Shattered

The magical runes in his eyes kept changing and spinning, drawing his attention to them against his will. All he could see was that pair of eyes before him.

Everything else seemed to vanish. Those eerie Blood Pupils kept expanding until they filled his entire range of Perception!

"What is this!"

Unable to conceal his shock, Ye Man forcibly bit through the tip of his tongue and relied on his powerful willpower to pull himself out of that abnormal state. But by then, he discovered that half of his attack had already scattered!

"Even so, it's still not something a mere One-Star Ranger can withstand!"

Ye Man gripped the axe handle again and adjusted his center of gravity, roaring inwardly to conceal the lingering palpitations and fear.

The first core condensed was the "power" core. After that, every newly condensed core further strengthened the cores before it! As a Three-Star Warrior, Ye Man truly possessed the capital to turn the tables and overturn everything midway through a fight!

That was right! As a Warrior, losing to a Ranger in close-combat techniques was indeed disgraceful! But a person's overall ability was not limited to those strange abilities and techniques!

In the face of absolute power...

Clang~

Before the voice encouraging him had finished flashing through his mind, his tiger's mouth shook violently, and flesh flew everywhere! The powerful shockwave blasted his palm open, exposing stark white bone!

After the Heavy Axe, which had been swung upward from below, shattered his fingers, it flew from his hand and smashed heavily into the sand, kicking up a huge curtain of dust!

How...

The sensation of the Heavy Axe's shaft whipping viciously into his head made Ye Man's thoughts sluggish as well.

Could this be possible!

As his perception slowed and dulled, his face was completely distorted by the blow. The muscles on his face trembled and twisted in waves, looking extremely grotesque. In the next moment, Ye Man's entire body was sent flying.

Even then, he still could not understand how his opponent had used the strength of a One-Star Ranger to knock his weapon away!

Crack~

After landing, he rolled several times like a stone skimming across water before collapsing limply onto the ground like a noodle. His neck was unnaturally twisted, clearly indicating that his cervical vertebrae had been completely severed. His entire body was paralyzed, and he was close to death!

With such an injury that directly destroyed the central nervous system, even the Bloodline Power of Bloodlust Power could not restore his combat strength!

As a man who had condensed a Professional Core in the three great inner mansions of strength, endurance, and agility, Ye Man possessed extremely powerful combat ability and endurance.

However, he had not activated the Qi and Blood Inner Mansion, which focused on the body's physical defense. After being struck in the vitals with the full strength of another Professional Rank Expert, he could not withstand it at all...

If his weapon had not inexplicably been knocked away, even breaking his arm in the process, how could he have ended up like this!

Unwilling!

I'm unwilling to accept this!

Everything had proceeded according to plan. Everything had gone smoothly! Even unexpected incidents had remained under his control! But why had a mere One-Star Ranger...

Having nearly exhausted himself to deliver that final blow, Xuan Ye propped himself up with his longbow and felt a searing, tearing pain in both arms. A wave of numbness followed. If that attack had failed, he would have been finished.

Fortunately, he had witnessed in advance that his opponent possessed the Bloodline Power of Bloodlust Power and had extremely strong Combat Continuation. He had put everything into that final blow. It seemed his efforts had not been wasted!

After succeeding with one strike, Xuan Ye felt somewhat drained both mentally and physically.

However, after condensing the Professional Core of the "Perception" Inner Palace, the dizzying backlash he experienced the first time he used Bloodline Power had weakened greatly. At the very least, he felt the pain in his arms before the waves of dizziness arrived.

Looking back at the man whose twisted head had turned to one side while remaining motionless, yet whose entire body continued to surge and erupt with astonishing, searing Qi and Blood, Xuan Ye felt a lingering fear.

Although it was the most common type of Bloodline Power, that tenacious vitality and the trait of growing stronger the more one was injured were truly frightening.

"Why, exactly..."

That familiar voice seemed to come from the Hell Abyss. It wheezed through a mouth full of broken teeth and interrupted Xuan Ye's thoughts, startling him badly. His neck was twisted like that, yet he could still speak?

Even a cockroach was not that tenacious!

"Your strength truly isn't something I can resist. If you had only mobilized the strength in your arm, I really wouldn't have had much confidence. But you were too cautious."

While giving the other man a simple explanation, Xuan Ye hurriedly recovered his breath and stared fixedly at him. He could not afford to capsize in a gutter at a time like this. No matter how miserable his opponent looked, he could not let down his guard. He had to recover quickly and finish him off from a distance.

He was even prepared to give up absorbing the scattered Essence released when a Three-Star expert died. Safety came first, after all. Who knew whether he might be ambushed again?

"At the moment you recovered your senses, you still tried to put everything into killing me. That was your greatest mistake. The five forces from your legs, waist, shoulders, hips, and arms converged in the axe blade. It could indeed unleash terrifying destructive power, but I only needed to seize the point and break that balance. You would then be devoured by those surging forces yourself, like a child swinging a heavy hammer."

Standing firmly again, Xuan Ye looked at the Heavy Axe that had been bent from being wielded as a close-combat weapon and twitched the corner of his mouth. At this distance, it should still be usable somehow.

He then drew the damaged bow, nocked an arrow, and took aim.

"Heh heh, I never expected that my attempt to end the battle before you burned your Magic Core would instead leave me without even a chance to use a Combat Skill. Karma..."

Lying on the ground, Ye Man seemed to have seen through life and death and sighed with emotion. But before he could finish speaking, a sharp arrow pierced his eye socket, killing him instantly!

"Don't worry. Although you're dead, you'll live on in my heart forever. Farewell... Actually, I really didn't have the nerve to burn my Burning Core."

