212: secretly

BOOM!!!

Storm against storm, weapon against weapon; the purest power and will collided once again in the absolute vacuum, unadorned and direct!

This impact far exceeded any that had come before!

There was no sound, but the ripples of energy generated by the collision spread outward like a tsunami, instantly shattering the more distant cosmic dust and tiny meteorites into streams of fundamental particles!

A burst of light flashed, illuminating this Void Realm as if it were broad daylight!

In the center of that blinding light, the two figures were pushed apart by the immense recoil force, carving long trajectories through the Void Realm.

The bloated figure's covering of flesh was noticeably dimmer, and there were even tiny nicks on the blades of its giant axes.

As for the figure wielding the curved scythes, the situation seemed even worse; several distinct cracks had appeared on his dark cyan carapace, and the luster of the curved scythes had become unstable, flickering on and off.

Clearly, even with the so-called "token of pioneering," clashing head-on with the "Wind Seal" that had a higher degree of completeness was by no means an easy task for him.

But, at the same time as these two figures were fiercely colliding and slaughtering each other,

Xiang Yan, who had been like a bystander, did not have his attention entirely focused on the seemingly world-destroying energy bombardment.

His perception, like an invisible spiderweb, had long since spread out, meticulously capturing the more subtle and essential changes in the surrounding Void Realm.

"Wind..."

Xiang Yan's consciousness core, like the most precise instrument, repeatedly analyzed the "Wind" that had appeared so abruptly and defied common sense just moments ago.

It was not energy flow.

It was not particle impact.

It was a... manifestation closer to the level of "Law".

The moment those strange fluctuations diffused from the two creatures, Xiang Yan clearly "perceived" that within this Void Realm, certain "Law lines"—which had originally been silent, unfamiliar, and did not belong to his known system—suddenly became active!

They began to "boil" and vibrate violently, like water droplets dropped into boiling oil!

It was precisely this riot at the level of "Law" that forcibly twisted the physical Laws of this region, "creating" that so-called "Wind" out of thin air!

These unfamiliar Laws that had become active...

The characteristics they displayed...

Xiang Yan's consciousness operated at high speed, comparing the perceived information with the conversation between the two creatures just now.

"Law of Wind..." A deduction emerged clearly in Xiang Yan's consciousness, as naturally as water flowing to form a channel.

This Universe, or rather, this Void Realm region, possessed an independent Law system regarding "Wind."

And the strange fluctuations emitted by the two creatures just now must be that thing they called the "Wind Seal"...

"Is it by some means that they obtained the... authority to mobilize this portion of the 'Law of Wind'?"

Xiang Yan's speculation was getting closer and closer to the truth.

That so-called "Wind Seal" was very likely a credential, a key capable of invoking and borrowing the "Law of Wind" of this place!

The higher the degree of completeness, the more and stronger the Law power that could be mobilized, and the more violent the manifested "Wind" would be.

The "one percent" of the giant-axe creature, compared to the "two-hundredths" of the curved-scythe creature, indeed held an absolute advantage in terms of "quantity."

But...

"token of pioneering..."

Xiang Yan thought again of those four words the curved-scythe creature had roared at the end.

"Obtained... the favor of the heavens?"

Could it be... a higher-level authority granted by the world will?

Allowing it, even if inferior in "quantity," to compensate or even surpass in "quality" or "efficiency"?

But no matter how one guessed, it would not be as accurate as studying the actual object, so it was necessary to capture these two guys themselves.

Meanwhile, the clash between the giant axe and the curved scythe had long since transcended a simple outpouring of energy; it was more like a cruel collision where Laws were materialized.

Every hard clash caused this Void Realm, tainted by external Laws, to ripple even more violently.

The bloated giant-axe creature's flesh squirmed ever more violently, and energy, like boiling magma, erupted from its wounds, only to be forcibly suppressed and sealed.

His panting, transmitted through the turbulence of energy, came out intermittently, filled with rage and a trace of imperceptible anxiety.

The one-percent completeness of the "Wind Seal" brought him more massive Law power, but the opponent's "token of pioneering" could mobilize Laws in a more exquisite and efficient way, repeatedly neutralizing his seemingly unstoppable attacks and even leaving deep wounds on him in return.

"Damn it! Damn it!! Fannojia, you bastard, if you have the guts, don't use the 'token of pioneering' and fight me fair and square!" He roared, all his giant axes spinning like a chaotic windmill, hacking and slashing wildly without any pattern but with astonishing power, attempting to use pure brute force to crush his opponent's "heavenly favor."

The "slender" figure wielding the curved scythes had even more cracks on his dark cyan carapace, and his luster had dimmed significantly.

Clearly, wielding the "token of pioneering" to resist the higher-completeness "Wind Seal" was equally burdensome for him.

But the mockery and greed in his eyes had not diminished in the slightest.

"You An... your struggle... is truly... ugly. How stupid would I have to be to give up my own advantage?" He mocked intermittently, but his hands did not stop for a single moment.

Each successful hit made the greed in his eyes grow a fraction more intense.

As long as he could grind it down, as long as he could wear it out, the "Wind Seal" of this "piece of fat meat," along with the body he coveted, would become his spoils of war!

Both sides were blinded by bloodlust, their entire focus immersed in this life-or-death struggle.

Neither of them noticed.

Against the background of this Void Realm, which had been turned upside down by violent energy, certain deeper changes were happening silently.

Like the most patient hunter, Xiang Yan's Clone, which had been hiding in the distance, finally... began to act.

With his hovering position as the center, wisps of black mist quietly merged into the surrounding Void Realm.

It was not expansion, but rather... assimilation.

They followed the ebb and flow of energy tides and the ripples of Laws, like the smallest, invisible spores, silently... drifting toward the two figures locked in battle.

You An slashed out with an axe, the violent wind pressure forcing his opponent back several steps. As he was about to pursue, the movement of his arm paused... imperceptibly.

It was as if a joint had suddenly rusted for an instant.

He did not pay it any mind, assuming it was due to excessive energy consumption or an injury from Fannojia's scythe blade, and roared as he swung his axe again.

On the other side, Fannojia's dozens of scythe shadows intertwined, sealing off the opponent's path of movement.

But at the very moment one of the scythe shadows was about to graze the opponent's neck, the cold light on the blade dimmed... imperceptibly.

That sharpness capable of cutting through everything seemed to have been "diluted" ever so slightly by something.

He also did not notice, or rather, in such an intense battle, he had no time to discern this infinitesimal anomaly.

His entire attention was focused on how to dismember the enemy before him faster.