Chapter 350 – Impressive, You Almost Broke My Bones

“This time I’m still taking eighty percent.”

Six Wings spread wide as Lu Yuan, clad in kingly heavy armor, flew swiftly close to the forest.

The edges of his ornate armor emitted a thin black aura, and the wind slipped over the smooth crystal-like mask, ruffling the slightly long black hair at his sides.

The cuckoo bird, with its rear end perched up, was leading the way ahead of him, showing no intention of responding to his words.

“Little bastard’s got quite the temper,” Lu Yuan thought silently.

He considered finding time to perform chaos divination; his curiosity about the origins of this cuckoo bird was growing.

Unbeknownst to him, they had already arrived at their destination.

The cuckoo bird dropped in altitude, and he followed in a steep dive.

It was at the edge of another valley, where heat waves surged into the sky, making the air both hot and dry.

These natives with the Phoenix bloodline, who lived within the secret realm of Embers Mountain, seemed to prefer such environments.

Embers Mountain had a peculiar terrain-in spite of the dense vegetation covering the surface, digging downward would reveal numerous magma rivers flowing beneath the rock layers.

Who knew how these ancient trees, tens of meters tall, managed to grow to such sizes in this environment?

Touching down on the ground.

Lu Yuan walked to the edge of the valley and looked inward.

This settlement of the Phoenix bloodline natives had also been attacked by the mysterious joint exploration team. The air above the valley was filled with shuttles and Mecha, with figures bustling about. The valley floor was strewn with rubble and ashes.

Lu Yuan also spotted the colossal corpse of an ancient evil deity creature, resembling a monstrous earthworm or snake, lying horizontally on the ground. Many people were collecting and moving it.

It was evident that the battle had ended before Lu Yuan’s arrival; now, it was time to clean up the battlefield.

“Is that thing still there?”

Lu Yuan quickly detected a location with an extremely dense concentration of the evil deity factor.

He saw on a certain altar at the bottom of the valley, a beast bone faintly emitting a red glow, resting silently there, exuding an aura of mystery and extraordinariness.

Two members of the exploration team were standing in front of the altar with a box, seemingly preparing to pack the beast bone into the box and take it away.

“Looks like I arrived just in time,” he thought.

Lu Yuan surveyed the valley and its surrounding environment, planning in his mind the route for taking the treasure and retreating. Just as he was about to make his move, the cuckoo bird, which had been silent all this time, suddenly called out.

Hearing the meaning conveyed in the bird’s call, Lu Yuan was taken aback. Then, he used his mental power to probe several locations.

Several seconds later, Lu Yuan’s expression turned peculiar, and an unusual light began to flicker in his eyes.

“So, there’s an ambush. Does this mean this is a trap specifically set for me?”

“Interesting.”

Xilin was hiding in the shadows, not far from the altar and the beast bone.

His figure was concealed by a barrier released by a cloaking device.

At this moment, he resembled a hunter waiting quietly by a pre-set trap, expecting the prey to sniff out the bait and fall into the net.

Oh, no.

Kalador was the true hunter; Xilin was more likely just an observer.

Xilin thought to himself.

He turned to look beside him.

Kalador, clad in moon-white sky armament, was resting his twin swords on the ground, his hands lightly placed on the hilts. His eyes were closed, exuding an indescribable elegance and composure in his serene posture.

Kalador already possessed the demeanor and bearing of a top-tier powerhouse.

Both his strength and character earned Xilin’s respect and admiration.

He was both a good friend and a wise mentor.

Xilin recalled the words Kalador had spoken to him earlier. As he remembered the terrifying figure that had cast a deep shadow over his heart, he suddenly felt it wasn’t as frightening anymore.

“Kalador was right. That elephant man wasn’t really that strong; it was the failure that magnified my fear of it.”

A sliver of realization dawned in Xilin’s heart, and he felt his thoughts clear up significantly, and much of the mental fog was lifted.

Suddenly.

An evil energy wave appeared above the deep valley. Xilin looked up and saw a black silhouette, clad in armor and bearing Six Wings, swiftly diving down from the valley entrance.

“He’s here!”

Seventh Stage Hidden Star!

Xilin’s heart skipped a beat. He quickly turned his head to look at Kalador.

At the same moment, Kalador’s tightly closed eyes slowly opened. He then gently grasped the twin sword hilts before him, and the sky armament on his body immediately began to activate and operate.

“Zzzzt-“

Finger-thick blue electric currents burst out from beneath the moon-white armor, accompanied by a star-like glow.

Sparkling light spots appeared around Kalador, no less than fourteen in total.

The intertwining powers of Starry Sky martial arts and the sky armament fused together, creating a massive pressure.

Xilin couldn’t help but take a step back, a faint look of astonishment appearing on his face.

He saw that the air around Kalador had become completely blurred and distorted, with an indescribably vast power brewing within Kalador’s body.

It was like a storm forming-

A star on the brink of explosion!

Terrifying.

Xilin stared at Kalador’s star-like eyes, finally realizing just how immense the gap between their strengths truly was.

He couldn’t even get near Kalador. Just taking a single step forward would crush and overwhelm him under that horrifying pressure.

“Closer, a bit closer.”

Kalador’s soft murmur reached his ears.

Xilin saw the reflection of the descending black silhouette in Kalador’s eyes.

The outline of Six Wings grew larger in Kalador’s vision, gradually being swallowed by the brilliant gleam streaming from his pupils.

When the mysterious figure, clad in ornate heavy armor, reached the center of the valley-

“Whoosh-“

Dozens of white beams of light shot up from around the valley, swiftly weaving into a peculiar force field that enveloped the entire valley.

The divinity suppression device activated!

Under this suppressive force field, the mysterious figure seemed to pause momentarily.

