by <unknown>
Although he was only the 2998th, it was already a remarkable achievement.
Speaking of influence and importance to the federation, the leaders, as well as many Elders, of the top 500 sects in the federation were all more than qualified to appear on the Stars to Destroy List, not to mention the presidents of the Nine Elite Universities, renowned professors, generals of the major military regions, senior Cultivators who had been fighting against the demons for hundreds of years…
There were few places left for beginners.
There were even fewer experts who had become a center of hatred for the demons and made it to the Stars to Destroy List before thirty.
Not quite fully convinced, with her hands resting on her hip, Ding Lingdang exclaimed, "I never expected that you could rise to fame so fast. I've been training day and night dreaming of squeezing into the Stars to Destroy List, and yet you still arrived earlier than me!"
Li Yao grinned and was well aware that his appearance in the Stars to Destroy List was not just based on his excellent performance in the Occult Orbs over the past two months. It had more to do with his ability in refining, or more specifically, the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit.
Although the demon clan didn't launch any more massive attacks over the past several months, the warfare never ceased in the northernmost corner of the Grand Desolate Plateau.
As more and more troops were equipped with Mystic Skeleton Battlesuits, the defense of the federal army significantly improved. In dangerous areas which were too risky for crystal warships, legions armed with Mystic Skeleton Battlesuits could be deployed to confront the demons in head-on battles.
To some extent, the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit brought as much trouble to the demon clan in the war as a Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator would.
As the youngest participant of Project Mystic Skeleton, Li Yao also boasted amazing personal combat ability. More importantly, considering his young age, his potential was enormous, which was the primary reason why his name appeared on the Stars to Destroy List.
The fact that he was discovered so soon and registered as one of the three thousand most threatening Cultivators for the Blood Demon Sector also proved the effectiveness of the demon clan's espionage work. It was evident enough that their infiltration into the Heaven's Origin Sector was quite productive.
"From now on, I'm no longer a Mr. Nobody. I can put myself on the scale of victory now. Even if I only weigh one gram, I still have the chance to change the balance of the war!"
Chapter 385: Ghost Ocean, Fearsome Kraken |
"Appearing on the Stars to Destroy List might not be a good thing. It means that you will be a target for everybody. In a battlefield, the demons always attack the Cultivators whose names are on the Stars to Destroy List. For those whose ranks are at the top, sometimes the demons even teleport assassins through the void in order to kill them!" Ding Lingdang said with a smile, not in the least worried.
She was quite proud that her boyfriend had appeared on the Stars to Destroy List, although she was discontent that she hadn't made it to the list.
Stars to Destroy List and Deadly Demons List had been established for the purpose of hunting the important figures of the hostile world more easily.
Once someone's name was on one of the lists, their enemy would search for their files at any cost and offer a high bounty, all so they could be extinguished sooner.
Killing an expert on the Stars to Destroy List or the Deadly Demons List would not only undermine the enemy's war potential, but also significantly damage the morale of their army.
After Li Yao entered Empyreal Star City, he had heard of many confidential events in the federation.
For example, Xu Haoran, the Speaker of Parliaments, who ranked third in the Stars to Destroy List, had been the victim of many attempted assassinations every year.
In the meantime, many Core Formation Stage Cultivators and Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators were also trying to sneak into the Blood Demon Sector to hunt down the super demons ranking in the top 100 on the Deadly Demons List.
The demise of any expert at that level would be shocking news.
Li Yao sniffed and then smiled.
"Assassinate me? Come and try. I feel that my rank in the Stars to Destroy List is too low anyway."
Thinking for a moment, he took off the Slaughterhouse of Demons and put it on Ding Lingdang's head. Then he activated it and said, "Try it. This is a piece of magical equipment for training from the Star Ocean Imperium that I just repaired."
Ding Lingdang was quite amazed.
