Chapter 402: This Punch Bears Four Hundred Years of Effort
“Little Carp, wake up, it’s your turn to fight.”
Gripping the hilt, Xia Feng directly activated the Excitation Ring.
Yue Hongli let out a sound, her soul trembling, her indifferent voice quivering, “Mas-Master~ Don’t be so sudden!”
[Four Symbols Array: Within the domain, one target has been marked by you. You can teleport behind the target at any time.]
After marking the first target, Xia Feng turned to look at Freya.
“Hmm, Teacher Freya, I might need some of your help.” A thoughtful mental message sounded in Freya’s mind. She nodded with interest, curious, “How can I help?”
“Teacher, just stand here.” Xia Feng had already appeared behind her, leaning close to whisper, “Forgive me.”
A shiver ran down her spine, her chest tightened. Freya’s red eyes widened, her cold and beautiful face visibly flushing, her earlobes as red as blood.
[Four Symbols Array: Within the domain, two targets have been marked by you.]
“!!!!” Ye Li-Helyan’s gentle expression couldn’t hold any longer, his pupils constricting, anger surging in his heart!
“Scum, you’re seeking death!” Killing intent filled his eyes, and the blood-colored waves rippling around him surged into the sky.
Like a blood pillar reaching from the earth to the heavens, the blood pillar suddenly became unstable and seemed to be on the verge of collapse.
Ye Li-Helyan’s expression shifted slightly, but he quickly realized that this arrogant evil disciple was trying to provoke him by disrespecting his stepmother, thereby disturbing his mind and disrupting his Ascension to Venerable ritual!
His intentions are punishable!
Ye Li-Helyan took a deep breath, quickly calmed himself, and his heart turned cold.
Only six more seconds, just six seconds and he would succeed!
He could not let this reckless madman succeed and disrupt his mind!
“Classmate Xia Feng, you’d better give your teacher a reasonable explanation!” Freya’s slightly flushed face was tense, her lips pursed. She didn’t resist, but she could feel a strange Spirit Artifact on Xia Feng’s right arm, stimulating her entire nervous system through her heart.
“Hmm, this is a teleportation mark,” Xia Feng’s mental message explained earnestly. After releasing his right hand, he placed it on his legs, activating the Excitation Ring again to stimulate them, increasing their agility by a certain degree.
Finally, he raised his eyes and met the cold, killing gaze of the middle-aged man in the distance.
However, the middle-aged man’s lips still held a gentle smile, and he said calmly, “Kid, you’re dead.”
Three seconds left.
Xia Feng’s dark eyes narrowed slightly, he flicked the saber in his hand, raised it backward, and with a smile, threw it fiercely towards the Angelic Cage!
He indeed couldn’t use the Holy Knight Space to enter the cage, but that didn’t mean he had no other methods.
In fact, ever since Yue Hongli pledged allegiance to him, Xia Feng had rarely used her abilities. Besides her mind-reading ability, Gui Juan, which he used frequently, he had only used Gui Domain, an ability that damaged a thousand enemies while harming himself eight hundred, twice.
Besides these, Yue Hongli actually possessed another ability – Phasing.
After killing the Earl in District 51, the Holy Department knew he had Yue Hongli’s allegiance. The ability he demonstrated to the Holy Department was Phasing, which could penetrate anything and make him untouchable while active.
Of course, the prerequisite for using Phasing was to maintain a humanoid form. Furthermore, he couldn’t use other abilities while Phased, and he couldn’t re-materialize inside other living beings.
He hadn’t used this ability in actual combat since obtaining it, as there really hadn’t been an opportunity.
But now was the perfect chance.
The Angelic Cage was indeed powerful, capable of blocking attacks from Venerables and defending against invasions from alternate dimensions and psychic-types, but it couldn’t block a conceptual ability like Phasing.
This was also the Angelic Cage’s greatest weakness; its defense against spatial traversal abilities was not perfect.
Swish—
The Gui Dao cut a long bloody line through the air, quietly transforming into a red-clothed figure that easily pierced the Angelic Cage.
In an instant, it appeared behind Ye Li-Helyan!
Ye Li-Helyan sensed the killing intent behind him. Though surprised, he didn’t pay much attention.
