Fierce Battle at the Siege

Ninth Heaven of Grandmaster.

After absorbing the full cultivation of a peak Grandmaster and pushing the Indestructible Diamond Divine Skill to its limit, Wang Xuan could clearly sense that he had already touched this world's ceiling.

Beyond that lay the Great Grandmaster realm, where essence, qi, and spirit merged into three flowers, and True Qi transformed into True Essence. That was not something the second floor of the Heavens Tower could contain. He would have to go to a High Martial Arts World and obtain the corresponding cultivation method.

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

Sensing more than a dozen powerful auras rapidly approaching from afar, Wang Xuan curled his lips into a cold smile. With a thought, he instantly maxed out the newly acquired movement skill on his System Panel.

[Reed Crossing River (Limit)]

[Effects: Treading Objects and Soaring in Void, Qi Transforming into Light Feathers, Shrinking Earth into Inches]

A heaven-shaking roar came from afar, like a dragon's cry tearing through the sky and thunder exploding. The window lattice buzzed violently. Eighteen golden dragon-shaped streams of True Qi, every scale and claw distinct, tore through the air with piercing shrieks. Carrying unstoppable force, they crashed like a golden flood toward the tavern, where all voices had abruptly fallen silent.

Wang Xuan's gaze sharpened. He lightly tapped the floorboards with his toes, exerting precisely the right amount of force. Wispy, cloud-like True Qi swirled around him as Qi Transforming into Light Feathers merged with Shrinking Earth into Inches. He became a faint blur, streaking out through the hole on the second floor with the whistle of wind, leaving only an indistinct afterimage behind.

The instant he departed, a thunderous explosion erupted behind him!

The dragon-shaped True Qi blasted apart the tavern's second floor. Beams and pillars shattered, rubble flew everywhere, and billowing dust shot into the sky. A choking shockwave swept outward with dirt and debris, even bending the distant trees.

Before the smoke dispersed, more than a dozen figures landed on the rooftops like ghosts, soundless upon touching down. They wore faded coarse-cloth outfits, their faces wooden and their eyes numb, like puppets under someone else's control. More than a dozen wills surged like a net, precisely locking onto the tall, composed figure within the dust.

The moment Wang Xuan landed, the killing intent around him reached its peak. Blade qi was chilling, sword light dazzling, fist shadows heavy, and palm force sinister. More than a dozen streams of Grandmaster-level True Qi, each with different attributes and colors, intertwined into a lethal net that sealed every avenue of retreat and bombarded him.

Facing the certain kill, Wang Xuan's lips curved into an icy smile, his gaze calm. He raised his left arm slightly and pressed his palm through the air. The air around him froze as a violent suction force erupted like an invisible black hole. Air currents spun into visible vortices, even warping the light.

The moment those foreign streams of True Qi entered the suction's range, their trajectories instantly became chaotic. An invisible force dragged them relentlessly toward Wang Xuan's palm, where they were all "swallowed" into his body.

Before he could savor the fullness of True Qi within him, the supremely yang and unyielding diamond True Qi in his dantian suddenly stirred. Like an irritable blacksmith wielding an invisible hammer, it pounded ceaselessly upon the foreign True Qi pouring into his meridians, treating it as raw iron to be forged. The pure True Qi was hammered and condensed bit by bit, merging into his limbs and bones to nourish his meridians, while the mixed impurities seeped out through his pores as wisps of white vapor.

"Good stuff!" A brilliant light burst from Wang Xuan's eyes as he shouted in delight. "The Energy Absorption Technique paired with the Indestructible Diamond Divine Skill—now that's a match made in heaven! Absorb, take, transform, refine—one seamless process. The more I fight, the stronger I get!"

While he fought to his heart's content and secretly reveled in it, the dozen or so Grandmaster Players opposite him remained wooden and stiff, though a trace of shock lurked deep in their numb eyes.

Their more than a dozen full-force attacks had vanished without even making a sound, all absorbed by their opponent as though stones sinking into the sea, without raising the slightest ripple.

