Chapter 366: The Dragonturtle's Four Tablets

"If you really want to die so badly, let me grant your wish!" Musi Yu swung down with his polearm. Under the effect of [Black Sun], his strike was magnified by at least an order of magnitude.

"[Eclipse]!" A blood moon appeared beneath Zhang Lie's feet, and it immediately spread out all around him. He was far more experienced with [Eclipse] than was Hong Xi, and Zhang Lie's [Eclipse] even seemed able to encroach on Musi Yu's [Black Sun]. For the moment, however, [Black Sun] held out secure against [Eclipse]'s onslaught.

"[The Boundless Blade: Dragon's Wrath]!" Venombane struck forward, clashing against Musi Yu's polearm. The domains of [Black Sun] and [Eclipse] clashed against each other, again and again.

"Zhang Lie, die!" Musi Yu roared. Black flames burned even more brightly all over his body, converting his anger into strength and completely suppressing Zhang Lie.

Zhang Lie hastily activated his blood ant and forest wolfman soulshards, turning into a gigantic, bloody wolf. The blood-red genetic energy pulsed, forcing Musi Yu to stumble back.

"I have to admit, Zhang Lie, you've got decent strength—but it'll take you a century before you can catch up to me!" A ball of black flame shot up into the skies and blanketed the world in darkness.

"Die!" Musi Yu struck again with the polearm in his hands. The skies split in two with a massive outpouring of genetic energy; he had used so much of his strength that even the will of the world was paying attention to what was going on.

Even from cities far off into the distance, hunters could see a pillar of black flame rising into the skies.

"What's that?"

"Let's go have a look!"

Eager spectators rushed out of the city to observe what was going on from afar.

"Look—isn't that Musi Yu?"

"Musi Yu? We're rich!"

"You idiot! Musi Yu's a third-realm warlord. He might be hiding now because he was forced out of the third realm, but do you think we would be able to handle him?"

"Who's Musi Yu's opponent?"

"Who else? The champion of the Void Cup, Zhang Lie, of course!"

"What? Isn't Zhang Lie going to die, then? Surely even someone like him can't fend off a third-realm warlord?"

"I wonder how he managed to descend to the second realm. Doesn't the will of the world care?"

"He had to have paid a heavy price, of course. Could any higher-realm hunter descend so easily? If nothing else, his strength has certanly been suppressed to a second-realm level. He wouldn't have descended unless he really bore a heavy grudge toward Zhang Lie! Furthermore, the moment he triggers a technique stronger than the limits of the second realm, the will of the world itself might act against him."

"What's there to say? It's clear, isn't it? Zhang Lie's going to die! His opponent's a third-realm warlord, one who carved out a path of blood against an encirclement of over two dozen hunters!"

"What a pity for Zhang Lie, for the Zenith Dojo, for Potions #1 and #2..."

The black flames grew stronger and hotter as Musi Yu poured more and more of his genetic energy into them. The onlookers quailed; they could feel the heat on their skin even from a great distance. What second-realm hunter could withstand this blow?

"Die." Musi Yu waved his polearm of black flame.

Zhang Lie summoned two runic tablets from the dragonturtle, one as heavy as a boulder, the other as light as a feather. They wrapped around Musi Yu from the back and the front, causing gravity to distort where he stood. Musi Yu spat out a mouthful of blood.

He was in the middle of casting his strongest technique—the abrupt and unusual change in gravity meant that the blow directed at Zhang Lie whiffed, as though he had thrown his strongest punch into a sack of cotton. Black flame exploded from him, summoning a whirlwind that roared through the skies, devouring everything it touched.

The hunters who were watching the fight from afar yelped as they tried to flee, causing the scene to descend into chaos.

Musi Yu stood charred and blackened in the sky, hovering as he glanced down at Zhang Lie. His eyes were filled with killing intent and hatred; there was no one in the world he loathed more.

"I'll kill you, tear your body to pieces, and hang your head on a parapet! I'll kill you, I'll kill you!"

Zhang Lie rubbed his ears. "I'm happy to see you try. You've been screaming that you'll kill me for quite a while, but I'm still standing here hale and hearty, aren't I? I'm tired of hearing your words—come, strike at me!"

Despite being incensed by Zhang Lie, he knew he would have to maintain his rationality while facing him. Zhang Lie was a very troublesome opponent; he was only a second-realm hunter, but his strength wasn't far below Musi Yu's own.

That curious technique had caused Musi Yu's strongest attack to whiff. If not for his familiarity with [Black Sun], the explosion from the black flame alone could have taken his life. This time around, Musi Yu darted out of that unusual gravitational field that Zhang Lie had created, his polearm trailing a wave of black flame, before swinging it down on Zhang Lie. "[Blackflame Sweep]!"

Zhang Lie defended in the same manner as before, summoning two runic tablets to surround Musi Yu. Musi Yu dodged the moment he saw the tablets, but Zhang Lie then summoned a third right on top of Musi Yu's head. The flames on his polearm shrank, and even the strength of his genetic energy seemed to drop by one whole level. The skies grew brighter.

𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

While traveling through the second realm with Hong Xi, Zhang Lie had continued his investigation into the dragonturtle's four runic tablets, and he found that the third runic tablet of the dragonturtle had the ability to suppress energy of all kinds.

Zhang Lie raised his arm again, summoning the final of the four runic tablets from the dragonturtle. As Musi Yu recoiled in surprise, the fourth tablet crashed down onto him.

Musi Yu tried to dodge, but he found his body frozen. He could only watch on as the fourth tablet fell onto his head— and then it seemed as though everything around him was moving much more quickly than before.

Leaves dropped like stones to the ground; everyone seemed to be talking at a rapid clip. He suddenly realized that it was he who had slowed down, not others who had sped up.