Chapter 488: Utter Domination

“Who exactly are you?”

Among the thirteen, a wizard wearing a monocle and cradling a metallic book in his hands spoke in a grave voice.

Data streams flashed rapidly across the lens of his monocle.

This was a high-grade detection witchcraft capable of analyzing a target’s energy composition, law affinity, and even soul strength.

But the more he analyzed, the uglier his expression became.

Because the results… were pure gibberish.

“gibberish.”

The soul strength was clearly only at peak fifth-ring, yet the external energy defenses were as complex as a labyrinth. His detection spell couldn’t even penetrate the outermost layer.

Even more terrifying…

“Be careful.”

The monocle wizard took a deep breath and spoke to his companions in a dry voice:

“This guy… the ‘energy level’ of that attack just now has already reached the standard of sixth-ring witchcraft.”

As soon as the words left his mouth, every wizard present changed color.

Though they had known Jie Ming’s earlier attack was outrageously powerful, they never expected this conclusion.

Sixth-ring?

A casual strike from a fifth-ring wizard reaching sixth-ring power?!

What a joke!

“Impossible!” A wizard clad in heavy armor and wielding a massive hammer growled. “There is an essential gap between fifth-ring and sixth-ring! Even if he has some burst secret art, it’s impossible to bridge such a vast rank difference…”

“But the facts are right in front of us.”

The monocle wizard cut him off, a faint, barely perceptible tremor in his voice:

“My ‘Eye of Truth’ does not err. That guy released two dark-golden beams in total. Whether in energy density, law completeness, or actual destructive power, both solidly reached sixth-ring standards.”

He paused, looking at Jie Ming with deep wariness:

“This guy… either has his true rank concealed, or he has mastered some forbidden technique beyond our understanding that can dramatically amplify witchcraft power.”

Either way, it spelled danger.

Extreme danger.

In an instant, all the wizards treated him as a mortal enemy.

Seeing Jie Ming still appear completely unguarded, they held nothing back and began unleashing their strongest defensive witchcraft.

A female wizard pressed her palms together. A transparent force field rose around her.

Inside the field, light began to twist, refract, and split into countless tiny kaleidoscopic prism structures.

Any light-based attack entering this field would be refracted infinitely until it dispersed into nothing.

Clearly, she had prepared this defense specifically against Jie Ming’s “dark-golden radiance.”

The others also displayed their own abilities:

Some summoned gigantic rock golems to stand before them; some laid layered curse traps beneath their feet; some entered a half-phased state, their bodies flickering constantly between material and energy form; some even began preparing large-scale spatial lockdown witchcraft to prevent Jie Ming from escaping.

…Though from the current situation, it seemed more like they were trying to stop Jie Ming from pursuing them.

Jie Ming watched them frantically set up defenses, his eyes still calm.

As though he hadn’t even noticed the forming protective spells, he spoke casually:

“During this period, the reconnaissance team loss rate and death rate in this region have been far higher than in any other area.”

“On average, of every ten teams sent out, seven go missing and three return heavily injured.”

“And every team that returned brought back intelligence pointing to the same phenomenon—ambushed by enemies ‘far exceeding normal numbers,’ with the enemy coordinating perfectly and employing insidious tactics.”

Jie Ming’s gaze slowly swept across the thirteen wizards around him, his voice even:

“It seems… this was all your doing.”

“Those two I just killed earlier were your ‘teammates’ as well, weren’t they?”

Among the thirteen, the wizard who had summoned three thirty-meter-tall obsidian rock giants gave a cold laugh:

“You guessed correctly.”

He then looked toward his companions:

“Don’t clash with him head-on! Stall him! Just hold out for three more minutes—no, two minutes! Our sixth-ring wizards will arrive by then!”

“When they do, no matter what trump cards he has, he’s dead without question!”

Hearing this, the other wizards’ spirits lifted.

That’s right!

They weren’t fighting alone!

This entire area was a “hunting zone” deliberately set up by the joint forces of the Chaos Secret Cult and Tower of Annihilation.

Besides these fifth-ring elites, at least three sixth-ring wizards were stationed in the rear, ready to provide support at any moment!

They only needed to stall this monster for two minutes!

Jie Ming, upon hearing this, actually smiled.

There was no tension in that smile—only an amused, almost playful interest, as though he had just heard something entertaining.

