Upholder of Nations was enveloped in a faint golden light, his face pale white. He held a pipa in his hands, his indifferent gaze fixed on Tang Zheng.
"One sound manifests the Dharma, all beings understand according to their kind!"
"Another boring opening!"
Tang Zheng's gaze was sharp. Seven imperceptible blue lights flashed, giving him the feeling of gaining powerful strength out of nowhere.
His martial skill, "Probability Perception," allowed Tang Zheng to immediately lock onto Upholder of Nations' pale white throat.
A weak point?
"Shadow Clone!"
Tang Zheng pressed down hard with both legs, letting out a low growl as he transformed into a crimson afterimage and instantly charged forward.
"Ninjutsu: Immobile Binding Technique!"
The Shadow Clone received the command and activated the binding ninjutsu. An invisible force rapidly surged out.
The target wasn't Upholder of Nations, but Many-Heard Heaven positioned behind him!
The two Heavenly Kings possessed extremely high magic reduction buffs. When magic attacks couldn't deal effective damage, they would use magic with status effects.
Whoosh!
Tang Zheng had already appeared before Upholder of Nations, facing a massive pale golden figure and a gaze devoid of emotional fluctuation.
"Ice Blast Scatter!"
Tang Zheng stopped his steps, swinging the Pain of Ice Fang in his hand and flicking it forward.
Pfft—
White cold air was released all at once. Centered on the sharp tip of the Pain of Ice Fang, the air rapidly froze, condensing into ice crystals.
In an instant!
A block of upward-growing, spreading frost appeared between Tang Zheng and Upholder of Nations. Simultaneously, a large amount of white cold air continuously permeated and diffused, obscuring the line of sight between the two.
Ding~
The sound of strings chimed.
"Sub-String: Wave"
The piercing, powerful sound waves produced by the playing easily dispersed the white cold air between them. The condensed frost also turned into shattered ice residue.
Upholder of Nations glanced down at his feet and found Tang Zheng's figure had vanished. Just as he was about to continue searching—
"Dark Wave!"
Black energy fluctuations spread out, covering Upholder of Nations' body with a thin layer of faint black energy.
Upholder of Nations froze in place.
And at this moment!
Tang Zheng had already appeared on Upholder of Nations' left shoulder. His gaze was sharp as a knife, aimed at the throat, and he swung his arm: "Four Light Consecutive Slash: Break!"
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Four cold glints appeared in mid-air, then instantly merged into one, fiercely stabbing towards Upholder of Nations' throat.
Bang!
A wave of energy dispersed between the two.
Upholder of Nations (90%) trembled, his broad body shaking. His shoulder tilted backward, pulling his body uncontrollably backward, appearing somewhat disheveled.
"Lost 10%!"
The combination of "Aura of Courage" and "Dark Wave" effects had shaved off a small chunk of Upholder of Nations' health bar.
"The throat area, perhaps because it's not protected by armor, lacks damage reduction, making it easier to deal damage."
A flicker of surprise flashed in Tang Zheng's eyes as he pondered and guessed. The Four Heavenly Kings' attire was largely similar, with only differences in their weapons.
The exposed areas were only the throat, face, and hands.
In games, some segmented armor pieces only offered minimal magical protection to exposed areas, similar to wearing no equipment, with a setting that made it easier to land critical hits.
"Then I'll just attack these parts next!" Tang Zheng moved again after landing.
His figure moved at high speed!
He continuously circled Upholder of Nations.
"Evil creature!"
Upholder of Nations roared as if enraged. He pulled the pipa with both hands, pressing it down sharply:
"Brahma Sound Resonance!"
Faint golden light flashed from the pipa, and a heavy, solemn low hum echoed in the void, then instantly spread throughout the entire hall like a flashbang!
"It's an area-of-effect attack."
Facing this type of attack, Tang Zheng had no idea how wide the opponent's range was, so he could only cast magic to defend.
"Skeleton Wall!"
A wall made of a large number of white skeletons rose from the ground, blocking in front of him.
However!
Golden light enveloped the entire hall, and the Skeleton Wall offered no defensive effect at all.
"Cough..."
Tang Zheng's eyes widened as he felt a stinging sensation surge through his entire body, coughing up blood.
[HP: 1012/1125 · MP: 908/918]
"A full-screen attack!?"
Tang Zheng was somewhat disbelieving.
His HP had dropped by over 100 points in an instant.
"Sub-String: Wave"
Dong—Dong—
Upholder of Nations strummed his zither again, and the piercing sound waves turned into an impact, rushing towards him.
Tang Zheng's speed was incredibly fast. He quickly dodged, and with lingering apprehension, he pulled away to create distance again. The previous attack was quite terrifying.
Rumble!
The sound of collision echoed from the other end of the hall.
Tang Zheng's peripheral vision swept towards the direction of his Shadow Clone and he saw that Many-Heard Heaven had already broken free from the binding ninjutsu released by the Shadow Clone.
