Edge of the Continent, a few minutes earlier…
The landscape lay in ruins, a scene of utter devastation stretching for miles, as if a nuclear explosion had razed the entire area. Shi Ma stood amidst the chaos, his chest heaving, each breath a struggle in his Draconic Form. His eyes remained fixed on his enemy.
"What? Tired so soon?" a voice taunted. A figure emerged from the smoke and debris, each step deliberate, every movement exuding a lethal confidence. It was a man with scarlet hair and a vicious scar that ran down his cheek, coalescing at his throat.
Shi Ma felt an involuntary tightening in his chest with every step the man took. The closer his opponent came, the more the sense of dread deepened. Seeking to calm his racing heart and dispel his fear, Shi Ma attacked without hesitation. He swung his blade, the air around it crackling with energy. The blade ignited with a crimson glow, and a massive visage of a dragon manifested, launching itself toward the man.
BOOM!
The ground shook as the dragon struck, its explosive impact accompanied by the sickening sound of flesh being torn apart. But Shi Ma did not relax. He knew better than to assume victory so soon. He was fully aware of the nature of his adversary.
Initially, Shi Ma had underestimated him, assuming the battle would be moderately easy. After all, what was the Demon of a Thousand Faces compared to a Draconic Master? How powerful could such a creature possibly be?
"What a joke," Shi Ma muttered bitterly under his breath.
In the back of his mind, Shi Ma realised the bitter truth: this was no ordinary Sect Master. The man before him could very well be the strongest of the Sect Masters, possibly even strong enough to challenge the Divine Sun Sect Master. How had he been so wrong? How had this creature risen to such a level of power?
The being before him was no ordinary cultivator. It wasn't even a human in the traditional sense. What Shi Ma faced was not an individual but a perverted abomination—a twisted creature of death and malice.
Suddenly, from within the cloud of smoke and dust, a monstrous figure shot towards Shi Ma. It moved with incredible speed.
"Show me what you've got! Show me what the greatest of Father's Forces is capable of!" the creature roared, its voice a chilling blend of multiple tones, each one a remnant of the souls it had consumed.
Shi Ma swung his blade, meeting the charge head-on. His weapon clashed against the creature, and the force of their collision shook the earth.
Mythical Abomination – The Draconian Corpse – Xia Huanshen!
"FIGHT!" Xia Huanshen roared, its voice echoing with a mixture of primal fury and a spectral resonance that reverberated through the battlefield. The force of the bellow was so powerful that it sent Shi Ma staggering back, his feet digging trenches into the cracked earth as he struggled to maintain his footing.
Shi Ma grimaced, his heart heavy with the weight of the situation. Before him stood not just an opponent, but a relic of an era long past. The sight of Xia Huanshen, once a revered warrior, now a nightmarish fusion of flesh and soul, filled him with a bitter sense of irony.
Of the many children fathered by Xia Fugui, only two had ever been hailed as peerless prodigies. Xia Longwei, the elder, was a figure of almost mythical perfection, his every movement a study in flawless technique and unparalleled power. In contrast, Xia Huanshen was the embodiment of martial prowess, a prodigy whose understanding of war and combat was so profound that even the vaunted Dragon Generals paled before him. Where Xia Longwei perfected, Xia Huanshen implemented, bringing theory into practice with devastating efficiency.
Yet, despite his legendary skills, Xia Huanshen had fallen—another victim of Xia Longwei's ruthless ambition. His death had been swift, a casualty in the elder brother's relentless pursuit of dominance. Now, what remained of Xia Huanshen was this monstrous fusion of death and lingering martial will, animated by the souls he had refined in life and the dark power that clung to his corrupted form.
"And now I am here, fighting his corpse," Shi Ma thought bitterly, the irony gnawing at him like a festering wound. He and Xia Huanshen had once been comrades, their bond strengthened through countless spars and shared battles. To see his friend reduced to this... thing was a cruelty that Shi Ma could hardly bear.
"I promise I will bring about your end, Longwei!" Shi Ma vowed silently, his anger surging like a tidal wave within him. His thoughts were filled with the desire for vengeance. His fists clenched around his weapon as Xia Huanshen—no, the thing that wore Xia Huanshen's face—rushed at him once more, its movements a grotesque parody of the graceful, deadly precision that had once defined him.
"Done with your monologue?" the creature jeered, its voice a twisted mockery of the man it had once been. As it closed the distance between them, its Qi flared to life, forming a shimmering, malevolent cloak that draped over its body like a second skin. The air around them crackled with Qi as the abomination launched its assault, every strike imbued with the skill that had once made Xia Huanshen a legend
Xia Huanshen lunged at Shi Ma, the ground shuddering beneath the weight of his charge. Shi Ma's eyes narrowed, his mind calculating the speed and trajectory of the incoming attack. His instincts honed from countless battles, told him that this would be no ordinary clash. Xia Huanshen was faster, stronger, and more relentless than any opponent he had faced before.