Chapter 107: Explosive Kill!
Jiang Zhe stared at his outstretched hands, then suddenly clenched them into fists.
Boom!
A smoky black force field erupted around him, then abruptly collapsed inward, condensing into a layer of black light over his skin and bones—like donning a suit of dark armor.
"'Black Crystal Ninefold Body Refinement,' second level perfected!
D9-level defense, with terrifying all-around augmentation… I hope you can surprise me."
He sharply raised his head toward the door. Hayden, who had rushed over to report, had already arrived.
Sensing the frightening aura in the guest room that made his scalp tingle, Hayden gulped.
He tried to speak, but his vocal cords trembled so much that no sound came out. His mind power and elemental force refused to obey him, completely unresponsive.
How could there be a hero-level powerhouse so terrifying in this world?
A calm, confident voice drifted from the room, the oppressive aura instantly turning into a gentle spring breeze that freed Hayden from his paralysis.
All the words of warning that had been swirling in Hayden's heart melted into a simple response:
"Yes, my lord, please follow me."
The City Lord's Mansion, backyard training ground
Two half-brothers, each with their own schemes, exchanged false smiles before quickly getting down to business, heading to the backyard practice field.
Leo toyed with the family heirloom in his hand, a grin creeping across his face. Soon, he'd be able to trample on his despised third brother.
Moments later, Hayden led Jiang Zhe onto the training ground. Two waves of mental power rudely swept across Jiang Zhe.
He frowned in displeasure but didn't immediately strike back.
Then a loud mocking laugh echoed from the center of the training ground, loud enough to be heard across the entire city lord's mansion.
"Hahaha! My dear third brother, the great city lord of Tianwu City. So this is the elite warrior you claimed could bring glory to the Kael family? Just a mere hero-level? Did he pay you handsomely because he couldn't achieve thirty consecutive victories, hoping to buy a spot in the Sacred City's grand festival?"
"Tell me, dear brother, where does that leave the honor of the Ancient Gods?"
"You—"
"Enough. Shut your mouth!"
Leo barely got a word out before Coren's cold shout cut him off, releasing the mighty aura of a sixth-rank Sanctuary level expert.
The tiny trace of spatial law he'd 'comprehended' recently, combined with his earth domain, pressed on Leo and Dalo so hard it was nearly suffocating.
"Spatial law? How is that possible?!"
Leo was only Sanctuary rank two, Dalo Sanctuary rank four—already inferior to Coren. Now, with Coren's grasp of spatial law, they were completely outmatched.
Dalo, an old retainer who once had ties with Leo's mother, stepped forward with a bitter face to maintain appearances.
"Third master, please calm your anger! For the sake of shared blood, forgive the young master's rash words. You know how it is—his mother died young, and growing up spoiled in the royal city made him reckless…"
"Enough. You shut up too!"
Coren waved dismissively, impatient.
"Do whatever you came here to do. I'd love to see what little tricks you try."
Dalo glanced at Leo, seeing only fear and panic. Clearly, Leo just wanted to flee the mansion.
Grinding his teeth, Dalo straightened his hunched frame to put on a brave front.
"Third master, we're here by the head family's order—to deliver the family heirloom, and also to test this advisor you've recruited. We can't have the Kael family shamed at the millennial grand festival… forgive us, we have no choice."
Coren snorted, still cold.
"Hmph. He's right there. Go ahead."
"Rest assured, third master, I'll be gentle."
Dalo bowed low, then turned to Jiang Zhe, whose lineage he recognized from his features. Seeing he was from the lesser War God branch, Dalo's eyes grew even more contemptuous.
"Boy from the War God clan, I'll keep my mind power at the peak hero level. If you can last five minutes, you'll be deemed qualified."
Jiang Zhe didn't bother replying, staring at Dalo with utter disrespect, waiting for him to make the first move.
"Arrogant whelp from the wastelands—I'll teach you a lesson!"
