"What an arrogant brat, although you certainly have the qualifications to be arrogant," Kokushibo spoke slowly, then immediately issued orders to Gyokko and Hantengu. "Hantengu, Gyokko, you two go and stall him first. I need to gather my strength and restore my Flesh Sword!"
"As you command, Lord Upper Rank One, hee hee hee..."
A cold laugh escaped Gyokko's mouth. The snake-like tail of his lower body abruptly elongated by more than ten meters. He stared dead at Ren with a sneer. "So, you are the swordsman who killed Lord Akaza and heavily injured Lord Doma. To think you could wound Lord Kokushibo to this extent... you really do have some skill!"
"Heh, my strength isn't limited to just this! What, do you want to try it out?"
As he spoke, Ren looked at the porcelain pot Gyokko was hiding in, his face full of disgust. "And another thing, your pot is asymmetrical left to right. It looks absolutely disgusting. If you tried to sell that, I reckon it would only be used as a chamber pot!"
Ren was dancing wildly on Gyokko's landmines. He felt his mood improve significantly, and much of the resentment from failing to kill Kokushibo dissipated.
It was miserable for Gyokko, however. Upon hearing Ren's mockery, he flew into a thunderous rage, his expression looking as if he had eaten something foul.
"Bastard! You don't understand a damn thing!"
"This is my art! Do you understand?! My art is the jade pot!"
"Blood Demon Art: Thousand Needle Fish Kill!"
Gyokko roared in fury. Suddenly, a porcelain pot materialized in the small hands by his head. Immediately after, two goldfish with extremely abstract appearances were released from the pot.
"These little things look quite unique..."
As he spoke, Ren darted forward, swinging his sword in a horizontal sweep as he charged toward Gyokko.
"It's useless! Take this!"
Pu pu pu!
As soon as the words fell, hundreds of poison needles shot out from the mouths of the two goldfish, assaulting Ren.
"Insignificant tricks, yet you dare show off before an expert! Wind Combat Technique: Whirlwind Dance!"
Ren swung his sword in a horizontal slash, instantly whipping up a fierce gale. Even from over ten meters away, the hundreds of poison needles were blown away.
At the same time, the distance between him and Gyokko closed rapidly!
'If I strike now, I can definitely sever his head!'
'Fire Combat Technique...'
Boom!
Just then, a piercing sonic boom suddenly attacked from behind, aiming straight for Ren's heart.
Hearing the sonic scream, Ren whipped his head around and saw a young, muscular man flying in mid-air.
The man was handsome, with a pair of golden eyes, and the characters "Upper Rank" and "Four" were clearly inscribed in his pupils.
His arms had turned into wings, and his legs were a pair of eagle claws. He looked like a harpy from legend, except this one was male.
'Is this a clone of Hantengu?'
Ren frowned. This was one of Hantengu's abilities; he could manifest his emotions and personality into physical forms, creating up to four clones representing Joy, Anger, Sorrow, and Pleasure.
The bird-creature before him was Karaku, the manifestation of "Relaxed" or "Joy" among the four great clones. He could fly in the sky and release ultrasonic waves like a bat to attack.
The intense sonic boom distorted the air, creating ripples in the invisible space. Ren keenly noticed these minute fluctuations and hurriedly leaped up, dodging the powerful shockwave.
"Instant Thunder Flash!"
Ren jumped ten zhang high. After a somersault in the air, he landed steadily, easily avoiding the screaming sonic impact. However, just then, thunder exploded in his ears as rolling lightning spread across the ground toward him!
Countless streaks of azure lightning swept toward Ren like winding venomous snakes.
The one manipulating the lightning was none other than Hantengu's Anger clone: Sekido. He was also the leader of Hantengu's four great clones.
"Brat, vanish with the thunderclap!!!"
Sekido roared with indignation, which fitted his persona perfectly.
"Tch, this really never ends! Wind Combat Technique: Whirlwind Dance!"
Seeing the lightning flashing toward him, Ren quickly swung his sword, whipping up a powerful whirlwind that blew all the lightning away.
These azure bolts were formed by a Blood Demon Art and could not be compared to the majestic power of natural lightning; blocking them was quite easy.
Even if he failed to block them, it was unknown if being hit by this azure lightning would actually electrocute him to death.
But one thing was certain: once hit by the azure lightning, his body would definitely be paralyzed.
"Hahaha, die, you trash fish!"
After Ren dodged Sekido's attack, and before he could catch his breath, the previously airborne Karaku swooped down toward him, brandishing the eagle claws on his legs.
The eagle claws glinted with a cold light, clearly extremely sharp, and were coated in deadly poison. Being scratched by those claws would not be a pleasant experience.
However, Ren wasn't worried about being injured by such trash. Even Kokushibo was no match for him; for a mere clone of Hantengu to think it could hurt him was simply a daydream.
With just a mighty leap, Ren jumped behind Karaku and simultaneously slashed his sword!
"What..."
Shock filled Karaku's eyes. He hadn't expected that in just a split second, Ren would suddenly appear behind him and launch an attack.
Watching the lightning-fast sword light approach, Karaku could do nothing but watch helplessly as he was sliced in two!
After cleaving Karaku in half, Ren did not relax his guard. He knew Karaku wasn't dead; it wouldn't take long for him to revive, and another clone might even appear.
Karaku was merely a clone created by Hantengu's Blood Demon Art, not the main body. As long as the main body didn't die, Karaku could revive infinitely.
As for Hantengu's main body, Ren scanned the area and discovered him hiding behind Gyokko, clutching his head and crying, "So scary, so scary." His body was only the size of a palm.
'Hantengu is too troublesome. I really have to find a way to kill his main body. Since Gyokko is here too, I'll cut them both down together. Instant Thunder Flash!'
Ren sprinted across the flat ground, charging toward Hantengu and Gyokko with lightning speed. However, just then, a purple figure suddenly blocked his path to the two demons. It was Kokushibo.
By now, he had recovered significantly. Although the organic Flesh Sword of his body hadn't fully restored, the Blade of Empty Cry had regenerated.
"Moon Breathing, Fourteenth Form: Catastrophe, Tenman Crescent Moon!"
A dazzling storm of crescent moon slashes swept in again, but to the current Ren, this move posed no threat.
He weaved and positioned himself rapidly amidst the countless slashes, relying on extreme speed to dodge the meat-grinder-like storm of blades, and rushed quickly toward Kokushibo.
"Since you seek death, I will oblige you!"
"Thunder Combat Technique: Thunder God Heaven-Slaying Slash..."
Before he could unleash the combat technique, Ren suddenly stopped in his tracks. He clutched his chest as a wave of intense pain instantly spread throughout his body, causing him to convulse and tremble.
'Is this the side effect of the Thunder Combat Technique?'
The prerequisite for unleashing the Thunder Combat Technique was for the heart rate to exceed five hundred beats per minute. This was a tremendous test for Ren as well.
Previously, his frequent use of the speed granted by the Thunder Combat Technique to dodge attacks had already forced his heart into overdrive.
Now that the side effects of the technique were hitting him, Ren would not be able to unleash the Thunder Combat Technique again for a short time. In fact, his entire being was about to become incredibly weak.
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]