Chapter 458: Sneaking Attack
Chapter 458: Sneaking Attack
Translator: Radiant Editor: Radiant
Xue Ying wasn't surprised by his rank steadily rising. He might have only taken the 65th spot or so at first, but the majority of the experts ranked higher than him were the lucky ones who succeeded in killing a venomous bug after teaming up. It was impossible for the same person to be so lucky as to always be the one to land the final hit on each bug. If someone kept being the one to take each kill, their team would likely just go ahead and kick them out!
There's no huge gap in combat power between any of the final nineteen hundred participants in this Bloodshed God Palace Battle. Once five, six, or even eight or nine people team up, there aren't many outside those who grasped hold of a grade one Deity Heart who can survive such an assault. Xue Ying shook his head inwardly. A team of experts would also cover many different specializations, allowing them to cover for the others' weaknesses. This only further increases their threat. In any case, I can only try my best to survive.
The Bloodshed God Palace Battle wasn't meant to select the strongest hundred participants.
What it did sift out… were those who could kill the most venomous bugs under a set of rules! This meant that, rather than strength, this battle tested the decision-making of each expert.
Sou.
Xue Ying continued piercing through the many mountain ranges, and, as more time passed, the pace at which the venomous bug emerged gradually increased. Even then, Xue Ying maintained his usual vigilance and focus on survival. He would only go out to kill venomous bugs once he made sure it was safe. Due to this, his ranking began to stagnate, still lingering around 15th.
However, his vigilance combined with his self-set rule of placing survival first made sure that, even though many other Deities died and were eliminated, he kept hold of his place in the mountain range.
There's truly nothing here that can threaten me. As he walked along the mountain range, the white-robed, white-haired, white-browed Jiu She waved his hand, causing a huge golden palm to condense in mid-air which then squashed a venomous bug which was fleeing frantically. Upon coming into contact with the palm, the venomous bug was summarily splattered. I wasn't planning on revealing my skills so early in the Calm Sea Prefecture. I could have then seemed to struggle a bit more in this battle, and only reveal my true skill in the most crucial of moments. In that way, I might have sneaked in a kill on someone who grasped hold of a grade one Deity Heart. That would have been a joyous occasion.
If only that Dong Bo hadn't forced me to reveal my power so early. Now everyone's running away as soon as they land eyes upon me, Jiu She inwardly complained. The eyes beneath his white brows swept across the surroundings. There's also some invisible obstacle surrounding the boundary of this mountain range, preventing any domain from passing outside.
With his grade one Deity Heart, he could simply use his domain laws to cover an area of more than a hundred million kilometers with a single though. That was enough to envelop the entire mountain range of the Bloodshed God Palace Battle.
This gave those who grasped hold of grade one Deity Heart free range to slaughter people as they wished! After all, nobody could escape the range of their domain law.
But–
His Majesty, the Bloodshed God Emperor would never allow such a thing to happen. If those who grasped hold of grade one Deity Heart were to just kill as they pleased, there would be no meaning in the Bloodshed God Palace Battle. People like Xue Ying and Drunk Guest had huge talent and were seen as good seedlings with much higher potential than Jiu She and the others by the powerful existences and His Majesty.
Wait, is that… Jiu She cast his gaze far away to witness a scene depicting three young men in starry-blue robes, each wielding a spear, as they surrounded and attacked a venomous bug. This was happening in a place about seven mountains away.
Dong Bo? Jiu She smirked. What a coincidence. I've already killed over thirty Deity experts during this battle, but none of their deaths have made me as happy as killing you will.
Jiu She's figure then disappeared without a trace.
At his level, he could remove all sound and trace of his presence. Only when he crossed the boundary separating any two towering mountains would the invisible obstacle force him to reveal his true body. However, once got through them, he could then meld into nothingness again.
Stealthily…
He closed in with extreme caution. He used the towering mountain to block line of sight while borrowing his Laws and Profound Mysteries to distort his image as he moved closer to Xue Ying's location.
Having managed to survive all the way until now was a testament to Xue Ying's extreme vigilance. Even so, the invisible obstacles set down by His Majesty made it so that both his Mirage and Space senses were limited to the area of a towering mountain and not any of the regions next to it. He was forced to use his naked eyes to see any further than that. It was nothing strange for him to not realize that Jiu She was closing in on him.
With a final piercing screech of resentment, the venomous bug before him shattered and died.
Another one down. Xue Ying glanced up at the enormous blood-colored list floating in the sky. He had dropped down to 17th for a moment, but killing this bug gave him back his 15th spot. This was only natural, seeing how there were other experts on a quite similar level to his, and they were also killing bugs.
"Mn?" Xue Ying suddenly turned around.
To his back and to the left, the boundary of the towering mountain seemed to contain complete emptiness, yet Xue Ying had clearly sensed a figure appear there mere moments ago. That figure wore white robes, and their white hair and white brows were flowing about. Whenever Jiu She passed a boundary, he could, at most, distort vision in that area, but anyone with a realm as high as Xue Ying could bypass that distortion of light. He could not conceal his figure under Xue Ying's sensory ability, as provided by the Laws and Profound Mysteries.
"Jiu She!" Xue Ying was startled. This was his first time meeting someone with a grade one Deity Heart.