"Huh?"
Tang Zheng scanned his Attribute Panel and suddenly noticed that the HP lost by his Shadow Clone was a bit off.
From the previous attack, he had lost over 100 HP, but his Shadow Clone, which only inherited 1/4 of his stats, had only lost 28 HP.
"It's percentage-based damage!"
Tang Zheng's expression changed again. He didn't slow down his movement, keeping a close eye on Upholder of Nations as he pondered:
"Why didn't you activate that skill from the start?"
"Did it activate that full-screen, percentage-based damage skill because I dealt 10% damage to Upholder of Nations?"
He was somewhat uncertain.
Tang Zheng reached out and grabbed, taking out a "Greater Heal" magic scroll from his Item Box and crushing it forcefully.
Sacred white light enveloped his entire body.
[HP: 1112/1125 · MP: 908/918]
"Tier 6 · Greater Heal" 99 scrolls.
Dong—!
The sound of the zither strings rang out again.
"Middle-String: Drop"
A massive magic circle suddenly appeared beneath Tang Zheng's feet, emitting a faint blue light.
Rumble!
In an instant.
A pipa, shaped like a 10-meter-long black rock, smashed down from the sky, locking onto Tang Zheng, who was at the center of the magic circle.
"Shadow Assault!"
Tang Zheng's thoughts moved, and he activated the armor ability of "Flesh Armament."
His entire body transformed into black shadow, and he charged out of the magic circle. Like a ghost, he flashed through the air and appeared before Upholder of Nations.
Before the opponent could strum the strings to attack!
Tang Zheng's sharp gaze fell upon Upholder of Nations' left hand, which was poised to strum the strings. He leaped high into the air and kicked the opponent's hand.
Bang!
Upholder of Nations' hand was kicked away, interrupting his spellcasting.
As Tang Zheng descended, he twisted his body, rotating himself in mid-air, and swung "Pain of Ice Fang" towards Upholder of Nations' right hand, which was holding the pipa:
"Four Light Consecutive Slash: Break!"
A cold white ice blade drew an arc in the air.
Upholder of Nations' (88%) right palm released the pipa. At this moment, it appeared as if both his palms simultaneously left the pipa.
Stomp!
Tang Zheng pressed his heel down, instantly retreating to re-establish distance, his gaze sweeping over the health bar.
"Only 2% of my health is gone?"
"Without the buffs from passive skills and active abilities, it only reduced my health by this much."
Tang Zheng's expression grew somber. He hadn't paid much attention before, but now, fighting an opponent of this caliber, he suddenly realized he lacked certain warrior-type skills and techniques.
With a "clatter."
A pipa, seemingly made of wood but with a metallic texture and adorned with Sanskrit script on its surface, dropped from Upholder of Nations' hand onto the ground.
A sudden turn of events.
Tang Zheng shifted his gaze from the health bar to the exquisite pipa-shaped magic item on the ground.
The opponent's weapon was actually knocked away?
Hummm—
The faint golden light emanating from Upholder of Nations' entire body vanished at this moment, and the buff above his head (-90% Magic Damage) disappeared along with it.
The air fell silent!
Upholder of Nations ceased his attack, bending down to pick up the weapon on the ground.
He absolutely cannot be allowed to pick up his weapon again!
Tang Zheng's breathing quickened. His perception clearly detected that Upholder of Nations' aura had become weaker. Just as he was about to make a move, a golden light appeared before his eyes.
Within the light.
Books appeared one after another.
"Nirvana Sutra," "Shurangama Sutra"... "Avatamsaka Sutra."
Five semi-illusory Buddhist scriptures appeared in Tang Zheng's field of vision, their text written in Sanskrit.
It seemed that he was supposed to choose one from these five scriptures.
This sudden phenomenon.
Caused Tang Zheng to freeze, clearly not understanding what was happening.
Upholder of Nations' movements were unhesitating; his tall body squatted down, touching the pipa magic item that had fallen to the ground.
The entire process took less than 3 seconds.
The moment they made contact!
The buff above Upholder of Nations' head (-90% Magic Damage) reappeared.
Swish~
The light of the scriptures shattered.
Before Tang Zheng, the five semi-illusory Buddhist scriptures floating in the air turned into points of light and dissipated.
"All phenomena arise from causes; thus the Tathagata explains them."
Upholder of Nations, holding the pipa magic item, once again emitted a faint golden light throughout his body, his voice booming with majesty.
The opening line changed?
Tang Zheng immediately realized this. Without time to ponder, he quickly moved away from his original position, shifting to the left.
Boom!
"Chain Thunder Dragon!"
Blue lightning erupted in mid-air, striking the position Tang Zheng had occupied.
Tang Zheng's eyes darkened.
