Chapter 156 VS Great Completion Rank 3

Although it was only a brief exchange, I have already analyzed the strengths and weaknesses of both sides.

In terms of destructive power alone, the "Suishi Genbu" before me has never demonstrated anything that surpasses mine. Not only in destructive power, but also in movement speed, it is definitely not fast enough to prevent me from reacting.

However, in terms of combat skills and experience, he had an enormous advantage over me. Unlike me, who always defeated enemies with overwhelming force, he had no shortage of experience fighting evenly matched opponents, or even fighting powerful enemies from a disadvantaged position. His eyes were sharp, his movements agile, and he was never careless; I, an outsider, could not find any opening in his breathing.

Since that's the case, I'll have to resort to surprise. He clearly has considerable fighting experience; at such close range, he won't miss any strange movements I make. However, if the real trap is hidden in the already shattered skull, even he would be caught off guard.

There is certainly no legitimate martial art in the world that teaches people how to deal with "hands that grow out of the enemy's severed neck".

The flames suddenly erupted directly in front of me.

At the critical moment, "Shuishi Xuanwu" suddenly raised his left hand and used a hand chop to sever his restrained right arm.

This is the first time I've ever seen someone perform such a move with a hand chop. If the speed is fast enough, even a simple hand chop can indeed cut through anything, let alone this person's supersonic hand chop imbued with magical power. As he broke free of his restraints, he retreated swiftly, narrowly avoiding the near-miss of the fiery explosion; only his arm remained, shattered into pieces.

However, the flames I unleashed engulfed an area of ​​two hundred meters in front of him in one go. He retreated repeatedly, but could not escape unscathed. No matter how fast he was, he would inevitably be chased by the flames over such a vast area. Most of his clothes were licked away by the flames.

He might have breathed a sigh of relief at being out of my attack range, but my attack wasn't over yet. The body licked by the flames was now imbued with my fire and heat, and I could now attack his true form directly.

This time, I didn't make any strange gestures; I simply focused my mind.

The distant flames and heat suddenly magnified a thousandfold, transforming into a gigantic fireball that engulfed him. He was clearly caught off guard, letting out a miserable, agonizing howl in the intense heat. In the firelight, only his shrunken, dehydrated silhouette could be vaguely seen.

A dozen seconds later, a gruesome charred body fell from the fireball.

Those were indeed the remains of an enemy. To be honest, he truly lived up to his reputation as a master of the Great Completion stage; even his death was completely different from that of my previous opponents. Those who had fallen to me before were reduced to ashes, but he was incredibly resilient to burning; even after burning for quite some time, his human form was still discernible.

However, I still felt unsatisfied. Although it caused me intense spiritual pain, I'm still alive and kicking. Unlike the human body, the soul doesn't reveal wounds or blood at a glance, so I don't know the extent of my injury. Since it hasn't affected my movement or ability to use my strength, it probably isn't a serious injury.

It can't be that I only felt pain without actually being harmed. The purpose of pain is to warn life of the existence of wounds, so I believe I was injured to some extent.

It's even possible that the person involved thinks there's no problem, delaying the process until the severe injuries manifest themselves. Perhaps it's necessary to have Zhu Shi examine me later. Since her ability is to see flaws, she should also be able to see wounds in the soul... Wait, didn't she say before that I'm too bright to see clearly...?

...Also, wait a minute, calm down and think about it, did I just do something irreversible?

Did I kill the person who was suspected to be the Water Master Xuanwu?

Who will treat Ma Zao's injuries afterward?

Seeing that the charred remains were falling faster and faster, I immediately swooped down in that direction.

I wonder if handing this charred remains to Asaho will allow her to resurrect the dead... But even she can't bring the dead back to life. At the very least, I need to retrieve these remains so she can extract some useful information from them...

My thoughts raced, but it turned out that my worries were probably unnecessary.

Because the enemy wasn't dead at all.

Before I could retrieve it, the charred remains underwent an inexplicable transformation.

A massive amount of flesh and blood, like countless earthworms frantically crawling out of the soil, grew from the charred remains's face, torso, and limbs with a horrifying momentum. During this process, magical energy surged from his body, expelling all the remaining heat within.

