Chapter 309: One Versus Three

Chapter 309: One Versus Three

A storm raged in the desert under the cover of night, swirling sands hundreds of meters into the air and obscuring the surroundings within a kilometer radius.

Visibility was poor, and sand filled the air.

Ji Xinghuo hovered a dozen or so meters above the ground, his body impervious to the onslaught of sand. He drew out his Magic Sound longsword, his expression calm and unperturbed.

Using his electromagnetic sensing ability, he scanned the area but couldn't locate the "Sandstorm Overlord." This advanced profession was formidable, combining strength, defense, recovery, control, and stealth, leaving it with almost no weaknesses. Moreover, the opponent was a Legend Rank level 2.

Among the three enemies, the Sandstorm Overlord was the strongest.

The desert was their turf, where they could exert even more formidable power.

Ji Xinghuo hadn't planned to engage the enemies head-on; he wanted to fly away directly. However, there was still a squad of Sword Masters and the pilot inside the Sky-Air fighter jet.

They were clearly not traitors but had been tricked by Ye Tongjun to serve as cover. Although they had been poisoned, they hadn't died, and when the fighter jet was destroyed by the ground thorns, one of the Sword Masters had been affected and perished. Nonetheless, four of them were still alive.

If he left, these four Sword Masters would undoubtedly perish.

Boom!

An air cannon blasted open the sand dune where the Halo Warrior was located, deflecting the four sword lights. But before the sword lights could attack again, the Halo Warrior, despite having only his left arm remaining, stood up fearlessly.

At the same time, Ji Xinghuo sensed the air density around him surge, and the air pressure skyrocketed as an inward explosion occurred, centered on his position.

Bang!

He stepped forward, colliding with an invisible yet solid wall of wind.

As the intangible, thick wind wall shattered, his movement still faltered, causing him to lose balance in the air. Ye Tongjun appeared from the shadows, materializing behind him.

Shadow Warrior—an advanced form of the Shadow Blade and Martial Artist.

Ji Xinghuo was very familiar with this profession because Xia Qingyu was also a Shadow Warrior, and they even used the same weapon—a pair of short swords.

Ye Tongjun's short swords were imbued with "Shadow Blades," as dark as ink. The tips of the blades erupted with "Piercing Thorn Energy," aiming to stab Ji Xinghuo in the back.

However, Ji Xinghuo neither turned around nor dodged.

Boom!

A flash of lightning instantly erupted, exploding on Ye Tongjun's face.

She instinctively closed her eyes, but her stabbing motion didn't stop. Immediately after, she felt as if her short swords had stabbed into an alloy wall, and a portion of the force rebounded, causing her gloves to rupture and blood to gush from her palms.

Amid the crackling of electricity, Ye Tongjun opened her eyes.

She saw that her short swords had penetrated a thin, transparent layer of armor but were stopped by the scales underneath, unable to advance any further.

Meanwhile, Ji Xinghuo remained completely unharmed.

In fact, he didn't even glance back at her, completely ignoring the attack on his back.

On the contrary, she felt excruciating pain all over her body from the lightning strike and quickly escaped, once again melting into the shadows.

Paying no heed to Ye Tongjun, Ji Xinghuo finally, at the moment of the air explosion, captured the Sandstorm Overlord's location with his electromagnetic sensing ability. With a boom, he instantly accelerated, moving a hundred meters, and his spiritual energy burst forth. A bolt of lightning descended from the heavens.

The massive lightning bolt struck the ground, creating a crater over ten meters in diameter.

Electricity spread underground.

A blurry figure paused within the sand, emitting a dull thud, but before it could recover, Ji Xinghuo was upon it.

The Magic Sound Sword slashed through the air.

A sword energy, resembling white waves of ultrasound, sliced through the ground, flipping countless sand grains as if plowing the earth, penetrating several meters deep.

"Seeking death!"

A roar echoed as a giant made of hundreds of tons of sand rose. Only its upper body was formed, and its right hand condensed into a massive sand fist, which slammed down on Ji Xinghuo's head. At the same time, countless air currents coiled around Ji Xinghuo, preventing him from escaping.

