Chapter 544 - 254: The Final Scores Are Out, The Genius’s Name Reappears, Recruiting the Top Candidate
Chapter 544: Chapter 254: The Final Scores Are Out, The Genius’s Name Reappears, Recruiting the Top Candidate
Inside the Demon Suppression Tower, on the twenty-first floor.
With a ripple of space, Jiang Che’s figure materialized out of thin air.
He looked around to find himself surrounded by a vast, misty lake.
The water was a deep, ink-green, emanating a bone-chilling cold.
And Jiang Che stood alone atop a small, solitary boat.
’This time, it’s a lake...’
Jiang Che thought to himself.
In the previous twenty floors, he had passed through dense forests, volcanoes, deserts, grasslands, and all sorts of other environments.
’I suppose the Demon Suppression Tower is made to be this realistic to train disciples to adapt to combat in all kinds of extreme environments.’
’Besides, these environments are probably replicas of the actual habitats where these Exotic Beasts lived.’
After all, in this world, battles weren’t only fought on level ground.
Water, air, seas of fire, frozen plains—any could become a battlefield.
BLUB BLUB BLUB...
Just then, a string of enormous bubbles suddenly rose from beneath the calm surface of the lake.
An immense black shadow swam slowly past, hugging the bottom of the boat.
The oppressive aura emanating from the water was heavier than that of any previous floor.
’The Tenth Layer of the True Master Realm!’
Jiang Che’s gaze sharpened.
Even though it was only Early-stage, it was still an opponent a full three layers above his own Realm!
Furthermore, the creature was in the water, giving it a complete home-turf advantage.
Jiang Che, on the other hand, was confined to the small boat, which multiplied the difficulty of the fight.
SPLASH!!!
Suddenly, the lake water beneath Jiang Che’s feet erupted!
A gaping maw filled with sharp teeth, wreathed in a foul stench and churning waves, shot straight up from beneath the boat, aiming to swallow Jiang Che and the vessel whole!
It was a Profound Water Python, dozens of meters long and covered from head to tail in scales like black iron!
"Hmph!"
Jiang Che snorted, tapping his toes lightly on the boat’s gunwale.
He launched himself into the air like an agile swallow, instantly rising and hovering in mid-air.
CRUNCH!
The python’s jaws clamped down, instantly shattering the small boat into a spray of wooden splinters.
Its attack having missed, the Profound Water Python was not discouraged. Its long, slender body shot upward, using the momentum from the water to launch itself into the sky!
Its massive tail, like a steel whip, lashed out viciously at Jiang Che, creating a sonic boom that tore through the air!
The blow was immensely powerful—enough to shatter a mountain!
Faced with a strike that could instantly kill an ordinary cultivator at the Seventh Layer of the True Master Realm, Jiang Che’s expression grew grave.
’The defense and power of a creature at the Tenth Layer of the True Master Realm really can’t be compared to the small fry I fought before.’
BOOM!
With a single thought from Jiang Che, the blood in his veins instantly began to boil!
He activated the Blood Burning Secret Technique!
A faint, blood-red light enveloped him, and his All Attributes instantly surged by thirty percent!
Immediately after, the purple mantis tattoo on his right arm flared with brilliant light!
Spirit Attachment Technique—
Purple Shadow Instant Kill!
VMM!
Jiang Che’s figure vanished from mid-air, transforming into a piercing purple flash that was nearly impossible to track with the naked eye.
The Profound Water Python’s lethal tail whip struck only an afterimage, producing a sonic boom.
In the next instant, Jiang Che’s figure reappeared directly above the python’s vital spot near its head!
This was the threefold speed boost from Purple Shadow Instant Kill!
Empowered by this speed, Jiang Che was terrifyingly agile, even with no foothold in mid-air!
"Get down!"
Jiang Che’s eyes were ice-cold as he clenched his right fist. At that moment, all the Strength in his body madly compressed and converged!
Twenty-Eighthfold Strike!
Combined with the amplification from the Blood Burning Secret Technique, the power of this punch reached 36.4 times his normal output!
Furthermore, his fist carried the defense-shattering "Dark Annihilation" effect of Purple Shadow Instant Kill, as well as the scorching heat of the Crimson Flame Golden Burning Technique!
"Die!!!"
BOOM!!!
The jet-black iron fist landed squarely on the scales over the python’s vital spot!
The black iron scales, which should have been nigh-indestructible and capable of deflecting a Divine Weapon, were as fragile as paper before the Dark Annihilation effect!
PSSHCHT!
The Fist Force pierced the scales unimpeded, then exploded violently within the python’s flesh!
HIIISSSSKKK!!!
The Profound Water Python let out a horrifying shriek.
Under the force of that one punch, its massive body was bent in half, and it crashed back into the lake like a meteorite!
RUMBLE!
The lake’s surface erupted with a monstrous wave, sending countless plumes of water into the air.
A moment later, the water grew calm.
The body of the Profound Water Python, a beast of the Tenth Layer of the True Master Realm, slowly disintegrated, dissolving into countless motes of light that scattered into the air.
A single, fatal blow!
Jiang Che slowly drifted down onto a piece of floating wood on the lake, letting his powerful aura dissipate.
"Hoo..."
He let out a light breath and rolled his wrist.
’It wasn’t easy, but it wasn’t too difficult, either.’
This battle had pushed him almost to the limit of his normal combat strength.
However, it also gave him a clearer understanding of his own power.
Even against an opponent at the Tenth Layer of the True Master Realm, he could still put up a fight!
VMMMM—
As the Beast Soul dissipated, a stream of pure Martial Dao enlightenment surged into his mind, refining Jiang Che’s control over his power by another fraction.
’Not bad... Although it can’t compare to the legacy of Martial Dao Will from True Master Bai Yi and True Master Xuan Yang, this is still quite good.’
Jiang Che was very satisfied.
At the same time, a swirling Teleportation Array slowly materialized above the surface of the lake.
The twenty-second floor was open!
Without hesitation, Jiang Che tapped his foot and vanished into the Teleportation Array.
...
「Outside the Demon Suppression Tower, in the plaza.」
The crowd noticed that the rate at which the runes extinguished had finally slowed.
Nevertheless, Jiang Che still extinguished the light for the twenty-first floor and proceeded to the twenty-second!
The onlookers gradually fell silent.
They all held their breath, their eyes glued to the runic lights.