Chapter 218 – 【Furong Fallen Blossoms】

The tremors gradually subsided after an unknowable length of time.

The underground of the ruins finally settled after the disaster had passed.

Signs of collapse had ceased.

Scenes of destruction had vanished.

The entire underground of the ruins had transformed into a wasteland, leaving behind only shattered bedrock, crumbling walls, debris, and stone piles—as if ravaged by a massive earthquake, completely reduced to a disaster zone.

Particularly the cavern-like terrain that once served as Su Ming’s temporary shelter had now vanished without a trace, replaced by a scorched wilderness resembling the aftermath of a heatwave, with burnt marks scattered everywhere.

No one could approach this area.

The temperature here was absurdly high, with heat haze rising all around, making one wonder if even a piece of iron would instantly melt upon contact. Combined with the pervasive smell of char in the air, it was plausible to mistake this place for the interior of a volcano.

Coincidentally, at the very center lay a massive volcanic crater.

The terrain here sank inward, the ground not only scorched and smoking but glowing red-hot like searing iron, with what appeared to be rolling magma in places, radiating heat nearly ten times more intense than elsewhere.

At the very heart of this “crater,” stood Lord Crow, his entire body emitting smoke, his robes tattered and barely covering him, still maintaining a defensive posture with his arms crossed in front of him as if warding off something.

“Crack… crack crack…”

It was the sound of something shattering.

The shattering came from the gauntlets equipped on Lord Crow’s hands.

Upon closer inspection, the gauntlets he wore and used to shield himself were slowly fracturing, piece by piece.

“Bang!”

The next moment, the gauntlets shattered completely like glass, scattering into fragments across the ground.

“Pfft!”

Lord Crow violently spat out a mouthful of blood, his posture collapsing as he dropped to his knees.

His skin was burned crimson red, his body covered in extensive burns, and his mouth and nose overflowed with blood, leaving him in a pitiful, gasping state.

If anyone from 『Sin』 were to witness this, they would be utterly shocked.

No one had ever seen the No.3 of the 『Ten Demons』 in such a wretched state.

Even Lord Crow himself had forgotten how long it had been since he last suffered so grievously.

The last time he was this badly injured seemed to be when he committed a grave sin, was pursued from his birthplace Base City into the wilderness danger zones, and had no choice but to seek survival in the underground world.

Back then, he wasn’t even an Upper-Rank Professional, merely a lowly lower-rank one.

But since becoming an Upper-Rank Professional and rising as a prominent powerhouse in 『Sin』, he had never sustained injuries of this magnitude again.

Lord Crow could only raise a hand to wipe the blood from his mouth and nose, then lifted his gaze, staring intently at the space above.

There, the culprit behind all this still looked down upon him from on high.

That demon-god-like figure was deeply imprinted in Lord Crow’s heart, a memory he would find hard to forget from this day forward.And his name, Lord Crow, had completely memorized it.

“Ming Wang!”

Lord Crow growled out.

That was the name the ants following him had been shouting all along.

Before this, Lord Crow never intended to remember this name, but now, he had no choice but to remember it.

When Lord Crow shouted this, the Fiend flying in mid-air stirred, seemingly preparing to dive down and deliver the final blow to Lord Crow.

Unfortunately, he could no longer do so.

“Ugh…”

Just as Lord Crow thought the other was about to dive toward him, the Fiend’s figure wavered and let out a sound of anguish.

The high and mighty posture was broken, causing the other to stagger down from mid-air and land on the ground.

Immediately after, his demonic form began to fade.

The dark skin returned to a healthy hue, the blue cracks all over his body receded one by one, the crimson eyes turned black, and the two pairs of wings on his back retracted into his body, disappearing without a trace.

Before long, the terrifying Fiend body reverted to its original human form, allowing Su Ming to return to his normal appearance. Only his right hand remained covered in cracks, but instead of shimmering with a ghostly blue radiance as before, it grew dim and dull.

Su Ming’s first Demonization ended at this moment.

Not only the Demonization, but even the medicinal effects within his body began to dissipate. His Qi gradually weakened, no longer possessing the sensation of being filled with power as before.

His appearance was as if he had been completely reverted to his original form, causing even Lord Crow to stare in slight astonishment.

Only after sensing the other’s drastically weakened Qi did Lord Crow understand.

“Has his…Magic… been exhausted…?”

That’s right.

Su Ming’s magic had been exhausted.

Whether it was the reckless squandering of power before Demonization, using the strength of his right hand combined with the alchemical saber named火獠 to unleash powerful slashes, or the Demonization state entered upon his first Awakening, all had massively consumed Su Ming’sMagic.

The problem was, whether it was the power of his right hand or Su Ming’s明显强于其他人的 Demonization, while powerful, both were abilities that extremely consumedMagic.

