Tower of Heaven

When they returned to their clash, they only had more ferocity in their eyes.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The Presence of the Mountain was not only applied to Atlas' own body, but also to the chain sickles themselves. Both the chains and the sickles themselves had become heavy enough to directly contend with Darian's massive greatsword.

Of course, the Iridescent Metal that created them had to withstand those blows still, but it was strong enough for now. Atlas was able to directly confront his enemy without worries.

Bang!

The flat side of his right sickle slammed against the greatsword as Darian slashed it from over his head. At the same time, the left sickle came from the side and pushed the sword away.

Atlas kicked his foot out, crashing it into Darian's chest and pushing him back.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The moment he lost his position, Darian started using his martial skills.

[Hidden Flame Knives]

He used a basic technique that came from the same school as one of Atlas' own techniques. Several tiny blades made of flame qi flew towards him and exploded when they neared his vicinity.

As smoke filled the air in front of Atlas, Darian charged at him, hoping to take him by surprise.

Atlas' eyes opened wide.

[Intrinsic Foresight]

He saw the man's presence approaching. Surrounded by waves of raging flames, Atlas raised his hand.

[Land Erosion]

His eyes flashed and earth qi was released into the world. It sank into the ground below and rapidly shot forward to encompass all of the space in between Atlas and Darian.

The path the qi traced in the ground was turned into mud and then degraded even more into a slush-like substance. When Darian stepped into it, his feet were caught without resistance.

He pulled at them, even putting qi into them to rip them out of the ground. That was how he learned that he was not being trapped by natural forces alone, but by forces supported by a powerful qi instead.

However, it was already too late for him to have his realization.

[Earthen Spires]

Atlas raised his leg and stomped it into the ground. A huge crack spread through the eroded earth until it was directly under Darian.

Then, three jagged spires made of rock and dirt erupted out of the ground around the trapped man.

Boom!

Darian's eyes widened. He rapidly moved his qi and performed a defensive technique.

[Great Sun's Aura]

A shield of illusory flame energy surrounded him, barely protecting him from the first two spires. When the third came crashing upward, the hastily created technique was destroyed once and for all.

Darian retreated with his feet freed by the spires, barely avoiding death. Still, the huge gash that had been ripped into his chest by the deadly rock spire was more than enough punishment.

"Khhh…!"

Darian gritted his teeth and tried to reach into his spatial ring for a healing pill, but Atlas was on him again.

'The [Regeneration] skill is not a common one.'

He found that other cultivators weren't able to use their mental power to heal. They had to wait for their physical faculties and use the aid of pills at every turn.

He had to make more use of that. It was an advantage that could even become absolute in certain scenarios.

He saw that Darian was trying to heal, and he wasn't going to let it happen. Before he could even reach the man, his chain sickles were already there.

[Roaring Dragon, Fading Serpent]

While one chain sickle snuck up and slapped the healing pill out of Darian's hand, the second attacked him directly, disallowing him from chasing it or summoning another one.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

By the time he'd finished defending, Atlas had arrived as well.

[Six-Layered Shockwave]

He never directly practiced the technique, but the increase in his strength meant that he had access to a more powerful compounded shockwave than before.

When Atlas stomped his foot into the ground this time, six different shockwaves combined into one massive power surge and slammed against Darian's body, eviscerating the gash he'd only just received and inflicting him with new wounds.

"Huu…"

Atlas took a breath with cold eyes and followed once again.

'I have an absolute momentum right now.'

He had been able to find an opening that he'd exploited to death. Darian had been unable to do anything as he chained his moves one after another.

However, Atlas knew that this situation was not going to maintain itself on its own. If he ever stopped attacking, Darian would stand up again.

He knew this for certain, as if he was the one being beaten down right now, he would be the exact same.

Atlas chased after Darian's limp body at the speed of lightning. He jumped in the air and raised his fist, slamming down towards his enemy with the presence of a mountain.

BOOM!

A huge explosion rang out. The two of them disappeared inside a cloud of smoke and debris. While the crowd outside was desperately widening their eyes to look through the obstruction, Atlas found himself in an unexpected situation.

Darian was under him. His fist had made contact with the enemy's body just as he'd planned.

No.

Rather than saying it made contact, it was better to say that it had been caught.

Atlas stood on top of Darian with his fist firmly caught in the other man's grip. Looking into those grey eyes, Darian grinned.

"Got you."

Atlas' eyes widened. An abrupt wave of qi immersed the two of them. The air was heated to an extreme, and a feeling of imminent danger suddenly assailed Atlas from all sides.

"Dodge this one."

He had been waiting for this moment. Darian took all of those hits so that Atlas would make a big move that he could catch.

All of it was so that he could catch Atlas and keep him in one place, a place where he would be absolutely unable to avoid any attack thrown at him.

In that moment, Darian used the biggest attack he possibly could on short notice.

[Sunset]

Continue your adventure with empire

A technique with a simple name and disastrous consequences. It was one of the ultimate martial skills produced by the Society known as Dusk.

As the spectators watched, the cloud of smoke and dust started to change color. It turned different shades of orange, red, yellow, and even mild pinks and purples. The surrounding grass and shrubbery caught fire, as did any trees or tree corpses that were littering the surroundings.

Those watching this battle had already moved several tens of kilometers away for safety, yet even they could feel the boiling heat.

They could only imagine what it felt like to be trapped inside.

The heat continued to grow. The color of the smoke cloud continued to change until it perfectly mirrored the image of a sunset. The colorful scenery was like a plain in the sky, home only to the humongous yellow orb of light and heat that was known as the sun.

With every passing second, the "sun" faded further and further below the "horizon."

It faded, illuminating the shadows of two people as it gave one final peek at any who were willing to witness it.

And then, it exploded.