“Another mirage!” Avis stared at the distant oasis that reappeared, utterly exhausted. His tired body slowly flew toward it.
On the city walls, guards—half-human, half-serpent—patrolled vigilantly, holding weapons, looking lifelike.
John and his companions were numb to it by now, not giving it much thought.
“Stop right there! Gran City forbids any approach. Leave immediately!” Suddenly, a loud shout echoed, and the guards at the city gates quickly surrounded them, blocking their way.
“Hmm?” John and his group were taken aback, surprised and delighted.
This wasn’t a mirage; it was truly Gran City.
“Haha, we’ve finally found it!” Sword Demon laughed excitedly. After wandering through Endless Desert for nearly a month, they were on the verge of collapse.
With a loud roar, he immediately took action.
Without hesitation, John and the others followed, charging toward the guards.
“Looking for death?” The serpent guards shouted angrily, completely disregarding the group.
In Endless Desert, Gran City was an invincible presence. Adventurers who occasionally wandered into Gran City were usually dealt with effortlessly by the guards.
But this time, they had kicked the wrong hornet’s nest.
Boom!
With a deafening roar, one of the guards was sent flying by Sword Demon. Before he even hit the ground, he was already lifeless.
“Powerful!” The leader of the guards immediately changed his expression, quickly ordering, “Hurry, notify Lord Serpent King!”
One of the soldiers hurriedly ran into the city.
John and his companions didn’t stop him. Taking a step forward, John drew his United Sword and said, “Everyone, clear the way!”
As he spoke, he swung his longsword down. A sharp beam of sword energy screamed through the air, cutting toward the city gates.
Boom!
With a massive explosion, half of the city wall and the gates collapsed, and the group charged into the city, unleashing a massacre.
Most of the guards had cultivation levels around seven or eight stars. They were no match for John and his companions, and they were quickly overwhelmed.
“Humans!” A furious roar echoed. Yealper, hearing the commotion, rushed out.
When he saw John, his eyes immediately turned bloodshot.
“You destroyed Underground City and imprisoned Lord Skybroke. Today, you will die without a doubt!” Yealper yelled, raising his long blade, and charged directly toward them.
“Hmph, I told you, Skybroke is already dead.” John snorted coldly, immediately activating Heaven and Earth Transformation, turning into a towering giant. His United Sword grew in size as well and slashed toward Yealper.
Boom!
The blade and sword clashed, and a terrifying force erupted, sending both of them flying back.
John was secretly shocked. Although his strength had increased, he was still no match for this Sword Demon.
This guy was too terrifying.
“Again!” His fighting spirit surged as he felt a surge of frustration. He roared and charged once more.
“Human, you’re not even my opponent.” Yealper sneered, but inwardly he was also surprised by John’s strength. He didn’t dare let his guard down, and his sword techniques were fully activated. Several flashes of cold light flickered as the two of them collided in a fierce battle.
Endless flashes of blade light and sword shadows filled the air. Wherever they went, wild winds howled, and the space around them trembled. The buildings in the surroundings were all obliterated.
The guards around them were terrified, scrambling to dodge and move as far away as possible from the two combatants.
Boom!
Once again, they collided with all their might, and John was sent flying once more.
Yealper also jumped back repeatedly, trying to stabilize his footing.
The difference in their strength was clear.
Yealper had only one leg, but even with John’s enhanced power, he was still no match for Yealper.
“Human, you dare to break into my Gran City? Heaven has given you a path, but you refuse to walk it, and now you’re throwing yourself into Hell.” A furious shout echoed, and a golden streak flashed through the city.
It was Serpent King Medusa.
“John, I’ll take care of this guy!” Sword Demon volunteered, charging forward.
His power was close to nine stars, and with Medusa injured and the others helping, he could barely handle it.
Meanwhile, John focused all his energy to face Yealper.
“Don’t you doubt Skybroke’s death? Today, I’ll take you to see for yourself.” With that, he connected with World-in-Hand, and in an instant, he pulled Yealper into it.
Yealper felt the fluctuation of power but did not stop it.
He was confident that John’s World-in-Hand couldn’t trap him. He could easily destroy it.
“Human, you dare to trap me inside your World-in-Hand… How audacious… Hmm? What is this world?!” His voice trailed off, and he looked around in disbelief.
Especially the bare tree trunk sticking out of the ground, which gave him a strange sense of familiarity.
It was an ancient tree.
But there was no sign of Skybroke’s presence.
Could it be true? Had Lord Skybroke really fallen?
Recalling John’s words, he swallowed nervously and coldly questioned, “Where is Lord Skybroke?”
“You really won’t believe it until you see the coffin, will you?” John said, looking at the Tree of Life and calling out, “Gaka, let him see Skybroke.”
Swoosh… swoosh…
The Tree of Life swayed, and several tree roots surged from the earth, each holding a heart that was still slowly beating, but there was no trace of Skybroke’s aura.
“No… this can’t be!” Yealper stumbled backward in disbelief, his face a mask of shock.
He immediately recognized the heart as Skybroke’s, but there was no life left in it.
“John, do you need me to help you deal with this guy?” The voice of Gaka came from the Tree of Life.
