Chapter 154 VS Great Completion Rank 1
I was immediately convinced.
The "wave" surging towards my "small boat" on the "dark sea" is the "magical fluctuation" that Zhu Shi and Lu Youxun always talk about.
This was the first time in my life I had felt such a violent fluctuation. It was as if I had always lived indoors in a windless environment, and now I had finally stepped outside and felt a strong wind blowing on my face. Now, even without imagining any "sea" or "boat" in my mind, I could feel it clearly in a natural and normal state.
Is this the magical fluctuation of a high-level demon hunter that Zhu Shi mentioned?
But where exactly did it appear?
It wasn't at the old Humanitarian Division's outpost. I opened my eyes immediately and saw that Mazao beside me also had a look of great alarm on her face. She turned her head and looked in the southeast direction. The source of the magical fluctuations was far away in that direction, at least ten kilometers away from where we were.
"The Great Completion Stage?"
Asaha muttered to herself in disbelief, then hurriedly ran outside the "clinic".
I ran out with her and searched my memory.
I had previously inquired with Zhu Shi about the Luoshan Impermanence operating in this city. According to Zhu Shi, the most powerful Impermanence in this city is at the "Cheng" level, and there are only two of them. One of them is her grandfather, also known as Old Master Zhu. As for the "Da Cheng" level, there are fewer than twenty of them in Luoshan alone, and any one of them is enough to represent a super strong individual of an entire force. Apart from me, there are no demon hunters of that strength in Xianshui City.
So how should we explain this fluctuation in magical power? Is it because a Great Completion Realm expert from outside has entered Saltwater City?
If it were just a normal entry, there wouldn't be much to say. But even someone like me, who was sensing magical energy fluctuations for the first time, could tell that the fluctuations weren't the kind that occur when walking or breathing normally; they were explosive and powerful. That outsider at the Great Completion level must have suddenly unleashed their power for some reason.
What kind of magic was used? What was the target intended to be destroyed? Or even... who was the opponent in battle?
"Zhuang Cheng!" Ma Zao stared intently at the southeast direction from which the magical energy fluctuations were coming from. "Judging from this direction and distance, the source of the magical energy fluctuations seems to be... Zhu Shi's house!"
"What?"
I couldn't help but be surprised, and at the same time, a shadow fell over my heart.
Because the barrier around the Zhu family mansion could block my "fireflies," and heat perception couldn't easily penetrate that barrier, I didn't leave any "fireflies" there. In other words, I couldn't immediately see what was happening at the Zhu family mansion, nor could I immediately teleport myself there.
But then I thought, I could use my fire elemental form's supersonic movement to get there quickly. And I have an even more convenient way.
"Ma Zao, can you teleport me directly to the Zhu family mansion?"
"Right now, I can only move around on my own," she said.
"It doesn't matter."
As we spoke, I planted a thermal energy mark on her body and then said, "Go over there now."
She immediately understood, and then the space around her body distorted, and she disappeared from the spot.
Through the thermal energy signal, I sensed that she had appeared in front of the iron gate of the Zhu family mansion.
Asao and I both possess the ability to teleport ourselves to each other's side by marking each other's location, while Asao can spatially teleport herself to places she has been before. I can't go directly to the Zhu family mansion, but she can. And if she goes, I can go too.
In the next instant, I used fire teleportation. As my vision shifted rapidly, the scene changed from the entrance of the "clinic" to the iron gate of the Zhu family mansion.
As soon as I landed, I sensed a very significant anomaly.
I'm currently in fire elemental form, and heat perception is no longer an active skill, but a passive one. Logically, as long as I stand here, I should be able to sense the barrier surrounding the Zhu family mansion that supposedly blocks perception. However, that barrier has now disappeared. My heat perception can pass right through the iron gate.
Behind the iron gate, wisps of black smoke rose from the depths of the garden, emanating the same source of the powerful, high-level mana fluctuations I had sensed earlier. Because of the closer distance, the mana fluctuations felt even more intense. I only felt it psychologically, while Asahi seemed to sense it much more deeply.
She seemed to become dizzy and unsteady on her feet. She involuntarily gripped the iron gate railing, as if she were standing on the deck of a ship being violently rocked by waves, and only in this way could she barely maintain her balance.
"Hmm, this fluctuation..."
"Ma Zao, you can wait here or move back to a safer distance."
The situation was urgent, and I didn't spend any more time taking care of her physical condition. Instead, I quickly said, "I'll handle the rest."
After saying that, I rushed through the iron gate.