Xuan Ye lowered his bow and silently muttered words that seemed full of ambiguity. He then suddenly turned around, covered his mouth, and dry-heaved.

The dizziness from the aftereffects of Bloodline Power was still severe. Heh, perhaps it had something to do with other factors as well...

Comrade Ye Man, who had calculated against the entire team and caused such terrifying destruction, would remain beside this growing youth like an ever-present warning bell.

For Xuan Ye, who was still growing, the records in the Database meant that every setback was a valuable accumulation of experience...

"Uncle, Uncle, pull yourself together! It's me! Hey~"

Xuan Ye repeatedly slapped Luo Luoji's face while hurriedly wiping away the blood continuously leaking from the corners of his mouth. He shouted anxiously.

"So noisy. You're keeping people from sleeping."

Perhaps Xuan Ye's slapping had hurt him. Luo Luoji opened his eyes and climbed out of the sand pit again.

"Haha, Uncle, it's wonderful that you're all right!"

Seeing Luo Luoji get up, Xuan Ye's face lit up with joy. He had truly been afraid that this Uncle who had helped him so much would also—spit, spit, what an unlucky thing to say.

"How could I be all right? If not for that poison... Forget it, I won't talk about this. Hmm, gather their remains and bury them here."

Luo Luoji calmly looked at Xuan Ye. There was a trace of relief and emotion in his eyes. He then swayed over and personally began arranging the bodies of his two old companions, Jack and Uncle Dao.

"Oh."

After honestly nodding, Xuan Ye went to drag over Ye Man, Dean, and the others. There were also the nearby bodies of the Azure Wolves. These were all Predator Rank prey. Not counting any Magic Cores that might be present, each corpse was worth at least five thousand silver coins.

They were all trophies! However, the most valuable items were still on the three people from Dream Island. After searching and feeling around, he found three Spatial Bags. Besides all kinds of bottles and jars containing spellcasting materials, they still had enough space to take away the valuable materials from the Azure Wolves. The meat, however, was impossible to bring along.

Finally, Xuan Ye dragged over Aitiya, the Paladin girl. Looking at her exquisite, beautiful, deathly pale face, he shook away the "take advantage while she's still warm" thoughts left behind by the "former owner" of his mind and muttered a few curses. He then focused on her fatal wound.

Ye Man had clearly taken out some kind of small crystal called the Crystal of God, yet beneath Aitiya's chest was now a black dagger thrust deep inside!

Black magical patterns radiated outward from the wound, looking extremely bizarre and sending chills down one's spine.

There was no doubt that something capable of easily killing a powerful Paladin and piercing armor as if it were paper was no ordinary object. After hesitating repeatedly, Xuan Ye quickly gripped the dagger's hilt, pulled it out, and threw it into a Spatial Bag.

There was not even any blood in the wound. It seemed as if all the blood in her body had been sucked dry!

Although the armor and chain mail on her also seemed to be valuable, Xuan Ye still did not strip them off. Regardless of whether she had died because of her connection to them, she had ultimately died saving them.

After arranging everyone neatly in the sand pit, Xuan Ye turned around and presented the three Spatial Bags to Luo Luoji like treasures, hoping to lift his gloomy mood.

"How about we split the things evenly? Then we'll take one-third and give it to Jack and the others' families."

The dead were dead, but the living still had to inherit the dead's wishes and continue living.

After looking through the contents of the Spatial Bags, Luo Luoji pulled out something resembling a cigar, put it between his teeth, lit it with a flint, and said bluntly,

"Don't give it to them. Giving it to them would only harm them. Treasure brings disaster. Just give them some money when the time comes. These are their families' addresses. Oh, and the secret code for the treasures I've saved over the years is written there too. Distribute all of it among the other members of the Scavenger Squad. Here~"

After saying that, he handed Xuan Ye a parchment covered in messy writing. It seemed to have been written hastily with blood.

Xuan Ye rolled his eyes at Luo Luoji and muttered,

"You go give it to them yourself. You're the squad leader, aren't you? Why are you giving it to me?"

Not to mention that he already had a huge debt in Stanrose, Xuan Ye did not even dare face the eyes of his dead comrades' relatives. Luo Luoji, this guy...

"Me? I probably won't be able to go."

After taking a deep drag from the luxury cigar he rarely enjoyed himself, Luo Luoji bared his white teeth and spoke with a hint of emotion.

He then staggered away and walked to the empty space at the very center of the sand pit that separated the two sides.

An ominous premonition suddenly surfaced in Xuan Ye's heart. He raised his hand.

"Uncle, you—you're not joking like this, are you?"

"Ha, yes. I actually wanted to joke around with you too."

"Unfortunately, burning a Professional Core can't possibly come without a price..."

As he took two more fierce drags from the cigar in his hand, a large amount of blood finally began to spill uncontrollably from the corners of Luo Luoji's mouth, staining his beard. He then slowly fell backward.

It was a little regrettable. He had not died at the hands of an Alien Race or in the jaws of a magical beast. In the end, he had died at the hands of his own people. Was this fate?

Bang~

A ray of morning sunlight dispelled the darkness before dawn from the edge of the desert. The burly body crashed heavily onto the ground, and Xuan Ye's expression froze.

That's right. You're the one I wanted.

You grimace at this little pain. Only with the mindset of a strong expert can you possess the strength of a strong expert.

That damned old man actually said I was affecting the Temple's image. What's wrong with a man being a little more robust?

(End of Volume One. I'll post the first chapter of Volume Two later.)

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Volume One is over! Please give me all kinds of support. I won't reject it, whether it's spiritual or physical!