Volume 3: Global Vanguard & The Advanced Pinnacle
Chapter 205
Decapitating the Shadow Magic Ninja
The sound of sea winds wailing through the fissures of the ancient coral reef created desolate, mournful notes, resembling the bitter grievances of spirits buried forever at the bottom of the abyss.
Before the Shenzhou team, the thousand-year-old ruins of the Sea God’s temple stood imposingly upon a mound of fossilized limestone. The massive marble pillars were eroded and pitted by moss and sea salt, yet they still radiated the wild, solemn majesty of a sunken magical civilization. At the center of the ruined sanctuary, resting on an octagonal lapis lazuli sacrificial altar, a crystal the size of an adult’s fist hovered suspended in midair.
That was none other than the supreme-grade Life Crystal!
The crystal emitted a soft, jade-green halo, sending ripple after ripple of pure, vital life energy surging outward, causing even the withered coral branches nearby to sprout and burst into brilliant, deep-violet stone blossoms.
On Lin Feng’s chest, the Archaic Dragon Pendant hidden beneath his tactical field uniform suddenly grew warm, its rhythmic pulses beating in resonance with that pure source of energy. He narrowed his eyes ahead, his steady footsteps carrying him up the weathered stone steps.
Yet the very instant the sole of Lin Feng’s military boot touched the third stone step, a deathly aura as sharp as piercing needles abruptly erupted from behind a cluster of gray coral blocks less than thirty meters away!
SWISH! SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!
There was no prior sign of magical buildup, only the air-tearing shriek of the damp atmosphere! Over a dozen cross-shaped black lights spun at a terrifying speed, tracing winding trajectories of death as they sliced through the mist, hurtling straight for Lin Feng’s throat, chest, and knee joints!
Coated upon the surface of each shadow shuriken was a thick layer of fishy, dark-green phosphorescence—that was Wind-Demon Bone Poison, a deadly venom extracted from the spinal cord of deep-abyss venom serpents. A mere scratch was enough to freeze the victim’s blood and paralyze their entire nervous system within three seconds!
“Watch out for the sneak attack!” Behind him came the crisp yet urgent voice of Ye Qingwan. Just as she raised her hand to condense a wind barrier, a horrifying scene unfolded right before their eyes.
Facing a sudden assassination attempt capable of slaughtering any Intermediate Mage in the blink of an eye, the corners of Lin Feng’s mouth curled into a cold arc. His body did not even bother to lean a fraction of an inch to dodge.
SNAP! BOOM!
A muffled explosion resembling subterranean thunder rang out. From beneath Lin Feng’s feet, violent lightning magic combined with condensed shadows instantly, forming a purple-black cage of light that enveloped a radius of one meter around him.
Illusory Shadow Lightning Shield!
ROAR! CRACK! CRACK!
Dozens of aggressive assassination shurikens slammed straight into the curtain of lightning. But before they could even graze the outer layer of Lin Feng’s clothes, the deep purple high-voltage current violently twisted like a swarm of angry pythons. The magical shockwave combined with the terrifying thermal energy of the lightning shattered the specially crafted metal instantly, turning all the shurikens into glowing red iron filings that exploded into a cloud of ash-gray smoke!
The surging rebound force swept clean the sea sand beneath Lin Feng’s feet, exposing the steel-hard coral bedrock.
“Oh? Not bad defensive reflexes at all. No wonder you could lead the Shenzhou team in wiping out those Blood-Scaled Sharks out in the bay.”
A sneering laugh carrying an arrogant, grating tone echoed down from the top of a ruined limestone pillar.
The hazy mist gradually parted. Five figures clad in tight-fitting pitch-black combat gear, their chests embroidered with a blooming chrysanthemum pattern intertwined with blood-red lightning motifs, slowly materialized from the shadows. Each of them had their faces masked with black silk scarves, revealing only eyes as cold and sharp as razor blades.
