‘’It isn’t dead, right?’’

‘’Of course it isn’t.’’ Quan replied, then continued with a mumble. ‘’Or else, we wouldn’t waste such power.’’

Ubel didn’t know whom he directed the last words and didn’t think the power they talked about was the Qi. Wasting the Qi itself was an impossible matter, as long as nature and people existed, there would never be a lack of Qi and even if Qi somehow lacked at some point, then it would replenish itself in no time.

Then the power they talked about, he assumed, was something both exhaustible and strong enough to trap, and possibly, damage the red giant. Oh, and they called it a munchur. And the munchur in the question now let huge amounts of steam out of its pores. Charred skin and burned flesh turned back into normal in no time, and it was also clear from the berserk movement of the Qi that the healing process consumed a monstrous amount of Qi.

I am a genius!

Of course, he wasn’t.

He just wanted to relieve some of the stress.

...

‘’Focus, genius.’’

‘’What the-’’

Gaobun did not give Ubel the chance to react and instantly acted, gathering an immense amount of Qi between his palms. Yet, the concentration seemed lacking, not as a size but as a mass. There was no weight, or real power, behind the now revolving fire circle beneath Gaobun’s brown leather boots. For all purposes, the few seconds he used to gather the thing seemed like a waste of time. And the munchur, well aware of that, struck at the same time.

The dark-colored flames spread around munchur’s stout fingers like a wildfire. Feeling the heat from afar, Ubel felt his scalp tingle as the munchur took two large strides in no time and slammed its hand down. With the hand came down the flames shaped like arrows and fell like...arrows.

Fires of all colors flashed before his eyes and like a spectacle, ended in the shortest moments possible. The soothing of the beautiful scenery, the fear from getting near that terrible destruction, and most eminent of the feelings, excitement brushed over him. Like how the olds told, Man had and lost everything but admiration to beauty.

Though the deadly implications hidden behind the graceful sight in front also killed the mood.

Still, over the regret of losing the grace, Gaobun left unscathed from the strike so it acted as a consolation as well. Then his body exploded like a sun nearing death, the scorching ring of flames underneath blazed with another intensity, impudent enough to compare itself with the Sun, and turned into a long lance in front of him.

The tip burned with the blue flames of infernal deities, and the shaft of the lance hid under the fires of the sun. Together, their power shook the fabric of space and made the munchur flinch at its place.

Then Gaobun smirked and stabbed his lance. His legs propelled from the air, and his head raised high, Gaobun reached in front of the monster’s gaping mouth. Munchur put its hands out, right before Gaobun reached, then released surges of lightning in the shapes of wide spider-webs.

Shouting, Gaobun’s lance clashed with the webs of lightning.

With near to no resistance, lance pierced through dozens of webs and continued on its way towards munchur’s head. Yet, the lost momentum gave the creature a chance to perform some strange magic. Several runes, shaped like stars in the skies covered the six limbs; two arms, two legs, torso, and the head. Gaobun’s eyes flickered at the scene and sent a flurry of stabs to stop the spell.

Unfortunately, the magic seemed to be an instant casting type, unlike his Ash Canyon Manual’s abilities. He managed to break down three of the runes before the leftover ones brightened and enlarged into several meters diameter in a split second. ‘’GRRRRR!’’ With munchur’s cry, amethyst colored beams of light sprang from within and collided with Gaobun’s Qi barrier.

His left arm trembled, like a leaf in a windy day, and his lance shook from the pressure. I’ll be damned if I can escape from this. Beams seemed unceasing, with no end of them in sight for now. His eyes, subconsciously, gazed over to where Quan and Ubel stood. Maybe from an unwilling need for help, or from a need of a moment of relief, he focused on them. Then he saw Ubel smiling.

???

He beamed, brighter than the flames covering his back. His mood seemed pleasant, and no more than thrice in his life he saw a face happier than that. Is junior alright? He wanted to ask himself. Yet, before he could, a feeling submerged in his heart unleashed. Fierce, unrelenting, more so delighting.

Why am I proud now...stupid.

His sight recovered and the beams of light ended, only to restart with the offensive of the munchur again. The thing, for the first time till it came, opened the huge mouth on its belly wide. Gaobun flinched a little at the disgusting scene. Many fangs and tongues swirled inside the mouth, alongside a green substance that looked like vomit. It bubbled, or boiled, and the dark-green mist it released corroded even the air itself.

Gaobun felt no more excitement or fear now. His heart had only two feelings, pride and contentment. With a smile on his lips, he blurred into action. He relieved the lance altogether and let it disappear. As it faded into nothingness, another shape came into being in his hands. They were a pair of swords, blazing with the same blue flames. The hilt of the swords burned with the yellow fire, but this time another color accompanied them.

Ash-color. The flame did not create the blade nor the grip nor the hilt. It existed in another level from the dimension they were in, like a phantom or a ghost or a god. Yet, if it came into the same reality, it would sure extinguish every flame it glanced on. Such was the power of Ash Canyon.

Eruption Of Rage.

With the first stance of the three attacks of Ash Canyon, he unleashed a series of slashes. The munchur, also, replied with a huge variety of attacks from the tongues inside the mouth. They swirled, shook, slashed, whipped, stabbed, coiled around, and cleaved down. All kinds of attack struck at the same time, but Gaobun fared much better.

