Chapter 382 – How Can He Possibly Be This Strong?

It must be said that Crow in his Demonization state was powerful—extremely powerful.

As the ace ability of an upper-class Hunter, even a Hunter with the poorest Bloodline could multiply their strength several times over after undergoing Demonization, let alone someone like Crow.

Having grown to the Peak of Six-Star Rank, ranking among the top of the ‘Ten Demons’ in 『Sin』, and being just one step away from the most elite Seven-Star Professionals, Crow’s Bloodline was far from poor—at the very least, it was much stronger than Chi Qian’s, who had started from nothing.

The power gained from Demonization depended on the Rank of one’s Bloodline: the higher the Bloodline, the greater the boost after Demonization.

With Crow’s Bloodline, the power he gained from Demonization had to be at least tenfold or more.

This was also the reason why Crow had been able to withstand Su Ming’s 【Silver Arm: Torrent】 back then.

However, after undergoing Demonization, Crow tragically realized that he still hadn’t managed to turn the tide of the battle.

Because, as he entered Demonization, Su Ming had also unleashed the power of his right hand.

Yes.

It was only at this point that Su Ming began to utilize the power of his right hand.

In the previous fight, Su Ming had only displayed his dual-class abilities one-sidedly, without ever tapping into the power of his right hand.

Now, with Crow activating Demonization, Su Ming no longer held back and brought out the power of his right hand.

And with the tenfold strength of his right hand in its normal state, he once again overwhelmed Crow, rendering the trump card Crow had played unable to even change his own disadvantage.

“Boom!”

This was the sound of the entire tenth floor of the Midnight Labyrinth being shaken.

In the basin of the canyon, Su Ming’s right fist shot out as if crushing the air, slamming heavily against the sharp claws that the Demonized Crow had thrust toward his throat, causing a ring of Qi to spread out like a shockwave.

The collision of two astonishing forces not only stirred up earth-shaking tremors and deafening roars but also sent one of the figures flying backward, crashing hard into the basin’s mountain wall, which instantly shattered into countless fragments and rubble.

“Ahhhhhh!”Crow let out a furious roar before being buried under the rubble and debris, his twin wings flapping to send all the surrounding rocks flying.”

But before he could take his next action, ethereal chains emerged from the Void Realm.

“【Thirty-Third Form: Stasis Lock】.”A calm voice issued a command as if dictating to the laws of spirituality, causing the ethereal chains to transform into agile serpents that swiftly wrapped around Crow before he could react, binding him in place.”

At the same moment, a figure sped over, flashing into appearance right in front of Crow.

“Swish!”

A Saber gleam flashed, sweeping across Crow’s body and leaving a gruesome wound on his chest that gushed blood incessantly.

“Ahhhhhhhhhh!Crow roared in fury once more, mustering all his strength to break free from the chains that were wrapped around him, forcibly snapping the Spirit Power chains, then swinging his claws to strike at Su Ming, who had flashed before him.

This claw strike was ferocious, not only incredibly fast but also causing the air to whistle sharply as it swept through.

In response, Su Ming calmly raised the circular array on his left hand.

“【Seventh Form: Grey Binding】.”Ashes materialized out of thin air, like fine dust, imperceptibly clinging to the fiercely swinging claws.

Though it was merely a low-ranking Spirit Art with an extremely low sequence, when released with Su Ming’s spirit and Spirit Power, it still hindered Crow for two seconds, causing his descending claws to freeze mid-air.

Clearly, two seconds was more than enough of an opening for Su Ming, who stood mere inches from Crow.

Boom!

Su Ming’s right fist struck Crow’s body without the slightest resistance, unleashing astonishing force.

Pfft!

The raging power instantly ravaged Crow’s body, causing him to vomit a mouthful of blood. His Demonized form was sent flying like a cannonball.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!…

Along the way, Crow shattered one rock after another, smashed through stone pillars one by one, completely unable to halt his backward trajectory amid fierce explosions and sonic booms, until he finally crashed into the ground, causing the earth to burst open and cave in.

“【Thirtieth Form: Scorching Sparrow Song】.”

Su Ming showed no mercy, flashing into mid-air and without hesitation launching a Spirit Art toward the collapsed ground.

Boom boom boom boom boom—!

Countless fiery arrows resembling flaming sparrows descended like a torrent, bombarding the shattered, sunken earth and triggering a series of violent explosions.

