A suffocatingly powerful pressure erupted from Yi Chen. He said with utter coldness, "Where is the supreme ruler of your Abel Family? I need to negotiate with him."
Skylar struggled to his feet, coughing up great mouthfuls of blood. He roared hoarsely, "Lowly human, how could your kind deserve to bargain with the great Abel Family? The great Abel Family will never bow to any human... ugh... you, what have you done?"
Yi Chen grinned savagely, an eerie silver gleam blazing in his eyes. Threads of Power of Faith surged through him, while hazy gray runes coiled around his body and slowly seeped into his muscles and bones.
His body gradually swelled, his muscles bulging. Rings of hazy gray radiance flowed through his limbs and bones, making him look like a god.
"I will utterly destroy your Abel Family!"
Yi Chen's face twisted viciously. With a low growl, he launched himself like a bolt of lightning at Skylar and brought his blade slashing down.
Skylar suddenly vanished in midair. Yi Chen's slash struck nothing but air, leaving a distinct trail behind it.
Yi Chen froze for an instant, but Skylar had already reappeared and swept a kick toward his abdomen. Yi Chen sidestepped several paces to evade it.
Skylar vanished into thin air again. Immediately afterward, a whipping kick lashed toward Yi Chen's head.
Yi Chen's pupils contracted as he concentrated fully on his surroundings. Two wisps of white vapor even shot from his nostrils. An intensely chilling killing intent spread around him, and his heart pounded as though it would leap out of his chest.
Yi Chen had already sensed it: the air above his head rippled unnaturally. An illusory figure stood in midair, lunging at him amid countless afterimages.
"Hmph, a mere duplicate?" Yi Chen said in a low voice. "My strength is ten times yours, yet you dare flaunt these paltry tricks before me?"
A silver light suddenly flared. Yi Chen jerked his head up, and the dagger in his hand flashed. Skylar materialized behind him with an agonized howl. The short spear flew from Skylar's grasp, and Yi Chen caught it backhanded before bringing it crashing down.
"I want you dead!" Yi Chen cursed venomously. With a twist of his wrist, the sharp spear became a streak of gleaming silk that slashed heavily into Skylar's shoulder.
Skylar howled in a frenzy, "Aha, you useless fool! You don't even understand how to use the slightest bit of Power of Faith! Do you think I have no way to deal with you?"
A hazy gray blade aura shot far into the distance, trailing a long tail of flame. A tree several dozen feet tall was severed at the waist, then dissolved into drifting powder.
Skylar cursed shrilly, "Damn you, bastard! Don't push me! I'll tear you to pieces!"
Yi Chen roared coldly, "Since you're courting death, you have no one to blame but yourselves! You know, once I decide to do something, I never give up until I achieve my goal. Even if you're a god, even if you possess the power to destroy the world, I still won't compromise!"
Skylar laughed madly. "Is that so? Then come! Let me see just how powerful you are."
He thrust out a finger. A hazy gray bolt of lightning appeared out of nowhere and slammed into Yi Chen's forehead.
Yi Chen grunted and staggered back a step, his forehead scorched black.
Humiliated and furious, he stamped his foot. The surrounding grassland instantly collapsed under the shock, exposing an enormous pit dozens of feet across as dirt sprayed everywhere.
Skylar suddenly turned and drove a punch forward.
With a dull thud, Yi Chen felt an immense recoil strike him. His body seemed to have slammed into a wall, and he staggered back seven or eight steps before regaining his balance.
Skylar appeared several dozen meters to Yi Chen's side in a sorry state, staring at him in terror. "How is this possible? Who are you? How could you possess such terrifying Soul Power?"
Panting, Yi Chen straightened and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. He asked with a savage grin, "That thing you just used-was it a divine artifact?"
Skylar's body abruptly dissolved into a wisp of pale smoke and vanished without a trace. His venomous voice echoed through the air. "You have no right to know!"
Yi Chen drew a deep breath and closed his eyes in quiet contemplation. His Soul Skill slowly emerged: golden flames enveloped a brilliant golden tower about three inches tall, which swayed gently.
"Fifth Soul Skill-Tower of Eternal Suppression!"
With a hum, pale golden mist rose from the golden tower's surface. The tower trembled slightly, and a strange ripple spread outward from it.
Yi Chen opened his eyes and murmured, "Hmm, it seems to be lacking a little power."
As he spoke, all the Power of Faith within Yi Chen gathered in his right arm.
Something strange happened. The golden light that had merely hovered around the tower slowly transformed into slender swords!
Golden Sword Qi whistled outward, piercing the air with shrill shrieks as it spread in every direction.
A hazy cloud appeared in the sky. It spun rapidly with strange hissing sounds, and a blue-violet ball of lightning as thick as a bucket rolled out of it, striking straight toward Yi Chen.
Meanwhile, Yi Chen's Sword Qi had already locked onto Skylar and slashed down at his head.
Yi Chen's figure vanished eerily from where he stood. When he reappeared, he was already pressed close to Skylar.
With a sharp crack, Yi Chen broke Skylar's left hand. Hooking and kicking with his left foot, Yi Chen stomped heavily on Skylar's lower leg, completely shattering his kneecap.
Skylar's piercing screams carried for miles around. He collapsed to his knees, writhing and groaning in agony.
Yi Chen pressed his left hand against Skylar's head and held a longsword suspended before him in his right. He demanded icily, "Is your duplicate really so impressive?!"
Skylar suddenly laughed. He opened his mouth, and a thread of dark red light shot from the tip of his tongue. The moment it touched Yi Chen's chest, it swiftly melted into his skin. Yi Chen paused, then looked down at Skylar, whose cheeks had already swollen and whose teeth had loosened, many of them falling out.
Yi Chen stared coldly at Skylar. "What are you doing?"
With difficulty, Skylar stretched his lips into a chilling sneer. "Foolish mortal, did you think I truly wanted to duel you? You're nothing but a sacrifice. If you weren't so powerful, you wouldn't even be worth my taking action. Otherwise... heh heh... you'd already be a corpse, wouldn't you?"
Skylar's body suddenly grew indistinct. Streams of black vapor so dense they seemed solid rose slowly from him. Amid wails like the cries of ghosts and gods, a pitch-black figure slowly floated into the air. He stood over three and a half meters tall, bristling with black carapace, his body covered in thick scales and a pair of membranous wings on his back. Every inch of him exuded evil, decay, and venom.