Boom!

The sand fist, larger than a truck, crashed down, causing the ground to shake violently. The giant instantly disintegrated into countless sand grains that scattered in all directions.

As the sand and dust cleared, Ji Xinghuo's figure was revealed, his legs embedded in the ground but his body completely unharmed.

"Found you," Ji Xinghuo said indifferently.

A circle of electric arc pulses erupted, and amidst the swirling sand, a robust figure appeared—the Sandstorm Overlord.

Simultaneously, the four sword lights from the Spirit Sword Ring abandoned the Halo Warrior and suddenly slashed at the Sandstorm Overlord from behind.

Fire Sword, explode! Ice Sword, frost tide!

The Light Sword burst forth with intense brilliance, illuminating the night and causing temporary blindness, while the Electric Sword acted like a lightning bolt, accompanying Ji Xinghuo's spiritual energy and slamming down on the Sandstorm Overlord.

In an instant, the Sandstorm Overlord's body was covered in wounds, but none of them were fatal. Gritting his teeth, he endured the cutting sword lights and quickly landed, merging with the desert and vanishing from sight.

Ji Xinghuo had intended to finish off the Sandstorm Overlord in one strike, but Ye Tongjun appeared again.

He stepped forward, evading the short swords.

However, he had only moved less than three meters when he stepped forward again, returning to his original position. During this process, he turned around in a bizarre manner, now facing Ye Tongjun.

Three meters was more than enough distance for Ji Xinghuo to accelerate to his maximum speed.

Under immense pressure, Ye Tongjun's abilities surged, and she reacted swiftly. Her short swords blocked consecutively, but with each parry, she was forced back a large step. Ji Xinghuo closed in, his left-hand Magic Sound Sword surging like a tide.

The clanging of blades rang out, and sparks flew in the darkness.

Ye Tongjun dodged desperately, employing various abilities: Shadowless Step, Afterimage, Flash Step, Shadow Escape, and Swallow's Agility.

However, Ji Xinghuo was like a bone-deep infection, impossible to shake off.

As Ji Xinghuo attacked Ye Tongjun, his eyes remained fixed elsewhere, positioning her to his left. His longsword forced her to parry, leaving her unable to escape.

At that moment, a golden light shot up from the ground—it was the Halo Warrior, now missing an arm.

Ji Xinghuo took a step to his left, pushing Ye Tongjun back.

Just as the Halo Warrior surged from the ground, Ji Xinghuo's right fist unleashed an Electric Spiral Strike.

Bang!

The punch landed precisely on the Halo Warrior's temple.

Although the Halo Warrior's body was protected by a light energy shield, boasting both strength and defense with no apparent weaknesses, it was of little use against absolute power.

The bright, bald head cracked like an egg, spraying blood and brain matter that instantly vaporized under the high-temperature lightning on Ji Xinghuo's fist.

In the blink of an eye, the Halo Warrior had become headless.

Ye Tongjun screamed, finally finding an opportunity to escape. But as she melted into the shadows, Ji Xinghuo's Magic Sound exploded.

Sonic Boom!

A violent shockwave of sound blasted out, hitting Ye Tongjun and forcing her out of the shadows.

A massive lightning bolt struck her directly on the head.

Immediately afterward, four sword lights fell upon Ye Tongjun, her body paralyzed and in excruciating pain. The swords sliced through her Iron Shirt Strike, piercing her body several times and leaving gaping, bloody holes. Both her legs were severed from the knees down.

Ji Xinghuo did not kill her; he only disabled her combat abilities.

With the vitality of a Legendary powerhouse, she wouldn't die immediately. A living, traitorous deputy director of the Sword Bureau was worth far more than a corpse.

"Ahhh..." Ye Tongjun screamed in agony, writhing on the ground.

"Shut up!" Ji Xinghuo shouted.

The Electric Sword, crackling with electricity, hovered at Ye Tongjun's neck. Its sharp blade broke the skin, and with a slight push, it would behead her.

Terror filled Ye Tongjun's eyes, but her desire to live compelled her to endure the pain, and she dared not make a sound.