Wang Xuan had no intention of being polite. The violent suction of Absorb Mountains and Shake Peaks suddenly shifted toward the ground. Amid a series of ear-piercing cracks, the bluestone slabs beneath his feet were ripped straight from the earth. One after another, they rapidly gathered and joined in midair, forming a crooked yet imposing stone dragon. Its claws curled, fangs bared, and with howling wind, it rammed straight toward the nearest Grandmaster Player.

The Player threw a punch, his fist wind fierce. But the instant his fist touched the stone slabs, the suction traveled through them, stalling his True Qi and slowing his movements by half a beat.

In that half beat, Wang Xuan was already there. He drove a fist into the man's chest. Bang! A deep crater caved in his chest, and he flew backward like a rag doll, smashing through two walls before falling silent.

That Player reacted quickly and immediately threw a punch. His fist wind was fierce and sharp, carrying the dense force of a Grandmaster as it slammed toward the incoming stone dragon. Yet the moment his fist touched the slabs, an eerie suction force spread through them, instantly choking the flow of True Qi within him and slowing his movements by half a beat.

In that brief half-beat opening, Wang Xuan had already closed in like a ghost. His right fist gathered dense diamond True Qi and smashed brutally into the man's chest. With a muffled bang, a hideous crater instantly appeared in the Player's chest. He flew backward like a broken sack, crashing through two bluestone courtyard walls in succession before landing without another movement.

The battle erupted in full.

Wang Xuan stood alone against more than a dozen opponents, yet his fighting style was brutally unreasonable. Any True Qi attack they launched that could be absorbed was dragged over by the Energy Absorption Technique and refined into nourishment for himself. Any blade light or fist shadow he could not evade or absorb in time, he simply endured head-on with the Indestructible Diamond Divine Skill.

Sharp clangs rang out one after another. Blades striking his body sent sparks flying everywhere, yet failed to leave even the faintest white mark. Fists and kicks that landed were instead jolted by the diamond True Qi inside him, leaving their attackers' arms numb and meridians throbbing with pain.

The more he fought, the more invigorated he became. Foreign True Qi replenished him without end; not only did he suffer no depletion, but his own True Qi grew ever denser and more powerful.

Meanwhile, the dozen or so Grandmaster Players opposite him were having a miserable time. Their True Qi was draining rapidly, their moves gradually slowing, and they could not break Wang Xuan's diamond defense. The longer they fought, the weaker they became. Yet their eyes remained numb, as though none of it concerned them, like robots following pre-programmed commands.

The battle's aftershocks spread outward like a mad tide, sweeping across the entire long street as if they cost nothing.

The wooden doors of shops on both sides were shattered by the force, splinters flying everywhere. Window glass crackled and all fell in fragments. Bluestone slabs on the ground were jolted upward one after another, while shattered rocks and dust engulfed the whole street in a haze.

The distant Brocade Guards who had gathered around were all pale-faced. Their hands gripping their sabers trembled without stop, their legs weak, and none dared step forward even half a pace. What kind of fight between mortals was this?

It was clearly two primordial beasts tearing apart their surroundings at will, their terrifying might enough to chill anyone to the bone.

Anyone with eyes could tell that the longer this dragged on, the greater the advantage of that young man in the bamboo hat.

Though the dozen or so Grandmaster Players opposite him were numb, carrying out orders came first. They did not slack off. Instead, following their combat logic, they immediately changed tactics in unison. No longer did they release True Qi for ranged attacks. They all closed in, unleashing fists, palms, fingers, and legs in turn. Various close-combat Ultimate Arts rained down on Wang Xuan, their True Qi fully drawn inward to reinforce their limbs in an attempt to avoid being drained by the Energy Absorption Technique.

"Changing tactics?" Wang Xuan grinned, but there was no amusement in his voice—only impatience. "Useless."

