I Can See Your Combat Power-Chapter 1770 - 203: The Gap

It was as if hovering above the waters tens of miles away, like an eagle surveying the vast wilderness below.

Two battle formations, starkly different in style, confronted each other from a distance, tensely observing the duel between their respective champions at the forefront.

Clad in dragon-scale golden armor and wearing a dragon-horn golden bracelet on his wrist, Shi Muzhi—the master of Ten Thousand Beasts Manor—seemed like a different person entirely. His gleaming golden scales rendered him immune to spiritual power below three transformations, allowing him to disregard the Black Light emanating from the Xuan Ding.

The golden bracelet on his wrist was even more mysterious and unmatched. His right hand wielding "Wave Overcoming" could disrupt spiritual clothing and cultivation techniques alike, scattering thousands of attacks, causing internal injuries.

Meanwhile, his left hand wielding "Penetration" could instantly unleash concentrated blasts of Divine Light surpassing three transformations of spiritual power at any time.

These dual capabilities of offense and defense, combined with the immense spiritual power at the pinnacle of the Fierce Realm, made Shi Muzhi an entity even more dangerous than those famed for their cultivation titles.

But despite being so formidable, Shi Muzhi was utterly helpless against Du Sha. The protective crystal armor refined through the integration of the Stone Heart Bloodline and essence of the Red Cloud Skill rivaled the efficacy of earth-tier treasures in spiritual defense. Even when pierced by Penetration’s golden light, the armor would instantly restore itself as if alive, leaving Shi Muzhi defenseless.

As for the Xuan Ding hovering beside Du Sha—it further compounded Shi Muzhi’s troubles. While the Black Light spiritual arrows didn’t possess significant lethality, with a singular arrow roughly equivalent to Yellow Rank spirit art, and even in large quantities, their destructive power could not breach the defenses of the dragon-scale armor. Yet his purebred Bi’an mount lacked the protective blessing of a Divine Artifact.

The seemingly chaotic Black Light Arrow Rain, striking west while aiming east, left the divine beast’s head and tail, westward dragon wings bloodied and battered, provoking Shi Muzhi to furious outrage.

After all, a purebred divine beast, if properly nurtured, held the potential to ascend to King Beast status. The grandiose display from Ten Thousand Beasts Manor this time was intended to subdue the enemy without battle, and Shi Muzhi was certainly unprepared to sacrifice his divine beast.

With his mount injured, Shi Muzhi could hardly attend to anything else. He hurriedly unleashed "Wave Overcoming," dispersing the Black Light Arrow Rain to shield the Bi’an.

Du Sha seized the moment, swiftly closing the distance, as dozens of Red Crystal chains extended from behind his crystalline armor, aiming toward Shi Muzhi and his divine beast.

"Petty tricks!"

At the critical juncture, Shi Muzhi’s dragon-horn golden bracelet emanated an outpouring of Divine Light, golden waves surging upward to meet the incoming flood of crystalline chains.

Wherever the golden waves passed, the chains shattered into dust, even blasting away the approaching crystalline-armored soldier. After completing this feat, Shi Muzhi lowered his right hand, arrogantly clasped both hands behind his back, and sneered at the still-struggling crystalline-armored soldier in the distance: "With your meager skills, you dare approach this elder?"

"This old man is utterly shameless!"

From the sidelines, Yun Xiu bared her teeth and claws in indignation upon hearing the boastful words from the master of Ten Thousand Beasts Manor: "If it weren’t for those two formidable Divine Artifacts, he would have long been defeated by Mr. Du!"

"Haha, this old man places too much faith in the power of Divine Artifacts and underestimates the wisdom of warriors. Just watch." Tang Luo, holding a teacup, lightly chuckled as he withdrew his hand from Yun Xiu’s head.

On the waters below, the crystalline-armored soldier still writhed in struggle, while the arrogant master of Ten Thousand Beasts Manor remained focused solely on admiring the sorry state of the enemy champion, completely unaware of the shards of shattered chains deflected by the golden waves mysteriously gathering mid-air. In the blink of an eye, they coalesced into a massive lock, spinning forward to clasp onto Shi Muzhi’s arms.

And as if this served as a signal, the previously struggling crystalline-armored soldier sprang to life. He stomped on nothingness with thunderous momentum, launching himself toward Shi Muzhi.

The rapid shift in circumstances stunned the forces of Ten Thousand Beasts Manor, leaving even their wild gesturing arms momentarily lost in action.