In his spiritual sense, the woman in red didn’t pose any sense of mortal danger.
“Form the array!” Over two hundred Spirit Masters guarded the four sides of the cage.
These were the elite of the elite from the entire fortress, all trusted confidantes and personal guards of Ye Li-Helyan.
Among them were 15 Rank 5 powerhouses, 4 True Martial First Realm experts, and 1 True Martial Second Realm expert, forming a Spirit Artifact squad and two Rank 5 Emissary squadrons.
[Xuanwu Celestial Manifestation]
As the A-class formation spread out, a massive and majestic green turtle enveloped Ye Li-Helyan’s head. However, Yue Hongli had no intention of materializing. She directly passed through layers of defense and, with a swish, circled to Ye Li-Helyan’s front.
Two seconds! Ye Li-Helyan looked up, suppressing the excitement in his heart, maintaining a gentle smile.
But the next moment, his pupils instinctively dilated drastically. He saw the K-Masked Man’s black-robed figure appear out of thin air behind the woman in red, reflected in his pupils.
What kind of spatial technique was this? The Angelic Cage didn’t even stop it? He was shocked.
Xia Feng smiled slightly. The Angelic Cage indeed couldn’t stop the Four Symbols Array.
The world was a superposition of countless spaces. Beneath the material plane lay countless alternate dimensions. People could create their own alternate dimensions using Spirit Artifacts and Spirit Robes; the Holy Knight Space was one such example.
The Angelic Cage defended against this type of spatial manipulation.
These types of alternate dimensions were also the effects produced by most spatial Spirit Artifacts.
However, the Four Symbols Array did not move through alternate dimensions. Instead, it directly performed a conceptual replacement of coordinates between two spatial points, thereby achieving a instantaneous teleportation effect.
1 second!
Ye Li-Helyan’s heart tightened. Just one second left!
Though surprised, as long as he could endure this second, he would succeed in his promotion! He gritted his teeth and frantically sped up the condensation of his Fruit Position!
But this one second felt incredibly long, like an eternity. Cold sweat dripped into his eyes.
After entering the cage, Xia Feng didn’t attack immediately.
At their level, one second was already a considerable amount of time, enough to do many things.
First, he deployed the Enlightenment Domain, replicating all surrounding Spirit Artifacts. Then, he stacked various Spirit Artifact effects onto his right arm.
[D-class: Brute Armguard]
[Equipping this Armguard will grant your arm a 1% Strength Value increase.]
[C-class: Tiger Pattern Inscription]
[Engrave the Tiger Pattern Inscription on any part of your body. The Strength Value of that part will increase by 3%, and you will also gain the intent of a tiger. When dealing damage to a target, it will feel as if being torn by a fierce tiger, causing a tearing pain.]
[C-class: Intellect-Reducing Ring]
[Wear this ring on your thumb. When touching a target, the target’s Reason and Intelligence will decrease slightly, accompanied by mild hallucinatory effects.]
[B-grade: King of Fists Gloves]
[Wearing these gloves will increase your fist Strength Value by 10% and Agility Value by 1%.)
[B-grade: Enchanting Tail Ring]
[Wear this ring on your little finger. Your fist Strength will increase by 8%. Additionally, when you hit a target, the target will experience strong hallucinations and have the thought of abandoning their defenses.]
The Spirit Artifacts replicated by the Enlightenment Domain totaled 460 N-level Spirit Artifacts, 51 D-class Spirit Artifacts, 27 C-class Spirit Artifacts, and 3 B-grade Spirit Artifacts.
Among these, 97 N-grade and 4 D-grade were related to strength amplification. After combining them, Xia Feng achieved an additional 12% amplification effect.
All the Spirit Artifacts covered his right arm, increasing his strength by 34%.
Furthermore, there were nearly a hundred negative buffs, including neurotoxins, deceleration, stiffness, petrification, blindness, hallucinations, dizziness, hindering the target’s Spirit Particle flow, delaying the target’s thoughts, blocking the target’s senses, and disrupting the target’s spatial orientation.
All these were applied to his shining right arm, which was covered by the Brute Armguard and King of Fists Gloves, with all five fingers adorned with colorful rings!