"You were able to repair the magical equipment from the Star Ocean Imp—Hiss…"
She was lost for a moment. Sweat was dropping from her forehead, while her body was trebling. A moment later, she came back to herself in a shiver. Pressing her chest, she exclaimed passionately, "This thing is interesting!"
Li Yao smiled and saw that Ding Lingdang was apparently hooked on it. Her eyes were bulging, her teeth clicking, while she was fighting against the invisible enemies in her illusion. Therefore, he took a step back, brought out the nine scraps, and, closing his eyes, touched them with his hyper-sensitive fingertips, observing the saber art from thousands of years ago.
He had multiple methods of training. It was unlikely that he would use the Slaughterhouse of Demons 24 hours a day. Sharing it with Ding Lingdang was a much better idea, so that it wouldn't be left idle.
Li Yao hoped that Ding Lingdang would enter the Stars to Destroy List, too, and that the two of them could march forward hand in hand.
A journey by himself would be too lonely.
In the next couple of days, they took turns to undergo the extreme training sessions of the Slaughterhouse of Demons. When the vacation was over and Team Blue Bronze gathered together again, their sharp and unstoppable vibe surprised everyone.
In the next month, Team Blue Bronze applied for several missions of unimaginable risks and completed all of them perfectly. Their position in the Rank of Stars rose to the top 15. Li Yao and Ding Lingdang distinguished themselves more and more. Their brilliant mission videos were spread to every corner of Empyreal Star City, and later, into the entire Cultivation world.
Nobody considered them to be newcomers anymore. They'd become the most proficient Orb Patrollers.
…
On June 2nd, in Ghost Ocean…
This was an Occult Orb covered by a raging ocean. Except for the sharp rocks that popped out from the black ocean once in a while, there was no land that one could set foot on at all.
Blowing winds dominated the sky of Ghost Ocean. Giant swirls were everywhere in the ocean. The waves raised by the ferocious undercurrent could jump to hundreds of meters high while uttering weird sounds that resembled the screams of the undead.
Looking from above, it seemed that countless ghosts were wandering under the ocean, hence the name 'Ghost Ocean'.
At this moment, among the tusk-like ocean waves, each higher than the last, a crystal suit was dodging and flying fast with gold exhaust flames behind it.
After being strengthened and polished by countless Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures from the Occult Orbs Fellowship, the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit right now had undergone tremendous changes compared with three months ago.
With the Swallow Shadow Stones, Heavenly Tiger Core Copper, Red Glow Liquid, and many other rare materials, the color of the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit had turned from bright grey into deep black, with a streak of blood red outlining the edge of every piece of the plate armor.
Against the background of the black ocean, the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit seemed to have vanished. What was left in the air was a red, translucent holograph, around which gold brightness was shimmering occasionally. It was full of mysteries and coldness, like… the vast starry sky!
"BOOM!"
Behind the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit, which was fleeing at full speed, a tremendous lump about fifty meters in diameter rose up from the surface of the ocean, before it exploded, producing earsplitting booms.
>
What was unveiled after the explosion was a strong demon beast more than thirty meters in diameter that looked like an enlarged squid.
Every tentacle of the kraken was as thick and long as a crystal train. Not only was it covered in suckers which could absorb seawater and air and also interrupt the spiritual waves nearby, there were also many caruncles among the suckers that could spurt seawater, thereby forming many 'high-pressure water swords'.
Without the protection of a crystal suit, even a Building Foundation Stage Cultivator might be sliced in two by the water sword easily.
Lifted by the eight copious tentacles was a giant head that was almost as large as a floating mountain, which was affixed with countless colorful seaweeds and shells that seemed to be its armor in the form of weird, round stripes.
In the middle of the round stripes, a crimson eye, which was more than two meters in diameter and naturally blessed with the ability to perform mental attacks, was glaring. One glance from it was enough to rip the souls of low-level Cultivators apart.
Behind the eye, there were eight wrinkles surrounding the body through which the prey would be devoured.