“No need, I can handle this,” John replied confidently. Out there, he might not have been Yealper’s match, but in here, with the power of World-in-Hand backing him, he was certain he could easily defeat him.
Yealper, having recovered from his shock, swallowed nervously. The truth was right in front of him, and he had no choice but to accept it.
“Despicable human, today I will avenge Lord Skybroke!” He glared at John with clenched teeth, his anger palpable, before suddenly striking.
His long knife slashed through the air, a cold and sharp blade flashing.
But his target was not John. Instead, he aimed to destroy World-in-Hand.
With Skybroke fallen, he suspected there was some hidden secret here, and he needed to break through the World-in-Hand as quickly as possible in order to escape.
Boom! Boom!
The blade’s energy tore through the space, creating a massive spatial rift, and began to devour everything around it. World-in-Hand trembled slightly in response.
John watched this scene without panic. He raised his longsword high, and the wind around him howled. Chaos Force began to condense around him.
“Creation and Destruction!” He shouted angrily, slashing his longsword down. A massive sword energy collided with Yealper’s cold, destructive blade energy, both filled with overwhelming power.
But while Yealper’s blade energy rampaged, destroying everything in its path.
John’s sword energy slashed through the broken space, mending it. The World-in-Hand was not only undamaged, but became even more stable.
“Impossible! What kind of power is this?” Yealper stared wide-eyed at the scene, disbelief written all over his face.
He had never encountered such a strange and terrifying force before.
“Die!” John no longer bothered to speak. Several forces of The Power of Laws converged around him. The sword intent hummed, magic whistled through the air, and he unleashed a relentless barrage toward Yealper.
In particular, the dark The Power of Laws, amplified by the energy of World-in-Hand, was nearly invincible.
Boom! Boom!
The sound of repeated explosions echoed as Yealper frantically dodged, taking heavy hits and suffering under the bombardment.
“Damn it. Medusa, come save me!” He barely managed to avoid the attacks, his voice rising in desperation.
John couldn’t help but wonder—this was his World-in-Hand, an independent space. Was it possible for them to enter here?
Buzz!
Suddenly, a fluctuation of spatial power erupted, and a golden serpent appeared—it was Medusa.
“What’s going on?” John was taken aback.
His World-in-Hand was not connected to the outside world. It was an isolated space. He couldn’t understand how Medusa had appeared here.
Talent!
He recalled how Medusa had been able to move freely within the Tower of Death.
This person must have some special space talent.
“Yealper, you can’t even handle this human? Pathetic,” Medusa said, giving Yealper a scornful glance.
Yealper, infuriated, quickly responded, “Stop talking! This human’s World-in-Hand is strange. We should join forces!”
With that, he swung his long knife and attacked John once again.
Medusa was not willing to be outdone. Her enormous serpent body coiled and struck.
Instantly, the pressure on John increased dramatically.
He could handle one person, but facing two powerhouses with nine-star strength, he was quickly put on the backfoot and began to struggle.
Whoosh!
A flash of golden light, and Medusa’s massive serpent body wrapped around John, tightening its grip.
“Human, die! Divine Slash!” Yealper roared as he leapt into the air, his long knife trailing a cold gleam as it descended with immense force.
John’s face shifted slightly. Now that he was tightly bound by Medusa, there was no way he could break free in such a short time.
“Diamond Body Protection!” He quickly activated his defensive skill, and his body was enveloped in a brilliant golden light. He desperately braced himself against Yealper’s incoming strike.
Bang!
The blade cut down, and the golden light shattered instantly. Though his defenses were magnified a hundredfold, John still took severe damage.
But fortunately, he had blocked Yealper’s strike.
“Idiot! Be careful not to hit me,” Medusa snapped angrily. The blade’s aftershock affected her as well.
She was already wounded, and her defenses were not as strong as John’s. She couldn’t avoid the residual power of Yealper’s attack.
“You better hold on, this time he will die!” Yealper paid no mind to her complaints. He raised his mountain-cleaving knife high, and a massive silhouette formed behind him, accompanied by the roar of winds.
“Dominating Slash!” He shouted, and the blade fell with incredible force and weight.
John’s expression changed slightly. He could feel that he wouldn’t be able to block this strike.
Boom!
There was a massive crash, and John was instantly slain.
[You were killed by the Eight-Star Peak powerhouse Yealper. Lifesaver Talent Activated.]
The prompt flashed across the screen as John was resurrected at his original position, his body glowing with golden light. The Lifesaver talent triggered, granting him a ten-second invincibility.
Stay updated via empire
“Huh? He’s still alive!” Medusa, who had just relaxed, froze upon seeing John unscathed.
“This guy actually has a Resurrection type talent!” Yealper’s eyes widened, his expression filled with excitement.
“Let’s do this!” Medusa’s eyes gleamed with greed. Ignoring her injuries, she coiled her serpent body once again, trapping him.
Gaka, who was anxiously watching from within the Tree of Life, spoke up: “Kid, summon Spoorate and the others.”
He was stuck inside The Tree of Life, unable to form an attack except by channeling his immense life force and spiritual power.
“No need!” John shook his head in refusal. He wasn’t incapable of handling these two on his own. With a resonating dragon’s roar, he transformed into a massive golden divine dragon, instantly breaking free from Medusa’s constricting grip.