Volume 3: Global Vanguard & The Advanced Pinnacle
Chapter 211
Iron-Clad Shield vs Dark Lightning Flame
The Mediterranean sea breeze lashed fiercely through the towering basalt crevices, carrying the acrid scent of salt and the heavy stench of sulfur boiling up from the churning, deep-purple toxic waters.
Suspended a dozen meters above the water surface, the crushing pressure of magic energy caused the air to shriek sharply like rubbing metal. All one hundred thousand spectators in the marble stands of the Marine Arena were glued to the focal point of the clash: Franz—the giant known as the “Iron Armor War God” of the German Empire—was using his rugged stone-armored hands to tightly grip Lin Feng’s right wrist.
Dark red blood qi billowed from Franz’s chest, staining his ash-gray marble armor red. Under the effect of the ancient Teuton Berserker secret art, every single muscle bundle beneath his armor bulged to twice its size, prominent black veins bulging like gnarled tree roots clinging to his flesh. His berserk physical strength instantly surpassed the limits of an ordinary mage, approaching the peak of a raging Arctic bear.
“Die for me, Eastern worm!”
Franz roared, bloody foam spraying from his bared, vicious fangs. He completely ignored the bleeding crack on his arm from their previous collision. In his mind at that moment, only a single thought remained: to grind this arrogant brat into a bloody pulp!
From the hexagonal giant shield in Franz’s left hand, a complex magic matrix ring suddenly blared with light. Hundreds of golden ancient runes intertwined with brilliant blue lightning bolts, emitting a deafening series of cracking explosions.
“Top-grade magic tool — Diamond Thunder Shield!”
That was not merely a shield of earth and stone. It was the ultimate defensive masterpiece forged from millennial Diamond Rock ore at the foot of the Alps, combined with the magic crystal core of a Thunder Overlord Beast. Once activated together with the Rock Armor Fiend, it formed a mobile steel fortress capable of neutralizing up to eighty percent of the power of all elemental magic of the same tier!
Not stopping there, the two supporting German Earth-element mages Erich and Otto on the ground had gone completely berserk. Even though their meridians throbbed with pain after the space slash of Ye Lengtian, the two men gritted their teeth and plunged their blood-soaked fingers deep into the basalt rock, roaring as they released every drop of remaining magic energy within their star nebulae:
“Earth Burial — Venomous Bone Serpent Spear!”
The ground beneath Lin Feng rumbled like rolling thunder. Hundreds of sharp stone spikes over five meters long, pitch-black and dripping with deep purple toxic water, violently shot up from the ground at wind-shattering speed. The intersecting stone spears formed a gigantic thorn cage, sealing off all four directions and turning the space below into a venomous lava meat grinder!
A flawless, fatal cooperative strike!
Above was the Iron Armor War God transforming into an armored meteorite weighing dozens of tons, crushing down; below was an endless forest of venomous spikes waiting to pierce flesh; the flanks were completely locked down with zero maneuvering space.
At the international broadcasting desk, former pro Edward slammed both hands onto the glass desk, his voice vibrating through the magic broadcast system across every corner of the stands:
“It’s completely locked down! Franz has activated the Teuton bloodline forbidden art combined with the Diamond Thunder Shield! His entire defensive structure has reached the Diamond Indestructible state, with elemental resistance indices reaching eighty percent! Lin Feng has completely lost room to dodge! At this hair-breadth close-quarters range, even an Advanced Archmage could not condense a defensive magic in time! The match is settled!”
As the commentary ended, the Northern stands belonging to European supporters instantly erupted into frenzied cheers. Tens of thousands of black-red-gold tricolor flags fluttered violently in the sea breeze. Faces flushed red with excitement, wild shrieks demanding the opponent’s destruction echoed as if trying to overturn the dome of the Marine Arena. They firmly believed that the next second would depict the captain of Shenzhou having his chest crushed by the giant shield and impaled upon the stone spike bed below.
In the Shenzhou spectator section, tens of thousands of overseas compatriots and students held their breaths until their chests ached. More than a few gripped their hands tightly, hearts hammering wildly before this cruel, life-or-death moment.
