Fierce Battle, Azure Sky vs. Mercenary Tao’s Group

Buzz!

Sen Xia stood on what looked like a beach. Before her lay the [Sea of Life], far larger than it had been in the original world and still expanding. The sea contained nearly inexhaustible magic power, constantly breeding powerful monsters.

Sen Xia’s posture was loose and relaxed, yet with willpower alone, she sensed the powerful, strange, and exceptionally agile figure in the distance, continuously firing intense Ki Blasts into the ground.

As Reinhardt made the first move, the terrifying power of Gemini and Virgo, capable of crossing the restrictions of the Twelve Gold Temples and forcibly collapsing another sacred temple, erupted from the stars.

It crashed straight down toward Mercenary Tao.

Reinhardt was a top-tier caster. Whether in terms of destructive power or anything else, the beings he imitated were frighteningly powerful. Thus, even if the replicated abilities retained less than one percent of their original strength, they still possessed enough destructive force to kill most [Fierce-level] Reincarnators in a single blow. Against types with low defenses, such as casters or Swordplay System users, he could even kill those at [Fierce-level Middle to Upper Rank].

It was power that even Supreme Experts could not ignore.

Yet through Sen Xia’s aura perception, Mercenary Tao had almost dodged downward before Reinhardt’s attack was even launched.

It was a reaction that surpassed ordinary danger perception.

Sen Xia roughly understood that it was a kind of "a priori intuition" produced when one’s martial arts realm reached a certain level. Like her own aura lock-on, Martial Artists of that realm resembled the Oneness of Heaven and Man described in novels, possessing extraordinary sensitivity to danger.

There was no need for an attack to be launched. The moment one formed the intent to attack, the other party would react.

The next instant, Mercenary Tao split into a hundred figures. His speed was so fast that even Sen Xia, a Supreme Expert in the field of agility, was astonished. But aura lock-on could not be deceived by afterimages or illusions.

In almost an instant, Mercenary Tao crossed several thousand meters, directly locking onto Reinhardt’s position amid the clouds.

Sen Xia opened her eyes a sliver, her gaze sharp as blades. Her lips parted slightly, and cold white mist flowed out, as though it would take every shred of heat from her body and leave behind only icy, silent killing intent.

Sen Xia took a step forward, her aura firmly locking onto Mercenary Tao’s true body as he raced across the pitch-black Sea of Life. He even ran atop the heads of the endlessly appearing monsters, his figure stretched several meters long.

Divine Dream Slash!

Sen Xia stepped forward and drew her sword in the same motion. The demonic blade, possessing the trait of slaying all anomalies, left its sheath in an instant. The moment its dazzling blade light flared, it had already crossed several thousand meters.

In an instant, the sword light turned into terrifying silver light stretching dozens of kilometers, nearly illuminating the black Sea of Life.

Bai Cangshu, who was running in an inhuman posture, grinned. The killing intent that nearly pierced his body, along with the terrifying sword intent sharp enough to split apart the Three Parts Return to Origin Force field before him in an instant—

The concept of the "pinnacle of Swordplay System Reincarnators" began to take concrete form in Bai Cangshu’s mind. The speed, condensation, and utterly unstoppable aura of this strike all far surpassed Li Qingzi and the limits of A Single Thought of Silk.

But Bai Cangshu did not dodge. Musō Tensei had already activated, and the ultimate martial realm—Zero Realm—had opened. In an instant, Bai Cangshu became utterly empty. This was a realm beyond Oneness of Heaven and Man.

At this moment, Bai Cangshu was Heaven itself, as if he did not exist within the world at all.

Sen Xia’s aura perception vanished instantly, and Bai Cangshu’s body passed through that terrifying sword light like a phantom.

Pfft!

A massive silver-white fissure appeared across the black Sea of Life in an instant, as though the ocean had been cleaved in two. The enormous split spread to either side, while countless black monsters shrieked as they fell from the severed gap.

Bai Cangshu then stomped down fiercely. The air dented as if liquefied, and with a bang in the next instant, his trajectory became a huge zigzag as he shot directly into the sky.

He was so fast that more than a dozen sonic-boom clouds burst open in succession. With the Limiter and Kirin Armor activated at the same time, Bai Cangshu’s agility also received a sixfold actual increase. Even without activating Moment, it had already exceeded the terrifying value of three hundred.

Having missed with one strike, Sen Xia instantly understood Mercenary Tao’s strange ability. Though she did not possess the realm of Clear Sword Heart, her sword would give her the answer. The disappearance of his aura in that instant made her realize that Mercenary Tao could, in a moment, completely merge with heaven and earth.

It was an ability that could be called invincible, but… only called invincible.

Crack!

Sen Xia took another step toward the black Sea of Life. Her left hand had already discarded the sheath and grasped the hilt as well. The way of the sword was exceedingly simple.

