Hearing Levin Mills’ resolute “No,” Jie Ming couldn’t help but let out a mocking chuckle, his tone laced with scorn:
“With you in this half-crippled state, if we really fought, you’d be dead for sure. If you turned and fled now, I might actually struggle to stop you.”
Levin Mills nodded, acknowledging his poor condition, but a smug smile of absolute control spread across his face:
“Jie Ming, geniuses like you often share a common flaw—arrogance! It’s exactly because of your arrogance that I’ve had time to complete my final preparations!”
Before his words faded, he opened his palm, revealing a silver-white metal piece etched with intricate runes, radiating intense anti-magic fluctuations before swiftly turning to ash!
Buzz…
An invisible force field erupted from him, spreading instantly!
Jie Ming immediately felt his connection to surrounding elements severed, his mental energy shackled as if bound by heavy chains, sluggish and constrained.
It wasn’t just him—every surviving wizard on the battlefield paled.
Their ability to channel elemental energy was drastically suppressed, as if they’d gone from soaring birds to crawlers trapped in mud.Even Levin Mills himself was affected, his flight spell failing, forcing him to descend slowly to the ground.
But he remained unperturbed, standing steady with a triumphant smile: “Jie Ming, you are indeed a genius! That ‘array’ formed by your unique artifact combination is a perfect masterpiece of war! Before the anti-magic field, in my current state, I might indeed lose in a direct clash.”
“But!” His tone shifted, brimming with absolute confidence, “The gap in rank is fundamental! It represents a comprehensive superiority in life essence, including physical prowess and energy reserves! As long as I seal your strongest trump card…”
His gaze swept over the dimming “Rune Artifacts” behind Jie Ming, which were falling one by one as their energy connections were cut, and he sneered: “…the rest becomes much simpler.”
“Looks like you’re quite confident in your close-combat skills,” Jie Ming said, his smile fading as he glanced expressionlessly at the falling artifacts behind him.
To maximize the anti-magic field’s effect and to shatter his opponent’s confidence, Levin Mills declared proudly:
“What I’ve mastered is the ‘Vitality’ rule within the life system! Even with external elements stripped away, I am an inexhaustible source of life! With this rule-enhanced body and boundless vitality, my melee prowess ranks among the top of Level 3 wizards!”
Jie Ming listened impassively. Behind him, the metal disc at the core of the Great Light Halo was about to fall.
Yet, just as it neared the ground, a triumphant smirk curved Jie Ming’s lips:
“Funny, it seems we’re thinking the same thing.”
Buzz…
The seemingly inert metal disc erupted in blinding light, its surface patterns flaring wildly.
A massive suction force burst forth, not only draining the remnants of Levin Mills’ anti-magic field but also ravenously devouring all free elements around them!
In an instant, a more absolute “elemental vacuum” formed around them, surpassing Levin’s field!
If Levin’s anti-magic field was like binding wizards in a straitjacket, Jie Ming’s move was akin to throwing fish onto dry land.
The few wizards barely standing, already weakened by severe injuries, gasped in suffocating pain, vision blurring with stars, nearly collapsing.
Seeing Jie Ming’s confident gaze, Levin Mills was both shocked and enraged: “You… truly are arrogant!”
Beyond the rule enhancements, the gap between Level 2 and Level 3 wizards included vast differences in base attributes.
With his Vitality rule’s boost, Levin Mills was certain that even if Jie Ming specialized in physical enhancement, he couldn’t possibly surpass him in melee combat!
Moreover, given Jie Ming’s demonstrated mastery in Alchemy Technique and runic arts, it was unthinkable that he could also excel in physical reinforcement.
…Or rather, Levin Mills refused to believe it.
Jie Ming said nothing more. He was indeed confident, and he had every right to be!
Centuries of relentless body tempering, combined with the most battle-honed physical cultivation techniques from the immortal world, gave him that right.
From the moment he sensed something amiss, Jie Ming had been deliberately guiding the situation.
If the timing weren’t off, he might’ve even run a hand through his hair and said, “Finally took the bait.”
Boom!!!
