Chapter 126 – Is It Really Like That?

————「Lower beings will always remain lower beings.」

This statement wasn’t something Gao Xu came up with himself.

From some unknown point in time, this phrase had emerged and spread widely among Upper-Rank Professionals, frequently used by them.

This wasn’t the first time Su Ming had heard these words either.

He still remembered when he first entered the Demon Hunter Academy, learning about Professional Ranks from the instructor, who had said something similar.

“Among all of you, a large majority will likely remain Lower-Rank Professionals for your entire lives.”

“Moreover, it wouldn’t be surprising if none of you could shed the title of Lower-Rank Professional and become Upper-Rank Professionals.”

“The gap between Upper-Rank and Lower-Rank Professionals is immense, far beyond your imagination.”

“When you officially debut and enter the professional circle, you’ll understand just how vast this gap truly is.”

“At that time, you’ll also realize that lower beings will always remain lower beings.”

The instructor’s expression when saying this was one of yearning, admiration, worship, and even envy—as if speaking of something utterly unattainable.

Clearly, he was someone who deeply understood the chasm between Upper-Rank and Lower-Rank Professionals.

The former had truly stepped into a superhuman Domain, incomparable to the latter.

As mentioned before, the gap between Three-Star and Four-Star was even greater than that between Four-Star and Five-Star.

To put it numerically: One-Star could be represented as 10, Two-Star as 20, and Three-Star as 30.

But once reaching Four-Star, it wasn’t 40—it jumped directly to 400.

Five-Star could be represented as 500, and Six-Star as 600.

Thus, between Three-Star and Four-Star, between Lower-Rank and Upper-Rank, lay a difference as vast as heaven and earth—greater than the gaps between Four-Star and Five-Star or Five-Star and Six-Star.

This was a difference in Realm.

This was a gap in Domain.

Just as Upper-Rank Phantom Demons evolve from Lower-Rank Phantom Demons, undergoing metamorphosis to become beings of another level, the two sides were no longer on the same plane of existence.

This was why so-called “Upper-Rank Professionals” held such high social status—whether Four-Star, Five-Star, or even Six-Star, they were equally revered by society.

In contrast, Lower-Rank Professionals, even at Three-Star, remained mere small fry that Upper-Rank Professionals could easily eliminate—just like Lower-Rank Phantom Demons in the Spirit Demon Abyss. No matter how strong, they were ultimately just lower beings.

Su Ming’s power was indeed special and formidable.

However, Gao Xu and Xu Yanyan were different—he didn’t doubt he would lose.

The reason lay precisely in the gap between Upper-Rank and Lower-Rank.

In normal conditions, Upper-Rank Professionals already far surpassed Lower-Rank Professionals. If not for Su Ming’s tenfold-power right arm and Awakening-surged spirit, he would never have been able to compete with Gao Xu.

And now, with Gao Xu’s Demonization multiplying his power severalfold or even dozens of times, Su Ming stood no chance.

At least, that’s what Gao Xu thought.

However…

“Is that really the case?”Lying in the ruins, struggling to fend off Gao Xu’s Qilin Blade strikes, Su Ming suddenly spoke these words.

“Indeed, a lower rank remains just that—a lower rank. But are you truly certain I’m no match for you?”

Su Ming’s words were uttered slowly, in an extremely calm tone.

“Still clinging to futile resistance?”

Gao Xu sneered coldly, yet an inexplicable unease stirred within him.

Could this mysterious Hunter still have other tricks up his sleeve?

Only Su Ming knew the answer to that question.

Did he have other means?

Of course he did.

“Indeed, the gap between upper and lower ranks is vast—so vast it almost feels unbalanced. I am merely a lower-rank Hunter. My Bloodline concentration hasn’t reached its limit, my physical constraints remain unbroken, and I’m still within the realm of humanity.”

Su Ming raised his head, his eyes beneath the mask shifting to Gao Xu’s face. Staring at this ferocious Fiend, the corners of his lips curled slightly.

“But just because I, as a Hunter, cannot defeat you, doesn’t mean the other side of me is destined to lose.”

At this moment, Gao Xu had no idea.

Even as they spoke, beneath Su Ming’s mask, eerie patterns emerged on his forehead.

A sinister red glow flickered along the patterns, causing the Spirit Power that had long been restrained within Su Ming’s body to surge wildly.

Simultaneously, Su Ming’s spiritual perception skyrocketed once more, allowing him to observe more things, whether intentionally or not.

For instance, Gao Xu’s breathing.

For instance, Gao Xu’s heartbeat.

And also, Gao Xu’s muscle movements, along with every weak point across his body.

Thus, Su Ming made a discovery.

“So you’re already injured.”

When these words reached Gao Xu’s ears, his mind trembled.

Yes.

Gao Xu had long been injured.

Under the assault of the [Silver Arm]—an attack capable of obliterating everything about its target on an existential level, ignoring resistance, ignoring defense, and dealing maximum damage directly—how could Gao Xu possibly remain unscathed?