The leader standing atop the pillar casually waved his sleeve, revealing a long-handled ninjato wrapped in stingray leather slung across his back. His gaze toward Lin Feng held not a shred of caution; instead, it was filled with the mockery and disdain of a hunter watching prey blunder into a trap.
The captain of the Japanese team—Yamamoto Kenji!
The man dubbed by the international magical media as the “Shadow Magic Ninja,” a prodigy who seamlessly combined Wind elements, Shadow elements, and the ancestral ninjutsu physical arts of the prestigious Yamamoto clan!
“The Japanese team?” Xie Zhaoyuan pushed up his glasses slightly, his eyes flashing with utter disgust. He stepped forward half a step, a glowing orb of Light already condensing in his palm: “You’ve been tailing us ever since we crossed the western reef shoal? Such typical, filthy vulture behavior.”
“Vultures?” Yamamoto Kenji gave a cold chuckle, leaping down from the top of the stone pillar. His movement art was as light as a feather, making not the slightest sound nor leaving any indentation upon the coral sand: “The battlefield of wild survival leaves no room for the naive dreaming of sportsmanship. Your Shenzhou team wasted how much magic energy and spilled how much blood clearing out those magical sharks, only to act as beasts of burden paving the way for this young master.”
He glanced toward the brilliant Life Crystal shining atop the stone altar, intense greed welling up in the depths of his eyes:
“An authentic Sea God’s Life Crystal! Enough to push my Shadow Star Nebula to its absolute limit, opening the door into the Advanced realm! Lin Feng, I know you have some reputation back home, but running into Yamamoto Kenji here means your streak of luck ends now. Hand over all the Tactical Crystal Stones you’ve accumulated since the start of the match, then activate your rescue beacon and get lost from this tournament, and I might consider letting you walk away with unbroken limbs!”
The four Japanese team members behind him sneered in unison, their hands resting on sword hilts or drawing out magical shurikens, sealing off all escape routes around the sanctuary.
The atmosphere instantly grew suffocatingly heavy. Even the sea wind seemed to stop blowing before the thick, clashing killing intent between the two sides.
Han Yue stepped forward, her long silver hair gently fluttering in the wind. Piercingly cold qi radiated from the soles of her boots across the ground, causing the seawater seeping from the rock crevices to instantly freeze into sharp, needle-like snowflakes. Her phoenix eyes stared coldly at Yamamoto, her voice devoid of any warmth:
“A pack of sewer rats cowering in the shadows, and you dare dream of swallowing Shenzhou’s spoils?”
Beside her, Ye Longtian flicked his fingers, and a translucent spatial ripple instantly undulated around his body, ready to shred anyone who dared make a rash move.
Yet Lin Feng merely raised his hand slightly, stopping his teammates from striking.
He looked at Yamamoto Kenji, his expression so calm it made his opponent deeply uncomfortable. It was neither fear nor a forced front, but the gaze of a god watching insects dance beneath his feet.
“Want to rob my loot?” Lin Feng said indifferently, his steady voice echoing through the ancient sanctuary: “Relying on those sneaky little shuriken-throwing circus tricks of yours?”
“You’re courting death!!”
Yamamoto acted as though stepped on his tail, the arrogant smile on his face instantly morphing into violent rage. As the top young prodigy of the island nation’s magical world, hailing from a distinguished great clan, he had never been looked down upon to this extent by a commoner-born mage!
“Today I’ll show you what the peak of Shadow magic combined with ancient arts truly looks like! You’ll regret your arrogance!”
SWISH!
Yamamoto’s hands blurred as they intertwined, his spell-casting speed so rapid it created hazy afterimages in the air. Shadow and Wind magic surged turbulently from the Star Palaces within his body, activating the secret forbidden technique of the Yamamoto clan:
“Shadow Secret Art — Nine-Leaf Black Shadow Clones!”
BOOM!
The shadow beneath Yamamoto Kenji’s feet suddenly churned like boiling water. One became two, two became four, four became eight... In less than two breaths’ time, from within the shadows of the stone pillars and coral fissures, over thirty black figures identical to Yamamoto Kenji split apart simultaneously!
