Chapter 202: It Was Too Painful

In outer space, Edward flew uncontrollably at a speed a hundred times that of sound. Stopping was impossible. Countless asteroids shattered as he tore through them.

He stared at Yu Xian, who was rapidly receding into the distance, then gritted his teeth and released the longsword in his hand. The next instant, he swapped positions with the sword, transferring the tremendous force of Yu Xian's kick into it. The sword transformed into a streak of red light and vanished into the distance.

Edward took a deep breath and activated the Devil Blood Armor's ultimate trump card, the Devil Blood Armor: True Blood Form. Countless spikes grew inside the armor and pierced him. His blood gushed out, quickly filling every gap within the armor. The blood then seeped through to the exterior. Numerous blood-red patterns appeared across the armor, while a six-pointed star formed on its chest.

The devil and the mummified corpses of Marcus and two other vampires, which had previously served as mere decorations, seemed to come alive. The devil at the center opened its mouth and roared, "Brat, I'll kill you!"

Edward had fused with the Devil Cross, and the armor covering him had become part of him. He extended a hand, and the longsword that had flown an unknown distance away reappeared in his grasp. A pair of enormous blood-red bat wings spread from his back, and he flew toward Yu Xian at tremendous speed.

Yu Xian had already noticed Edward's transformation through the eyeball bubbles on the surrounding asteroids. The only reason he had not interrupted Edward was that the fusion between Edward and the Devil Cross had happened far too quickly. It was almost instantaneous, leaving him no opportunity to stop it.

Yu Xian looked at Edward and spoke to Eternal Purity, who was silently observing the battle. "Auntie, I have to admit. Star Divine Artifacts really are impressive!"

He had once looked down on Star Divine Artifacts, believing them to be an unorthodox shortcut. But now that he was fighting Edward, he could finally appreciate just how powerful one could be.

Without the Devil Cross, Edward would have died countless times over by now. Thanks to its absurdly powerful defenses, the vampire had survived despite his injuries, clinging to life like a cockroach. Even Yu Xian had to admit that killing him was proving incredibly difficult.

Once this battle was over, Yu Xian would devote himself to refining a Star Divine Artifact of his own. After all, he was different from ordinary Star-rank powerhouses. He had no fear that a Star Divine Artifact would taint his power.

Star-rank powerhouses could be categorized into Whole and Flawed. The Whole preserved the purity and the completeness of their power, relying solely on their strength to break through to Star rank. The Flawed refined a Star Divine Artifact and entrusted their power to it, thereby advancing to Star rank.

The former had to preserve their internal balance. If they separated a portion of their power to create a Star Divine Artifact, that balance would be disrupted, and they could self-destruct instead. The latter entrusted most of their power to their Star Divine Artifact, which made their bodies their greatest weakness.

Only Yu Xian, whose cultivation method was fundamentally different, could remain powerful while also refining a Star Divine Artifact. His power was essentially innate, so there was no possibility of him self-destructing. As for the materials needed to refine a Star Divine Artifact, didn't Edward already have them?

Countless eyeball bubbles appeared around Yu Xian, unleashing a dense barrage of light beams at Edward. Edward, who had been flying toward him at tremendous speed, stopped. After withstanding dozens of light beams head-on, he raised his longsword and swept it forward. A vast wave of energy surged out of the longsword and slashed toward Yu Xian.

Edward did not expect the attack to injure Yu Xian. He only wanted to eliminate the eyeball bubbles.

Neither Yu Xian nor Edward was accustomed to fighting in space. Although they could lock on to each other, with nothing around them, nearly every attack was far too easy to evade. All it took was a slight shift for an attack to miss the target.

Yu Xian's beam and Edward's attack never collided, their trajectories offset by just the slightest amount. The two attacks brushed past each other midway. A drifting asteroid blocked Yu Xian's beam, while Edward's attack missed Yu Xian by an enormous margin, passing several kilometers above his head and pushing deeper into space.

Neither of them had expected such a result. After freezing for a moment, they stubbornly unleashed a barrage of attacks at each other. Light beams and razor-sharp waves of crimson energy flew wildly through space, yet none managed to land a single hit.

Yu Xian frowned. "This is nothing but a waste of energy."

His Power was 37 points lower than Edward's, which most likely meant that the amount of energy within his body was also far lower. A difference of 37 points was quite substantial.

The main reason he had been able to suppress Edward was that he was Whole while Edward was Flawed. Combined with his mastery of True Will, the power he could unleash surpassed Edward's, which gave him a slight advantage. But in terms of total energy reserves, he definitely could not compete with Edward.

Yu Xian looked toward the distant Red Planet and made a decision. I have to move the battlefield!

He teleported in front of Edward and drove a fist toward his abdomen. However, after fusing with his Star Divine Artifact, Edward's reaction speed had increased severalfold, which allowed him to block the attack with his right hand.

Edward swung his longsword at Yu Xian with his left hand, only for Yu Xian to catch it as well. The two struggled against each other in outer space, glaring into each other's eyes.

Suddenly, Yu Xian grinned. A bubble behind him rapidly expanded, enveloping both of them. The scenery around them changed in a moment as the bubble teleported them to the surface of the Red Planet.

The moment Yu Xian's feet touched the ground, True Will and True Crimson Energy erupted simultaneously. Before Edward could react, Yu Xian delivered a vicious kick to his groin, sending him hurtling into the sky with a shrill scream.

Yu Xian teleported above Edward and brought his foot down on his head. Edward had barely risen into the air before the kick sent him back to the surface. A thunderous explosion shook the Red Planet, and a crater tens of thousands of meters across formed beneath him.

Edward lay at the center of the crater, his face twisted in pain and his eyes bloodshot. "Brat!"

He roared as energy erupted from the wings on his back. They propelled him into the sky like thrusters, and he threw a punch at Yu Xian's face.

Yu Xian did not dodge. Although he could have avoided Edward's attack, the setback he had suffered in the crater had taught him something: clever tricks could grant a temporary advantage, but they could not carry him forever. Since he could not match Edward's experience, he would simply overpower him head-on.

True Will was an extension of will. Resorting to underhanded tricks and petty cleverness would only weaken Yu Xian's resolve and bring him no benefit. So, bring it on!

Yu Xian threw a punch of his own. Empowered by both True Will and True Crimson Energy, his fist was harder than a Star Divine Artifact. As long as his will remained unshaken, a mere Star Divine Artifact could not break through his True Crimson Energy.

Their fists collided, and Edward felt intense pain shoot through his hand. Even with the armor protecting him, he could barely withstand the force of Yu Xian's punch.

But he refused to accept it! Edward could not accept that after spending centuries lying low, carefully plotting, and finally obtaining his current strength, he had been surpassed by a brat who had been a supernatural being for a few short months. That unwillingness hurt far more than any physical pain.