At that moment, Gorst had been sent flying by Wang Zhong’s full-powered draconic Flaming 3rd Drive and brutally crashed into the boundary. Wang Zhong’s breathing was obviously heavier as well.

All the observers outside had a thoughtful smile, and a sense of superiority surged from their hearts. This was the benefit of vision!

As expected, Gorst’s unscathed laughter sounded from the sea of fire. “You actually have fire elemental abilities too. It’s no wonder that you have two elemental spirits. Even I cannot help but clap for you, Earthling.”

Wang Zhong’s expression was serious. The 3rd Drive combined with his flaming spiritual power was still not able to break through his defenses. It could only be said that the equipment in the Heavenly Gates was very focused, and the effects were very good!

A top-quality defensive artifact was simply the second life of a practitioner and a natural hindrance that those from low-leveled civilizations would never be able to surpass in their lifetime.

The sea of fire in front of him parted automatically, and the 10,000 Tempering Soul Armor on Gorst’s body dazzled with white and red lights. The 10,000 Tempering Soul Armor was not simply a passive defense but could also absorb a portion of elemental power. As long as its defenses were not broken through, the more power the 10,000 Tempering Soul Armor absorbed, the more impressive it would be for a certain period of time!

“Do you have any other techniques?” Gorst laughed and asked, but in reality, he was the one who was shocked… It was obvious that he did not pay any attention to Wang Zhong’s attacks, but Wang Zhong’s defense… Just now, when Wang Zhong unleashed the fire and ice attack, the Soul Seizing Chain was fully charged and could have pierced through Wang Zhong several times. However, just as the Earthling had said, even if it might be painful for him, he was at least able to completely endure it. Furthermore, it seemed as if he was not resisting with much difficulty!

This was utterly absurd!

Even though Gorst was unable to display the full might of the level-7 Soul Seizing Chain with his strength as a Void Core, his opponent was clearly only a Foundational Stage, yet he was able to endure this attack. Could the soul of a Foundational Stage be this powerful?

Gorst even started to suspect whether his combat level had fallen after not using the Soul Seizing Chain for a very long time.

Right now, his opponent could not harm him, but he did not seem to have many methods to deal with his opponent either. He could use his artifacts, but he could not possibly just use the Soul Seizing Chain to chase his opponent around and slowly wear him out over a few hours like an idiot, right? This method would be too embarrassing!

The Ghost race was best at soul attacks, but Wang Zhong’s soul was able to endure these attacks.

As for other attacks, such as body arts and combat techniques, Gorst could use them and was even considered rather proficient, but the problem was who he was up against. What if he competed in close-combat with Wang Zhong? Gorst’s brain would pretty much short-circuit.

This was slightly awkward. Furthermore, Gorst could not let others see this.

If Balor was in his shoes, he would have definitely exploded and risked his life. Regardless of the consequences, he would not complain as long as he could attack. However, Gorst was Gorst. There were times in combat when one did not necessarily have to attack in order to win. In reality, one could also win with a powerful defense by exhausting and making the enemy despair to the point of death. That kind of victory was just as natural and tyrannical.

“If you have any other techniques, use them.” Gorst said as he laughed loudly, “I am more and more curious about you Earthlings. Let me see your capabilities.”

“Ha ha. He’s playing with Wang Zhong!”

“With the shrewdness of the Ghosts, Gorst seems confident of success.”

“He’s just testing out that little fellow. In reality, the moment he took out the 10,000 Tempering Soul Armor, Gorst had already won.”

“The Earthling has double elemental powers! Tsk tsk tsk. It’s such a pity. Even in the Pill Refinery Hall, he probably has natural endowments among the top, right? I remember that in this batch of Pill Refinery Hall pupils, it seems like only the Gold Titan has double elemental powers — thunder and fire.”

“It looks like Gorst won’t be sparing his life.”

“The Earthling was the one who initiated the life and death battle. Does he expect Gorst to spare him after losing? Heh heh. Isn’t that just daydreaming?”

At that moment, those who were immersed in Wang Zhong’s double elemental powers and could not awaken finally recovered from their shock and silence.

That Earthling simply could not cause any inconvenience for Gorst, and the gap between them was just too big. Using a level-6 exclusive artifact for this level of combat was simply inconceivable, and that Earthling could only lose unjustly. Everyone acknowledged his natural endowments, but if they had a complaint, it would be that he was born in a low-leveled civilization.

“Oh, this is…”

Many people noticed that Wang Zhong had no intention of giving up. He did not reply or take out any artifacts as they had imagined. Instead, he spread out his palms and continuously “waved” them in the air.

