Clark was sweating profusely. He was now in an unenviable situation against a monster whose strength he couldn't gauge. This might be his first real test! Could he face it or not? That's what crossed his mind.
But he felt the Dark Qi igniting in his heart! Emotions were truly the fuel for darkness!
Suddenly, the zombie charged thoughtlessly to attack Clark! Thrusting with its sword, like a madman trying to cut Clark down! But the latter was too fast and dodged.
Clark quickly found an opening amidst those violent swings! He grabbed the zombie's left hand, pinning it, and with his right hand coated in Dark Qi, used the first technique: The Pulsating Strike!
BOOM!!!
Four punches sent that zombie flying!
Clark felt victorious, but the zombie immediately charged again, attacking Clark! Despite reinforcing his arms, Clark feared his hand would be disabled by the zombie's blade! There was a high chance his hand wasn't solid enough to withstand the sharpness of the zombie's sword and the power of its attack!
But all that remained in Clark's mind was a thick fog of emotions! He no longer cared; he was enjoying it even more! This was the thrill of battle! The gamble! You never know if you'll win or suffer a devastating loss! Therefore, in battle, you must gamble with your life!
Clark sensed something! There was a trick! He thought in astonishment:
· "Did the Master know about the zombie? Is that why he sent me to fetch tea, so I'd face dangers and discover something I know nothing about?!"
But the zombie made a distracting swing, forcing Clark to duck, evading the blow that could have pierced his skull! Yet, the zombie raised its left hand! To Clark's shock, it had coated it in a black aura!
The zombie screamed, speaking for the first time:
· "Black Dragon Claw Fist that Shakes the Heavens!!!!"
Clark was stunned! The fist descended on his chest mercilessly! He gritted his teeth fiercely to endure the pain! He felt multiple sensations: burning as if by fire! He felt his internal organs churning! Every terrible thing possible he felt from that brutal strike!
Clark began to sweat and bleed! He thought to himself:
· "I can fight, but this zombie truly has supernatural endurance! I barely hit it, and it's still swinging like that...."
Suddenly, the zombie interrupted Clark's thoughts, charging with a crushing attack to kill him! But Clark, with all his Qi, reinforced his hands! Clark became enraged! Suddenly, The World appeared behind Clark! The zombie tried to create distance, but Clark clung to it fiercely, saying:
· "I played with you before, but now it's judgment between us! The World!"
Clark shouted loudly: "The World, stop time!"
Gears instantly moved in The World's hands, and Clark heard a mighty sound like shattering clocks and moving gears! The zombie remained suspended in mid-air! Clark and The World lunged, delivering a series of consecutive blows! Clark, amazed by The World's fist speed, stopped comparing himself! But that final punch proved to him it was a supernatural embodiment! That punch was enough to shatter the zombie's skull!
Five seconds passed! The stop was supposed to end, but it continued for four more seconds! Clark kept mercilessly punching the zombie's face! The moment Clark released it, time resumed! The zombie horrifyingly soared into one of the rocks, shattering it and piercing through several trees beyond it, blood flowing from its head, its brain matter oozing from its temple!
The zombie pushed away the debris around it while clutching the flesh flowing from its head, and looked at Clark with bloodshot eyes! Clark began to feel tired! He wasn't used to prolonged battles! And this zombie was truly a combat monster! Despite that, the zombie's power gradually weakened! But a mysterious, demonic, and dark aura surged forth!
Suddenly, it rose into the sky strangely, bones from its back emerging and forming themselves into wings! Clark understood what was happening! It seemed this zombie, before going mad, was a refiner on the Path of Transformation! It seemed it had modified its body to be able to extrude its bones to become wings!
It raised its sword terrifyingly into the sky! An overwhelming, mysterious black aura surrounded it! It terrified Clark! He said:
· "That's not just shadows! It's something even more terrifying! This is truly a problem if I don't get away!"
Suddenly, the zombie's laughter echoed! No, it was no longer a zombie to Clark, but a demon! It had to be defeated now! But that strike descended instantly like a terrifying, decisive blow! It made the blood dry in Clark's veins! A massive strike capable of splitting mountains in half! Even this demonic zombie stood in the sky looking down at Clark, confident of its victory!
Clark screamed in utter terror:
· "The World, come out! Stop time! Damn you!"
The World instantly emerged and stopped time! The strike was on the verge of hitting Clark! A hair's breadth from his face and chest! But Clark had only stopped time for a second! He didn't know what happened, but time resumed flowing after one second! Mid-dodge, he was severely hit in the chest! The area filled with dust and a very large fissure split the ground! The zombie heard the sound of blood flowing from Clark!
