Chapter 668: Core of the Curse Technique

Liao Honglei nimbly dodged Kinmaru’s attack.

But the moment his feet left the ground—BOOM!—

The area he’d just stood on exploded in a thunderous blast, the earth shattered into fragments!

The sheer force was terrifying—easily on par with a Delta-level Enhancement-type Superhuman!

By now, Liao Honglei had realized:

Kinmaru wasn’t a living creature.

Otherwise, there was no way anything could take his Divine Fist from within a hundred steps and come out unscathed.

The only possible explanation was that it had been formed entirely from superhuman energy.

“Onmyodo... and shikigami, huh?”

Liao Honglei’s expression turned grim.

This was his first time facing an opponent of this type.

Worst of all, he had no idea how to destroy it.

But Shinguuji Seiichiro’s shikigami weren’t about to give him time to figure it out.

Akamaru came charging in, three enormous heads spewing lava—

Melting the ground around Liao Honglei on impact!

Liao's eyes flicked toward Shinguuji in the distance.

A plan started to form.

“If I can’t take out the shikigami, then why not go straight for the Onmyoji himself?”

Easy to say. Harder to do.

Not only were Kinmaru and Akamaru relentlessly attacking,

But Shinguuji still had Aomaru and Ginmaru lurking protectively nearby.

Just then, a voice came through Liao’s earpiece—an update from the Operations Command Center:

“Liao Honglei, shikigami created with Onmyodo rely on talismans as their cores.

If you can destroy the talisman, the shikigami will fall.”

The intel was valuable—but it didn’t lighten his heart.

The beasts were massive, while the talismans were just the size of a palm.

How the h*ll was he supposed to find it, let alone destroy it?

“Guess I’ll just have to try!”

Gritting his teeth, Liao dropped into a firm horse stance—

And fired a Divine Fist punch straight at Kinmaru’s skull!

The shockwave traveled through the air and slammed into Kinmaru’s head.

Its head twisted grotesquely—but didn’t explode.

Kinmaru, of the five shikigami, was the embodiment of strength.

Both its power and defense were top-tier.

In moments, its twisted head regenerated fully.

It roared and lunged again—angrier and faster than before.

“So the talisman’s not in the head...”

Shinguuji saw this and sneered with mockery.

“People really do watch too much anime,” he muttered.

“They always assume the weak spot’s in the heart or head.”

Of course, what Liao knew, Shinguuji knew as well.

Kinmaru and Akamaru had Liao surrounded.

One used brutal force to pound him into submission,

The other belched rivers of lava to cut off any means of escape.

But Liao remained calm, dodging with agile footwork.

Neither beast could touch him.

Even without using powers, Liao Honglei was a master of Bajiquan, with a body honed through intense training.

Combined with a Deng Group combat suit and customized weapons,

He was a force to be reckoned with in close-range combat.

If he could be beaten by two shikigami, he wouldn’t deserve to be Vice-Captain of the Celestial Squad.

With a sidestep, he slipped past their synchronized attack.

Then reached to his belt, pulled out a black grenade, flipped the pin with his thumb—

And hurled it straight at the two beasts.

BOOM!

A black spherical explosion erupted, engulfing them both.

Even Shinguuji Seiichiro turned to take notice.

After all, ordinary firearms had almost no effect on shikigami.

This grenade clearly wasn’t standard issue—it was designed for superhuman combat.

But seconds later—Kinmaru and Akamaru emerged, completely intact,

And resumed their frenzied pursuit.

Their red eyes burned with killing intent.

Shikigami didn’t think—they followed their orders blindly.

And the command now was simple:

Kill that man.

Shinguuji frowned.

His two melee shikigami couldn’t even scratch Liao.

He waved his right hand—

And the six-tailed white fox Ginmaru stepped forward.

It lifted its head, pale white neck stretched elegantly toward the sky.

Its delicate pink mouth opened—

And above it, a glowing white orb began to form, growing to the size of a human head.

In the next instant—

The orb turned into a blazing white beam and shot straight at Liao Honglei!

Its speed was so fast the naked eye couldn’t follow it.

Liao was already busy evading Kinmaru and Akamaru,

Now he had to deal with Ginmaru’s curse technique too.

Things were getting messy.

But he hadn’t ignored Ginmaru’s presence—he’d kept tabs on its movements all along.

As the curse beam blasted toward him,

He struck back with a Divine Fist!

BOOM!

The two energies collided midair—

The shockwave rattled the battlefield.

Meanwhile, Kinmaru and Akamaru had already flanked him from both sides.

Still, Liao Honglei didn’t panic.

His eyes stayed fixed on Shinguuji in the distance.

This time, he wasn’t dodging—he was on the offensive!

No matter how powerful shikigami were,

They were just mindless constructs of spiritual energy.

Once you understood how they moved and attacked,

You could counter them.

First, he weaved past the flame-clad three-headed demon hound.

Then he charged straight at Kinmaru, the embodiment of raw strength.

“ROAR!!”

Kinmaru was wrapped in glowing Onmyodo light,

An aura that made it ferocious and powerful.

But Liao kept his cool. He didn’t stop.

The two exchanged strikes—but their fists didn’t actually collide.

Kinmaru’s punch whiffed. Liao ducked it cleanly.

Then—he slipped right inside Kinmaru’s massive frame,

Wrapped both arms around its waist—

And unleashed his Divine Fist from point-blank range!

At close range, his technique was even more devastating—

Capable of punching through any defense and shattering internal organs.

Kinmaru’s body twisted and cracked under the blow.

Then—Liao bent back and executed a brutal suplex—

Flipping the three-meter-tall giant ape like a sack of potatoes!

BOOOOM!!!

Kinmaru slammed into the ground like a felled tree.

Liao quickly sprang back up—

And drove his fist straight down between Kinmaru’s legs!

From deep underground came a pitiful, ghostly wail.

The light around Kinmaru’s body began to flicker—

A shattered talisman floated slowly to the ground.

Liao blinked in surprise—

The talisman had been hidden there?

Still, he’d only found it because of his successful strategy.

He didn’t need to know where it was—

All he had to do was find it.

Author's Note