Many people present were shocked. Then they began to laugh.

What action was this? Was he not fighting anymore? Was he going to surrender?

Even though rune expertise was not considered high-end or rare in the divine territory and could even be seen everywhere in everyday life, this prevalence did not conceal its high-end and powerful charm. Frankly speaking, the use of Soul Power would lead to the same results when it reached a certain level. After all, runes were forms created using Soul Power!

However, without a certain level of control, one could not use runes!

“It’s a rune!”

“That little fellow actually understands runes?”

Very quickly, an inkling of Wang Zhong’s rune structure appeared, and those who were slow at understanding finally understood.

There was no doubt that this was a rune structure. He continuously pulled blue threads of spiritual power between his palms and formed a three-dimensional rune figure. Regardless of whether it was Wang Zhong’s actions and posture when constructing the rune or the stability that it displayed, everyone was sure that this was a runic construct without a doubt.

But… was he a primary school student?

Dammit! This was the Life and Death Arena, yet he was still forming the rune step by step. How foolish!

The speed at which Wang Zhong constructed the runic array was too slow and seemed rather strained. At the same time, the spiritual reaction from the runic array was not very strong and seemed to have a Spiritual Energy Value of about 100,000. Furthermore, he seemed to have creatively added some fire elemental aura, causing the blue runic array to dazzle with flames…

However, was he planning on dealing with Gorst, who was equipped with the 10,000 Tempering Soul Armor, with just this? Regardless of whether it was the runic array with a spiritual power foundation of over 100,000 or the fire elemental auras, would they be able to harm Gorst at all?

“How terrifying. Is this a great earth-shattering technique? So much preparation time is needed!”

A group of people roared with laughter. The natural endowments that Wang Zhong displayed made many jealous. Luckily, he encountered Gorst, allowing them to recover their sense of superiority.

“It looks like some low-leveled civilizations have inherited runes.” On the contrary, some people from the Equipment Refinery Hall had exceptional insight. Even though Wang Zhong’s actions were slow, they seemed extremely skilled, and he did not look like a novice at this.

“It’s probably because of the spiritual pressure and rules in the divine territory, but the runic inheritance in the peripheral worlds are all defective goods and definitely cannot be used when brought to the divine territory. Look at him, he is rather strained.”

After spending a minute or two, amidst the gazes and discussions from everyone else, Wang Zhong’s runic array was finally prepared. It was a circular pattern. Overall, the rune seemed somewhat primitive and was not in the style that was currently trending among the equipment alchemists in the divine territory. As expected, it was in the style of the defective runes from the peripheral worlds.

“He’s finally done. Heh heh. What a slow runic array. If Gorst actually attacked, Wang Zhong would have died 10,000 times.”

“Gorst is being very generous this time. Ha ha. This is definitely not the style of the Ghost race.”

Gorst smiled. He was not being generous. Instead, he knew that once he attacked, he would fall into the trap of the endless vicious cycle like before. Wang Zhong did not pose a threat to Gorst, but it was extremely inconvenient for Gorst to use the Soul Seizing Chain and break Wang Zhong’s soul that was even harder than a turtle’s shell.

Furthermore, no one was better than the Ghost race when it came to breaking a person’s soul. The attack from the Soul Seizing Chain was simply the most direct way. One could break souls using their spirit and will as well. Once their will collapsed and they started to feel despair, their soul would become weak, regardless of how strong it originally was.

Wang Zhong’s attack should be his trump card. As long as it failed, the feelings of despair would definitely deepen to a great extent, thus affecting the strength of his soul. That moment would be Gorst’s chance to kill him in one shot!

“Are you finally done preparing?” Gorst laughed and said, “Come, let me listen to the mournful wails of despair from you low-leveled civilizations.”

Wang Zhong smiled and pushed his palms in front of him.

Divine Territory Version —— Phoenix Rises to Ninth Heaven!

Boom!

Wang Zhong pushed his palms forward and went from extreme silence to extreme speed. In that moment, the solid and plain rune instantly transformed into a fire phoenix that soared into the air. It rapidly flew towards Gorst with a whistling sound.

Just the whistling sound produced when the fire phoenix flew allowed everyone to clearly feel the great power contained in this attack. However, there was no change in Gorst’s expression. When faced with attacks of this level, he did not even need to dodge. The light that dazzled on the 10,000 Tempering Soul Armor was extremely bright. Not only was elemental power ineffective against it, the 10,000 Tempering Soul Armor that had reached its peak condition could also withstand attacks with a Spiritual Energy Value of over one million. This was not something that a Void Core would be able to break through. Even though this attack received an upgrade in power through the runic array, the results were the same.

