Chapter 996 - 328: Past and Present

"Wheeze, wheeze..."

The sound of labored breathing, like a bellows, came from Qin Tian’s mouth. He looked at the grave-faced Ancient Demon ahead and sensed the somber expressions of Arthur, Wang Fucai, and Yang Hong behind him. Bitterness welled up in Qin Tian’s heart.

Qin Tian vowed, for the first time, the first time he had the illusion "Why am I so inept."

Relying on his identity as Sequence Number 4 and the Profound Sword Technique, a powerful Esoteric Level skill, Qin Tian had always been invincible. His stellar performance in the Sequence Member-Ranking Battle was renowned, and even in the Sea King Control plan, though Lin Haifeng schemed against him, it showed how much Lin Haifeng valued Qin Tian’s strength.

Here stands a powerful expert...

At least that’s what Qin Tian believed.

However, the long period of peace evidently gave Qin Tian a misconception—the world was changing too fast. Wishing for peaceful happiness? Sorry, but for the former Sequence Number 4, this strength still isn’t enough.

He hadn’t broken through the limit...

Then he encountered a Limit Breakthrough Level Ancient Demon spawn...

Two sentences suffice to describe Qin Tian’s pathetic state at this moment.

As captain of the Elite Assault Squad, Qin Tian had some estimation of the difficulty of this battle. However, on the battlefield, he realized how different the world was compared to when he used to reign supreme!

Qin Tian, at Peak Level 6, along with three Level 6 Peak teammates, stood helpless against a Limit Breakthrough Level Ancient Demon. Their physique points were at least four times inferior, rendering the attacks of the three quite useless. Were it not for Qin Tian using the Profound Sword Technique cultivated over several months to cleave away the enemy’s defense skills, the battle would have ended long ago.

Luckily, that powerful strike gave Qin Tian’s squad a moment of respite.

...

Arthur, who was primarily responsible for defense, was covered in blood; his once full Knight Armor was now tattered. The more outmatched Wang Fucai and Yang Hong suffered worse. Wang Fucai had lost an arm, currently gulping a healing potion, trying to quickly restore combat capability, while Yang Hong simply leaned against his summoned Earth Puppet, head tilted uncertainly if alive...

"Is there more? That level of attack just now."

A loud voice came through. The Ancient Demon, caressing the fierce wound nearly split in half, asked gravely.

"Wheeze... you guess..."

Qin Tian tried to steady his breathing, alleviating physical fatigue, while wielding the bone sword, alert to any imminent attack from ahead.

The Ancient Demon remained silent, narrowing its eyes, sizing up the Elite squad before it.

The strength of the other three was insignificant and didn’t warrant a mention in the Ancient Demon’s eyes. However, that recently dominating, extraordinary sword strike snapped the Ancient Demon out of its thrilling state of an impending quartet kill.

That formidable strike not only caused a grisly scar but also shattered its SSS-Class defense skills, consuming one of its single-use substitute skills.

"Describing that sword as a near-death strike is quite apt."

Watching the opposing four-man squad’s imminent recovery, and as its own wounds slowly healed, the Ancient Demon gently twisted its neck, faint gleam emanating from the four arms.

"Whether the foes have that level of attack... only one way to find out!"

...

Explosive attacks arrived swiftly, and the Ancient Demon appeared before Qin Tian like a wisp of smoke. The whirling claws clawed, poked, and stabbed, with fierce wind howling, succinctly turning Qin Tian’s surroundings into a realm of doom.

Upon witnessing, Arthur who’d healed instantly rose, brandishing his great sword in attempts to join the fray but was kicked aside by an unexpectedly emerging foot, and Wang Fucai also realized the current combat was far beyond his ability to participate. He swiftly cradled Yang Hong and crawled out of the battle zone.

However, the battle ended sooner than anyone imagined...

Just as Arthur was climbing out of the pit he made himself, and Wang Fucai ran out of claw wind range, everything calmed down.

Qin Tian spit blood, full of scratches as the Ancient Demon clasped him in its grip, gasping for air exhaustedly and painfully. Behind him, the Ancient Demon grasped Qin Tian’s hair, wearing a malicious grin as it stared at its prey in its palm.

"Turns out there’s no ability of that sort, wasted so much time on you weaklings, truly a waste of emotion..."

Finished, the Ancient Demon extended its scarlet tongue, lightly licking its lips. Seeing the nearby three humans looking perplexed, it immediately applied force, prepared to crush Qin Tian’s head.

"Qin Tian!"

"Don’t!"

"Woof woof woof..."

Arthur’s and Wang Fucai’s desperate cries mixed with the Ancient Demon’s smug laughter, yet amidst the chaos, a strange sound went unnoticed.

"Boom!!"

A loud explosion.

From afar, Arthur could only see a tiny gray shadow suddenly pounce at the Ancient Demon and Qin Tian’s location, followed by a violent explosion and a piercing wail.

Amidst the dispersing smoke, a figure, like a ragdoll, flew out, landing directly at Arthur’s feet.

"Cough cough, potion..."

A weak but familiar voice reached his ears, the sudden change leaving Arthur at a loss momentarily. However, seeing Qin Tian grievously injured within reach, Arthur could not ponder the bizarre event but promptly aided Qin Tian, treating his wounds.

"What happened?"

Upon hearing Arthur’s question, Qin Tian coughed up two mouthfuls of clotted blood, smiling bitterly and shaking his head: "I don’t know either..."

Saying this, Qin Tian barely managed his critical wounds, raising his head towards the dust-filled area.

At last, a familiar voice was heard.

"Woof woof woof."

"Hey guys, it’s been a while."

First came the urgent barking, then fluent Mandarin switched, from the dust slowly emerged a near twenty-meter tall terrifying silhouette. Looking towards the familiar outline and then at the Cyclops whose jaws twitched with two large legs, shock and amazement surged in Qin Tian’s gaze, eventually only becoming silent.

Whether before or now, that big dog was Wen Yu’s little follower. Yet before, Qin Tian could stand alongside Wen Yu in battle, with the Profound Sword Technique being unstoppable!

But now, the fearsome Demon Fiend that almost annihilated their team became food for the Cyclops within a mere few seconds!

"So the gap has widened this much..."

In a daze, Qin Tian felt he’d missed out on so much yet now wasn’t the time for Qin Tian to contemplate life.

Cyclops chewed the food, lamenting the rich energy inside granting it a few more physique points, then looked at the disheveled acquaintances not far off.

After a while, a not quite comforting comfort sounded.

"You’ve truly had a hard time..."