Chapter 114: Transcendent Battle, The Might of the Rune

As the rumbling vibrations echoed through the staircases of the building, Chen Chu surged to the fourteenth floor within a few breaths, abruptly halting at the corridor staircase. He stood with his saber in hand, his sharp gaze scanning his surroundings.

In the dim corridor, lights flickered. In the silence, Chen Chu's eyes narrowed slightly.

In his perception, a vague sense of danger filled his surroundings. It was clear that the Blood Emissary had been alerted, but his exact position remained uncertain.

However, there was no rush. As long as the emissary dared to look at him...

Boom!

Black true power erupted from Chen Chu's body, causing him to swell up suddenly. He lunged towards a room six meters away, causing the air to explode.

Black blade qi swirled around his two-meter-long straight saber, slicing through the air like a black whip.

At the same time, the door to the room exploded. A more terrifying aura burst forth from within, and amid the intense blood-red light, a long spear pierced out, emitting a half-meter-long red glow and exuding a sharp aura.

Bang!

In the moment of contact, the Wisdom King Blade Qi formed by Chen Chu’s Dragon Elephant True Power was dispersed by the red spear glow.

That was only normal. The difference in the quality of true power between the Third and Fourth Heavenly Realms was too great, especially when his opponent was in the late stage.

However, while the spear glow dispersed the blade qi, it wasn’t able to stop the snow-white blade of the saber from tearing through with tremendous force.

Boom!

As the blade light collided with the long spear, a shockwave erupted, shaking the surrounding air as it echoed through the entire corridor like the tolling of a bell.

Under the immense counterforce, the blade and spear were forced apart. At that moment, a hand covered in red snake scales pierced through the air like a red python, aiming for Chen Chu.

Roar!

The roar of a giant elephant faintly resounded. A sturdy arm covered in battle armor exploded through the air, clashing fist-to-fist with the red palm.

Boom!

With the burst of force, the surrounding air was once again shattered, and the black and red energy surged like a hurricane, creating a terrifying spectacle.

Just like when the blade and spear clashed, the two were forcefully separated upon contact. Chen Chu was pushed back several meters by the powerful blood-red true power, and the red shadow disappeared from the corridor in an instant.

"You’re not going anywhere!" Chen Chu shouted sternly, his heavy boots shattering the ground as he shot out like a black stream of light toward the end of the corridor.

The dark figure suddenly turned, and the long spear appeared again, emitting a red glow as it swept through the air with a howling wind.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!!

The exchange of moves was as fast as lightning, and every time the blade and spear made contact, a terrifying shockwave would erupt. Their weapons shattered walls and sent rubble flying everywhere, as if two rampaging beasts were destroying everything in their path.

Boom!

As the walls collapsed and smoke filled the air, the black blade light and red spear glow swept through, causing another round of explosions. The two were once again pushed back, stopping at opposite ends of the office.

It was only now that Chen Chu was able to get a clear look at the Blood Emissary.

Standing at two meters tall, he was muscular and sturdy, similar to the monster Chen Chu had slain before. With his true power active, his body was covered in blood-red snake scales, his face ferocious and terrifying.

A materialized blood aura enveloped his body like armor, and he wore a black cloak behind him; perhaps that had been the reason he could conceal his presence?

Compared to the monster-like Blood Emissary, Chen Chu, clad in black and red battle armor with his saber, seemed much more ordinary. However, his aura was even more ferocious and terrifying.

Yeah, that’s a late stage Fourth Heavenly Realm

. Chen Chu's eyes were ice-cold.

Although the opponent's aura was concealed, the power he had erupted in their brief exchange had allowed Chen Chu to confirm the stage of the Blood Emissary's cultivation; he could absolutely dominate those in the middle stage of the Fourth Heavenly Realm.

Concealing his true realm was likely how he had managed to avoid getting targeted by any Fifth or Sixth Heavenly Realm experts. Enemies in the middle stage of the Fourth Heavenly Realm could be barely dealt with by the geniuses; those in the late stage, however, were simply too much for them, and thus necessitated more powerful individuals to eliminate them.