Yet, right in the eye of the storm of destruction, right on a battlefield where death was a hair’s breadth away, the remaining members of Team Shenzhou reacted in a way that made their opponents run cold.
Han Yue still stood proudly atop the ice and snow outcrop, her glacial blue eyes not blinking even once. Ye Qingwan gently stroked a lock of hair fluttering across her forehead, the corners of her lips lifting into a meaningful, mocking smile. As for Ye Lengtian, he crossed his arms over his chest, the silver light in his eyes fading, completely devoid of any intention to rescue his captain.
Because they knew very well.
The person standing opposite Franz was not some prey walking into a trap.
He was a primordial vicious beast that had just awakened!
Mid-air, Lin Feng lowered his eyelids, watching the roaring giant before him. His wrist was gripped so tightly by Franz’s stone hands that it emitted creaking sounds, but his expression remained as flat as a bottomless lake in midwinter.
“You think that... wearing a slightly thicker turtle shell can save your life?”
Lin Feng’s voice sounded extremely soft, yet it bizarrely pierced through the howling wind, the deafening thunder, and Franz’s roars, pouring straight into the German giant’s eardrums.
Franz’s pupils violently twitched. A freezing current suddenly crawled up his spine from his tailbone.
Before Lin Feng’s chest, beneath his uniform jacket torn to shreds by the wind pressure, the ancient coiled-dragon jade pendant — Primordial Dragon Pendant — suddenly emitted a deep, resonant groan. That was the sound of a primordial divine dragon, echoing from the primordial dawn of heaven and earth, carrying the absolute coercion of the lord of all spirits!
“ROAR ——————!”
The invisible dragon roar swept through souls, causing the surging blood within Franz’s body to stall for a split second. Even the Earth-element matrix beneath Erich and Otto trembled, the sharp stone blocks surging upward abruptly halting half a beat mid-air as if terrified before a divine being!
In the depths of Lin Feng’s spiritual universe, three great nebulae spun at a frenzied pace.
The Fire nebula burned fiercely; the violent deep-red flames of the Spirit Seed “Crimson Flowing Fire” transformed into rolling waves of fire. The Thunder nebula rumbled with thunder; the destructive purple lightning of the Spirit Seed “Wild Thunder Absolute Shadow” intertwined into a net tearing apart the clouds.
And in the deepest tier, where eternal pitch-black darkness reigned, the Shadow nebula moved quietly. Ink-black magic energy, carrying characteristics of devouring, corrosion, and ghostly dread, began to surge, flooding into the other two elemental systems!
Fusion magic!
Throughout the history of human magic, fusing two different elemental systems within a close-quarters attack was a taboo, requiring mental control to reach an absolute extreme realm. Those capable of achieving that worldwide could be counted on one hand, all being Super or Forbidden Curse-tier old monsters.
Yet at this moment, Lin Feng was doing something insane far beyond all standards of modern magic theory:
He used Shadow magic energy as a bridging solvent, forcibly fusing the two most violent energies in nature — Thunder and Fire!
“Sizzling sizzle...”
Under the absolute coordination and suppression of the Primordial Dragon Pendant, the deep-red flames of Crimson Fire and the violet lightning of Wild Thunder began to wrap tightly around each other. As pitch-black Shadow magic energy enveloped their surfaces, a terrifying qualitative reaction occurred.
The red vanished.
The purple withered away.
Instead, Lin Feng’s entire right arm suddenly ignited with a bewitching, pitch-black flame, dark as the abyss of an endless void! Pure black lightning threads coiled like tiny venomous snakes crawling along his finger joints, emitting dry, crackling snaps.
Dark Lightning Flame!
The moment this dark flame lightning formed, all elemental rules within a fifty-meter radius around Lin Feng were completely inverted.
There was neither the scorching heat burning flesh nor the numbing shock jolting tendons and bones. There was only an aura of decay, destruction, and devouring spreading outward. Floating Earth-element magic dust particles in the air instantly turned to ash and vanished without a trace upon touching the dark qi!
