Chapter 533: The Dark Star Spirit

Chapter 533: The Dark Star Spirit

"Assassin!"

Ji Xinghuo's mind was already highly focused, and since the assassin's target wasn't him, the omen of his Omniscient Star Pupil didn't trigger automatically. Still, he sensed the enemy's presence immediately.

Omniscient Forest!

In an instant, the whole world seemed to slow down.

Ji Xinghuo instantly saw through the assassin's true form—hidden beneath that shadow was a semi-transparent humanoid outline, evidently male, with a tall and slender build. A pair of dark purple irises held an extremely sinister gaze, and his ears were pointed and long.

A Star Spirit?

Ji Xinghuo had assumed the assassin was a human, most likely the deadliest assassin of the American Federation, the "Shadow of Death". But instead, it was a Star Spirit, and not of an ordinary branch race; its strength was extraordinarily formidable.

Moreover, Ji Xinghuo hadn't even noticed the Star Spirit's arrival; it was as if he had teleported, as there had been no sign of him in New Bharat beforehand.

How was that possible on Earth?

Now wasn't the time to ponder such questions.

Ji Xinghuo's thoughts raced, but his reflexes were even quicker. Innumerable streams of light before his eyes predicted future scenes, and the Star Spirit held a slender sword, aiming straight for Ji Daosheng's back. Even with his fastest movement speed, Ji Xinghuo knew he wouldn't make it in time to stop the attack.

Without hesitation, he chose to teleport!

All abilities involving space couldn't be used on Earth, but Ji Xinghuo, the possessor of the Omniscient Star Pupil, was an exception.

He had never revealed this secret to anyone, but now wasn't the time for such concerns.

In a flash, he moved.

Ji Xinghuo instantly teleported behind Ji Daosheng, and the shadows that shrouded the hall had little effect on him.

Ding!

A soft sound rang out as the sword pierced Ji Xinghuo's chest.

The sword tip penetrated the flux barrier and holy scale armor with almost no resistance, so silently that it even pierced Ji Xinghuo's flesh and broke through the titanium-cobalt magnetic body. But eventually, it lost its momentum and was stopped.

Ji Xinghuo was shocked.

Ever since his titanium-cobalt magnetic body had reached level five and been amplified by the Primordial Dragon Vein, it had been a long time since he'd encountered an enemy capable of injuring him.

Even though it was just a minor flesh wound, with the sword tip penetrating only a couple of centimeters.

However, the Star Spirit assassin before him was even more astonished.

His dark purple irises widened as if an earthquake had struck, unable to believe that someone had just blocked his strike with their body.

Their eyes locked.

Ji Xinghuo's expression was icy, and as he teleported, he threw a punch.

An invisible kinetic force expanded, generating a tremendous power that squeezed the Star Spirit assassin from all directions.

The President also took action.

He was an advanced "Dominator", a combination of a psychic hacker and a kinetic stringer, and although he rarely displayed his abilities in public, his strength was undoubtedly formidable. Many had forgotten that he had risen to power relying on these abilities in his youth.

Ji Xinghuo's electric spiral force and Ji Daosheng's kinetic field worked together in perfect harmony, as if they had been teammates for years.

But in the next instant, the Star Spirit assassin vanished.

He disappeared into thin air!

Ji Xinghuo's Omniscient Star Pupil had foreseen this scene, but the Star Spirit's reaction and agility were too swift, and he had a backup plan. Whether or not his sword strike succeeded in assassinating the target, he would immediately retreat.

Even if he had known the outcome beforehand, Ji Xinghuo still wouldn't have been able to intercept him.

However, this time, Ji Xinghuo saw it clearly.

The Star Spirit assassin's figure transformed into a wisp of dark energy and vanished in the blink of an eye. This was an extremely rare ultra-limit ability.

"Phantom Strike!"

By creating a projection of the body with dark energy, akin to a clone, the user could instantaneously appear beside their target and launch an all-out attack with the full force of their abilities and equipment.

Phantom Strike only allowed for a single strike and had a very short duration.

The higher the level, the stronger the attack.

Originally an ultra-mode ability of the "Shadow Blade", sharing a common origin with "Phantom Doppelganger", it formed a complementary pair. However, it was the Dark Stringer who could better unleash the potential of this ability, projecting their astral body over long distances and instantly unleashing several times the destructive power of their physical body.

This kind of beyond-visual-range assassination was something that most superhumans couldn't defend against, and they might even die without ever knowing the cause.

Ji Xinghuo immediately understood the assassin's method.

This Star Spirit possessed the abilities of both the Shadow Blade and the Dark Stringer, and seemed to also have certain abilities of the Ghostly Walker and the Flash Stepper.

Multiple profession templates superimposed.

"Ultimate Profession, Dark Lord!"

Ji Xinghuo's electromagnetic sensing ability swept a radius of 50 kilometers and instantly locked onto the enemy.

