Boom…
The aftershocks of the explosion were still reverberating, energy fragments scattering and gouging craters in the ground.
Lin Hong stood at the edge of the blast’s epicenter, the hem of his black cloak whipped by the shockwave, flapping noisily.
Before his words could fade, several furious roars, brimming with overwhelming rage, abruptly sounded from the distance.
“Who is it?!”
“There’s a rat! How dare you intrude into the sacred domain! Defile the altar!”
“Kill him! Tear him to pieces!”
Almost simultaneously, terrifying auras erupted, separating from the intense battle in the distance with astonishing speed, converging on his location from all sides!
That energy fluctuation was dreadful, far surpassing all the opponents Lin Hong had slain earlier, even stronger than Bazi had been!
Lin Hong immediately became solemn, but not panicked, with no intention of retreating.
Now, after the earlier warm-up, he was at his peak condition, precisely in need of a great battle!
But he was also cautious.
His thoughts raced, quickly communicating with the mysterious panel to purchase two items.
[Disguise Potion (Intermediate) x1, Fate Value -100.]
[Shadow’s Veil (One-time Barrier Scroll) x1, Fate Value -300.]
Lin Hong confirmed.
The next instant, two objects appeared in his hands: a potion vial and a scroll.
He immediately drank the potion, undergoing a transformation.
He changed from his original youthful appearance into a young man, with alterations to his facial features and physique.
Lin Hong nodded in satisfaction, then shook out and activated the scroll, throwing it to the ground.
Hum…
A semi-transparent light shield appeared, enveloping the dozen or so unconscious civilians and soldiers.
It isolated their internal auras, diminished their presence, and formed a solid concealment barrier.
Having done all this, Lin Hong turned to face the approaching terrifying auras, feeling excited.
He licked his lips.
He wanted a great battle!
To temper himself, to open internal microcosms in his limbs, to undergo a fierce metamorphosis in the heat of combat!
At that moment, another prompt came from the mysterious panel:
[Detecting hostile targets approaching, analyzing…]
It was evaluating the four opponents about to arrive, and the results were all extraordinary!
Four individuals.
According to this world’s tier system, they were half a step into the Fifth Tier, their internal energy already beginning to transform into Profane Energy.
Lin Hong grew solemn, because he knew that in this world, the Fifth Tier was a watershed.
Whether it was magic or battle aura, upon reaching the Fifth Tier, both mana and battle aura would undergo a qualitative leap, a sublimation, fundamentally different from the Fourth Tier.
The four opponents before him had already touched that threshold.
In some aspects of their abilities, they had even reached Fifth Tier standards, lacking only the opportunity for a breakthrough.
‘But they won’t get that chance. Their useless lives will become useful Fate Value for me.’
Lin Hong muttered to himself, setting a goal for this battle: to open at least one internal microcosm in one of his limbs.
Rumble…
The space trembled, gales howled, even massive stones were lifted and blown away.
“Die, defiler!”
“How dare you taint the altar, slaughter my brothers! I will extract your soul and burn it for eternity!”
Two figures arrived first, one from the left, one from the right, like two crimson meteors.
One was a giant, nearly nine feet tall, muscles bulging as if carved from stone.
His upper body was bare, covered in dark red tattoos that wriggled like living things.
With a thunderous impact, his aura reached an extremely ferocious peak.
His fist shot toward Lin Hong’s temple.
“Die!”
The Bald Giant roared, vicious and ruthless, going for the kill the moment he spoke.
The air was directly torn, creating a sonic boom.
The sheer force of his punch caused the ground to explode.
Simultaneously, the other figure moved.
It was a Mage, rapidly chanting, waving a wand whose tip blazed with bloody light.
Sizzle!
Sizzle!
Sizzle!
Over a dozen Soul Blood Arrows, silent and imperceptible amidst the massive sonic boom, shot forth swift as lightning.
They could damage the flesh and erode the spirit—a magic of slaughter.
“Scram!”
Lin Hong’s eyes were cold.
He raised a hand and met the mountain-like fist with a palm strike.
It was like a massive explosion!
Deafening.
The ground within dozens of meters was flattened instantly, countless gravel sent flying.
Lin Hong was forced back, his body trembling slightly as he continuously dissipated the force, each step leaving a large crater.
But he was completely unharmed.
The internal microcosms within his body accelerated their rotation, constantly generating energy.
The slightly damaged muscle fibers were repaired immediately, at a frightening speed.
At the same time, he used his psychic energy to lift the magic shortsword at his waist.
It pulsed with a fierce sword gleam as he slashed through the air!
Thwip!
Thwip!
Thwip!
Sounds like a hot knife cutting through butter.
The shortsword clashed with the incoming blood arrows, emitting strange sizzling noises.
The energy on the blood arrows was corroding the sword!
