171: Chapter 171 Desperate Attack Speed, an Indestructible Novice Sword!

Thwump—!

A pitch-black arrow left the bowstring, tearing through the layered thickets in an instant, accompanied by a shrill, ghostly wail.

This was no ordinary arrow; it was a lethal strike imbued with the [Soul-Seeking] trait. The arrow traced a bizarre, zigzagging path through the air, like a venomous snake with eyes, deftly weaving around the obstruction of two ancient trees to shoot straight for Archmage Abid, who was hidden in the shadows.

"Damn it!"

Archmage Abid's terrified curse exploded amidst the trees. He had no time to finish the forbidden spell he was chanting. In a desperate scramble, he threw himself sideways, his staff slamming into the ground as a thick earthen wall erupted before him.

Boom!

The moment the arrow struck, the earthen wall shattered like tofu. Chunks of earth, propelled by the kinetic force, scattered like shrapnel, pulverizing the surrounding thorns. Although he had avoided a fatal hit to the heart, the arrow still grazed Abid's left shoulder. His entire arm instantly turned black, and a withering curse began to spread madly from the wound.

"This terrain is indeed a bit restrictive for archery."

Qin Ji swept a glance around.

The Misty Thicket offered extremely poor visibility and was filled with obstacles. While his archery skills could ignore these hindrances, the enemy was clearly prepared. Several figures were swiftly closing in from a fan-shaped formation, using the thickets for cover.

In that case...

Qin Ji flicked his wrist. The ancient-looking great bow vanished instantly, replaced by a long whip that emitted a bronze-like luster, its surface covered in intricate divine runes.

The god-beating whip!

"Kill him!"

A furious roar came from the left.

Luolin Muye's figure pierced through the mist like a ghost. The seemingly comical novice wooden sword in his hand now radiated a heart-palpitating pressure. He didn't use any flashy skills, just a simple, straightforward thrust aimed directly at Qin Ji's throat.

Novice equipment: indestructible, possessing absolute priority in physical judgment.

This was a well-known fundamental rule in *Multiverse*, but no one had ever thought to apply it in a battle of this caliber.

Qin Ji didn't retreat; instead, he advanced. The god-beating whip in his hand transformed into a blur, lashing towards Luolin Muye's face with a terrifying speed that belied its delayed start.

Clang!

A dull impact sound rang out.

Luolin Muye's wooden sword was held horizontally before him, actually managing to block the god-beating whip's solid strike head-on. Not a single splinter fell from that shabby wooden sword, its indestructible nature laid bare.

However, the ferocious grin on Luolin Muye's face froze before it could fully form.

Because Qin Ji was too fast.

What did an attack speed of 39.2 mean?

By the time an ordinary person's retina still held the afterimage of the first strike, Qin Ji's second and third lashes were already falling like a violent storm.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

Luolin Muye felt his vision fill with overlapping whip shadows. His brain couldn't even process the signals from his optic nerves fast enough.

Although the wooden sword had blocked the first hit, intense pain erupted almost simultaneously in his waist, shoulder, and thigh.

"Boom!"

That set of golden-grade armor he was so proud of proved as fragile as paper before the god-beating whip. Amidst the crisp sound of shattering metal, fragments of armor scattered everywhere, and a massive damage number exploded above his head.

-492,638!!

Nearly five hundred thousand damage!

Luolin Muye's pupils contracted violently, his Adam's apple bobbing with difficulty. Just a single basic attack had visibly emptied a chunk of his health bar.

Was this even human?!

Qin Ji's expression remained impassive. His wrist flicked, sending the god-beating whip whipping through the air with a series of ear-piercing sonic booms.

"Don't just stand there! Hold the line!"

A furious roar shattered Luolin Muye's fear.

A golden warrior clad in heavy plate armor charged at Qin Ji from behind. Like an out-of-control tank, he smashed through all the thickets in his path, his body glowing red as he slammed heavily into Qin Ji's back.

Barbaric Charge!

Thud!

Qin Ji's figure swayed slightly, a damage number floating above his head.

-59,982!

For players at the current stage, nearly sixty thousand damage was absolutely nuclear-level.

However...

The golden warrior stared at Qin Ji's health bar, which had barely budged. His originally ferocious expression instantly turned vacant, his whole body freezing in place as if hit by a paralysis spell.

"Holy hell... is that health bar even real?"

His attack hadn't even taken off one percent of the opponent's HP?

In the fraction of a second he was stunned, Qin Ji had already turned around. Those amethyst-gold eyes held not a flicker of emotion as the god-beating whip in his hand descended in a sweeping blow.

