Chapter 688 - This Successor Is Stronger Than You Imagine

Cassius had returned from a period of fierce battles and arduous cultivation in the sixth time-travel. He had completely stepped into perfected power, and was fully capable of contending with Totem King Kassares or True Progenitor of Blood Yumila at their peak.

Annihilation Disaster, which was born only after the massive calamity tide, indeed had a very high status and had also stepped into perfected power. However, in the end, it was still inferior when compared to other perfected powers. Thus, when facing Cassius, it had been defeated!

At the final moment, it could only choose to use a mutual-destruction method. The rune of Deathly Stillness from the Book of Deathly Stillness detonated endless calamity and vitality. It was uncertain whether it could kill a Golem, but it would surely destroy Annihilation Disaster itself.

If not for the Totem King's sudden ambush, Annihilation Disaster might have already suffered fatal damage. But Cassius, caught in a pincer attack, could no longer completely kill Annihilation Disaster. However, he still managed to exact a heavy price from it.

He had torn off a third of Annihilation Disaster's body. The Extinction Wand, along with the rune it carried, had been left behind.

"Not bad at all... The remnant of Blood Vulture Dominator Fist has not completely dissipated, which is possibly the best outcome. I can use life vibration energy to slowly nurture and restore him. Perhaps humanity will gain another power that can be fully trusted and relied upon before the second calamity tide descends and the true ultimate war begins. In his prime, Blood Vulture's strength was no less than mine now. This will also free up my hands to do more things..."

The air twisted and rolled within the blazing white flames as a huge whirlwind swept across. A majestic steel figure covered in wounds walked out with heavy footsteps, holding the demeanor of a victor.

Buzz...

Strands of dense life vibration energy gathered into waves beneath the steel body of the Golem. These warm, scalding energies automatically swam to the damaged parts of the body like schools of fish, then dissipated. Every single cell ravenously devoured the vitality-filled energy.

The massive Golem's body visibly began to emit violently churning milky-white steam. In the blink of an eye, it was completely shrouded in steam.

Ssshhh...

The sounds of wounds rapidly healing and flesh regrowing could be heard from within the steam. Then, the deformed armor reshaped piece by piece.

"What a terrifying ability! Such a strong body combined with this crazy healing ability naturally makes one invincible..."

A hazy blood-colored figure stopped in front of the Golem's body. Cassius and Annihilation Disaster had fought frantically, with terrifying aftershocks sweeping across heaven and earth. Blood Vulture Dominator Fist had not approached rashly but instead concealed himself. He hated burdens during intense battles and naturally did not wish to become one himself.

In his current state, rushing into battle would only mean delivering himself to death. By protecting himself, Blood Vulture was fulfilling his greatest responsibility to the Southern Dipper successor who had traveled thousands of miles to find him! Of course, he had also witnessed the terrifying battle between both sides from start to finish.

This Southern Dipper successor could only be described with one word: strong! Extremely strong, unimaginably strong!

He had mastered and integrated the three Southern Dipper Covert Martial Arts fist arts. His Qi was also vast and magnificent, like an ocean swallowing all rivers. He also had an incredibly powerful physique that withstood half of Deathly Stillness from Annihilation Disaster and blocked the Totem King's full-force strike, yet showed no signs of severe injury.

In the end, when the Totem King and Annihilation Disaster sensed danger and attempted to retreat, he still forced them to pay a heavy price. This unknown Southern Dipper successor was utterly ruthless!

He suited the taste of the old Blood Vulture Dominator Fist perfectly. If this man could perfect the three Southern Dipper fist arts and attain the three ultimate states of Holy Self, Dominator Self, and Ultimate Self, could he perhaps tear apart Xiadu and bring an end to calamity?

This was a seedling that had grown without anyone noticing, and now stood firmly at the top of the food chain. Moreover, he still had immense potential for further growth. Blood Vulture Dominator Fist finally saw a glimmer of dawn within the long night. It was a feeling even the sudden appearance of Southern Cross back then could not bring. It was hope that perhaps everything could end!

Blood Vulture Dominator Fist raised his head and looked up, speaking toward the towering figure of the Golem, whose steel-masked head blocked the blood moon.

"Tell me your name, Southern Dipper successor..."

Krak, krak...

The thick black clouds were split apart by a pair of massive steel palms, and the Golem's head lowered to look down. A voice like great bells resounded across the sky, like a grand cathedral symphony.

𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

"My name is... Cassius!"

Immediately, the clouds shifted and heaven and earth quaked. It was like a sacred spirit had pronounced its mysterious name.

"Cassius... Good!"

Blood Vulture Dominator Fist's blurry mouth gradually split into a ferocious grin. He burst into wild laughter. His booming laughter echoed, drowning out the violent turbulence of the stormy sky above.

Cassius silently watched, his steel mask concealing all emotional fluctuations. Only the crimson light in his eyes flickered. Deep within his heart, it was as if a voice gently whispered.

"We meet again... Blood Vulture..."

***

There were no superfluous pretenses, nor any patronizing encouragement. Understanding between warriors often required only a gesture or a glance. As with their several meetings before, Cassius suited Blood Vulture Dominator Fist's taste. Their ways of doing things were too similar.

The Pitch Black Mountains had already become an incomparably open, dusty plain. The densely packed black peaks had completely collapsed, turning into a storm of gravel that scattered across every corner of the land.

The Book of Deathly Stillness's ability had flattened a sixth of the region. At a glance, one could see boundless deserts stretching without end. Deep ravines and cracks could be seen everywhere, intermittently spewing dangerous crimson lava.

After the battle, the area had already turned into a no man's land. It would likely take a very long time to return to normal. Two figures sat cross-legged within this zone. The falling gravel as well as lava and toxic gases were blocked ten kilometers away. A semi-circular, invisible Qi field suppressed everything within its range.

