The black umbrella that had fallen beside Li Ang inexplicably trembled.
The rampaging demon suddenly paused. A thin line of blood inexplicably appeared on its thick, short neck.
HISS—
Blood sprayed from Zou Zhengze's neck as if it were free, staining the walls on both sides bright red.
The demon stopped in its tracks, reached up to its neck, and scratched a few times, tearing off half a strand of hair.
Half a strand of black, long, and sharp hair.
This woman's hair strand was positioned high up in the corridor. As Zou Zhengze charged forward, he had been neatly sliced across the neck by the hair.
If the demon's body hadn't been so sturdy, or if the hair's resilience had been slightly stronger, Zou Zhengze might have been beheaded by his own forward momentum.
But there were no ifs.
SWISH.
As if a mechanism had been triggered, countless black strands of hair spread from both sides of the corridor walls. These fine hairs, intertwining like vines, twisted into thick ropes and formed large nets, sweeping toward Zou Zhengze.
"Hmph."
The demon let out a cold, indifferent chuckle. Its thick Demonic Qi surged and rippled through the corridor like invisible waves.
Chai Cuiqiao, hiding beneath the floor, turned pale. As a wronged soul turned Fierce Ghost, the sight she feared most was such a blood-rich demon.
"Where do you think you're going?"
Just as Zou Zhengze was about to capture the Fierce Ghost, he saw Li Ang push himself out of the wall with a CRACK and take a deep breath.
The Ripple Breathing Method operated at its limit. Blood thundered through his veins, muscles quivered, and a lava-like, hot Ripple Energy spread throughout his body.
When Ripple Energy operated at its utmost limit, it became Ripple Sprint.
The adrenal glands reactivated. The pain, intense and searing, brought an unprecedented sense of reality. Li Ang had never before felt each tendon, bone, blood vessel, and organ so clearly...
Zou Zhengze suddenly sensed danger. Instinctively, he raised his arms like a massive Tower Shield before him. Through the gap between his arms, in a Flint Stone moment, he saw Li Ang step onto the wall behind him.
The next moment, Li Ang appeared before Zou Zhengze. Powerful Ripple Energy concentrated on the tip of the dagger in his hand, forming a starburst of dazzling silver light at the very end of the blade.
HISS—
The mighty Energy known as "Silver Wave Sprint" spread forward along the tip of the dagger, allowing the entire blade to penetrate Zou Zhengze's skin and stab into his flesh without any hindrance.
Compared to Zou Zhengze's three-meter-tall massive body, the piercing wound caused by the dagger was practically negligible. However, the Ripple, capable of suppressing all yin and baleful energies, spread wildly through the wound, dissolving Zou Zhengze's body.
In the blink of an eye, half of the Giant's hand had decayed and melted away. Flesh dripped like wax onto the ground, revealing a mess of jumbled bone spurs within.
Under the severe pain, Zou Zhengze could no longer maintain his previous composure. His expression turned hideous, his face twisted, and the red-and-black runes on his skin writhed like tadpoles, their shapes even more terrifying than the Tyrants in "Resident Evil."
The vortex of black clouds lingering in the sky abruptly paused. The many Souls floating in midair suddenly could no longer feel the warm and gentle breeze, their faces showing expressions of slight stupefaction and bewildered confusion.
Chai Cuiqiao, pale-faced, flew out of the building and headed straight for those bewildered Souls. Reaching out, she grabbed the wrists of two Souls, dragging them downward as she flew and stuffing them back into their own bodies as if tucking in a quilt.
"Courting death!"
Through the broken wall, Zou Zhengze saw Chai Cuiqiao's actions. His three eyes glowed a fierce red with unbridled fury as he bellowed at Li Ang, "Zun Haal Viik!!"
The sound wave swept over him. Li Ang felt an unexpected pain in his hand, subconsciously loosening his grip on the dagger.
[Skill Name: Dragon Roar - Disarm]
[Type: Spiritual Energy]
[Special Effect: Disarms enemies whose level is lower than yours. The duration of the disarm effect depends on the enemy's Physique and Intelligence Attribute.]
[Consumption: 10% of total Spirit Power Value]
[Cooldown Time: 10 minutes]
[Learning Requirement: Strength Attribute must be 10 or higher.]
[Note: Dragon Roar defies steel, snatching weapons from the enemy's grasp]
The Dragon Roar hails from the video game series Elder Scrolls. It is essentially a language with the Word Spirit effect possessed by Giant Dragons; its power can be amplified by overlaying characters upon one another.
Although Zou Zhengze had never been to the world of Elder Scrolls and didn't understand the dragon language, this didn't stop him from using his roar to force Li Ang to release his weapon.
Once the dagger separated from Li Ang, it instantly lost its Ripple saturation, becoming a mere piece of ordinary iron. The blade, rapidly corroded and softened by Zou Zhengze's negative energy-soaked blood, fell to the ground with a CLINK.
With no time to think, Li Ang leaned back, executing an Iron Plate Bridge to dodge Zou Zhengze's sweeping punch—a fist as large as a sandbag, covered in knobby bone spurs that looked incredibly sinister.
Barely dodging Zou Zhengze's sweeping heavy punch, Li Ang straightened up, pushed off the ground, and surged forward.
Drawing his arm back, he shaped his body like a bow, his elbow the string, and his fist the arrow. His heavy punch, laden with Ripple Energy, smashed forcefully into the center of Zou Zhengze's breastbone.
The Energy output of Ripple was far inferior to that of equivalent Blood Ability, Demonic Qi, or Arcane Magic. However, in terms of endurance, the Ripple—originating from a living being's breath—was long, peaceful, gradual, and lasting. It far surpassed energies of the same level and yielded no ground to the East's Inner Strength—in fact, the difference between them was negligible.
What was more unique was Ripple Energy's righteous and grand nature, comparable to the fierce midday sun; it naturally wielded lethal power against yin energy and baleful energy. With one strike, the flesh and skin on the Giant's chest rippled like a pond struck by a stone. His entire chest cavity caved in, and the incessant CRACK! CRACK! of breaking bones echoed.
The inhuman level of Self-healing Ability, granted by the Demonic Path of Yin and Yang, meant that even a shattered breastbone—a serious injury—wouldn't be fatal. However, having been severely hit, Zou Zhengze's huge frame still involuntarily lost balance. His three-meter-tall body tilted and leaned backward like a skyscraper on the verge of collapse, toppling over.
Just as he seemed about to fall, the Giant propped himself up on one hand. His massive body flipped backward with an agility that completely belied his size, his toes lashing upward like a Longsword. Seizing the moment Li Ang retreated, he regained his footing.
His heart like gunpowder, his fists like cannons!
The Giant stomped his foot, his left fist shooting out like a cannonball straight for Li Ang's face. Li Ang dodged the knobby bone spurs, barely grasping Zou Zhengze's wrist with his left hand, while his right palm struck the inner side of the Giant's elbow. Using the momentum of his opponent's pulling fist, Li Ang's left palm shot toward Zou Zhengze's face.
Dense Ripple Energy flowed from Li Ang's left palm, striking Zou Zhengze's chin.
Flesh rippled and bones trembled. The neck wound Chai Cuiqiao's hair had sliced open split further, sending a spray of blood flying.