"Gouzi, shatter every stone in the vicinity and store the fragments in your inventory!"
Upon seeing the massive hammers that Xu Que had traded over, Ye Gou was momentarily stunned. However, before he could inquire further, Xu Que charged forward.
"Damn, is it really that urgent?"
Ye Gou, clueless about the monster of a boss Xu Que was about to face, watched in bewilderment.
Xu Que darted toward Kuli, but before he could strike, the angelic statue sprang into action.
The angel's arms bent, and its descending fists came down at such an incredible speed, they seemed to shimmer like starlight—so fast that evasion was impossible.
Though Xu Que wasn't yet fully accustomed to high-level combat, his instincts screamed that he had to block this strike!
He raised his arms, assuming a defensive posture. His judgment was right, but it left him in a passive position.
"Bang!"
An unfathomable force struck him. In an instant, Xu Que was sent flying like a mere ball, slamming into the wall.
Ye Gou, who had been busy smashing the walls, blinked in confusion.
Did he even need to smash it himself? If he took a few more punches from that boss, the wall would be obliterated without any effort on his part!
Xu Que rubbed his arms and stood up,
"Crack!"
Chunks of debris rained down from the shattered wall behind him.
The S-tier power of this foe was truly beyond imagination.
The strike had sent him reeling, far beyond what he had expected.
As Xu Que considered his next move, the relentless assault from Kuli came crashing down.
Blades, hammers, and axes rained upon him like a downpour, ceaseless and overwhelming.
"Reversal Sword Technique!"
Without hesitation, Xu Que executed the Reversal Sword Technique with precise mastery.
"Clang, clang…"
Every block, parry, and counterstrike came to life in a perfect symphony of motion.
Ye Gou, who was still bewildered by the destruction around him, watched in shock.
"Is this the damn Reversal Sword Technique??"
Ye Gou now regretted not learning the technique. If he'd known it was this powerful, he would have insisted on learning it no matter what.
Even Kuli, sealed within the angelic statue, was taken aback.
"He blocked… all of the attacks?"
Xu Que, with his left hand behind his back, rapidly parried the weapons of Kuli's eight arms with his Reversal Sword Technique.
His movements were so fast they seemed to leave afterimages in the air.
Kuli, undeterred, knew this battle was only beginning, but it also understood that it could grow stronger with time.
What it didn't realize, however, was that Xu Que was using this battle to learn its rhythm, to familiarize himself with the pace of the combat.
Xu Que's plan was simple: dismantle the stones in the hall and destroy Kuli without giving it a chance to retaliate!
As the battle escalated, Xu Que's assault on the angelic statue grew fiercer.
What seemed like an impending one-sided battle was quickly turning into a power struggle, with Xu Que slowly but steadily overwhelming the statue.
How intriguing this prey was!
Though Kuli could feel Xu Que mastering the rhythm of its attacks, in its long life, it had never encountered a prey worthy of being called a threat.
Just as it thought this, a sword light streaked across its cheek.
"Crack!"
Its arm, wielding a warhammer, shattered, and the hammer fell to the ground with a resounding thud.
Xu Que grinned slyly, seizing the opportunity to leap into the air and strike the angel statue's head with a powerful punch.
The statue rolled several times on the ground before quickly regaining its stance.
Though it couldn't speak, a strange smile spread across its face.
Kuli was excited—this feeling was long overdue.
Two thousand years? No, it must have been five thousand!
Since the last time it had been injured by a prey, it hadn't felt such a rush of exhilaration.
Xu Que narrowed his eyes, surprised by the smiling expression on the statue's face.
"Could it be related to the eight other statues?"
The angel statue grew increasingly excited, finding the prey before it more and more intriguing.
"Clang!"
As the statue's right arm regenerated, the stone beneath its feet suddenly vanished.
"Damn, that regeneration speed is ridiculously fast," Xu Que muttered to himself, his eyes glancing toward Ye Gou.
Despite landing two solid blows, Xu Que was far from satisfied. He knew how terrifying this opponent could be!
"Ha!"
Xu Que exhaled heavily, reassuming his stance to face the angelic statue.
As the warhammer reappeared in the statue's hand, its smile faded, replaced by a look of fierce anger.
"It's time to get serious…"
Before Xu Que could even process the thought, a massive shadow loomed before him.
"So fast!"
Xu Que raised his black sword to block, but was immediately overwhelmed by a violent storm of weapons, forcing him into a series of retreats.
Suddenly, he felt a warm, slippery sensation on his face.
Xu Que was stunned to find it was his own blood—fresh blood pouring from the wound on his cheek.
"Damn, I didn't block in time?"
His energy surged as he rapidly retreated, then swung his sword to parry the next attack.
The weapon storm was far more powerful than the chaotic weapon flurry—this one manifested all the weapons into a single, overwhelming onslaught.
Realizing the disadvantage of fighting at close range, Xu Que made a decisive choice: he had to break distance and rely on his sword energy to attack!
"Since that's the case, I'll take the lead!"
With that thought, Xu Que took a glance at Ye Gou.
Seeing that Ye Gou was still slowly smashing the wall, Xu Que acted quickly, leading the angelic statue toward the walls of the hall.
As the storm of weapons continued to bombard him, the surrounding walls began to crumble.
In the moment the angel statue paused its attack, Xu Que immediately unleashed his sword's power with a swift, slashing motion.
The statue, though its expression one of fury, was still caught off guard by the oncoming sword energy.
Kuli, from within the statue's core, sneered coldly as it extended its first arm, bringing forth a massive shield to block the sword's energy.
Instantly, the shield shot out its own sword energy in retaliation.
Xu Que quickly rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding the counterattack.
"Boom!"
The sword energy exploded on the wall behind him, tearing through it completely.
"Ye Gou! Smash the stone slabs on the floor!" Xu Que shouted.
Ye Gou, still confused, finally understood when he saw the state of the wall.
"Clang, clang..."
As Ye Gou began furiously smashing the stone floor, Xu Que continued his assault on the angelic statue with powerful sword strikes.
Though the statue didn't retaliate with a shield this time, Xu Que could sense that it hadn't yet figured out his battle strategy.
Kuli still didn't perceive any deception. To it, combat was simply combat; it saw no trickery involved.
The angelic statue leapt into the air, weapons from all eight arms hurtling toward Xu Que.
Just as Xu Que executed his Reversal Sword Technique to block the incoming attacks, the statue's expression shifted to one of sorrow, and its mouth opened wide.
Realizing the surge of energy within, Xu Que immediately activated the protective mechanism in his leather armor.
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!"
Countless energy beams shot out, hurtling toward him.