However, this was not his limit. After optimizing all the Spirit Artifacts, his strength amplification directly increased by 1.5 times!
It soared from 34% to 85%!
A surge of power coursed through his right fist. Xia Feng grinned, took a step back, raised his fist, and simultaneously activated A-class Spirit Robe – God King Statue!
The God King Statue’s Divine Might Domain granted him a 10% Agility increase. Within the domain, other living beings’ movement speed and thoughts would be slowed and confused, even inducing an urge to kneel out of extreme fear.
This extreme fear was far more potent than C-class or D-class Spirit Artifacts, indirectly providing a very strong control effect.
The moment an unbearable, majestic divine statue appeared.
Ye Li-Helyan’s eyes stung, and he felt as if the world had frozen. Everything around him – the light flow, Spirit Particles, the K-Masked Man’s retreating steps, the fluttering hem of his robe – all seemed incredibly slow.
Cold sweat beaded on his forehead. For the first time, he felt true fear and panic. His stinging spiritual sense frantically warned him – give up the promotion! Defend!
Defend!!
But he was unwilling. Missing this opportunity to promote would mean waiting another two hundred years! Two hundred years!
He was already middle-aged; he didn’t have two hundred years to wait! Moreover, it was only 0.6 seconds away!
Just 0.6 seconds! That was enough time!
Besides, judging by the charging motion and nascent power of this scoundrel, it was uncertain if he could even seriously injure him. And it was difficult to complete such a charge in such a short time! There was still time!
As long as he became a Venerable, his Spirit Particle density would surge. At that point, he could easily block this punch with just his Spirit Pressure, without even a scratch!
Seeing that Ye Li-Helyan was still unwilling to give up his promotion in such a critical moment, Xia Feng knew the man had fallen completely into his trap.
It was understandable, of course.
The hope of becoming a Venerable was within reach. How much had he invested? How meticulously had he prepared for two hundred years? Now, all he needed was to wait a fraction of a second longer to achieve it! How could Ye Li-Helyan give up so easily and fail at the last hurdle!
Both were gambling, and Xia Feng was gambling on Ye Li-Helyan’s gambler mentality.
But it wasn’t enough. The Spirit Artifacts that amplified Spirit Particle quantity numbered twelve. Xia Feng activated these artifacts, causing his Spirit Particle quantity to explode while simultaneously coating his fist with Concentric Lightning and fingertip lightning, B-grade Spirit Robes.
His entire black-robed figure was enveloped in purple electric silver snakes, like a Demon God descending to the mortal realm.
But even this was not enough! This seemingly significant strength amplification was merely a tickle to a Venerable.
The Kirin Arm was still missing its final, most crucial step!
0.2 seconds!
Buzz!! Buzz!!! Blood-colored sea waves emanated from Ye Li-Helyan as the center, while purple lightning waves exploded from Xia Feng, creating a terrifying clash!
0.1 seconds—
Boom!!!! The Origin Fruit Position, centered on the Blood Lord, completely solidified. A sky-piercing blood storm formed a doomsday scene. The ground beneath their feet cracked with a sound like grinding stones, spreading outwards like a spiderweb.
Finally! He did it! Ye Li-Helyan’s eyes lit up with wild joy, unable to contain his excitement!
At this moment, he could feel his Mental Sea, Spirit Substance, and Spirit Base ascending! His Spirit Particle density had soared to unprecedented heights, and his strength and agility had expanded limitlessly!
At this moment, he was like a god!!
[Grace and Loss Domain—]
But just as Ye Li-Helyan was about to Ascend to Venerable, Xia Feng also activated the Grace and Loss Domain, choosing to learn the opponent’s strength advantages!
In an instant, Xia Feng felt as if he had been struck by lightning. A strange and terrifying power rapidly spread through his veins.
His muscles bulged slightly, his veins seemed about to burst, and his heart pounded like a war drum in his chest. This unprecedented sense of power seemed capable of shaking mountains and rivers, rivaling gods!
Generally speaking, Spirit Masters at the True Martial Second Realm would have a Strength Value of around 4500. Once they Ascend to Venerable, their Strength and Agility values would increase by 5 to 7 times, instantly creating a gap with the True Martial Second Realm. They could crush experts of the True Martial Realm with their physical bodies alone.
