"Rest assured, there's no need to worry. Chu Tian won't act recklessly. Besides, men's fights don't require women to take responsibility," came the voice of Norta. His communicator already had a life-and-death battle request, and he was ready to sign it and join the battle at any moment.
Hearing Norta's words, Hong Shang felt somewhat relieved, but she didn't appreciate the implications of his comment.
"Explain it to me clearly. What do you mean by not needing women to take responsibility? It's the modern age, and you're promoting male dominance?" Hong Shang responded, throwing a punch at Norta in frustration.
Norta didn't dodge the punch and just laughed, saying, "You'll see. Since Chu Tian agreed, he will definitely deal with these two guys."
As they were speaking, a gray mist began to rise from under Hou Wuyang's feet, gradually enveloping the entire area of the life-and-death battle and blocking the view of outsiders.
Everyone watching wanted to approach to see what was happening inside the mist. However, those who ventured in were met with a force that drained their spiritual energy, making them feel like their energy was being sucked away, preventing them from entering further.
As a result, spectators were left guessing what was happening inside.
"Hou Wuyang's ability is quite peculiar. Do you think X Mercenary Group's Chu Tian can hold on?" a burly man asked his friend.
His friend replied disdainfully, "He's just a D-rank talent warrior. The gap between every rank is like a chasm, and the higher you go, the greater the difference. I doubt this Chu Tian will last more than five minutes."
"This mist is incredible. It can actually refine others' spiritual energy. It seems like Chu Tian is doomed here," some lower-ranked talent warriors sighed.
The prevailing opinion was that challenging higher-ranked talent warriors was a nearly impossible task for lower-ranked ones.
However, inside the mist, Chu Tian looked around and smirked. He had cold laughter in his eyes.
"Thank you for this thick fog. It's your turn to lie down."
Hou Wuyang's eyebrows furrowed upon hearing Chu Tian's words, while Yang Huairen was utterly bewildered.
But at this moment, Chu Tian tapped the "+" sign behind his rank.
[Consumes 2300 Talent Points, upgrades to D-rank Intermediate. Remaining Talent Points: 40.]
Instantly, Chu Tian released his full aura, fully unleashing his D-rank power.
Although the gray fog was continuously depleting Chu Tian's spiritual energy, he was confident he could deal with these two quickly.
Yang Huairen, still baffled, didn't understand how Chu Tian's aura had suddenly surged. With his fingernails transformed into steel claws, he advanced toward Chu Tian with his claws ready.
However, Chu Tian wasn't going to let them off easily. He summoned a black, ethereal death scythe, hidden within the mist.
"Let me gut you," Yang Huairen shouted, rushing toward Chu Tian with his claws.
Hou Wuyang immediately recognized the danger and warned, "Careful, this guy has a C-grade weapon!"
Hearing this warning, Yang Huairen quickly altered his course.
Chu Tian, however, wouldn't let them escape so easily. He swung the death scythe, and its blade, now enhanced by his D-rank strength, emitted a black radiance.
The seven segments of the scythe's handle turned into whip-like extensions and swept toward Yang Huairen, who was desperately trying to dodge.
C-grade seventh-tier weapons were not something that D-rank talent warriors could easily resist. Blood sprayed into the air as the scythe struck Yang Huairen.
Yang Huairen's claws, along with his body, were split into two. Even his D-grade combat suit couldn't resist.
"What the heck! Is this thing so powerful?" Chu Tian was amazed at the effectiveness of his death scythe. He hadn't expected it to be so potent.
Seeing Yang Huairen dead, Hou Wuyang's heart skipped a beat. He never anticipated that Chu Tian's C-grade weapon would be so lethal.
Hou Wuyang didn't waste any time. The gray mist gathered, forming a skull-shaped entity, and lunged at Chu Tian with an open mouth.
Chu Tian saw this and swung his death scythe to disperse the attacking skull.
But before Chu Tian could counterattack, the scattered pieces of the skull reassembled into chains that firmly bound him.
"Hmph! Don't think a C-grade talent warrior is just for show," Hou Wuyang sneered. He waved his hand, causing the surrounding mist to thicken.
Chu Tian felt his spiritual energy depleting even faster in the denser fog. If it took twenty minutes to consume his energy before, now he could only resist for about six or seven minutes.
Observing the thick fog surrounding him, Chu Tian sneered. He had initially considered using Hou Wuyang to sharpen his skills, but now he had to finish this quickly.
"Hou Wuyang, it seems you know nothing about strength." Chu Tian spoke, and flames suddenly erupted from his body, incinerating the chains of mist that bound him.
"Fire talent? Aren't you supposed to have an ice talent?" Hou Wuyang was surprised and shocked by the flames that Chu Tian unleashed.
Hou Wuyang had read Chu Tian's information, so he knew about Chu Tian's talent.
Chu Tian had kept his talent hidden, but now he was revealing it to take control of the situation.
Chu Tian smiled coldly as flames enveloped him, while his death scythe gleamed with frost. Beyond the frost, lightning flickered.
"You... You... You have more than two talents. You're a triple talent warrior?" Hou Wuyang couldn't believe his eyes. He had heard rumors about Chu Tian being highly regarded by the high-level personnel of the Mercenary Base, but he never expected this.
"Who's this Ouyang Jie?" Chu Tian was puzzled as he had never heard that name before.
"Hmph! I'll personally snuff out your future." Hou Wuyang's body surged with spiritual energy, and the surrounding fog turned darker, resembling an indelible ink.
Chu Tian, however, remained unfazed. He burst forth like a phantom, and Hou Wuyang suddenly realized he had underestimated Chu Tian's formidable combat abilities. He quickly summoned the mist to form a shield in front of him.
But at that moment, Chu Tian recalled his death scythe and slammed his palm onto the ground. A wave of icy energy spread toward Hou Wuyang.
Seeing the approaching ice, Hou Wuyang hastily gathered the black mist around him, trying to resist the encroaching cold.