Chapter 478: Infinite Save States

The reason he hadn't used his ultimate techniques early on was because of his pride as a sura and his belief that the humans, strong though they might be, wouldn't be exceptional.

He thought it would be easy enough to deal with the humans with just his strength as a sura king; during the course of the battle, however, Yang Ze and Hong Xi had come at him so quickly that he had no time to activate them.

This had been Suiyue's first opportunity to launch a counterattack instead. Upon seeing what was happening, Yang Ze hurriedly activated his blood-ant soulshard, whereas Hong Xi began circulating [Syzygy] at full power.

A giant shark appeared behind Yang Ze's back. Yang Ze swung down with his greatsword, and the giant shark flicked its tail and launched itself toward Suiyue.

Suiyue's fist knocked the shark back. Under the effects of [Mirrored Refraction], Yang Ze seemed to phase in and out of existence, moving as rapidly as a fish darting through the water. He launched [Fists of the Silent Sea] toward Suiyue from all directions, giving him no space to retreat.

Suiyue ignored the attack as he dissipated the seemingly endless fog with a casual punch.

"[Fists of the Silent Sea: Reflection of Sun and Moon]!" Hong Xi followed up with her own technique, punching Suiyue in the face with a fist burning with black flame and wrapped with white moonlight. Suiyue grabbed that fist and hurled her toward Yang Ze instead.

As Yang Ze caught Hong Xi, Suiyue rushed forward and threw out a punch. When it landed on Yang Ze's body, however, it vanished into nothing but fog.

Suiyue frowned. That wasn't Yang Ze's true body at all!

Under the effects of [Mirrored Refraction], Yang Ze seemed to phase in and out of existence. Suiyue crushed another Yang Ze, who exploded into a fine mist of water vapor; another ten Yang Zes had appeared. Suiyue waved a hand and they all vanished into mist.

However, things weren't over yet. Suiyue, surrounded by a fine mist of water, found himself caught in between fantasy and reality.

"[The Boundless Blade: Shark Horde]!" Over a hundred translucent red and blue sharks shot toward Suiyue. Whenever he defeated one, another would open its maw wide and bite a piece of flesh off of Suiyue's body. When Suiyue defeated this next one, three more would appear. There seemed to be no end to the frenzy of sharks.

Each shark defeated burst into mist, amplifying the effect of the illusory technique. The mist continued to expand, giving the sharks more room in which to maneuver. More and more sharks surrounded Suiyue. Suiyue's body, thin and emaciated, barely had any more flesh that could be consumed. The sharks tore at his bones instead.

Despite the use of his secret techniques, Suiyue seemed incapable of dispelling the illusory field around him.

.

In the end, he slammed both his fists against the ground, causing a huge crash as dust and rubble filled the air. The mist dispersed in a large area around him, but the moment that happened, a group of sharks swam forward to fill the emptied space. Suiyue sent a flurry of punches in their direction, causing them to explode and surround him in yet another wreath of mist.

Suiyue's ultimate technique was indeed incredibly strong, and he could produce an attack ten to twenty times stronger than he ordinarily was able to, but he had chosen the wrong opponent.

Yang Ze's style of fighting was to disorient and confuse his opponent, and he countered a heavy hitter like Suiyue completely.

Suiyue knew that, if he allowed Yang Ze's illusions to continue, the effects of his secret techniques would expire and he would perish. Counting on the strength of his physical body, he rushed out of the field of fog, smashing apart the sharks in his way. Waiting for him at the outskirts was, however, Yang Ze.

"[The Boundless Blade: Shark Frenzy]!"

Waves splashed as Yang Ze swung his sword, a gigantic shark by his back. As Yang Ze infused genetic energy into the technique, the shark materialized into reality, swimming forward as he launched his attack.

As Suiyue tried to block with his hands, the sharks coming up from behind grabbed and held them back, allowing the shark in front to open its maw and bite off Suiyue's head.

Hong Xi headed over cautiously and asked, "How did it go?"

Yang Ze retrieved a vial from his storage space, a stamina recovery potion that the Yeluo had concocted. After he downed it, he said, "It's going to be a long slog."

Although Yang Ze's attacks looked as though they consumed a lot of stamina, the endless conjuration of sharks from mist was remarkably energy-efficient given a suitable environment, and Yang Ze was prepared to keep this up if need be.

As he expected, blood and brain matter began to regenerate, and Suiyue's crushed skull restored itself.

"[The Boundless Blade: Yawning Wave]!" Yang Ze struck again, and Suiyue's head burst apart again, but it continued to restore itself.

Yang Ze used the same technique again a few times to no avail, concluding, "There's no point in attacking him while he's under the effects of time reversal."

When Suiyue was fully restored, he found himself a few hundred years younger, his strength far below that at his prime. The moment he came back to consciousness, he burnt his blood and consumed his potential.

His body turned blood-red, and capillaries appeared all over his skin. His body gave off pops and cracks like a series of fireworks, and his strength and aura seemed to increase by orders of magnitude.

Suiyue suddenly grew thin and emaciated. With his future strength exhausted, his body shriveled until he seemed like an old sura, but the light burning in his eyes was fearsome. His heart beat like a furnace, steam pouring out of his body.

Despite all appearances, he radiated such energy that the very air turned scorching-hot.

"Whether you reverse time ten times, a hundred times, a thousand times—it's all meaningless!"

A world of mist once again enveloped Suiyue, and hundreds of sharks surrounded him. This time, while his body was still largely intact, Suiyue rushed out of the boundary of the attack.

Yang Ze asked, "Hong Xi, have you ever played video games before?"

Hong Xi shook her head. "As a child, my clan was in dire straits. I had to take care of my brother, and I had no time to do so."

"In some sense, Suiyue's ability is much like reviving in a game. The only difference is that we're in the real world, not a game world."

Suiyue tried to escape the bounds of Yang Ze's technique, but he found that, no matter what, he seemed to be trapped within an endless field of fog.

Yang Ze smiled. "The real world's a terrible game, without any specific mechanics or gameplay objectives, and one in which the players can turn on each other."

As Suiyue's body grew more and more battered, he seemed to come to a realization. "You vile human, you tricked me!"

The only reason Suiyue had managed to escape from the field of water was because Yang Ze had allowed him to do so, inducing in him the belief that he would easily be able to escape the sphere by doing so the next time around.

Yang Ze roared in laughter. "I have to have a few tricks to deal with someone like you, don't I?"

In rage, Suiyue leapt high into the air, but this too was within Yang Ze's predictions...