Returning to the Mysterious Era
Chapter 520 - To Revere A God

Chapter 520 - To Revere A God

In the final moment before his consciousness faded, the First General King was filled with unwillingness, regret, and rage. He was unwilling to accept a death that came out of nowhere, especially when the plan to head to the Eternal Archipelago was just about to begin. He had been on the verge of fully resolving the side effects of the Soul-Blood Covert Box and usher in an era of explosive power.

He felt regret for provoking the Golem Sect and trying to hunt their four Covert Martial Arts Practitioners. As it turned out, there had been an old monster lurking behind them, lying in wait like a mantis. In the end, he had become prey himself!

Finally, he roared out in anger right before he died.

"Arlington! Damn you, Arlington!"

Had he not suddenly proposed that the First General King deal with the audacious Golem Sect, how else would he have met such a fate? He even suspected, in a fit of paranoia, that Arlington had deliberately dug a pit for him to fall into.

He believed that Arlington and that old monster from the Golem Sect were in cahoots; upon learning of the ancient ruins of the Eternal Archipelago, they had conspired to hoard the benefits for themselves!

After he had been deceived and killed, only Holy Fist Demon Phoenix would remain, which would make everything much simpler for them. They might even have been planning to set up Holy Fist Demon Phoenix next!

Such were his many resentments, regrets, and rage. They all ultimately condensed into a single furious roar.

"Ar...ling...ton!!!!"

Boom!

It sounded like the earth itself had turned over; soil erupted in all directions, unfurling in circular waves that resembled a tsunami. A large expanse of the forest shook and writhed. Dense, web-like fissures spread across the ground, and black mud spouted from the crevices.

A mighty waterfall of purple and red crashed down into a gigantic, bottomless pit. It looked as though it wanted to wash and sweep away the entire land. A figure in black silently gazed down from the sky.

At that moment, Cassius finally understood the extent of his own strength. Ordinary extreme combat artists who were seen by the world as having already stepped into the realm of masters could not even be considered worthy opponents for Cassius.

Someone like the First General King, who had barely set foot in the extreme combat artist realm, was no longer capable of threatening him. The only ones Cassius now deemed worthy of special attention were those who had perfected their Qi and raised their strength to the very pinnacle.

In other words, those who had cultivated a single style of Covert Martial Arts fist technique to 99.9% completion. Alternatively, those who had created their own unique path and reached the level of a true fist technique grandmaster. Cassius felt certain he could defeat any other extreme combat artists. He had unknowingly grown powerful enough to reach that level.

It seemed that, aside from the Ultimate Dark Forms belonging to the World of Calamity and the mysterious Gate Organization leader named Xiadu, Cassius no longer needed to fear anything.

Whoosh...

A broad hand slowly withdrew, and the explosive power within his body gradually subsided. Reverberating Force and Death's Fang Force separated once more, returning to run through their respective meridians.

Cassius took a deep breath; he could sense that parts of the blood vessels, muscles, and organs within his body had developed countless fine cracks. Such were the side effects of using the Southern Dipper Fist Techniques. While immensely destructive, they also inflicted recoil damage on the user.

They harmed the enemy by a thousand, but at the cost of eight hundred towards oneself. Of course, the numbers were exaggerated, but the backlash was definitely real. However, Cassius had minimized that recoil as much as possible. With a body of an extreme combat artist, he could endure continuous, extreme battles for several days or even half a month.

Additionally, his body's internal organs and blood vessels had been greatly reinforced after absorbing the life vibration energy of the scarabs in the Ao Yin Ruins. As a result, the side effects of his Southern Dipper Force had been minimized.

If he used only Reverberating Force or Death's Fang Force alone, he could virtually disregard any backlash. Only Sonic Fang Force still showed a notably higher level of recoil.

However, the body's self-healing capacity stemming from his Golem Covert Martial Arts was also formidable; any internal micro-injuries would heal quickly over time.

Sometimes, Cassius would recall those Holy Fist, Dominator Fist, and Ultimate Fist masters of the Southern Dipper Covert Martial Inheritance. They had completely surpassed the extreme combat artist realm by choosing to fuse endlessly expanding Qi with force.

He wondered whether part of the reason behind that fusion was that the body itself could no longer withstand the level of force at the Holy Fist realm. Of course, it remained just his speculation and might have differed from the reality. That thought flickered in his mind for only a moment before Cassius slowly lowered his head and allowed himself to descend freely.

His black windbreaker fluttered skyward. A fierce gust roared in his ears until his hard-soled boots smacked against the ground.

