Chapter 123: Startled Retreat

Hiss, hiss~~

Wherever the violet flames passed, the violet motes floating within the domain were instantly burned into nothingness.

“What terrifying violet fire!”

The mid-level God King Han Qi, clad in violet battle armor, suddenly drew in a sharp breath. As he stared at the violet fire dragon roaring toward him and effortlessly incinerating the violet motes within his domain, his expression changed drastically, and his violet pupils contracted to the size of needles.

“Roar!”

Han Qi let out a low growl. He abruptly raised both hands, and terrifying violet-black energy surged wildly from his body. The violet energy, radiating a dreadful pressure, gathered above his head, resembling a mass of violet-black storm clouds descending from the sky.

Boom!

The fire dragon formed from the Netherworld Violet Flame instantly rushed before Han Qi. Just as the violet fire was about to touch him, Han Qi gave a low roar, his body suddenly floating upward as he fiercely pressed both palms downward through the air.

At once, the vast mass of violet-black energy clouds hovering above Han Qi came crashing down, slamming heavily into the fire dragon formed from the Netherworld Violet Flame.

Boom!

The violet-black energy clouds instantly swallowed the entire violet fire dragon. The colors of the violet fire dragon and the violet-black energy were nearly identical, but the nature of the power contained within them was entirely different!

“Whew…”

Looking at the violet fire dragon engulfed by the violet-black energy, Han Qi, still clad in violet battle armor, let out a faint sigh of relief before shifting his gaze to Ke Bei.

“Hmph. Now that you no longer have the violet fire protecting you, are you still going to act so arrogantly?”

The mid-level God King coldly snorted at Ke Bei. He stamped his foot, and in an instant, appeared before him. Dense violet energy emerged from his fair palm as he struck fiercely toward Ke Bei.

“Who said I don’t?”

Ke Bei coldly watched the palm hurtling toward him. He did not move, a faint smile curling at the corners of his mouth, without the slightest intention of dodging. He knew that evasion would be useless—the God King before him was considerably faster than he was.

“Die!”

At the instant Han Qi struck out with his palm containing violet energy, Ke Bei suddenly closed his eyes, concentrating his entire consciousness on the golden miniature tower at the center of his brow.

The Netherworld Violet Flame was tremendously powerful, but there was far too little of it. Ke Bei knew that once the violet flames were trapped by the energy released by a God King, they would be unable to break free for some time. Thus, the moment he unleashed the violet flames, he had already prepared to use the Qitian Tower Secret Art.

“Qitian Secret Art! First Form—Spatial Shock Seal!”

Just as the violet-black energy unleashed by Han Qi was about to strike Ke Bei, Ke Bei abruptly opened his eyes. Two streaks of golden light flashed deep within his pupils, and with a low roar, a golden miniature tower suddenly flew out from the center of his brow.

The golden miniature tower hovered above Ke Bei’s head, its tiny body spinning continuously. Brilliant golden light shot forth in every direction, and in an instant, the space within a radius of three feet around Ke Bei became a golden world.

At that moment, the violet-black energy released by the mid-level God King’s palm was only three inches from Ke Bei’s body.

“Stop!”

A streak of golden light flashed through the depths of Ke Bei’s eyes. The terrifying violet-black energy suddenly froze before him, as though space itself had solidified in an instant.

“Go back!”

A cold smile appeared at the corners of Ke Bei’s mouth. With a casual wave of his hand, the violet energy frozen three inches before him abruptly flew backward, shooting fiercely toward the God King floating in midair.

Whoosh!

The violet energy was like a sharp arrow, striking directly into Han Qi’s body.

His body was composed entirely of pure energy. When that force entered him, it was like a stream flowing into the sea; it could not cause the slightest harm to the mid-level God King.

Although the violet energy had failed to injure Han Qi, he himself had gone completely rigid. His violet eyes stared fixedly at the golden miniature tower hovering above Ke Bei’s head, his mouth slightly agape and his face filled with stunned disbelief.

“What… what is that?”

First came the violet flames, which contained a terrifying temperature capable of effortlessly burning his energy into nothingness. Now, a strange golden miniature tower had appeared. Both of these objects had shattered Han Qi’s understanding. He had never before encountered such terrifying existences.

For a moment, he simply stood there in a daze.

Hiss, hiss!

A cold smile remained on Ke Bei’s lips. Before he could say anything, the Netherworld Violet Flame, which had been swallowed by the violet-black energy clouds, suddenly burst free.

The energy clouds had been more than a hundred times larger than the Netherworld Violet Flame, yet in the brief span of time that had passed, they had all been burned into nothingness. Amid a burst of ear-piercing hissing, the fire dragon formed from the violet flames suddenly charged toward the dazed mid-level God King Han Qi.

Sensing the terrifying heat radiating from the violet flames, Han Qi’s expression changed abruptly. He thrust out his palm, and a violet-black beam of energy dozens of yards thick suddenly shot from his body. At the same time, he retreated at great speed, a trace of fear flashing through his eyes as he looked at Ke Bei.

