Before the dust could even settle, a scalding heat wave was already licking at the skin.
Although that terrifying pillar of light had dissipated, the scars it left behind were shocking to behold.
The hard rock face had been forcibly plowed into a scorched trench dozens of meters wide.
The rocks at the edges had taken on a semi-molten, glass-like appearance, dripping with dark red magma.
Zhao Teng slowly straightened his back.
His luxurious golden robe, a symbol of his status and position, had long lost its original splendor. The hem had been burned away, its edges scorched and curled.
Most importantly, his hairpiece had come undone.
His meticulously groomed long hair now cascaded wildly over his shoulders, with a few strands burnt, emitting a foul, charred odor.
Most glaring of all was the layer of dull grey dust smudged across his usually aloof and handsome face.
It was dirt he had picked up while rolling on the ground like a wild dog, a desperate maneuver to dodge that sure-kill strike.
He was in an unprecedented state of dishevelment.
"Good... very good."
Zhao Teng wiped his face with his hand. Looking at the filthy dust on his fingertips, his mouth twitched slightly—an uncontrollable facial spasm brought on by extreme fury.
"To think a mere ant could force this young master to..."
Zhao Teng violently clapped his hands together.
"Ooom—!"
A ripple of golden light instantly exploded outward with him at the center.
Immediately after.
"To force me to get serious."
"You have earned the right to be proud."
Zhao Teng hovered in mid-air.
He looked down upon Su Ji from above, like a deity judging mortal lives.
"Now."
"You can die."
A terrifying oppressive aura instantly locked onto Su Ji.
Should this strike land, let alone Su Ji, the entire bottom of this abyss would likely be leveled to the ground!
Yet, at this exact moment.
"Woooo—"
An incredibly bizarre howling sound echoed from the bottom of the abyss without any warning.
It didn't sound like the wind; rather, it sounded like the agonizing shrieks of countless vengeful spirits and malicious ghosts being thrown into a boiling cauldron.
The sound was faint at first, as if seeping from deep underground, but in the blink of an eye, it became deafening, even drowning out the violent fluctuations of spiritual energy radiating from Zhao Teng.
Deep within the trench, where solid rock should have been, fine cracks began to split open.
Visible streams of crimson currents were frantically spewing out from those fissures.
Boom—!!!
The scorched trench completely exploded.
A violent crimson gale, like floodwaters bursting a dam, instantly swept across the entire abyss floor with an apocalyptic momentum!
This wind was incredibly eerie.
It lacked the ethereal lightness of wind, instead feeling as heavy as flying mountains.
Mixed within the wind were countless tiny sparks—the result of un-dissipated subterranean baleful aura being compressed to its absolute limit and merging with earth fire.
The moment they touched any object, they would instantly combust!
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—"
As the gale passed, all things were incinerated!
The originally cold and damp mining area was transformed in a single instant into a blazing purgatory!
The pale grey rocks rapidly turned red in the wind, then softened, melted, and finally turned into rolling magma that joined the crimson storm. The air was grotesquely distorted by the high temperature, and everywhere the eye could see was a shifting sea of red light.
The fire borrowed the wind's might, and the wind fueled the fire's intensity!
In the blink of an eye, the bottom of the abyss was rendered completely unrecognizable.
Up and down, left and right, in all directions—there was nothing but a churning sea of fire and howling astral winds!
Zhao Teng bore the brunt of it.
The moment his golden protective light came into contact with this crimson gale, it was like butter meeting an open flame, emitting a sizzling sound as it melted away at a visible rate.
Zhao Teng's expression changed slightly. He was forced to abandon his attack and instead channel his spiritual energy entirely into defending against this pervasive, terrifying heat wave.
Yet, right in the center of this destruction.
A figure was slowly walking forward, treading upon the waves of fire.
Su Ji stood amidst the sea of flames.
The terrifying high temperatures around him, capable of melting gold and iron, and the raging tempest of wind and fire that could tear apart the protective spiritual light of an ordinary Divine cultivator, bizarrely became docile when they entered within three feet of his body.
Like stars orbiting the moon, they circled around him, pulsating in rhythm with his breathing.
Su Ji raised his head.
He looked at Zhao Teng through the distorted air.
"Young Master Zhao."
Su Ji's voice seemed somewhat ethereal amidst the howling wind, yet it pierced into Zhao Teng's ears with absolute clarity.
"You just said..."
"You were going to give me a dignified death?"