After becoming a Venerable, Ye Li-Helyan’s current Strength Value was 23,400.
Xia Feng’s, however, was even higher than 23,400. With the buffs from various Spirit Artifacts, his strength increased by an additional 85%, which amounted to 43,290!
This was more than tenfold his meager strength as a Rank 5!
Thus, the Kirin Arm was finally complete!
This punch, to say the least, bore four hundred years of effort!
Xia Feng did not hesitate. The charging motion of his backward step was fully released. Like a fierce tiger pouncing, he leaped before Ye Li-Helyan, his raised fist carrying the might of thunder, with endless electric sparks flashing, dust and stones flying, and the world changing color!
At the same time, the middle-aged man’s ferocious blood-red eyes suddenly lifted, and the corner of his lips curved slightly.
His smile was no longer gentle, and a mocking mental message flashed through Xia Feng’s mind: “Foolish kid, you’re too arrogant.”
At the moment of successful promotion, Ye Li-Helyan’s defenses were wide open. He couldn’t release defensive Spirit Robes, couldn’t form any effective defense, and couldn’t escape. He could only endure K-Masked Man’s punch head-on.
But in reality, it didn’t matter, because the outcome was already decided! Even if K-Masked Man’s punch was incredibly powerful, it couldn’t break his natural Spirit Particle defense as a Venerable!
At the Venerable stage, the density of Spirit Particles coating the surface of the Spirit Base had reached a terrifying level!
Even if he stood there and took the punch without any defense, it would at most cause his physical body to shatter and his Spirit Particle density to become unstable, but that would be it!
This was also why Venerables could never be defeated by opponents of a lower level! Their defensive power was astonishing!
Therefore, as long as he could withstand this punch, K-Masked Man, the fool, would surely die afterward!
Ye Li-Helyan’s heart seethed with unparalleled brutality. It had been a long time since anyone had made him feel such intense killing intent.
Ye Li-Helyan raised his cold eyes and looked at the terrifying fist charging towards his heart, his expression calm.
[Dragon Race: Extreme Fist (Incomplete): When Strength Value reaches the Venerable realm, your fist attacks possess a ‘30% Spirit-Piercing True Damage’ effect.]
Xia Feng’s dark eyes were equally calm. His right arm, flashing with annihilating purple lightning, was now empowered with the ultimate buff!
Buzz!!!!
A light wave interwoven with purple and red expanded outward. Three faint crimson dragon forms emerged on his arm, coiling and soaring around his forearm!
This sudden change caused the slight curve on Ye Li-Helyan’s lips to freeze.
In the seemingly frozen world, the unrestrained light flow also solidified. The dragon-coiled, world-destroying fist rapidly magnified in his increasingly fearful and panicked, contracted pupils!
Spirit-Piercing True Damage?!
How was this possible!! His thoughts plunged into endless panic and sluggishness.
He knew that some S-grade or Dragon race Spirit Robes possessed the Spirit-Piercing True Damage effect, which could ignore natural Spirit Particle defense and was extremely heaven-defying.
But how could K-Masked Man possess it… His chaotic thoughts prevented him from thinking clearly. All he could do was roar in disbelief in his heart, “Damn it!!”
His confidence and gentle composure vanished completely.
Only boundless panic remained.
Boom!!!!
The terrifying fist landed squarely on Ye Li-Helyan’s chest. Blood vessels bulged on his stiff and horrified pale face, and strands of blood rapidly spread across his cheeks and limbs!
A nuclear-like light wave spread outwards like a tide. The sky-obscuring Angelic Cage shook, and all the Spirit Masters and Half-dragons in Dong Sheng Fortress heard a heavy boom.
They felt a sharp pain in their eardrums and the world spun.
Dao Kui also looked up in the direction of the core area, incredulous. He knew Ye Li-Helyan’s abilities; the sound and fury generated by such powerful martial arts techniques definitely did not come from Ye Li-Helyan.
Therefore, it could only be K-Masked Man!
This is bad! His expression darkened, and he cursed inwardly before instantly teleporting towards the birdcage.