Each clone carried genuine magical aura, gripping sharp ninjatos, their eyes blazing with wrath. Black whirlwind gales wrapped around their feet, causing their movement speed to skyrocket to an unbelievable level!
SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!
Thirty-six figures glided swiftly, vanishing and reappearing among the coral corners, the ear-splitting shriek of wind-tearing sounding like a pack of starving ghosts wailing in the dead of night. They formed a dark array that tightly encircled Lin Feng, completely sealing off all dodging routes and scrambling all conventional senses!
“Die! Shadow Flash Slash!”
Dozens of synchronized shouts erupted from all directions. Thirty-six clones swung their blades down simultaneously, and hundreds of black blade-arcs cut through the wind straight toward the crown of Lin Feng’s head!
“Such a farce.”
Lin Feng stood unflinching at the very epicenter of the blade-storm, the corner of his mouth lifting in a mocking, arrogant smile.
Playing with Shadows in front of him?
Lin Feng’s spiritual domain not only possessed a Shadow Star Palace refined with the essence of the Black Prison, but deep within his chest, the Archaic Dragon Pendant suppressed all things! In Lin Feng’s eyes right now, those flashy illusory clones were no different from fragile paper ghosts; the true magical trajectory of Yamamoto’s physical body had long since been locked onto by his senses!
“Dragon Might Domain — Suppression!”
CRASH!
A profound, ancient dragon roar that sounded as though it echoed from the primordial era erupted from deep within Lin Feng’s soul!
An oppressive, overbearing majesty akin to Mount Tai collapsing from the ninth heaven swept outward across all directions with Lin Feng as the center!
CRACK! CRACK! BOOM! BOOM!
The coral ground fractured into deep trenches. The surrounding air seemed to freeze for a split second. Under the absolute compression of top-tier Dragon Might, the entire ghostly shadow barrier that Yamamoto had painstakingly constructed instantly shattered like a mirror falling onto stone!
Thirty-five dark clones dissolved into pathetic hissing sounds the moment they touched the boundary of the Dragon Might, instantly exploding into harmless puffs of black smoke and vanishing completely into nothingness!
“What?! Impossible!!”
Amidst the coral sand, Yamamoto Kenji’s true body took the brunt of the invisible kinetic force directly in the chest. He staggered back over ten steps, his complexion turning ashen without a trace of blood, his chest constricted so severely he nearly spat a mouthful of fresh blood! The clone technique he took utmost pride in had been blasted apart by the enemy using a mere aura pressure?!
Yet Yamamoto’s nightmare had only just begun.
When he raised his head, the spot where Lin Feng had been standing a moment ago... was completely empty!
“Where are you looking?”
A voice as cold as millennium-old ice rang out right beside Yamamoto’s ear!
Swift Lightning Illusionary Step!
There was no thunderous explosion, only a streak of deep purple lightning flashing through the gaps of space. Lin Feng’s speed had reached the realm of short-range teleportation, far surpassing the island nation’s so-called Wind-Demon secret arts!
Yamamoto’s hair stood on end, every cell in his body screaming alarms of ultimate danger. He frantically twisted his body, the protective ring on his finger glowing brilliantly as he tried to active a Commander-level Wind-Demon Shield to escape.
But Lin Feng’s hand was faster than his thoughts!
FLASH! SWISH!
Lin Feng’s right hand was covered in a layer of pitch-black dark dragon scales, intertwined with thousands of roaring purple lightning bolts—Night Massacre Claw combined with Raging Lightning Ultimate Shadow!
RIP!
Lin Feng’s iron-hard claw-like hand tore through Yamamoto’s protective barrier before it could fully form, his fingers locking around his throat with the strength of divine artifacts!
“Ugh... gah!!”
Yamamoto’s eyes bulged, his breathing instantly cut off. With just one hand, Lin Feng channeled his strength and hoisted Yamamoto’s seventy-plus-kilogram body straight up into the air as if lifting a chick!
TICK TOCK! CRACKLE!
“Like playing with shadows so much?”
