From the end of the world

Chapter 670 VS Xuanming 2
I must admit that I approached Xuanming as an enemy with the mindset of a challenger. Although I didn't consider myself weak, I never imagined that Xuanming would resort to such cunning tactics right from the start when dealing with me. This certainly wasn't a clever idea, nor was it a judgment I reached after careful consideration; rather, it was a preconceived, unconscious bias.

Xuanming ruthlessly seized upon my naivety, shattering my body and soul into pieces with his first strike. If I hadn't possessed innate supernatural powers, I probably would have been defeated in the very first round. The confidence I gained from my innate immortality was likely a significant factor that led to my carelessness. Without such a high margin for error, I might have been able to see through Xuanming's feint and sneak attack tactics.

Fortunately, Xuanming didn't seem particularly skilled at how to kill enemies like me. I wonder if Xuanming, this ancient Great Impermanence, had any experience fighting against manifested Daoists before. Even if he had, it was probably a distant memory so ancient that even the Great Impermanence would find it unfamiliar. Or perhaps it was because Xuanming had only just confirmed my manifested nature that he was unable to kill my true spirit level with his first strike.

I wasn't actually harmed, but from this moment on, I will certainly no longer be able to enjoy this convenience.

"As expected... this level of sneak attack cannot achieve any significant results." Xuan Ming remained expressionless.

He stretched out his hand, making a downward pressing gesture. The boundless sea of ​​fire covering the sky began to flare violently, emitting blindingly bright flames. What had previously merely illuminated the city to the point of blurring the lines between day and night now seemed as if flashbangs had been detonated on every inch of the land. Only those with spiritual perception could perceive the scene normally; the sea of ​​fire was rushing straight towards the ground with overwhelming force.

What a magnificent sight! It was as if the city was built beneath the deep sea, its massive glass dome isolating it from all the water. And this scene was as if the glass dome had shattered all at once, and the orange flames forming the seawater were about to devour and destroy everything.

Although I also possess a sea of ​​fire that spans the entire city, the sky-sea of ​​fire over Xuanming's territory had been accumulating for over twenty days to reach its current state. Compared to that, the fire domain here, which had only recently been established, was completely different in terms of preparation. I attempted to counterattack with the sea of ​​fire on the ground, but was easily overwhelmed, and my body was engulfed by an immeasurably vast expanse of orange-yellow flames.

The power of this attack was at least ten times that of mine, but it was clear that such a massive amount of power was not something Xuanming could manipulate at will. While immense in scale, its density was completely insufficient to harm me in my current state.

I know very well that Xuanming's goal is not to kill, but to completely transform this battlefield into his own territory. Right now, Xuanming's extremely high concentration of magical energy fluctuations are everywhere around me. He can take advantage of this special environment to once again gather high-intensity fire magic from other directions without anyone noticing and launch a surprise attack on me.

"Are you surprised? I actually use such tactics."

Xuanming could not be seen, but his voice could be heard coming from different directions at the same time.

It's as if he can read my mind... no, not "as if," he actually can.

The magic we use is the manifestation of our own soul and thoughts. As fellow Great Impermanence who manipulate fire magic, when our powers clash, we may find it easier than other Great Impermanence to interpret the emotions and thoughts contained within each other's magic, especially during battle.

The desire to completely annihilate the other, to prevent them from continuing to exist in this world—perhaps no will in the human heart is more naked than this. We've had verbal tests and brief conflicts in the past, but none have been as candid as this moment.

"I hate lies and acting, I hate pretense, but on the battlefield it's a different story. All's fair in war, and the pursuit of victory is a virtue. Any hesitation, even for a moment, is an ugly act of hypocrisy," Xuan Ming said.

"Yes, I was surprised... but I'm also very happy," I said.
"Happy?" Xuanming asked.

I felt I could vaguely grasp Xuanming's true thoughts, and continued, "Someone like you, if given both the option of being upright and honorable and the option of being dark and cunning, would undoubtedly choose the former without hesitation. On one hand, you can demonstrate strength and victory to yourself and the world; on the other hand, only victory can be obtained. Which one is better is self-evident."

"And since you're willing to use a sneak attack tactic, it can only mean that you believe you can't secure victory against an enemy like me without going to this extent—right?"

"That's exactly right," Xuanming admitted.

Before he could finish speaking, his next deadly move swiftly pierced through the sea of ​​fire, attacking me from the side and behind.

It looked like a javelin formed of flame, only the thickness of a fist and two meters long, but its density was so high that it seemed as if a towering mountain had been condensed into such a tiny size, and it hurtled towards us at more than ten thousand times the speed of sound.