The Electric Sword continued to release currents, causing her body to convulse uncontrollably, leaving her unable to fight back.

The sandstorm raged on, growing more intense.

The Sandstorm Overlord took advantage of Ji Xinghuo's focus on killing the Halo Warrior and defeating Ye Tongjun to disappear once more.

This enemy could not only burrow underground but also possessed the 'Flowing Sand Body,' transforming into sand and merging with the desert. It was challenging to locate them with electromagnetic sensing.

However, whenever they attacked, they would reveal a weakness.

Suddenly, Ji Xinghuo noticed the expression of fear and distortion on Ye Tongjun, who was lying on the ground, and immediately realized that the Sandstorm Overlord wanted to silence her.

A massive rock spike emerged from under Ye Tongjun.

Bang! Ji Xinghuo's figure flashed, appearing beside Ye Tongjun. He kicked the rock spike, sending her half a meter into the air. Her back was pierced, leaving a gaping hole. If not for Ji Xinghuo's intervention, she would have been impaled.

"Get out of here!"

As the rock spike formed, Ji Xinghuo located the enemy.

A lightning bolt tore through the sky, slamming into the ground dozens of meters to the right, creating a massive pit. Several sword lights quickly followed, piercing the underground.

The sharp sword lights exploded within the sand layers, forcing the Sandstorm Overlord to the surface. His body was wrapped in countless grains of sand, forming a giant over fifteen meters tall. The lower half of his body was in the form of a tornado, and he moved swiftly, like a skyscraper rushing towards Ji Xinghuo, ready to crush him.

Even before the Sandstorm Giant fully emerged, he manipulated the airflow, compressing and binding Ji Xinghuo frantically.

Whoosh! Ji Xinghuo instantly accelerated and took off, causing the air behind him to implode.

Instead of retreating, he advanced.

The Sandstorm Overlord's 'Air Explosion,' 'Wind Wall,' and 'Vacuum Implosion' were all left behind by Ji Xinghuo. In an instant, he tore through the countless grains of sand and wind blades, crashing into the Sandstorm Giant's head and penetrating from behind.

A loud explosion rang out as the Sandstorm Giant's head burst open, but it quickly reformed. The giant's hand formed a massive sand spear, and without turning around, he threw it with all his might.

Of course, Ji Xinghuo would not be hit.

Maintaining his high speed, he made a right-angle turn in the sandstorm, flying in a bizarre, unpredictable path.

The Sandstorm Lord could manipulate airflow and unleash various invisible attacks, but he was always half a step slower than Ji Xinghuo.

Ji Xinghuo crashed through the Sandstorm Giant multiple times, yet he couldn't deliver a fatal blow.

He couldn't afford to stop, either.

If he did, he would be bound and cut by the airflow, only to face a frontal assault from the Sandstorm Giant.

After a stalemate that lasted half a minute, Ji Xinghuo seized an opportunity to clash head-on with the Sandstorm Giant.

The Electric Spiral Strike unleashed its full power.

Electric lights filled the sky as the giant's fist and shoulder exploded, the force of the punch spreading throughout its body. Its entire frame began to crumble and fall, turning into a small sand dune upon hitting the ground.

However, after a few seconds, the dune rose again, reforming into the giant.

"It's unexpectedly troublesome," Ji Xinghuo exclaimed, surprised by the strength of the Sandstorm Overlord. He was certain that this opponent would rank among the top fifteen, or even the top ten, on Earth's Legend Ranking.

This opponent was definitely not an unknown entity, yet he had never heard of them before.

"These two Legend powerhouses brought by Ye Tongjun are probably not Xuan Yuan Swordsmen," Ji Xinghuo speculated. He guessed that they were cultivated by the Qian Yuan Society, keeping a low profile and secretly accomplishing unknown deeds. This time, they had followed Ye Tongjun, pretending to be Xuan Yuan Swordsmen and boarding the Sky-Air fighter jet of the Sword Bureau.

"No matter how strong you are, you will die!"

After fighting the Sandstorm Giant for a while, Ji Xinghuo noticed that its strength had weakened slightly compared to before.