No skill, no special effects—just a pure basic attack.

Crack!

The top-tier helmet on the golden warrior's head, upon contact with the god-beating whip, instantly became covered in spiderweb-like cracks before exploding into pieces.

Although the helmet's protection prevented a critical hit, the sheer force of the blow still made the golden warrior's knees buckle, nearly sending him crashing to the ground.

"Taunt! Hold him, quick!"

The Princess's shrill cry came from a distance, a barely perceptible tremor in her voice.

The golden warrior snapped back to reality, opening his mouth to unleash a taunt skill.

But Qin Ji was faster.

"Instant Slash!"

Qin Ji's figure vanished from the spot, leaving only a shattered afterimage that was dispersed by the golden warrior's taunt wave.

The next moment.

Spatial fluctuations erupted right in front of the Princess.

Qin Ji emerged like the God of Death stepping out of the void, the god-beating whip held high in his hand.

The Princess was utterly shocked. Her combat instincts as a top-tier mage kicked in instantly. With a wave of her staff, three crystal-clear ice shields materialized out of thin air, swirling around her.

"Break."

Qin Ji uttered a single, light word.

The god-beating whip fell, carrying the force of ten thousand jun.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

The ice shields, capable of withstanding a full-power strike from a boss of the same level, proved as fragile as crisp biscuits before the god-beating whip, shattering layer by layer into a sky full of ice crystals.

"Is this the terror of the Snow Emperor..."

From the side, a wizened figure abruptly cut into the battlefield.

Village Chief Wang, wielding his rusted iron sword, thrust at a viciously tricky angle towards Qin Ji's ribs. His goal wasn't damage, but a knockback effect.

As long as they could land crowd control, they would have a chance to chain subsequent controls. Even if they had to grind him down, they would wear this monster to death!

"Scram!"

Qin Ji didn't even look, lashing out with a backhanded whip strike.

The god-beating whip clashed with the rusted iron sword mid-air.

A terrifying force of recoil traveled up the iron sword to Village Chief Wang's arm. He felt the skin between his thumb and index finger split, his entire body thrown back as if struck by a charging rhinoceros. He slid uncontrollably for dozens of meters, his feet plowing two deep furrows in the ground.

This was the absolute supremacy of stats.

Even if you possessed an indestructible Divine Artifact, your body was not one. Your strength attribute was worlds apart!

...

Meanwhile, a thousand miles away, in Gu Feng City.

The sounds of battle cries shook the heavens.

Two figures were fighting their way madly towards the city gate.

"Fatty, hold the line! Don't chicken out!"

Monkey transformed into a black whirlwind. Every swing of his dagger claimed the life of a City Guard soldier. His attack speed was extreme, his movements agile, weaving effortlessly through the crowd.

In front of him, Fatty Zhou stood like a mountain of flesh, enduring countless arrows and spells, stubbornly blocking the gate tunnel.

"I... I can't hold on anymore!"

Fatty Zhou cried out in agony. Despite having nearly nine million HP, under the combined assault of hundreds of high-level NPCs, his health bar was still plummeting at an alarming rate.

"These NPCs have no honor! They're aiming right for the face!"

Thud!

Several spears simultaneously pierced Fatty Zhou's body.

In this seemingly hopeless, fatal predicament, Fatty Zhou stopped screaming. A fierce glint appeared in his plump face. He abruptly discarded his shield, spread his arms wide, and desperately wrapped them around three elite guards in front of him.

"Brother Hao said to make our deaths count! Explode, my fat!"

Boom!

There was no actual self-destruct skill, but when his massive body collapsed, it did indeed flatten a group of enemies.

A few seconds later, after killing hundreds of enemies, Monkey was also beheaded by a commander-level NPC.

White light flashed at the resurrection point.

The moment the two revived, they saw a message from Qin Ji: "Hone your combat experience. Don't worry about your level."

The two exchanged a glance. The fear in their eyes faded, replaced by a flame called ambition.

"Again!"

...

Inside the guardians tower.

The battle had reached a fever pitch.

The ground around Qin Ji had completely transformed from a thicket into ruins, littered with shattered equipment fragments and scorched earth plowed by energy.

Although he hadn't killed anyone yet, the tide of the battle had begun to turn.

The Princess was about to reach her limit.

The curse of the [book of life and death] was an inescapable source of true damage.

With Qin Ji's staggering 8.3 million HP, even just one percent of that as curse feedback meant a terrifying 83,000 HP loss per second. Combined with the Book's inherent 10,000 base damage...