But even faster than that action, my senses reached the depths of the Zhu family mansion in an instant.
I saw what was happening there from a distance.
The once magnificent villa nestled deep within the gardens has collapsed, a gruesome sight like a fragile fortress built on sand being smashed by a reckless car. The once grand house is now a pile of rubble, and it appears that the destruction occurred after contact with some explosive or flammable materials; some parts of the ruins are still burning. The black smoke seen earlier was released during the fire.
I have some practical experience in destroying buildings, so I could tell from my intuition that this villa did not collapse because the load-bearing columns and walls were broken, but because it was destroyed by an external force... by some overwhelming external force.
The strength of this force is no less than the force I used when I cleaved the unfinished building in two when I defeated Detective Kong.
The murderer, however, had not yet left the scene of the crime.
He stood swaggering in front of the ruins of the building, which were belching black smoke.
He was a tall man with short white hair, wearing a tight-fitting gray shirt and trousers. Although he was facing away from me, I could clearly see his face through heat perception. He had a chiseled, solemn, and rugged face, piercing eyes, and a lean and strong physique, exuding an aura reminiscent of a martial arts master.
I don't know this person, but I can confirm that he is the source of the magical energy fluctuations. The residual magical energy fluctuations from his attack also linger in the ruins of that building.
A figure crawled out from under the rubble.
That was Zhu Shi's grandmother. I had seen her once when Chang'an was kidnapped by the Shadow Man's clone, and Zhu Shi and I took her to the Zhu family mansion for protection. I also think I saw her again when we went to the Zhu family mansion to retrieve the creator of the Shadow Man's head. In my memory, she seemed to be a strict person, because Chang'an showed her great respect. However, in front of Zhu Shi and me, she actually acted quite gentle and kind, and even invited me to visit her when I had time.
Perhaps it was because she possessed magical powers, or perhaps she had other means of self-protection, but although she had been trapped under the rubble, she did not appear to be seriously injured. Only blood was flowing from her forehead and palms, and her movements were weak and disheveled.
Seeing that someone was still alive, the man at the Great Completion level didn't seem surprised. He simply walked forward expressionlessly, clenching his fist and exuding an undeniable killing intent.
Such evidence and signs speak for themselves.
That unfamiliar man is my enemy.
I moved to a spot about 20 or 30 meters behind him, and my right arm, which was burning fiercely, rapidly extended and attacked, while my hand grew enormous, grabbing at the target's body.
Although I had the urge to kill him on the spot, I still retained basic rationality. It was necessary to find out his true identity, why he attacked the Zhu family mansion, whether he had any other accomplices, etc. If I really couldn't capture him alive, then it wouldn't be too late to kill him.
The reason I have this thought might be because my previous battles have been too smooth sailing; or perhaps it's because my past battles with Zhu Shi were mainly focused on extracting information from the enemy, which has fostered bad thinking habits in me. This attack, aimed at capturing the enemy alive, ultimately lacks killing intent, and therefore lacks the corresponding power and speed.
This shortcoming wouldn't have been a problem in the past, because with my high-speed consciousness and movements in my fire elemental form, all enemies seemed to wriggle and crawl, even the monster creators of the past were completely at my mercy. Being slightly slower was nothing; that was slowness to my senses, but to the enemy it was lightning speed.
However, this time the enemy is different.
As I launched my attack, he suddenly turned to look at me. Just as he was about to be caught by the fiery hand, his body suddenly burst forth with supersonic speed, passing through the gaps between the fiery hand's fingers.
Breaking the sound barrier, he moved across the ground like a thunderclap, creating booming sounds and shockwaves. Contrails, which should have appeared high in the sky, appeared on the ground. He transformed into a white lightning bolt and charged straight at me.
—It was avoided!
Startled, I chose to meet him head-on, raising my left arm and reaching out to grab him again. This time, however, I made a change. Dozens, even hundreds, of arms sprouted from the side of my extended left arm, like branches of a tree. Each arm extended at more than three times the speed of sound, forming a vast, inescapable net as it lunged at the man.
This time he couldn't possibly evade me again—just as I had this thought, his figure suddenly vanished from my perception and then abruptly reappeared behind me.
I immediately turned around and saw a fist rapidly enlarging in my field of vision.
An overwhelming force shattered my skull on the spot.
In my fire elemental form, even if I am injured, I will not die, nor will I experience any significant pain.
That's how it should be.
However, being struck by this blow, a genuine pain exploded in my consciousness.
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com