Xuan Zi and Xiong Jun were both fighters who excelled at overwhelming their opponents with brute force.
The moment they clashed head-on, the battlefield between Shrek City and the horde of Soul Beasts erupted.
One earth-yellow streak and one dark-gold streak tangled across the battlefield at dizzying speed. No one could tell which was which.
Every collision brought a deafening boom, sending waves of heat and force surging in every direction!
The ground, once level, was scarred by cracks of every shape from the aftershocks. The sight was horrifying.
Among the Soul Beasts near the fight, the weaker ones with only ten or a hundred years of cultivation were blasted into bloody mist if they made a single misstep.
Yet one ten-year Wind Baboon clutched a tough stalk of Ten-Year Solitary Bamboo and leaped, ducked, and dodged through the terrifying shockwaves.
Its scrawny figure darted between earth and stone, and somehow it escaped the Death God's scythe alive.
Atop Shrek City's main gate.
The battle between the evenly matched Xuan Zi and Xiong Jun had whipped up a howling gale.
Some of the weaker soldiers were blown off balance, their armor and uniforms in disarray. They looked utterly bedraggled.
"Wasn't Xuan Zi going over to negotiate? Why hasn't he even seen Di Tian, and why is he fighting Xiong Jun instead?!"
Qian Duoduo shielded his face with one hand. The wind plastered his robes against his body, and his voice was urgent.
"Do you even have to ask? The talks obviously fell apart!"
Yan Shaozhe stated the obvious, then spun around, waved his hand, and shouted:
"Everyone, stay alert! Prepare for battle at any moment!"
"Yes!"
"Kill those Soul Beasts!"
The Soul Engineers on the gate answered in chorus. They trained their Soul Cannons outside the city as Soul Power gathered in glowing masses at the muzzles.
At the heart of Xuan Zi and Xiong Jun's fierce battle, the tension had reached its peak.
Xuan Zi's rank ninety-eight Soul Power and Xiong Jun's cultivation of more than four hundred thousand years left little difference between them. Victory could go either way.
Both used every means at their disposal, neither daring to let down his guard.
Bang!
One misstep, and Xuan Zi was sent flying by Xiong Jun's claw.
The dark-gold talons struck Xuan Zi's shoulder with terrifying force.
Yet instead of gravely injuring Xuan Zi, the blow gave him the distance and space he needed to unleash a Soul Skill.
Gravity Control!
Xuan Zi gave a low shout, and a Soul Ring beside him flashed.
Rings of yellow light lit up along the Godly Taotie Bull's long, forward-pointing horns.
Then it accelerated through the air, galloping on empty sky as it charged straight at Xiong Jun.
The Godly Taotie Bull thundered forward with a roar that seemed capable of trampling the entire sky to pieces.
Rings of yellow light spread from beneath its hooves and enveloped Xiong Jun. This was Gravity Control.
Immense gravity pressed down on Xiong Jun, trying to pin him in place.
At first, Xiong Jun could still move with difficulty. But as Xuan Zi poured in more Soul Power, the gravity grew stronger.
His legs began to tremble, and his bones creaked and groaned.
At last, unable to bear the weight, Xiong Jun was crushed to the ground, unable to move!
BOOOOM!!
A mountain-shattering crash rang across the battlefield as the Godly Taotie Bull's sharp horns slammed into Xiong Jun's immobilized body.
The tremendous force drove into Xiong Jun and then down into the earth.
Several bottomless cracks split the ground and spread outward, nearly reaching Shrek City's walls.
Xuan Zi hovered in the air, watching warily through the dust toward where Xiong Jun had fallen.
He reckoned that while the blow would not kill Xiong Jun, it should have wounded him badly enough to give Xuan Zi an advantage in the fight ahead.
But before the dust could settle—
Slash! Slash! Slash! Slash!
Four claw marks, each carrying the force of a rank ninety-eight Super Douluo's full-strength strike, tore through the dust and shot straight at Xuan Zi!!
Xuan Zi's face drained of color. With no time to think, he summoned his Martial Soul, the Godly Taotie Bull, to block them with all its might!
BOOOOM!
The claw marks struck the Godly Taotie Bull head-on, and the immense impact drove Xuan Zi higher and higher into the sky.
The bull's four hooves gouged long trails through the air as it let out one deep bellow after another.
Only when the claw marks dissipated did Xuan Zi finally come to a stop.
He wiped the blood seeping from the corner of his mouth, gasped for breath, and looked down.
The dust cleared.
Xiong Jun stood where he had fallen, completely unharmed. The only difference was that the purple Soul Power that had covered his body was gone.
Other than that, what part of him looked injured?
"How is that possible?!"
Xuan Zi's pupils contracted, and towering waves surged through his heart.
They were evenly matched. Xiong Jun had taken that attack head-on; there was no way he should have escaped unscathed!
What in the world was going on?
But before Xuan Zi could think further, Xiong Jun charged at him from the ground!
They plunged into battle once more.
This time, though, Xiong Jun wore a smile.
He put all his strength into every attack, trading injury for injury without the slightest concern for his own safety.
This feels incredible! Di Tian's Divine Skill is incredible! I've got to find a way to get him to use it on me a few more times!
Xiong Jun watched as he gained complete control over the fight with Xuan Zi, roaring with delight in his heart.
That was right. The reason he could fight without fear of death was the effect of the Divine Skills Di Tian had granted him.
The first Divine Skill Di Tian had given him was called Heavenly Timing.
It fixed his condition for a period of time, including his Soul Power, injuries, and stamina.
Every bit of energy he expended and every injury he sustained during that period would instead erupt all at once when the fixed state ended!
In other words, while Heavenly Timing was active, no matter how badly Xiong Jun was hurt, his fighting strength would not truly suffer.
He could trade wound for wound, life for life, without worrying about the price.
Only when the Divine Skill ended would the bill come due.
Until then, he was an unkillable Ferocious Beast!
Of course, on its own, this would have been no more than a Divine Skill that drained the pond to catch the fish.
But paired with the other Divine Skill Di Tian had given him, it was an entirely different matter!
The other Divine Skill was called Time Hand.
It could pluck a second's worth of conditions—including damage—from his own timeline, severing their chain of cause and effect to restore him!
After he used it, however, his Soul Power would be completely depleted for a time and could only recover slowly. Not even Heavenly Timing could prevent that.
One skill fixed his condition, leaving every expenditure and injury to erupt afterward!
The other used the power of time to sever the chain of cause and effect, restoring him!
If he timed the two skills correctly, their combined effect would be terrifying!!
Against an enemy far stronger than himself, this move might only improve his chances of escape and let him cling to life a little longer.
But against an enemy roughly his equal, or only somewhat stronger, it could change the course of a battle in an instant.
To put it vividly: you and your opponent had the same stats, but your opponent's health, mana, buffs, and debuffs were all locked in place.
Your only chance of winning was to hold out until their invincibility ended and they had no mana left. Only then could you fight them.
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