The Hardest Shield

"Wei Zhe!" An Changqing pointed his sword straight ahead. He had never imagined that a cadet who had been competing on the same stage with him just a couple of days ago would be standing here.

Even if An Changqing were foolish, he could still figure out that all of this was inextricably linked to Wei Zhe.

"I simply chose the stronger side! A brand-new world!" He stared at An Changqing with burning eyes, enunciating every word, "Your ridiculous sense of order and ideals should have been ground into the dirt long ago! An Changqing, look at yourself, and then look at me! You possess the greatest talent, yet you choose to play by the rules. Don't you find that pathetic?"

He took a step forward, the fanaticism in his eyes almost catching fire. "Power! Only power unbound by anything is the absolute truth! When I can decide the life and death of others as I please..."

He paused, a cruel smile appearing on his face. "I am the rules!"

"You... are beyond saving."

An Changqing's grip on his sword tightened, his knuckles protruding. Sensing its master's will, the blade let out a low, vibrating hum.

Wei Zhe's maniacal laughter still echoed through the hall, but in the next second, a dark silhouette cut in without warning, blocking An Changqing.

Chen Guan's not-so-tall back, along with that black coffin, perfectly shielded them from Wei Zhe's glaring gaze.

Chen Guan slowly raised his black scythe. The sharp tip of the blade locked onto the arrogant Wei Zhe from a dozen meters away.

"You talk too much nonsense."

As soon as the words fell, he vanished from his spot, drawing a straight black line as he charged directly at the most violent Stage Seven tiger demon beside Wei Zhe.

Except for a certain evil white Hajimi, he didn't care about any other tigers.

He had just killed a tiger, so dealing with tiger-type demonic beasts came quite naturally to him.

"You're courting death!" Enraged by this action, the tiger demon bared its teeth in a sinister grin.

This human was nothing but an ordinary cadet, yet he dared to attack on his own initiative. Its massive claws, covered in barbs, brought forth an ear-piercing sonic boom as they swiped down toward the top of Chen Guan's head.

However, Chen Guan neither dodged nor evaded.

The sharp claws tore through the air. The moment they were about to touch his face, he dropped his shoulder and twisted his body at an angle impossible for an ordinary person, voluntarily ramming his left shoulder into the fatal strike.

The sound of flesh being torn open set one's teeth on edge. The flesh and blood rolled outward, revealing the stark white bone underneath.

As if the excruciating pain did not exist, he used the impact of his flesh being torn to twist his body and exert force, smoothly swinging the black scythe in his hand in an arc.

Pfft!

Before the sinister smile on the tiger demon's face could fade, the cold gleam of the scythe blade was already reflected in its pupils.

A demonic arm, covered in muscle and thicker than Long Ao's thigh, flew into the air amidst a spurting fountain of golden demonic blood. It traced an arc before crashing heavily onto the ground.

The other black-robed demon king, who had been preparing to strike, paused for a split second due to this.

Even Long Ao's eyes twitched at the sight, and Hong Yuan directly contributed to global warming by gasping sharply, "This guy is far more ruthless to himself than to his enemies."

Su Yuehe, on the other hand, murmured softly, "Resurrection."

The power of spirit speech surged to Chen Guan's shoulder. He looked down to see that his original injury had completely healed. The art of spirit speech was simply too overpowered.

Soon, under the effect of the spirit speech, a world where only clothes and the tiger's arm were injured was born.

"Roar!" The tiger demon clutched its bleeding severed arm, letting out a furious roar.

Why could humans start over again and again, while demonic beasts could not?!

Even its gaze toward Wei Zhe carried a hint of resentment. Why couldn't this human use healing arts?

This human couldn't be killed for the time being, so with its resentment finding no outlet, it could only roar, "I'll take your life!"

In its rage, the tiger demon's roar shook the rubble on the top of the tower, causing it to cascade down. The half-human form it had maintained completely vanished, revealing its true form.

That roar was filled with agony.

Its eyes were bloodshot, and one arm was still missing. Anger was burning its rationality to ashes, inch by inch.

"I'll tear you apart!"

A bestial growl squeezed out from its throat.

Its massive body brought forth a foul wind as it pounced toward that slender figure. The gale billowed Chen Guan's black clothes, and the sharp claws slammed down with immense wind pressure.

Chen Guan's figure could always stay one step ahead, sliding into the blind spots where its attacks missed.

The tiger demon's offensive grew increasingly frantic.

Yet the dark silhouette's evasions were unreasonably calm, almost as if he could see the future.

Every turn of his body, every duck of his head perfectly avoided the sharpest edge of the claw wind.

Without a hair's breadth of error, not even a corner of his clothes was grazed.

"Trash!" Wei Zhe's piercing shout broke the stalemate. "I didn't bring you here to waste time playing with a cadet! Kill him!"

Beside him, the motionless black-robed demon's hood twitched slightly.

"And you!" Wei Zhe turned to it with a commanding tone. "Attack together! I don't have that much patience!"

The black-robed demon king glanced at him but did not reply.

There was nothing much to say to a dying man.

However, it didn't continue to stand idly by either.

"Watch out!" An Changqing was the first to detect the ominous aura. "That mist will erode your sanity!"

Chen Guan's forward momentum indeed stagnated for a split second.

Now is the moment!

"Do it!" A sickly excitement erupted in Wei Zhe's eyes. "Tear him to shreds!"

The black mist gathered and took shape on Chen Guan's left side.

A withered claw reached out from the robe, bearing bone-corroding black energy as it aimed straight for his heart.

Almost at the exact same moment, the tiger demon's giant claws slammed down from behind.

The wind from the claws completely sealed off all avenues of retreat.

"Chen Guan!" Yin Chen's voice was filled with anxiety.

As he cried out, dozens of condensed wind blades wove into a net, slashing toward the low-level demonic beasts closing in from the sides.

"You don't need to yell!" Hong Yuan was the same as always. "Instead of wasting your breath, you'd be better off hacking down a few more of these scumbags!"

She gripped her giant axe with both hands and stomped heavily on the ground.

A powerful shockwave sent several of the vanguard demonic beasts flying. They were finished off by Yin Chen in mid-air, turning into clouds of blood mist.

The two quickly closed the distance, standing back to back.

Wind blades sliced the air, and the giant axe cleaved mountains and shattered stones, forcibly clearing out a foothold amidst the horde of demons.

On the other side, An Changqing's voice grew calm. "Leave this to me."

His sword struck out, a clear light flowing across the blade as he held it horizontally before his chest.

Using himself as the center, he drew an arc of light.

"Disperse."

Wherever the sword light passed, the mind-corroding black mist was completely swept away, leaving no trace behind.

"Spirit Speech: Regeneration."

Su Yuehe's cold and clear voice followed closely.

A soft halo spread out from around her, landing squarely on everyone, restoring their stamina and mana.

Ever since she stopped obsessing over destructive power, her support abilities had grown increasingly stronger. She could practically be called a walking fountain.

It was no wonder she was always targeted first in team fights.

After confirming that his companions were safe, Chen Guan raised his eyes. He didn't even turn his head to look at the tiger demon's sharp claws behind him. After all, he possessed the toughest shield in the entire world.