Therefore, after executing【Silver Arm: Torrent】, Su Ming had finally exhausted hisMagic. Not only could he no longer maintain Demonization, but he couldn’t even use the power of his right hand anymore.

Coupled with the effects of the large amount of alchemical potions also wearing off, Su Ming now truly equated to being reverted to his original form, having lost his ability to fight.

“Huff… Huff…”Su Ming couldn’t help but drop to one knee, using his fire claw to prop himself up on the ground, breathing heavily.”

With the feeling of power that had filled his entire body now gone, Su Ming only felt weakness and exhaustion.

He urgently needed to recover.

Su Ming deeply understood this point.

Thus, Su Ming mustered his last bit of strength, took out a bottle of alchemical potion from his backpack, and struggled to pull out the stopper.

But just as Su Ming was about to drink the alchemical potion in his hand, a hand reached over.

“Slap!”With a crisp sound, the alchemical potion in Su Ming’s hand was slapped away, smashing against the ground and shattering into pieces.”

In response, Su Ming didn’t show a surprised expression. Instead, he calmly raised his head and looked ahead of him.Lord Crow stood there, his clothes in tatters, large patches of burns covering his body, panting heavily just like Su Ming.

Yet, he still had strength to spare.

Even with only the last remnants of his power, this No.3 of the Ten Demons still possessed the ability to fight.

After all, unlike Su Ming who had recklessly expended his energy, Lord Crow had never once used Demonization.

Thus, despite being severely wounded, his abundant magical power still granted him combat capability.

Of course, Lord Crow took no pride in this.

No matter what, the man before him was merely a Four-Star Professional—not only two stars lower than himself, but one who had just achieved Awakening.

To have struggled this hard against an opponent he wouldn’t normally even glance at was nothing to be proud of.

Considering this…

“You should feel proud,” Lord Crow said coldly to Su Ming.

“You’ve accomplished a feat no one has ever achieved before. You should be satisfied.”

As he spoke, Lord Crow snatched Firefang from Su Ming’s hand and raised it high.

Su Ming was completely powerless to resist, forced to watch everything unfold and await his impending death.

At least, that was what Lord Crow thought.

Yet faced with such a hopeless situation, Su Ming laughed.

He laughed joyfully.

“What are you laughing at?” Lord Crow felt inexplicably irritated, causing his usually icy tone and expression to shift slightly.

He wouldn’t admit this was a sign of unease.

In contrast, Su Ming appeared far calmer than Lord Crow despite the desperate circumstances.

The reason was simple.

“You didn’t really think this is all I have, did you?” Su Ming uttered these very words.

Lord Crow’s unease intensified.

To dispel this discomfort, he didn’t immediately strike.

“What can you possibly do at this point?” Lord Crow said coldly. “Survive through some unknown alchemical item? Or do you truly believe you can keep fighting?”

No, Lord Crow would grant Su Ming no such opportunity.

If Su Ming dared produce anything—even the most ordinary toy—he would stop him without hesitation.

As for continuing to fight, that was pure fantasy.

With his magical power exhausted, his energy drained, and even movement becoming difficult, what strength did Su Ming have left to fight?

This was the truth.

Su Ming indeed had no magic power or physical strength left for combat.

But to say he was completely powerless wouldn’t be entirely accurate.

As a Hunter, Su Ming had exerted all his capabilities, even surpassing his limits with an extraordinary outburst that triggered his Awakening, ultimately achieving better results than he had imagined.

Thanks to this, Su Ming had managed to conceal one final card.

A trump card capable of overturning everything.

“Bzzzt!”

When the humming sound emerged, one circular array after another finally unfolded from Su Ming’s hands, entering Lord Crow’s field of vision.

“What!?” Lord Crow’s pupils contracted as he cried out in shock.

Su Ming stared intently at Lord Crow, while eerie crimson patterns began spreading across his forehead.

“Unfortunately,” Su Ming grinned.

“Besides being a newly Awakened Hunter, I’m also a Sorcerer who awakened days ago.”

Dual Professional!

This term flashed through Lord Crow’s mind.This was Lord Crow’s final thought, his last notion.

The shadow of death once again enveloped Lord Crow’s heart, driving him to roar as he swung down the alchemical saber in his hand.

But it was too late.

“Sixty-Second Form: Futian Falling Blossom.”

The seven circular arrays unfolding from Su Ming’s wrist erupted with radiance.

The first Advanced Spirit Art he had truly mastered was unleashed at this very moment.

“Boom——!”

The entire terrain transformed into a volcanic crater trembled abruptly before violently rupturing.

Countless mountain rocks transformed into a raging torrent, instantly swallowing the entire arena and causing Lord Crow’s final resentment to vanish along with his fading roar.

(End of Chapter)