The phrase "clear-headed observers" became an outright lie at this juncture. Shi Muzhi, unable to raise his arms, felt a chilling sensation at the crown of his head. Setting aside all dignity, he bellowed furiously: "What are you all standing around for? Help me!"

This finally jolted the Tamers into action, quickly commanding their feral beasts to come to the rescue.

But Du Sha was unlikely to surrender the favorable position he painstakingly secured. The Black Light Mysterious Cauldron expanded with the wind, flipping into a shield. The crystalline-armored soldier pressed on toward Shi Muzhi, even under the fierce bombardment from the beasts.

On the iceboat, the Marshal Star Pavilion warriors, seeing the confrontation escalate, immediately formed battle formations and surged forward through the waves.

Seeing the inevitability of large-scale warfare, Yun Xiu clutched the window ledge with anxious hands, her fingertips digging deeply into the frame.

It wasn’t surprising that she was nervous, considering the Marshal Star Pavilion soldiers aboard the iceboats. Most of them had only attained unity of spirit and intent in cultivation compared to the Ten Thousand Beasts Manor forces.

The Tamers were individually at Fierce Realm levels, let alone their ferocious beasts. The stark disparity in strength was profoundly demoralizing.

Yet, the Marshal Star Pavilion warriors still launched their charge decisively. Their bravery was both admirable and heartbreaking, as Yun Xiu dreaded the imminent scenes of these valiant warriors shredding into bloodied flesh.

Thankfully, the warriors trained under Du Sha for over ten years were courageous but not reckless. They were keenly aware of their overwhelming disadvantage against Ten Thousand Beasts Manor, and thus had no intention of engaging in direct combat.

Instead, utilizing the agility and maneuverability of the single-person iceboats, they launched precise spirit arts and coordinated attacks to harass and strike.

The Yellow Rank spirit arts they unleashed after countless hours of honing exhibited power nearing entry-level Mystical Rank. When targeted at vital points, they could inflict considerable damage against even the feral beasts and Tamers.

The clever harassment indeed yielded rewarding results, but ultimately, the massive disparity in strength remained undeniable. Even a coordinated Yellow Rank attack seemed insufficient against the tough hides of feral beasts, let alone the elusive and cautious Tamers, who were hard to hit altogether.

After all, the cultivators of the Beast Taming Clan might have ordinary martial prowess but always boasted exceptional movement techniques. Unless encroached upon by a master of body arts, relying solely on spirit arts to slay them was a tall order, especially with a disparity of realms.

The harassment did manage to send the beasts into temporary confusion, but the effect was superficial. Once briefly stalled by the crowd, Du Sha retreated, taking advantage of the Bi’an carrying Shi Muzhi away.

"Quickly help me unlock this chain!"

The embarrassed manor master wasted no time barking orders to his approaching subordinates: "Tell Mr. Cao to ignore the crystalline-armored man! Kill all these bugs first, and then focus our efforts on him!"

"Handle the minor troubles first"—the very essence of basic military strategy. Upon hearing the command, the Tamers redirected their focus, while the wind-bound Xuan Ding found itself intercepted by an airborne spirit turtle.

Seeing the opportunity thwarted, Du Sha refrained from further missteps. Using Black Light Arrow Rain combined with a Red Crystal spear strike, he felled a beast before retreating to the broken, scattered battle formation.

With a casual toss, Du Sha sent the Black Light Mysterious Cauldron into the lakebed, unleashing turbulent waterspouts that surged upward like fountains. The feral beasts, indifferent to the spectacle, continued their pursuit until mud puppets launched from within the whirlpools plastered themselves to their faces.

Indeed, the combat strength disparity was insurmountable. Despite possessing freedom of movement, Du Sha was constrained by the presence of so many Marshal Star Pavilion warriors, leaving him to resort to trickery.

"Quickly retreat to Surging Rock Beach!"

While consistently providing cover for his subordinates, Du Sha succinctly issued the command, prompting the iceboats to turn around and maneuver through the rapids.

"Unparalleled City won’t hold!"

Just as Shi Muzhi regained his freedom and witnessed the enemy retreat, he stepped forward again to coldly address Du Sha: "It’s best you hand over your criminals before facing greater losses." 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

Amid the waterspouts, Du Sha cast a faint glance at Shi Muzhi, turned, and disappeared in mere moments, shrinking into a distant speck.