Dalo suppressed his mind power, sending a wooden spike flying from behind him toward Jiang Zhe. But his psychic pressure flooded ahead like mercury, slamming into Jiang Zhe's mind.
The formless mental pressure poured into Jiang Zhe's sea of consciousness, only to vanish against the immovable four-tiered pagoda guarding it.
"Impossible! A soul defense this strong—how could he be hero level?!"
Panicked, Dalo ramped up his power. The wooden spike pierced through Jiang Zhe's figure—
yet no blood sprayed out.
"Haha—huh?!"
His laugh died abruptly. Jiang Zhe's form shattered into nothing.
"When did he move? Where is he?!"
Frantically, he spread his psychic sense in all directions.
In the next instant, Dalo's eyes went wide, twisting to his right.
"How is that possible—?"
A massive black iron fist, big as a basin, filled his vision.
Behind Dalo, the two descendants of realm lords had clearly seen Jiang Zhe's terrifying speed: leaving only an afterimage behind, he reappeared beside Dalo almost instantly—like a ghost.
Jiang Zhe's mastery of dual high-order laws didn't just produce flashy clones. His burst speed was monstrous, rivaling even a realm lord.
Smelling death, Dalo unleashed his full power. Over a dozen wooden spikes shot toward Jiang Zhe. Surely that thin energy armor couldn't withstand his might?
But Jiang Zhe roared:
"Die!"
The shout boomed like thunder right in Dalo's ears, smashing into his mind. Blood sprayed from Dalo's orifices. His retreat faltered, and the mental force on the spikes disintegrated.
The wooden spikes clattered harmlessly against Jiang Zhe's armor, unable to break through.
Boom!
Instead, Dalo's head burst like a watermelon under Jiang Zhe's massive fist.
Dead?
Just like that?
Not quite—at the domain level, the heart or head were no longer fatal. They had a special organ: the life core, granting a kind of pseudo-immortality.
"Young master, run! He's likely an outsider demon!"
That was Dalo's final telepathic plea before Jiang Zhe's claw ripped into his chest, crushing the fleeing life core.
Earlier, the psychic attack had precisely pinpointed its location.
The headless corpse collapsed, blood gushing from neck and chest, utterly lifeless.
"Dalo!"
Leo snapped out of his shock, crying out in horror.
"A hero killing a sanctuary-level? The War God clan in the wastelands could never produce such a monster—during the grand festival no less. You must be an outsider demon!"
He soared into the air, shouting to the whole city:
"There's an outsider demon here! The Tianwu city lord is colluding with outsider demons. All children of the Ancient Gods, rise up and kill them!"
Sound waves rippled outward, only to crash into a barrier—Coren had long prepared a mental force dome over the practice field. Not a whisper escaped.
Ninefold Fist!
Jiang Zhe burst forward again, leaving eight afterimages behind him. The ninth form—his real body—appeared behind Leo.
One punch shattered Leo's head. His other hand rammed through Leo's back, gripping the life core.
"Don't move. Move and you die," Jiang Zhe warned.
Faced with death, Leo chose survival over dignity. Jiang Zhe dragged him back to kneel on the training ground.
Ignoring Leo for the moment, Jiang Zhe felt the surge of essence fragments from killing and defeating two domain lords. His next jump toward 10x genetic level was close.
Coren returned from the underground vault, offering up the Primal Umbrella.
Jiang Zhe took it, then used his "Enlightener" ability to forcibly baptize Leo's mind.
Of course, there was a downside.
Leo's soul was damaged, his intelligence dropping to roughly that of a 12-year-old.
Watching streams of essence pour from Coren, Leo, and two others into the crimson banner at his brow, Jiang Zhe mused.
"Those who've been subdued keep producing a trickle of essence…
So that's what 'Conqueror' means by essence dropping after conquering both 'body' and 'mind'—I see. This will accelerate my genetic evolution again."
He smirked.
"Essence is like the incense power or divine faith from Buddhism and Shinto…"
Essence was the fuel.
The "Life Blueprint" secret art burned that fuel to nourish and elevate his genetic level.