This wasnât arrogance.
Between his buffs, bloodline, elemental spirits, and the countless body-enhancing potions heâd consumed, Ye Zhongmingâs physical stats bordered on transcendent.
His Clear Bodyâa passive from the Thousand Blade Saintâboosted defense and recovery. Celestial Body, a rare constitution, enhanced nearly every attribute.
Wielding the purple-grade Undead Sand Moon Blade, tempered by the Weapon Nurturing skill, Ye Zhongming could clash with anyone.
Tong Lu clearly hadnât expected this response.
The fusion abilityâSoul Bondâwas the God Hallâs crowning achievement. In the face of Cloud Peakâs famed gene warriors, the God Hall believed this technology represented humanityâs pinnacle.
It was a symbiotic enhancement for both evolved and beast, built on advanced gene-editing and cross-species compatibilityâfar superior, in their eyes, to Cloud Peakâs crude modifications.
The transformation was jarring. Most opponents, unfamiliar with it, would retreat. Tong Lu assumed Ye Zhongming would do the same.
But Tong Lu wasnât afraid either. Heâd long despised the so-called King of Cloud Peak, thirsting for revenge since Cloud Peakâs raid on God Hallâs outpost.
Weaponless, Tong Lu sprang forward, his body arching to let the Nether Tiger take the lead.
Behind him, a spectral projection of the tiger emergedâonly its head replaced by Tong Luâs own.
The grotesque apparition lasted an instant before detaching and hurtling toward Ye Zhongmingâs blade light.
The collision produced no deafening crash, no blood sprayâjust a space distortion as energies clashed.
The blade light hesitated, then sheared through the tigerâs shadow.
Tong Lu screeched, his and the Nether Tigerâs claws slashing to intercept the remaining energy.
This wasnât a simple swipeâit was a skill. Their claws gleamed, leaving afterimages in the air.
Thud.
The half-man, half-tiger hybrid crashed to the ground, rolling once before regaining footing.
Shallow wounds marred Tong Luâs head and chest, the Nether Tigerâs forehead similarly split. Blood seeped.
Tong Luâs right hand was unscathed, but his left claws had been sheared off. The Nether Tiger fared worseâboth forepaws were half-severed, leaving it whimpering in agony.
A single strike had crippled the God Hallâs elite duo.
Ye Zhongming stepped forwardâonly to sidestep abruptly as a bolt of cold light grazed his previous position.
A glance uphill revealed Vice-Chairman Yang, now wielding an ornate crossbow.
The Soul Merchantâs deputy had arrived.
He knew letting Ye Zhongming kill Tong Lu would mean losing his trail for good.
Now, Vice-Chairman Yang fought desperatelyâshooting bolts while charging downhill, simultaneously hurling objects from his spatial storage.
White spheres, resembling golf balls, bounced erratically in his wake. With each bounce, they expanded. By the time Yang reached the battlefield, theyâd grown to over 1.5 meters in diameter.
Ye Zhongming had tried to finish Tong Lu, but the man proved slippery. Even under gravity field suppression, a surprise skill and defensive equipment barely kept him alive until reinforcements arrived.
The entire exchange had lasted mere seconds. Dodging bolts while launching two attacks was already impressive from Ye Zhongming.
On reaching the fray, Vice-Chairman Yang roared. His skin turned corpse-blue, a stench of rot filling the air as he transformed into a fanged revenantâhis Stiff Corpse job.
With a wave, two thick green mist streams enveloped himâCorpse Toxin Armor, a passive defense skill.
Against Ye Zhongming, survival took priority over victory.
The enlarged spheres now burst, releasing clusters of floating eyeballsâfive per sphere, dozens in total. These eyes instantly covered the area around.
The eyes swiveled, locking onto Ye Zhongming before firing pale beams. Despite his speed, several connected.
The beams carried no damage, only a potent slowing effectâone even Ye Zhongming couldnât resist.
Seizing the chance, Vice-Chairman Yang regrouped with Tong LĂŒ.
"Can you fight?"
"Have to. Four minutes left till the deadline."
Their exchange was frantic, interspersed with ranged attacks against the slowed Ye Zhongming.
From Tong Luâs arrival to now, barely a minute had passed. His defeat came too swiftlyâwithout Yangâs intervention, heâd be dead.
The God Hall warrior, once dismissive of Ye Zhongmingâs reputation, now understood the insurmountable gap.
But... how could they last four minutes against such overwhelming odds?
"Use everything. If we canât hold, we retreatâregardless of the timer."
Vice-Chairman Yang refused to believe failure would cost their lives.
Tong Lu nodded. Ye Zhongming, though slowed, had begun systematically destroying the eyeballsâone strike each. In the seconds theyâd spoken, half were already gone.
Tong Lu produced a jade bowl from his space storage, his expression pained, before he hurled it forward.
The bowl inverted midair, descending toward Ye Zhongming as golden light erupted from its surface.
A gold-grade equipment.
Not to be outdone, Vice-Chairman Yangâs abdomen convulsed violently. His jaw distended grotesquely as he vomitedâeach heave birthing a 50-centimeter-tall green zombie.
To stall Ye Zhongming, both elites had gone all out.