Half circles of flames shot out of each slash like magma and cut through the tongues, some with ease and some with difficulty. Even so, munchur couldn’t stop the onslaught of the flaming swords. They reached right next to its nose and exploded. Eruption Of Tranquility. Gaobun did not stop at there, as he very well knew those flames at most could burn the outer flesh of the monster.

And it was spot on, indeed, as munchur came out, although not unscathed, still better than the first strike Gaobun unleashed at his arrival. It felt indignant, and angered, and despaired too. Feelings, at last, started to overwhelm its rationale, and this was something Gaobun awaited with great expectations. He knew the first seven teachings of the Windblade from word to word, and he particularly felt obsessed with the last of them.

If your enemy fights for money, fame, or for an objective then no one can stop you. But if your foe starts to battle for nothing but itself, then fear from the outcome.

So he struck. The swords in his hands radiated a scorching wave of heat, their temperature rose to another peak, and a faint cry of a phoenix echoed throughout the city. Hearing the sound, munchur trembled, then shouted. It feared from the incoming strike. And Gaobun felt relieved the thing did so.

Munchur leaped with extraordinary speed and appeared right in front of him, its mouth in belly wide open. The swirling, wounded tongues went crazy and splattered humongous amounts of the green liquid onto Gaobun. Without waiting, Gaobun retreated in haste.

The liquid burned through anything on its way without exception. It spread out fast, faster than Gaobun could retreat to a safe distance and clashed against his barrier. Gaobun’s scalp tingled at the sight of his half-destroyed barrier. The moment liquid swarmed over, his impatience overcame and without completely casting the ability he stabbed.

A phoenix’s head appeared out of the sword and flew over with a searing heat. It flew and as it flew, let out cries of anger. This wasn’t the complete Eruption Of Tranquility, he couldn’t pull off the whole spell in an intense fight as such. Still, the power dominated everything in its way without exception.

Munchur stepped back in fear and tried to avoid it. The phoenix’s head brushed off its shoulders, yet a huge chunk of burnt meat still fell down. This was the second time munchur took huge damage as such, and this made it angrier than ever. It burned with anger, even the heat on its shoulders felt like a cold breeze when compared with the rage inside its heart.

And Gaobun completely felt it, too. He didn’t want to stake his chances again and cast the third stance, the magic took twice the time the second stance had taken. So, left with no choice, he let go of his abilities. From now on- he thought as he recreated the lance of fire- It will be freestyle.

He vanished, then appeared right above the monster. Like a teardrop, he fell down and stabbed with ferocity. Ground sunk and rose from the force, them munchur’s head spun from the intense heat. Yet, the instincts kicked in at the same time. Its body acted agile, so fast that even Gaobun had a hard time comprehending the incoming attack, and bolstered itself to the air. It revolved and sent a ferocious kick covered in lightning.

Gaobun did not hesitate and increased the potency of the flames. They burned brighter than ever and challenged the brilliance of the sun, then collided with the kick. Flames exploded into a ring of fire and covered the skies of the city. Lightning passed through the lance and entered into his body, then the conflict of Qi forced him to stop.

Munchur did not let go of the opportunity and, while smirking, grasped Gaobun from the head and pulled down. He felt powerless as the knee of the monster crushed his nose and sent him flying. Munchur knew it couldn’t escape by now. There was an oppressive aura on his body, more fearsome than its master. And that being could kill it with nothing but a simple wave of a hand.

That kind of beings could only be Essence Masters, but they also knew none of its kind should exist here. Then, where did that scary power come from? A shiver passed through munchur’s scalp, and he leaped towards the flying Gaobun again. At least, even a small casualty would be more helpful to their cause.

With the momentum behind its back, munchur placed his hands together and smashed them down onto Gaobun’s belly. He coughed blood and his body dug into the black soil. The force was enough to crush his bones to bits and flesh to paste, yet it didn’t. Munchur looked in confusion as the man disappeared right before clashing with the earth, then its eyes widened.

A cold breeze passed through its body as the scenery in front of it changed without any notice. Now, it stood high- higher than the clouds and the mountains- above the skies and faced a duo. The same duo who inspected him. His eyes darted around in a panic, then he heard the man mutter something.

Instantly, flashes of light covered its sight.

What-AAGG

A pain, overbearing than any he felt in its lifetime crushed on munchur. It screamed and shouted, yet with nothing to direct its anger could only flail its arms and legs around. My eyes! MY EYES!

‘’HUGAH-GUA-HH-HAH’’ It could only utter incomprehensible sounds and words from anguish. Munchur wanted it to end right here and now. It wanted to die quick, to escape from this pain. What willpower and bullshit could help him here? All the forsakens told them about how weak were the immortals turned out to be a lie. A big, fat lie.

‘’Space furnace,’’ Then the man spoke, and a huge weight smashed over. Munchur felt like it carried mountains over its shoulder, and it had no choice in the matter. Slowly, its muscles compressed on their own and its bones crushed into bits. The same fate it imagined for Gaobun, happened to itself.

‘’Then, goodbye king of the mountain.’’

It heard the last words as millions of strings, smaller than needles covered its body, and squeezed. Darkness took over munchur’s mind and its body turned into a bloody mist.

How can a man have the power of people on the god’s path?

It had this one last question left unanswered, and it seemed it would be like this for a long long time.