"Brother Leo...!"
Seeing that Leo was unharmed, Fu Yuechi was the first to express her joy.
Fu Qingfeng and the others were stunned as they looked at Leo. Floating around him were nine golden Truth-Seeking Balls, radiating a mysterious aura.
The explosion from earlier had been so powerful that it shook the entire surrounding area into ruin.
Even the ground beneath Leo's feet was completely shattered and cracked.
Yet Leo himself remained standing—completely unharmed!
It was unbelievable!
At that moment:
"Are you kidding me? He came out of that unscathed?"
Zhiqiu Yiye, who stood at the front, was visibly shaken, his eyes wide with disbelief at the sight of Leo still standing tall and uninjured.
"It must've been those strange little black balls," Fu Qingfeng muttered, eyes fixed on the nine glowing golden spheres circling Leo.
"Brother Leo..." Fu Yuechi, still stunned, tried to speak, thinking she could stop the escalating confrontation between Leo and Zhiqiu Yiye.
But before she could say anything—
"Susanoo…!!"
Leo let out a low shout.
Zheng—!!
Suddenly, a bright blue energy erupted from Leo's body.
Before the eyes of the stunned crowd:
A towering, ethereal figure—Susanoo, a colossal blue warrior-like entity with two legs—began to form around Leo.
It soared upward, quickly taking shape into a fully-formed energy avatar standing over 100 meters tall, dwarfing everything around it!
"This… This is...!"
Fu Yuechi, Fu Qingfeng, and the others were all struck dumb.
They stared up at the massive, awe-inspiring figure made entirely of glowing energy. The 100-meter-tall Susanoo stood like a divine being, radiating immeasurable power.
Fu Yuechi clutched her mouth in shock, unable to utter a single word.
On the other side—
Zhiqiu Yiye, who had just been preparing to launch another Taoist spell, lost grip of the talisman paper in his hand. It fluttered to the ground.
His jaw dropped as he stared, dumbfounded, at the immense Susanoo looming before him.
Seated atop the giant Susanoo's head, Leo's expression remained cold and composed. His eyes—now glowing with a brilliant Three Tomoe Sharingan—flashed with determination.
Susanoo's giant energy blade suddenly formed in its palm, an enormous sword shimmering with terrifying might.
Then—
Shua—Bang!!
In an instant, Susanoo swung the blade downward.
A massive arc of sword light erupted—ripping through the air with a deafening roar, cutting across the battlefield toward Zhiqiu Yiye. The sheer force was enough to obliterate everything in its path.
"Underground escape—now!!" Zhiqiu Yiye screamed in panic, his hair standing on end.
With a flash of light, he activated his earth escape technique, diving into the ground just as the devastating slash struck.
Boom—!!!
Where the energy blade had passed, everything was turned into dust.
When the energy cleared, a deep ravine had been carved into the earth.
It was more than eight meters wide, over a hundred meters long, and terrifyingly deep. The cut was so clean and massive it seemed as if the world itself had been torn apart.
Everyone nearby stood in stunned silence.
The chivalrous fighters who had once tried to play tricks on Leo by pretending to be ghosts—just last night—were now frozen in place, cold sweat running down their backs.
They suddenly realized: if Leo had unleashed this kind of power on them, they wouldn't have even had time to scream before being annihilated!
This was true devastation!
This was terrifying power!!
Even Fu Qingfeng and Fu Yuechi, who had some understanding of Leo's strength, never imagined this level of force.
Leo had previously claimed to have reached the Earthly Immortal Realm, a title that once seemed vague and mythical.
But now…
They finally understood.
This—this was the true power of someone at the Earthly Immortal Realm!
A living god walking among men.
And Zhiqiu Yiye?
Surely he had perished…
But up on Susanoo's towering head, Leo's glowing Sharingan eyes remained fixed.
He knew.
Zhiqiu Yiye had narrowly escaped. Just before the slash hit, he had managed to dive underground.
Leo frowned slightly.
Then—
He raised a hand.
Susanoo gripped its massive energy blade again, preparing for another strike.
"Wait—no! Not again?!" Fu Qingfeng and several others instinctively backed away, overwhelmed by fear.
Just then—
Swish—!
From the soil near the forest's edge, a figure sprang out.
It was Zhiqiu Yiye, gasping for breath and covered in dirt.
"Wait, stop!" he yelled frantically.
"You're still going?! I surrender! I give up! Okay?!"
"We don't have any deep grudge or blood feud! Why are you pushing this so far?"
"Surrender! I surrender!!"
With hands raised high, Zhiqiu Yiye shouted toward Leo and his towering Susanoo.
The people nearby gasped in surprise.
They hadn't expected Zhiqiu Yiye to survive that monstrous strike.
Fu Yuechi, Fu Qingfeng, and the others exchanged shocked glances.
Then—
A glowing notification appeared in the air beside Leo.
Only he could see it.
---
[Congratulations! You have defeated 'Zhiqiu Yiye' and achieved a High-Level Combat Achievement.]
[Reward: 1x High-Level Achievement Lottery Ticket.]
---
Leo gave the floating interface a quick glance. Then, his eyes turned cold once more, still glowing with that ominous red Sharingan light.
"If you can dodge Susanoo's blade... then you can live."
With arms folded across his chest, Leo spoke those words coldly and calmly.
Then—
The immense Susanoo behind him began to fade.
The energy dispersed as Leo gently floated down from his perch 100 meters above the ground.
Touching down, Leo didn't look back.
Without a word, he turned around and walked away.
He didn't care about the awestruck gazes following him. He didn't explain or show off.
He simply returned toward the rooftop of Zhengqi Villa, likely to continue his training and absorb spiritual energy.
All across the surrounding area, the previously shaken natural energy began to calm and circulate once again.
Within a hundred kilometers, spiritual energy had begun to recover.
Leo could absorb more.
---
"Phew...!!"
Nearby, Zhiqiu Yiye let out a long sigh of relief.
"What kind of luck is this?!"
"First, my horse gets stolen. Then I finally find it, only to run into some crazy battle maniac!"
"You almost sliced me in half, and I'm the one who's supposed to be the Taoist here!"
Muttering curses under his breath, Zhiqiu Yiye walked over to the gigantic gash left in the earth by Susanoo's blade.
"...Holy..."
"Just who the hell is that guy?!"
He stared into the massive abyss, the bottom of which couldn't even be seen in the darkness.
Fu Yuechi, Fu Qingfeng, and the other chivalrous warriors came up behind him, all gazing into the same chasm.
None of them could find words.
Gulping nervously, someone finally whispered:
"He really is... a living King of Hell...!"