Boom, boom, boom...
Several torrents of magical energy exploded around Xu Que, shaking the ground beneath him. As the dust thickened, the Angel Statue's expression twisted into one of sorrow.
It swung its eight weapons rapidly towards the smoke where Xu Que had disappeared, as though the weapons themselves had a will of their own. They hacked and thrust through the mist with deadly precision.
"Whoosh!" A figure suddenly emerged from behind the smoke.
A cruel smile spread across Xu Que's lips. Fortunately, he had prepared well; had he not, this statue might have torn him to pieces. The Angel Statue stared at him with a bewildered gaze, unable to believe what it saw.
"Impossible! This prey hasn't sustained a single injury?"
Xu Que exhaled slowly, his gaze flickering to the nearly finished work of Ye Gou. He now focused all his senses to the max, preparing himself for a fight to the death.
Inside the expansive hall, dimly lit by the eerie glow of firefly-like crystal stones, Xu Que's vision narrowed into a thin beam of light.
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!"
The clash of steel against air erupted, the sound of weapons cutting through the air like the hum of a dozen Gatling guns blazing with blue flames.
Amid the thunderous explosions, Xu Que and the Angel Statue engaged in countless exchanges of offense and defense.
The speed, the raw speed!
In mere seconds, the two opponents had traded blow after blow, each strike faster than the last. Ye Gou, still hammering away at the stone, could only stare in stunned silence.
"Is that really a human?"
Ye Gou was starting to doubt whether Xu Que was still human. And as for that twisted Angel Statue, was it truly just a statue?
Xu Que, with his black sword, unleashed more than ten successive Return Sword techniques before, all of a sudden, his sword shifted back into its original form.
"Now!"
A slight shift of his shoulder, and a blade of sword energy shot out, slicing through the air with a sharp screech, aiming for the upper left arm of the Angel Statue.
The Angel Statue, just a hair's breadth away from striking Xu Que with its long sword, froze mid-swing.
"Boom!!"
A tremendous explosion sent the Angel Statue reeling several meters back. Its expression turned blank, as it glared at Xu Que with an unreadable face.
"Whoosh!"
Xu Que shifted left, narrowly avoiding the strike from the Angel Statue's sword, which passed so close it almost grazed his body.
With a mocking grin, Xu Que swiftly counterattacked, not giving the statue any chance to recover.
"Whoo!"
The sound of the blade resonated again as Xu Que unleashed his "Slash Heaven" move in a heartbeat. His body and sword energy surged forward together toward the Angel Statue.
As the Angel Statue tried to defend with its shield, Xu Que appeared instantaneously to its right.
"Shing, shing, shing..."
In mere moments, the statue's wounds deepened, and the unhealed arm shattered under the force of Xu Que's strikes. Alongside it, three more arms were cleaved from the Angel Statue's body.
The statue raised its left hand, summoning a weapon storm, which it unleashed with a violent fury. Xu Que, now faster than ever, not only blocked the barrage of weapons but swiftly retaliated.
Kuli, watching the battle unfold, was shocked.
What…?
It couldn't believe that this prey—this carbon-based lifeform—was growing stronger with each strike.
Kuli, the angel who had been sealed for millennia, had once served as a servant to the great being during the slaughter of other worlds. But now, it faced a foe that was proving to be its equal.
As the Angel Statue smiled wickedly, trying to regain its strength, the energy it sought only seemed to diminish.
"What's happening?"
Before the statue could react, Xu Que appeared before it once more.
Its shoulders trembled in fear, and in that instant, the final arm from its right shoulder was cleaved off.
Kuli roared in rage, but as a statue, it could make no sound.
Though it felt no pain, the expression of its prey filled it with dread.
"I don't know what you are, but I've won!" Xu Que sneered.
In the blink of an eye, Xu Que severed another of the Angel Statue's arms.
The statue swayed and staggered backward, now facing its first taste of fear.
No… this was the first time it had ever felt fear since it had been sealed.
Kuli's soul trembled. It could see the ridicule, the mockery in Xu Que's eyes.
"No! I am the perfect demigod! I will become the Lord God's angel!"
A wicked smile spread across the statue's face, its many forms shifting into grotesque expressions.
Xu Que, perplexed by the expressions flashing before him, couldn't understand what they meant.
"Empty!"
A terrifying aura emanated from the Angel Statue.
Before it could open its mouth, Xu Que was already upon it. With a flash of sword energy, he severed the statue's head.
Then, with two more strikes, he destroyed its remaining arms.
"Hurry up!" Xu Que shouted over his shoulder.
"Boss, this is as fast as I can go!" Ye Gou mumbled, his head lowered in exhaustion.
Xu Que glanced around, noticing a dozen or so remaining stone bricks. He quickly gathered them into his inventory.
At that moment, the Angel Statue had not yet died. It was still drawing power from the surrounding stones, though its energy was weakening.
Why was it that, despite so many stones around it, the power it absorbed kept diminishing?
As it restored its stone head, it finally realized why its strength was failing.
"Damn prey!" Kuli screamed in fury.
Just as it made a dash for the last remaining stones in the center, Xu Que blocked its path.
"Finally catching on?" Xu Que smirked. "Too late!"
With those words, his sword lashed out once again.
"Crack! Crack!"
The Angel Statue shattered into countless pieces, yet the all-important sealing stone heart did not emerge.
Xu Que did not rush to attack further but instead hurried to gather the remaining stone fragments with Ye Gou.
The moment the last of the stones disappeared, the Angel Statue turned to dust. A translucent, blood-red crystal slowly floated into the air.
Seeing the sealing stone heart, Xu Que grinned with satisfaction.
Aimed at the heart, the Primordial Sword unleashed a devastating blast of energy.
"I won't accept this..."
"Boom!"
The massive sword energy crashed into the sealing stone heart, tearing it apart in a storm of energy.
"Congratulations, Human Xu Que! You have successfully cleared the A-level Abyssal Entrance, gaining dominion over the Abyssal Entrance territory. You have received 29 pieces of Spirit Iron Ore, 55 Spirit Crystals, and 8 Spirit Stones as daily income from the territory. Please check your trade hall interface for details."
"Congratulations, Human Xu Que! After data analysis, you now possess the relevant high-level territories..."
With two new choices appearing before him, Xu Que immediately selected to place the territory in the "Gates of Hell."
As he prepared to collect the loot from the Angel Statue, the mechanical voice rang out again.
"Congratulations, Human Xu Que! According to data analysis, you have completed both the Hell and Abyssal Entrance tests. Would you like to initiate the Heavenly Abyssal Entrance test? (Countdown: 720 hours)"
Xu Que froze. This was the first time he realized that completing both the Hell and Abyssal Entrance tests would lead to such a development...
"720 hours, huh?"
As Xu Que contemplated the challenge ahead, Ye Gou, picking up the loot from the Angel Statue, asked, "Boss, this BOSS dropped an A-level longsword. Can I have it?"
Xu Que glanced at Ye Gou, then swiftly offered a trade.
After examining the weapon's properties, Xu Que asked, "Is there anything else?"
"One more piece of equipment, a special item, and some materials," Ye Gou replied, placing everything into the trade interface.
Seeing the Angel Crystal placed on the table, Xu Que clenched his fist.
"I'll take the sword and the special item. You can keep the equipment."