"Joe!" Ethan panicked, trying to retract his snake arms, but Dylan was already in front of him.
"Focus on your opponent," Dylan whispered directly into Ethan's ear.
*BAM!*
A concentrated straight punch laced with starlight energy exploded right onto Ethan's solar plexus. The sheer shockwave caused the air to slightly tremble as Ethan flew backward, coughing up a mixture of bile and blood before crashing unconscious into a thick oak.
"Two down," Dylan muttered coldly.
Above him, a massive shadow fell over the clearing. Nathan had taken the bait, leaping high into the air with his Silver Armored Gorilla fists raised together for a crushing aerial slam. "DIE, BRAT! GORILLA METEOR!"
Dylan looked up, his expression completely unfazed. He planted both feet into the dirt, feeling the deep connection between his Spirit Core and the endless energy reserved within the Cosmic God Mansion. The white starlight swirling at his navel burst outward, wrapping around his fists in a dense, blinding aura.
He didn't dodge the incoming anvil-like fists. He punched straight up to meet them head-on.
*BOOOOM!*
A localized shockwave exploded through the forest, snapping nearby tree branches and blowing away the fallen leaves in a ten-meter radius. Ground pulverized beneath Dylan's boots, but his knees didn't bend even a fraction of an inch.
Above him, Nathan's face contorted into pure, unadulterated horror as he felt the bone-crushing rebound force traveling up his transformed gorilla arms. The armor on his jaw and knuckles cracked like fragile glass.
"Impossible..." Nathan gasped, blood oozing from his mouth. "Your energy... how is a Spirit Veins cultivator this heavy?!"
Dylan smirked, his grip tightening around Nathan's wrists mid-air. "You guys are just weak."
"Fuck you!"
With a sharp twist of his wrists, Dylan yanked the mid-air Nathan downward, completely shattering his balance. Before gravity could even take over, Dylan's right knee slammed upward into Nathan's ribs with the force of a battering ram.
CRACK!
Nathan let out a choked scream, his gorilla armor completely dissolving into scattered wisps of spirit energy under the brutal impact. But Dylan wasn't finished.
He spun on his heel, wrapping his arm around Nathan's throat in a precise, momentum-assisted headlock. Harnessing the residual force of the downward pull, Dylan slammed the gang leader's face directly into the hardened earth.
*BANG*
The ground cracked beneath the impact. Nathan's transformed body laid limp on the ground as Dylan landed.
'I was going to simply just capitalize my strength and speed like my first fight but when I realized they had beast martial spirits, known for their strength and durability, I thought it would be harder. However...' This was Dylan's original thought before heading out to fight.
But it seems that the power he gained from the perks he got from the Cosmic God Mansion turned out to be greater than he imagined, 'The overall amplification of reinforcing my Innate Energy to my body seems to be at least tenfold! This is more than the normal amplification which should be roughly several times the current body's strength... The fast circulation of Innate Energy from using the Cosmic God Mansion allows me to seamlessly control my Innate Energy like its second nature... No wonder I can fight one realm above me.'
Dylan was satisfied with the results of this test. He smiled as he said, "Now it's time to kill all of you."
He walked to Nathan's gorilla-human hybrid body and was about to snap his neck with a stomp.
"Hiss~"
'An attack?!' Dylan heard the hissing sound that was fast approaching him from his blind spot.
He was still able to stomp Nathan's neck but then he thought that he wasn't able to snap his neck, 'He transformed his head and neck to a gorilla before hitting the ground and use that endure the impact from earlier? I guess they aren't complete newbies when it comes to fights.'
'His neck muscles are too thick, huh...' He used that stomp to propel himself forwards with a leap. He rolled over the ground as he felt a large figure pass by him. After regaining balance, the large figure turned around and honed in on him.
"A two-headed snake?!"
Now, Dylan was able to see clearly what had just attacked him. He saw two giant snake heads coming at him, each the size of a car! Their mouths wide open, aiming to devour Dylan as their fangs was laced with deadly green poison.