Lin Feng stared coldly straight into the eyes of the Japanese captain, which were now filled with supreme terror. As he spoke, deep purple-black Raging Lightning current surged violently from his palm, flooding massively into Yamamoto’s entire meridian network!
“AAAAAAH!!”
A heart-wrenching shriek tore through the sanctuary’s atmosphere. The brutal high-voltage current coursed along every muscle fiber and bone marrow in Yamamoto’s body, burning away his ninja armor, causing his entire body to convulse violently in midair, white foam bubbling from his mouth, the magic energy within his Star Palace completely shattered into disarray so he couldn’t condense even a single spell!
“Captain!!”
“Let the captain go, bastard!!”
The remaining four members of the Japanese team snapped out of their horrified shock. Seeing their captain captured alive and brutally tortured in a single move, all four turned bloodshot, roaring furiously as they drew their ninjatos and hurled venomous fireballs straight toward Lin Feng in rescue!
“Want to bully numbers?”
A cold, arrogant voice rang out.
Han Yue gracefully flicked her white silk sleeve.
“Ice Lock — Cold Prison Iron Chains!”
CRASH! CRASH!
The coral ground beneath the two lead ninjas suddenly exploded. Eight massive ice chains the size of ancient tree trunks, carrying the absolute chilling qi of an Ice-element Spirit Seed, shot up from beneath the earth, wrapping around the limbs and waists of the two Japanese team members like frigid giant pythons.
CRACK!
The frost spread at lightning speed, freezing the lower halves of the two men into stone statues in half a second, the cold piercing straight to their marrow and causing them to scream miserably as their weapons dropped clattering to the ground.
At the same time, the other two tried to leap into the air to skirt around the ice wall, but Ye Longtian coldly raised a hand, clenching it tight in midair:
“Spatial Blade — Heavy Pressure!”
HUM!
The air above the two ninjas’ heads violently warped, and a spatial pressure weighing tens of tons descended like an invisible sledgehammer!
CRACK! CRACK!
Two crisp bone-breaking snaps echoed out. Before the two Japanese team members could even hit the ground, they were crushed flat against the coral sand by the terrifying spatial force, their knees slamming into the shattered stone floor, blood gushing from their noses to drench their face masks as they collapsed face down, unable to twitch even a finger.
The entire counter-assassination took less than ten seconds!
The four Japanese team members who had arrogantly claimed they would rob the Shenzhou team now lay frozen or with broken bones, kneeling in the dirt like prisoners awaiting execution.
Lin Feng loosened his grip.
THUD!
Yamamoto Kenji’s scorched, convulsing body dropped freely from above, slamming heavily onto the jagged coral rock like a bag of garbage. His ancestral ninjato snapped in two, planted deep into the sand beside him.
Lin Feng stepped forward, his boot sole pressing straight onto Yamamoto’s chest, looking down from above at the defeated man gasping for broken breaths:
“Is this the so-called ancient secret art of your Yamamoto clan? So weak it’s disappointing.”
Yamamoto tremblingly looked up at Lin Feng, his eyes once filled with arrogance now filled with sheer terror before a true monster. He stuttered, fresh blood spilling from his lips:
“You... just what kind of monster...”
Lin Feng didn’t bother replying. He flicked his wrist, and a wave of Shadow kinetic energy swept across the belts of Yamamoto and the four team members, ripping away all five storage pouches filled with the Japanese team’s Tactical Crystal Stones directly into his hand.
“These crystal stones will serve as your tuition fee for learning how to behave.”
Lin Feng coldly stowed all the crystal stones into his spatial ring. With the massive haul of Tactical Crystal Stones looted from the Japanese team, the Shenzhou team’s survival score on the overall leaderboard would undoubtedly skyrocket to a record high!
“No... give our crystals back...” A frozen Japanese team member wailed in despair. Losing all their crystals meant their group stage scores would be completely wiped out!
“Get lost, or I won’t mind sending you into the sea to feed the sharks.” Ye Longtian walked over coldly, his gaze as sharp as a blade slicing across each man’s neck.
