"What the hell? Why is there such a weird glow at the top of the mountain? That kind of light only shows up when a master breaks through! Did that kid actually level up right under this insane assault? No way!" Sword King Miyamoto’s face changed instantly as he saw the scene.
"No way, it’s gotta be a trick! That kid’s just putting on a show to save those Dragon Group rookies. Victor Orochi, what are you waiting for? Kill them! Stop stalling!" Masao Tokugawa started yelling like crazy.
"I…" Victor Orochi’s face looked even uglier. He clearly wanted to kill, but just as he opened his mouth, a nameless, razor-sharp sword-qi shot skyward, blasting right through his serpent head. In that instant, Ethan Yong and the others—who were about to be pulverized—finally got a breath of relief. They all collapsed to the ground, eyes wide and shaking. They were just Great Saints, not remotely a match for a Sub-Saint. Lasting this long was already a miracle.
And right as they were saved, Sophia Long—who’d been trapped in a swarm of snakes—finally escaped. The snakes around her melted to ash in an instant, and Sophia collapsed to the ground, eyes full of terror.
"Captain! Captain!" Ethan Yong was pure loyalty—even injured, he rushed straight to Sophia Long without a second thought.
Sophia Long’s face was ghost-white. She grit her teeth, trying to stand, but her whole body felt frozen—she couldn’t move at all. Back in Yan Capital, she’d fought a Sub-Saint before, but it had never been this brutal. Now she realized that Sub-Saint had gone easy on her because of her status. Facing a real Sub-Saint? She finally understood just how weak she was.
"I—I’m fine. Who saved us?" Sophia Long forced herself up from the ground, trembling with effort.
"It must’ve been Ryan Ling!" Ethan Yong swallowed hard and said.
"Him? No way, he’s probably still…" Sophia Long stopped, unable to say the rest.
"It’s him, alright. He’s way stronger than we ever imagined—a total monster!" Ethan Yong finished, and with a crash, Victor Orochi toppled over. Standing right on the serpent head was Ryan Ling.
Right now, Ryan Ling had finally broken through to Transcending Core. Compared to before, his power was on a whole new level. Cultivating immortality is always way harder than martial arts, but once you make it, the power boost is off the charts. Sure, Ryan had only taken a tiny step past Golden Core, but that little step came with a boatload of benefits. Before, he was just barely at quasi-Sub-Saint level, but now, with this fresh Transcending Core, his strength was already brushing up against Saint King territory. So taking on these three Sub-Saints? Piece of cake for Ryan.
Sophia Long just stared, totally stunned. She’d seen Ryan’s strength up close on the plane—he was strong, but not this freakishly strong. It’s only been a few days, and now he’s like a whole new person. This is what you call a legit Saint King!
"Captain, you see that? This guy is unreal! No wonder he dares to take on the World Dominion Society. He’s nuts!" Ethan Yong had always idolized powerhouses, and seeing Ryan’s badass stance now, he was straight-up jealous.
Sophia Long nodded slightly, but her mind flashed back to that satellite feed she’d seen earlier. Ryan Ling was definitely no idiot—there’s no way he’d hide up on the mountain to mess around at a time like this. He had to have a reason.
Seeing his insane power now, Sophia suddenly remembered an old term—dual cultivation.
Just thinking about it made Sophia’s face go red, but she quickly calmed down. She was sure of it now—when you’re staring down a bunch of enemies, anyone normal would want to boost their power. Ryan looked like he was up to something indecent, but really, he was just leveling up like crazy.
He powered up in one shot—could dual cultivation really be this OP? Her own strength had been stuck for ages. Should she try finding a guy and give it a shot?
Sophia Long’s thoughts spun out of control. She glanced at Ethan Yong—he was a good guy and not bad-looking, but definitely not her type. Doing that kind of thing with him? No way, not happening.
"Captain, what’s up? Why are you looking at me? Keep your eyes on Ryan Ling!" Ethan Yong was totally clueless, face full of confusion.
Sophia Long shook her head hard and turned to Ryan Ling. Right now, Ryan looked heroic—standing on the serpent’s head, he was honestly pretty damn handsome. She suddenly remembered him grabbing her butt on the plane, and out of nowhere, she felt an itch down below. A wild thought flashed through her mind—what if she tried dual cultivation with Ryan?
But the second that thought popped up, Sophia Long shivered all over, blushing even harder. Her little fist clenched—how could she even think something so wild?!
Meanwhile, the other two Sub-Saints—Masao Tokugawa and Sword King Miyamoto—had already surrounded Ryan Ling. Both of them stared him down, their auras icy cold.
At the same time, a wave of fishy stench started gathering around them, thickening the tension.
"Victor Orochi, quit pretending and get your ass out here!" Masao Tokugawa snorted coldly.
Sophia Long and Ethan Yong both shivered. Clearly, a Sub-Saint isn’t that easy to kill.
"This kid’s got guts, I’ll give him that. One sword-qi wiped out one of my clones, but I’ve got thousands more!" Victor Orochi laughed, as a swirl of green energy condensed into a giant serpent head. In midair, countless huge serpent phantoms twisted and darted, sealing off every escape route around Ryan Ling!
Right as Victor Orochi finished, the three Sub-Saints locked into position, eyes glued to Ryan Ling.
And all around, even more powerful auras were lurking, watching everything unfold. Ryan Ling’s destruction of Chiba Shrine was earth-shaking, sure—but that was just Japan’s spiritual center, not its real powerhouse zone. Right now, these elite forces joining up are Japan’s true core combat strength—the foundation of their national war power. Back when Japan invaded Huaxia, it was this combo of forces that let them swallow up half the country.
(Chapter not finished—click next page for more!)
"Ryan Ling!" Sophia Long watched, worried. She knew exactly how strong a real Sub-Saint was—and those two looked even stronger. No matter how she looked at it, Ryan was outnumbered!
While the Huaxia Dragon Group was tense as hell, the Ghost Elder was totally chill—more relaxed than ever. Ryan Ling’s power was at an all-time peak, and these three Japanese Sub-Saints were about to become his stepping stones to fame across East Asia!
"Go on, Ryan Ling—kill them all!" the Ghost Elder roared.
Ryan Ling just smiled and swept his gaze at Victor Orochi. Instantly, countless waves of sword-qi howled out.
"So you’ve got a bunch of clones, huh? Today I’m wiping out every last one of your serpent spawn!" With that, Ryan Ling’s sword-qi went berserk, slashing straight at them.
"How is this even possible?" Victor Orochi’s face turned green. Every strand of sword-qi was packing Sub-Saint-level power.
"Die!" Ryan Ling didn’t hesitate—waves of sword-qi blasted out, madly tearing into Victor Orochi.
In just a couple blinks, the sky went nuts with tens of thousands of screams. Giant serpent heads crashed down everywhere, snake blood splattering all around—the whole sky turned red!
"Aaaah!" Victor Orochi totally lost it, eyes bloodshot—Ryan Ling’s move had pushed him past rage.
"Baka! I’m gonna eat you alive!" Victor Orochi bellowed, his whole body morphing into a massive serpent, hundreds of meters long—like a freaking mountain crashing down on Ryan Ling.
But Ryan Ling didn’t flinch. In a flash, he charged straight at Victor Orochi, grabbed the serpent’s jaws with both hands, and ripped them open—the mouth split wide!
"Victor Orochi, die first!" Ryan Ling shouted, and Victor’s whole serpent head started to shatter, leaving everyone stunned. Ninjas rushed in like crazy, but they were just cannon fodder—none of them could even get close to Ryan.
"Just how strong is this guy, anyway?" Everyone around was left totally speechless…