Unfettered

Facing the Heaven Gate City Lord and that Ninth-Rank Spiritwood, Cao Ya remained unruffled by danger, calm and composed.

If he had harbored a shred of doubt before, it had now vanished completely.

His strength was no weaker than that of the Ninth-Rank Realm.

With the defensive power of the Indestructible Diamond Divine Art, even if that Ninth-Rank Spiritwood threw caution to the wind and charged straight out, he could still retreat with ease.

Would that Ninth-Rank Spirit Plant dare come out?

It had taken root deep within Heavenly Gate City to break through to the next realm.

How could it let all its previous efforts go to waste over this?

Unless the Heaven Gate City Lord faced a mortal crisis!

But the Heaven Gate City Lord was in the Ninth-Rank Realm, after all. Cao Ya did not fear him, but killing him was still impossible.

This was Heavenly Gate City. The Heaven Gate City Lord was unharmed, but its people could not withstand the fighting. They died in droves, while even some of the stronger martial artists bled from all seven orifices and howled in agony.

"King!"

"Save me!"

The Heaven Gate City Lord's eyes nearly split with fury as he roared, "Divine Tree, kill him!"

Before his voice had faded, the Heaven Gate City Lord tore through the void, appeared before Cao Ya in an instant, and struck down with his palm from midair.

Cao Ya stood fearless, even feeling a little secretly delighted.

Trading blows at a distance, he could do nothing to the Heaven Gate City Lord.

But in close combat, how could the Heaven Gate City Lord match him?

With the Indestructible Diamond Divine Art, every part of his body was a weapon.

There was also his staff. Cao Ya swung it, striking the Heaven Gate City Lord hard enough to send him flying backward, coughing blood.

Cao Ya pressed his advantage, only to be briefly hindered by the spirit plant in the city, though he quickly shook his body and broke free of its restraint and suppression.

But the Heaven Gate City Lord had still managed to recover.

"Damn it!" The Heaven Gate City Lord's face darkened. Wounded over and over by an eighth-rank martial artist from Earth-did he have any dignity left?

"The Heaven Gate City Lord... so you're nothing special after all," Cao Ya said with deliberate contempt.

The Heaven Gate City Lord flew into a rage, but the spirit plant released fluctuations of Mental Power, seemingly soothing him, and he calmed down at once.

Then the Heaven Gate City Lord stopped fighting Cao Ya at close quarters and attacked him from a distance with the spirit plant's help.

Because of the pressure exerted by that spirit plant, Divine Tree, the Heaven Gate City Lord adjusted to the right way of fighting, and Cao Ya

could no longer gain the upper hand.

Rumble~~~~~~

The void trembled, the earth cracked, countless buildings collapsed, and the ground below caved in. The flesh and blood of countless people in Heavenly Gate City burst apart as they died wretched deaths.

Cao Ya showed no mercy. The humans of the Catacombs were another species.

Showing mercy to humanity's great enemy meant harming humanity.

He had entered the Catacombs many times and fought in many wars. He was decisive in killing and would not indulge in softhearted mercy.

The Magic City Catacombs.

The battle between ninth-rank powerhouses reverberated for a hundred li!

At that moment, the Southern Seven Regions shook. Sensing the violent disturbance coming from Heavenly Gate City, the high-rank powerhouses in the various cities changed expression, then rose into the air and gazed toward Heavenly Gate City.

Throughout the Southern Seven Regions, all thirteen Catacombs cities stirred.

To the west, above Demon Phoenix City, an enormous phoenix-like demonic beast spread wings that blotted out the sky and sun. Its cry rang out for a hundred li.

Farther west of Demon Phoenix City, a white tiger-like demonic beast threw back its head and roared, shaking heaven and earth.

In the Ten Thousand Ant Desert, golden sand surged upward, and sandstorms swept across the entire desert as several shadowy figures cast their intimidating presence in all directions.

Powerful fluctuations of Mental Power spread throughout the Magic City Catacombs!

Was war about to break out?

This thought arose in the minds of many powerhouses.

Hope City.

Sensing the violent power of the battle coming from Heavenly Gate City, streaks of light rose into the air. The human Grandmasters stationed in Hope City, along with Magic Martial University's former president, Wu Kuishan, and the other Grandmasters who had recently entered, all wore expressions of utmost gravity.