Every wrinkle was filled with coldly-shining bones that were as sharp as teeth, leaving no doubt that if Li Yao was bitten, both he and his crystal suit would be chewed into pieces without the slightest trace remaining.
"Ho! Ho! Ho!"
The kraken was more than furious. Liquid as thick as blood flowed out of the crimson eye. Spurting water from the spouts behind its head, it boosted itself forward with the counterforce and stayed close behind Li Yao.
"Pu! Pu! Pu!"
While it was chasing him, it shot out liquid that was as black as ink from sixteen spouts on its head, which exploded near Li Yao and formed clusters of stinky venomous fog.
The Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit at this moment was no longer the MP crystal suit from half a year ago. After every mission, Li Yao would spend a fortune in contribution points on Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures to further modify it. All the way to this day, his crystal suit was no worse than the super crystal suits worth billions that the Core Formation Stage Cultivators wore.
Li Yao's skill at controlling the crystal suit was becoming more and more fluid after countless life-and-death battles.
The venomous fog was about to wreathe the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit, when the battlesuit suddenly turned into countless blurred shadows and dashed out of the enclosing fog at an unimaginable angle, before it rushed forward under the cover of the rampageous waves.
Sometimes, the waves and the water swords of the kraken were only the width of a hair away from the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit.
But the width of a hair seemed to have been fixed by superglue. However furious the kraken was, it was not able to cut off any part of the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit, not even the corner of a piece of plate armor.
Suddenly…
Hundreds of blurred shadows melted into one. The Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit came to a halt abruptly.
In front was the place where currents congregated. A giant water wall that was fifty meters tall and almost a thousand meters long was blocking his way.
The kraken was squeaking in excitement. Eight giant swirls were stirred up by its tentacles, while it charged toward him at full speed.
Too bad that as large as its eyeball was, its sight was not good enough, otherwise it would've seen the cruel smile on Li Yao's face.
"Ka!"
Sixteen noises echoed at the same time, as sixteen explosions took place on the surface of the ocean surrounding the kraken. Sixteen bright blue blasts swept over, freezing the savaging waves into solid sculptures.
Together with the kraken, the entire ocean in the hundred square meters was consolidated into a giant iceberg!
"Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!"
The kraken was quite tough. The 'Frigid Prison Grenades' from the Star Ocean Imperium that were supposed to be able to freeze everything within its range only stopped its movement briefly.
Soon, the frozen ocean broke. The crimson eye, which had been rigid for a moment, started rolling crazily again, unleashing a vicious, red light.
But for Li Yao, a moment of rigidness was more than enough.
Li Yao stomped in the air, leaving two giant holes more than ten meters in diameter on the wall of seawater that was dozens of meters high. Then he took a weirdly sharp turn and blinked in front of the giant eye of the kraken.
Three sharp knives unfolded from his left arm, turning his left arm into a metal claw. Each of the talons were carved with complicated rune arrays. An invaluable marrow crystal was embedded in between the talons. Purple electric arcs and blue fire were dancing on the claw, tearing the air apart with cracking sounds.
Compared with the mainstream melee weapons such as chainswords and vibrating sabers, Flash Claws were much less popular.
It was because grasping a claw art was often a painful process. Besides, they could only be carried out by keeping close to the enemy during combat. Therefore, most Cultivators who preferred poise and elegance were not interested in them.
Li Yao was different. His hands had endured the torture of the 'Thousand Fingers Soft Bone' technique. The miserable training process was like living in hell.
Compared to the 'Thousand Fingers Soft Bone' technique, no claw art was cruel anymore.
Besides, the 'Thousand Tempering Hundred Refining' technique had endowed him with extraordinary body sturdiness, making him most suited to close combat.
A melee weapon such as the Flash Claw fit his every need.
