Apocalyptic Era: Starting from picking up a Bishoujo
Chapter 327 - 306 VS Water Navy Xuanwu 2

Chapter 327: 306 VS Water Navy Xuanwu 2

I was tossed about wildly in the raging torrent, to such an extent that it defied intensification. Although I was being propelled upwards, it felt as if I was being swept down into the bottomless depths of a pool by a rapidly descending waterfall. For with human senses, one cannot distinguish up from down, left from right amidst such a massive flow. If I hadn’t had the ability to sense heat, I’m afraid I wouldn’t even be able to figure out which direction I was being swept towards.

This sudden super wave that emerged from the ground—I had no idea if it was originally underground water or something else—was probably the natural water manipulated by the Water Navy Xuanwu. Like us demon hunters who can summon natural elements, controlling the objectively existing elements of nature is also within our grasp.

If it were me, I could further merge my consciousness with the natural elements to transform them into elements possessed of mystical powers, and it seems that the Water Navy Xuanwu is capable of it too. I felt the water that engulfed me rapidly exhibiting unthinkable properties. Though initially ordinary water, its density seemed to surge in the blink of an eye, far exceeding that of steel, and its color turned pitch black.

The water transformed into an extremely terrifying vortex.

Now, my whole being was like being sucked into a super crusher, the vortex twisting me, grinding my shape-shifted body into shreds of flesh. Not only that, but it seemed that the vortex was about to thoroughly grind my soul as well.

At the same time, I tried to use Flame Transmission to break free from inside the vortex. However, the vortex seemed to not only be capable of crushing my body and soul but also stirred and confused my connection with the external flames and heat. The opponent’s power was capable of destroying not just tangible entities but also intangible ones. Seeing this, I detonated all the "flesh" fragments of myself without hesitating.

The body I had shape-shifted was packed with a tremendous amount of flames, and this explosion would shatter any ordinary Great Success Rank being, yet when it erupted within the vortex, it didn’t shatter the vortex itself. Fortunately, it blew open a fleeting, tiny gap, not large enough for a human body to pass through, but I was not limited by the size of the channel. While the gap was still there, I transformed into a small fireball and escaped through it.

Immediately, I rapidly reconstituted my humanoid body, and almost at the same time, the Water Navy Xuanwu appeared nearby like a hunter waiting for a rabbit. His right palm condensed a small sphere of miniature dark water vortex, aiming at me.

A huge black high-pressure jet surged directly towards me, which might seem like using a high-pressure fire hose against a sparrow flying in the sky. But this time, I was mentally prepared, knowing he would seize the initiative to beat the drowning dog, and so I also raised my right palm simultaneously, unleashing a full-powered Flame Light Cannon.

The black water spray collided with the Flame Light Cannon, and after a moment of stalemate, the former easily shattered the latter.

My full-force attack was defeated!

The onslaught of the water cannon did not stop; after crushing the Flame Light Cannon, it also crushed my newly reconstituted Fire Element body once more, even causing severe damage to my soul.

The Water Navy Xuanwu did not take me lightly and pursued his victory, releasing another black water cannon attack. Meanwhile, I quickly gathered the fragments of my body together and summoned a large amount of flames inside my body to repair both my body and soul.

This time, I flew at high speed, dodging his offensive.

"To regenerate not only the body but also the soul at such a rapid pace... You have walked a long path on Elementalization. If I had not seen it with my own eyes, perhaps even if someone else told me, I would not believe you could accomplish such a feat," said the Water Navy Xuanwu in a deep voice, "What unfathomable talent did the original you possess... that could be transformed by Shan Liangyi’s Power Seed into such a terrifying Flame Power?"

"You are the one... relying on such a broken soul, it’s remarkable that you can exert such great power."

As I spoke, I released another fully powered Flame Light Cannon. He, on the other hand, manipulated the black water to surround his entire body, and when the Flame Light Cannon hit it, it disintegrated like a snowball falling on an iron shield.

The density of this black water was simply too high. Although flowing, it possessed an extremely high defense. It’s likely that even a human body falling into this water would not sink immediately, but rather become stuck like in thick mud, needing to follow the material’s flow to be drawn inside. It’s like a non-Newtonian fluid that becomes hard and solid-state upon sudden and severe impact.

And while attacking, his water cannon, like an industrial high-pressure water gun, possessed an extremely strong cutting destructive power, and a direct confrontation would result in being battered to pieces. Speaking of water, in ancient philosophy, it is the symbol of "favoring all things without contention," yet in his hands, not only is the offensive power outstanding, but the defensive power is also unimaginably strong.