A sword existed only to cut!

If he merged with heaven and earth, then she would cut down heaven and earth along with him!

The reason Sen Xia had become the pinnacle of the Swordplay System was because she possessed a crazed faith in the sword.

Holding the demonic blade in both hands, Sen Xia’s presence began to swell in an instant. Illusory Ripples spread outward in circles behind her, affecting an area of several thousand meters in a flash.

Before the countless monsters could approach, they began shrieking in terror.

In the sky, the primordial mother goddess coiled above the Sea of Life—the current [Beast Tiamat]—also shifted her gaze away in an instant. She sensed another figure in the world whose presence could not be ignored.

Below Tiamat, Reverse Uchiha Izayoi, whose body had reappeared from the Sea of Life, bore no injuries. Yet he had developed another impression of the massive demonic dragon.

This thing can shatter attacks born from miracles and Gifts, yet it didn’t kill her…

Reverse Uchiha Izayoi watched the demonic dragon turn its head and looked in that direction as well. There, an incomparably mad sword path was soaring upward.

Buzz!

At that instant, heaven and earth suddenly changed color.

The sky turned pitch-black in an instant, and terrifying Spiritual Pressure descended from above.

The roars of countless monsters vanished at that moment. The world seemed to lose its color and sound, leaving only the oppression weaker souls felt when an excessively powerful alien soul fully revealed its presence.

As the most loyal guardian before the throne at the center of Bai Cangshu’s Consciousness Sea, Black Face possessed the special gifts of a God Species. He was also a Death God who ruled over souls. In the Naruto World, he had devoured countless souls, and within Bai Cangshu’s Consciousness Sea, he had nearly eaten himself to bursting on hundreds of thousands of Yin spirits.

In the end, he had even unexpectedly obtained a fragment of divinity from the Abyss God of some world.

In terms of status and rank, Black Face far surpassed all Yin spirits and souls.

Yet when he had swelled with pride from his own immense power, he had been crushed by the host’s overwhelmingly terrifying essence. He had seen a truth that the other Yin spirits could never see.

His master was no mortal. He was the king who ruled all souls!

Black Face rarely acted, but after arriving in this world, his master had exceptionally released him. He understood at once that his master needed him to act in this world.

Black Face drew his white katana, and the Spiritual Pressure between heaven and earth instantly turned into black raindrops that crashed down.

Sen Xia was holding her sword with both hands, about to strike Mercenary Tao, when she saw a spirit body whose face was wrapped in black patterns enter her aura perception.

It was as though he had intruded from thin air, and he spoke clearly.

"Black Face, draw your sword."

The next instant, the Spiritual Pressure suppressing the entire world vanished, replaced by sword pressure from the white katana before Black Face, directly tearing apart space.

Indescribable terror descended. Black Face slashed with his sword, and space shattered inch by inch. A black fissure like a massive full moon appeared before Sen Xia, together with the sword pressure, before she could unleash her strongest strike.

Pain stabbed through Sen Xia’s brow, and every strand of hair at the back of her head stood on end. It was the warning that the moment of life and death had arrived.

Buzz!

Gray waves flowed across Sen Xia’s demonic blade. The next moment, she slashed her sword down at Black Face before her.

Bang!

The sea of white clouds was pierced in an instant. Golden aura wrapped Bai Cangshu’s body as he charged directly toward the figure radiating divine light beneath the massive magic array covering the sky.

"Reinhardt, are you ready… Hah!"

With almost no interval, just as the two terrifying slashes erupted below, Bai Cangshu let out a roar above the sea of clouds.

Terrifying lightning spread explosively from Bai Cangshu’s body, instantly engulfing several kilometers around him.

Reinhardt was about to use Teleportation, but the magnetic field was shifted in an instant. Electromagnetic force twisted the vestibular organs in his brain, making him dizzy for a moment.

The lightning and explosion had already swallowed him.

Then came the black Abyssal Breath, spraying from Bai Cangshu’s mouth like black flames.

Authority gleamed over Reinhardt’s body. That trace of Ancient God Race blood flowed within him, and a layer of divine power instantly condensed over his body. As the top-tier caster, Reinhardt possessed top-tier godlike bloodline.

As a descendant of the Ancient God Race, no matter how thin his bloodline was, it remained far tougher than ordinary humans and common beastification bloodlines. He intended to take Mercenary Tao’s attack head-on.

At the same time, illusory Ripples of Heart Light Pulse appeared behind Reinhardt. His expression stern, he looked at the terrifying beast.

He raised one hand as if intending to seize the other’s existence.

But then—

Boom!

As the explosion engulfed Reinhardt, the impact and Abyssal Breath slammed directly into his body. The moment his internal organs shook, a terrifying sound of impact erupted behind him.

