He had lost the Gate of Time and Space's supplies, and his attributes had been suppressed by 6%.
The Three-Headed Snake—no, the Two-headed Snake—could no longer ignore the wildfire. It could only keep dodging the encroaching flames.
Faced with Black Hoof's vicious, gluttonous maw and terrifying hooves, it was driven back again and again.
"Rumble!"
Green light flashed. A massive tree wreathed in flames suddenly charged out of the thick smoke, its huge feet pounding the ground and scattering sparks with every step.
Yet it barreled forward without hesitation, instantly knocking the fleeing Two-headed Snake back.
"Bitch! Scum! You lunatics from Cycle Paradise!"
The old Serpent Person cursed furiously. He watched as the tree burned away before his eyes and crumbled into a pile of charred remains. Those lunatics from Paradise were truly a pain to deal with.
The wildfire was surging toward him, and even he was beginning to feel seriously unwell. But how could that little brat from Cycle Paradise still dare to keep fighting? Wasn't he afraid of being swallowed by the flames?!
Amid the thick smoke, Wang Changle kept changing positions, his eyes fixed on the Two-headed Snake in the middle of the battlefield. He kept tossing Rainbow Fruit Candy into his mouth, chewing loudly.
The sweet, fruity candy melted quickly, accelerating the recovery of his magic power. He also discovered that although the candy couldn't restore it all at once, its recovery effect could stack!
It was still a drop in the bucket, but it made his magic power recover a little faster.
Now, even recovering a single point of magic power was extremely important to Wang Changle.
The battered Two-headed Snake struggled to survive, while a crazed glint flickered in Wang Changle's eyes.
"This time, I'm definitely going to finish you off!"
To return to the real world and exact his revenge, he needed not only power but resources as well.
The Outcast was a peaceful world. Even if he killed a Contractor there, he couldn't obtain a Bloody Card.
But at the Enkai world node, within this small subspace, killing was permitted. As long as he killed someone, he could obtain a Bloody Card.
If he could finish off this Violator, Wang Changle would not only complete his hunting mission but also obtain a Bloody Card. A Violator this powerful was bound to have something valuable on him!
He could tell that this Violator followed a summoner's path, with both Charm and Intelligence as his specialties. His combat style relied primarily on summoned creatures, supplemented by control and enhancement abilities.
If Wang Changle hadn't used the Formless Child to track him back to his location, quickly determined where he was, and learned the Black Goat Cub's summoning contract to gain a powerful ally,
and if he hadn't relied on the Feng Family's influence to leave the Violator too little time to prepare and catch him off guard,
then, if the Violator had even one more snake monster like Hu Jie, Wang Changle wouldn't have stood a chance.
Wang Changle knew that this situation was the result of taking his opponent by surprise and steadily building up every advantage. He would never let this golden opportunity slip away.
In truth, ever since the old Serpent Person fused with the giant snake, the balance of the battle had begun to tip.
This Contractor, who followed the spellcaster's path, seemed to have little experience in close combat.
His disorganized attacks made it clear: these were nothing more than the giant serpent's instincts. Aside from having an extra pair of claws, its fighting style hadn't changed much.
Black Hoof, however, had enhanced both his Stamina and Strength. He was unquestionably skilled at close combat.
He used his body to hold his ground and his tentacles to harass his opponent. Whenever his maw struck, it was sure to tear off a chunk of flesh.
Wang Changle hid in the shadows, carefully observing the Two-headed Snake's movements. He kept himself among the vegetation, using the plants to sense the entire battlefield.
The wildfire blazed fiercely, and thick smoke billowed everywhere!
This was the worst possible battlefield for a Serpent Person. Not only was his heat perception disrupted, but the dry air was unbearable, greatly weakening the power of many water-based spells.
The Two-headed Snake fought while retreating toward a villa. Wang Changle's eyes narrowed. There was a small river over there!
"You're not getting through!"
He charged out at once. A bloody glow flashed as a goat's hoof took shape, and War Stomp sent a shock wave surging forward. With a clang, the Two-headed Snake was knocked back.
[Alert: Your health has fallen to 6%. You can no longer use the Black Goat Cub's skills]
The pain from his burning blood forced Wang Changle to lean against a tree just to keep from collapsing.
"Hiss!"
The Two-headed Snake couldn't even wail this time. It could only struggle to fend off Black Hoof's tentacles.
In a daze, flesh and blood flew everywhere, and Black Hoof vanished in a wave of brown light.
"You stinking brat, return to Cthulhu's embrace! Haah!"
"Pfft!"
The Two-headed Snake fell onto its back. It stared at the wooden hand that had pierced through its chest, then struggled to turn its head. From the corner of its eye, it glimpsed a figure sitting on the grass. That expression... was he smiling?
He was dead?
He was a Contractor from Sacred Domain Paradise, the greatest Holy Priest of the Kunyang people, a descendant of the Igu Serpent People, and a devout follower of Sathogua.
He had yet to spread his lord's light across the world. How could he possibly die?!