No more words. Their figures blurred into afterimages, colliding like meteors in a brutal clash!
A pure physical battle erupted!
Levin Mills struck first, knowing his greatest advantage was the crushing physical attributes of a Level 3 wizard.
His right fist shot forward, seemingly simple but infused with a reverse application of the Vitality rule.
Before the punch landed, an invasive force, sharp as a needle, targeted Jie Ming’s chest, aiming to disrupt his muscles internally.
The air around the fist warped, showcasing its power.
Jie Ming’s eyes sharpened, his extraordinary dynamic vision catching the attack.
Instead of meeting it head-on, he swayed like a willow, letting the fist graze past his chest.
The strange life energy sparked a faint sizzle against his resilient body.
Simultaneously, his Body Forging Method activated, adapting to the invasive Vitality rule.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Levin Mills lived up to his Level 3 status, the Vitality rule granting him terrifying vitality and strength.
As his first punch missed, he unleashed three more in succession.
His fists and feet carried piercing whistles, heavy and unstoppable, each blow capable of shattering mountains.
His movements seemed overwhelmingly fierce yet held a cunning agility, striking like a viper at Jie Ming’s joints and weak points.
But Jie Ming moved like a phantom, his superhuman dynamic vision and reflexes, honed by the Body Forging Method, and refined techniques from the Great Dao Book Pavilion far exceeded Levin’s expectations.
He deftly deflected Levin’s ferocious strikes with precise skill, countering with vicious, pinpoint attacks at joints and vital organs!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Each clash unleashed muffled roars, shockwaves trembling the ground and twisting the air.
To an onlooker, this wouldn’t seem like a wizard’s duel but a deathmatch between two humanoid beasts!
As the fight progressed, Levin Mills was horrified to find himself losing ground.
Despite his immense power and potent Vitality rule, Jie Ming’s relentless onslaught left him scrambling.
Levin’s fierce attacks were mostly dodged or parried by mere inches.
Jie Ming’s counters, precise as a scalpel, appeared harmless but steadily eroded Levin’s vitality.
His Vitality rule worked frantically to heal, but its pace began lagging behind the mounting injuries!
Worse, despite constantly using his reversed Vitality rule to erode Jie Ming’s body, its effect weakened over time.
“How is this possible?! How is his strength so great? Is his stamina endless? And his physique… how can it resist my rule’s erosion?!” Levin grew more shocked with each exchange.
He tried to pull back to regroup, but Jie Ming stuck to him like a shadow, giving no respite.
Jie Ming had fully seized the battle’s rhythm.
Noticing Levin’s vitality repairs slowing, a cold glint flashed in Jie Ming’s eyes!
He feigned a flaw, deliberately taking a heavy punch to his left shoulder.
Crack!
His shoulder bone gave a faint snap, pain surging.
But Jie Ming didn’t flinch, his Body Forging Method granting not only defense but also supreme pain tolerance and bodily control.
Using the punch’s force, he spun, his right leg swinging like an axe, a powerful sweeping kick slamming into the side of Levin’s right knee, his supporting leg!
“Argh!”
Levin screamed as a clear crack sounded from his knee, his balance collapsing as he fell backward.
Victory was decided in that instant!
Jie Ming’s spinning momentum didn’t pause. His left knee, like a coiled dragon, surged upward with his full strength and speed, striking Levin’s wide-open midsection!
Bang!!!
The knee strike smashed into Levin’s lower abdomen.
The terrifying force obliterated his internal defenses, the excruciating pain shattering his attempt to channel the Vitality rule.
Levin’s eyes bulged, bloodshot, his body curling into an exaggerated shrimp shape.
“Pfft!”
A fountain of blood mixed with organ fragments sprayed from his mouth.
Like a broken sack, he was sent flying, carving a clear trench in the ground.
With a boom, he crashed into the hard, misty ground, creating a spiderweb of cracks.
Levin twitched violently, struggling to rise.
But his once-proud, boundless vitality drained like a punctured balloon.
He collapsed, limp as mud, his face etched with utter disbelief and despair.
He had lost.