“Here he comes!”
Zhang Guo looked excitedly at the figure in the black robe reappearing from the valley.
It was difficult to imagine she had been vomiting painfully just moments ago, yet now she seemed perfectly fine.
“Jiejie… It’s you two who ruined the masterpiece of the great Black Jas! Are you ready to face my wrath?”
Slowly stepping forward, Black Jas emanated visible streams of dark necromantic energy around his body, forming countless faces that wept and suffered.
“This is… actualized death energy!”
Zhang Guo screamed, “A master-tier necromancer?! Goodness! Why have you come here?”
“Master” was a classification of cultivators in the Dachang Empire, representing an absolute elite wherever they went. In the West, they were known as high-tier professionals.
Above them was the legendary rank, which in the East was called “Zongshi,” meaning one had the qualifications to establish their own sect or school.
Zhang Guo could never have imagined that a simple mission to capture fugitives would lead to facing a high-tier necromancer. From the other’s expression and tone, it was clear that this wasn’t even the leader or the strongest among them.
What would it feel like when you set out to catch a hare but a tiger suddenly appeared? Zhang Guo immediately felt panic.
“Indeed, this is somewhat interesting!”
Wu Ming chuckled lightly.
Legends were absolute overlords anywhere in the world, while masters and high-tier professionals were rulers in their own right, even in many Western cities.
For someone of such stature to lower himself to come to Xinjie Port and cause destruction was clearly abnormal, indicating a massive conspiracy.
“Two mere adventurers!”
Black Jas didn’t detect Wu Ming’s peculiarity at all. In his eyes, they were just two presumptuous Eastern cultivators.
“Die for me… and then offer your flesh and blood to me! Necrotic Blast!”
With a wave of his hand, the surrounding black necrotic energy suddenly converged, rushing forward like a flood.
For ordinary people, contact with this death energy would immediately drain their life force. Even professionals, though capable of resisting with supernatural powers, would find it extremely troublesome.
“Necromantic spells… how rare indeed!”
A golden light exploded from the dense black energy, and Wu Ming’s voice emerged.
Black Jas frowned, looking at the golden circle forming amidst the necrotic surge.
Zhang Guo and Wu Ming stood safely inside the golden circle, its radiance shining outward, as unyielding as a rock against the tide of death.
“Hmm?”
Black Jas exclaimed in surprise: “What kind of formation is this?”
“You don’t need to know. Purification!”
Wu Ming casually replied. Instantly, the golden light intensified, quickly dispersing the surrounding necrotic energy. As sunlight poured down, the oppressive and cold atmosphere vanished.
“Big brother, are you perhaps a master of the Buddhist sect? This move reminds me of a technique called ‘Circle of Confinement’ I once saw a master perform…”
Zhang Guo stood beside him, awestruck, and was even tempted to tug at Wu Ming’s hairpin.
“Buddhist sect? An Eastern cultivation school?”
Black Jas looked at Wu Ming, who remained calm and composed, filled with doubt.
“It seems they are not just easy prey after all!”
He licked his lips and began chanting an obscure incantation: “Come forth, my loyal warriors!”
Gurgle! Gurgle!
The ground nearby suddenly rose, and pale skeletal hands wielding weapons like iron swords and shields broke through the earth. One by one, skeletons crawled out from beneath the soil, their hollow eye sockets glowing with eerie green flames.
“They’re a bit more advanced than revenants, but still just cannon fodder!”
Wu Ming looked at the dozens of skeletons. Their strength was indeed slightly greater than the previous zombies, even equipped with specially crafted weapons laced with poison.
If a squad of fully armed imperial soldiers were to face them, they might find themselves at a disadvantage. But for Wu Ming?
“Is this all the necromancer’s magic? If you can’t show me more, and satisfy me further, then the next moment will be your last…”
Wu Ming suddenly formed a hand seal and chanted incantations, the thunderous energy swirling beneath his feet: “Heaven and Earth have no limits, borrow the power of the Five Elements, haste!”
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Streams of fiery red energy suddenly appeared, igniting sparks from the void and sweeping across.
Creak! Creak!
The heat wave scorched Zhang Guo’s hair.
But the young girl didn’t seem to mind at all, merely staring in awe at the scene before her—dozens of terrifying monsters, reduced to ashes in an instant?
“Five Elements magic, a genuine Daoist technique. Without any external aids, instantly manifested, yet with such power. Even a Daoist master probably wouldn’t be much stronger than this…”
She murmured to herself, her eyes fixed on Wu Ming with a newfound brilliance.
…
Roaring flames not only consumed the majority of the skeleton warriors but also surged forward toward the necromancer.