Strangely, it had no tail and it seemed to be only half of its body was visible. It was as if it was a spectral body body!
'It's like a Susanoo.' Dylan compared it to a popular ability from one of his favorite shows.
"HAHAHA, Kill him, Two headed Snake Avatar!" Ethan called out in a crazed manner.
Dylan heard the voice of Ethan which made him understand what entity this was, 'The snake guy? Is this thing-'
"?!" Then, a huge figure loomed over Dylan's back. It was Nathan who issued another Gorilla Smash. The ground broke from the awesome strength that came from Nathan's Silver Gorilla.
'The gorilla recovered already?!' Dylan managed to evade it but the two snake heads were now only a few meters in front of him.
*BANG!*
"Argh!" However, Dylan was suddenly hit by a heavy blow that sent him flying towards the two-headed snake. He coughed up blood from the great force of that impact. His head was shaking and he felt like he was getting a concussion, 'What hit me?!'
Now, he was faced to face the two headed-snake. The fangs of the two serpentine heads were right above him. He could not even defend well due to the And in that moment, Dylan already had one thought, 'I cannot die like this!'
'Defend!' That was the only thought in Dylan's mind. He had to defend with all his might! He circulated his Innate Energy all over his body to the maximum, 'More Power!'
In that moment, the Innate Energy he was emitting had become water-like, a shade of deep blue water akin to the ocean's waters.
*FWOOSH!*
In less than a second, a terrifying burst of water blasted the giant two-headed snake and knocked it back. With Dylan as its center, the burst of water generated waves after waves which flooded the area they were currently in.
In the face of impending doom, Dylan subconsciously called forth his Ocean Martial Spirit!
The trio could not get close as the waves made it harder for them to get near him.
"What the hell?!" Ethan called out.
"Is that his martial spirit?!" Joe who finally got rid of the venom looked. "That's a lot of water... There's no way it's an Ocean-"
"Idiot, there's no way that possible the Vastocean Clan would not let any of their kin live in another state! It's possibly that its just a Lake or a River Martial Spirit..." Nathan walked nearer to them. Behind him there was a ten meter tall Silver Gorilla that was
He pointed out but he still had a serious expression in his face, "That's still an Elemental Martial Spirit, though. So this might be harder than we thought. No wonder he was confident despite being at Spirit Veins ..."
"You two, be prepared. He won't be able to use that defensive technique continuously. Joe, release your Avatar. He maybe one realm weaker than us but he possesses a stronger martial spirit and purer Innate Energy. We should still be able to kill him! We need to go all out." Nathan ordered as he watched the water mass which was still creating massive amounts of water.
Joe nodded as a ten-meter tall half-tortoise materialized in front of him. He declared, "I'll guard all of his attacks."
"I'll restrict his movements and launch long range attacks." Ethan knew what he had to do as the Giant Two-headed Snake also rematerialized behind him.
"Good." Nathan was satisfied with their responses. The trio was now full prepared for battle.
...
Meanwhile, Dylan who was inside the water mass, was as surprised as he was elated. He initially just wanted to block but who knew that he would actually be able to activate his Martial Spirit, "So this is the Ocean Martial Spirit..."
"I guess the visualization of wanting more power and guarding the attack, led to this technique." Dylan observed his surroundings. He could feel and understand that his body was continuously producing massive amounts of water.
After closing his eyes, he inspected his insides and could see what was truly happening. "So the Innate Energy from my Ocean Martial Spirit is connecting itself with the Spirit Core, therefore producing this ocean-like energy with my Innate Energy. It seems I subconsciously did it when I was faced with death..."
"That means concentrating Innate Energy on a specific body part or the entire body creates physical reinforcements kind of reminds me of Armament Haki and supplying the Ocean Martial Spirit inside my Spirit Core with Innate Energy allows me to utilize it. Interesting..."
Now understanding the mechanism of how his powers are working, he took a note after reviewing his actions earlier, "It seems that utilizing one's martial spirit relies on one's will and imagination, huh."