Chapter 123: On the Warship (Part-22)

At first, it was only at the level of a three-star Upper Exalt.

Then it surged to four stars, five stars, six stars… rising step by step, unstoppable, until it reached the threshold of a Lord rank expert.

And even then, it did not stop. With every passing breath, it continued to swell, as if it intended to surpass that boundary altogether.

In the sky, vast and unknown energies converged like a raging vortex, pouring endlessly toward that young warrior. Ryan stood at the center of it all, his figure small, yet carrying a presence that seemed to eclipse the heavens themselves.

Du Penghui’s heart trembled.

What… is this?

What is that young warrior doing?

What kind of martial art requires such terrifying power?

Even as a Lord rank expert, Du Penghui felt genuine fear rising in his chest.

Fear of death.

A voice inside him screamed incessantly: stop him. You must stop him now. If you allow that young warrior to complete whatever he is preparing, you will die.

At last, Du Penghui could no longer endure it. His eyes flashed with madness as he blasted Elder Lu back with a violent strike. Ignoring him completely, he turned and flew straight toward Ryan.

The source of this threat was Ryan.

Then Ryan must die first.

“Humph! You won’t get past me!”

Elder Lu immediately understood Du Penghui’s intention. His figure flashed, forcibly blocking Du Penghui’s path once more and placing himself squarely in front of him.

At the same time, Elder Lu glanced toward Ryan. Feeling that overwhelming pressure himself, excitement flickered across his eyes.

“So it’s begun,” he muttered. “Is this your proof? Your killing move? Good… very good.”

“Get out of my way!”

Du Penghui roared in irritation and hurled a punch straight at Elder Lu’s face.

“You tell me to move, and I should?” Elder Lu sneered. He tilted his body aside and countered with a punch of his own, meeting Du Penghui head-on.

The two clashed again, fists colliding again and again, shockwaves rippling through the sky.

For a brief moment, Du Penghui was truly held back.

But his impatience grew by the second.

Anyone could see that Ryan was brewing something terrifying. Once it was unleashed, it could very well threaten a Lord rank expert’s life. Du Penghui desperately wanted to break free and kill Ryan before that moment arrived.

Yet Elder Lu stubbornly stood in his way, forcing him to fight.

“You forced my hand!”

Finally, Du Penghui’s eyes turned vicious. Gritting his teeth, he unleashed the martial art he had sworn not to use again so soon.

“Sky Devouring Storm!”

Black energy exploded from his outstretched palm. He clasped both hands together, forcibly compressing that violent power into a dense, ominous black sphere.

Crackles of lightning danced across its surface, giving off an eerie and terrifying aura.

Just sensing it made one’s soul shiver.

This was the same move that had nearly killed Elder Lu before.

Du Penghui hurled the black sphere straight toward Elder Lu, then immediately prepared to rush past him.

Under normal circumstances, using this technique twice in such a short span would severely damage his foundation and affect his future cultivation. But at this moment, Du Penghui no longer cared.

Compared to death, what did damaged foundations matter?

If he did not act now, he might not even have a future to worry about.

Seeing that black sphere once more, Elder Lu’s pupils shrank violently.

He still remembered that attack clearly. That single strike had almost sent him straight to the underworld. How could he not fear it now?

For an instant, his body reacted on instinct, taking a step back, trying to escape the sphere’s range.

But he stopped himself.

Behind him was Ryan.

If he retreated, that black sphere would strike Ryan directly, killing him without question. Everything they had planned would collapse in an instant.

And if Ryan died, everyone here would likely die with him.

Elder Lu forced himself to stand firm, suppressing the fear clawing at his heart.

He could not retreat.

Even if he was afraid, he would not retreat.

Looking at the terrifying black sphere rushing toward him, Elder Lu’s expression turned resolute.

Fight.

He would fight to the end.

“Li Wei,” he shouted inwardly, “I hope your martial art truly can kill that golden-masked Lord rank expert.”

With that thought, Elder Lu surged forward, meeting the black sphere head-on. He poured out everything he had left and unleashed his strongest remaining technique.