On the roof of a building about 18 kilometers from the People's Palace, there was a suddenly appearing strong magnetic field that had never been detected before, until now, when it finally couldn't hide its presence any longer as it launched its assassination attempt.

At this moment, Ji Xinghuo's fist struck nothing but air.

Fortunately, Ji Daosheng reacted swiftly.

Invisible kinetic energy formed a containment barrier around Ji Xinghuo's star power, compressing and controlling the leakage to prevent any accidents. Ji Xinghuo transformed into a bolt of lightning and flew out of the hall, disappearing in an instant.

From the start of the assassination attempt to its conclusion, the entire event lasted less than a second, and most people didn't even realize what had happened.

In the eyes of the onlookers, two figures flashed past behind the President.

Then, nothing happened.

Some even thought it was a live broadcast glitch, but the aliens present were startled, and Luo Baoguo and a group of titanium-cobalt dragon men immediately rushed towards the podium. However, Ji Daosheng waved them off.

"The permanent institution of the twelve provinces of South Asia..."

Ji Daosheng immediately continued his speech as if what had just happened was merely a pause for effect, with no impact on his composure.

Seeing the President's calmness, the leaders of various countries present were influenced and gradually eased their worries.

However, the Heavenly Kings and legendary aliens present could not find peace of mind.

They had witnessed the assassination attempt clearly.

But even in their astonishment, they were still confused. Until now, they didn't understand where the assassin had come from, how Ji Xinghuo had appeared behind the President to block the sword strike, and how the two of them had then disappeared.

Outside the People's Palace.

Ji Xinghuo broke the sound barrier and sped towards the building where the Star Spirit assassin was located.

At the same time, he didn't forget that he had fallen for the decoy tactic again. He sent three shadow clones towards the People's Palace, with one of them behind the stage, guarding against another sneak attack by the Star Spirit assassin on the President.

The Macro Eye had already locked onto the target.

Rumbling...

Electric lights flashed across half of New Bharat, and thunder rumbled in the sky.

Ji Xinghuo strode forward, deliberately not concealing his movements, intending to alert the Star Spirit assassin of his approach.

As expected, the Star Spirit assassin immediately fled.

Contrary to the loud commotion caused by Ji Xinghuo's flight, the Star Spirit assassin moved completely silently.

His figure remained invisible, blending into the shadows and dark energy. His magnetic field and stellar power fluctuations were extremely subdued, making it impossible for ordinary people to detect his presence, and even aliens would struggle to discover him.

If it weren't for the exposure of his whereabouts during the assassination attempt, and the fact that Star Spirit had been lurking the entire time, Ji Xinghuo would have had a hard time finding him.

And yet, the Star Spirit's speed was not affected.

"Indeed, it's the Dark Lord!"

Ji Xinghuo muttered to himself.

The Dark Lord was an advancement of five profession templates: Shadow Blade, Flash Step, Demon Refiner, Ghostly Walker, and Dark Stringer. They excelled in stealth, speed, transformation, control, and burst damage, making them one of the top ultimate professions.

The Dark Lord was also the most feared assassin.

But they were not limited to assassination.

The Dark Lord was not the type of alien who could only launch sneak attacks and was weak in direct combat; that was a completely false stereotype.

Any ultimate profession had no weaknesses, and the Dark Lord merely specialized in assassination.

"So fast!"

"Just like me, possessing 'Acceleration'."

It only took Ji Xinghuo a few seconds to fly from the People's Palace to the building where the Star Spirit assassin was located, but the assassin had already fled, and their speed was only slightly slower than his. Their figure darted through the shadows, flashing from one spot to another.

Anyone else would have lost track of them by now.

In just a few seconds, the Star Spirit assassin had moved over a dozen kilometers, and each time they moved, they employed means to obscure their trail, attempting to confuse their pursuer.

However, to Ji Xinghuo, these efforts were futile.

His eyes remained locked on the Star Spirit assassin, and no matter how the assassin turned or hid, he could immediately adjust his direction and close the distance.

One chased, and the other fled.

In less than half a minute, they had left New Bharat.

"He's trying to escape into the Star Realm!"

Ji Xinghuo guessed the assassin's intention from their direction and immediately controlled two shadow clones to surround them from the Bhopal Star Gate.

Yesterday, to ensure the President's absolute safety, he had gathered half of his shadow clones near New Bharat, with three stationed at the Bhopal Star Gate, one of which was currently fighting the fake Sun King in Asuncion at the Star Gate there, and the battle was being broadcast worldwide.

At this moment, the shadow clone was locked in a fierce battle with the fake Sun King, capturing the attention of the global audience.

This was all part of Ji Xinghuo's plan.

The battle in Asuncion served to divert the enemy's attention and prevent the exposure of his true strength.

Otherwise, if one of his shadow clones had easily defeated the fake Sun King, the real Sun King would be even more reluctant to show himself.

As Ji Xinghuo sped forward, he saw through the Star Spirit assassin.

"So it's a Gloomy Star Spirit.