He wanted to destroy the confidence of this low-leveled civilization member and break his will by defeating his spirit!

Gorst simply stretched out his palm, and the 10,000 Tempering Soul Armor that covered his soul dazzled.

Boom!

Some flames instantly burst out into the battlefield and soared into the air before it finally collided with Gorst’s body. As expected, the fire elemental power that formed in the runic array was not as easily eliminated by the 10,000 Tempering Soul Armor. However, it was still useless. Regardless of whether it was spiritual power attacks or flames, they were all as amusing as clowns when facing the defense of the 10,000 Tempering Soul Armor.

However, this was obviously not the main point of Wang Zhong’s attack.

Humm humm humm humm~~~

When the flames exploded, a terrifying sound wave was produced at the same time. The substantial sound waves suddenly spread into the surroundings, with the location where Gorst was standing at as its center.

Gorst’s expression suddenly changed, and he instantly felt as if he had been struck by lightning! As a result, his body was extremely numb. He never expected that Wang Zhong would have such a technique. What kind of runic array was this? It could fuse three layers of attacks within that blast!

It was obvious that the spiritual power attack and the fire elemental attack were simply the superficial attacks used to confuse him. The sound wave concealed within these two layers of attacks was brutal!

The 10,000 Tempering Soul Armor could withstand spiritual power attacks and elemental attacks, but it could not withstand the penetration of sound waves. Furthermore, Ghosts had semi-illusory bodies, and although vibrations like sound waves were not fatal, they could still cause direct damage. Regardless of whether it was actual combat experience or investigative abilities, he was no match for Lao Wang!

Furthermore, the strength of Void Core Gorst was no longer ambiguous. He withstood this sound wave with some difficulty. Before Gorst’s stiff body could recover, he was feeling shocked and jittery. And before he could do so, he saw the Earthling in front of him moving his hands again.

Was he still slow?

Wang Zhong already had his spiritual power activated, as if he already knew that this attack would not kill Gorst. Blue spiritual-power rune threads condensed in front of Wang Zhong’s body. Without the addition of flame elements, the runic array had become somewhat easier. However, he used a speed that was 100 times faster than before, and the runic array formed instantly!

At that moment, he had stripped away all obfuscation and did not use flames to conceal his attack. With just this simplification, the speed at which he formed the rune was simply heaven-defying! Furthermore, he did not form just one rune. Instead, he formed two using his left and right hands at the same time!

Gorst’s body was still stiff from the previous sound wave attack and had not completely recovered. Then, he saw two fire phoenixes rushing towards him.

BOOM!

They seemed to have less might than before, and the 10,000 Tempering Soul Armor was seemingly unharmed. However, this was only the impact from the spiritual power attacks… The lethal sound waves embedded in this runic array were not any weaker. Two sound waves had collided into Gorst at the same time. Gorst could not even move. He felt as if his brain was about to explode!

His semi-soul body had distorted completely. It was twisted by the sound wave, and he almost fainted.

How did it suddenly become so fast? How was this possible?!

However, before Gorst could think clearly about this deadly problem, he saw the fourth and fifth runic arrays that continued to condense in the hands of the expressionless Earthling!

He was like a rune killing-machine that had no expressions and was extremely accurate.

This was a massive shock. Gorst was about to go crazy and wanted to shout loudly for mercy. However, his twisted body did not even allow him to do so. The frenzied desire to beg for mercy simply became a strange and dull sound through the distorted sound wave.

Bang bang bang bang bang!!!

The Life and Death Arena was completely silent. They could only hear the sound waves that continuously shook the battlefield rapidly spread into the surroundings.

There were 20 consecutive attacks!

Some mournful wails could faintly be heard amidst the sound waves, but soon, they completely stopped. The frenzied storm in the center of the attacks also covered everyone’s view of it. The massive rumbling sounds in the battlefield did not stop, and the sound waves did not cease either. However, the area surrounding the Life and Death Arena was silent. The spectators did not dare to believe their eyes.

Besides the outsiders who did not quite understand runes, even the pupils from the Equipment Refinery Hall widened their mouths at that moment.

Rune techniques permeated the entire field of equipment refinery. Regardless of whether one was a beginner or a Great Master in equipment refinery, the core techniques involved in refining artifacts would always involve runes.

This fellow… Why did he act as a combat cultivation pupil or refine pills? He was simply a natural equipment-refinery genius!

Rumble! Bang, bang!

