Chapter 129 – Darkness

Volume 3: Rising Winds and Clouds

"What a shame…"

The Ancient Demon Seed sighed and shook its head, disappointed and surprised that it had failed to kill Xing.

Wen Yu's scalp tingled after watching the Ancient Demon Seed "deal with" Xing so cleanly.

By Wen Yu's assessment of his own strength, few creatures below Level 6 could pose a fatal threat to him. That included even Divine Beast Species. This confidence had been the fundamental reason he stayed behind to hold the Ancient Demon Seed back.

It now appeared that the Ancient Demon Seed's Skill configuration was terrifying.

So terrifying that Wen Yu's fighting spirit surged instantly.

…

That was right. No fear or terror filled Wen Yu's heart-only an inexplicable battle lust and excitement.

Ever since Wen Yu reached Level 4, Xing and One-Eye had generally handled every opponent he faced. But Wen Yu had never forgotten that a Soul Master was different from an ordinary summoner.

Before Level 5, Wen Yu's personal combat power had fallen below Xing's. Now that the Little Soul Beast had acquired Dark Divine Light, however, Wen Yu's own combat power had risen dramatically. More importantly, his Ability system was no weaker than the Ancient Demon Seed's.

After completing his Promotion, Wen Yu had studied Dark Divine Light in detail and discovered that his combat system had undergone a tremendous change.

Put simply, Wen Yu's current personal strength differed from that of an ordinary Class Holder and instead resembled the Ancient Demon Seed before him. Physical Attribute was merely the fuel used to release Skills; its direct influence on combat power was pitifully small.

He recalled One-Eye and took Faceless from the Fourth Soul Realm.

The Ancient Demon Seed looked faintly surprised.

"What? You're not running?"

Wen Yu shrugged.

"Could I get away? Your Physical Attribute is higher than mine, and you have Teleportation. No matter where I run, I can't outrun you. Right?"

"Correct."

The Ancient Demon Seed answered without hesitation.

"Then that settles it. We might as well have some fun. Round two starts now."

Their conversation sounded like that of old friends reuniting after many years, but the atmosphere between them grew increasingly oppressive.

…

Soul Pet Empowerment.

Second Soul Realm: select Life-And-Death Combat.

Third Soul Realm: select Dragon Might Domain.

Wen Yu selected the Skills for Soul Pet Empowerment in a matter of moments. Then he cut his finger and drew out a drop of blood.

The blood entered Faceless's body, causing an immediate and violent transformation.

Within seconds, a Faceless identical to Wen Yu stood beside him.

During that time, the Ancient Demon Seed made no attempt to attack. Instead, it watched Wen Yu thoughtfully.

Only after Faceless finished forming did the Ancient Demon Seed begin to clap slowly.

"Not bad. Not bad at all. That thing of yours is excellent. Give it to me, and I'll spare your life. How does that sound?"

Wen Yu shook his head. He removed Greed's Touch from his hand and placed it in Faceless's.

Faceless equipped Greed's Touch without expression. Wen Yu activated Soul Pet Empowerment again.

Second Soul Realm: select Flesh Tome.

Third Soul Realm: select Dragon Blood Amplification.

Wen Yu activated Dragon Blood Amplification. Feeling the burning sensation and immense power spreading through his body, he smiled faintly at the Ancient Demon Seed.

"If you want it, come and take it yourself."

"And now-round two begins."

The moment Wen Yu finished, an immense power erupted from his body. An endless aura of darkness burst outward with Wen Yu at its center.

A black Light Curtain nearly a thousand meters in diameter enveloped the entire battlefield, instantly concealing Wen Yu, Faceless, and the Ancient Demon Seed.

Darkness-fully activated.

At the same time, Faceless unleashed all its strength and lunged toward the Ancient Demon Seed.

…

The Ancient Demon Seed showed neither surprise nor shock when darkness swallowed it.

A Dark-type Ability was rare, but the Ancient Demon Seed's Spatial Ability was rarer still. Its Ability configuration gave it a lofty status inside the Demon Realm, and it had naturally witnessed many different powers. Something resembling a curtain of darkness was not enough to impress it.

But just as Wen Yu had failed to guess the Ancient Demon Seed's Abilities, the Ancient Demon Seed had clearly underestimated the current Wen Yu.

When it tried to activate Teleportation and kill Wen Yu directly, it abruptly discovered that Wen Yu's aura had vanished completely.

"What an interesting Ability."

The Ancient Demon Seed lightly licked the corner of its mouth and raised its voice.

An answer came from every direction.

"This Ability is called Darkness."

In the next instant, countless eerie powers of darkness wrapped around the Ancient Demon Seed.

Dark Siphon-activated.

Darkness variant-Delayed Activation.

Darkness variant-Blindness.

Darkness variant…

Every manner of Dark Attribute curse Skill was applied to the Ancient Demon Seed, weakening its Physical Attribute again and again. At the same time, Faceless reached its side.

Dragon Might Domain-activated.

The Ancient Demon Seed's expression finally changed.

…

For the current Wen Yu and the Ancient Demon Seed, battle was no longer a simple contest of Physical Attribute.

The effects produced by their Skills mattered far more.

Nevertheless, a higher Physical Attribute meant greater stamina and the ability to release more Skills. Under the combined suppression of numerous darkness curses and Dragon Might Domain, the Ancient Demon Seed's maximum stamina fell sharply. Every second, the curses drained away still more.

Darkness also severely compressed the Ancient Demon Seed's perception. It only vaguely sensed Faceless's position before activating Teleportation.

Silver light flashed. The Ancient Demon Seed vanished and abruptly reappeared behind Faceless.

…

Wen Yu's tactic was extremely simple. Faceless would maintain Dragon Might Domain, suppress the Ancient Demon Seed's Physical Attribute at close range, and engage it in melee when necessary. Wen Yu would hide within the endless darkness, wielding Wild Song and Throb to attack from a distance.

Inside the darkness created by Dark Divine Light, Wen Yu was effectively everywhere-even effectively omnipotent.

Faceless also possessed Darkness. Although it lacked the enhancement of Dragon Blood Amplification, claiming that the Ancient Demon Seed could kill it with a single slap would have been an insult to Dark Divine Light.