93,000 per second!

It was as if a top-tier assassin was landing critical hits on her weak points every single second.

Even with the priests behind her frantically healing, even as she gulped down instant-recovery potions non-stop, her health bar continued to slide irreversibly towards the abyss, like a reservoir with its floodgates opened.

In just one minute, her HP had already fallen below the 10% danger threshold.

"Forget about me! Kill him!!"

The Princess's hair was disheveled, her originally cool and elegant face now twisted with pain and fear. Her beautiful eyes were filled with madness. "As long as we kill him before I die, the curse will break!"

Qin Ji sent the golden warrior flying with another whip strike as he charged again. The corner of Qin Ji's mouth lifted slightly, revealing a chilling smile.

"Princess, do you perhaps misunderstand the situation?"

Although he appeared to be constantly surrounded and even somewhat harried, his breathing remained steady, his gaze still frighteningly calm.

He was waiting.

Waiting for this group to exhaust their trump cards. Waiting for them to plummet from the Peak of hope into the abyss of despair.

"Snow Emperor, it's over!"

Village Chief Wang suddenly let out a piercing shriek. His body transformed into a stream of light, instantly attaching itself to Qin Ji.

Immediately after, an irresistible force of rules erupted.

[Village Chief's Authority (Special Skill): Forcefully immobilizes the target for 2 seconds and launches them into the air.]

Qin Ji felt his body lighten, floating uncontrollably into the air.

"Now!!"

A fierce light flashed in Luolin Muye's eyes. "All burst skills, unleash them now!!"

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The various forbidden spells and ultimate skills, already primed and ready, erupted at this moment like a bursting dam, instantly engulfing Qin Ji's figure. The multicolored glow of magic illuminated the dim space as bright as day. The shockwaves from the explosions even caused ripples in the spatial barriers of the guardians tower.

"Is he dead?"

Qing Fuyun's knuckles were white from gripping her staff too tightly, her gaze fixed unwaveringly on the center of the explosion.

The dust settled.

A golden barrier shone brilliantly amidst the ruins, a sacred Aura that repelled all magic flowing across its surface.

Invincible Golden Body!

Qin Ji stood there completely unharmed, not even a fold of his clothing out of place.

"Impossible..." Village Chief Wang's face instantly turned deathly pale. "That reaction speed..."

To activate Invincibility in the split second before being launched—what kind of terrifying neural reflexes did that require?

"Don't panic! Invincibility only lasts a few seconds! Keep up the pressure!"

Luolin Muye roared hysterically. "His HP isn't much either! As long as we chain our controls properly, he's dead!"

Indeed, during that wave of frenzied focus fire, even though the Invincible Golden Body had blocked the lethal damage, the instant before it activated and the subsequent splash damage had still pushed Qin Ji's health down to a dangerous level.

15%... 12%... 9%!

"Hahaha! So what if Withered Wood Meets Spring triggered? The moment Purification lands, we can burst you down!"

Watching the green healing glow rise from Qin Ji's body, Village Chief Wang let out a ferocious laugh, the light of a control skill once again gathering on his iron sword.

As long as they could crowd-control Qin Ji to death, his healing would be useless!

However...

Just as the sky was about to be filled with skill effects once more, Qin Ji suddenly smiled.

The smile held three parts mockery, seven parts pity.

"Heh, not bad coordination."

He slowly raised his head. The Aura around him abruptly changed. A crushing, mountain-like pressure erupted from within him. The ground beneath his feet cracked inch by inch, rubble defying gravity as it slowly rose into the air.

"But, if I were to activate a Super Armor skill, how would you all deal with that?!"

Boom—!!

A wave of dark-red energy exploded outward from Qin Ji as its center, instantly repelling everyone who had closed in around him.

On the surface of his body, a layer of tangible, dark-red Protective Aura surged violently. It was the absolute Domain only possessed by top-tier bosses.

Skill — [Super Armor]!

Immunity to all crowd control. Damage reduction 50%. Attack power increased by 30%!

Under the onslaught of this violent Aura, the surrounding thicket instantly turned to dust. Amidst theWood chips flying everywhere (sky full of flying wood splinters), Qin Ji stood with the whip held in one hand, dark-red bloody energy swirling around him. Those amethyst-gold pupils shone frighteningly bright through the dust and smoke, like an ancient demon god who had just broken free from his shackles, coldly gazing down upon the group of trembling prey before him with the look one reserves for ants.