The battle erupted suddenly, both sides clashing furiously, with every Awakener unveiling their divine might, their eyes blood-red with killing intent.
Among these battles, the most dazzling were naturally those few SSRs.
Hou Chengwu's figure flickered as he flung out a blade made of shadows, striking toward Chen Baiwen's shadow!
Although he was swiftly defeated by Xiang Beifei on the arena, his strength was in fact very formidable.
Besides being able to plunder the cultivation of shadow servants, Hou Chengwu had another eerie ability called "Sand-Carrying Shadow Strike," which allowed him even to harm an opponent's body by attacking their shadow!
Unaware of Hou Chengwu's ability, Chen Baiwen merely dodged the shadow blade with his body, not expecting that when Hou Chengwu's blade passed through Chen Baiwen's shadow, it tore his arm apart!
Chen Baiwen screamed in agony, turning to see his own arm, which was cut off at the shoulder just after his shadow's arm was slashed. Blood surged out immediately, spraying into the flood and staining it red, but in an instant, the raging floodwaters swept it away.
He clutched his arm, spiritual power surging to stop the bleeding, then he looked at Hou Chengwu in shock.
Because he was unaware of Hou Chengwu's ferocity, he suffered a great disadvantage in an instant!
"Attacking the shadow causes harm to the body!" Chen Baiwen shouted frantically.
Zhu Xinjue also reacted, once again dodging Hou Chengwu's shadow blade, then unleashed a powerful wave of frost, blasting at Hou Chengwu.
Hou Chengwu dodged, still feeling bitterly troubled.
Only now did he realize that this SR named "Zhu Pengfei" was actually at the Meridian Opening stage. Many questions flashed in his mind, including why he pretended to be in the Qi-Controlling stage during the competition and how he avoided the Alliance's scrutiny...
But at this moment, Hou Chengwu could not ask, as he was at a loss for words.
"Die!" roared Zhu Xinjue in extreme anger.
Hou Chengwu might have been very powerful, but Zhu Xinjue was not much weaker. Even though he was an SR, he had long been in the Meridian Opening stage and had much more combat experience than Hou Chengwu! In terms of survival abilities, he had a grandfather at the UR level!
Zhu Xinjue conjured a three-foot ice blade around his body, dodging Hou Chengwu's attack. The ice blade traced a bitterly cold arc through the air, meeting Hou Chengwu's onslaught. Zhu Xinjue was profoundly disgusted by Hou Chengwu's betrayal and swore to kill this traitor first!
The two clashed midair, unleashing a powerful surge, rolling air waves tumbling and scattering the floodwaters beneath their feet.
By this time, Chen Baiwen had stopped the bleeding. His right arm had been chopped off by Hou Chengwu, but being an SSR Awakener, he possessed an extremely powerful Time Trace System. This system could not only borrow some past attacks but also revert his body to a past state.
Unless completely annihilated, no matter how severe the injury, the Time Trace System's ability could swiftly restore the wounds, returning his body to a state from a time before.
Even though Chen Baiwen's right arm had regrown, his combat strength had greatly diminished. Such a severe injury still had a significant impact on him. It was a struggle even to raise his right arm, the joints were not smooth, and recovery was unlikely for ten days to half a month.
Having lost half of his combat ability, Chen Baiwen immediately retreated. Now cautious of Hou Chengwu's attack pattern, he dodged around in the floodwaters with the help of the Time System, constantly evading Hou Chengwu's assaults.
His ability had a strong display in the arena, but in such a place, limited by the lack of residual shadows, his power was greatly restricted. However, as soon as Hou Chengwu fell back to a rock, Chen Baiwen seized an opportunity!
That very rock was where Hou Chengwu had passed just two minutes before!
Chen Baiwen dodged the shadow blade and appeared at Hou Chengwu's stance in an abrupt moment, overlapping with Hou Chengwu's position and then shoving Hou Chengwu aside, while his left hand swept out a surge of spiritual power, replicating the shadow blade that Hou Chengwu had produced at that spot!
The replicated shadow blade Chen Baiwen created sliced through the air, producing a thunderous boom, cutting at Hou Chengwu from a tricky angle.
Although pinned down, Hou Chengwu's body instinctively reacted, dodging Chen Baiwen's attack. However, Zhu Xinjue had already closed in, and before Hou Chengwu could turn around, Zhu Xinjue's ice blade had pierced into Hou Chengwu's chest!
The strike was ruthless, absolutely unforgiving!
Hou Chengwu's eyes widened in disbelief!
He looked at Zhu Xinjue furiously and in astonishment, never having imagined that before he could kill Xiang Beifei, he would be stabbed in the heart by Zhu Xinjue!
Zhu Xinjue was ferocious, the murderous intent in his eyes was unmistakable, with no intention whatsoever of showing mercy. Spiritual power intensified and the ice blade blossomed fiercely into an ice flower within Hou Chengwu's heart.
The ice flower perforated Hou Chengwu's heart, riddling it with holes as if sharp ice spikes had sprouted inside, utterly pulverizing Hou Chengwu's heart!
Hou Chengwu's mouth moved desperately, trying to speak, but he was unable to utter a word.