Boom!
A flaming arrow carrying formidable law power locked directly onto Little White.
The terrifying pressure—like the heavens collapsing—was enough that any other Saint-level being would likely have been scared out of their wits.
But Little White had experienced scenes like this countless times over the years. Its nerves had long been tempered to the point where even blades at its throat wouldn't make it flinch.
Of course, the source of that confidence was the person sitting calmly on its back.
Facing the incoming attack, Locke—still seated cross-legged atop Little White—casually swept his hand forward. Instantly, a curtain of water unfurled in front of him.
Over the past few years, Locke's Water Body Law Profound Mystery had already fused more than halfway with two other mysteries.
Although the Essence of Water itself had yet to find a point of convergence with Ice Edge and Illusionary Fog, it had successfully fused with Water Body, becoming—after Ice Edge and Illusionary fog—another pair of Law Profound Mysteries on the verge of complete fusion.
However, because fully comprehending a Law Profound Mystery would cause one's affinity with other laws to drop by dozens of times, Locke had stopped deliberately advancing either the Essence of Water or Water Body after pushing them to the Saint peak.
Even though the fusion of Water Element and Water Body was close to completion, Locke had temporarily set it aside.
After all, he was already a god who had completely fused two Law Profound Mysteries. Adding yet another completed fusion of two mysteries would offer only limited improvement to his overall strength.
Unless Water Body fully fused with the other two mysteries and brought about a tenfold increase in power, Locke had no intention of taking that step.
Otherwise, his strength wouldn't increase significantly, while comprehending further Law Profound Mysteries would become even more difficult—simply not worth the cost.
Countless gods had exhausted their potential this way, leaving themselves with nothing but millions of years of regret.
That said, even though the fusion between Essence of Water and Water Body still lacked the final sliver of completion, the power it could display was already far beyond what ordinary gods could manage.
A mere ten-percent fusion of two Law Profound Mysteries was enough to form a divine realm, with might no weaker than a demigod who had completely comprehended a single Law Profound Mystery—and often superior in application.
Complete fusion of two Law Profound Mysteries allowed a god to possess strength comparable to a Highgod.
Even two mysteries that were just one step short of full fusion could unleash at least twice the might of a single Law Profound Mystery.
Add to that the fact that Locke's divine power reserves were five times greater than those of ordinary gods, and this single defensive move alone was equivalent to at least seven times the defense of an average god.
Boom!
From the flaming arrow, Locke sensed no particularly frightening power—just the strength of a single Law Profound Mystery.
The arrow exploded violently, releasing tremendous destructive force that completely obliterated everything within several hundred meters.
The forest floor was scorched into molten lava by the intense flames, stones melting into crimson streams that flowed deeper into the earth, leaving behind long trails of charred black ground.
Yet when the flames finally dissipated, the water curtain Locke had formed didn't even ripple.
Clearly, in front of Locke's defense, the enemy's attack was utterly insignificant.
"Not good!"
With just that one exchange, the bandits realized they had run into a true monster.
With that level of defense, some people would've believed they had just attacked a Highgod!
After all, they were all gods themselves—they knew exactly what level their own strength was at.
Unfortunately for them, it was already too late to flee.
Divine power surged as the fused laws born from the Essence of Water and Water Body Law Profound Mysteries merged with the divine power in Locke's palm.
Then Locke struck forward with a single blow—
"Heaven-Piercing Palm Across a Thousand Miles!"
In an instant, countless water elements gathered above the bandits, condensing into a colossal palm that came crashing down upon their position.
Heaven-Piercing Palm Across a Thousand Mile was a technique Locke had developed after fusing the Essence of Water and Water Body Law Profound Mysteries.
Although Water Body leaned toward body refinement, in Locke's view, its greatest value lay in enabling an effect similar to other laws' techniques such as Earth Walk, Wind Walk, and Light Walk—abilities that allowed one to merge with the laws themselves for high-speed movement.
The difference was that Water Walk required an environment rich enough in water elements to function. As a result, among all elements, only the Water element lacked a separate "walk" mystery—its movement aspect was inherently integrated with Water Body.
After fusing with the Water Element, Locke could rapidly mobilize vast quantities of water elements within the range of his divine domain, instantly fulfilling the conditions for Water Walk and delivering his attack directly to the enemy's location.
Within his domain, he could also suppress his opponents, prevent escape and force them to take his attacks head-on.
"No—!"
"Senior, spare us—!"
As the surrounding space seemed to lock shut and a massive pressure descended from above, the five gods were slammed down from the air to the ground, barely able to remain standing.
Their faces were filled with terror.
Among bandit groups, five gods constituted a powerful force.
Unless they encountered a Highgod, even caravans guarded by three gods fell squarely within their hunting range.
To avoid exposing themselves, they had never established a fixed base or recruited Lowgods as subordinates to form a permanent bandit organization.
After every raid, they would immediately relocate, leaving no chance for the forces behind their victims to seek revenge.
Yet they never imagined that what seemed like an easy target—a god riding a Saint-level magical beast for leisure—would plunge them into such dire straits.
Boom!
The gigantic palm, over a hundred meters wide, slammed down, producing a muffled thunderous sound that echoed through the forest.
Yellow dust and green foliage were blasted into the air, soaring dozens of meters high.
From above, one could see an enormous palm print embedded in the ground, the forest floor forcibly pressed more than ten meters deep.
At the center of the palm print, the five severely injured gods were desperately burning through their stored divine power to heal themselves.
Unfortunately for them, this strike had been unleashed using two almost completely fused Law Profound Mysteries. Once struck, the law's aura had already been driven deep into their bodies by Locke.
(End of Chapter)
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