The stone scale layer on Franz’s hands — the Rock Armor Fiend armor he proudly claimed was harder than forged steel — upon contacting the dark flame around Lin Feng’s wrist, immediately began to emit a horrifying sizzling sound. The solid silver-gray stone layer melted into an inky black, foul-smelling liquid, as if corroded by the ultra-strong acid of a primordial giant beast!
“What... what the hell is this?!”
Franz screamed in terror. He could feel the Earth-element magic energy in his arms being frantically sucked dry and disintegrated by the black fire at a dizzying speed! Bone-deep, excruciating pain pierced straight into his brain, twisting and deforming his face.
“Want to use brute force to crush people?”
The corners of Lin Feng’s lips curled into an extreme, chilling smile. His eyes at this moment were as pitch-black as two cosmic black holes, reflecting the descending diamond giant shield.
He gently twisted his wrist. A simple rotation motion, yet the internal force within his fist suddenly erupted like a millennia-old volcano bursting through the earth! Franz’s stone-armored hands were instantly flung outward, shattering into flying debris.
He pulled his fist back to his hip. The muscles throughout Lin Feng’s body strained like a divine bow pulled to its absolute limit. The dragon blood in his veins thrummed and boiled, combining all physical strength with three layers of surging magic energy into his right fist!
“Sky-Breaking Tyrant Dragon Force — Dark Lightning Flame!”
A single punch thrown!
There was no earth-shattering roar of thunder, no brilliant pillar of fire tearing the horizon.
Only a pitch-black tear dozens of meters long abruptly appeared amidst the air!
Lin Feng’s fist dragged a rolling dark lightning-flame tail, tearing through air resistance and shattering all gravitational pressure Franz had painstakingly built up. Wherever the fist momentum traveled, the venomous stone spikes thrusting up below were instantly crushed into fine powder, scattering down into the deep purple waters!
The speed of the punch surpassed the speed of sound!
Franz widened his eyes, blood vessels in his eyeballs bursting from fear. A warrior’s survival instinct screamed red alert. In extreme desperation, he folded his entire body behind the giant shield, roaring like a cornered wild beast:
“INDESTRUCTIBLE DIAMOND — MOUNT TAUI SUPREMACY!”
All of Franz’s magic energy and life force burned for the final time. The Diamond Thunder Shield radiated a dazzling glare like a metallic sun, a defensive aura over half a meter thick enveloping the shield’s outer face, preparing to receive the destructive blow!
One ten-thousandth of a second later.
Lin Feng’s flame-wrapped black fist smashed straight into the hexagonal center of the diamond giant shield!
“SHRIIIIKE ——————!”
A bizarre sound rang out, resembling a red-hot iron bar piercing through frozen beef tallow!
The defensive aura boasting eighty percent elemental magic resistance that the Germans always took pride in failed to exert any effect whatsoever. Facing the magical corrosion and structural destruction of the Dark Lightning Flame, the diamond light layer was instantly torn open with a pitch-black gaping hole!
And then...
“CRACK... CRASH ——————!!!”
A crisp shattering sound echoed like a collapsing crystal mountain!
The top-grade magic tool giant shield — the invincible Diamond Thunder Shield — from the point of contact with Lin Feng’s fist, suddenly cracked into thousands of pitch-black fissures. Each of the hardest diamond rock plates in the world shattered into tiny fragments, immediately incinerated mid-air by the dark flames into inky black coal dust!
The shield was utterly shattered!
Yet Lin Feng’s fist momentum had not stopped at all!
The pitch-black fist tore through the coal dust screen, carrying mountain-moving, ocean-reversing force to slam squarely into the center of Franz’s chest!
“BOOM ——————!”
A muffled, choked explosion erupted from the depths of the giant’s chest.
The top-grade Rock Armor Fiend set encasing Franz instantly deformed, deeply concaving into a clear fist imprint. All the stone scales on his body groaned and exploded into millions of sharp stone shards blasting backward behind his back!
The peerless shock-penetrating force of the Tyrant Dragon Force pierced straight through Franz’s ribs, through his internal organs, and shot outward from his back into the open space, creating a pitch-black conical shockwave over thirty meters long sweeping across the sky!