The resulting flames transformed into waves of fire, instantly spreading in all directions, turning everything within nearly a hundred meters into a crimson lotus inferno, burning relentlessly.

With thunderous momentum and undiminished ferocity, Su Ming unleashed what could only be described as a storm of lethal strikes upon Crow, leaving this Six-Star Peak-level Underground Professional utterly ravaged.

Gulp…

Witnessing Su Ming’s merciless assault, friend and foe alike unconsciously swallowed hard at this moment.

“So strong!”

This impression of Su Ming formed deeply in the minds of countless onlookers.

Particularly among the Underground Professionals of 『Sin』, shock and fury intermingled.

“Lord Crow!”

“Lord Crow is being completely overwhelmed even after Demonization?”

“This… this can’t be!”

Many Underground Professionals refused to believe what they were seeing.

A figure ranked among the top three of the Ten Demons, someone even the two Commanders treated with respect, a notorious presence renowned throughout the underground world—yet being crushed and trampled by a youth not even twenty years old? This shattered the very beliefs of those Underground Professionals.

Even Chi Qian, Xu Xiayan, and others, while dealing with the encircling Underground Professionals, watched this scene with astonishment.

How could they not be astonished?

Who could have imagined that even after Demonization, Crow would be so thoroughly dominated by Su Ming?

One must remember—at this very moment, Su Ming had neither undergone Demonization nor activated his Vision Mark, fighting entirely in his base state.

Without Demonization, without even activating his Vision Mark, he could completely overwhelm a Six-Star Peak-level existence who had entered Demonization and gained at least a tenfold power boost?

Could it be that Su Ming wasn’t Six-Star, but Seven-Star?

Only by being a full star rank above his opponent could one possibly overwhelm a Six-Star Peak-level powerhouse in base form, without even Demonizing.Not to mention others, even Crow himself was unwilling to believe what was happening.

“Impossible… This can’t be…!”

The ferocious Fiend struggled and roared amidst the sea of flames.

“How can you be this strong…!?”

Crow absolutely refused to acknowledge this reality.

Yet in truth, there was nothing surprising about it at all.

“I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve challenged opponents above my Rank,” Su Ming sneered coldly. “Did you really think I’d need to go all out against someone of the same star level?”

With his right hand possessing ten times its normal power and his Spirit Sense approaching that of an Upper-Rank Professional, Su Ming had been able to challenge Upper-Rank Professionals across Realms even when he was only Three-Star. After advancing to Upper-Rank himself, he had repeatedly used these abilities to challenge opponents of higher Ranks than himself, achieving success each time.

Even Crow had once been defeated by Su Ming in a cross-Rank challenge – with Su Ming overcoming a two-star difference at that time.

Although back then he had relied not only on his right hand and dual-class abilities but also consumed large quantities of enhancement drugs to barely achieve victory, even without drugs, with his tenfold-powered right hand and superior Spirit Sense as foundation, Su Ming challenging opponents one star above himself and emerging victorious was practically guaranteed.

Now, Su Ming had become a Six-Star Hunter, matching Crow’s level in hunter capabilities, while also being a Five-Star Sorcerer. The combined power of his dual professions meant he could overwhelm Peak-level Crow even without using his right hand’s power. Now that he was employing his right hand’s ability, even with Crow entering his Demonized state, the amplified power only brought him to parity with Su Ming’s tenfold-enhanced right hand.

Thus, with his right hand’s power activated, Su Ming could still completely overwhelm the Demonized Crow.

Moreover, Su Ming hadn’t just improved his star level – his combat techniques and Spirit Arts had also advanced significantly.

During his more than month in Tianfeng City, Su Ming had continuously studied the Legacy of Ancient Blade Art, becoming increasingly proficient in utilizing all one hundred and eight sets of Blade Art from the inheritance.

Additionally, throughout the previous month, Su Ming had delegated team operations to Chi Qian and others while taking time to visit the Sorcerer Guild. Under Tong Xinyao’s guidance, he had toured the Sorcerer Guild’s Archive, learning numerous techniques and skills for employing Spirit Arts. His proficiency in Spirit Art usage had also made substantial progress.

With these combined improvements, Su Ming’s power and techniques were completely different from when he was in the Underground Ruins of Longyao City over three months ago.

Now, facing an opponent like Crow at the same level, even if Crow had reached Six-Star Peak, Su Ming didn’t need to undergo Demonization, nor activate his Vision Marks.

For the current Su Ming, the truly troublesome opponents weren’t Crow, but rather the owners of those two murderous gazes that had been fixed intently on him since he revealed his true power.