“Sixth-ring wizards are coming?”

He nodded, his tone as relaxed as if discussing what to eat for dinner:

“In that case, it looks like I need to deal with all of you quickly.”

“So as not to… waste time.”

As the last word fell, Jie Ming raised his right hand.

His index finger extended. At the fingertip, a speck of dark-golden light began to gather once more.

“Stop him!!!”

The monocle wizard roared hoarsely.

Almost simultaneously, all thirteen wizards launched their attacks.

“Earth Prison!!!”

The rock-giant summoner slammed both palms to the ground. The lava surface beneath Jie Ming exploded. Countless thick rock tentacles burst from the earth, wrapping toward his legs like pythons.

“Elemental Cataclysm!!!”

Another wizard raised his staff high. The elements in the sky went berserk. Fireballs, ice spears, lightning serpents, wind blades… tens of thousands of chaotic elemental attacks rained down on Jie Ming like a storm.

“Mind Shriek!”

A Chaos Secret Cult wizard opened his mouth and unleashed a silent, soul-level mental assault.

“Curse Rain!!!”

Finally, a female wizard formed hand seals. From the sky fell black “raindrops” exuding thick, ominous aura.

Each drop contained vicious curses capable of corroding flesh, polluting souls, and weakening energy.

The combined assault of thirteen fifth-ring wizards surpassed—even in sheer momentum—the full-power outburst of the earlier Chaos Secret Cult and Tower of Annihilation pair.

The entire area was completely drowned in violent energy turbulence.

Yet.

At the very center of this storm of destruction,

Jie Ming didn’t even lift an eyelid.

The dark-golden light at his fingertip had already condensed to the size of a soybean.

Then he casually swept his finger in an arc.

The dark-golden radiance spread outward in a fan shape from his fingertip.

Wherever it passed—

The rock tentacles melted like ice under sunlight.

The elemental attacks annihilated into fundamental particles the instant they touched the light.

The mental assault was directly erased by the power contained within the radiance.

The curse rain didn’t even enter the light’s range before evaporating into black smoke midair and dissipating completely.

With just one “sweep,”

The thirteen wizards’ combined assault vanished like smoke.

And the afterglow of the dark-golden light conveniently “brushed” across the three obsidian rock giants that had just charged forward.

Puff. Puff. Puff.

Three soft sounds.

The thirty-meter giants collapsed like sand sculptures, crumbling into lifeless rubble across the ground.

The entire field fell deathly silent.

All the wizards stared dumbfounded at the scene.

They had known Jie Ming was strong.

But this level of strength…

Already exceeded their understanding of what a “normal” wizard could achieve!

“He has a weakness in that move!”

The monocle wizard suddenly shouted sharply.

His “Eye of Truth” had been running at full power earlier and had captured every detail of Jie Ming releasing the dark-golden light.

“There is approximately 0.1 seconds of charging time before the attack! Though very short, for fifth-ring reaction speeds, that interval is enough to respond!”

“This is our only chance—seize that 0.1-second charging window!”

The message transmitted rapidly via mental power made the wizards’ eyes light up.

“Charge!”

A wizard clad in skin-tight leather armor and wielding dual short blades moved first.

This wizard was a rare specialist in “close-combat techniques.”

The instant Jie Ming finished releasing the dark-golden light, the wizard’s body vanished.

He stomped the ground violently. His flesh tore through the air, producing a deafening sonic boom cloud.

The ground beneath his feet shattered into a several-meter-wide crater. In a blink, he crossed hundreds of meters and appeared behind Jie Ming.

His blades crossed, slashing toward Jie Ming’s neck.

This strike concentrated all his power, speed, and comprehension of the “slashing” law.

Where the blades passed, space itself was cut into two fine black fissures.

Clang!!!!

The explosive ring of metal clashing echoed across the battlefield.

The short blades halted three inches from Jie Ming’s neck.

Blocked by a thin, almost invisible layer of transparent armor.

Return to Ruins Armor.

Jie Ming didn’t even turn his head.

He simply stood there, allowing those space-severing blades to hack against his Return to Ruins Armor.

“Wha…?!’

The close-combat wizard’s pupils shrank sharply.

He wanted to retreat, change tactics, activate a life-saving spell.

But it was already too late.