He glanced over the chaotic clearing; the surrounding ground undulated in waves, with smaller ones rising around one or two meters in height and larger ones reaching four or five. A large part of the forest had been obliterated, trees uprooted and buried beneath the soil.

He realized that this destruction, akin to a natural disaster, was his own doing. Standing on the crest of a towering wave of earth, Cassius gazed down at the barren terrain with a distant expression.

He recalled his fourth time-travel, when he had entered the Loka Mountains to visit Blood Fist Feng Liusi. After they walked out of Death Canyon, they encountered an unprecedented torrential downpour. Lightning shrieked and thunder boomed, like some white-purple electric tree growing from beneath the earth. The rain poured in torrents, each drop as large as a soybean.

At that time, Cassius had thought that human flesh seemed so helpless. Humans appeared infinitely insignificant against technologies like rockets and missiles, or natural terrors like lightning, landslides, and earthquakes.

Was there truly no limit to Covert Martial Arts? Just how far did the path of martial arts extend? Back then, he could not see it... nor did he fully grasp it...

It was Feng Liusi's explanation of Holy Fist, Dominator Fist, and Ultimate Fist that had restored Cassius's confidence and dispelled his confusion. Feng Liusi had said that a Covert Martial Arts Practitioner could absolutely match the forces of nature, that indeed, anything was possible.

And now, he was very close to that realm from the legends. Cassius had, in fact, already harnessed might comparable to a natural disaster. He even had the power to reshape terrain. His fists could shatter a small mountain, his kick could clear half a forest, and his punch could fracture the ground.

What he had once yearned for, he had now attained. He looked up at the bright moon in the sky and felt an unparalleled sense of satisfaction and ease in his heart.

Pop... pop...

A clear, unadulterated feeling emanated from within his body. Naturally, his Southern Dipper Fist Techniques had achieved a breakthrough to the next level. A series of dull pops reverberated across Cassius's skin, where purple and red starbursts soon glowed in tandem. The two lights resonated with each other, engaging in a shared dialogue of brilliance.

[Southern Dipper Sonic Snake Fist: 38+2=40]

[Southern Dipper Red Falcon Fist: 38+2=40]

Each fist technique cleared two more acupoints in succession, a remarkable leap forward.

Including the one acupoint that Cassius had previously broken through during his own training, both Southern Dipper Sonic Snake Fist and Southern Dipper Red Falcon Fist had reached forty acupoints in total.

They were no longer very far from the fifth stage at forty-four acupoints.

"Huu..." Exhaling a long, slow breath, Cassius's figure flickered and arrived at the edge of the dark pit in an instant.

He glanced down to find the remains of a shattered white skeleton lying at the bottom of the deep pit. Beside it lay a small fragment of a mask and a small purple-green wooden box that glimmered faintly.

Meanwhile, none of the Flying Sparrow Sect members had ever imagined that they would escape this catastrophe.

The Demon Bears had fled! They truly ran away!

Those two mighty fighters who had come crashing down from the sky had killed half the Demon Bears with the residual shock wave from a single move. Then, in midair, their awe-inspiring and dreadful collision seemed to stain both sides of the night sky with their respective auras.

One of them had swiftly lost, and the other completely gained the upper hand. That purple-red torrent had battered the land, producing destruction on par with a natural disaster. The earth quaked, and the soil rolled wildly in wave-like surges. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

The Demon Bears, whose senses had been dulled by the drugs they took, were utterly terrified. Even if their minds were unclear, they possessed a natural instinct to avoid harm. Thus, the Demon Bears ran away.

They dashed off in every direction, desperate to get as far from the battlefield as possible. They had no mind whatsoever for their original prey, the Flying Sparrow Sect. In fact, at one point, the Demon Bears and the Flying Sparrow Sect disciples were seen running side by side across the rolling earth, as though in a bizarre race to escape.

They ran in bounding strides, swift as lightning. The Flying Sparrow Sect had the advantage. Their Covert Martial Arts emphasized lightness and evasion, allowing for exceptional speed. While the Demon Bears possessed considerable short-term bursts of power, they could not maintain it. Moreover, their massive weight caused them to land heavily every time they leaped forward. Their bodies would sink into the churning, loosened soil and become trapped.

Their frantic thrashing proved useless; all their brute strength and tough hides served no purpose. After several successive waves of earth, they were deeply buried underground.

They remained pressed under the continually shifting soil, crushing pressure converging from all directions to squeeze the Demon Bears into a pulp!

In comparison, the Flying Sparrow Sect fared much better, skimming lightly over the surface like dragonflies on water. Almost none were pulled under, though they were hindered to some extent by tumbling rocks and falling trunks. Nevertheless, the Flying Sparrow Sect ultimately held on until the final collision ended.