He still remembered how, several years ago, he had been summoned by a great being and arrived in a place called Sacred Domain Paradise through a ritual in the Dreamlands.
As a High Priest of Sathogua, he had decided to preach his lord's word in every world.
During a great battle between the Paradises, he had been killed by a Blade of Law Destruction. The sensation of his soul being pierced and his magic burning was still vivid in his memory!
That madman, and the blade called Dragon Slaying Flash!
But fate had not abandoned him. He had used his talent to fuse with one of his enemy's Contractors. He knew this was his lord's blessing—that the man had been sent right to him.
It was his lord's way of sending him to spread glory among the enemy's ranks and convert the masses.
He would use the world as an offering, and the flesh of its people as tribute, for his great lord!
He had used his talent to evade the Paradise's punishments and pursuit time and again.
Over the years, he had grown weaker with each use, and his level had fallen.
But after billions of humans had been turned into a bloody feast, and hundreds of World Origins had been devoured and converted, he had finally heard his lord's summons. Soon, he would be given a name.
A name—or rather, a title—was the supreme glory bestowed by his lord!
Yet he had never expected this world to become his grave. Once again, he had died at the hands of a madman from Cycle Paradise.
In a daze, his consciousness sank into silence!
[You killed Contractor No. 134178. Hunting mission completed] [You received 1 Honor Bronze Medal] [You received Treasure Chest (Green)] (Snake Monster) [Your Talent: Characteristic Extraction activated. You received Characteristic Card: Fusion] [You killed Sacred Domain Contractor No. 089426] [You received 1 Bloody Treasure Chest]
He lay on the grass, gasping for breath. The heat still pressed in from all around, and the Serpent Person's corpse lay nearby, slowly being devoured by the merciless flames.
The loss of blood left his face deathly pale, and his depleted magic power made his head spin. A large patch of his scalp had been burned, and he was covered in mud, looking like a refugee.
The process had been grueling, and the battle dangerous, but in the end, he had won!
The life-and-death struggle and the constant maneuvering during the battle filled him with an intense excitement. It felt so damn good!
He enjoyed fighting like this. Especially when he watched his opponent struggle—the satisfaction was beyond compare. He couldn't help wanting to go a little crazier, a lot crazier.
The wildfire raged. He followed the stream, limping onward into the distance.
Ten days later, at Ino Reis Hotel in Dongxiang Zhuang.
"Ode, is this really what you have to show for disappearing for ten days?"
Feng Shayan looked at the boy lying on the bed with an utterly calm expression and tossed a tablet at him.
"Wildfire Breaks Out at Sakura Garden, May Be Linked to Tianxia Group!"
"Shocking! Man Escapes Inferno in the Dead of Night—Turns Out He's a Tianxia Association Executive!"
"Wildfire Breaks Out at Sakura Garden! Fire Report: No Casualties"
"After the Sakura Garden Fire, Tianxia Group Donates 10 Million!"
The massive blaze at Sakura Garden had set the whole city abuzz with news. Three of the stories were connected to Tianxia Group.
"Sorry. This 5 million is to show my sincerity. Half of it is my own money. The other 5 million can be deducted from my annual salary."
As he browsed through the posts and their comments and shares, Wang Changle shifted in his seat and calmly gazed out the window.
"Even though it was an abandoned development, a mere 10 million isn't enough to make it all go away, Mr. Ode."
Feng Shayan was extremely displeased with Wang Changle's attitude. And this wasn't just about the fire at Sakura Garden; the Otherworldly Person community was in turmoil, too.
Hu Jie had mysteriously disappeared from Dongxiang Zhuang, and several local Otherworldly People had been assassinated. Meanwhile, at the place in Nanyang where the sorcerer Lin Lun had vanished, they had found someone who looked suspiciously like Wang Changle.
"Xia He and Shen Chong of the Four Maniacs are at Hu Lin's home in Dongxiang Zhuang. If you go there now, you should be able to find some evidence."
Wang Changle's indifferent words startled Feng Shayan. She immediately headed outside and made a call.
"Hu Lin's dead. He went mad and died in his home!"
A moment later, Feng Shayan came back in looking dejected.
"Oh, and as for what happened at Sakura Garden, I'm sorry. I can resign to take responsibility. If you need me to, I can also attend a press conference, Miss Feng."
As he spoke, he sent over a resignation letter. His fingers began tapping restlessly on the table.
"Mr. Ode, are you no longer planning to attend the Luotian Grand Ceremony?"
Feng Shayan sat back down, poured herself a cup of coffee, and settled in at her leisure.
"I think that, as an Artifact Refiner, offering to make someone a Magic Tool in exchange for an invitation to the Luotian Grand Ceremony shouldn't be difficult, should it?"
With his Characteristic Card, Wang Changle naturally had more say. The value of an Artifact Refiner was far beyond what a fire at Sakura Garden could overshadow.
In other words, the Tianxia Association wasn't the only faction capable of getting him an invitation!
Before you continue