Su Ming hadn’t forgotten who the most terrifying enemies present actually were.

Crow?

He was already part of the past.

Against him, Su Ming had no reason to expend excessive magical power and Spirit Power – he needed to conserve them for the enemies yet to come.

In short…

“You’re no longer my match.”

Su Ming’s voice rang out clearly.

“Take your peaceful exit here, Lord Crow.”

As he spoke, Su Ming raised his left hand, causing six ring arrays to unfold in overlapping layers.”Fifty-Eighth Form: Wind Demon Pursuit.”

A whirlwind of sand and dust abruptly rose, swirling around Su Ming, growing larger and larger until it transformed into a sandstorm, from which two enormous beast heads emerged.

“Roar!”

“Roar!”

The two wind-sand beasts roared in succession, sweeping through the sandstorm with howling winds as they charged toward the ground.

This Spirit Art, hailed as the strongest single-target attack below the level of Advanced Spirit Arts, roared as it delivered its final blow against Su Ming’s opponent.

“I refuse to accept this!”

“I refuse!”

Amid the raging flames, Crow watched the two wind-sand beasts charging down from mid-air, sensing the shadow of death. His eyes revealed a hatred and venom he had never shown before.

He had lost.

Lost utterly and miserably.

He truly couldn’t understand why, in just over three months, this guy—who had barely managed to struggle and survive against him through tricks and luck three months ago—had become so strong.

He had been filled with the desire for revenge, wanting to redeem his disgrace from over three months ago, to tell Su Ming that his previous victory was only due to Crow’s own underestimation and some underhanded tricks. He wanted to prove that he was still the one who could dominate Su Ming’s life and death, that his former luck would not strike twice, and that this time, Su Ming was doomed.

Who could have imagined that the final outcome would be like this?

How could he possibly accept it?

“Ming Wang!”

Crow could only let out a furious roar, desperately pushing aside the flames as he prepared to charge forward and clash head-on with the two wind-sand beasts.

Even if it meant sacrificing his life and perishing together with Su Ming, he would have his revenge and defeat this overly young enemy!

However…

“Hmph!”

A sudden cold snort froze the air itself.

A burly figure descended from the sky in the instant the two wind-sand beasts charged downward, landing heavily in front of Crow.

“Boom!”

A massive axe swept through the air, stirring up a thunderous roar as it struck the two wind-sand beasts.

“Bang!”

“Bang!”

The two wind-sand beasts instantly exploded upon impact, completely shattered by the heavy blow, dissolving into scattered sand and dust before vanishing.

“Vice Captain?”

Crow halted his steps and his roar, his eyes bloodshot as he stared at the ruthless man who had suddenly appeared before him.

It was Li Wu.

“He made a move?”

“He made a move!”

“The Vice Captain made a move!”

Everyone present was instantly roused—some narrowing their eyes, others growing excited.

Xu Xiayan immediately turned her head to look at the entrance of the basin, only to find that Li Wu, who should have been blocking the way, had indeed disappeared.

“A great opportunity!”

Xu Xiayan and the others’ eyes lit up.

Without Li Wu blocking the path, their hopes of escaping were no longer impossible.

Su Ming also watched Li Wu, who stood shielding Crow, his body radiating a dense Killing Intent.

“Finally making your move, huh?”

Only now did Su Ming’s expression turn grave.

This was the opponent he truly found troublesome.

“Vice Captain!”

Crow called out, but there was little joy in his voice. Instead, he felt furious that Li Wu had intervened.

Had he really fallen so low that he needed someone else to save him?

What a joke!?

Li Wu paid no attention to Crow’s anger.

He had no intention of losing such a capable subordinate.

And besides…”Don’t look at me like that. Come with me quickly.”

Li Wu merely glanced at Su Ming with a death-like stare before grabbing Crow by the shoulder.

“You, a monster-like opponent, have caught the attention of another monster.”

With those words, Li Wu took Crow and vanished, disregarding his reaction.

“Ran away?”

Su Ming, who had been preparing to confront Li Wu, froze momentarily.

Just as Su Ming instinctively thought to strike, an overwhelming sense of danger suddenly seized him.

Su Ming spun around sharply to look behind him.

There, a slender and petite figure had quietly appeared.

“Hehe.”

The girl’s playful laughter was so melodious, so distinct.

Yet Su Ming’s heart sank, plummeting straight to the depths.

(End of Chapter)