Chapter 1183: Time Reversal

"You're able to temporarily impose a rule in the vicinity of the arena, extending into the hall, but only one rule. Once the imposition on bladed weapons took effect, that on the wind was nullified. Furthermore, you can only restrict a certain object or class of objects—in my previous attack, you only blocked the sword energy, not the shark." Zhang Lie pointed out the flaws and restrictions on the Black Pharaoh's ability.

The Black Pharaoh didn't reply. With his scepter in hand, he formed a cordon of annihilation energy around himself in the form of black sand.

The death spirit king's energy of annihilation grew even more frightening in the king of chaos' hands.

Each grain of black sand boasted enough energy to destroy a small world. The black sand rose up in a torrent around the Black Pharaoh, whose scepter turned the sand into a terrifying sandstorm.

"[Fists of the Silent Sea: Fade]!" Zhang Lie punched forward, and the black serpent behind him shot forth.

The black serpent, which corroded everything in its wake, smashed into the sandstorm of annihilation. The serpent was unable to penetrate through the sandstorm and perished by its outskirts.

The death spirit king, after transforming into the king of chaos' clone, gained more abilities and even grew stronger.

As Zhang Lie activated his blood ant and dragonwolf soulshards, he transformed into a dragonwolf with russet fur and limbs covered with dragons' scales. His aura became magnified as a hurricane of blood spawned around him.

Swiping forward with his claws, he tore apart the black sandstorm with blood-red genetic energy.

The Black Pharaoh waved his scepter and gathered up the sand to form a black lion. The lion opened its jaws wide, intending to swallow Zhang Lie.

"[Fists of the Silent Sea: Fade]!" As Zhang Lie punched forward, a blood dragon roared in outrage and shot forward.

The blood dragon smashed into the black lion, knocking it back and causing a cavity to form in its 'flesh'. Subsequently, the energy of annihilation exploded around itself, quickly encountering Zhang Lie's version of the same and counteracting one another.

"[Fists of the Silent Sea: Hundred Dragons Soaring]!"

Blood-red genetic energy burst forth from Zhang Lie as though there were hundreds, thousands of dragons surging throughout his body. Each muscle formed a dragon, and a horde of dragons launched out of Zhang Lie's left arm as he expended half his genetic energy in one supercharged attack.

Howling with the force of thunder, a horde of over a hundred blood dragons flew through the air, swooping down like meteors at the Black Pharaoh.

The Black Pharaoh waved his scepter, weaving black sand in a shield over the sky.

The blood dragons struck the black sand and formed eddies of destruction that swept over the arena. The Black Pharaoh drew a circle by his feet and shouted, "Destruction, forbidden."

The burgeoning energy of destruction that filled the air winked out. The next moment, Zhang Lie appeared before the Black Pharaoh, skewering his chest with sharp claws. Even the Black Pharaoh's bandages were unable to stop the attack.

The Black Pharaoh's sharp eyes revealed fear for the first time. While he was dealing with the blood dragons, Zhang Lie had made use of his exceptional speed to launch a sneak attack on the Black Pharaoh, whose bandages reacted automatically to the attack. Zhang Lie unsheathed Guicang and cut the bandages to shreds.

Then, he spun his body and cleanly bisected the Black Pharaoh.

The king of chaos praised, "Excellent, excellent! As expected of you. An opponent you defeated, even when converted into my clone, can't best you."

If the king of chaos had hands, he would be furiously clapping right now.

Upon witnessing the fight between Zhang Lie and his clone, the king of chaos grew even more invested in recruiting Zhang Lie to the halls of chaos.

Zhang Lie raised his head. "King of chaos, this is enough probing, I should think—show your true strength, or the three thousand worlds will be forfeit."

The king of chaos reverted time, reconstituting the Black Pharaoh's body.

"Don't be so agitated—there's no need for us to be enemies. It's just a match to while away the time. My next clone will be different. I created and tended to it over the course of many years, so you'd better be careful."

The Black Pharaoh retreated to the king of chaos' side. Perhaps because it had just been created, this clone was far less agile and lively than Nightdemon and the others, and seemed more like a puppet.

The doors to the halls of chaos opened once more, and a winged human-faced lion, with two pairs of wings on its back, walked in.

Where its face should have been, there was only a sunken depression, like a swirling whirlpool, though with the contours of a face around it. The whirlpool seemed to be bottomless, like a portal to the abyss that swallowed up the rays of light around them.

There was a hoop of light on its back, like a clock of some sort.

The king of chaos introduced, "This is the second clone who will be participating in this battle, Faceless."

Faceless flapped its wings and flew into the air, the bottomless whirlpool facing Zhang Lie.

The king of chaos continued, "This is the second most recent clone I created. Before I did so, it was once the subordinate of the death spirit king and a superior king in its own right. After Nightdemon slew it, he brought it here."

Zhang Lie murmured, "How pitiful! Not only did his subordinate become your clone, he became your clone as well."

Faceless flapped its wings and swooped downward, its claws raking the air and making tearing noises.

"[Ninecarp Transformation: Golden Tiger]!"

The image of a golden tiger appeared behind Zhang Lie's back, and its roar echoed through the air. A golden aura suffused Zhang Lie. A mountain of blades rested atop the tiger's back, and Zhang Lie's body itself underwent a transformation. His hair turned silvery-white, until they became akin to silver needles.

His genetic energy likewise became more honed. Silvery-white genetic energy gathered over his body, and tigers' stripes appeared on his arms. His eyes became those of a tiger's, and steely sharpness erupted from every pore.

"[Fists of the Silent Sea: Fade]!"

The [Fists of the Silent Sea] formed a fist in combination with the black serpent form and a mallet with the golden tiger. The condensed genetic energy solidified into sharp silver crystal, which speared through the air and penetrated deep into Faceless' abdomen. The overwhelming momentum pinned Faceless' body to one wall of the hall, and fresh blood leaked out from the wound.

Zhang Lie taunted, "Faceless? How about Useless?"

For it to have lost in one blow... even the members of Team Zenith, watching from a distance, were tittering among themselves.

"King of chaos, is this a joke?"

The next moment, however, everyone was dumbfounded.

The loop of light to Faceless' back glowed, then reversed direction as though time were turning backwards. Fang Yi's eyes widened. "Temporal manipulation!"

Faceless, who had just been pinned to the wall, reappeared in front of Zhang Lie's face.

Zhang Lie didn't launch an attack, but sharp silver crystals still speared through the air and flew toward Faceless once more.