73: Ice and Fire Annihilation - Absolute Defense

Zhou Xing did not continue his attack, merely staring coldly at the four of them.

Meanwhile, one of them was just about to use a Hydrotherapy Art spell, but in the next second, an ice spike accurately pierced through his thigh. Frost instantly spread, completely freezing his lower body.

“Ah!”

The extreme pain caused the man to scream, forcing him to interrupt his healing.

Lan Ming wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, his eyes staring gloomily at Zhou Xing.

He hadn't expected such a variable to appear just when they were about to succeed.

The points that were practically in his pocket had vanished into thin air.

“Ice and Fire dual-element? You must be Zhou Xing, right? I've seen your introduction in the files.” He sneered. “I didn't expect you to have already broken through to the Control Mid-Stage, but do you think you can win just like this?”

Before his voice could fade, Lan Ming suddenly raised his hand. The Heavy Water Domain around him condensed and expanded once more. The air instantly became viscous, giving Zhou Xing the sensation of being in the depths of the deep sea.

“Heavy Water: Thousand Jun!”

“Boom!”

At that moment, the ground beneath Zhou Xing's feet instantly collapsed. An invisible heavy pressure bore down like a succession of great mountains, as if intending to crush Zhou Xing directly.

However, Zhou Xing merely sneered, and a layer of Frost Battle Armor instantly condensed on the surface of his body.

Combined with the divinity fragments he had already fused—the “god of steel,” the “god of bones,” and the “god of strength”—his physical strength had been significantly enhanced to a certain degree.

The current Zhou Xing could rely on his physical defense alone to resist many attacks of the same level.

Now, coupled with the Frost Battle Armor, the pressure formed by Lan Ming's Heavy Water had no effect at all.

Meanwhile, the Fire Power in Zhou Xing's right hand surged as he threw a punch toward Lan Ming—

“Fire Meteor: Burst!”

A blazing fireball smashed toward Lan Ming like a meteorite.

However, Lan Ming pushed out with both hands, forming a dark blue water curtain that intercepted the fireball.

Simultaneously, under Lan Ming's control, the water curtain suddenly surged back, enveloping the fireball and pushing it back in the opposite direction.

“Explode!”

At that moment, the corners of Zhou Xing's mouth curled slightly as he softly uttered a single word.

“Boom!”

Instantly, the fireball violently exploded. The water curtain was completely destroyed under this surge of energy, and scorching flames splattered outward.

Everywhere they passed, the Heavy Water was continuously evaporated.

“What?” Lan Ming's pupils shrank. In his haste, he crossed his arms, and the Heavy Water condensed into a shield in front of him to block the incoming flames and the impact of the explosion.

The immense force sent Lan Ming back a dozen steps before he could stabilize himself, though it didn't cause any real injury.

At this moment, his eyes were full of Battle Intent.

“Very well. Taking you down should provide enough points for all of us to advance.”

In an instant, Lan Ming stomped the ground and shot forward like a cannonball. His fists were covered in Heavy Water, smashing toward Zhou Xing with a terrifying sense of oppression.

“Deep Sea: Collapsing Fist!”

Many people didn't know that Lan Ming's greatest strength was actually close combat. Although he had fused with the Heavy Water ability of the “Sea God,” his innate strength was not inferior to those Awakened Ones of strength-type gods.

The power he could erupt with when combined with Heavy Water was truly terrifying.

This was also why he was the leader among the ten people from Sea City.

However, he was unaware that Zhou Xing's strength was equally immense.

Seeing Lan Ming abandon long-range attacks to choose close combat, Zhou Xing felt somewhat surprised.

At this moment, Zhou Xing did not dodge or avoid. With ice and fire power intertwined in his right fist, he met the attack head-on—

“Bang!”

The moment their fists collided, the Ice-Fire Power and Heavy Water violently clashed. A terrifying shockwave exploded, the ground cracked inch by inch, and the entire cave was completely destroyed by the air currents.

Both men retreated simultaneously, but it was clear that Lan Ming's strength was inferior.

