears.

"Heheh. Though you reached fourth tier through a special ability, I must commend you."

"Li Ang, even compared to the monsters the Federation has raised from childhood, you're not inferior."

Li Ang?

Only then did the onlookers learn the name of the other fourth-tier powerhouse present.

Before they could react, the dust blanketing sky and earth was instantly swept clean by a shockwave.

Li Ang wore a cyan-white robe, six black orbs floating behind him, while the thick roots around him lay shattered and falling to the ground.

He gazed at the towering tree across from him, now repairing its wounds with Huang Luse energy, and a look of understanding flashed in his eyes.

"So this is your confidence? Binding yourself to the entire Morabiss Planet?"

The Earth Guardian—Li Ang now understood the meaning of this class name.

For other races, this fourth-tier profession might seem ordinary, but for the land plants of Morabiss Planet, it was tailor-made.

For countless years past, this planetary Viceroy, Duonuo, had sunk his roots deep into the planet.

Because of this, in one-on-one combat, few fourth-tier professionals could stand against him.

"Indeed, in the universe, you can see anything."

Of course, Li Ang wasn't the only one in this world who could put together a powerful combo—the fellow across from him clearly had his own line of thinking.

Perhaps feeling that victory was in the bag, or perhaps taking Li Ang's words as a compliment, the elder plant-person spoke: "Heh heh. To think you could actually see that."

"This is why I was able to become the Viceroy of the planet Morabis."

By all rights, a normal planetary Viceroy wouldn't let an indigenous species of their own planet hold the post—that's a very simple check-and-balance measure.

Especially for a planet like Morabis, which sits close to the border.

But thanks to Lord Duonuo's maneuvering, the Federation was forced to face a certain situation.

You must attack that taunting minion.

Of course, if the Federation were dead set on wiping out this plant-person, it would be easy enough—but there was no need to, and besides, he'd been quite obedient all these years, so the Federation had simply let it be.

"So? You want me to surrender?"

Hearing Lord Duonuo's words, Li Ang gave a contemptuous snort, and the pitch-black sphere behind him began to revolve around his right hand.

"Heh heh. I've changed my mind." As he spoke, Lord Duonuo's torso had already finished repairing itself. "If you'd agreed right from the start, I might not have noticed anything."

"But now—"

"To me, you yourself are far more valuable."

Hearing this, Li Ang couldn't help but narrow his eyes.

'Because of the Ōtsutsuki clan?'

'No, it should also be because of this fellow's class—otherwise the Clear-Cold Tree Clan wouldn't have acted like that.'

In Li Ang's view, Lord Duonuo was in some ways a bit like the Divine Tree.

If that's the case, then it isn't hard to understand why he'd covet him, and it also explains why a dignified planetary Viceroy would so rashly make a move against another class-holder of the same rank.

Just as Li Ang was thinking this, Lord Duonuo continued: "That attack just now must already be your limit, no?"

In his view, that unknown creature across from him was a spent force—after all, it had only reached the Fourth Energy Level through special means.

Didn't you see it can no longer maintain that cyan-red giant form from earlier?