Many-Heard Heaven, holding a long umbrella emitting a five-colored luster, arrived at Upholder of Nations' side, accompanied by a Shadow Clone.
The three figures looked at Tang Zheng together.
"Fighting three at once, huh?"
Tang Zheng had also realized at this moment that his Shadow Clone had lost control, and his expression turned grave:
"Some kind of special skill similar to 'Charm' or affecting 'Aggro' to change the target of summoned creatures?"
He now felt that these two Heavenly Kings, Upholder of Nations and Many-Heard Heaven, were much more troublesome than the previous Growth Heaven and Broad-Eyed Heaven.
"Canopy: Blue!"
"May virtue be like an umbrella, protecting all beings!" Many-Heard Heaven spun the treasure umbrella in his hand.
On the umbrella's surface, composed of five colors—white, yellow, red, green, and blue—there was a pointer resembling a clock hand, pointing to blue.
Upholder of Nations' health bar (88%→93%) immediately recovered a segment.
"Guessed it again!"
Tang Zheng's eyelids twitched. He knew these two Heavenly Kings were the troublesome type:
"Dispel!"
The Shadow Clone, which was about to continue its attack, suddenly turned into a mass of shadows and dissipated.
Although he had lost control of the Shadow Clone, as its summoner, Tang Zheng still retained the authority to dismiss it at any time.
"Four Light Consecutive Slash: Mana Slash: Fire!"
Tang Zheng swung his Ice Fang Pain, slashing towards the two Heavenly Kings in front of him.
"Canopy: White"
The rotating needle on the treasure umbrella in the hands of Many-Heard Heaven spun again.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
A white, semi-transparent shield appeared, enveloping the two Heavenly Kings completely and blocking the Mana Slash attack.
"Sub-String: Wave"
Clang~
Upholder of Nations pulled on the strings, and a powerful sonic wave spread out in a fan shape towards Tang Zheng.
"Shadow Assault!"
Tang Zheng activated the ability of Flesh Armament, dodging the sonic wave attack while quickly appearing beside Upholder of Nations.
"Four Light Consecutive Slash: Break!"
"Canopy: Yellow"
Tang Zheng suddenly felt his attack go out of control and deviate, his body lunging towards Many-Heard Heaven.
Bang!
Many-Heard Heaven (98%) was pushed back by a foot with its massive body.
"Healing, shields, attack redirection... Is this the type of boss it is?"
Tang Zheng's expression grew uglier. He knew too well how much trouble such support could bring to an opponent during a battle.
This inevitably meant that the battle would be prolonged!
"I need to deal with the Many-Heard Heaven holding the umbrella first!"
Tang Zheng's eyes turned cold as he flashed away from his current position, simultaneously thinking of countermeasures.
However, he couldn't come up with a good solution for the moment!
He lacked means to deal massive damage. Although the Tenth Tier's "Heating" was the highest-tier magic, it was area-of-effect fire damage that also caused a knockback effect when the explosion shockwave occurred, not pure magical offense.
As for physical means, Tang Zheng found himself even more lacking. The only thing that could deal relatively high damage was his martial skills, and coupled with the low level of his weapon, the damage was even more limited.
The Four Heavenly Kings before him were clearly boss monsters and couldn't be judged by the standard level 85.
— Whoosh!
The golden light above suddenly flickered.
Time stopped!
Tang Zheng froze in place.
The entire hall's space began to shift, and the square pattern in the center of the hall transformed into a lotus pattern.
The positions of Upholder of Nations and Many-Heard Heaven were replaced by Growth Heaven and Broad-Eyed Heaven!
Tang Zheng hadn't noticed what had happened at all, and was staring intently at the two Heavenly Kings in front of him while contemplating his strategy.
It wasn't until the next moment
that he realized the two Heavenly Kings had switched again.
"They've changed again."
Tang Zheng's expression grew even more grim. He couldn't describe his inner emotions, but he truly felt the danger posed by the world-class item, the Two Worlds Mandala.
The current situation!
It all indicated that if he didn't defeat the Four Heavenly Kings, let alone obtain these world-class items, he would likely die here.
"Slash Greed"
"Three Crimson Pythons"
A massive slash with the character "Greed" flew from a distance.
Three crimson pythons also emerged from magic circles, their greasy crimson scales slithering rapidly across the ground, their forked tongues flicking as they charged towards Tang Zheng.
"Skeleton Wall"
Tang Zheng cast the magic and began to chant.
Boom!
A wall composed of white skeletons rose from the ground, blocking the initial slashing attacks. The wall shattered, dissolving into scattered debris.
Tang Zheng had already retreated dozens of meters and looked at the three crimson giant pythons continuing to charge at him, showing no intention of attacking to resolve them.
Killing these three crimson giant pythons would actually cause more trouble.
Whoosh!
"Flight!" With a chant, Tang Zheng's body was covered in a layer of magic as he took to the air.
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