Facing Rhodes, Atezi was utterly confident. Recalling the Demon King's terrifying fused divine power, he had experimented countless times after returning to the Celestial Realm, yet no matter what he tried, he could not fuse the divine powers of two elements. They would only explode or dissipate.
Even if someone cracked Atezi's head open, he probably still would not understand what Soul Mutation was. The Demon King himself most likely did not know what Soul Mutation was either, only that he could fuse two elements' divine powers and fuse different profound mysteries.
The two stood at opposite ends of the sky. Six pairs of illusory wings of light appeared behind Atezi, and his aura grew increasingly holy, solemn, and majestic. The sword of light in his hand shone blindingly, the energy within it growing ever denser.
Seeing the light behind Atezi, a thought instantly surfaced in Rhodes's mind. A Twelve-Winged Angel? Impossible, absolutely impossible! The Sovereigns haven't even created the Light God Plane yet. How could a Twelve-Winged Angel appear?
Rhodes no longer dared underestimate Atezi. He truly was someone who could rival the Demon King.
Holding his sword across his body in his right hand, he ran his left hand, filled with black lightning, along the Tribulation-Breaking Divine Sword from hilt to tip. Dense lightning that seemed to flow like water covered the entire divine sword. As he swung it, even the space of the Infernal Realm seemed on the verge of being cleaved apart, giving the impression that just a little more speed would surely split it open.
He poured all his fused profound mysteries into the divine sword in his hand. The Tribulation-Breaking Divine Sword, a Midgod Artifact, trembled continuously. A Midgod Artifact could no longer bear Rhodes's full power. Fortunately, the material used to forge the Tribulation-Breaking Divine Sword was extraordinary too. Otherwise, after a few battles, the divine sword would surely shatter!
Pash and the Four Divine Beasts stared fixedly at the two in the sky. Whether they were broadening their knowledge or learning combat experience, they were all utterly focused, afraid of missing anything. Oh, there was one difference: water-element fluctuations appeared around Azure Dragon, and a ball of water gathered in his hand. Its aura was faint, and no one knew what it was for.
Had Rhodes not been wholly absorbed in battle, he might have ventured a guess that this was the "Floating Shadow" from the original story, which could record images of battles between powerful fighters, but not sound.
Neither launched a surprise attack. Both seemed to be waiting for their opponent to gather all their strength before fighting the decisive battle.
Atezi was supremely confident. After their earlier exchanges, he felt he had already seen through his opponent's strength. Rhodes was slightly weaker than his Light Element Divine Clone, with only a slight advantage in speed. If he used his Fate Divine Clone together with his innate divine ability, he could kill Rhodes with ease. Without using his Fate Divine Clone, relying only on his Light God Clone, it would probably take a fierce battle, but he would be the winner.
But his Fate Divine Clone was his ultimate trump card, and he would avoid using it lightly if he could. Last time, however, the Demon King had left him no choice. Without using his full strength, he would not even have been able to escape.
He had entered the Infernal Realm this time for two reasons: first, to rescue his subordinates, and second, because he was confident in the strength he had gained over these thousand years. He was certainly no weaker than the Demon King. Had his strength not increased, Atezi truly would not have dared come.
Whoosh!
Boom!
A tremendous crash erupted in the sky. Two divine swords, one white and one black, collided overhead, neither giving way. At the instant of impact, Rhodes once again lamented how much of a disadvantage a Midgod faced against a Highgod. The gap in divine power was too great.
Atezi, opposite him, did not think much of it. He merely felt that the deity facing him had some ability to conceal his aura, disguising it as that of a Midgod.
As the swords repeatedly crossed, spatial ripples spread continuously from where the two divine swords clashed, and tiny spatial rifts kept appearing.
With wings of light manifested behind him, Atezi was now no slower than Rhodes. Rhodes was also hesitating over whether to use his innate divine ability and overwhelm Atezi with attacks through sheer speed.
The reason for his hesitation was that Rhodes kept sensing another tremendous threat from Atezi. Atezi appeared to be using his full strength, yet the threat Rhodes's divine senses perceived had never changed.
This was also why Rhodes had not used his innate divine ability to increase his speed.