Su Ji took a step forward.
"And what about now?"
"Kill yourself."
"I will give you a dignified death."
Boom!
Following his movement, the sky-filling sea of fire around him seemed to receive some sort of summons, violently surging upward and transforming into a ferocious flaming behemoth that bared its fangs and brandished its claws behind him.
His originally tattered robes flapped wildly in the glow of the fire, as if he had donned a layer of crimson battle armor.
Dark red spiritual energy and pink streams of light intertwined, forming a massive, distorted force field around him.
Within this force field, Su Ji's shadow was stretched infinitely long.
At this moment, how did he look anything like a Golden Core cultivator driven to a dead end?
He looked like an evil spirit that had crawled out from the depths of hell, returning to the mortal realm draped in karmic hellfire and sin!
Bizarre...
Incomprehensible...
But this absolutely could not be the power of the person standing before him.
However, it was only just that.
Although the momentum was massive, in reality, it was only about fifty percent of his own strength.
It was just that...
Things like this, stepping out of his control...
He disliked them very much.
Zhao Teng forcefully suppressed the inexplicable annoyance rising in his heart.
He attempted to forcibly suppress the surrounding sea of fire.
"You dare show off such insignificant parlor tricks before an expert!?"
villain is the number one simp for the book's leading female protagonist, Shen Wan'er. As expected, he later becomes a tool for the main character to show off and slap faces, ultimately meeting a tragic end with his family ruined and his life in shambles. Fortunately, he awakens the [Universal Pure Love System], which allows him to earn points by performing acts of pure love. To change his fate, Gu Yan makes a decisive choice to seek warmth and companionship with the book's biggest villain—Cold Qingqiu. ........... My name is Leng Qingqiu. To find the murderer who killed my parents years ago, I deliberately blinded myself so that everyone would lower their guard around me. Just as I was secretly accumulating power and capital according to my initial plan, a man walked into my world. "Lengleng, Qingqing, Qiuqiu, which nickname do you prefer?" I don't like any of them. You'd better leave quickly! "Why aren't you saying anything? How about I call you my baby wife?" Leng Qingqiu thinks to herself, this man is truly annoying! (Stubborn pure love warrior + single female lead + true pure love + 1v1)
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
ng to die together with you." Lin Xuan is dead, his body thrown into the river by his scumbag lover and her accomplice. She, the president of the Su Group, is decisive, ruthless, and ice-cold. For three days and three nights, she had his body fished out of the river, and without hesitation, she kissed the bloated corpse of Lin Xuan. She laid down beside him in a cold coffin, their fingers intertwined, a smile lingering on her lips as she closed her eyes. The noble and cold-hearted woman, only bending for one man—Lin Xuan. Lin Xuan, with his golden finger, is reborn and returns to the day of his wedding to the treacherous woman. Su Qiang comes to steal the bride. Lin Xuan's eyes light up, eager to pledge his loyalty on the spot, but instead, her kiss transfers a glass of drugged wine into his mouth, causing him to pass out... 【Male Protagonist with Single Female Lead】【Yandere Tycoon】【Action-Packed】【True vs. Fake Heir】
] [Lone Wolf, No Male Gaze] [Protagonist is pursued early on; extreme protagonist-stans, stay away!] The "Carnival Paradise" descends and slowly devours the real world in the form of a game. By chance, Zhu Yan awakens the talent [Roleplay], becoming one of the first beta players. He thought he could develop safely, but after clearing the first instance, he is branded by humanity as the chief culprit behind the game's spread—a traitorous villain. A villain? Who would ever... become one! He'll be the villain! From then on, Zhu Yan is not only a player but also a lackey for the Carnival Paradise. Between the straight path and the crooked path, he chooses the con. With his left hand, he dons the villain's mantle, staging scenes within instances, infuriating players who decry him as a despicable traitor, all while the game happily promotes him. With his right hand, he joins the non-human organization "Fangcun Mountain," which opposes the Carnival Paradise, transforming into a mysterious player who slaughters game bosses, earning cheers of "Long live the expert!" from fellow players. Gradually, Zhu Yan rises to become an S-rank human player in Fangcun Mountain's archives, while also being the Carnival Paradise's certified top game Boss. But when the final war erupts and both major factions place their hopes in him— Players tag his various aliases: "Experts, this offensive depends on you." The Carnival Paradise's supreme Boss throws an arm around his neck: "Bro, you're the iron, I'm the steel; you can't let me down again!"