Mr. Dong Jun had quite a few sons, but Ye Li-Helyan was the one he valued the most.
If Ye Li-Helyan died, he feared he couldn’t bear Mr. Dong Jun’s wrath.
He absolutely could not let Ye Li-Helyan be harmed.
But unfortunately, as he took a few steps forward, the Q-Masked Man quietly reappeared in his path, hands behind his back, floating in the air, his mask cold.
Damn that Masked Man! Dao Kui cursed inwardly. He admitted that he had underestimated this Q-Masked Man before. Every time a purple light flashed on the Q-Masked Man’s forehead, his strength inexplicably increased, which was very strange.
After fighting for so long, he hadn’t managed to injure the man at all.
Dao Kui let out a cold laugh, not intending to waste any more time with this guy. He turned and continued to run.
His escape speed was unparalleled. If he really wanted to escape, this Q-Masked Man couldn’t catch him.
He had to go save Lord Helyan City first!
Blood began to show through Ye Li-Helyan’s skin. His eyes showed shock as he opened his mouth silently. In the next instant, his entire physical body dissolved into streams of bloody energy, vanishing completely!
A slight crack appeared on the chest of his transparent spiritual body before stopping. Powerful and dense Spirit Particles flowed around his chest, no longer able to be harmed. But unfortunately, under the effect of 30% Spirit-Piercing True Damage, even this Venerable-level Spirit Particle defense couldn’t stop the attack.
30% of the terrifying force penetrated the dense Spirit Particles and reached the fragile Spirit Base deep within!
The nascent Venerable Spirit Base was instantly severely injured, showing fine cracks, on the verge of shattering like a glass ball.
At the same time, 30% of the force further penetrated the Spirit Base and struck the Spirit Substance, which represented the soul and life!
The Bloodworm’s Shadow, which had long been prepared, also emerged at this moment, surging into his soul. Ye Li-Helyan’s Mental Sea began to disintegrate with a shrieking sound.
The Spirit Substance contained a person’s spirit, memories, emotions, reason, thoughts, subconscious, and other non-material aspects.
Xia Feng’s punch shattered the lower half of Ye Li-Helyan’s spiritual body. The Bloodworm’s Shadow followed closely, invading the Spirit Substance through the cracked Spirit Base and devouring the soul.
Ye Li-Helyan’s soul, with his head tilted back in a ferocious pose, roared in unwilling despair.
Admittedly, this thing was truly difficult to kill! Xia Feng frowned as he increased the Bloodworm’s Shadow’s devouring power.
Ye Li-Helyan’s shrieking roars sounded like ghost cries. His face contorted into an ugly, resentful grimace as he desperately extended his hands towards Xia Feng, as if wanting to drag him into hell.
Honestly, this guy was completely crippled. The ruined remnant soul had no chance of recovery, but killing him was still not easy.
The Bloodworm’s Shadow continued to exert more force, penetrating his Venerable-level Spirit Base.
But at this moment!!
A seven-colored diamond-shaped light abruptly bloomed on Ye Li-Helyan’s forehead!
The terrifying power contained within sent a chill down Xia Feng’s neck. In an instant, the seven-colored light formed a small seven-colored sword and shot towards Xia Feng!
Death was imminent!!
“!!!” Swish— Xia Feng’s mind stirred, and he instantly appeared behind Freya, cold sweat breaking out on his back.
Although he didn’t know what this thing was, its terrifying power, approaching Rank 7, made Xia Feng instantly realize that this was likely a life-saving trump card that some powerful being had placed deep within Ye Li-Helyan’s soul.
As for who this powerful being was, there was no need to think; besides that guy Ye Li Dongjun, who else could it be?
Fortunately, he had been prepared. He had also placed a Four Symbols Array mark on Teacher Freya, so he wouldn’t be nowhere to escape.
Buzz buzz—
The small sword formed by the seven-colored light seemed unable to leave the Angelic Cage. It spun rapidly in the air a few times.
The buzzing sound stabilized!
Light streams detached from the sword hilt and rose into the sky, quietly forming a pair of enchantingly strange eyes.
The left eye was crimson, and the right eye was azure blue. Its pupils were calm and waveless, looking indifferently up at Xia Feng.
