The four towering giants roared at the sky before fixing their gazes on Dongbo Xueying in the distance. In the next instant, they transformed into blurs as they shot toward him.
Though their speed was inferior to that of their true forms, it was still astonishingly fast, causing Dongbo Xueying to click his tongue in amazement. “Lei Yan’s physical body truly lives up to its reputation as the strongest among the Five Sacred Realms’ Unity realm cultivators. Even the bodies of these manifested giants are this swift.”
“Boom—”
The four giants traced curved trajectories through the air as they closed in on Dongbo Xueying, surrounding him. Their massive hands, carved like stone, lashed out—some swiping like blades, others forming claws to grab, while others chopped down with furious might. Though their attacks had yet to land, the sheer force behind them caused the surrounding space to crack like shattered glass, countless fissures spreading outward.
This was raw, unbridled power! Each of them was controlled by the Thunder Tower Master, utterly unaffected by illusions.
“Hmph.” With a thought from Dongbo Xueying, countless rippling threads of energy spread through the void, swiftly entangling the four giants and slowing them slightly. He shook his head inwardly—the power of the Ripplewave Diagram was still insufficient. If he could advance it to the sixth level of the Star Tower’s might, it would be far more effective.
But the ripple domain was merely supplementary. His true killing move was the Blade of Heavenly Punishment.
From within twelve illusory worlds, a dazzling radiance condensed.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Twelve Blades of Heavenly Punishment descended from the void, materializing directly in the path of the four giants. Three blades targeted each giant.
“Twelve Blades of Heavenly Punishment?” The Thunder Tower Master, who had been standing confidently in the distance, paled at the sight.
“Boom! Boom! Boom—”
The twelve blades clashed against the four giants, who bellowed in fury as they raised their hands to block.
On one side were the four manifested giants, the pinnacle of close combat prowess cultivated by the Thunder Tower Master.
On the other were twelve pure offensive strikes—the Blades of Heavenly Punishment.
The resulting shockwaves were cataclysmic. A single residual ripple from a blade could sweep across tens of thousands of miles, while the aftershocks from the giants’ strikes spanned hundreds of thousands. This wasn’t because the giants’ attacks were stronger—rather, the blades’ power was more condensed and focused, while the giants’ strikes were wild and unrestrained.
When the blades dissipated, the four giants stood upon the desolate earth, their bodies marred by gruesome wounds—some nearly cleaving them in half. Yet, they were already rapidly regenerating.
As for the land itself…
Hundreds of thousands of miles around had been reduced to ruins. What was once a vibrant oasis had been half-destroyed.
This was a Sacred Realm. For a battle’s aftermath to devastate such an expanse, this was undoubtedly a clash at the Chaos Realm overlord level—albeit a weaker one. More seasoned experts could easily leave scars spanning millions of miles in a Sacred Realm.
“To withstand my four Tulo Giants… You are worthy of my full strength.” Finally, the Thunder Tower Master moved from his distant position.
Whoosh!
He didn’t employ his renowned domain techniques, knowing full well that Dongbo Xueying was the strongest Unity realm opponent he had ever faced. Ordinary methods would be a waste of time.
“This is my ultimate killing move. Brace yourself.”
His voice reached Dongbo Xueying’s ears just as he transformed into a streak of lightning, closing the distance in an instant. His speed was so terrifying that it was nearly akin to teleportation. If the giants’ speed surpassed Dongbo Xueying’s, then the Thunder Tower Master’s left him utterly awestruck. The gap was simply too vast.
As the strongest physical body in the Unity realm, the Thunder Tower Master’s true form was unparalleled in speed and defense—critical for survival.
“Whoosh.” “Whoosh.”
His hands, pale and unremarkable, struck toward Dongbo Xueying. Yet, one was wreathed in faint lightning, the other in flickering flames. Though seemingly ordinary, their power was far deadlier than the giants’ brute force. This was the Thunder Tower Master’s true trump card.
The supreme technique—Thunderflame—was also the source of his title.
It was said that in his early days, he had been obsessed with lightning and fire, unlike other sorcerers who dabbled in many arts. He had focused solely on these two elements before later delving into physical cultivation. Combining the forces of thunder and flame, he had created his signature technique, Thunderflame, which had earned him widespread renown.
While his true form attacked, the four giants roared and charged once more.
“Boom! Boom! Boom—”
Dongbo Xueying split his focus, summoning another twelve Blades of Heavenly Punishment to intercept the giants. Simultaneously, black scales abruptly covered his hands, transforming them into weapons of pure destruction, radiating a bloodthirsty aura. Like twin swords, his palms thrust forward in a direct assault.
Rip—
His scaled hands met the Thunder Tower Master’s palms head-on. The latter smirked, deliberately meeting the challenge—he was too proud to evade.
At the moment of contact, the Thunder Tower Master’s left hand shifted from lightning to flame, while his right switched from flame to lightning. This instantaneous transformation unleashed a terrifying burst of power.
Yet Dongbo Xueying’s hands, shrouded in the phantom of massive draconic claws, struck with unyielding ferocity.
