The Battle

The bandit leader Laska felt as though something had struck his soul with a heavy blow, but he quickly regained his senses.

"Ah, a soul attack—a large-scale soul attack. His soul is incredibly powerful." Laska stared gravely at Hodan in the sky. He hurriedly flew up from the ground and joined the other two leaders, Clisi and Tennyson.

Of the Four Rules, the Death Rule and Fate Rule were the most adept at the soul, especially since Hodan's soul had already reached the Highgod level. Although Hodan had not created a suitable signature move of his own,

thanks to his transmigrator's traits and his cultivation of the Fate Rule, which specialized in the soul, Hodan's soul attacks were no weaker than those of a Six-Star Fiend who cultivated elemental laws. However, that applied only to his soul attacks; his material attacks were still at Five-Star Fiend level.

When Clisi heard Laska's words, fear appeared on his face. Eyes wide with shock, he said, "His soul is incredibly powerful. He can use soul attacks against thousands of people at once. Look at those Mid-Gods and Lowgods. They still haven't recovered from his attack. That kind of attack isn't enough to threaten us, but remember, he used it over a wide area! If he focused an attack like that on just me, I dare say even you, Laska, would have trouble withstanding it." In short, Clisi meant that this man was terrifying and none of them could take him on alone.

"Enough with the gloomy talk. He's coming." Tennyson saw Hodan flying toward them and spoke to Laska and Clisi.

"Hah! Come on, all of you—be the stepping stones on my path to the peak!" Hodan roared, his blood boiling. These were Highgods he had once only dreamed of reaching! He drew Zhengdu and swung it at them.

Hodan now had a body as tough as a High-God Artifact. After carrying Zhengdu for so many days, he had finally adjusted to its weight and could use it in battle. But as for unleashing the blade's edge, he could forget about that for now.

With his Five-Star Fiend strength, Hodan could only fight using Zhengdu's material for now. He would need at least the strength of a peak Six-Star Fiend to bring out the blade's edge as well. Alternatively, he could hold the blade aloft, release its edge, and wait for his enemy to run into it—but was that even possible?

Clisi, the weakest of the three Highgods, was killed outright by Hodan's blow. So what if their combined strength rivaled that of a peak Five-Star Fiend? They weren't true Five-Star Fiends. With Hodan's Five-Star Fiend strength and Zhengdu's weight behind his attack, Clisi raised his sword to block, but Hodan's blow smashed both the sword and Clisi's head. His skull burst apart, his Godhead flew out, and he died on the spot.

"Damn it, our third brother is dead! Big brother, let's attack together and kill him to avenge our brother!"

The remaining two, Laska and Tennyson, unleashed their ultimate moves on Hodan at the same time.

Hodan smiled. If he were being attacked by a group of Five-Star Fiend-level experts, he might have been afraid. But these two were definitely not Five-Star Fiends. Otherwise, Hodan couldn't have killed one of the three so easily.

Hodan turned and put away the Godhead and Space Ring of the Highgod he had just killed, then sneered. "Oh, so it's just the two of you now. Come on."

"You're asking for death!"

Bandits really were hardened people who lived by the blade. They had seen death often—or had long expected to meet it themselves—and had long since taken it lightly. Hodan's contemptuous attitude roused their ferocity.

Hodan circulated his divine power, and a blue-green glow radiated from his body. He had cultivated for too short a time to develop an ultimate move of his own. But he knew one principle: overwhelming force could break through any technique. As long as he was fast enough and hit hard enough, his enemies would never withstand his relentless attacks and crushing blows. In the end, they would fall to him.

Hodan became a blue-green blur, moving at the utmost speed. As he closed in on the two Highgods, they only just noticed him in time. They hurriedly swung their divine weapons to block, but then a low, piercing "zzzz" rang out, as though a dagger were repeatedly stabbing at their souls. At the same time, tremendous force slammed into their hands, and both men were sent flying.

They had to withstand Hodan's heavy, rainlike blows while also enduring the soul attacks carried by Zhengdu. It was agony for them. Hodan didn't waste the opening: while they were still recovering from being knocked back and had yet to regain their balance,

Hodan flew above them, gripped the blade with both hands, and leaped high into the air. He released Zhengdu's edge with his divine power, then let gravity guide it down toward the two leaders. A dazzling flash of blade light swept past, instantly cutting through the two men as they struggled to defend themselves. Two Highgod Godheads fell from their bodies. Hodan caught them and put them away along with the Space Rings.

He also collected their divine bodies. Since this was a Five-Star Fiend Mission, Hodan wanted to take the opportunity to raise his Fiend rank to Five-Star. He didn't want to grind through repetitive, weak missions one by one just to increase his rank.

The battle was over. Aside from the bandits who had gone out to pursue the Fiend exam candidates, the entire bandit group in Howling Wind Valley had been all but wiped out. Without powerful leaders, the remaining bandits would either join other bandit groups or scatter to different places. They wouldn't stay in Howling Wind Valley and wait for their enemies to come back for revenge.

Hodan swept his divine sense across the whole region of Howling Wind Valley but found no place like a treasure vault. People who lived by the blade usually carried their wealth with them or kept it on their Divine Clones. Nowhere was safer than right by their side—and having a Divine Clone made it even better.

Hodan paid no attention to the rest and flew back toward the Metal Lifeform carrying the Fiend candidates. Although he had a Metal Lifeform of his own, it was more convenient to return with the one provided for the Fiend exam.

On the way to the Metal Lifeform, Hodan encountered the bandits who had gone out in pursuit. He didn't wait for them to attack; he immediately killed the group with a large-scale attack. They were only ordinary Mid-Gods and couldn't withstand Hodan's soul attack.

Not far from Howling Wind Valley, the Metal Lifeform hovered in midair.

When Hodan returned to the Metal Lifeform, he found that of the more than a thousand people who had set out, fewer than a third remained. Most of them were injured. Quite a few looked dejected; they were probably the ones who had failed to complete their Fiend Missions.

Hodan swept the area with his divine sense but didn't find the three Four-Star Fiends. They had probably flown straight back to Silvermoon City.

After waiting for half a day, the old man in silver robes gave the order. "There's no one else. Let's go!" In an instant, the Metal Lifeform transformed into a streak of light and vanished into the distant sky.

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