Feeling the genuine, non-joking killing intent from the Shenzhou team, Yamamoto Kenji’s empty pride completely collapsed. He knew that if he hesitated any longer, these ruthless individuals might cripple his magical foundation entirely!
“Act... activate... retreat!”
Yamamoto tremblingly extended a blood-stained finger, pressing hard on the rescue magic ring on his wrist.
WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!
Five deep-red protective light pillars instantly erupted from the rescue bands of the five Japanese team members, enveloping their battered bodies. This was the emergency surrender signal connected directly to the international monitoring committee. Amidst the tearing sound of a forced teleportation array, the entire Japanese team was whisked up into the air in the blink of an eye, vanishing completely from the coral reef area in unerasable, bitter humiliation!
The battlefield returned to its initial stillness, leaving only scorched lightning marks and slowly melting snow and ice upon the sand.
“Hmph, a bunch of ignoramuses.” Xie Zhaoyuan recalled his light orb, flicking his sleeve with a sneer.
“Captain, the Life Crystal!” Ye Qingwan stepped closer, pointing toward the octagonal altar at the center of the sanctuary.
Lin Feng nodded, striding straight toward the altar.
The Life Crystal hovering in midair seemed to sense the breath of the Archaic Dragon Pendant upon him, its jade radiance growing even more brilliant as it emitted crisp chiming sounds like wind chimes.
Lin Feng reached out, gently grasping the cool crystal.
BOOM!
The moment his hand touched the crystal, a massive source of vital energy as pure as a headwaters spring instantly surged through his palm, racing along Lin Feng’s entire meridian network!
Every muscle fiber exhausted from endless battles was swiftly soothed, his magical cells bathing as if in a spring rain. The Lightning Star Nebula and Fire Star Nebula within his spiritual domain spun crazily in unison, greedily absorbing the life essence to reinforce the barrier of the Advanced realm, which was beginning to show cracking fissures!
The Archaic Dragon Pendant on his chest vibrated with a satisfied beat, absorbing a third of the life essence before sinking back into dormant slumber.
“This crystal is indeed a supreme treasure for nourishing magical meridians.” Lin Feng exhaled a long breath of turbid air, his eyes sparkling with brilliance. He carefully placed the precious artifact into a specialized jade box and stored it in his spatial ring.
The campaign at the ancient coral island was a complete success. Not only did they seize the millennium-old treasure, but the Shenzhou team also harvested a massive stash of Tactical Crystal Stones, firmly cementing their first-place position in the survival round.
“Let’s go, deeper into the sea to rendezvous with the flagship.” Lin Feng turned back, smiling as he looked at his teammates.
“Let’s go!” The whole team answered in unison, their morale soaring to the skies.
Yet just as the five of them reached the eastern shoreline of the island, preparing to summon their water-gliding magic tools...
RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE!!
The entire coral island, spanning dozens of kilometers, suddenly shook violently! The ground beneath their feet split open into massive trenches, and pitch-black seawater erupted dozens of meters into the air from the deep abyss like black magma columns!
GLUB... GLUB... GLUB...
Less than a nautical mile from the island’s shore, the previously calm sea surface suddenly collapsed, forming a colossal whirlpool over five hundred meters in diameter that swallowed tens of thousands of tons of seawater in the blink of an eye!
A heaven-shaking, earth-shattering magical pressure far surpassing the rank of any Commander-level creature swept across the water surface from a depth of ten thousand fathoms like a category-twelve storm!
BOOM CRASH!!
From the epicenter of the pitch-black whirlpool, a muffled, ancient roar resounded, shaking their eardrums and causing the blood within the five members of the Shenzhou team to churn turbulently!
Beneath the dark, murky seawater, a massive shadow hundreds of meters long, covered in pitch-black lightning scales flashing with destructive thunder, was slowly rising from the abyss...
Upper-level Commander-level aura!
The Eight-Desolation Giant Whale—the true lord of the Dead Coral Reef, had awakened!