Chapter Seventy-Four: The Battle with Adkins

In the endless night sky, a streak of white light sped by. Suddenly, the brilliance flashed, transforming into a white-clad figure who came to an abrupt halt. He appeared as youthful as a boy, dressed in magnificent brocade robes—Adkins.

“He actually left Dragonblood Castle? And flew directly toward me? Has he discovered my presence? Impossible!” Adkins frowned, suspicion flickering in his gaze. He hovered silently in the night, patiently waiting.

Before long, another white light shot in from the distance. In the blink of an eye, it drew near, resolving into a man in white robes—Qian Kun.

“How did you know I was coming?” Adkins stared at Qian Kun, his voice low.

Qian Kun shrugged and smiled. “If I told you I guessed, would you believe me? Lord Adkins, is it? I truly overestimated your magnanimity. For a dignified high god, you’d stoop to personally murdering me, disregarding your own dignity?”

“Qian Kun, you don’t seem afraid of me. Is it because you’re confronting me with your divine avatar?” Adkins sneered.

“Exactly!” Qian Kun nodded crisply. “Adkins, I know what you’re thinking. You simply believe my power is too great, too monstrous, and that when I become a high god, I’ll pose a significant threat to you. So you want to eliminate me early. But even if you kill me, it’s only my divine avatar. My strongest wind-element avatar and my true self remain in the Tomb of the Gods. Do you think I won’t seek vengeance in the future?”

Adkins scoffed. “Vengeance? You think I’ll give you the chance? Once your true self and wind avatar leave the Tomb of the Gods, do you think killing you will be difficult?”

“But what if I stay beside Lord Beirut? Will you be able to do anything to me then?” Qian Kun retorted.

“Hmph! Beirut? You think I’d fear a junior who’s only cultivated for a few million years?” Adkins’s expression darkened.

A junior? Qian Kun almost laughed to himself. If Adkins knew Beirut was a chief god, what expression would he wear?

“Enough. No need for further words. Today, your death is certain.” Adkins spoke coldly, his body radiating dazzling white light, transforming in a moment into something like a blazing sun. He flipped his hand, producing a transparent, ice-like longsword, and became a white blur as he attacked Qian Kun.

Clang… The young man in white robes also drew a silvery divine sword and met the blade head-on. With a crisp collision, Qian Kun was violently jolted and sent tumbling backward in disgrace, blood seeping from his grip on the sword.

“To think you could block my strike!” Adkins’s murderous intent deepened as he stared at Qian Kun. He waved his hand, sending a phantom-like white blade slashing toward him. “I’ve fused the essence of the laws into this soul attack. I refuse to believe you can withstand it.”

Hiss… The ethereal blade entered Qian Kun’s body. He shuddered and retreated instantly. In his mind, his earth avatar, water avatar, fire avatar, life avatar, fate avatar, and death avatar formed a circle around the mid-level light godhead, frantically joining forces to defend against the invading phantom blade.

Adkins’s soul attack was formidable, but with several avatars working together, Qian Kun barely managed to withstand it.

“What? He actually resisted a soul attack infused with the essence of laws? How is that possible?” Adkins stared at Qian Kun, who seemed unharmed, his eyes wide in genuine astonishment.

Yet soon, Adkins’s mind grew suspicious. “It seems he’s already fused several types of law essences. That’s the only way his mid-level god soul could borrow the fused essences to resist my soul attack. I truly underestimated him. Clearly, he’s trying to fuse more law essences and isn’t eager to break through to high god. If he continues, once he becomes a high god, his strength may rival the five kings of the Planar Prison.”

At this thought, Adkins’s murderous intent toward Qian Kun reached its peak. “I absolutely cannot let him live. Not just his avatars—his true self and avatar in the Tomb of the Gods must die as well. Otherwise, I may end up dying at his hands.”

With a flash of thought, Adkins split his body in two: his light high god avatar and his dark high god avatar together closed in on Qian Kun.

“This guy—going so far just to kill a mid-level god?” Qian Kun was startled and hurriedly split himself as well: his light avatar to oppose Adkins’s light avatar, and his earth avatar to confront Adkins’s dark avatar.

Boom, boom… Amidst explosive energy, Qian Kun’s light and earth avatars were battered and forced to retreat, wounded.

Just then, a fiery-red spearhead appeared suddenly, drilling toward Adkins’s dark avatar like lightning. Scorching heat swept out, raging power even shattering space.

Bang… Caught off guard, Adkins’s dark avatar hastily struck at the spearhead, which paused briefly but still pierced viciously into his body.

Boom… A deep, explosive sound erupted. Adkins’s dark avatar was sent flying, his chest a mangled mess, half his body reduced to bloody pulp.

“Damn it!” Adkins glared furiously at the fire-clad, red-robed avatar of Qian Kun, flames swirling around him, gripping a heavy spear. He had never expected Qian Kun to have such a powerful fire avatar hidden.

Now, Adkins felt as if he were seeing a ghost. It was one thing for Qian Kun to have multiple avatars, but each was so outrageously strong—calling him a monster hardly sufficed; it was simply unnatural.

But a high god is a high god. Recovering from his surprise, Adkins unleashed his full might without mercy. Even with three avatars working together, Qian Kun was still overpowered and beaten back. Moreover, because he had to guard against Adkins’s soul attacks, he dared not deploy more avatars, lest his soul defense be stretched thin and broken one by one.

“This won’t do. If I hold out any longer, I’ll eventually be defeated by Adkins. If all my avatars are killed, the loss will be immense,” Qian Kun worriedly frowned, but then, as if struck by inspiration, gritted his teeth, withdrew, and merged his three avatars into one. Instantly, he transformed into a white streak and shot into the distance.

“Trying to escape?” Adkins sneered, merged his two avatars, and transformed into a beam in pursuit.

As a high god skilled in speed, especially with the light element, Adkins was naturally swift. But Qian Kun, also cultivating the law of light and having fused more law essences than Adkins, was no slower. Furthermore, Qian Kun possessed a secret unknown to others: though only a mid-level god, his powerful soul allowed him to absorb a small amount of high god power. While this high god power clashed with his own, in a life-or-death flight, he could absorb and expend it to travel faster.

Thus, Adkins discovered that Qian Kun’s speed was astonishingly fast—just a shade quicker than himself, always staying ahead.

“Damn it! What kind of monstrous, bizarre fellow is this? How does he cultivate? What method did he use to reach such speed? Has he fused four, five law essences with the light element?” Adkins’s mind grew agitated. But one thing was certain: since he had chosen to strike, he must kill Qian Kun. Otherwise, with such a terrifying enemy, he’d never sleep peacefully again.

One chased, one fled. Soon, they passed over the Magical Beast Mountains and finally arrived at the great Bronze Gong Mountain within the Holy Alliance.

From afar, Qian Kun saw within Bronze Gong Mountain a secluded residence, suffused with powerful earth element energy, constructed entirely from condensed earth essence. “Qinghuo—he’s truly here.”