183: Defeat and escape

Ascension Platform.

Liu Rufeng's entire right arm was already saturated by the ball of light; within the thin white glow, it gave off a sense of extreme sharpness.

That was not a hand, but a sword, radiating cold light and wounding anything it touched.

Heavens Punishment grew increasingly agitated as the battle progressed. They had set up a barrier on the Ascension Platform, providing only ten minutes of invincibility.

Allowing exit but not entry.

After ten minutes, the barrier could be broken. Those university principals would inevitably step in to help; many ants can bite an elephant to death, not to mention those university principals were particularly powerful ants.

"Three minutes have already passed. Why is Second Brother still playing around?"

Heavens Punishment indignantly used a powerful ultimate move, barely forcing Liu Rufeng back. Turning his head, he saw Xu Le sitting on a pearwood grandmaster chair with a look of ease, putting a melon seed into his mouth.

"Where is my Second Brother?"

In that moment of distraction, a sharp sword light slashed over. Had Mans Punishment not helped block half the strike, he would have been heavily injured if not dead.

"Third Brother, Second Brother is already gone. Stop being stingy with the Divine Artifact; if we win this wave, we'll break even."

As Heavens Punishment spoke, he took out a puppet completely wrapped in silk threads from his space ring.

Liu Rufeng's form shifted as he slashed out a strand of Sword Qi in mid-air, then rapidly changed direction.

Within just three seconds, he had turned six times and cleaved out three strands of Sword Qi.

Possessing the "Sword Heart Clarity" talent, his perception of danger was extraordinary, fully reaching the Realm of "the cicada senses before the autumn wind moves."

Seeing Heavens Punishment fail multiple sneak attacks, Mans Punishment exchanged a look and pulled out a cloth doll.

It was about three inches long, with red rouge on its face and a pair of quirky, clever eyes—it looked very mischievous at a glance.

Mans Punishment threw the doll, and it began running on its short legs toward Liu Rufeng, letting out a crisp "giggle, giggle, giggle" laugh.

Heavens Punishment shifted his body, suddenly aiming his doll at Xu Le on the grandmaster chair. Seeing that the latter indeed didn't come over, he chased after him with a cruel grin.

"Watch out!"

Liu Rufeng rushed to attack Heavens Punishment, but was blocked by the cloth doll and Mans Punishment. Especially the cloth doll—just getting close to it gave him a heart-pounding sense of dread. He couldn't break away for a moment and could only slash out several strands of Sword Qi to support from afar.

"Die!"

With a few leaps, Heavens Punishment appeared before Xu Le. His dagger swept across Xu Le's neck, but he felt no excitement; instead, a sense of tension arose in him.

Crack!

The god-protecting spirit jade let out a crisp sound.

Xu Le's neck was also severed, and blood flowed profusely.

"Was I overthinking after all?"

Just as Heavens Punishment thought this, he saw a flash of snowy saber light slash out from behind the chair.

"Faster, faster, faster, just a bit faster!"

He roared in his heart. The dagger, which was as easy to move as his own arm, was forced back the moment it almost completely severed Xu Le's head, managing to block that strike.

But it simply wasn't enough.

The heavy and powerful blow was not something his strength could compare to. The dagger was knocked back, and then his arm was severed.

The "One Cut, Two Halves" Skill performed another miraculous feat.

The maddened contracted beasts swarmed forward. The fastest was Little Black Snake, which shrunk its body to the thickness of a water pipe and coiled around him tightly.

Even Little Dog, who had been cowardly, jumped up and bit Heavens Punishment's throat.

Little Silly Crow, Tanuki, Qin Siyuan, and the others could only wait in line; the small Heavens Punishment wasn't enough for them all to torment.

"Brother Snake, make some room for us."

Little Black Snake ignored them; leaving the throat area exposed was already its greatest concession.

Its total strength was over 27,000 points; even Heavens Punishment with his divine nature was far inferior. His bones creaked and cracked, and in just that short while, an unknown number of them had shattered.