Faced with this, his expression immediately changed. He pulled out a pure white staff, seemingly forged from human bones, with a large black crystal at its tip: “Bone Wall! Bone Shield!”
These were necromantic spells pre-stored in the staff. Instantly released, they formed a wall of bones before him, while three white bone shields appeared around his body, rotating to provide protection.
“It’s useless…”
Wu Ming sighed: “I had hoped you could offer me some surprise…”
Sizzle!
As the crimson flames touched the bone wall, it was as if sparks had fallen into boiling oil. The entire wall instantly caught fire.
The flames burst through the middle, mercilessly engulfing the necromancer. The bone shields were of no help at all.
“My Samadhi Fire cannot be dispelled by mere spells…”
Wu Ming said calmly, watching the necromancer scream in agony as he was reduced to ashes.
“He’s… he’s dead?”
Zhang Guo stared blankly, asking instinctively.
“Yes, I don’t sense any of his soul’s fragments. It seems his abilities weren’t sufficient to cast spells like soul division or life preservation. He must have perished completely…”
Wu Ming shrugged.
“A master-level necromancer, just like that… dead…”
Zhang Guo stared at the scene of devastation left by the flames, completely stunned. “Big brother, just who exactly are you?”
“Now is not the time for that. The people inside the valley must have noticed us by now, and they’re likely preparing to escape…”
Wu Ming calmly walked forward, parting the sea of flames: “You stay here, you’ll be safe.”
…
At the very moment the flames raged, inside the cave, the Western leader abruptly stood up: “Something’s wrong! The people who came… they’re very strong! We must withdraw immediately!”
They had made thorough preparations when choosing this valley as their hideout, with more than just one exit.
“What about Black Jas?”
“He’s probably too late already. Besides, don’t forget our mission!”
The leader coldly replied.
But before they could escape through the back route, a young figure slowly emerged from the flames: “Please, stay a while!”
These Westerners’ strength might have exceeded expectations for Xinjie Port, but for Wu Ming, what were they really?
Moreover, this was an official mission from the Dachang Empire. Regardless of any backing these foreigners might have or any secret missions they were undertaking, the empire would handle the consequences. Wu Ming naturally had no reservations.
“Just as I thought, it’s not just a matter of fugitives…”
Wu Ming sighed as he saw them.
“Hmph!”
In the next instant, the leader was already upon Wu Ming like a shadow, delivering a powerful punch with both fists wrapped in white bandages: “Short-range strike, Jeet Kune!”
Wu Ming’s previous actions, especially his emergence from the flames, convinced them he was a powerful mage.
To deal with a mage, besides another mage, the only options were ambush and close-range combat!
Once a mage was caught in close combat by an assassin, it became extremely dangerous.
This leader was evidently a rare ascetic martial artist from the West, a boxer by trade!
“Martial arts?”
Wu Ming’s expression was quite odd as he saw the opponent trying to fight him with martial techniques.
After all, he had once been unrivaled across the Shenwu Continent, a master of martial prowess. How confident this opponent must be to challenge him in martial skill?
Crack! Snap!
Figures flickered, and the sound of bones breaking rang out.
To the horror of the Westerners, the one collapsing was not their expected enemy, but their own leader.
Judging by the broken arms, he wouldn’t be of any combat use for a while.
“Hmph, a boxer, a necromancer, and also bards, thieves…”
Wu Ming glanced at the Westerners, immediately discerning their identities: “Looks like an elite squad. Why have you come all the way to Xinjie Port with such a purpose?”
Unfortunately, these people naturally wouldn’t answer his question.
In the next moment, various attacks surged toward Wu Ming.
“Truly… incorrigible!”
Wu Ming shook his head and casually waved his hand: “Thunder Art—Heavenly Heart Five Thunders!”
Boom!
Crack!
Several bolts of lightning flashed, and the Westerners immediately fell to the ground, convulsing.
The leader, gasping in shock at the sight, was utterly despairing: “You are… a Legend? An Eastern Zongshi?! If you were sent here, it seems our plan was discovered long ago?”
He was now completely resigned to his fate.
“Plan?!”
Wu Ming couldn’t help but feel reluctant to tell him that the reason he had intervened was merely because a young girl had failed her academy exam.
If this leader knew that he had failed for such a bizarre reason and had incurred the wrath of a formidable figure like Wu Ming, leading to the utter collapse of the organization’s grand scheme, he would probably be so frustrated that he would die from sheer rage?
“No… you’re not…”
Suddenly, the leader’s face turned to extreme terror: “Don’t… ahh!”
With a scream, he collapsed completely, lifeless, his soul dissipating instantly, just like the other surviving subordinates.
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