Jie Ming’s left hand casually swept backward—as though swatting a fly.

The motion wasn’t fast.

Yet in the close-combat wizard’s perception, that palm seemed to fill heaven and earth, sealing off every possible evasion route and carrying an “inevitable hit” inevitability as it descended.

He could only raise his blades to block.

Pa.

A light sound—like something being smashed.

Then the close-combat wizard—along with the dual blades in his hands—turned into a sky full of bloody mist.

Only now did the second wave of attacks from the other wizards belatedly arrive.

Fireballs, ice arrows, lightning spears, poison mists, curses, mental shocks…

Dozens of attacks of varying attributes bombarded Jie Ming from all directions.

Jie Ming didn’t even bother dodging.

He simply stood there and let them smash against his body.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Explosions rang out continuously.

Energy turbulence plowed the surrounding ground once again.

Smoke and dust soared into the sky.

But when the dust settled, Jie Ming still stood in place.

His gray robe remained spotless. His expression was as calm as ever.

Not even new cracks had appeared on the ground beneath his feet—all the force had been perfectly absorbed and converted by the Return to Ruins Armor.

“How is this possible…”

“What… what kind of defense is that…”

“Even sixth-ring protective witchcraft couldn’t block our combined assault so effortlessly!”

The wizards began to break down.

They couldn’t hit him.

They literally couldn’t hit him!

Attacks ineffective, defense invincible, and a casual strike could instantly kill their strongest close-combat specialist…

How were they supposed to fight this?!

“I’ll do it!”

The speaker was a female wizard who had been continuously forming hand seals and chanting ancient, blasphemous incantations since earlier.

After what felt like an eternity for a wizard, her spell was finally complete!

Ominous black mist began seeping from the surrounding space. Within the mist, countless anguished, howling faces rolled and twisted.

This was her ultimate trump card: “Soul Corruption Curse.” It could directly erode the target’s soul origin, pollute and distort it, ultimately corrupting it into a mindless puppet.

To activate this curse, she had even burned part of her own soul as fuel.

A pitch-black beam—seemingly condensed from all the malice in the world—shot from her palm straight toward Jie Ming.

This time, Jie Ming finally reacted.

He… showed a strange expression.

Tilting his head, he watched the incoming curse beam with a thoughtful look in his eyes.

Then, under the stunned gazes of everyone present, he voluntarily dispersed the Return to Ruins Armor over his chest.

Exposing a small, completely undefended patch of skin.

“He’s gone mad?!”

“He’s courting death!!!”

Amid the wizards’ mixture of shock and delight, the pitch-black beam struck Jie Ming’s chest without obstruction.

Then…

It sank in.

Vanished.

Like a clay ox entering the sea, without raising the slightest ripple.

Jie Ming, meanwhile, revealed an amused expression.

“Quite brave…”

He murmured softly.

Then, at the center of his chest, a speck of white light quietly ignited.

It was the automatic counterattack of the Mysterious Astral Mortal Dust Barrier.

The power of the Mysterious Astral Mortal Dust Barrier followed the invisible connection between the curse and its caster, instantly rebounding to strike the female wizard who had unleashed it.

She didn’t even have time to scream. Her body began to melt like snow under sunlight.

Skin, muscle, bone, organs, soul… layer by layer, they dissolved into fundamental particles of light and scattered into the air.

In an instant, the spot where the wizard had stood became empty, leaving only a faint, pure fragrance of “sentient beings’ vow power” drifting on the wind.

The pupils of the remaining wizards contracted sharply.

But Jie Ming had already lost interest in “playing” with them any longer.

One wizard—who seemed particularly perceptive—sensed the shift in Jie Ming’s mentality. Without warning, he shot off into the distance.

“This guy is some kind of monster?! No, I have to bring his intelligence back…”

While the wizard was thinking, Jie Ming appeared beside him—instantly, as though by teleportation—next to what was clearly a Tower of Annihilation wizard.

Under the other’s terrified gaze, Jie Ming raised his right hand and clenched it into a fist.

Then smashed downward!

The fist easily punched through the reactive shield formed by two conflicting energies on the wizard’s body. Jie Ming’s tyrannical physique completely ignored the backlash from the shield.

Under the stunned gaze of the wizard, Jie Ming punched him into oblivion with a single blow!