With a sinister flick of his wrist, the fan unfurled and expanded, blocking Chen Tian's attack.
Chen Tian watched his strike be repelled by the opponent's massive fan. He instantly surged forward, his spear in hand, as streaks of golden light erupted from it. The spear was enshrouded in golden radiance, resembling a golden spear, radiating a dazzling brilliance.
As Chen Tian thrust his spear forward, terrifying spear shadows materialized before Xie Mei. Her expression grew serious as countless golden spear shadows converged before her eyes, merging according to an arcane pattern into a colossal phantom spear. The golden phantom spear, imbued with sharp, chilling light, charged directly at Xie Mei.
The golden radiance represented the Law of Metal, and Metal governed destruction within the Five Elements. This strike possessed immense penetration power. Xie Mei spread her hands to the sides, and the folding fan in her hand slowly disassembled into individual leaves. These leaves then spun together, forming a circular shield that rotated at high speed, like a halo, directly confronting Chen Tian's phantom spear.
The collision between the phantom spear and the halo was a fierce exchange. Neither gained an immediate advantage, and the resulting shockwaves of terrifying power rippled outwards. Both Chen Tian and Xie Mei were sent recoiling.
Then, an explosion erupted. Their eyes met. Frightening currents of air swirled around Chen Tian's body, forming a vortex that spiraled outwards, coalescing into a swirling halo of wind.
Chen Tian's skills included mastery of wind elements, allowing him to control them naturally. Since the Lord of Destiny and Chen Tian were one entity, he could also utilize Chen Tian's wind elemental abilities.
The rotating vortex of wind elements shot towards Xie Mei. As it spun and impacted, the wind continuously expanded, and surrounding air currents were absorbed by the vortex, increasing its size.
Before long, a colossal vortex disc of wind hurtled towards Xie Mei. Upon seeing this, Xie Mei's body was enveloped in thick, malevolent energy. Her hands slowly transformed into sharp claws. She then brought her claws together, and with a crackling sound, black energies collided. Between her hands, a sphere covered in long black thorns materialized, black in color and composed of malevolent energy, with thorns also formed from the same energy.
Xie Mei pushed forward with both hands, and the sphere of malevolent energy, bristling with black thorns, shot towards Chen Tian's vortex disc. The terrifying vortex disc spun like a halo, its currents acting like invisible, yet tangible, blades.
The sphere of black-thorned malevolent energy collided with Chen Tian's wind disc halo. Simultaneously, streaks of black light shot out from the explosion, and countless black thorns rained down upon Chen Tian from all directions.
Chen Tian swung his spear with both hands, alternating left and right. A faint golden glow enveloped his body, forming a golden barrier that shielded him.
The countless thorns struck the barrier, emitting clinking sounds. As time passed, cracks began to appear on Chen Tian's barrier, and a cold glint flashed in his eyes.
Xie Mei's strength had recovered somewhat. If she could not resolve this quickly in her current state, she would perish. If she truly died now, she would have no chance of awakening again.
Chen Tian made a decision. His eyes, firm, looked at Xie Mei. He then gently loosened his left hand holding the spear, and it instantly vanished into light.
Grayish-white energy flowed from Chen Tian's body towards the sky. His eyes slowly turned pure white, and his hair became grayish-white and stood on end. A lotus mark appeared at the center of his forehead, a shimmering grayish-white lotus illuminating his brow. His eyebrows also turned grayish-white, and his hands slowly transformed into grayish-white dragon claws. Six pairs of grayish-white wings unfurled behind Chen Tian, stretching out like a roc in flight, shedding feathers that scattered in the sky, exuding a remarkable beauty.
Chen Tian's skin took on a faint gray hue, interspersed with scales that resembled dragon scales, yet also fish scales, a hybrid of both. On Chen Tian's feet, a pair of grayish-white wings on each side protruded. His thighs were protected by armor formed from layers of gray feathers.
Xie Mei's eyes widened in shock as she beheld Chen Tian's form. "You... you actually!"
"How is this possible? In that state, you... you really are a madman!"
