Siege Battle

Grandmaster, ninth heaven.

Having digested the entire cultivation base of a peak Grandmaster expert and pushed the Indestructible Diamond to its limit, Wang Xuan could clearly feel that he had touched the ceiling of this world.

Any higher, to the Great Grandmaster realm where essence, energy, and spirit merge into one and true qi transforms into true essence, was not something the second floor of the Heavens Tower could contain; he would need to go to a high-martial world and possess the corresponding cultivation techniques.

In other words, in this world, he was nearly invincible.

Sensing the dozen powerful auras rapidly approaching from the distance, Wang Xuan curled his lips into a cold sneer. With a thought, he instantly maxed out the new movement technique on his panel.

[Reed Crossing River (Limit)]

[Special Effects: Treading on Air, Qi-to-Feather Transformation, Inch-by-Inch Ground Shrinking]

A roar that shook the heavens erupted from afar, sounding like a dragon's howl piercing the firmament and thunderclaps exploding, causing the window lattices to hum. Eighteen dragon-shaped true qi manifestations, cast in gold with distinct scales and claws, tore through the air with sharp whistling sounds. Carrying the momentum of crushing dry weeds and smashing rotten wood, they surged like a golden torrent toward the now-silent restaurant.

Wang Xuan's eyes narrowed. He tapped his toes lightly against the floorboards with perfect precision. Surrounded by true qi as light as drifting clouds, he merged the Qi-to-Feather Transformation with the Inch-by-Inch Ground Shrinking. He transformed into a faint shadow, swept out from the hole in the second floor amidst the whistling wind, leaving only a blurred afterimage behind.

The moment his figure departed, a thunderous explosion erupted behind him!

The dragon-shaped true qi shattered the second floor of the restaurant; beams snapped, debris flew, and a sky-filling cloud of dust shot toward the heavens. The suffocating shockwave, laden with dust and dirt, swept in all directions, causing even the distant trees to bend.

Before the dust had settled, a dozen figures landed on the roof like ghosts. They landed without a sound, dressed in coarse, washed-out white short-sleeved tunics. Their faces were wooden, their eyes dull and numb, like puppets being controlled. A dozen divine intents surged like a net, precisely locking onto the tall, composed figure amidst the dust.

As soon as Wang Xuan landed, the surrounding killing intent reached its peak. Cold blade qi, brilliant sword light, heavy fist shadows, and yin-soft palm power—a dozen Grandmaster-level true qi manifestations of different attributes and colors wove into a net of certain death, sealing all paths of retreat as they slammed toward him.

Facing this lethal strike, Wang Xuan's lips curled into a cold arc, his eyes calm. He lifted his left arm slightly and pressed his palm into the void. The air around him stagnated, and a violent suction force suddenly exploded like an invisible black hole. The airflow rotated to form a visible vortex, twisting even the light itself.

As soon as those heterogenous true qi energies entered the range of the suction, their trajectories instantly turned chaotic. Pulled by an invisible force, they surged toward Wang Xuan's palm and were entirely "swallowed" into his body.

Before he could even savor the feeling of fullness within his body, the extremely yang and rigid Diamond true qi in his dantian suddenly became restless. Like a temperamental blacksmith, it swung an invisible hammer, relentlessly pounding away at the heterogenous true qi pouring into his meridians. Treating them like raw iron, the pure true qi was forged and refined bit by bit, merging into his limbs and bones to nourish his meridians, while the impure dross was expelled through his pores as wisps of white steam.

"Good stuff!" A sharp light erupted in Wang Xuan's eyes, and he couldn't help but let out a low shout, his tone filled with satisfaction. "The Energy Absorption Technique paired with the Indestructible Diamond is a match made in heaven! Absorb, receive, transform, and refine all in one go—it's practically getting stronger the more I fight!"

While he was fighting heartily and secretly gloating, the dozen Grandmaster-level players opposite him remained wooden and stiff, a hint of astonishment hidden deep within their numb eyes.

Their dozen full-powered attacks hadn't even left a sound; they had been completely absorbed by the opponent as if they had sunk into the sea, not even stirring up a ripple.

