Xu Mu, He's Trying to Possess You

Xu Mu was perfectly countered this time, because the person before him could not be considered a true human in the strictest sense.

His perception could not detect him, nor could it determine the other party’s filial-piety value toward him.

However, Xu Mu had already been drawn deep into the situation, so he could only act according to his own judgment.

“What realm is that woman in?”

Xu Mu had more or less guessed that she was Hathaway. He had not expected the members of the Holy Light race to enter so quickly either.

“That woman is at the third stage of the World-Breaking Realm. She has only just reached the third stage.”

As the flame man spoke, he spread his arms wide. The flames around his body expanded once again.

“All right. My body is the passage now. Come in.”

Xu Mu hesitated briefly before nodding lightly and walking toward the flame man.

The moment he stepped into the other man’s body, he entered another space.

The flame man said to Xu Mu, “That woman is currently on the second level. You’re on the third level now. She’ll be coming up shortly.”

With that, the flame man transformed back into a little flame and drifted upward.

Xu Mu stood there quietly with his sword in hand, feeling that something was wrong.

Perhaps it was simply his intuition.

But ever since Xu Mu’s power of destiny had grown stronger, his intuition had gradually become increasingly accurate.

Just as Xu Mu was pondering this, a red circle appeared in the distance.

A moment later, Hathaway appeared from within it, clad in silver armor.

Hathaway strode forward with powerful steps, her cloak fluttering behind her.

When she saw Xu Mu standing before her, her single eye suddenly narrowed into a slit.

“Xu Mu! What are you doing here?”

“I’m the guardian of this level. I absolutely won’t allow you to pass.”

Xu Mu tightened his grip on his sword and pointed it at Hathaway.

“Heh heh! That’s perfect. We can settle our old and new grudges together!”

Hathaway spread her arms wide. Golden light gathered before her, forming a weapon.

“Victory Sword!”

Clang!

The golden light transformed into a greatsword in Hathaway’s hands. Strange symbols shimmered across its blade.

“Xu Mu, do you think I’m still the same person I was before? I’ve advanced another stage. Now, die!”

Bang!

The air around Hathaway’s body exploded.

In the blink of an eye, she appeared before Xu Mu and swung the golden greatsword down at him.

Xu Mu activated Demonic Protection as well as Spirit Vein Armament.

Boom!

Their weapons did not actually collide. The qi between them was constantly compressing.

But Xu Mu held on for only a little over a second before his body was blasted backward by the terrifying force.

The violent impact left his body aching.

Although Xu Mu had reached the mid-stage of the Transcendent Realm, Hathaway had advanced as well.

Her third stage was far from comparable to that of an ordinary third-stage expert.

During their previous battle, Xu Mu had been at a disadvantage the entire time. Only by catching her off guard and closing in had he managed to deal enough damage.

In the end, he had also relied on the Void Afterimage Sword to make her lose focus before using the spray from the Immortal Life Research Institute to knock her out.

Hathaway, who had grown even stronger this time, would certainly be prepared for such tricks.

“Xu Mu, I’m going to torture you bit by bit. I’ll repay you a hundredfold for the humiliation you inflicted on me!”

Hathaway charged at Xu Mu again.

The moment he saw her coming, Xu Mu raised his weapon to block. Relying on his powerful physique, he could still clash with Hathaway blow for blow.

His realm might not improve every time, but whenever Xu Mu drew a prize, his physical strength was guaranteed to increase.

Meanwhile, the little flame high above grew increasingly animated.

It could hardly believe that it had already imagined Xu Mu to be strong enough, yet he had still exceeded its expectations.

The flame man could naturally sense that this woman from the Holy Light race was only at the third stage on the surface.

In terms of actual combat strength, however, even a fourth-stage expert would not be able to defeat her easily.

Yet Xu Mu, who was merely at the mid-stage of the Transcendent Realm, could fight her head-on.

Just how far did his limits extend?

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The collisions of qi continued without pause.

Xu Mu and Hathaway fought fiercely, with Xu Mu being knocked backward most of the time.

But Hathaway immediately pursued him, swinging her sword wildly.

Hathaway did not understand why. She clearly hated Xu Mu to the point of madness, yet the corners of her lips kept rising into a smile.

It had been a long time since she had encountered a battle like this. Every clash left her body trembling.

When her realm had been lower, her father had served as her sparring partner.

But as her strength had grown, she had gradually lost all opponents.

Although her father’s realm was still above hers, she no longer dared to fight him with the same abandon she had possessed as a child.

When she was young, no matter how much strength she used, it remained within her father’s control. It was like a child fighting an adult.

The adult would always restrain the child without hurting them.

But things were different now. If she used her full strength, she was afraid of injuring her father, while her father was likewise afraid of hurting her.

In the end, their sparring matches became merely symbolic. Both sides held back, neither daring to fight with all their strength.

As for the other members of the Holy Light race, they were even less suitable opponents.

Who among experts above the World-Breaking Realm would willingly fight someone and risk injury for no reason?

That was also why Hathaway liked taking on missions. Her goal was to fight powerful opponents.

But things often failed to go as planned. People at her level were generally extremely protective of their lives. If a battle lasted longer than five minutes, they would usually choose to flee rather than stand and fight Hathaway head-on.

That was why she had developed some favorable feelings toward Ye Chen before. Even though he had been completely outmatched, he had still dared to fight her for ten minutes.

But now, she had encountered Xu Mu—the man who made her tremble.

She could attack without the slightest restraint.

Boom!

Their weapons collided once again. The tremendous impact left Hathaway’s entire arm numb, and she nearly lost her grip on the greatsword.

“This feeling… marvelous!”

The smile on Hathaway’s face grew wider. Even her jade-white cheeks began to flush.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Her battle with Xu Mu became even more intense.

Xu Mu was completely baffled. What was wrong with this woman?

At first, her single eye had been filled with hatred, but now… why did it seem to contain a hint of affection?

Still, Xu Mu felt that he must have seen incorrectly.

Maintaining such a high-intensity battle consumed him greatly.

But he still could not figure out what the flame man was planning, so he had refrained from using his divine-level technique.

However, continuing like this was not a solution.

Just as Xu Mu was preparing to use his divine-level technique, a wall of fire suddenly appeared between them.

Xu Mu and Hathaway separated at the same time.

The wall of fire slowly gathered into a human figure. It was the flame man from earlier.

“Xu Mu, I’ve acknowledged your strength. Come in. I’ll send you to the fifth level.”

The flame man spread his arms as he spoke.

“What are you?”

Hathaway had been enjoying the fight. How could she possibly allow Xu Mu to leave?

She sent a sword aura toward the flame man, but the flame man had no fixed form. The sword aura passed easily through the flames.

Xu Mu did not want to continue fighting Hathaway either. His primary objective was the treasure.

He quickly ran toward the flame man and plunged into the mass of flames.

But this time, Xu Mu did not leave. Instead, the flame man’s fire completely enveloped him.

“What is this…?”

Hathaway’s eyes widened.

“Xu Mu! It’s trying to seize your body!”