Xie Mei's face contorted with fear. She was so panicked that she dared not look at the Lord of Destiny in his current form, turning to flee.
"Oh heavens! This guy has lost his mind! To unleash his full power now, isn't this self-sealing? He doesn't want to die!"
"Run, can you escape?"
Chen Tian spoke calmly. As his eyes opened, Xie Mei's body was instantly frozen. She felt a mysterious force trapping her within that space, as if she were in a dimension outside this world, an alternate dimension where she could not move at all.
Chen Tian's wings slowly unfurled as he walked deliberately towards Xie Mei. Beautiful grayish-white feathers continuously drifted from his wings.
A man resembling a deity, a woman trapped in place. The question: who is the villain at this moment?
Chen Tian spoke softly, "To force me to use this divine form prematurely, Xie Mei, you can be proud. This time, I will not seal you again. Disperse!"
"Lord of Destiny, you... you dare!"
Xie Mei exclaimed in panic and terror. Then, with a sigh from Chen Tian,
"Alas!"
A wave of energy swept through, and Xie Mei's form dissolved into countless fragments. A sigh could extinguish all living beings in the world; this was the true power of the Lord of Destiny.
Chen Tian slowly surveyed his surroundings. With a thought, time seemed to freeze. When time resumed its flow, everything returned to normal.
Chen Tian's form reverted to his original appearance. He looked around curiously, puzzled, "Strange? What just happened? Where is the boss Qing Ling was breaking through?"
Chen Tian remembered fighting the boss for the breakthrough mission with Qing Ling. What had happened? He couldn't recall. What exactly had transpired?
"Never mind, it must be finished. I'll just send Qing Ling a message."
Chen Tian opened his game interface and sent a message to Qing Ling. Qing Ling quickly replied, and Chen Tian breathed a sigh of relief. It was good that it was completed.
Then, an interface popped up before Chen Tian, his expression turning solemn. Good heavens, time was up. It seemed he had to return to the first level.
His figure then transformed into a beam of light and vanished from the palace. On the first level, before a stone house, Chen Tian reappeared.
Three days had passed. He needed to return here to slay the remaining Imperial soldiers. This was the agreement he had made with Xi Yazi, and although Xi Yazi was no longer present, he had to fulfill it. The pace of this quest had to be maintained.
The scene then shifted instantly, and Chen Tian found himself back on the arena stage. Time began to flow. Yun Guo moved again, slowly raising his twin guns. He looked at Chen Tian with a cold expression. "Hmph, freezing my time for three days. I hope you've grown somewhat. After killing you, I will go and kill that Imperial traitor."
"Today is vastly different from three days ago. I am not the same as I was three days ago. Let's spar!"
Chen Tian's spirit surged. His twin blades instantly materialized, weapons of golden quality appearing in his hands. A cracking sound emanated from Yun Guo's body as his level surged directly to seventy, the seal broken, his attributes and abilities drastically altered.
Chen Tian activated "The More You Fight, The Stronger You Become" and "Evolving Body Reinforcement," causing his attributes to skyrocket. Their eyes met. After the tempering in the second layer, Chen Tian's strength was different. Although his level was still thirty, he could withstand a few blows from a level forty opponent. As for killing Yun Guo, Chen Tian had never expected to defeat him. This NPC was somewhat monstrous; at level seventy, his attributes were close to twenty thousand. A single hit would surely be fatal.
Mysterious currents of energy appeared beneath Chen Tian's feet. His twin blades were engulfed in blue flames, divine fire igniting. He thrust his blades forward, and a giant, cross-shaped flame blade shot towards the dual-wielding gunner Yun Guo.
Yun Guo held a spear in his left hand and another in his right. The left spear was azure blue, the right a fiery red. He also crossed them, unleashing a blue and red cross-shaped blade energy. Their blade energies collided.
A massive explosion ensued.
Yun Guo instantly appeared before Chen Tian, thrusting his azure blue spear directly at him. Chen Tian crossed his twin blades defensively in front of him, the gap between them blocking the spearhead. However, Yun Guo's right spear moved, aimed directly at Chen Tian's abdomen. The red spearhead, carrying terrifying heat, attacked Chen Tian.
