Chapter 69: Great Merit

Blackwind Cliff was so high that it pierced through the clouds.

High above the cloud layer, suspended in midair, the centipede Black Moon hovered. On its back, the mage Bai Yuanzhi, Qing Shi, Zong Ling, Tong San, Kong Youyue, Ji Rong, Si Chen, and others all stared tensely at the great battle unfolding below.

“Blackwind Cliff! They’re actually deciding life and death at Blackwind Cliff!” Bai Yuanzhi exclaimed.

Beside Blackwind Cliff, above the Blackwind Abyss, a massive whirlwind of black wind raged. This colossal vortex stirred up endless gales, as if shaking and twisting the very heavens and earth. Its might was terrifying even to behold.

Yet amidst the howling winds, two figures were locked in a frenzied battle atop the cliff.

“They’re in great danger now,” Bai Yuanzhi said. “Once they leave the ground and lose their footing, they’ll be sucked into the Blackwind Abyss. Being pulled into the Blackwind Abyss… we mortals would certainly die without a doubt. Perhaps only transcendent beings could survive.”

“Why is Xiang Pangyun chasing my brother so relentlessly?” Qing Shi trembled with anxiety. “Wasn’t he trying to kill me? My brother and he have no enmity. Why is he risking his life to fight my brother on Blackwind Cliff?”

“That’s right,” Bai Yuanzhi shook his head. “It was one thing for him to chase us all the way here, but even at Blackwind Cliff, where the danger is immense, Xiang Pangyun still won’t give up… Sigh, no wonder they call him a madman, reveling in slaughter! His thinking is simply different from ours. Perhaps, to him, your brother is simply the perfect prey.”

“Cursed, cursed, how could it come to this?” Qing Shi anxiously watched the black-clothed young man wielding a long spear among the two battling figures below. That was his elder brother, his most important relative.

…

Time passed, second by second.

Dongbo Xueying was completely walking the edge of life and death. He even deliberately approached the edge of Blackwind Cliff, making Xiang Pangyun even more cautious.

Boom!

The two clashed and separated once again. Xiang Pangyun did not continue his attack but instead stared fixedly at Dongbo Xueying.

“Your Mana Surge hasn’t run out yet?” Xiang Pangyun was somewhat unwilling.

“How so? Are you running low on Mana Surge? I thought so. You’ve been using Mana Surge Arcane Art to fight this whole time, so it should be nearly depleted by now.” Dongbo Xueying’s eyes, however, gleamed with excitement. It worked! By using the dangerous environment of Blackwind Cliff, he had kept Xiang Pangyun constantly cautious, allowing him to endure longer. Both were in a state of peak exertion, and with time, the advantage would shift.

Xiang Pangyun had used Mana Surge Arcane Art, causing his Mana Surge consumption to skyrocket. Dongbo Xueying, too, was in a state of bloodline power eruption, his physical strength also continuously depleting.

Though the ambient energy of the world replenished them, the replenishment could not keep up with the consumption.

Finally, Xiang Pangyun’s Mana Surge was nearly exhausted!

That sliver of hope—finally, he had seized it!

“How come your Mana Surge is even more abundant than mine?” Xiang Pangyun couldn’t believe it. How long had he lived? His Mana Surge cultivation had reached the pinnacle of non-transcendent levels. His technique was even personally passed down by his “father.” In theory, among the named warriors, those with more Mana Surge than him were extremely rare. Let alone a youngling who had only recently become a named warrior.

What he didn’t know was—

Dongbo Xueying was expending physical stamina! Naturally, endurance from stamina lasted longer than Mana Surge Eruption.

“Your Mana Surge is nearly gone. If we keep fighting, you’ll be the one to die!” Dongbo Xueying fixed his gaze on his opponent. Xiang Pangyun was faster than him. If he fled now while still having some Mana Surge remaining, he could easily leave Dongbo far behind.

“Dongbo Xueying.”

Xiang Pangyun showed no panic at all. His crimson eyes gazed at the black-clothed young man before him. “I admire you greatly. You’re only twenty-two, yet you’ve already achieved unity of body and soul, and your strength is perfectly unified! Even being able to fight me to this extent, in terms of power, although you’re slightly inferior to me and Si Lianghong, you’re still worthy of ranking within the top thousand of the Longshan Rankings.

“At twenty-two, already this formidable, you still have a long life ahead of you. You have an eighty or ninety percent chance of entering the transcendent realm in the future.

“Once you enter the transcendent realm… that’s an entirely different level of existence.”

Yet Dongbo Xueying felt something was wrong.

Something wasn’t right.

In theory, with his Mana Surge nearly depleted, Xiang Pangyun should either attack immediately or retreat without hesitation. Why was he wasting time talking?

“A transcendent in the making, killing you would be a great feat!” Xiang Pangyun suddenly grinned maliciously. Boom~~~ His entire body began to transform suddenly, rapidly expanding. The surface of his skin became covered with countless black scales… In almost the blink of an eye, the Xiang Pangyun before them transformed into a monstrous black beast over ten meters long with four hooves.