Gururu...

However, that core area was filled with the sounds of great rivers surging by, like furious dragons roaring. These sounds persisted for a long time before a hand lifted from behind Blood Vulture Dominator Fist. Cassius's tall, burly figure in a black coat slowly stood up.

"How do you feel?" Cassius asked.

Blood Vulture Dominator Fist still sat cross-legged on the ground, digesting life vibration energy.

"Very good. I have now completely moved away from the danger zone. My Will is no longer collapsing."

His Qi phantom was now many times more condensed and clearer than before. The crimson color was no longer as dim and blurry as before, but freshly crimson.

"Thank you, Cassius," he said in a deep voice.

"Hurry and restore your strength, Blood Vulture." Cassius slowly turned away from Blood Vulture Dominator Fist and walked toward the desolate distance, leaving only a voice drifting over. "I can feel that the second calamity tide is about to arrive. Xiadu is stirring and will soon make a move..."

The terrifying commotion of two perfected powers in the battle with Annihilation Disaster must have caused a great uproar, yet Xiadu showed not the slightest movement. It was very abnormal.

The Xiadu of the present was not in the same state as during the sixth time-travel. It had likely already erased a vast number of White Bird's burning marks. With Xiadu's Will growing stronger, the violent changes in the World of Calamity should make all the more sense. However, the blood moon in the sky had no reaction...

Thus, Cassius speculated that Xiadu was likely in the final stage of removing White Bird's traces, with its body and mind fully devoted to recovering from its injuries. Once it broke through, it would definitely be in a peak state. This was something Cassius had to guard against.

"My technique progress at ninety percent is still not enough... It's time to continue improving."

He walked through the whipping wind with faint phosphorescence emanating from his body. Ignoring the deep chasms beneath his feet, he slowly made his way toward the distance.

Cassius pondered as he looked toward the upper right, where his progress bar was quietly suspended.

"I can feel that the difficulty of improvement has surged again after ninety percent. Just like when the Physical Transformation stage and Qi Embodiment stage entered the ninety percent mark, the most difficult part has arrived... Fortunately, this time I harvested Annihilation Disaster, an Ultimate Dark Form ranked in the top ten. Even if it is only a third of its body, it's still far higher in quality than ordinary Ultimate Dark Forms. It should bring me a decent improvement..."

His strong right arm slowly formed a claw. He made a grasping gesture in the void, and invisible power swept forth. A huge blood-drenched remnant of a body suddenly floated up from the ravine below, with some fragmented tentacle-like parts beside it.

Cassius did not disdain the scraps either. When it came to power, not one person ever thought there was too much. Cassius's Golem Covert Martial Arts had too great an appetite. However much came, it could always swallow more. He thrust a palm into Annihilation Disaster's hard remnant body.

"Come!"

The Golem's life magnetic field activated, raking through flesh like an iron harrow. Dense life vibration energy was pressed out like oil.

"Fresh, majestic, and powerful..." He appraised aloud while absorbing.

Compared with Totem King Kassares, whom Cassius had absorbed before, Annihilation Disaster tasted better. After all, the Totem King and Blood Vulture Dominator Fist had worn each other down for too many years. The weakness in his origin could not be concealed.

In contrast, Annihilation Disaster was very young. It still carried the steaming aroma of fresh meat. This flavor was what the Golem Covert Martial Arts liked the most. The Golem's life magnetic field was like a terrifying gluttonous maw as it devoured Annihilation Disaster's life vibration energy in great gulps.

After an unknown amount of time, the dust dispersed and one person hovered quietly. Blazing energy reverberated in circle after circle inside Cassius's body. He silently felt it and shifted his gaze to the upper right.

[Golem Covert Martial Arts: Mental Unification 90.1% (Final Stage)]

Hiss...

Two streams of high-temperature steam rolled out from his nose and mouth.

"Add it all. No need to hold back."

Rumbling thunder stirred within his body as if lightning were exploding inside Cassius. Every cell was swept by this intense lightning, and a vast amount of life vibration energy gushed forth. The numbers in the progress bar blurred slightly, jumping upward. Silently, his power grew more and more majestic.

Cassius’s long hair gradually lifted skyward, and started to gleam. The radiance flickered, and finally dimmed.

[Golem Covert Martial Arts: Mental Unification 90.1% (Final Stage)] -> 93.2%

A 3.1% increase was within the better range of Cassius's expectations. In his previous two boosts, slaying two Ultimate Dark Forms had brought a 2.7% and 2.5% increase respectively.

This 3.1% rise was clearly higher than those two Ultimate Dark Forms, not to mention that this was already in the difficult stage after crossing ninety percent. If a third of the body could bring 3.1% progress, then swallowing Annihilation Disaster entirely might just push the Golem Covert Martial Arts' progress to 99%.

No, considering the decreasing efficiency, perhaps it would peak at 97% or 98%.

"After the technique progress reached ninety percent, even one complete perfected Ultimate Dark Form would not be enough. I truly don't know what kind of terrifying power increase a fully perfected, mutated Golem Covert Martial Arts will bring me..."

Cassius gently exhaled, feeling the ever more powerful and majestic might within his body. Though he was at the perfected power stage, he had gained another substantial improvement. This was the power of the Golem Covert Martial Arts.

"Next, let me see what function this newly obtained Ao Yin rune has?" Cassius waved casually, and the pale, withered remnant of Annihilation Disaster before him collapsed. Only a decayed white twisted staff fell from the air and was caught by a powerful hand.

The Extinction Wand was likely made of some unknown wood. Its surface radiated a strange, mysterious aura related to the control of calamity and vitality. A ferocious skull mark was faintly glowing at the head of the staff.

"An undead rune? Or perhaps... a Rune of Death?"