The "Xu Le" still sitting on the grandmaster chair had his head drooping; he was clearly dead.

How tragic!

The other Xu Le held the yanyue saber, looking at Heavens Punishment who was coiled by Little Black Snake, preparing to give him a quick end with his blade.

Previously, Liu Rufeng had been suppressed by the two until they could barely breathe, and seeing the puppet later was like seeing a ghost. How could Xu Le possibly sit comfortably on a chair cracking melon seeds?

It could only be said that the two had been suppressed so miserably by Old Man Liu that they didn't even notice Xu Le using the traceless ring to reconnect with Little Demon Monkey.

The one sitting on the chair just now was his Clone.

But in that minute, the two were identical; even an immortal couldn't tell them apart.

At that time, he had also felt the Clone's pain.

Sitting on the chair, he couldn't move at all, only able to watch blankly as the opponent rapidly approached and then severed his own head with a blade.

In his mind's eye, he seemed to see a small figure completely wrapped in silk threads; that small figure was him, bound all over and unable to move in the slightest.

How tragic!

If he hadn't been cautious, the one who died would have been himself. (PS: With a Divine Artifact and passive Skills, he can't die.)

Xu Le was furious. He who kills my Clone kills me. He swung the yanyue saber and slashed down once more.

Crack!

The god-protecting spirit jade shattered.

Another certain-death attack.

Heavens Punishment's body suddenly healed, and he broke free from the restraint of the careless Little Black Snake.

Want to run?

Little Black Snake lunged its head forward like lightning, performing the "Elephant Swallowing" Skill, swallowing Heavens Punishment directly into its belly.

They were all Xu Le's contracted beasts and could naturally feel Xu Le's anger, so they all attacked Heavens Punishment like they were crazed.

But since Little Black Snake and Little Dog had beaten them to it, the other contracted beasts turned their resentful gazes toward the remaining Mans Punishment.

Mans Punishment staggered, suddenly sensing something, and a cold sneer curled on his lips: "Sorry, I win this round!"

???

While Xu Le was wondering, the other party suddenly crushed a white stone, and his entire figure vanished from the spot.

Little Black Snake also looked up dejectedly: "Master, that killer is gone."

Xu Le looked at Little Dog. Little Dog could share half of Xu Le's attributes, totaling over 12,000 spirit points.

Given Little Dog's personality, it must have left a mark on the opponent. As long as they hadn't fled beyond 120,000 meters, it could use the "Fierce Dog Assault" Skill to chase them.

But Little Dog shook its head: "Master, they have completely disappeared. Based on my nose, I can tell they've fled at least 250,000 meters away."

"That far?"

Xu Le felt some regret at failing to kill the World's Number One Assassin.

"You're back!"

Liu Rufeng walked over, half his body already covered in white light, looking like a sharp, precious sword.

With obstacles removed, becoming a god and proving the Dao was bound to succeed.

His expression suddenly changed, and part of the white light in his body began to dissipate.

However, more white light filled in; it seemed some accident had occurred, but it was still within an acceptable range.

Xu Le breathed a sigh of relief.

Witnessing a peer prove their godhood was also a reference for him.

At that moment, the director responsible for the live stream received a message and was instantly stunned.

He turned the camera, giving himself a close-up, his face ashen as he choked back sobs.

"Dear viewers, my hometown, the Ninth District, was sneak-attacked by the Shadow Pavilion and the God Descent Cult. The City Lord and the three Vice City Lords have all died for the country, and 39,686,587 people have perished... I, I have to go home and see. The following live stream will have a fixed camera angle while waiting for a new director to take over. I'm sorry."

It had to be said that the director was very professional; even when leaving, he explained the full story.

However, Liu Rufeng relied on faith to become a god. In an instant, everyone's Dao Heart collapsed, and most of the white light on his body dissipated, the precious sword that had been as brilliant as a blazing sun slightly revealing its form.