Chapter Forty-Three: Anything Is Possible

As a mutated creature, the sinister man had never imagined that he could feel fear because of someone’s face. After all, they were the most hideous and terrifying beings of all.

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Yet he discovered that he had been wrong. Xia Yan’s face before him had become so horrifying that it sent chills down the spine. Even a mutated creature like himself could not bear to look directly at such features.

After Xia Yan used Mad Hell, the veins all over his body bulged prominently. His features no longer resembled those of a human being; they had swollen into the visage of a troll emerging from the depths of hell, covered entirely in blood-red hues. During the process, he had also activated his demonic ability.

Now, his face was truly terrifying.

Those pitch-black pupils seemed capable of piercing straight through a person’s heart.

The battle had finally begun!

The sinister man held a long sword of purplish-red hue. Its radiance was dazzlingly bewitching as he charged toward Xia Yan.

At the same time, Xia Yan beat his wings and attacked like a violent gale. Gray flames enveloped the Myriad Transformations Blade as he swung it in a matching strike.

The two forces collided!

“Impossible!” The sinister man panicked, for he could sense that their strength was actually quite evenly matched.

Just how much had Mad Hell enhanced that lunatic’s physical strength?

The sinister man hurriedly retreated in alarm. If he could not gain the upper hand in physical power, then this battle could no longer be called a guaranteed victory.

Originally, he had believed that he was certain to win, without the slightest possibility of exception.

Yet an exception had appeared all the same. That lunatic Xia Yan had used Mad Hell without hesitation, making the outcome of this battle impossible to predict.

“The difference in strength isn’t great. I’m slightly weaker.” Xia Yan’s first attack had contained no martial technique and had mainly been intended as a test. Now, he swung his blade once more.

Faint ripples spread through the area where the two fought. In an instant, they exchanged five or six blows. Through this series of probing attacks, Xia Yan determined his opponent’s precise strength and martial techniques.

This battle did not seem as difficult as he had imagined.

One thing was certain: this mutated creature’s martial skills were terrible. He had no real technique or style and relied entirely on his physical strength to fight.

“Vanishing Trail Slash!”

Xia Yan finally became serious. He had to end the battle as quickly as possible. After using Mad Hell and activating his demonic ability, he did not have much time remaining.

Vanishing Trail Slash was a move he had newly comprehended. Those of the Thousand Sect School constantly tempered their martial skills and sought to comprehend techniques of their own. Lan Qing had done so, and so had Lan Xin. Xia Yan would be no exception.

Such techniques would gradually change as their users’ martial skills improved.

It was much like his original Charged Slash, which had eventually evolved into Instant Slash.

Vanishing Trail Slash was an attack that combined footwork with blade technique. The instant it was executed, Xia Yan’s body seemed to split in two. This was an illusion created by his profound footwork and razor-sharp blade technique.

Yet of the two Xia Yans, one would ultimately unleash a fatal, thunderous strike.

“Which one is the real body?” the sinister man cried out in terror. He was actually unable to determine Xia Yan’s true direction.

Attack!

He did not dare give Xia Yan any more time, for that would plunge him into endless passivity. He had to attack immediately and interrupt Xia Yan’s movement.

But at the very instant he attacked, Xia Yan executed his ultimate move.

The force of the attack shifted his body slightly. At the same time, Xia Yan’s blade slashed down upon his left arm.

“Instant Slash!”

Clang!

A sound like metal striking metal rang out. Xia Yan’s blow failed to sever the limb outright.

A sixth-level mutated creature possessed defenses that could likely overwhelm every human being alive. Even the physical strength of an Absolute Evolver might not compare with his.

But Xia Yan’s gray flames were ultimately an extraordinarily powerful armor-piercing energy. The strike still carved a vivid red wound into the man’s flesh.

This drove the sinister man into a frenzy. He had never imagined that a battle he had been certain to win would turn out this way.

He was injured, while Xia Yan remained completely unharmed.

At that moment, many people wore expressions similar to the sinister man’s. Some were frantic, but most were simply stunned.

No one dared believe it, yet this was the truth. A human who had not even reached the five-star level had actually wounded a sixth-level mutated creature. Even though he possessed a demonic ability, even though he had used Mad Hell, no one could deny the miracle he had created.

Everyone felt that Xia Yan, that madman, truly might be able to perish together with the Black-Gold Ape.

But it was meaningless.

Even if he could do that, what would it change?

The eyes with which they watched Xia Yan were still filled with pity. This was a battle whose outcome had been destined before it even began—a battle that would decide life and death.

And the destined death belonged not to someone else, but to Xia Yan.

How tragic. How pitiful. How deserving of sympathy.

A struggling ant on the verge of death.

The entire world had abandoned Xia Yan. His best possible outcome was to die together with the Black-Gold Ape.

Yes—even Gong Kui had given up on him.

When Gong Kui told Wen Zhe to abandon Xia Yan, that moment signified that she believed Xia Yan was doomed to die. Even if she exhausted every ounce of power in her hands, she would still be unable to save his life.

Truth was often held by the minority. In this world, wherever there was debate, there were two opposing sides. In one direction stood all the humans watching this image.

But in the other direction stood a single person.

She alone had not abandoned Xia Yan.

At that moment, Emilia was calmly drinking black tea, a teasing smile playing across her lips. A faint gleam flickered in her eyes as she watched the battlefield.

This strange-tempered pure-blooded girl looked far more pleasing to the eye now. If not for that malicious smile, her quiet appearance would have made her seem like an ordinary girl, despite being far more captivating than most women.

No human who used Mad Hell had ever survived it. Even the most powerful healers could do nothing.

But she could.

She was not a powerful healer. She was an Absolute Evolver. Any one of her healing abilities could surpass the world’s finest, exceeding those healers by countless times.

She remained utterly relaxed, as though she were merely sightseeing on a pleasant journey.

“My lady, Xia Yan has gained the advantage, but his opponent’s defenses are extremely strong. Killing him will take time.” Weiwei frowned. “If the battle lasts beyond the duration of his demonic ability, or beyond the effects of Mad Hell, Xia Yan will die.”

“Don’t worry. I can stop it in time.” Emilia smiled and took a small sip of black tea. “Weiwei, you should have a little more confidence in Xia Yan. Perhaps he might actually win. After all, unless it becomes absolutely necessary, I would rather not expose my relationship with him.”

“Can he really win even so?” Weiwei asked, deeply puzzled.

“Anything is possible.”