However, this shortsword’s material was extraordinary, inscribed with various magic runes and bolstered by Lin Hong’s psychic energy.
Its sword gleam was too brilliant.
It swept in an arc, completely annihilating the incoming blood arrows, itself undamaged, and spiritedly circled back to him.
“Hmph!”
The Bald Giant snorted coldly, but inwardly he was shocked.
His immense strength was such that ordinary people couldn’t even withstand the residual force of his punches and would be torn apart.
Yet this ordinary-looking young man, seemingly lean, possessed such formidable power.
They had exchanged a blow, both forced back.
He felt as if he had punched a divine mountain!
The keratin covering his knuckles showed fine cracks.
The giant roared wildly, his own battle spirit ignited.
Instead of retreating, he advanced, raising his fist to strike again, the ground cracking wherever he passed.
Simultaneously, the gaunt Mage acted again, chanting another incantation, waving his bone staff, unleashing a torrent of bizarre magic attacks!
Lin Hong showed no fear, actively stepping forward.
He split his focus: one part controlling the dark silver shortsword, transforming it into a silvery ring of light that shattered magic attacks one after another; the other part dealing with the hulking giant in close-quarters combat.
Moreover, during the fight, he consciously guided his internal energy, circulating the Creation Return to Origin Sutra, beginning to form the preliminary framework of an internal microcosm in his right arm.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
By now, the gaunt Mage had lost patience, wanting to quickly resolve Lin Hong and return to the main battlefront.
Therefore, he abandoned stealth.
Reaching a tacit understanding with the giant, he unleashed his full power as Lin Hong was forced back.
In the sky, three massive offensive magic circles appeared, each over ten meters in diameter, their runes flashing madly, their fluctuations heart-stopping!
“[BLOOD CORROSION DIVINE PUNISHMENT]!”
“Die, rat!”
Three thick beams of light shot forth!
Rumble….
A massive explosion occurred within hundreds of meters.
The ground was blasted away, forming a huge crater.
In the distance, many low-level cultists paled.
“By the Sacred Divinity, what kind of rat has barged in? They actually used magic of this level!”
“Whatever rat it is, within the sacred domain, under divine punishment, all beings are equal. That rat is definitely dead!”
Because this kind of offensive magic consumed a huge amount of energy and possessed immense destructive power.
Even a Priest-level figure would be injured if hit!
“Nice blast, brother, nice blast.”
The Bald Giant praised, letting out a sigh of relief.
They were old partners, their coordination seamless.
He was responsible for repelling Lin Hong, the Mage for casting the spell.
Few could withstand this combo.
“Is it over… No! He’s still there!”
“What—”
Whoosh!
A figure shot into the sky.
The black cloak was slightly damaged, but it was hardly noticeable, obscured by the blazing sword gleam!
Lin Hong’s speed was extreme.
In the blink of an eye, he arrived.
Swinging his shortsword—thud—a head fell to the ground.
Filthy blood spread, absorbed by the earth.
“You little bastard, how dare you—!”
The giant roared, his eyes wide with fury.
Lin Hong smiled playfully, curling a finger at him.
“Is that all? What level do you think you are, trying to kill me? Come again.”
“You—!!”
The Bald Giant’s chest heaved violently.
He was truly enraged, being provoked like this!
The dark red patterns on his upper body erupted, the bloody light dazzling, making him resemble an evil deity.
Lin Hong watched with a faint smile, then suddenly paused.
His combat intuition sensed something.
He immediately shifted his body, moving sideways dozens of yards.
A blade light, thin as a cicada’s wing, its edge shadowy as if liquefied, dripping, passed through the space where his heart had been moments before.
It was extremely cold and damp , filled with an aura of death.
A shadowy figure quietly materialized, its outline blurry , only vaguely humanoid, yet its killing intent was palpable.
Not far away, there was also an old woman, leaning on a wooden staff, muttering incantations, continuously casting cursed aura and negative status magic, enveloping Lin Hong in a wide area.
“Fool.”
The shadowy figure glanced at the Mage’s corpse, his voice cold.
They had actually arrived earlier, intending to find an opportunity to strike, to form an encirclement with the Mage and the giant and kill this young man in one move.
But the Mage, greedy for merit , had acted rashly, directly releasing a large-area attack magic without distinguishing friend from foe, forcing them to retreat.
“By the Sacred Divinity, today we’ve encountered a monster.”
The old woman muttered, feeling grave.
She had clearly seen this young man enveloped by the light beams, yet he emerged unscathed, alive and well.
He had even used the cover of the explosion to instantly kill the Mage!
“Enough talk!”
The Bald Giant roared.
“He killed the Mage! Attack together! Tear him apart, offer his flesh, blood, and soul to the Sacred Divinity!”
“Kill!”
The other two didn’t hesitate, immediately joining the assault.
Three Quasi-Priest level opponents besiege Lin Hong.
The great battle erupted once more!