In the blink of an eye, the "Shuishi Xuanwu" appeared intact.

He opened his eyes, hovered naked in the air, and then looked at me.

He actually came back to life? I sensed it clearly just now. All his blood had evaporated, his flesh had completely dried up, and his internal organs and brain tissue were completely charred. Theoretically, in that high temperature, not a single cell should have survived. To survive being inactivated by such high temperatures, his regenerative ability has surpassed the limits of common sense.

However, this also suggests that some part of him wasn't completely burned to death by me. Some part outside the body—was it his soul?

The "fatal wound" he just suffered didn't seem to have no effect on him. His breathing was noticeably heavier, and his eyes were filled with wariness as he looked at me.

I first stopped my dive, and while I was at it, I restored my head shape. Then I initiated the first communication since the start of this battle.

"Are you Xuanwu?"

"Black Tortoise..."

He pronounced those two words unfamiliarly, but seemed not to be responding to me.

"Why did you attack the Zhu family mansion?" I asked. "And... where is Chang'an?"

“You mean that half-human, half-demon brat? I’ve already killed him,” he said.

Upon hearing the name Chang'an, the enemy, who was described as a "human-demon hybrid," clearly knew Chang'an well.

His words are not credible. If it were death, I could at least sense the body beneath the rubble. And since he would admit it to my face, there's no need to dispose of the body.

Perhaps Chang'an hastily hid in a place where he could obstruct the enemy's senses when they attacked.

Even so, seeing him admit to killing my friend to my face is still unforgivable.

"Are you trying to kill me? You're practically radiating murderous intent. It seems you're a very loyal person. I don't dislike people like you," he said. "But unfortunately, you can't kill me."

"Can't be killed? With your regenerative abilities?" I retorted.

At the same time, I launched my own attack.

This time, I used the skill to ignite flames with my gaze. Naturally, I didn't expect to kill him with that. The magic binding him acted like massive armor, hindering my mental penetration; the flames couldn't ignite directly on him. However, igniting them around him was still possible.

Flames materialized into six walls that appeared around him, enveloping him like a prison cell, before shrinking and engulfing him.

His regenerative abilities are indeed formidable; however, his heavy breathing suggests that this astonishing regeneration must be draining his strength. Whether it's mana or something else that's being depleted is unknown, the number of times he can regenerate is finite. No matter how immortal he is, he cannot resurrect indefinitely, and he is no exception. Therefore, all that's needed now is to keep wearing him down.

Whether he is the naval commander Xuanwu or not is no longer important. Judging from the unfamiliar tone with which he uttered the word "Xuanwu" just now, he most likely isn't. Even if he is, since he even attacked the Zhu family, there's no way to expect him to keep his promise to Elder Zhu to refine elixirs for us. Killing him here is the best way to eliminate a scourge sooner rather than later.

Then, he once again displayed a divine ability that I had never expected.

He raised his right hand, making a loose fist, from which a large amount of black substance burst forth. The black substance transformed into a shield as tall as a person, and then he pushed against the shield, breaking through one of the walls of fire.

I immediately recognized the true nature of the black substance.

There's no mistake, that's a power I've witnessed countless times—the ability to manipulate shadows!

The reason he clenched his right fist was to create a shadow within it, and the black shield was formed from this shadowy substance.

The black shield collided head-on with the wall of flames. In my past experience, the shadowy matter would be destroyed instantly by my flames, but this time was different. The black shield actually absorbed the flames it came into contact with, and he pushed the shield to successfully break out of the fiery prison.

No, that's not "absorption".

That's the ability to teleport in shadows.

The black shield was clearly a portal, and the flames were transported to the shadow world.

I immediately manipulated the other flames to sweep towards his back, but the shield in his hand instantly transformed into full-body armor, completely enveloping him. He neither dodged nor defended against the flames attacking him, but simply let them rush towards him.

The next moment, all the flames that hit him passed through his strange armor and entered another world!

The man in the dark armor turned and attacked me. He was in an invincible state that no attack could interfere with, and I was stunned for a moment.

He actually transformed himself into a humanoid teleportation portal!

(End of this chapter)