The four-legged beast had a pair of scaled wings, its eyes glowing blood-red. Its entire body was covered in black scales, each with a faint crimson glow flowing across their surface, exuding an eerie and unpredictable aura. The pressure it radiated made Dongbo Xueying feel an immense sense of danger.

Its body stood six meters tall.

Such a towering beast suddenly appearing before him left Dongbo Xueying completely stunned.

“Mo… monster?”

“You’re not human!” Dongbo Xueying couldn’t believe it. “A monster? Or even a rare variant among monsters?”

He instantly determined—

This was a terrifying sixth-stage monster! And a rare variant at that!

Sixth-stage monsters were on par with named warriors in power. Normal monsters were well-documented in human records, easily identifiable at a glance. However, ‘variants’ referred to particularly unique monsters, even unrecorded in ancient texts—beasts who had awakened ancient bloodlines from the Primordial Era.

In the ancient Primordial Era, there were giants and beasts among the ancient lifeforms.

Therefore, among monsters, there were also extremely rare ones who could awaken ancient bloodlines. Unlike humans who relied on Mana Surge, monsters primarily relied on their physical bodies. Thus, monster variants who awakened ancient bloodlines were especially terrifying.

“Hehehe.” The blood-red eyes of the four-legged, black-armored beast brimmed with madness.

His ‘father’ granted him a human form.

Then he integrated into the human world…

Human mortals, even named warriors, couldn’t exceed a lifespan of two hundred years unless they were special cases like Si Lianghong who transformed into blood demons. He had lived under the alias ‘Xiang Pangyun’ in the human world for over a hundred years. Even if he hadn’t been exposed this time, he would eventually have to retreat and return in a few years.

This time, Feng Mo accepted the mission.

Actually, Xiang Pangyun had no interest in getting involved. But upon hearing from the Blood Blade Tavern’s mission intelligence that ‘Dongbo Xueying’ might be a named warrior, he couldn’t help but feel intrigued! Twenty-two years old! So young! The Blood Blade Tavern wouldn’t make such claims without reason. If Dongbo Xueying was truly a named warrior, such a young one would have a bright future ahead, possibly even reaching the transcendent realm.

Killing such a prodigy would be a tremendous feat! Far more valuable than killing ten or twenty other named warriors. So Xiang Pangyun volunteered to come.

The reality exceeded even his expectations.

This Dongbo Xueying not only achieved unity of body and soul but also his strength was perfectly unified. His power had even risen to nearly match Xiang Pangyun’s. Such a terrifying and monstrous talent was rare even across the entire Longshan Empire! Could he possibly abandon such a glorious opportunity?

So he was determined to kill Dongbo Xueying at all costs!

From the very beginning!

He came chasing after him with this human genius as his sole target.

“Dongbo Xueying, die!” The four-legged, black-armored beast instantly surged forward.

“It’s actually a monster variant!” Dongbo Xueying knew something was wrong immediately. He swiftly shifted his body and launched a lightning-fast thrust.

Hiss—

Yet the four-legged, black-armored beast didn’t care at all. It allowed the thrust to strike its chest scales. Cracks appeared on the scales, but the spear failed to fully pierce through! Moreover, the beast’s scales overlapped, likely requiring penetration through two or three layers to wound its body.

“Hu!” The beast’s claws lashed out furiously.

Its four hooves were over three meters long, thick and powerful. The sharp claws on its hooves gleamed like blades. Both front claws lunged simultaneously, unleashing a mighty and overwhelming force.

Dongbo Xueying barely managed to leap aside desperately.

“Its strength is even greater in this beast form!” Dongbo Xueying felt a sense of despair. The gap was too great! The variant monster ‘Xiang Pangyun’ had extremely high scaled armor defense, and even his long spear couldn’t pierce through it. How could he possibly fight under such circumstances? If the human form of Xiang Pangyun was roughly ranked around five hundred on the Longshan Rankings, then in this form, he might not be within the top hundred, but certainly within the top two hundred.

That was only natural.

Monsters were naturally stronger in their true forms; human flesh was comparatively weaker.

“Hu.” “Hu.” “Hu.”

The four-legged, black-armored beast ‘Xiang Pangyun’ launched three lightning-fast lunges in succession. The power generated by its flapping, scaled wings was immense. If it flew, its speed could easily break the sound barrier! A flying monster variant naturally had no fear of the surrounding gales.

With such speed and massive size, Dongbo Xueying could no longer evade after only three lunges.

Boom!

Though he held his long spear in front to block, the beast’s claw strike sent Dongbo Xueying flying backward.

“Stop!” Dongbo Xueying rolled backward, desperately thrusting his spear into the ground below. Puh! The spear plunged over a meter into the rock, causing numerous cracks to spread around it, but Dongbo Xueying’s body finally halted.

“Stop struggling, Dongbo Xueying!” The four-legged, black-armored beast had already closed in again, standing right before Dongbo Xueying.