"But his strength is also terrifyingly powerful. In the True Dragon Empire, he could at least make it into the Hidden Dragon Sequence."

"An invincible assassin below the seventh tier!"

Ji Xinghuo made a judgment about his target.

Star Spirits are one of the most powerful races, and like humans, they have numerous branches. Still, no matter which branch of Star Spirit, their racial talents far surpass those of most humans, and the Star Spirit Empire is also one of the hegemons of the entire Star Galaxy.

Unlike the True Dragon Empire, which is based in the Star Realm and has a relatively loose and weak rule over the planets in the Milky Way.

The Star Spirit Empire's rule spans both the Star Realm and the Milky Way.

They maintain a balance between the two.

In terms of overall strength, the Star Spirit Empire is slightly stronger than the True Dragon Empire. Still, the two are distant from each other, separated by multiple star regions, and have no conflicting interests.

Ji Xinghuo had met a Star Spirit before.

CaixiaBlade of Dawn, she was a Space Star Spirit, also called a Sky Spirit, a race born in the Milky Way galaxy; and the one before him was a Gloomy Star Spirit.

The racial talents of these two Star Spirit branches are very powerful, and there are not many races in the Star Galaxy that can match them; they are also extremely rare.

The racial talent of the Gloomy Star Spirit is "Shadow Intangibility," a Star Meteor ability. Jiu You also has this ability and is naturally close to dark energy, mastering invisibility, shadow escape, and shadow jumping, and extending his perception in the darkness.

The Yu Hu tribe is also naturally proficient in dark energy.

However, compared to the Gloomy Star Spirit, the talents of the Yu Hu tribe pale in comparison.

"A Gloomy Star Spirit, coming all the way from afar to assassinate the leader of Earth?" Ji Xinghuo's eyes turned cold.

As expected, this should be the plot of the American Federation.

"To get a Tier 6 pinnacle Gloomy Spirit assassin to make a move, with the profession of Dark Lord, and to leave the Star Realm to infiltrate Earth, the American Federation must have paid an astonishing price."

"It must be at least two to thirty million dragon crystals."

"Or a treasure of the Apocalypse Second Star." Ji Xinghuo's gaze fell on the Star Spirit assassin's hand, the uniquely shaped and star spirit-styled slender sword that was able to pierce through his defense was definitely no ordinary item.

It was most likely an Apocalypse Third Star treasure!

"It belongs to me now."

At this moment, the two of them were less than 100 kilometers away from the Bhopal Star Gate, and the Star Spirit assassin's speed was increasing, evidently intending to force his way through the star gate fortress.

The Star Spirit's face changed suddenly.

He sensed the two shadow clones approaching from ahead.

Ji Xinghuo controlled them, not hesitating to consume star power and wildly accelerate, one on the left and one on the right, blocking his path in a pincer formation.

The Star Spirit turned to look, about to turn towards another star gate on Earth, when suddenly a dull shadow appeared, with an incredibly large range far beyond his perception and spiritual energy projection distance, and he couldn't touch its boundaries.

Even more terrifying was that his perception was being blocked.

Apart from his regular visual and auditory senses, all his other extraordinary senses were ineffective, causing him to panic.

"Dark Domain!"

As a Gloomy Star Spirit, he naturally knew what this was.

But a Dark Domain of this size was beyond the comprehension of Star Spirits.

Boom! Boom!

Thunder rumbled in the sky, and the two shadow clones transformed into two massive lightning bolts, striking towards the Star Spirit, closing in on him while they drew their spiritual strings, and Ji Xinghuo had intentionally attached this Apocalypse Bow when creating the shadow clones.

The shadow clones injected about half of their remaining star power, about 30,000 points, into the spiritual strings and aimed at the Star Spirit to shoot.

The shadow clones did not possess the Omniscient Star Pupil.

However, Ji Xinghuo synchronized his senses with the shadow clones and assisted in the shooting with his Omniscient Star Pupil, achieving the same effect.

The two electric arc arrows tore through the sky, reaching the Star Spirit in an instant.

The Star Spirit assassin frantically accelerated and dodged, his figure flashing and jumping in the shadows, each movement covering more than a kilometer, but all his actions and movement trajectories were within Ji Xinghuo's expectations, leaving him nowhere to escape.

Bang! Bang!

The two arrows almost simultaneously hit the Star Spirit. In the nick of time, the Star Spirit's body turned insubstantial, exempting him from most of the damage.

However, the energy released by the electric arc arrows still affected him.

The Star Spirit let out a muffled hum.

His whole body was paralyzed, but it only lasted for a moment before it was dispelled by the flux barrier, and he was unharmed. Still, that momentary paralysis decided his fate.

Ji Xinghuo, who had been more than a dozen kilometers away, suddenly appeared in front of him, and as the Star Spirit looked on in shock and confusion, he found himself bound by a terrifying distorted magnetic field, and a powerful electric spiral force was unleashed!

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end