Even if it was only a five-percent-level attack, had Gao Xu evaded it, that would have been one thing. But when Su Ming unleashed the [Silver Arm]’s strike, Gao Xu failed to dodge. The outcome was predictable.

In other words…

“Your show of dominance, your display of tyranny—it’s all just to conceal the truth of your injury.”

The mouth beneath Su Ming’s mask finally split into a grin.

“Otherwise, why would you so readily employ Demonization, an ultimate technique that consumes an immense amount of magic?”

Gao Xu hadn’t used Demonization to defeat Su Ming; rather, under Su Ming’s threat, he had no choice but to resort to it.

“All that tough talk was just to shatter my confidence, mess with my mindset, and improve your own odds of winning.”

Su Ming’s grip on his Firefang Saber tightened abruptly.

“Quite the act, old man.”

As the words fell, ghostly flames erupted violently from Su Ming’s right hand.

“……!?”

Gao Xu’s pupils dilated. He abruptly raised his Qilin Blade and, without another word, brought it down again, stirring layers of sonic booms as if intent on cleaving both Su Ming and the earth beneath him in two.

What met him was Su Ming’s fist.

A fist wreathed in ghostly light, crackling with fissures, concentrating vast amounts of magic, and radiating a terrifying Aura.

“Silver Arm—Ten Percent—Punch!”Like a fist capable of shattering the clouds, it erupted from Su Ming’s right hand, rising from below to strike directly at the descending Qilin Blade.

In the next instant, it collided with the Qilin Blade, which carried a sonic boom in its wake.

“Boom—!”

The atmosphere trembled, and a shockwave exploded outward in a ring.

The deafening roar transformed into a soundwave, stirring the air and whipping up a storm that spread like a tidal wave or tsunami.

Wherever the ring-shaped shockwave passed, the ground fractured inch by inch.

Wherever the tsunami of air swept, the dust was utterly disintegrated.

The transparent barrier enveloping this small patch of heaven and earth, subjected to such an impact, trembled and groaned incessantly, as if made of glass.

Finally, the transparent barrier could no longer withstand such force. Trembling, it began to crack like real glass, forming a spiderweb of fissures.

“Bang!”

A corner of the transparent barrier shattered.

“Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!…”

As if triggering a chain reaction, every corner of the transparent barrier began to break apart, one pit after another appearing.

At a certain moment, the entire riddled transparent barrier abruptly shattered.

The alchemy device pillars buried around it were instantly rendered useless, exploding in bursts of flame and utterly destroyed.

“Rumble…”

The trembling of the earth spread outward.

“What?”

“An earthquake?”

“Is someone fighting up ahead?”

The Professionals riding off-road vehicles toward the area felt the ground shake. Staggering unsteadily, they wore expressions of shock and uncertainty, exclaiming in surprise.

Even so, many of the bolder individuals continued driving forward.

This unknown fierce battle had ultimately drawn the attention of outsiders.

……

Meanwhile, Xu Qianqian’s situation was not much better.

An even more terrifying, disaster-like aftershock, devoid of any mercy, sent her flying once again. Xu Qianqian had no time to react; like a leaf in a typhoon, she was swept away without any ability to resist.

Her body tumbled back and forth in the tsunami-like air currents.

A dizzying sensation assaulted her entire body and mind.

Xu Qianqian felt as if she had been thrown into a washing machine, ceaselessly tossed about by the air currents, unable to mount any meaningful resistance.

Her state was like that of a fragile human caught in a true natural disaster—utterly powerless and insignificant.

“Thud!”

Only at a certain moment did Xu Qianqian feel herself slam heavily against a rock, finally halting her tumbling form.

“Cough…!”

A mouthful of blood spilled from her lips, staining the corner of her mouth crimson.

But Xu Qianqian paid it no mind. Ignoring the pain wracking her entire body, she clung desperately to the rock as if it were a lifeline, refusing to be swept away again.

“Ugh…”

Intense pain coursed through her from head to toe, forcing a groan from her lips.

Upon closer inspection, the wound on Xu Qianqian’s abdomen seemed to have reopened, oozing copious amounts of blood.

Injury piled upon injury, leaving her with the feeling that she could endure no more.

“Is this really the kind of commotion that can be caused by a battle between humans?”

For who knows how many times, this thought rose in Xu Qianqian’s mind.Yet, these were indeed the commotions caused by a battle between two humans—or rather, the kind of commotion only that rule-breaking 【Silver Arm】 could produce.

Just as Xu Qianqian felt she could no longer hold on, a pair of arms suddenly embraced her.

Startled, Xu Qianqian was about to resist when she heard a voice.

“Go!”

With that word, she was lifted entirely and fell into the arms of the cloaked figure.

Like an arrow released from its bow, the other shot out and swiftly vanished within the storm.

……

The same scene was also unfolding on Xu Yanyan’s side.

(End of Chapter)