Reinhardt turned around instantly and saw Brunhilde, clad in black armor and holding a shield in both hands, already standing behind him. Before her, black lightning continuously struck Brunhilde’s body from Mercenary Tao’s fist, his grin savage and horrifying.

This guy…

Mercenary Tao’s combat rhythm was terrifyingly fast. Almost at the same time as he launched that level of large-scale attack, he had already entered the attack himself. He would rather injure himself as well just to defeat them instantly…

"Not a chance!"

The female voice roared, muffled by her faceplate. Holding the black shield in both hands, Brunhilde firmly blocked Mercenary Tao’s attack, empowered by Conqueror’s Haki Infusion and more than three hundred points of strength.

Brunhilde possessed a special ability called [Cover], which allowed her to instantly appear beside an ally the moment it was activated.

She did not merely block it. The next instant, Brunhilde’s strength seemed to surge from nothing.

Before Bai Cangshu’s astonished eyes, terrifying brute force that completely surpassed his own, together with the power of black Conqueror’s Haki Infusion, struck at him.

Full Counter!

Boom!

The air liquefied in an instant, then split apart from the middle after freezing for a moment.

Bai Cangshu tilted his head, and the white smoke dragon blasted past his body.

The force of Conqueror’s Haki Infusion collided with the Conqueror’s Haki over his body, directly parting the sea of clouds below the sky.

Lightning flickered continuously over Bai Cangshu’s body after being struck by the white smoke dragon. His defenses were now incredibly powerful, and the move had only left faint marks on his Kirin Armor.

"Heh, Azure Sky really is something. A defender actually has this kind of ability…"

Bai Cangshu narrowed his eyes dangerously. At that moment, Reinhardt’s Fate Star lit up behind him, and he and Brunhilde teleported tens of thousands of meters away in an instant.

The massive magic array covering the sky lit up again.

This time, Bai Cangshu saw several planet-like phantoms fall from the sky.

Galaxian Explosion!

While Bai Cangshu was astonished that Azure Sky’s most low-profile defender possessed the famous magical trait of the Seven Great Sins, Full Counter, Reinhardt, who had nearly been heavily injured moments ago, had already erupted with his full power.

He raised one hand high, and a phantom of a man clad in golden armor appeared behind him.

This move could kill any Reincarnator below [Fierce-level Upper Rank] without special life-force enhancements. It was the strike that best displayed a caster’s power as a true top-tier destroyer.

At the same time, he locked onto Mercenary Tao. The simulated Cosmo instantly dragged Mercenary Tao’s mind into an illusion.

Reinhardt knew very well that Mercenary Tao not only possessed immense combat power, but also extraordinary vitality, recovery ability, and immortality.

But…

Before Reinhardt could call upon the power of another Gold Saint, a figure with both hands in his pockets had already appeared before him.

"Hey, hey, hey. Azure Sky, who claims to be righteous, is actually ganging up on our evil host?"

"Domain Expansion, Unlimited Void!"

Satoru Gojo acted completely out of character. He formed a hand seal directly before the two of them, the expression on his face so flamboyant it seemed about to twist.

Eyes appeared all over his body, while crimson chains emerged from behind him.

A black barrier appeared, but Reinhardt merely shifted his eyes, his expression entirely calm. The next instant, Gojo’s Six Eyes sensed an arrow shooting up from below.

Intense spiritual power came tearing through the air, carrying the quality of purging all Yin spirits, curses, and negative energy.

Crack—bang!

Before the Domain could fully form, it was shattered by the Arrow of Demon Slaying.

Brunhilde suddenly stiffened. An image appeared before her eyes: Loman flying through the night sky with the aid of Soul-Devouring Worms, only to be cut down in midair by a violet-red sword light.

Her eyes trembled. Sure enough, Satoru Gojo, whose Domain Expansion had been interrupted, showed no anger. Instead, he wore a cruel smile as though his scheme had succeeded.

"Go protect Loman!"

Reinhardt realized it even faster and roared. Brunhilde vanished in an instant as violet-red destructive sword light, like a massive laser, swept over from the sea.

Brunhilde appeared directly before Loman, raising her shield before the sword light.

Full Counter!

She directly reflected Artoria’s terrifying sword radiance back at her.

Buzz—

At that moment, space twisted in an instant. The space before Reinhardt shifted, and he saw Satoru Gojo had already instantly brought Mercenary Tao before him.

Mercenary Tao held his hands one above the other, his stance already set.

That was… Shun Goku Satsu!

Satsui no Hado engulfed everything in an instant. As Reinhardt was enveloped by killing intent and the intent of death, the Galaxian Explosion he had imitated finally detonated where Mercenary Tao had just been, blasting a hollow more than a hundred miles wide into the center of the Sea of Life in an instant.

The sound of Yellow Springs flowing echoed beside his ears. Reinhardt’s spine turned cold as he heard the Gate of Life and Death opening.

I’m going to die.