“Pfft ——————!”
Franz threw his head back, coughing up a mouthful of deep crimson blood mixed with bruised dark blood. His cold blue eyes lost all focus in a blink, eyeballs rolling upward. Every meridian within his body was frantically devoured and burned away by the dark lightning flame, searing through every magic pathway!
His massive body weighing nearly two hundred catties encased in shattered armor was sent flying like a cannonball leaving the barrel by Lin Feng’s single punch!
“WHOOSH ——————!”
Franz’s body tore through the air, flying over forty meters across the toxic sea surface, tracing a bloody parabola in mid-air, before slamming violently into the towering basalt cliff at the outer edge of the island!
“CRASH ——————!”
The steel-hard basalt cliff vibrated violently. Franz’s body embedded over a meter deep into the rock, creating a giant spiderweb-like sinkhole. Rocks on the peak of the cliff cascaded down in an avalanche, burying the lower half of his body.
His head slumped to one side, arms hanging limply motionless, his shattered helmet revealing a face covered in blood and black soot.
The captain of the German Empire team — the “Iron Armor War God” Franz — was knocked unconscious by a single blow, life and death unknown on the spot!
Silence.
An eerie, hair-raising silence blanketed the entire Venice Marine Arena.
Over one hundred thousand spectators in the white marble stands felt as if someone had choked their throats. Not a breath, not a whisper. Tens of thousands of German fans holding high flags suddenly stiffened like wax statues, the arrogant smiles on their faces freezing into expressions of utter horror.
The black-red-gold tricolor flag in the front row slipped from fingers, slowly falling down dusty stone steps without anyone bothering to bend down to pick it up.
At the international broadcasting desk, the magic microphone in former pro Edward’s hand dropped straight onto the glass desk, emitting a dry “clack” echoing across the arena. The renowned European commentator opened his mouth wide, eyes staring fixedly at the distant ruined cliff, his chest heaving violently yet unable to utter a single word.
Shattered?
The top-grade magic tool Diamond Thunder Shield... shattered?
The Rock Armor Fiend combined with Teuton Berserker bloodline boasting eighty percent elemental resistance... crushed to pieces by a single punch?
An Intermediate mage using bare hands... punched a living steel fortress forty meters away, nailing the opponent to the basalt cliff?!
Is this human strength? Is this still the magic tier an academy participant in the World School Tournament can touch?!
In the honorable VIP section, the Grand Senator representing the European Magic Association subconsciously gripped the gemstone stone armrest, knuckles turning white. His gaze fixed intently on the retreating back of the Shenzhou youth slowly descending to the ground, an unprecedented, profound wariness rising in the depths of his eyes.
“Thud.”
Lin Feng landed both feet lightly on a protruding rock outcropping above the toxic waters. The hem of his gold-trimmed black trench coat swayed gently in the salty sea breeze.
On his right fist, the bewitching pitch-black flame quietly receded back into flesh, revealing slender, white, and clean hands so pristine they lacked even a speck of coal dust. He didn’t even bother glancing at Franz’s body buried in the distant rubble. To him, an opponent defeated under his hands was never worth turning his head to look at a second time.
Lin Feng raised his hand, his index finger flicking lightly.
A concise, cold, and decisive order rang out via the magic connection:
“Clear the battlefield.”
The moment that sound echoed, the four remaining members of Shenzhou moved like four sharp swords drawn from their scabbards!
“Our turn!” Ye Qingwan smiled faintly, her feet stepping upon azure wind gales, her entire figure gliding across the toxic water like a swallow skimming waves. In the blink of an eye, she appeared right behind Lucas — the German Wind-element mage standing frozen in shock. A razor-sharp Wind Blade cut horizontally across the air, completely snapping the magic staff in his hand and sending Lucas tumbling into a shallow drainage ditch unconscious!
In the opposite direction, Ye Lengtian strolled leisurely across the basalt rock. With each step he planted, the surrounding space rippled with invisible silver waves. The two German Earth-element mages Erich and Otto had exhausted their magic energy, trembling like chaff as they watched Ye Lengtian approach.