Right now was a good example of the threat cultivators of that stage posed. The opponent’s true power was thick and condensed, and the spear glow was sharp. With just one sweep, his could almost instantly break Chen Chu’s blade qi.

If it hadn’t been for him enhancing his saber before coming here, giving the saber its weak anti-demonic effect and unparalleled sharpness that could break the spear glow, it would have been far more difficult to kill him tonight.

Looking at the ferocious Chen Chu, Carlos' voice was deep as he spoke. "Federal lackey, I thought I hid well. How did you find me?"

"You think I'll tell you that?" Chen Chu replied in an indifferent tone as he activated a terrifying power within him.

Roar!

A deafening roar of the Tyrant Elephant resounded in the room. Behind him, a terrifying phantom flashed past, and his muscles swelled to the point of his battle armor creaking.

Now that he had confirmed that the opponent’s stage, Chen Chu activated the Elephant Fury Rune. The vitality and true power within him burned fiercely.

Boom!

In an instant, the floor beneath his feet was crushed into powder, the air exploded, and Chen Chu shot out with a fierce wind, his imposing aura raging like a roaring elephant.

Under the tenfold increase in strength and defense, Chen Chu's speed had also reached a terrifying level, almost invisible to the naked eye. There was only a black and white blade light streaking through the air.

Carlos's face changed drastically. His late stage true power erupted, the red blood light almost illuminating the entire room.

Bang!

The condensed black blade qi and the blood-red true power dissipated under the direct collision, but the snow-white blade edge that followed was incomparably sharp, tearing through the spear glow and slashing at the spear shaft.

Boom!

Under the terrifying storm of attacks, even Carlos couldn't help but turn red from exertion. His whole body abruptly sank, as the floor within a few meters around him collapsed with a resounding crash.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The two combatants, now on the thirteenth floor, resumed their frenzied battle. Their speed was terrifying, and everything in their path was torn apart by the sharp and domineering true power.

Compared to before, where Chen Chu had been at a slight disadvantage, now it was Carlos who was being suppressed by Chen Chu's even more formidable power. With the rune burning within him, every move and gesture seemed to be accompanied by the roar of an elephant.

Chen Chu didn't even bother to defend, allowing Carlos's spear and its glow to freely land on him, while his own blade light relentlessly struck at Carlos's vital points.

Carlos, on the other hand, was finding himself at a loss. That saber was unparalleled in sharpness, made all the more lethal by its wielder’s unrelenting physical strength. If Carlos failed to block, the opponent would likely cut him in half with a single stroke, but every attack he directly blocked with his Bloodthirsty Soul-stealing Spear had enough power behind it to rattle his arms.

Boom!

The window of the almost demolished thirteenth floor exploded, and two figures—one red and one black—appeared in mid-air, exchanging punches.

Bang!

A violent shockwave exploded. With no leverage to make use of, Chen Chu was thrown back several meters further into the air by the powerful force, while Carlos was slammed against the wall of the building. His eyes flashed with a fierce light as he thrust his spear into the wall to start a more controlled slide, sparks flying and a cold expression on his face.

The thirteenth floor, almost forty meters high in the air, would not be a pleasant landing even for him. Nor for that abnormally strong Third Realm Federal genius...

Suddenly, Chen Chu waved his left hand.

Swish!

A miniature hook about the size of a finger shot out, easily piercing through the wall and causing the attached steel wire to tighten abruptly.

Bang!

Chen Chu collided with the wall. The hook quickly retracted, and he dug the armored fingers of his left hand into the concrete, leaving five deep gouges and sending countless stone fragments flying as he continued to descend.

Due to that delay, however, Carlos reached the ground before Chen Chu. With a crash, he smashed into a car parked on the side of the road. His internal power erupted, transforming into a burst of blood light as he quickly lept off of the wreckage.

He needed to retreat. Carlos was well aware that this was a Federal-controlled area. If he stayed here too long now, high-level powerhouses would soon arrive. By then, he would be severely injured, if not already killed.

Just then, a figure rushed out from the side, wielding a heavy shield. It was none other than Xia Youhui. With his thick yellow true power bursting from him, he stood like a mountain in front of Carlos.