This attack was completely different from the first one. The charging time was much longer, so its power must be much greater. Intuitively, I could tell that Xuanming had easily locked onto my true spirit and was about to seriously injure me. If I were to hastily parry head-on, even Fazheng, who wielded a divine weapon of humanity and possessed considerable defensive power, would likely be annihilated on the spot. Such a powerful killing move was rarely unleashed in battles between Great Impermanences, because the enemy wouldn't just stand by and watch you charge up. However, Xuanming was now cleverly concealing himself under the cover of the sea of ​​fire, even the fluctuations of his magical power during the charging process could be hidden through the sea of ​​fire.

Even the manner in which this attack came was as swift as a gazelle leaping off a cliff; in terms of stealth and surprise, it surpassed even the first attack launched under the cover of a feint. Under normal circumstances, I would have had no chance to react in time, let alone dodge it.

But the actual situation was quite different—not only did I discover it in time, but I also narrowly twisted my body and managed to avoid the sudden attack of the fire spear.

At the same time, following the direction from which the killing move came, I also found Xuan Ming's current location—he was less than a hundred meters away from me, and I only discovered him at this moment.

Without thinking, I fired a flamethrower at him, and he almost reflexively did the same. The orange-red flames collided with the orange-yellow flames, and the resulting explosion cleared a vacuum area from the surrounding sea of ​​fire.

Xuanming revealed an unexpected emotion while counterattacking. In the clash of fire magic, I vaguely discerned his true thoughts—he didn't believe that his home-field ambush tactic could really be a foolproof strategy in his battle against me, and he should have been mentally prepared to some extent for me to break through his advantages. However, he certainly didn't expect that I could break through so quickly.

His judgment was very accurate; I certainly couldn't have done that with my own abilities alone. However, just as he created a home-field advantage by preparing a sky full of fire, I also prepared other advantages in advance, namely, the blessing of the little bowl.

In the chaotic post-apocalyptic world, I can greatly enhance my evasion and hit rates through the power of blessings, but it's more like a restoration than an enhancement. The chaotic post-apocalyptic world severely affects the forces of fate and cause and effect, and the blessing of the small bowl can help me deeply understand the remaining order of the post-apocalyptic world. Even a great impermanence like Huang Quan, who has been immersed in the post-apocalyptic world for many years, cannot compare to me.

In the normal timeline of the living world, since such negative effects don't exist, my bonuses in evasion and hit rate aren't as high. However, even so, my high adaptability and understanding of the time and space environment still allow me to deeply grasp the subtle changes in any part of my surroundings.

Xuanming's initial sneak attack did indeed capitalize on my unconscious moment, but I no longer have that preconceived notion. The success of a sneak attack tactic is limited to the first time; it won't be so easy for him to hit me again.

"So that's how it is... Is this the child's power?" Xuanming saw through my disguise immediately. "Very well, this is also a matter of cause and effect. Since I wanted to use her life as a living sacrifice, then I must naturally bear her backlash."

"However, if you think that the only tactic I have prepared for you is that one, then you are very wrong."

"This time, you are doomed."

As he spoke, he readily abandoned the tactic of covert ambush and switched to open combat. A massive amount of orange flames surged violently from the space around him, compressing and condensing into dozens of long fire dragons that charged towards me.

Each of the fiery dragons possessed the power to kill my true spirit, and I could even sense the intense binding magic emanating from them from afar. I had a clear premonition that if I were hit by any one of these fiery dragons, I would lose most of my ability to dodge and would then have to take all the remaining attacks. And if I were hit by just a third of their attacks, I would surely die here.

I used spatial teleportation, ignoring distance, to break through before the fiery dragons could surround me, simultaneously charging towards Xuanming. However, the surrounding fiery dragons seemed to possess a life of their own, suddenly changing direction and unleashing similar spatial teleportation abilities to encircle and kill me. Xuanming himself was also constantly flashing, continuously changing his position.

If someone were to observe this battle, they might see me and these fiery dragons constantly shifting positions; however, from my subjective perspective, the surrounding scenery was constantly changing, except for these fiery dragons, which didn't disappear with the changing environment but instead stubbornly kept closing the distance between us. It was as if these fiery dragons and I existed on different layers from the shifting scenery.

This also appears to be a powerful move that Xuan Ming had been preparing for a long time. Originally, he might have planned to wait a while longer, at which point there would likely be at least a hundred, not just dozens of fiery dragons. Now, I've cracked his stealthy attack tactic ahead of time, forcing him to use this move prematurely.

Even so, I still felt immense pressure. Seeing that all the fiery dragons were about to completely surround me, and that hitting Xuanming ahead of time had become an unattainable task, I had no choice but to change tactics and reveal my few remaining trump cards ahead of schedule.

(End of this chapter)