The battle spread farther and farther. They fought from the sky into the ground, then from underground back into the sky. Time slowly passed, and both seemed to have an endless array of techniques, yet neither could do anything to the other.
The sun rose and set several times. When the blood-red sun rose again, Rhodes finally decided to use his innate divine ability and eliminate his enemy outright. As for the threat he sensed from Atezi, he should be able to withstand it with his Willpower.
Enveloping his soul power in Willpower, he scanned tens of thousands of li. Checking his surroundings before using his ultimate move was a good habit of Rhodes's. Especially after discovering the Four Divine Beasts inside the mountain, he would periodically strengthen his soul power with Willpower and scan the Skyrite Mountains.
That single scan immediately put an end to Rhodes's plan. His soul power detected three spectators, as well as another powerful figure whose energy was far from weak, flying rapidly toward this location.
The three watching were all familiar faces: Demon King Chris Ding, and Lei Jialie and Zijing, the couple from the Amethyst Alliance.
Sweat broke out over Rhodes's forehead. He had been too focused while fighting Atezi and had not kept track of the changes around him in time. Moreover, their positions were essentially beyond the range of a Highgod's soul scan.
The Demon King had undergone Soul Mutation and was already powerful, with a sufficiently long scanning range. As Amethyst Sacred Beasts, Lei Jialie and his wife were strongest in their souls.
Thus, Pash could not detect the three at all, and naturally had no way to warn Rhodes. With only his Midgod divine sense, Rhodes could not have scanned them either.
The fact that Lei Jialie and his wife had arrived without notifying him could still be explained as them fearing that disturbing him during battle would distract him and cause him to be injured. But Pash had not received a Soul Transmission either. That truly left him at a loss for words.
Truly worthy of being leaders of a major power, two future Sovereigns! One fewer opponent was one fewer opponent, whether or not they had once been friends.
Rhodes was indeed rather dissatisfied with their behavior, even repulsed. People's hearts were hard to fathom. Fortunately, he and Pash had left the Amethyst Alliance early. Had they stayed, there was no telling what might have happened.
When Rhodes discovered people nearby, he no longer intended to continue fighting Atezi. Since you've all chosen to watch and even kept your distance for fear of being discovered, I certainly can't let you have your way.
Rhodes drove Atezi back with a full-powered sword strike. Watching Atezi fly backward, adjust his posture, and charge over again, he said, "Atezi, do you want people watching you as though you were a Saint-level fighter? Old friends are watching nearby-old acquaintances of yours in the Infernal Realm."
Atezi froze at those words, then sent out a sweep of soul power. His brow furrowed. I haven't found anyone. Is he lying to me? His expression doesn't look like it. Could his soul be even stronger than my Light God Clone's? Atezi could not help frowning.
White light shone all over him as imperceptible fate divine power spread out. In an instant, he switched Divine Clones and switched back. Using his strongest Fate Divine Clone to employ the Edicts of Fate, he finally discovered the three concealing their whereabouts.
I don't know two of them, but one is my old acquaintance, the Demon King. There really are people nearby. I was careless. I actually failed to notice them, Atezi thought to himself.
Rhodes watched Atezi's brow furrow, relax, and furrow again, figuring that he had probably discovered the hidden onlookers.
As for Pash and the others, the moment Rhodes discovered the Demon King's group, they had already received his Soul Transmission. He had also told Bowen to be ready to activate the wondrous item at any moment and take them into hiding within the mountains to ensure their safety.
"Still want to fight, Atezi? You should have noticed them too, right? Why don't we wait until they come over before deciding whether to keep fighting? I've had some grievances with the Demon King as well." Seeing that Atezi had also stopped moving, Rhodes took the initiative to speak.
"Fine. We'll talk once Chris Ding gets here," Atezi replied directly, his tone losing none of its confidence or commanding force.
"Lei Jialie, Zijing, since you're already here, why not come over for a gathering? Demon King, does a powerful figure like you still need to hide?" Rhodes directly exposed their whereabouts through Soul Transmission.
PS: This is the second chapter today. I updated one in the early morning, and I'll keep writing in a bit to make up the chapter I owed from a few days ago. Brothers who haven't added this book to your collections, please do so, and invest with confidence. Thanks to all the brothers who voted. Keep pelting the author with monthly tickets and recommendation votes!!!
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