"Cao Ya has started fighting the Heaven Gate City Lord?"

Immediately, several figures flew out, heading toward Heavenly Gate City,

to support Cao Ya. The remaining Grandmasters stayed in Hope City to guard against threats from the other Catacombs cities.

Meanwhile, countless people in Hope City were shaken.

A disturbance like this... it probably went beyond the eighth rank!

The ninth rank!

Teacher Cao Ya was actually a ninth-rank Great Grandmaster?!

"A clash between ninth-rank fighters is terrifying..." some murmured. They were a full eighty kilometers from Heavenly Gate City, yet they still felt as though they were suffocating. Without so many high-rank Grandmasters holding the fort, they probably would not have survived this calamity.

Qin Fengqing and the others said with lingering fear, "Thank goodness we ran into Teacher Cao and came back to Hope City early. If we'd been out in the wilderness..."

Everyone shuddered in unison.

The mere thought of that scene immediately sent chills through them.

Never mind them-even the Grandmasters looked extraordinarily grave.

The former president, Wu Kuishan, and the others hurried toward Heavenly Gate City.

Sensing that almost tangible pressure, Wu Kuishan could not help murmuring in shock, "How did Teacher Cao cultivate?"

In fact, Cao Ya no longer needed their support. After fighting to a stalemate, he sensed the movements of the various forces in the Catacombs and grew somewhat wary. Relying on his Indestructible Vajra Body, he took a blow from the Heaven Gate City Lord head-on, producing a series of clear bangs.

Suppressing his surging Qi-Blood, Cao Ya used the force of the blow to break away.

Behind him, the Heaven Gate City Lord's expression was utterly dark.

"Earth's humans..." The Heaven Gate City Lord glanced down, his gaze growing even angrier, but he had no choice but to calm down and order the city's martial artists to provide disaster relief and restore order.

But in truth, he did not feel much heartache.

As long as he and Divine Tree remained, Demonwood City would remain!

On his way back to Hope City, Cao Ya encountered the former president, Wu Kuishan, and the others. Seeing Cao Ya safe and sound, the former president and the others immediately breathed sighs of relief, and then their morale surged.

"Amazing!" A Seventh-Rank Grandmaster gave him a thumbs-up.

He had charged into Heavenly Gate City alone, fought a fierce battle against the ninth-rank Heaven Gate City Lord, and still returned safely, seemingly uninjured. Such capability almost carried a hint of an Absolute Peak's bearing!

Yet just a short while ago, Cao Ya had only been sixth rank!

The former president reprimanded Cao Ya for being too reckless, but as he spoke, he could not help breaking into a brilliant smile.

With this battle, Cao Ya had fought to raise humanity's morale!

Everyone held their heads high and breathed freely.

So what if it was the Catacombs?

The Catacombs were exactly what they were fighting!

Through this battle, Cao Ya also came to understand his shortcomings. He still needed to put effort into studying the Martial Arts System of the Global Martial Arts world.

Qi-Blood, Mental Power, and the Origin Dao all had their merits.

In any case, several Cao Yas were already focusing on cultivating the system from The Masters of This World.

In particular, the Cao Ya in The Masters of This World came from Shaolin Temple, a Great Martial Sect. Its teachings included a number of Dharmakaya supreme arts, and even the third form of the Tathagata Divine Palm, passed down by the transcendent Buddha.

The transcendents in The Masters of This World were at the Dao Fruit level.

Perhaps they could bring a world like Global Martial Arts into being and destroy it countless times with a mere thought.

When they returned to Hope City, everyone held their breath at the sight of Cao Ya unharmed, then suddenly burst into cheers, their applause rolling like thunder.

Cao Ya could not help smiling too.

"We'll definitely be attending your Grandmaster Banquet," a Grandmaster said with a smile.

Grandmasters generally held a Grandmaster Banquet.

First, it boosted morale: humanity had gained another Grandmaster powerhouse.

Second, it deterred the cults, giving them something to fear so they would not dare act lightly.

The cults on Earth treated hundreds of millions of human lives like worthless weeds. They were so deranged that even death by a thousand cuts would not be enough to appease the hatred!