I Refused To Be Reincarnated
Chapter 529: A Legendary Clash

Chapter 529: A Legendary Clash

He observed Ossian’s figure vanish several kilometers into the distance.

Even if the strike wouldn’t kill the ghost, the damage would force him into recovery, which was what he aimed for... because he could now duel the emperor and restore his Qi without pressure.

His lips curled into a smirk as he raised his blade horizontally above his shoulder and turned towards his adversary, noticing a bizarre yet fascinating spectacle.

The cleaved flesh squirmed and shifted before his eyes, new bones, muscles, and skin sprouting as if the archmage were an axolotl.

He also saw the fury burning in the man’s eyes and his lips parting to let his arrogant voice thunder amidst the devastated region.

"You can’t win, Lin Yao! I underestimated you because I took the habit of overwhelming mages in melee, but I won’t commit the same mistake! Witness the power of an archmage and tremble before the most powerful of them!"

With a powerful stomp that splintered the earth and rocked the lands, an intricate staff travelled from his temple on the south continent to emerge before him.

Entirely made of obsidian bones, an earth gem the size of a fist hovered in a circular contraption and shone a sturdy brown light.

The engravings pulsed with mysticism and long-forgotten history as, unlike Marina, who remained weaponless for millennia, he had inherited his from his predecessor, who had inherited it from his.

The emperor gripped it, his already colossal mana flaring to reach an incredible level as he roared.

"Erupt!"

From the planet’s core, lava rumbled as molten rocks pushed it upward under the emperor’scommands.

Lin Yao felt the disturbance under his feet yet remained composed.

Without wasting a second, he lunged before the spell’s effect could reach the surface. His blade glinted a silver aura as it travelled vertically to chop the emperor’s skull in halves.

However, a worried frown creased his brows as he bit his lips. Realising the emperor’s new tactic proved much more insidious than expected, he cancelled his strike and lept back, narrowly avoiding a mineral spike that would have impaled him.

’He gave up on physical combat entirely!’

As the thought rumbled, Adam’s pupils constricted from his safe observation spot, yet a smile tugged on his lips.

"Lucius told us that melee fighters could never equate mages on the same level since they can’t bridge the distance... I wonder if it’s true for cultivators, too."

Meanwhile, Like a leaf carried by the air currents, Lin Yao engaged in a lethal dance.

His green hair swirled in the devastation as earth and minerals whistled in his ears and crisscrossed the air, drawing multicolored flashes with each step he took.

Yet, a smirk stretched his lips, subtle, meaningful and... delighted.

’Can’t believe my heart is beating faster than ever. Did I miss the thrill of combat after decades of peace?’

His heart raced and his smirk curled into a full-blown smile.

As he pondered the question, the emperor’s spell finally reached the surface.

The ground melted all around him before bursting open. Scalding lava pillars dozens of meters wide reached for the sky, engulfing his vision in a distorted scene of fiery orange.

The air became unbreathable, releasing toxic fumes, and the scent of sulfur replaced the evaporating oxygen.

Still, his smile didn’t falter.

Instead, his shoulders trembled as he laughed.

"My heart doesn’t carry a shadow of hesitation! I’m back to who I was! Lin Yao, the Lin family genius and the future fourth spiritual ascension master! Hahaha."

As his laughter echoed, he clenched his fists over his torso, his Qi waltzing in his meridians before condensing outside in a radiant natural aura embodying the five elements.

Green engulfed his eyes as they shone with furious intensity.

"Zhīzūn Quán!"

Before the emperor’s enlarging eyes and crumbling face, he tensed his back muscles and rotated his hips, throwing a punch no one had ever witnessed in this magical world.

CRACK

Space cracked, wafting dark mist and the smell of ozone on his fist’s path before he discharged all the energy he had accumulated into a five-colored beam.

ROAR

The air itself seemed to explode, unable to endure the battle’s abuse anymore as the beam pierced through the lava pillars in its wake, leaving clean holes through them.

Before the emperor could understand what was happening, Lin Yao’s strike filled his vision, the heat, cold, sharpness, natural, and tempestuous elements imbued in them, blowing his hair backwards, burning his clothes, and lacerating his powerful bestial muscles.

’LIN YAO! BASTARD!’

The emperor gritted his teeth and held his breath, his face one of an enraged demon as the mana fueling the lava pillars disappeared. Yet inside, his heart bled in unwillingness.

’I can’t lose! I won’t lose!"

He seized a beating pouch from his inner pocket, his obsidian arms returning to their human size as he channelled his mana inside and continued his defiant vociferations.

’Because I’m!’

The heart came to life with a plea, the plea for its owner to reunite with it after decades apart.

Simultaneously, the ground swallowed the behemoth’s statue guarding the beast temple’s entrance and spat it around the heart as it enlarged to assume its original humongous size.

"THE BEAST EMPEROR!"

ROAR

The layer of rocks that had covered the monstrous colossus shattered, revealing the obsidian skin covering its bulging muscles.

Its horns, a manifestation of horror, pointed towards the beam as its jaw opened, revealing glinting teeth the size of houses capable of shredding mountains and swallowing rivers.

Like a black hole, its abyssal maw devoured his Qi, saving the emperor from grievous wounds, if not death, as Lin Yao bellowed in outrage.

"You can’t just steal their appearances and a part of their powers... You enslaved all the beasts in your temple!"

"Tsk."

He hissed through his teeth as the creature rose on its feet, its golden eyes locking with his.

"Back to one versus two..."

"Three."

Ossian’s voice resounded as he reappeared by the emperor in a sea of spectral mist, his caved-in chest sparkling gold, and his luminous eyes shining red.