The crazy Earthling finally stopped attacking. Constructing the runic arrays was an extremely exhausting activity, and the rumbling sounds in the battlefield slowly came to a stop. However, before the surrounding observers could recover from their shock at these frenzied attacks, a cracking sound suddenly reverberated throughout the area.

The defensive barrier around the Life and Death Arena suddenly hardened and no longer shone brightly. In the span of a few seconds, a clear crack appeared at the top of the defensive barrier. Closely after, the crack rapidly spread throughout the barrier.

Rumble…

The defensive barrier had shattered!

The sound of saliva being swallowed was immediately heard from the surroundings. Even the Titan supervisor could not help but widen his eyes.

Even though the lowest-leveled defensive barrier had been activated, this was a top-notch product in the Heavenly Gates. After so many years, many geniuses had fought decisive battles in the Life and Death Arena, but only a very few geniuses had been able to break the defensive barrier into pieces!

Was… this considered the end? What about Gorst? What about Wang Zhong?

Everyone looked at the Life and Death Arena. When all the dust had settled…

Clang!

The 10,000 Tempering Soul Armor and the Soul Seizing Chain were blown away from the center by the storm and landed in front of Wang Zhong, producing a clear sound.

Wang Zhong calmly glanced at them.

The artifacts seemed unharmed. As expected of a quality defensive product among the level-6 artifacts, the 10,000 Tempering Soul Armor did not even have a scratch on its surface even after withstanding so many consecutive attacks. It was still as shiny as before.

But strangely, their original owner had disappeared. However, there was still a faint sparkle from the artifacts, signifying that they once had an owner.

The bodies of Ghosts seemed to be in between reality and illusion. When they died, they would vanish and not leave behind a single trace in this world.

Gorst had been suppressed, extinguished, and turned into vapor. He turned into nothing and simply evaporated!

The mocking laughter from just now seemed to have gone completely silent.

He had killed Gorst! He had really killed Gorst!

He showed no hesitation. Furthermore, he used such a destructive method. He had never thought of leaving Gorst with any chance of surviving!

Even if they were mentally prepared, the surrounding observers immediately fell completely silent.

Not only was there dead silence, but there was also dread on the faces of many people, dread towards a member of a low-leveled civilization! It was definitely unimaginable before this!

“Wang—Wang Zhong! You are so brutal! You will pay the price. You—you—you will not die an easy death!”

The Ghost servant who had delivered the artifacts to Gorst was trembling. Battier had originally lent these artifacts to Gorst, and the servant was in charge of bringing them over and taking them back. Thus, he had been waiting here all along but never expected to see this result.

He pointed at Wang Zhong with his finger, and his voice continued to tremble as he spoke. He had been unable to imagine that Gorst, equipped with the 10,000 Tempering Soul Armor and armed with the Soul Seizing Chain, could be defeated by a Foundational Stage!

The trembling voice influenced many people.

Yes, it was brutal! Too brutal!

This Earthling was like a damn madman!

Balor provoked him, and Balor died! Gorst helped Balor, and Gorst also died!

“They are both from the same hall. Why does he have to be so brutal with his attack…?”

“That’s right. This Earthling is simply a lunatic!”

When someone spoke, someone else would definitely answer. They also wanted to vent their emotions. If not, they would have nightmares when they thought about this Earthling in the future. However, not many people responded. In comparison to the mockery from nearly the entire audience earlier, only two or three people were now shouting. A majority of people chose to remain silent and solemn.

However, Wang Zhong simply smiled, as if nothing had happened at all. Alternatively, he would have died an even more tragic death. However, only weaklings would wail mournfully. Wang Zhong simply glanced at them, and they immediately shut their mouths, afraid that Wang Zhong would remember them.

The current divine territory was still powerful, but it had degenerated on the inside!

“On Earth, we have an interesting creature called the honey badger.[1] You can go and learn more about it,” said Wang Zhong calmly.

If you hit me, I will attack you to your death!

Old Cow had given a good quote that had left a deep impression on Wang Zhong since then.

Sympathy without ability was not kindness, but harming others and oneself!

“Also, these.” Wang Zhong conveniently picked up the 10,000 Tempering Soul Armor and Soul Seizing Chain. Then, he smiled and said, “These are my war trophies. Of course, if the Ghost race wants to buy them back, they can name a price. I am not the kind of person who is completely unreasonable.”

[1] The honey badger is notorious for its strength, ferocity and toughness. It is known to savagely and fearlessly attack almost any other species when escape is impossible, reportedly even repelling much larger predators such as lion and hyena. (Wikipedia)