Boom—
The collision sent Dongbo Xueying stumbling back six steps, each one shaking the earth. The Thunder Tower Master, however, only retreated a single step, staring in disbelief. “He actually withstood my Thunderflame strike?”
Dongbo Xueying stood firm, his scaled hands still enveloped in the phantom claws, exuding an overwhelming killing intent.
“Using the Balor Claws to execute the Sixth Sword of Annihilation, and I’m still at a disadvantage…” Dongbo Xueying mused inwardly.
The Balor heritage’s most fearsome aspect was its hands.
If the scales covering his body rivaled mid-grade Void God weapons, then his palms—used as weapons—matched high-grade ones. Moreover, they possessed unique properties, making the Sixth Sword of Annihilation even deadlier when channeled through them. In close combat, Dongbo Xueying now held an advantage—he could tear apart a giant single-handedly. Yet against the Thunder Tower Master’s ultimate technique, he was still slightly outmatched.
But he remained unharmed.
“Again!” The Thunder Tower Master refused to accept it, bellowing in fury.
Boom!
His true form charged once more, the four giants roaring alongside him. His overwhelming physical might, combined with the giants’ strength, was a rare combination among sorcerers—one that could crush any other Unity realm expert. Currently, none in the Three Sacred Realms had reached the seventh level of the Star Tower. Dongbo Xueying believed he could challenge it, but he had yet to attempt it.
“Bring it on.” Dongbo Xueying embraced the frenzy.
His scaled hands, brimming with destructive energy, met the assault head-on. Blades of Heavenly Punishment rained from the void, and occasionally, he diverted four or five to aid in pressuring the Thunder Tower Master. Eight blades were enough to hold the giants at bay.
With the blades supporting his close combat, Dongbo Xueying gradually gained the upper hand.
“What?!”
The Thunder Tower Master seethed with rage.
Though his body could endure the blades’ strikes, their force still sent him reeling, disrupting his movements. In terms of technique, Dongbo Xueying’s mastery of the Dao’s profundities gave him the edge, and his strikes frequently landed on the Thunder Tower Master.
Thud! Thud! Thud—
Though unharmed, the Thunder Tower Master was struck repeatedly.
“Hmph.” Suddenly, he retreated to a distance. The four giants dissolved into streams of flesh and blood, merging back into his body. He cast a cold glance at Dongbo Xueying, too irked to speak, before slashing the air with a hand wreathed in thunder and flame. A spatial rift opened, and he stepped through, vanishing.
The Thunder Tower Master left in bitter frustration.
His offensive prowess was unmatched—his four giants were relentless, and combined with his true form, he had always dominated Unity realm battles.
But this time, Dongbo Xueying had forced him onto the defensive, relying solely on his body’s resilience to endure.
“He just left?” Dongbo Xueying couldn’t help but admire his opponent. He hadn’t truly won—he’d only gained a slight offensive advantage. The Thunder Tower Master’s physical strength was indeed terrifying.
“It seems my current strength isn’t enough to conquer the seventh level,” Dongbo Xueying reflected. “Perhaps, as I planned, once I perfect that final killing move, I’ll have the confidence to succeed.”
He had mastered both the Vermilion Nightmare and Balor heritages to their current heights.
The ‘Stone Mirror’s’ guidance had even allowed him to fuse the two, birthing a sinister black flower.
From this flower, Dongbo Xueying glimpsed the fusion of the Void Path and the Slaughter Path. If he could unite these two Daos, he might create a technique surpassing both the Sixth Sword of Annihilation and the Blade of Heavenly Punishment.
—
This battle had no witnesses at the time.
However, since the Evil Eye Palace Master had been captured alive, the Ancestral Sorcerer’s disciples soon investigated, uncovering the battle’s details. What they saw left them stunned.
“What?!”
“Dongbo Xueying is actually on par with Thunderflame?!”
“His terrifying illusions, the Blades of Heavenly Punishment, and close combat?!”
“Thunderflame was forced to rely on his body’s resilience against him? How?!”
The more they learned, the faster the news spread.
Dongbo Xueying also reported the incident—after all, capturing a disciple of the Ancestral Sorcerer was no small matter. Even the Grand Void Heaven Palace was astonished upon reviewing the details.
—
Thunderflame had been universally acknowledged as the strongest Unity realm expert of this era across the Three Sacred Realms. But after this battle, that title was no longer his—though Dongbo Xueying couldn’t claim it either. Neither held a decisive advantage.
“Hahaha…”
Deep within the mountains of the Eternal Sacred Realm stood a small, overgrown courtyard.
Inside, a silver-haired man with golden horns sat on a stone stool, his sword-like silver brows arching in amusement as he laughed heartily. Before him, a projection of Dongbo Xueying’s battle with the Thunder Tower Master played in midair.
“As expected of my disciple, Gu Qi. Though I’ve only taken one, he’s now the strongest in the Unity realm across the Three Sacred Realms. My eye for talent is truly unmatched.” The silver-haired man grinned with pride.
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