Chapter 140 - Last Round Begins.
Cale raised Noxis, holding its hilt with both hands instead of one.
The impact would be heavier now, far more than before. The weight of the blade with three compressed domains and his sword intent all channeled through it would require both hands to wield it.
At one point, he’d been pleased about a skill where every connecting sword attack would increase the damage by one percent.
But given how their exchanges never continued for more than four or five hits before one of them retreated or adapted, the technique felt practically useless now.
’So... let’s first use Separator.’
He focused his consciousness inward, gathering his power. Then he unleashed his domain, but not in the normal way. Instead, he made it as small as possible. A domain that would only fit one person- Him.
The domain kept shrinking, slowly contracting like a cocoon. It formed another layer directly above the intent coating of Noxis itself, creating a nested structure of compressed domains that shouldn’t theoretically be possible.
’Good... now, for maintaining this.’
He added his second domain, then his third. Three complete domains compressed into a single blade, layered and interlocking.
It was done in five seconds.
"Heh... it wasn’t that hard. So I could do it, but had never imagined it," Cale said.
Wang Yunfeng’s eyes widened, his instincts screaming that something had changed in the battle’s dynamics.
"What did you do?" h questioned, voice filled with alarm.
"Me?" Cale asked, pointing at himself casually. "Oh, just some random enlightenment."
But internally, Cale’s attention shifted.
’This old man is also weaving some signs I can’t figure out. Is he... summoning something?... I also have a trump card of myself, but it will take time to arrive.’
The odachi had become significantly heavier now, too heavy to use with the swift, flowing movements he’d maintained before.
With three domains crashing through it simultaneously, mixed with his sword intent, normal weapons would have shattered into fragments under such pressure. Only Noxis, a Primordial blade — could withstand the strain.
Cale leaped toward Wang Yunfeng, using Three Steps to appear directly in front of him.
SLASH!
The blade descended, cutting through his defenses, through his armor, right into his chest. Blood spurted out in a crimson arc.
"Hahah! How do you like that?" Cale laughed, his voice bordering on manic as he continued his charge.
But the charge proved futile almost immediately.
He retreated, reassessing.
’He couldn’t guess what I did, huh? Well, I doubt it was something easy to imagine.’
As Cale charged again, Wang Yunfeng ran with surprising speed, desperately attempting to create distance and recover from his wounds.
Cale pursued relentlessly, his nose bleeding but he ignored it.
Wang Yunfeng’s mind was fracturing under the pressure of defeat.
’Should... should I use my life force?! But that man named Liushen said he would assist me in time. Where the hell is he? Did he run away? I wove the signs as he said, to summon a giant’s jiangshi... will it appear? I killed three of my own men to gather blood as sacrifice to the blood emperor! If it doesn’t appear...’
He turned to face Cale quickly, bringing both forearms up in front of his body in a desperate defensive posture. He took the brunt of tens of slashes on his forearms, the compressed domains tearing through his skin and muscle, blood erupting from deep lacerations that ran bone-deep.
As he fled backward, Cale threw Noxis at him and ran directly behind the projectile blade, constantly shifting direction to close the distance.
He punched toward Yunfeng’s core, but the Vice Patriarch managed to block with his palm.
Their hands connected, and for a moment, it seemed like a stalemate. But Wang Yunfeng smiled. He grabbed Cale’s arm and spun, using his momentum against him, throwing him several meters away.
"Argh!" Cale groaned as he crashed to the ground.
As Wang Yunfeng tried to reactivate his domain, Cale used an air slash to disrupt him — only to realize too late that Wang Yunfeng was bluffing.
A huge hand erupted from behind, grabbing Cale’s ankle with crushing force.
"W-what? Is this a golem?!" he shouted, his eyes widening in shock.
Before him stood a two-meter-tall man with brown skin and lifeless grey eyes—a jiangshi. An undead guardian, animated by blood sacrifice and dark cultivation methods.
It slammed Cale onto the ground with crushing force, his face hitting dirt hard enough to knock breath from his lungs.
"Hahaha! Liushen, you’ve helped me! I shall definitely repay you in the future!" Wang Yunfeng shouted, retreating behind the jiangshi’s massive frame for protection.
Cale struggled to his feet, his mind thinking even as pain radiated through his body.
’It’s either him controlling it or that bastard Liushen. Truly, I should’ve killed all four of those fuckers that day,’ he thought grimly, pushing himself upright despite his injuries.
’Sigh... this will give him time to recover. Who knows what he will do next? Does he have more summons? No — it’s Liushen who gave him summons. He only brought them here through summoning. So there will definitely be more.’
He prepared himself, staring at both figures ahead.
Wang Yunfeng’s voice echoed across the devastated landscape, his pride wounded along with his body.
"I will carve you to pieces! Making me lose two of our Divine Artifacts — how can I show my face to the clan leader!"
Cale smirked, his own expression equally feral.
"You think that bullshit works on me!"
He appeared right behind the jiangshi in an instant, his fist driving toward Wang Yunfeng’s face with lethal intent. He needed to separate them or at least attempt to take control of the jiangshi with his own divine consciousness.
But given the soul damage he’d accumulated, that would definitely take considerable time and energy he didn’t have.
Instead, he grabbed Yunfeng’s neck and jumped to the nearest building’s top, slamming him violently onto the topmost floor. Cale didn’t stop there; .he continued downward, dragging Wang Yunfeng through multiple levels, each floor cracking and crumbling under the impact, until he reached the ground and threw him aside with contemptuous force.
"You!" Wang Yunfeng roared, his pride completely shattered. He grabbed a chair and slammed it at Cale’s back.
Cale quickly retreated, creating distance. Both combatants stared at each other across the ruins of their battleground, each one more bloodied than the other, their bodies bearing the scars of warfare.
The jiangshi stood motionless behind Wang Yunfeng.
"Tch, annoying old fuck, just die," Cale spat.
Both knew what was coming.
This was the last round now.