Zhou Xing remained motionless, while Lan Ming retreated four or five steps before stopping.

Feeling the numbness in his arm, a look of shock flashed through Lan Ming's eyes.

He hadn't expected the opponent's strength to be so much greater than his own.

“My turn!” Zhou Xing's cold voice rang out as his figure vanished from where he stood.

With a rapid dash, he arrived right in front of Lan Ming, throwing punch after punch in a continuous barrage.

Lan Ming could only grit his teeth and raise his hands to defend.

“Bang!”

Zhou Xing secretly increased his strength, and a single punch sent Lan Ming flying back.

Then, Zhou Xing stomped the ground and soared into the air, chasing after the flying Lan Ming.

His left hand condensed an ice blade, aiming straight for Lan Ming's heart from behind.

“Shadow Strike!”

But just then, a figure appeared eerily at Zhou Xing's side.

The shadow dagger in their hand slashed toward Zhou Xing's neck.

However, Zhou Xing merely sneered, showing no intention of counterattacking as he violently increased the force of the ice blade in his hand.

“Puchi!”

Even though Lan Ming was surrounded by a water shield formed from Heavy Water power, the ice blade still pierced into his body.

Immediately after, Zhou Xing swept out with a powerful whip kick. As he withdrew the ice blade, he kicked Lan Ming toward the location of the frozen Sea City member nearby.

“Clang!”

“Ugh...”

At that moment, the other person's dagger also stabbed into Zhou Xing's back.

However, it was blocked by the ice armor on Zhou Xing's surface.

Simultaneously, at the moment of impact, an ice spike suddenly emerged and pierced through the attacker's shoulder.

This was the effect of Zhou Xing's “Frost Silence Battle Armor”—it would automatically trigger an ice spike counterattack when receiving a hit.

Knowing full well that there were still two others capable of action, how could Zhou Xing not be prepared?

“Ice Burst!”

The moment Zhou Xing landed, he snapped his fingers with a “pa.” Instantly, Frost Power spread rapidly from the person's wound and then violently exploded.

“Ah!”

In an instant, the opponent's entire shoulder was nearly blown off his body.

This was only because Zhou Xing had controlled the frost to prevent it from spreading through the entire body.

After all, the rules prohibited killing.

However, since they had pushed Qin Yue and the others so hard and even wanted to ruin their futures, Zhou Xing naturally wouldn't let them off easily.

“Fire Rain Technique!”

At the same time, Zhou Xing looked toward Lan Ming and the other two, fire condensing in his right hand.

Suddenly, dozens of fireballs appeared high in the sky, crashing down like a rainstorm and covering the area where the three were located.

Lan Ming gritted his teeth and stood up abruptly—

“Heavy Water Sky Curtain!”

He thrust both palms toward the sky, and a massive water curtain suddenly unfolded. As the fireballs hit the water curtain, they instantly evaporated a large amount of Heavy Water into mist, causing the entire curtain to vibrate violently under the high temperature.

“Ice-Fire Dual Stream: Annihilation!”

At this point, Zhou Xing did not intend to give his opponents any breathing room. If he hadn't wanted to hide his true power, he would have ended everything long ago.

The blue-white and crimson energies intertwined to form a terrifying torrent of energy, sweeping toward them like a tornado, tearing apart everything in its path.

“Steel Heavy Armor!”

Seeing the attack approaching, the contestant among the four who still retained some combat strength took a sudden step forward, his aura exploding.

Instantly, a large amount of steel continuously emerged around him, eventually enveloping Lan Ming and the other person within it.

Only a small steel fortress remained in their place.

“Heavy Water: Absolute Defense!”

Simultaneously, Lan Ming's expression changed drastically. He let out a roar as the divinity within him erupted frantically.

The Heavy Water Domain compressed to its limit in an instant, and a layer of deep blue Heavy Water barrier completely shrouded the steel fortress.

At that moment, the Ice-Fire Annihilation torrent slammed into it and then violently erupted!