Chapter 835: The Talented Ones

The black torrent unleashed by Kongwang, like a death judgment from the underworld, dissolved everything in its path. Even the spreading aftermath made everyone's hearts pound.

As Sun Bumian said, Kongwang's attacks when fighting for his life were unstoppable. If that strike had hit the ground, the entire old district would have likely shattered, and those standing on it would have been caught in the blast, turning to ash.

It was at this critical moment, a matter of life and death, that Chen Ling stepped forward.

Everyone clearly saw a figure move against the torrent, forcibly redirecting the finger's aim so that the black current skimmed the surface, minimizing the attack's destructive power.

"This... this..."

"Is Heart 6 really that selfless??"

"No way, are the youngsters of the '6' generation this crazy? Taking a powerful attack head-on with bare hands?"

"At that distance, he must be dead..."

"...Rumor has it that Heart 6 is cunning, insidious, and brutal. But now, it seems those rumors are completely false. A selfless young person like this is truly rare in our organization."

"We're not even sure he's Heart 6... If he really is the one from the rumors, and he's dead now, wouldn't that mean this entire domain is doomed?!"

Not just the surrounding "participants," but Sun Bumian also stared in shock, mouth agape, at the scene. Pointing at Chen Ling's corpse, which had fallen from the sky and was missing most of its torso, he couldn't help but ask, "Is he always this brave?"

"...Nonsense!" Jian Changsheng snorted, "It's all just one of Heart's tricks!"

Meanwhile, Kongwang, having unleashed his 'Delusion-Shattering Finger' attack, had an incredibly grim expression. His destructive, hard-won attack had been ruined by a mere Chen Ling. He had planned to use this divine ability to clear the area, even opening the Gate of Ghosts for it! After holding it in for so long, he had only managed to kill Chen Ling in the end...

"Damn it..."

Almost simultaneously, Sun Bumian's voice rang out from a distance: "The Delusion-Shattering Finger cannot be used consecutively in a short period! Attack now!"

Whoosh—!!

A blood-stained longsword whistled through the air, as the black-clad Asura, with his divine halo, instantly flashed before Kongwang. He gripped the hilt, channeling terrifying ancient killing intent, and slashed towards Kongwang's neck. At the same time, five claps of thunder exploded from the sky, and his five fingers clamped around the hilt erupted with astonishing power!

Kongwang seemed prepared for this. He lightly drifted backward as if weightless, instantly switching his Divine Path to the Path of Strength, and unleashed a punch towards Jian Changsheng's face! With the continuous supply of soul power from the Gate of Ghosts, Kongwang did not weaken after releasing the Delusion-Shattering Finger. However, the severe injuries inflicted by Chen Ling had made his movements extremely difficult.

*Thud*—!!

After punching Jian Changsheng away, a burning awakened lion descended from the sky, its colossal paw swelling rapidly in the wind, stomping fiercely towards Kongwang's body! Possessing the Path of Strength, Kongwang, who could send Jian Changsheng flying with a single punch, naturally had no fear of a lion. He likewise pressed a palm skyward, his pure power shattering the void and repelling the awakened lion's paw. But the next moment, a Tang suit-clad figure, wreathed in flames, shot out from the awakened lion's gaping maw. Two scorching pillars of fire instantly surged forth, engulfing Kongwang.

Yin and Yang energies intertwined silently, and a ghostly figure floated behind Sun Bumian. Sun Bumian's pupils constricted. He spun around like lightning, unleashing a fiery whip-kick towards Kongwang's head, only for it to be blocked by the latter's single hand. With a powerful surge from the Path of Strength, Sun Bumian was struck as if by an invisible hammer to the chest, sending him whistling down from the air to crash onto the ground! A cloud of dust billowed up.

Sun Bumian, after all, only commanded the Path of Drama. Unlike Jian Changsheng, who had the twelve-fold amplification of the Path of War to withstand the Path of Strength, Sun Bumian found it difficult to utilize any of his abilities under such pure power suppression, no matter how many techniques he possessed.

"What are you still waiting for?!" Sun Bumian shouted, "If he unleashes a second Delusion-Shattering Finger, none of you will survive!"

The "participants" scattered nearby paused, their expressions subtle. It wasn't that they didn't want to intervene; rather, their intervention might worsen the situation. However, at this point, they had no other choice. They couldn't just stand by and watch a few '6'-generation members die before their eyes.

Just as they gritted their teeth, preparing for a desperate, all-out struggle, someone made the first move! A chill emerged beside Kongwang. He let out a slight gasp and immediately drifted backward. The next moment, an invisible blade almost grazed his throat, while simultaneously, another unseen fist came whistling from directly behind him! Kongwang instinctively dodged the continuous onslaught, but at some point, the space around him seemed to be packed with people, and a relentless tide of attacks left him no room to counter.

"Are they souls? No, that's not right..." Even Kongwang's Yin-Yang eyes couldn't perceive those who were attacking, indicating they weren't souls... but something else entirely.

On the ruins of a nearby street, a black-robed youth stood with his head bowed, the silver clouds on his cuffs and hem fluttering in the breeze. "Jian Wubing was a good person," the Young Sect Master murmured, recalling Chen Ling, who had helped him at the Comet Restaurant. "He shouldn't have died..."

Jian Changsheng in the distance: ?

As one of the invisible "personalities" subtly raised a hand, dense crowds of earth puppets rose from the ground. Each stood seven or eight meters tall, appearing incredibly mighty! As other "personalities" also raised their hands, fire puppets, wind puppets, and even war golems formed from steel weapons frantically converged on Kongwang's position. A massive army of puppets filled almost every corner of the battlefield, charging madly at Kongwang! The Young Sect Master controlled the ethereal "personalities," and each "personality" controlled physical puppets of different attributes. In the interplay between the real and the void, the Path of Puppetry seemed to resonate with them.

*Thud*—!!

Kongwang snorted coldly and stomped heavily on the ground. The Path of Strength swept across the field, his pure power shattering two-thirds of the puppets! Just as he was about to make a move to deal with the annoying Young Sect Master, a cold gleam, as if piercing through a temporal gap, silently lunged towards the back of his neck from behind...

An assassin!

At that instant, Kongwang seemed to sense something unusual behind him. He instantly switched his Divine Path. The moment the Path of Scripture's domain opened, the glaring words "assassin" and "assassin's sword" appeared in his vision. Kongwang saw through the assassin's form and precisely dodged the lethal strike. With a flip of his hand, ink and brushes from the surroundings surged overwhelmingly towards the assassin! Having missed his strike, the assassin snorted coldly and quickly vanished into the air...

"A troublesome Ghost-God Path user..."

"That lion man was right earlier. If we don't kill this guy, none of us will escape."

Meanwhile, Pu Xichan of the Path of Scripture and Li Shengmen of the Path of Go also landed on opposite sides of the battlefield. A battered figure, bearing a burning banner, descended like a cannonball, crashing heavily in front of Kongwang. The aura of the Path of Strength swept forth, and clouds of dust billowed up! Tu Tian gazed at the souls hovering behind Kongwang, his grip on the banner tightening...

Kongwang's gaze slowly swept over the five human prodigies who had consecutively launched attacks, and the coldness in his Yin-Yang eyes flickered silently. "Very well... You've all jumped out willingly, saving me the trouble of hunting each of you down."

Outside the chaotic battlefield, unnoticed by anyone, a body that had been reduced to just a partial torso was silently regenerating. As half a skull regrew, an unspeakably bizarre aura began to emanate from it!