The dust cleared, and Clark was gone! Clark kept laughing:
· "Keke keke keke keke keke ke!"
The demonic zombie screamed:
· "Come out and face me!"
It looked around frantically, trying to find Clark! Suddenly...
BOOM!!!!!!
The World's fist, clearly visible! A severe injury to its chest! Piercing through the zombie, which began to shatter from the intensity of the damage it received!
The demon asked angrily:
· "What did I do wrong?! I turned into a zombie to become immortal, and now I lose to a human in the King Layer?! Just tell me, how did I lose to you?!"
Clark laughed madly, spitting a lot of blood while holding his wound, replying with utter arrogance:
· "It happened because you stood in the way of a man destined for the fate of kings!" He quickly pulled his fist and The World's hand from the demonic zombie's chest and continued: "It was my destiny from the beginning to defeat you and crush your pride! Don't blame yourself! You performed well in battle and entertained this gentleman before you! Now rest in peace!"
The demon quickly laughed and replied:
· "So! I stayed here for hundreds of years just to die by your hand! Oh, the irony of fate! My transformation into a zombie didn't help me! Because your final strike destroys my soul!"
Clark asked it:
· "The zombie transformation? Immortality? Can I do it?"
The zombie replied, struggling not to fall:
· "No! It deprives you of evolution! It grants you lifespan, but in the end, you will die! I was defeated by you! So what stops anyone from killing you?! You won't be able to refine or evolve! Your appearance will turn green! But... there is a zombie society called the Green Mountain! There you will meet the Immortal Fist King! He possesses nine fists, each capable of shaking the heavens!"
Its vision quickly blurred, and it fell to the ground! The demonic zombie died!!!
Clark immediately began walking with difficulty! Dragging his feet, weakened from this entire ordeal! He found no rest! His condition was critical! If he returned to the Master in one piece, it would be a great achievement!
Clark was exhausted and utterly drained! He wanted to lean his body on The World, but he fell because The World had weakened after the battle! Due to Clark's injuries and exhaustion from stopping time!
Clark thought to himself:
· "It seems stopping time can only be relied upon once! In the end, after that supernatural stop, I could only last a second in the stopped world! And I almost died because of that second! How laughable! I thought I was invincible, but in the end, I was crushed badly! Keke keke ke! I must ask that stupid old man about a technique to make me fast! I won't rely on stopping time to dodge attacks! But maybe if I became an immortal zombie, could I stop time indefinitely?!"
Suddenly, a notification arrived for Clark! He opened the window and read a message from Athena:
· "Please don't turn into a zombie! It will make your handsome appearance hideous!"
Clark looked displeased:
· "This is no time for games! Can you send me medicine or holy water to heal myself?!"
Athena replied with another message:
· "I can't! Because supporting you with anything costs too much! And don't think I regret spending on you! But my money was confiscated! Since I sent you something sacred and expensive so you could refine!"
Clark was furious! He leaned his back against a tree! No one would help him! Not even his damned World Planet constellation that watches him! And yet it didn't lift a finger!
He wondered, is this the end? Clark asked himself! He said:
· "If I die now, will my suffering end? Will everything... will I find peace? The journey is truly long! I want to close my eyes tightly and never wake up again! Truly, will I feel liberated from everything, and will it all end in peace and tranquility?! I've always wondered: why? Why are there laws governing everything? What if I broke everything? Then I could challenge the heavens of death! Or is it too difficult, and can a trivial person like me not do it? Or not? Can I?! Am I just underestimating myself?! Fine, I'll close my eyes! Let whatever happens, happen!"
Clark closed his eyes! He felt it was the end! His wounds began to fester due to his excessive staggering! But suddenly, Clark saw a strange light! It made him open his eyes! He quickly saw a scene that might be the first beautiful sight he'd seen since waking up! Cicadas of spring appeared with their soft green light! It made Clark think it might make his death more poetic!
But he saw the cicadas start moving strangely! As if they wanted Clark to follow them! He truly felt curious! He quickly stood with difficulty, leaning on the tree! It turned out... it turned out a small branch had pierced the lower part of Clark's back! But he hadn't felt it!
He started walking! The cicadas danced beside Clark's face! His vision was blurred! He pushed aside a tree branch obstructing his view! And saw a cave! He didn't know what this cave was about! But he started walking! He saw the entrance that the Venerable Urban's consciousness had mentioned entering!
The cicadas entered, and Clark followed them in bewilderment! He asked himself:
· "Where are they leading me, I wonder?!"
He began to go deeper! Suddenly, he was shocked, and at the same time, felt sadness???
To be continued....