However, unlike during the day, because he had unleashed so much power this time, I was able to see more of his details and understood why he said that the injury to his soul would not affect his combat strength.

Inside his body, there seemed to be a "Golden Core".

It was not his soul that was outputting power but this Golden Core. At first, I associated this with the "Liangyi Shi Power Seed," but a power seed should not be something that directly provides power. This core was likely something he had cultivated and condensed on his own. This reminded me of the Alchemy Dao in Taoist cultivation culture.

In the past, I often explored the practices of Mysticism, of course, not the genuine practices of the demon hunter’s world, but cryptic manuals whose truth was uncertain and accessible to the average person. My once attempted Zen Method of "igniting a candle with a gaze" fell into this category, and so did "Alchemy Dao."

It is said that Taoist cultivation culture divides "Alchemy Dao" into two paths, inner core and outer elixir. The so-called "Outer Elixir" involves using Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures and other external items to refine elixirs in a Pill Furnace, then consuming these elixirs to pursue mystic realms. As for "Inner Core," it considers one’s own body as the Pill Furnace, and one’s blood energy and Spirit as Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, utilizing training and meditation to chase after mystic realms.

The ideal goal of the Inner Core path is the "Golden Core," but this Golden Core isn’t about refining a physical pill within the body. The Golden Core symbolizes an abstract realm. "Gold" stands for "indestructible," and "core" for "perfection," indicating a state immune to external forces and constantly maintaining internal perfection.

What I currently feel from his soul is merely an impression generated from my subjective understanding. Perhaps in his self-perception, such a core doesn’t exist but instead is something unknown. According to my theory, he must have preemptively stored a vast amount of his mana in this core, releasing it all at once when necessary.

It seems he wasn’t bragging during the day; even suffering from severe soul injuries, his combat power is without a doubt at its peak.

I am reassured.

"What are you smiling at?"

As Water Navy Xuanwu spoke, he controlled the whirlpool that had trapped me just before. Perhaps seeing that I could dodge his black water cannon strikes with agile high-speed movement, he now split from within the whirlpool into a dozen identical copies of himself.

All the clones fired black water cannons at me in unison.

To have so many attacks equivalent to my full-force techniques unleashed in one breath is certainly jaw-dropping.

It seems I must retract my earlier words, even at his peak, he probably couldn’t perform such feats just with the power of his soul. This skill was established on the basis of driving that soul core. Considering it’s likely an Inner Core, it wouldn’t be accurate to say he’s borrowing from external objects. Even if it truly was an external object, it would be something crafted through his own Alchemy skills.

His mana fluctuations swept through the entire area, hindering me. Although not as incapacitating as within the whirlpool where Flame Transmission was impossible, there was an insignificant but non-neglectable delay in activating skills. In such a fast-paced battle, skills that can’t respond in time can be fatal. I was hit by the black water cannons once more, shattered to pieces.

This is the first time I have been overpowered to such an extent in a pure power struggle.

I must admit, Water Navy Xuanwu—this man is indeed stronger than me.

However, merely inflicting severe damage on me, I would just need to take a breath to recover. Unless it’s a killing blow capable of annihilating my entire soul in one strike, it’s impossible to truly kill me.

"You’re indeed hard to kill... coming back unscathed time and time again. But how many more times can you resurrect?" Water Navy Xuanwu said coldly, "Ten times, twenty times? Or a hundred times, two hundred times? Or perhaps for you, even ten thousand times is more than enough.

"No matter, I have plenty of time and will keep you company to the very end. If you can resurrect ten thousand times, I’ll kill you ten thousand times; if it’s twenty thousand, then twenty thousand times...

"Until you’ve exhausted all your mana and can no longer be resurrected."

To be spoken to in such a way, previously, these were thoughts I had when facing other enemies with Undying Bodies, never did I imagine that a day would come when someone would say such things to me.

This is indeed a fresh experience, and I am undoubtedly at a disadvantage.

But I too have my temperament. Provoked to this extent by an enemy, I can’t dissolve all my emotions with the mindset of "It’s so refreshing to be talked to like this for the first time." Perhaps driven by this emotion and the current disadvantaged and perilous situation, I feel my power unlocking at an accelerated rate.

Then Water Navy Xuanwu uttered a strange sentence.

"At this point... are you still unwilling to give it your ’all’?"