The combat power of any expert with a grade one Deity Heart vastly surpassed that of any Deity expert without one. They could casually kill whomever else they wanted to!
"Die!" Jiu She shouted in a tyrannical fashion. He clearly understood from the start that he would be spotted as soon as he crossed the boundary, so he waved his hand without hesitation.
An enormous golden palm condensed in mid-air, which pressed down on the area where Xue Ying was located. Even hiding in the Mirage was useless in front of Jiu She's might.
Shua shua shua.
Xue Ying had turned his body illusory the very moment he discovered Jiu She's presence, while his three mirage bodies simultaneously appeared at the boundaries of three different towering mountains. As soon as the golden palm began pressing down on his true body, he immediately switched positions with one of those three bodies.
"Break!" Jiu She frowned. His eyes glittered with sharpness.
Hong hong hong~
Every last corner of the towering mountain was affected by a terrifying feeling of suppression. Xue Ying's true body had switched positions with a mirage body and was busy fleeing toward the boundary, yet when that terrifying suppression descended, it enveloped the entire place… Regardless of where Xue Ying moved, as long as he remained in the region of that specific towering mountain, he would be hit.
"Careful!"
"Xue Ying!"
Jing Qiu and the rest of the Xia Clan Deities nervously watched on. Since they could only use their naked eyes to witness the scene, and as Jiu She distorted light each time he passed any boundary obstacle, nobody had discovered his presence. However, since their primary focus was on Xue Ying's situation, they immediately discovered the sudden appearance of that golden palm! It wasn't long after its appearance that the entire region around that towering mountain began breaking down under its crushing might…
"Does someone who grasped hold of a grade one Deity Heart really have to resort to sneak attacks?" The White Sand City Lord went livid as soon as he saw that. Killing some expert every so often whenever they stumbled upon them was good and all, but to deliberately set up a sneak attack…that was simply excessive!
The terrifying suppression caused every spot within that region to start crumbling apart. Xue Ying's true body felt that terrifying power pervading madly into his body, seeking to break down and tear apart every last particle within! He could feel some pain even through his Time Immemorial Body, though he remained unhurt. He was clearly able to resist this domain suppression.
I didn't die? I'm actually still alive? Xue Ying didn't even stop to think about why that would be the case as he immediately crossed the boundary obstacle to enter the region of a different towering mountain, where he rushed ahead to cross into another region. Sou sou sou sou… He ran away without pause, and in a single breath, he crossed a dozen mountain regions.
It wasn't enough to kill him? Jiu She finally revealed his true body in its entirety. Beneath his white floaty brows, his eyes showed a strand of fury. I've got to give him props for being so fast to flee!
It must be stated that Jiu She had merely grasped hold of a grade one Deity Heart and had yet to open his inner world to become a true World Deity! What he previously used was merely a domain built through the Laws of Profound Mysteries. It was an attack with a wide area of effect, which was naturally far weaker than striking someone directly.
Meanwhile, Xue Ying's Time Immemorial Body specialized in survivability. With it at the third level, his toughness was similar to that of a true stage one World Deity, and even a domain attack coming from a stage one World Deity would merely leave him heavily injured. They would have to be completely serious to have any hope at killing him. WIth Jiu She having used a single domain attack, there was hardly any chance for him to succeed.
Was there really a need for that? With your grade one Deity Heart, there's no way you won't get one of the top spots. What's the point in launching a sneak attack on me? Xue Ying was furious. If not for the fact that I'm temporarily unable to reveal my World Deity Heart, would I have had any need to be afraid of you?
Of course someone with a grade one Deity Heart could suppress him.
But only the consciousness of any Deity expert would be sent into the Bloodshed God Palace Battle. Even if they died, their consciousness would simply be sent back without any negative effect on their real body. In such an environment, it was natural for those with grade one Deity Hearts to occupy spots at the very front. In that case, was there any need for them to bother the others who were simply trying their best to raise their own ranks? Or to go as far as launching a sneak attack on someone like Xue Ying?
Whatever. I guess such is the temperament of someone who grasped hold of a grade one Deity Heart only after six and a half million years of cultivation. Xue Ying was well aware that he would vastly surpass Jiu She in the future.
The Bloodshed God Palace Battle was becoming more and more exciting.
With the exception of those who grasped hold of grade one Deity Heart, every Deity expert was fighting with their life on the line. Furthermore, as the rate at which the venomous bugs emerged further increased, they also began to pose a more significant threat. The rate at which the Deity experts was killed was quickly increasing.
"Over fifteen hundred have been eliminated, leaving behind only three hundred or so. We're fast approaching the final stage of this slaughter."
"It will only be getting more interesting from now on."
The many World Deities who were spectating the battle understood clearly how things would progress next.
In the highest seat of the highest position of the Bloodshed God Palace, His Majesty, the Bloodshed God Emperor, revealed a smile. "Most participants in this battle have been eliminated, with only three hundred still alive. I think it's time we send in the Deity warriors."
"Sending in the Deity warriors will only serve to heighten the pace of this slaughter."
The other powerful existences were spectating the battle from afar.
The Bloodshed God Emperor waved his hand, sending thirty streams of bloody light hurtling toward the distant mountain range.