This particular Flash Claw he was using had been refined by an Elder of the 'Falcon Strike Sect', which was renowned for its claw arts. It had been marked by his soul seal, distinguishing it as one of the limited editions from the mass-produced ones made for the ordinary disciples.
Li Yao had further burnished it with more than three different kinds of Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, as well as abundant marrow crystals without considering the cost, through the ancient techniques of the Hundred Smelting Clan. It was definitely one of the best Flash Claws in the world!
Therefore, although he had only been training with the 'Purple Electric Blue Hell Claw Art' for a little more than one month, this ultimate Flash Claw still raised a blue-and-purple lightning bolt that was almost one meter long as it snatched at the sole crimson eye of the kraken!
Chapter 386: Slaying a Deadly Demon |
"Ting!"
The sharp claw enveloped in purple electric arcs and blue fire raised crackling sounds like a piece of metal crashing into a stone. It had failed to pierce through!
The eyeball of the kraken was large and soft, which was its biggest weakness. How could it not prepare for it?
The moment before the Flash Claw reached it, the surface of the eyeball was covered in a layer of transparent membrane that protected the eyeball as if it were tempered glass.
The membrane seemed to boast extraordinary resistance against spiritual energy. No matter how furiously powerful the lightning and the fire were, they were not able to breach the defense at all and simply vanished after they reached it.
In the meantime, the frozen ocean was cracking under the kraken's brute force. Jagged, giant gaps appeared on the surface!
The kraken was breaking free in no time. The crimson eye was filled with disdain and abhorrence. Its mental attack stirred chaos within Li Yao's brain like burning iron needles.
Gritting his teeth, Li Yao turned his claw into thousands of blurred shadows, which were humming and appeared fuzzy.
It was vibrating at almost ten thousand times per second!
After the high-frequency vibrations, the first crack appeared in the membrane covering the crimson eye.
The interconnecting gaps on the frozen ocean were also expanding. In many places, the ice fell down into craters where seawater jumped up dozens of meters like fountains.
One of the kraken's tentacles had been freed from the ice. It was beating the i
ce crazily, hoping to break up more.
Right now, it was just a matter of speed!
The eye of the kraken was filled with contempt, while another two of its tentacles got out of the ice and joined with the first tentacle in ripping open the ice. The frozen ocean was shaking and would crumble in no time.
Yet, the confidence in Li Yao's eyes was not in the least diminished. He roared and poured all his spiritual energy into his left arm. Two gold rings at the front end of his right arm suddenly started revolving in opposite directions. The claw between them started swirling, too.
The Flash Claw immediately turned into a mincing machine that was vibrating rapidly.
Purple electric arcs, the blue fire, high-frequency vibration, and rapid revolution!
Under the effect of these four abilities, the defensive membrane outside of the crimson eye finally couldn't bear it any longer and broke into pieces after a cracking sound.
The Flash Claw pierced into the eyeball unstoppably. A balloon made of blood exploded over him.
The Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit was showered in the strongly corrosive red liquid, which was eroding the outer layer of components. But it had no influence on the highly strengthened inner shell and the anti-corrosive layer of the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit whatsoever.
In less than one second, the crimson eye had been cut into pieces by the Flash Claw and collapsed.
The electric arcs and the blue fire even penetrated through the bottom of its eye into its brain.
The kraken was squeaking in desperation, while it extended its three tentacles to their maximum extent and smashed the ice, sending the pieces of ice spluttering everywhere.
With a cold smile, Li Yao pulled black his Flash Claw and folded it up, revealing his left hand.
Simultaneously, his right hand picked up the Boiled Blood Wind Slashing Saber. Then, his left hand joined with his right hand to draw the saber out and stab into the crimson eye of the kraken which had already been shattered.
Although the Boiled Blood Wind Slashing Saber was only two meters long, the blood aura from the saber flushed out into the surrounding ten meters, boosted by Li Yao's high spirit and fully activated spiritual energy, protruding directly into the depths of the kraken's soft brain.