Wang Xuan had no intention of being polite. The violent suction in his palm suddenly turned toward the ground. With a series of harsh, cracking sounds, the bluestone slabs beneath his feet were forcibly ripped from the earth. One by one, they rapidly condensed and spliced together in mid-air, forming a crooked yet menacing stone dragon. With claws curved and fangs bared, it crashed straight toward the nearest Grandmaster player amidst a whistling gale.

That player raised his hand to throw a punch, the wind of his fist fierce and powerful. But the moment his fist touched the stone slab, the suction force traveled through it, causing his true qi to stagnate and his movements to slow by half a beat.

In that half-beat, Wang Xuan was already upon him. He smashed a fist into the man's chest—Bang! A massive crater caved into his chest, and he flew backward like a broken sack, crashing through two walls before falling silent.

The player reacted quickly, immediately raising his hand to throw a punch. The fist wind was fierce and sharp, carrying the thick, powerful energy of a Grandmaster, slamming heavily toward the incoming stone dragon. However, the moment his fist touched the slab, a strange suction force spread along it, instantly causing the true qi within his body to become sluggish and obstructed, slowing his movements by half a beat.

In that brief gap, Wang Xuan's figure had already closed in like a ghost. His right fist condensed with thick Diamond true qi, and he smashed it into the man's chest. With a muffled bang, the player's chest instantly caved into a gruesome crater. The man flew backward like a broken sack, crashing through two brick courtyard walls in succession before falling to the ground without a sound.

The great battle erupted in full.

Wang Xuan was alone, facing over a dozen opponents, yet his fighting style was unreasonably savage. Any true qi attack launched at him that could be absorbed was pulled in by the Energy Absorption Technique and refined into his own nourishment. When faced with blade light or fist shadows he couldn't dodge or absorb in time, he simply activated the Indestructible Diamond to tank them head-on.

Clang, clang, clang—the crisp sounds were continuous. Blade edges struck him, only sparking a sky full of fire, unable to leave even a shallow white mark. Fists and kicks landed, only to have the attackers' arms go numb and their meridians ache from the rebound of his Diamond true qi.

He became more spirited the longer he fought. His internal true qi was constantly replenished, not only failing to deplete but actually becoming more robust. The dozen people opposite him, however, were miserable; their true qi consumption was massive, their attacks couldn't break his defense, and they grew weaker the longer they fought.

He became more spirited the longer he fought. His internal true qi was constantly replenished by the endless stream of heterogenous energy, not only failing to deplete but actually becoming more robust and vast.

In contrast, the dozen Grandmaster players opposite him were suffering from massive true qi consumption, their moves gradually slowing down. Yet, they couldn't break Wang Xuan's Diamond defense, growing weaker with every exchange. Their eyes remained numb, as if everything had nothing to do with them, like pre-programmed robots.

The aftermath of the battle spread outward like a tidal wave, sweeping across the entire long street as if it cost nothing.

The wooden doors of the shops on both sides were shattered by the force, wood splinters flying; the window glass rattled and shattered, falling to the ground; the bluestone slabs on the ground were flipped up one by one, and the debris mixed with dust shrouded the entire street in a sky-filling haze.

The Brocade Guards who had gathered from afar were all pale-faced, their hands gripping their blades trembling, their legs weak; they didn't even have the courage to take a half-step forward. Was this a fight between mortals?

It was clearly two prehistoric beasts wantonly tearing the place apart, their momentum so terrifying it chilled the bone.

Anyone with eyes could see that the longer the fight dragged on, the greater the advantage for the young man in the bamboo hat.

Although the dozen Grandmaster players were numb, executing orders was their priority. They did not slack off; instead, relying on their combat logic, they immediately synchronized their changes. They stopped releasing true qi for long-range attacks and closed in for melee combat. Fists, palms, fingers, and legs were all used, with various close-quarters ultimate techniques taking turns against Wang Xuan. Their true qi was entirely internalized and channeled into their limbs, attempting to avoid the extraction of the Energy Absorption Technique.

"Changing tactics?" Wang Xuan grinned, though there was no smile in his tone, only a hint of impatience. "It's useless."