And at that moment.

Xilin heard Kalador’s murmuring come to an abrupt halt.

Time seemed to freeze for a second, then…

“Boom!”

A storm, a star, exploded beside Xilin.

Kalador’s form vanished.

In its place, an indescribable, radiant streak of light shot up into the sky.

With a speed akin to a flash of lightning, it struck the mysterious figure in the valley.

“Boom!”

In an instant, the black silhouette was blasted away by the radiant streak of light, slamming directly into the inner wall of the valley.

Then came a series of continuous explosions, “Rumble rumble rumble!”

The entire valley shook and trembled. Countless rocks tumbled from the walls, and searing magma gushed out.

It was as if the heavens and earth were collapsing.

Standing in place, Xilin felt an inexplicable current rise from his tailbone, rapidly coursing through his body, causing it to tremble, his blood to surge, and his scalp to tingle.

Powerful!

Incredibly powerful!

Is this the force comparable to a seventh stage?

Xilin stared unblinkingly at the nearly collapsed side of the valley wall, at the dazzling streak of light rampaging through the swirling dust and debris. His mouth went dry, and the blood running through his veins turned scorching hot.

At that moment, it felt as if a flame had been ignited in Xilin’s heart, and a voice screamed madly from within: That elephant man with three heads and six arms is nothing! This, this is real strength!

Finally.

The terrifying turbulence gradually subsided.

Amidst the floating and dispersing debris, Kalador, holding his twin swords, slowly emerged from the collapsed wall.

Brilliant starlight and moonlight flowed gently over him, maintaining his initial elegance and composure.

“Crack-“

The faceplate of the sky armament opened, revealing Kalador’s young and handsome face.

He casually sheathed his twin swords and looked down at Xilin with a faint smile, saying, “It went even smoother than we expected, Xilin.”

“Seems like it’s settled.”

In the meeting room, the head of the Distant Star Federation smiled and took a light sip of coffee in front of him.

A small sigh of relief echoed in the room, followed by murmurs of admiration.

Summoning a sixth-stage supernova equipped with sky armament to work with the divinity suppression device made it effortless to subdue the seventh-stage Hidden Star that had been causing so much trouble.

This is the strength and foundation of the dominant state.

“Is he dead?”

Cassel stared at the light screen in front of him and asked.

“Maybe. The energy fluctuation intensity from Kalador’s strike just now completely reached the seventh-stage level.

Under normal circumstances, the other party should be nothing but a corpse.”

The head of the Distant Star Federation casually remarked as he set down his coffee cup.

“I’ll have them bring back both the person and the items.”

He motioned to the glasses-wearing man nearby, preparing to give instructions.

But before he could finish speaking, a sudden commotion and hushed exclamations filled the air.

Turning his head, he glanced at the light screen.

His expression froze in place instantly.

Half a second later, he roughly shoved the glasses-wearing man aside.

Leaning forward heavily on the table, he stood up abruptly, his body moving sharply closer.

Staring at the screen in disbelief, he blurted out, “What?!”

“Dig him out and search him thoroughly.”

Kalador landed on the ground, casually giving orders as he started to deactivate the full-body coverage effect of the sky armament.

The exploration team members, filled with reverent admiration, nodded quickly and turned to carry out the orders.

The tense atmosphere in the deep valley dissipated.

The entire hunting operation, from start to finish, had lasted only about ten minutes, much smoother than anyone had anticipated.

Once again, Kalador had demonstrated and proven his overwhelming power.

“It feels like the seventh stage isn’t as terrifying as I thought.”

Standing in front of Kalador, Xilin spoke, his eyes burning with a bright intensity. The fighting spirit that had lain dormant seemed to have been completely ignited by Kalador’s dazzling sword.

“What’s terrifying is a heart that dares not face fear.”

Kalador patted Xilin on the shoulder, smiling as he spoke.

“Yeah.”

Xilin nodded, replying, “I’ve decided. I’m withdrawing from this operation now and heading to the Elephant Deity Secret Realm immediately, to find…”

“Hm?”

In the middle of speaking, Xilin suddenly heard a faint noise from afar.

Snapping his head up, he realized the sound was coming from the area previously occupied by the hunting battle group.

From the collapsed rocks, vibrations could be heard, as if something was trying to emerge.

Could the seventh-stage Hidden Star still be alive?!

Xilin tensed up instantly, quickly looking toward Kalador.

Kalador also noticed the emerging commotion.

Narrowing his eyes slightly, his expression remained composed.

“It’s nothing major, no need to be nervous,” he said calmly, then began to walk slowly toward the source of the noise.

He casually drew his twin swords, and the sky armament re-covered his body.

His demeanor remained composed, and a powerful aura rapidly emanated from him.

“To have survived that strike, interesting,” Kalador muttered, as he floated above the trembling pile of rocks, eyes gleaming with sharp light.

A storm brewed within him once more; electrical currents surged, and brilliant stars floated around him.

When his strength reached its peak, Kalador descended like a meteor.

“Boom!”

The vibrating rock pile exploded under the terrifying impact, causing the entire valley floor to quake violently.

As the dust settled, the glowing Kalador stood on the ground, maintaining a stance with both swords thrust forward.

For the first time, a look of astonishment crossed his previously calm face, as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

There, held firmly by two strong, pale hands, were the tips of his twin swords.

Heavy breathing could be heard.

A slightly disheveled but upright figure shook off the dust, standing up slowly from the collapsed rocks, under the oppressive aura of Kalador.

“No wonder you dared to ambush me.”

Shattered sovereign heavy armor. Broken black crystal mask.

With Kalador’s incredulous gaze fixed on him, a young man with a pale yet strikingly handsome face gradually raised his head and softly said, “Impressive. You almost shattered my bones.”

“Uh…”