These opponents had been expressionless from beginning to end, numb and mechanical, without the slightest emotional fluctuation. Even grievous wounds drew no reaction from them. Fighting them was like dealing with a group of soulless machines. As the melee dragged on, Wang Xuan's impatience grew stronger, and his attacks became increasingly ruthless.

The force field of the Energy Absorption Technique expanded again. Though it could not directly drain the True Qi they kept condensed within their bodies, its powerful pull was like a swamp, greatly limiting their movement and making every action heavy and sluggish.

At the same time, the suction seeped in everywhere, trying to burrow into their bodies and drag at their True Qi and blood vitality. They were forced to devote part of their focus to suppressing the power within them that was on the verge of rebelling.

As one side waned, the other waxed.

Rumble...

A rhythmic tremor suddenly spread through the ground. Uniform footsteps swept in from both ends of the long street.

A vast Great Ming army, clad in mandarin-duck battle coats and carrying spears and shields, advanced steadily in measured steps. The heavy sound of wheels rolling over bluestone came from behind them as several black Cup-Mouth General Cannons were laboriously pushed into formation by soldiers, their pitch-black muzzles aimed at the center of the battlefield.

Farther away, several Three-Bow Bed Crossbows had already been set up. Their arm-thick bolts gleamed with a chilling light, aimed directly at the heart of the battle. Groups of soldiers carrying Divine Arm Bows and Gunpowder Crossbows nimbly climbed onto the rooftops on both sides, their bows and crossbows all trained on Wang Xuan, locking him down from every direction.

Wang Xuan's expression changed slightly as his brows furrowed. He feared neither the army nor the bows and crossbows. With his current Indestructible Diamond body, he could withstand them without issue. But those cannons and bed crossbows possessed terrifying kinetic force, and he had no desire to test the limits of his flesh with them.

In that flash of lightning, Wang Xuan had already devised a response. The Energy Absorption Technique's force field suddenly contracted, shrinking from its battlefield-wide coverage to precisely lock onto the weakest of the dozen or so Grandmaster Players.

That Player's face turned pale. The aura around him instantly became chaotic as a terrifying suction force locked firmly onto him, frantically dragging at his True Qi and blood vitality. He staggered, nearly unable to remain standing. Following his combat logic, he instinctively circulated his cultivation with all his strength to resist.

Faced with Wang Xuan's suddenly contracted force field, none of the other Grandmaster Players took the chance to withdraw from the battle. Instead, all their eyes reddened—not from emotion, but from pre-programmed combat commands. They completely abandoned defense and endurance, forcibly squeezing the last trace of power from their meridians and dantians. Each unleashed his trump-card close-combat Ultimate Art and charged Wang Xuan from all directions, every strike lethal and without the slightest restraint.

The attack came too suddenly. Most of Wang Xuan's suction force was locked onto the weakest Player, and in his haste, he could only circulate his Indestructible Diamond body to endure it head-on.

Even so, after taking more than a dozen Ultimate Arts fueled by their full, overdrawn strength, he felt his blood and qi churn violently within him, a faint sweetness rising in his throat.

Yet the impact instead suppressed his impatience. His gaze grew colder and fiercer. Not only did he refuse to retreat half a step, he instead stepped forward, using his body to block most of the attacks aimed at the weakened Player. At the same time, his right hand shot out like an iron clamp and seized the Player by the crown of his head.

"Energy Absorption Technique, absorb!"

At last, a trace of fluctuation appeared in that Player's eyes. His body struggled and twisted futilely, but he could not break free from Wang Xuan's grip.

The suction was like the gaping maw of an abyss, madly devouring everything he possessed—True Qi, blood vitality, life force, even the fragments of martial understanding stored in his mind. All were forcibly extracted, leaving nothing behind.

In barely a dozen breaths, a living person shriveled and withered at a visible speed in Wang Xuan's hand, finally turning completely to ash. Only an empty set of coarse-cloth clothes drifted lightly to the ground. Wang Xuan showed no mercy. For a contracted servant, death was instead a release; being killed out of the Plot World was not true death, after all.