Chen Tian threw with all his might, and the azure blue spear was flung away by his twin blades. Yun Guo took a step back, then his twin blades shifted, moving to his abdomen and delivering a series of rapid slashes. The red spear was deflected. Seeing this, Yun Guo steadied himself and aimed both spears at Chen Tian's head.
Chen Tian slowly released his twin blades. They instantly began to spin around him, forming a shield. A semi-circular shield of azure blue appeared on Chen Tian's left, and a shield of purple-ice color on his right. They were drawn to each other and merged, forming a blue-purple energy shield protected by the rotating blades.
Chen Tian was instantly blown backward. He then gripped his twin blades tightly, looking at Yun Guo with a sense of relief. Fortunately, he had used the elemental shield just now; otherwise, the armor-piercing effect of that blow would have left him critically injured, his armor completely stripped.
"A decisive judgment. You are strong, but you have no chance of winning. Surrender!"
Yun Guo observed that Chen Tian could withstand his full-power attack at a level forty disadvantage, which was quite impressive. However, as an enemy, he could not be spared. If he had been an ally, Yun Guo would have genuinely wished for him to live on. But as an Imperial general, obeying the Empire's orders was paramount.
Chen Tian pursed his lips and said, "Again!"
Chen Tian refused to concede. He had activated "The More You Fight, The Stronger You Become" and "Body Reinforcement." As time passed, his attributes would surge. He refused to believe that he wouldn't be able to defeat the opponent then, provided he could stall for time.
Seeing Chen Tian's stubbornness, Yun Guo's killing intent flared. Such a resolute person could not be allowed to live. If he had become an enemy, he could only be killed, lest he become a great threat to the Empire, a harbinger of doom.
Yun Guo threw his twin spears. Instantly, the spears transformed into two identical figures of Yun Guo. Three identical Yun Guos appeared before Chen Tian, each holding two bright silver spears.
Chen Tian's expression became solemn and cautious. Three dual-wielding gunners. This was the opponent's self-created skill. Caution was essential.
Self-created skills were unique to players and NPCs, and they were the primary combat skills for players beyond level one hundred. Every self-created skill was powerful, and some could even evolve.
Chen Tian gritted his teeth. "Damn it, all my self-created skills are on cooldown. Only those with weaker power have faster cooldowns. Ice-Fire Blazing Sky, Ice-Fire Blast Flame Kill, Elemental Light Wave, even the evolved skill Flame Kill Cold Shadow requires half a month to cool down."
Countless scenarios flashed through Chen Tian's mind as he calculated various situations and outcomes. Then, the scene froze on one particular image.
Chen Tian shook his head. The success rate of this method was too slim. A direct confrontation was not suitable for the Elf race, especially given the opponent's abilities and characteristics. As for the Dragon and Phoenix races, without specific conditions, Chen Tian could not awaken and use them.
"No, wait, I remember...!"
Chen Tian's twin blades slowly dissipated. Nine-colored scales instantly appeared on his palm and skin, his hands transforming into nine-colored dragon claws. Chen Tian said with a look of disappointment, "My level is too low. I can only transform my claws?"
"But it's fine. This state should allow me to resist for some time."
Chen Tian looked at his nine-colored dragon claws. The Dragon race profession had been classified as a secondary profession before, and some abilities could be used. However, at such a low level, only the human-dragon form could be activated, and even then, only his hands could transform. Ultimately, his level limited Chen Tian's power!
Chen Tian watched as the three figures of Yun Guo, wielding six spears, charged at him. Chen Tian's dragon claws began to dance, colliding with the spearheads in a head-on confrontation. The Dragon race's greatest strength lay in its body and the protection of its scales.
The tips of the six spears were all met by Chen Tian's rapidly moving dragon claws. Sparks flew, and with a clinking sound, the bright silver spears shattered. Seeing this, Yun Guo retreated. The two surrounding Yun Guos then transformed back into spears and returned to Yun Guo's hands.