However, as a late stage cultivator in the Fourth Heavenly Realm, Carlos was faster. More red light burst from his body, and his footsteps crushed the pavement as he bypassed Xia Youhui.

"Black Tortoise Shifting Mountains!"

With a low shout, a surge of invisible force erupted from Xia Youhui's body, and the ground around him seemed to crumble slightly. Carlos, who had originally intended to bypass him, suddenly found himself veering towards him.

"Since you want to die, I'll grant you your wish." Carlos brandished his spear like a dragon, the dozen-centimeter-long spear glow illuminating the intense killing intent in his eyes.

Boom!

Even Xia Youhui couldn't resist the terrifying strike of a late stage Fourth Heavenly Realm cultivator. The yellow true power covering his heavy shield trembled wildly before it collapsed, and the ground within a five-meter radius beneath him cracked from the violent force.

With a mouthful of blood spewing out, Xia Youhui was pushed back several meters by the impact, leaving two deep ruts on the road with his feet.

"You forgot about me!"

In the instant Carlos had shoved Xia Youhui back, a fierce wind howled from the side, and blue true power erupted from a heavy hammer as it came flying down.

"Get lost!" With a stern shout, Carlos swept his three-meter-long spear. In the darkness, it seemed like a red fan of light exploding, engulfing the raging wind and smashing into Li Meng.

Bang!

The hammer handle in Li Meng's hand bent, and he flew out like a cannonball, crashing into a car twenty meters away. The monstrous momentum immediately flattened it, and even pushed it for several meters before it and Li Meng finally came to a stop.

Suddenly, a sharp whistle exploded behind Carlos. It was Chen Chu, rushing over after landing. In just a moment, his figure had crossed dozens of meters, and with a faint roar resembling that of an elephant, the blade light in his hand crashed down.

Carlos turned around abruptly, a fierce expression on his grimacing face. "You think I'm really afraid of you? Ah!"

Knowing that he was unable to escape, his true power erupted completely, his strong bloody aura rising to the sky. The shadow of a blood python faintly appeared in the blood-red light he was emitting.

Within the red light, covered in red snake scales all over his body, Carlos seemed like a demon from hell, exuding a nauseatingly ferocious blood aura.

Bang!

The long spear, wrapped in crimson-light, clashed with the saber, causing the ground beneath Carlos's feet to crack with a resounding boom.

The black and red true power between the two transformed into a raging wind, majestic and imposing.

Hiss!

Amid the turbulent wind, a blood-red spear qi burst forth like a blood python, tearing through the air with a sharp edge aimed at Chen Chu's face.

Behind his face mask, Chen Chu's eyes were ice-cold, ignoring the incoming rebound force as he swung his long blade.

Bang!

The sharp blade cut through the spear qi, causing it to disperse instantly upon impact.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

With the spear glow shattered, the snow-like blade light flashed as Chen Chu blocked three spear thrusts. Then, he swept forward with a roar of wind, unleashing a full-force strike.

Boom!

Carlos went flying back several meters with a crash, slamming into a car parked on the side of the road and flipping it. He then quickly changed his expression and dodged aside.

Boom!

Just as Carlos dodged, the blade light descended like a waterfall, instantly cleaving the car in half and leaving a three-meter-long crack in the ground.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!!

With the eruption of the residual power of the true martial rune, Chen Chu's strength was unrivaled and his speed unmatched. Behind him trailed a series of shadowy afterimages, entangling fiercely with the red light that Carlos was emitting. Both of their movement speeds exceeded one hundred meters per second, and their attack speeds were even invisible to the naked eye. Everywhere they went, energy overflowed.

Every time the red spear qi hit the ground, it would create a half-meter-wide pit in the hard pavement.

The black blade light was even more terrifying. Trees on both sides of the road collapsed one by one, cars exploded as they passed, and even the street lamps were swept away like toys.

The one saving grace was that this was near the hospital, under military lockdown, and there were no pedestrians at night. Otherwise, the collateral damage alone could have potentially resulted in hundreds of casualties.

This was the terror of high-level practitioners who had crossed the threshold of the Third Heavenly Realm and truly stepped into the realm of transcendence.