“Fang Tian Nine Seals!”

A square, radiant seal formed in his hands, pure white and flawless, inscribed with intricate and ancient patterns. At its base, four grand characters shone brightly, reading “Nine Heavens, Nine Domains.”

As Elder Lu thrust the seal forward, those characters ignited with golden light, radiating sacred brilliance.

The moment he released it, Elder Lu spat out a mouthful of blood. His aura instantly weakened, his body trembling as his old injuries flared violently. This strike had completely overdrawn him.

Yet he did not care.

Whether he lived or died no longer mattered.

In the sky, sacred white light and sinister black energy collided.

Two utterly different forces met in a single, fateful instant, and a thunderous explosion tore through the sky.

The shockwave rolled outward like a collapsing heaven, layers of violent force overlapping and surging in every direction. Light clashed with darkness, righteousness collided with evil. Either force alone was enough to devastate the battlefield, yet when they met, the result was catastrophic.

But in the end, darkness prevailed.

Elder Lu’s Fang Tian Nine Seals slammed into Du Penghui’s black sphere and held on for only a brief moment. After just a few heartbeats, cracks spread across the radiant seal, and it shattered completely.

“Puff!”

Elder Lu spat out a massive mouthful of blood. His body, scorched black and riddled with wounds, was blasted backward and sent plummeting through the sky for the second time. Blood scattered through the air like rain, falling endlessly.

Before losing consciousness, he forced his eyes open and looked once more in Ryan’s direction. A faint, satisfied smile tugged at the corner of his lips.

“I’ve done… what I could…”

“Humph. Blocking my path when you know death awaits you. Truly ignorant.”

Du Penghui snorted coldly as he dismissed the fallen Elder Lu. The nuisance was finally dealt with. Turning his head, he prepared to rush toward Ryan and interrupt whatever terrifying technique the young man was preparing.

Then—

A golden light erupted.

The sky itself seemed to ignite.

Ryan stood at the center of that radiance.

Although the exchange between Du Penghui and Elder Lu had felt long and intense, for beings at the Lord rank expert level, everything had happened within mere seconds. Those few seconds, however, were more than enough.

Because during those seconds, Ryan had completed the full ten-second accumulation.

At the instant Elder Lu was blasted away, Ryan’s preparation ended.

Golden light burst from his body, dazzling and overwhelming. A terrifying pressure descended upon the battlefield as a true Heaven-ranked martial art awakened.

“Blazing Dance of Flames!”

Ryan shouted, his voice shaking the sky.

Maintaining the posture of drawing his sword, his body flickered and vanished, transforming into a streak of golden radiance. In less than a blink, he appeared directly in front of Du Penghui.

Too fast.

Too sudden.

Like teleportation.

At that moment, Ryan’s heart burned with fury.

During those ten seconds of immobility, he had seen everything. He saw Elder Lu force himself beyond his limits. He saw him face certain death without retreating. He saw that decisive resolve, knowing full well that he could not win, yet still stepping forward to protect others.

Elder Lu was a good man.

A responsible man.

A man willing to give everything.

And now, that man lay gravely injured, his life hanging by a thread.

Ryan’s killing intent exploded.

“Die.”

The afterimage sword was drawn in a flash, and Ryan slashed downward.

Du Penghui’s pupils shrank violently.

At this instant, Ryan looked like a golden war god descended from the heavens, his killing intent sharper than any blade. That overwhelming presence, that chilling murderous aura, was more terrifying than the judgment of the underworld itself.

Fear surged through Du Penghui’s heart, but instinct drove him to resist.

Too late.

Boom!

The first slash landed.

Flames erupted instantly, and the sword light crossed Du Penghui’s body in a blink, followed by a violent explosion. Blood sprayed into the air as flesh and bone were torn apart.

Thanks only to the terrifying defense and vitality of a Lord rank expert, Du Penghui did not die on the spot. The wound burned black as flames devoured it, leaving behind a smoking crater.

One slash was not enough.

Ryan did not stop.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep