86: Zhang Lei VS Tanya

"Roar!" The Fire Qilin let out a warning growl at Tanya, then opened its mouth to spew a ball of golden-red fire, condensed to the extreme and resembling liquid lava! This fireball was incredibly fast, and the energy it contained far surpassed that of ordinary flames!

Tanya's pupils constricted, and a flash of blue light shone in her eyes. The invisible ultrasonic blade of the war god blade slashed out instantly, attempting to slice through the fireball! However, the primordial fire element contained within the fireball was condensed into a solid form; the ultrasonic blade hit it like it was striking steel, causing it to merely pause slightly before dissipating.

Without hesitation, Tanya exerted force through her feet, her body turning into a blurred golden afterimage, narrowly dodging the destructive blow by a hair's breadth! The fireball exploded behind her, instantly melting a deep pit into the ground!

Seeing the attack miss, the Fire Qilin let out a roar of dissatisfaction, and its entire massive body suddenly erupted with blinding golden-red light!

"Clang!" As the light faded, a spear with an ancient and domineering design, its entire body flowing with lava-like crimson light and its tip appearing to have flickering Qilin mane hair, landed steadily in Zhang Lei's hand—the fire qilin spear!

The moment Zhang Lei grasped the fire qilin spear, his aura surged once again! He shook his arm, and the fire qilin spear instantly transformed into a sky full of crimson shadows!

"Swish, swish, swish, swish!" A dozen enormous fire blades, condensed into solid forms with edges burning with raging flames, tore through the air like blades of divine judgment, carrying an aura of total annihilation as they slashed toward Tanya from different angles! The coverage was so vast that it almost sealed off all her room for evasion!

Tanya's expression was grave as she pushed her movement technique to the limit! Her figure darted and dodged at high speed through the gaps in the fire blades, like a petrel in a storm! The dual guns of the war god blade fired rapidly, precisely striking the relatively weak energy nodes of the fire blades to detonate them prematurely!

For a time, explosions rang out continuously in the Training Ground, with flames flying everywhere. Tanya's figure wove through the sea of fire, facing constant peril and appearing quite disheveled.

Seizing the moment when Tanya was suppressed by the fire blades and her breathing was slightly disordered, Zhang Lei's feet flashed with fire, and his figure closed the distance as if teleporting! The fire qilin spear in his hand transformed into a crimson forest of spears, the dense spear shadows carrying scorching heat waves as they thrust toward Tanya's vital points like a violent storm!

"Well come!" There was no fear in Tanya's eyes; instead, they ignited with an even fiercer fighting spirit! She let out a sharp cry, and the dual guns of the war god blade in her hands transformed back into the dual blades of the war god blade! Advancing instead of retreating, she danced her blades like the wind, forming an impenetrable golden curtain of light!

"Ding, dang! Clang, clang!" The crimson spear shadows and golden blade light collided crazily! The deafening, dense sound of metal clashing rang out like popping beans! Sparks flew everywhere, and turbulent energy surged!

Tanya pushed her physical arts and weapon techniques to the extreme, managing to defend flawlessly against Zhang Lei's violent close-quarters assault! Every one of her blocks and every counterattack was precise and lethal, showcasing the peerless melee skills of a Valkyrie.

Unable to break through after a long assault, a flash of surprise crossed Zhang Lei's eyes, and he decisively changed tactics! He retracted his spear, his feet flashed with fire once again, and he instantly opened a distance of several dozen meters from Tanya.

"Blaze Dragon Break!" Zhang Lei shouted, and he swept the fire qilin spear in his hand violently toward Tanya!

"Roar!" Three enormous fire dragons, condensed from pure fire elements, flew out from the spear tip with a roar! Each one was lifelike, with scales and claws flaring, carrying a terrifying heat capable of burning mountains and boiling seas, as they pounced toward Tanya in a triangular formation! The air cracked and popped from being scorched, and the temperature of the entire Training Ground soared once again!

Off the stage, Blaze Ash watched in stunned silence, his eyes filled with envy and shock: "Condensing solid fire dragons, and performing them consecutively with such ease… The gap… is too huge!" He asked himself, even with his full strength, he could barely condense a single phantom image, and it was impossible for him to do it with such ease like Zhang Lei.

Facing the three roaring fire dragons, Tanya's pressure increased sharply! She pushed her movement technique to the limit, dodging and weaving through the web of death woven by the fire dragons! The war god blade swung out sharp blade auras to cut the fire dragons, slowing their assault.

But after continuously dodging such large-scale, high-intensity magical attacks, her breathing began to quicken, and her footsteps finally showed a trace of imperceptible disorder.

Zhang Lei keenly captured this slight flaw! A victorious smile curled at the corner of his mouth, and the ice-fire wings on his back instantly switched to an icy blue! "Ice Crystal—Storm!"

He flapped his wings violently! Countless sharp ice crystals, emitting a bone-chilling cold, whistled like a blizzard toward Tanya, who had not yet regained her footing! Immediately after, Zhang Lei reached out with his left hand and gripped the air toward Tanya! "Cold Current—Frost!"

A wave of extremely cold white freezing energy instantly enveloped the space around Tanya! The air seemed to be frozen! Tanya's movements instantly became incredibly sluggish, and a thin layer of ice crystals even condensed on her body.

In that split second! Zhang Lei's figure appeared in front of Tanya as if teleporting! He did not use his weapon, but instead delivered a flying kick imbued with immense power, slamming into Tanya's ice-covered chest like a cannonball!

"Crack!" The ice crystals covering Tanya shattered at the sound!

"Ugh!" Tanya only felt a massive force arrive, her chest in intense pain, and her body flew backward uncontrollably, tracing an arc in the air before crashing heavily at the edge of the arena. She struggled for a moment but could not stand up immediately.

The victor was decided!

Zhang Lei retracted his wings and landed, looking at the fallen Tanya. A trace of apology flashed in his eyes, but it was mostly a calm acceptance of victory.

He subconsciously looked up at the podium, just in time to meet Jiang Xin's gaze, which held a hint of helplessness and... resentment (as if saying: You brat, kicked my woman?). Zhang Lei immediately felt his scalp tingle, and he awkwardly raised his hand to scratch the back of his head, muttering to himself: "Brother Jiang... sorry about that, I didn't hold back my foot…"

The audience off the stage instantly boiled over, and the sound of discussion surged like a tide:

"Wow! Lord Zhang Lei is too ruthless! Major Tanya is such a beautiful woman, and he actually kicked her with his foot! But... this power gap, it's just damn cool!" A young man clicked his tongue, his tone complex.

"My God! This strength of Major Zhang Lei... I feel like it's completely incomparable to an ordinary Second-Order! Look at Captain Blaze Ash and Captain Yang Yi; compared to Lord Zhang Lei, their elemental attack range and sustainability are like a child playing with fire!" A middle-aged man exclaimed repeatedly, feeling like his worldview had been refreshed.

"A bug! Definitely a bug-level existence! Dual ice-fire elements and still so strong, plus he can summon divine beasts to transform into divine weapons! Lord Zhang Lei is my god! My guardian god!" A girl screamed excitedly, her eyes full of stars.

"But having said that, Officer Jiang has only made a move once. I really want to know what it would look like if he fought Major Zhang Lei... It would definitely be even more spectacular!" An older member of the audience stroked his chin, full of imagination.

Championship Match

The final duel between Zhang Lei and Xiong Da ended even faster than expected.

Xiong Da let out a heaven-shaking roar and charged toward Zhang Lei like a moving mountain, attempting to crush his opponent with absolute strength and defense. However, in front of Zhang Lei, its massive size became the perfect target.

Zhang Lei did not choose close combat at all! He spread the ice-fire wings on his back and easily ascended into the air!

"Flame Storm!" "Ice Crystal Cold Rain!" "Meteor Fire Rain!" "Polar Ice Spear!"

Zhang Lei hovered in the air like a deity controlling the elements! Violent fire tornadoes, cold currents that froze everything, dense fire meteors like rain, sharp ice spears piercing the air... all kinds of large-scale, high-intensity ice-fire spells poured down as if they were free! The entire Training Ground seemed to have turned into a purgatory of ice and fire!

Xiong Da roared, pushing its earth-type Supernatural Ability to the limit. The earth-yellow light on its body flared brightly, condensing into walls of earth to withstand this earth-shattering bombardment! It was like a reef in a raging sea, and every attack caused its massive body to tremble violently, its stamina being rapidly depleted.

It tried to use meteor and sandstorm attacks, but under Zhang Lei's absolute firepower suppression and aerial advantage, it couldn't find an opportunity to strike at all! This was completely an unequal war of attrition.

No matter how strong Xiong Da's defense or strength was, it couldn't reach Zhang Lei in the air and could only take a beating! After holding on for less than three minutes, and after enduring Zhang Lei's final wave of intense bombardment mixed with ice cones and fireballs, Xiong Da's Supernatural Ability was finally exhausted. After taking a hit from a Blaze Dragon Break, Xiong Da's massive body swayed a few times, exhausted its last bit of strength, and crashed to the ground, kicking up a sky full of dust. It let out a low, unwilling growl, but was no longer able to stand up.

"The winner—'ice fire divine lord' Zhang Lei! The final champion of this base grand martial arts competition!" Jiang Feifei's excited voice echoed throughout the arena!

With Zhang Lei's coronation, this grand martial arts competition of the base, which had lasted for several hours and was full of excitement, slowly came to an end amidst the lingering discussions of the audience. However, the power displayed by the strong, like a brand, was deeply imprinted in the hearts of every survivor, becoming the most dazzling light of hope in the apocalypse.