“Leave!”

A trace of terror arose in the heart of the mid-level God of the God Race clad in violet battle armor. This human concealed far too many secrets. With his strength, he could not kill him. Moreover, whether it was the violet flames or the golden miniature tower, both were terrifying beyond measure.

The golden miniature tower in particular left him shaken. The moment Han Qi clearly saw its shape, he drew in a sharp breath, for the golden miniature tower hovering above Ke Bei’s head was almost identical to the Qitian Tower standing beside Moonview Lake.

“This matter must be reported to the Ancestor immediately!”

Han Qi’s heart sank. He knew that this matter was of immense importance and did not dare delay for even an instant. He immediately rushed back to the crystal palace, hoisted Yi Ku onto his shoulder, and swiftly rose into the air, racing toward the God Race’s stronghold, Corpse Mountain.

Ke Bei stared in confusion at the God King who had suddenly departed, puzzlement filling his eyes. It was not until the God King had completely vanished from sight that Ke Bei suddenly opened his mouth and spat out a mouthful of bright-red blood.

Boom!

The golden miniature tower hovering above Ke Bei’s head suddenly returned to the center of his brow, and the golden world vanished at once.

Ke Bei’s face was as pale as paper. Blood stained the corners of his mouth, and his body trembled faintly. He looked as though he might collapse at any moment.

Thud!

After staggering several steps, Ke Bei could no longer maintain his balance and fell heavily to the ground.

“Damn… damn you all…”

Ke Bei’s lips moved weakly. The energy in his body seemed to have been drained away in an instant. Both his physical strength and his inner force had vanished completely, leaving him unbearably weak.

Only now did Ke Bei realize how much energy was required to control that golden world. He had merely frozen the violet energy unleashed by the God King and then forced it back.

Those two simple actions had not only exhausted all his inner force but had even drained every last bit of strength from his body.

“Whew…”

Panting heavily, Ke Bei struggled to rise. He slowly sat cross-legged and began silently circulating the Nine Yang Divine Art to restore his inner force.

Two hours later, Ke Bei finally opened his eyes.

“Damn it. The Qitian Secret Art consumes far too much energy! I can’t afford to use it!”

Thinking of how his inner force and physical strength had been drained in an instant, Ke Bei swallowed hard and let out a somewhat dejected growl.

He truly had not expected two simple actions to consume all the energy within his body.

“Damn. Luckily that God King left quickly. Otherwise, I would have died here today!”

Recalling the sensation of being drained dry in an instant, Ke Bei felt a lingering fear.

If the God King had stayed even one second longer, Ke Bei might not have been able to hold on. Once he revealed the slightest flaw, he would have died without a doubt.

“The Qitian Secret Art consumes far too much energy. It seems I absolutely cannot use it again before obtaining an advanced martial art!”

After remaining silent for a long while, Ke Bei gradually regained his composure. The situation just now had been far too dangerous. Having every ounce of strength drained from his body in an instant had been an agonizing experience. Until he acquired an advanced martial art, Ke Bei truly had no courage to use the first-layer technique of the Qitian Tower, Spatial Shock Seal, again.

When Ke Bei had been inside the crystal palace, he had used Spatial Shock Seal once, but at the time, he had not felt how much energy it consumed. That was why he had dared to use it when facing the God King. He simply had not expected activating the golden world to consume energy so terrifyingly fast.

Once Ke Bei had completely calmed down, he suddenly remembered that he had received a mysterious gift package upon completing the ultimate mission for elementary martial arts.

“An advanced martial art!”

At the thought of an advanced martial art, Ke Bei’s heart immediately grew feverish. He slowly took the wooden gift box from the satchel on his back.

Staring at the plain-looking wooden box, Ke Bei’s heartbeat suddenly quickened.

He slowly extended his slightly trembling hand and carefully opened the wooden gift box.

Whoosh!

As the gift box gradually opened, a streak of golden light suddenly shot out.

“Whew…”

After taking a shallow breath, Ke Bei slowly removed the ancient manual from the gift box.

His heart jolted.

The moment Ke Bei saw several words written in golden thread on the ancient manual, he froze. The fervor in his heart immediately cooled.

“It isn’t an advanced martial art!”

When Ke Bei saw the ancient golden characters on the manual, disappointment surged through his heart. Holding the manual, he remained silent for a long time before helplessly shaking his head.

“Sigh. There was only a one-in-six chance. My luck really is terrible!”

Ke Bei bit his lip, deeply unwilling to accept the result. He had clearly had a chance to obtain an advanced martial art, yet in the end, he could only helplessly watch it slip past him. The feeling was like buying a lottery ticket and missing the jackpot by a single number—bitter, bleak, and utterly helpless.

“Forget it. Obtaining one of the finest martial arts among the two elementary techniques is still pretty good.”

Ke Bei shook his head with a bitter smile and slowly took out the other manual from the gift box.

To be continued.