“No... don’t come over...” Erich muttered in despair.
“Space-Splitting Shock.”
Ye Lengtian casually waved his sleeve. Invisible spatial power exploded like a pressure bomb, blasting both German Earth-element mages straight up into the sky to fall freely into Han Yue’s freezing encirclement.
“CRACK!”
Han Yue didn’t even deign to look at the two defeated opponents. She merely lifted her fingertips slightly, and two sharp ice pillars instantly sprouted from the ground, locking the throats and limbs of Erich and Otto, turning them into two frozen ice sculptures standing amidst the arena.
Atop the ruined wall crest, Lightning-element female archer Helga was the only one still standing. Yet seeing all four teammates neatly eliminated in under thirty seconds, her hand gripping her magic staff trembled violently. The blue lightning on the staff tip faded gradually and went out. When Xie Chaoyuan stepped up carrying the heavy Earth-element giant shield to block before her, Helga bit her lip until it bled, dropping her magic staff to the ground:
“I... I surrender...”
“BEEP ——————!”
The piercing magic whistle of the chief international referee finally rang out, piercing the paralyzed atmosphere of the Venice Marine Arena!
The gigantic magic crystal scoreboard suspended mid-air instantly erupted with thousands of brilliant magic fireworks, displaying dazzling golden text in three languages:
【QUARTERFINAL 1: ABSOLUTE VICTORY FOR SHENZHOU! ADVANCING STRAIGHT TO THE SEMIFINALS!】
The moment those words appeared, the entire Shenzhou spectator section violently exploded!
“WE WON! WE WON!”
“LIN FENG! LIN FENG IS INVINCIBLE! SHENZHOU IS INVINCIBLE!”
Tens of thousands of Eastern spectators leaped from their seats, hugging one another amidst tears and hoarse cheers. Crimson flags fluttered across the sky, rapid magic battle drums drowning out the roaring Mediterranean waves. A destructive victory, an absolute demonstration of power against one of the strongest teams on the Old Continent! From a team evaluated by Western experts as “cannon fodder” and mocked for choosing toxic stone terrain, Shenzhou used an iron fist to crush the opponent’s most solid fortress!
Down on the arena floor, the organizing committee’s magic medical personnel hurried stretcher carts toward the basalt cliff to dig out Franz’s blood-soaked body.
Lin Feng turned around, slowly striding toward the victor’s tunnel. Han Yue, Ye Qingwan, Ye Lengtian, and Xie Chaoyuan quietly followed in his wake, forming an undefeated formation that made anyone gazing upon them tremble with wary awe.
Yet, just as he stepped into the darkness of the marble stone tunnel, Lin Feng’s footsteps abruptly paused for half a beat.
His right hand clenched slightly.
Inside his chest, the Primordial Dragon Pendant pressed against his skin suddenly emitted an anomalous heat, blazing hot like a red ember. A bizarre energy stream just silently devoured by the dragon pendant from the shattered Diamond Thunder Shield fragments began to permeate his meridians.
That was neither Earth-element magic energy, nor pure Thunder.
Instead, it was a pitch-black, cold, and unusually evil demonic qi, faintly lingering with the remnants of an ancient sacrificial forbidden art!
Lin Feng narrowed his eyes slightly. The fist in his pocket tightened, gazing deep into the endless darkness ahead.
Franz’s shield... was definitely not an ordinary top-grade magic tool forged by the Berlin Academy. What were the Germans hiding behind this world tournament?
At the same time, in the highest honorable VIP stand overlooking the tunnel, beside the purple-robed Divine Priest of the Parthenon Temple, a golden-haired youth wearing a black aristocratic suit with silver trim — pinned with the royal magic triangle emblem of the British Empire on his chest — rested both hands on the stone railing. His ash-gray eyes stared fixedly at Lin Feng’s retreating back, the corners of his lips curling into a cold, murderous arc:
“Dark Lightning Flame... Interesting. It’s been a very long time since I’ve seen an Eastern prey qualified for me to draw my sword...”