These opponents had been expressionless, numb, and mechanical from start to finish, without the slightest emotional fluctuation. Even when suffering heavy injuries, they showed no reaction. Fighting them was like dealing with a group of soulless robots. As the struggle continued, the impatience in Wang Xuan's heart grew more intense, and his strikes gradually became more ruthless.

The force field of the Energy Absorption Technique expanded once more. Although it couldn't directly suck away their condensed, unreleased true qi from a distance, the powerful suction acted like a quagmire, severely restricting their movement speed and making every action heavy and sluggish.

At the same time, the suction was pervasive, attempting to drill into their bodies to pull at their true qi and blood, forcing them to divert a portion of their focus to desperately suppress the power that was on the verge of rebelling.

As one side waned, the other waxed.

Rumble...

The ground suddenly trembled rhythmically, and the sound of uniform footsteps swept in from both ends of the long street.

A black mass of Great Ming troops, dressed in mandarin duck battle jackets and holding long spears and shields, advanced steadily. The heavy sound of wheels crushing the bluestone slabs arrived, and several black Cup-Mouth General Cannons were laboriously pushed to the front of the formation by soldiers, their muzzles aimed squarely at the center of the battlefield.

Further away, several Three-Bow Bed Crossbows had already been set up. The crossbow bolts, as thick as a child's arm, glinted with a chilling light, aimed directly at the core of the battle. Squads of soldiers holding Divine Arm Crossbows and Gunpowder Crossbows nimbly climbed onto the roofs on both sides, their bows and crossbows all aimed at Wang Xuan, locking him in from all sides.

Wang Xuan's expression changed slightly, and he frowned. He didn't fear the troops or the bows at all; with his current Indestructible Diamond body, tanking them would be no problem. But those cannons and bed crossbows possessed terrifying kinetic energy, and he didn't want to use his own flesh to test his limits.

In a flash of lightning, Wang Xuan had already decided on a countermeasure. The force field of the Energy Absorption Technique suddenly contracted, condensing from covering the entire field to precisely locking onto the one among the dozen Grandmaster players whose aura was the weakest.

That player's face turned deathly pale, and the aura around him instantly turned chaotic. A terrifying suction force locked onto him firmly, crazily pulling at the true qi and blood within his body, causing him to stagger and almost lose his footing. Following his combat logic, he subconsciously fought with all his might to resist.

Faced with the sudden contraction of Wang Xuan's force field, none of the other dozen or so master players took the opportunity to break away from the fray. Instead, their eyes were bloodshot—not due to their own emotions, but because they were controlled by preset combat commands. They completely abandoned defense and sustainability, forcibly squeezing the last shred of power from their meridians and dantian to unleash their ultimate melee techniques, lunging at Wang Xuan from all directions with lethal, uncompromising strikes.

This onslaught came unexpectedly; Wang Xuan had locked most of his suction force onto the weakest player, and in his haste, he could only activate his Indestructible Diamond to withstand the barrage.

Even so, enduring a dozen ultimate techniques fueled by exhausted strength caused his internal energy and blood to churn violently, leaving a metallic taste in his throat.

Yet, this impact only suppressed the impatience in his heart, making his gaze grow increasingly cold and ruthless. Instead of retreating even half a step, he stepped forward, using his own body to block most of the attacks aimed at the weakened player while his right hand, like an iron pincer, clamped onto the player's crown.

"Energy Absorption Technique, absorb!"

A flicker of emotion finally appeared in the player's eyes. He struggled and writhed in vain, but he could not break free from Wang Xuan's shackles.

The suction force, like the maw of an abyss, frantically devoured everything he had: true qi, blood essence, vitality, and even the fragments of martial arts insights stored in his mind were forcibly extracted, leaving nothing behind.

In just a dozen breaths, a living person withered and shriveled at a visible rate in Wang Xuan's grip, eventually turning completely into dust. Only a set of empty, coarse cloth clothes remained, fluttering to the ground. Wang Xuan showed no mercy; as contract servants, death was actually a release, and being killed out of the story world was not the same as true death.

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