An utterly insane thought flashed through Xiao Han's mind like lightning!
Fortune favored the bold! He was going for it!
System! I choose option two! I'm betting my life!! The roar in his heart seemed to still be ringing in his ears.
Since he had chosen never to retreat, he would see it through to the end!
The instant the destructive energy sphere was about to fire, Xiao Han neither retreated nor dodged. Instead, he did something that would have baffled any onlooker—he moved!
He pushed the Creation-Heaven-Penetrating Art to its limit. Spiritual energy surged through his body like boiling magma, and every muscle in his legs bulged.
Beneath his feet, the power of the Eternal Night King Martial Soul erupted in full. Shadows as thick as the deepest ink swallowed and enveloped him in an instant, and the light around him dimmed sharply.
A Step to the Ends of the Earth!
His figure blurred and turned insubstantial in an instant. Like a ghost, he darted through the shadows, heading straight into the terrifying pressure of the energy.
At an impossibly tricky angle, he charged straight into the energy sphere's blind spot—below and to the side of the Black-Scaled Mad Ape's massive body!
All the ape's attention was fixed on the energy sphere poised to fire and the prey it had locked onto.
It had never expected that this ant, which it considered as good as dead, would dare launch such an outrageously bold counterattack at this moment of life and death—one that could even be called a search for death!
"Roar?!" A flicker of obvious astonishment crossed the mad ape's enormous scarlet eyes.
That brief instant of astonishment caused an extremely slight, almost imperceptible deviation in its control over the energy sphere.
At the same time, Xiao Han had already closed in! Gritting through the strain on his body, which was close to collapsing under the pressure of the ape's aura, he clenched his right fist and unleashed every bit of the "annihilation" fist intent he had comprehended from the Annihilation Divine Fist fragment, driving it to its limit without holding anything back!
His target was not the indestructible black scales, but the relatively vulnerable eye, where an abnormal fluctuation had just flickered!
"Break!"
With a suppressed growl, Xiao Han's fist seemed to pierce through the barrier of space. Bearing the terrifying intent to extinguish and destroy everything, it struck first despite being launched later, smashing solidly and viciously into the Black-Scaled Mad Ape's lantern-sized left eye!
Squelch!
It was like a ripe watermelon struck violently by a heavy hammer!
Thick fluid mixed with shattered tissue burst outward!
"Aaargh—!!!!"
A shriek of agony, so piercing and excruciating that it could tear eardrums apart, suddenly rang throughout the valley!
The Black-Scaled Mad Ape's massive body jolted, and the destructive energy sphere poised in its mouth slipped completely out of control. Like a wild horse breaking free of its reins, it roared past the mountain wall!
Rumble—!!!
The energy sphere slammed into the hard mountain wall in the distance, erupting with an earthshaking boom!
The entire valley seemed to tremble and sway. A huge gap collapsed into the mountain wall where the sphere struck it head-on, sending rocks flying through the air and filling the valley with dust. Terrifying residual energy swept outward, utterly destroying vast swaths of spiritual herbs and medicines nearby!
The strike had landed!
But Xiao Han did not dare relax in the slightest. Losing an eye had not deprived the Black-Scaled Mad Ape of its fighting strength. Instead, it had plunged the beast into an unprecedented frenzy!
The boundless pain and the humiliation of being grievously wounded by an ant-like existence drove it completely mad!
"Roar! Roar! Roar!"
The ape's remaining right eye grew even more terrifyingly scarlet, as though blood would drip from it. Its massive body twisted wildly, its thick arms and sharp, enormous claws.
It lashed and tore at everything around it without any order, stirring gusts of foul wind and smashing one horrifying crater after another into the hard ground!
Yet Xiao Han keenly caught a glimmer of opportunity!
However frenzied the ape was, losing an eye had severely affected its balance and sense of distance. Its once-fierce attacks were now hopelessly chaotic, exposing even more openings!
Now!
Enduring the blood and qi churning within him and the searing pain in his internal organs, which had been injured by the residual energy, Xiao Han quietly circulated the Chaos Green Lotus's life force to rapidly heal his injuries. At the same time, he melted into the shadows once more.
He unleashed A Step to the Ends of the Earth to its fullest. Like a dancer on a blade's edge, he narrowly evaded the ape's wild attacks and closed in again!
This time, his left fist was clenched as well. He infused his annihilation fist intent with a more concentrated trace of hidden force, carrying a spiraling, piercing power!
His target was still the mangled wound where its left eye had been!
Strike while it was down and take its life!
"Again!"
Another dull impact rang out!
Xiao Han's left fist shot out as swiftly as a venomous snake from its den, striking the wound in the ape's eye socket with unerring precision once more!
The hidden force in his fist bored instantly inward like a high-speed drill, wildly destroying the tissue within!
"Awoo..."
This time, the Black-Scaled Mad Ape could not even let out a complete roar. It could only whimper hoarsely like a broken bellows.
Its massive body began to tremble violently, and its frenzied aura rapidly faded like a balloon punctured by a sharp blade!
A grievous wound! A fatal wound!
Two consecutive attacks on the same vital spot had finally and completely brought down this terrifying Martial Master Realm exotic beast!
But Xiao Han knew it was not over yet!
A cornered beast would still fight, and was often at its most dangerous!
He dared not be careless in the slightest. Forcing the last trace of spiritual energy from his body, he once again drew upon the power of both souls to their limit!
The phantom of the Chaos Green Lotus slowly bloomed behind him, shedding a soft, sacred cyan light. A pure power that cleansed and dispelled all evil flowed forth like a stream.
The phantom of the Eternal Night King, meanwhile, gave off an ever deeper, darker aura of shadow.
Xiao Han held his fingers together like a sword, deftly guiding the Chaos Green Lotus's cleansing power onto his right fist, which contained the fist intent of the Annihilation Divine Fist!
The cyan cleansing light and the gray-black aura of annihilation, two utterly opposite powers, strangely fused for an instant under his will!
"Die!"
Xiao Han used the last of his strength to drive the fist containing both powers viciously into the Black-Scaled Mad Ape's dimming remaining eye!
Squelch!
This time, there was no scream and no struggle.
The mad ape's massive body abruptly stiffened. The last glimmer in its remaining right eye went out completely, and its towering, mountain-like body fell backward with a thunderous crash!
Boom!!!
The earth shook violently once more, and dust filled the air.
For a time, a deathly silence fell over the valley.
"Haah... haah... haah..."
Xiao Han could no longer hold himself up. His legs gave way, and he collapsed to the ground, his chest heaving as he gulped for air like a dying fish.
Every part of him hurt. His bones felt as though they had fallen apart, his internal organs burned with pain, and his spiritual energy had been squeezed completely dry. Even moving a finger felt impossibly difficult.
He had survived a calamity!
He looked at the enormous corpse of the exotic beast lying nearby, all life gone from it, and a wan yet immensely exhilarated smile appeared on his face.
The Middle Stage of the Martial Master Realm?
I... beat it!
Though the ordeal had been fraught with danger, and he had only fought his way to survival through a narrow escape from death, relying almost entirely on the system's choice, the traits of his two souls, the power of his divine technique, and a tiny bit of luck, he had won in the end!
Just as his consciousness began to blur, the system's "friendly" notification finally arrived, long overdue, in his mind.