Cassius withdrew his energy, and the earth-shaking upheaval ceased. All members of the Flying Sparrow Sect gasped desperately for air, drenched in sweat, on the brink of collapse. Their sect master was in the best condition; he stood atop a mound of soil on a large tree, gazing far off toward the battlefield's center.

His eyes brimmed with unstoppable awe and reverence, tinged with a trace of fear. That magnificent purple torrent shone resplendently in the darkness, plunging like a waterfall of three thousand feet.

For a fleeting moment, it felt like divine punishment, like a celestial spirit, had descended. The Flying Sparrow Sect Master looked at that formidable black figure in the distant sky, falling freely like a meteor, and found his hands trembling involuntarily.

He had only one thought in his heart: To revere him like a god...

Elsewhere, a figure draped in a black robe stood silently behind a large boulder atop a lofty mountain peak in the distance. Her fingers were dug so deep into the cracks of the stone that both nails and fingertips looked unnaturally pale.

Beneath her hood, the Fourth General King pressed her lips together, her gaze filled with disbelief. She had just witnessed the defeat and death of the First General King.

The Fourth General King had always acknowledged the First General King's strength. She herself had been brutalized by the First General King not that long ago. Even before acquiring the Soul-Blood Covert Box, he had been a cut above the other seven General Kings; even the Second General King was notably weaker in comparison.

Once he employed the Soul-Blood Covert Box, his strength had soared. The First General King had achieved the level of an extreme combat artist. Aside from their leader, Xiadu, only the deputy leader, Holy Fist Demon Phoenix, had attained such a level within the entire Gate Organization.

Over the past few centuries, none among the Seven General Kings had ever reached the extreme combat artist realm. The First General King was the first, effectively standing on equal footing with Holy Fist Demon Phoenix. Yet he had returned to the Hongli Empire in glory only briefly before meeting death. He perished at the hands of some inexplicable, mysterious individual.

All the Fourth General King could do was lament how deep the waters ran in the Hongli Empire, which concealed many powerful entities. Even achieving the realm of an extreme combat artist did not give one free rein to act without fear. It was entirely possible that some terrifying master would suddenly appear out of nowhere to defeat or even kill you outright.

The Fourth General King was secretly astonished at the First General King's demise yet felt a flicker of dark glee.

"You acted like a lunatic before and nearly beat me to death—serves you right that you got your comeuppance so quickly and got yourself killed."

It was exactly what he deserved but... He seemed to have left some last words before he died.

Damn you, Arlington. I won't forgive you even in death!!!

Arlington? Whale King Arlington!?

The Fourth General King picked up on that crucial clue, her eyes growing shrewd. The First General King had mentioned part of his plan to her, which involved cooperating with Whale King Arlington.

The First General King had been heading to East Sea City to confirm that collaboration once more. And judging by his frantic flight pattern just now, he seemed to have come from East Sea City as well.

Could Whale King Arlington have intended to harm him? Why would that be? Had their deal fallen through, or had disagreements arisen between the two? Perhaps he had disagreed with how profits would be shared? They had not even acquired the treasure yet, and their plans for distribution might already have sparked discontent.

Or maybe Arlington wanted to double-cross him?

Such thoughts raced through the Fourth General King's mind. She believed this information was crucial. Of course, the news of the First General King being slain by a mysterious master was even more critical. Since Holy Fist Demon Phoenix was about to arrive, she decided it best to report this intel as soon as possible.

The Fourth General King immediately turned around, carefully descended the mountain, and left without making the slightest sound. Even though she was already far from the battlefield, she feared attracting the attention of the person who had just killed the First General King. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

Her heart brimmed with dread, as that image of the purple-red torrent ravaging the earth still lingered in her mind. Such an outpouring of formidable power felt downright godlike.

Woo...

Gusts roared in the high altitudes, shifting the clouds and veiling the moon. Darkness reclaimed the devastated forest below.

***

Two days later, the international exchange tournament had finally drawn to a close in East Sea City.

Elders and sect masters of Covert Martial Arts from various countries all took to the stage, showing off the might of combat artist-level prowess and the distinctive traits of their sects' Covert Martial Arts.

Many previously unknown experts also burst onto the scene, leaping into the spotlight as dark horses who won the admiration of countless onlookers.

On that day, the international exchange tournament reached its final phase.

Top-tier combat artists from every nation and sect vied for supremacy!

In particular, Whale King Arlington from the United States of Yana drew the most attention. The reason was none other than his power as an extreme combat artist, the pinnacle of the international tournament.

There were no equals at his level to keep him in check, so Arlington stood as the strongest predator!