Apparently, maintaining the Sandstorm Giant form consumed a significant amount of starlight.

Moreover, each time it reconstructed its body, it had to expend a large amount of starlight, resulting in a noticeable drop in combat strength.

While entangled with the Sandstorm Giant, Ji Xinghuo manipulated the sword lights, no longer attacking the giant directly. Instead, he suddenly turned and flew towards Ye Tongjun on the ground, piercing her body with his blade but avoiding any vital spots. Several sword lights accompanied this attack, lifting her and carrying her far away, preventing the Sandstorm Overlord from silencing her.

Then, Ji Xinghuo himself flew backward, escaping the Sandstorm Giant's range of attack.

The Sandstorm Giant immediately gave chase.

Ji Xinghuo landed beside the damaged Sky-Air fighter jet. With a wave of his hand, metal fragments from the wreckage flew towards him, twisting and deforming in mid-air.

As the metal shards landed in his palm, they immediately melted, elongated, cooled, and solidified, transforming in the blink of an eye into a heavy alloy javelin, over two meters long and as thick as an arm. It weighed more than three hundred kilograms.

Lightning crackled along the javelin, emitting dazzling electric lights.

With focused eyes, Ji Xinghuo locked his gaze on the pursuing Sandstorm Giant. The magnetic spirit starlight in his chest cavity released starlight at maximum power, manipulating magnetic fields while his spiritual energy also burst forth, enhancing the electric field surrounding the javelin and activating "Dragon Madness," causing his physical strength to soar.

Metal manipulation, electromagnetic amplification, and bodily strength—three forces united as one.

Ji Xinghuo entered the state of Myriad Phenomena, his eyes flashing with light circles as the world around him instantly quieted and slowed.

Countless lights and shadows in his vision evolved the future, finally pausing and freezing.

With a burst of speed, he charged forward and threw the alloy javelin.

Boom!

A thunderous roar split the night sky in the desert as electric lights illuminated the area. The javelin pierced through the swirling sand and wind pressure, traveling over four hundred meters in an instant and accurately piercing the center of the Sandstorm Giant's chest.

The charging giant paused for a moment before exploding into countless grains of sand.

After a few seconds, it rose again.

Ji Xinghuo had already crafted a second alloy javelin, and as soon as the Sandstorm Giant reformed, he threw it with deadly accuracy.

Another violent explosion followed.

Ji Xinghuo held the third alloy javelin, but after waiting for a few seconds, the Sandstorm Giant did not stand up again.

Without hesitation, he accelerated and flew towards it, reaching its position in less than a second.

Then, he dove towards the ground, throwing the javelin with full force, causing it to pierce the earth like a drilling missile.

Immediately, an area of over a hundred meters in diameter was upheaved, as if a burrowing dragon had turned over, creating a massive pit several dozen meters wide.

A human figure, shrouded in sand and dust, fled the scene.

Ji Xinghuo's eyes gleamed, instantly locking onto the Sandstorm Overlord, but he pretended not to notice, allowing the opponent to escape over a thousand meters.

He calmly retrieved the Black Hengjing War Bow from his back, and with a flash of the Myriad Star Pupil, he released a tungsten-cored heavy arrow.

The arrow broke the sound barrier, creating a sonic boom.

In the darkness of the night, the black tungsten-cored arrow was nearly invisible, and it traveled at supersonic speed, exceeding three times the speed of sound.

After five seconds, a miserable scream echoed in the distance.

Only then did Ji Xinghuo fly over, finding the Sandstorm Overlord, but only half of its body remained. The lower half was missing, and the upper half lay unconscious in the desert.

He picked up the torso and threw it next to Ye Tongjun.

The Sandstorm Overlord's original form was that of an Earth Walker, possessing the ability "Earth Pulse," which allowed it to recover quickly when in contact with the ground. However, with only half its body remaining, the ability was useless, and it could only temporarily survive.

Ji Xinghuo dealt with the two captives and quickly entered the damaged Sky-Air fighter jet to rescue the injured Sword Masters.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end