Lucifer Liushui hadn't finished speaking when her body suddenly flickered, vanishing from her original spot. A massive spike, formed entirely of sand, erupted precisely where she had been standing.

The very instant the first spike burst from the sandy ground, a continuous chain of sand spikes erupted along Lucifer Liushui’s retreat path, pursuing her figure like a spreading carpet of crimson.

Magic cast without instantaneous spellcasting! Qian Wutian gripped his longsword tightly; the scabbard, inlaid with multicolored gemstones, radiated wave after wave of magical ripples, indicating it was an exquisite magical artifact.

"How dare you!"

A furious shout echoed from the ranks of the Sand Scorpions. A dark figure flashed out with lightning speed, descending from the air to strike Qian Wutian’s head with an open palm, the black fighting aura instantly threatening to engulf him completely.

"You seek death!"

From beneath Qian Wutian, golden sand surged skyward. Qian Wuchen drew his giant sword, carving a brilliant streak of light across the air, the blade aimed directly at the attacking powerhouse.

As the Shi Jian (Arrow Sword) was unleashed, fighting aura exploded, yet it only scraped and pierced the air, failing to injure the assailant in the slightest. A pair of massive bat wings suddenly unfurled in the sky. The attacker, Lai Mo, twisted mid-air and flew toward Lucifer Liushui.

Chek’s eye muscles twitched violently. A Blood Bat Lineage Martial Knight among the Ten Great Lineage Demon Martial Knights! Known as the Shadow Demon due to his incredible speed in coming and going.

"Hehe... little brother, did I offend you so much by saying you’re inferior to Qian Wushuang? To the extent that you discard the elegance and artistry of magic? So crude! Where is the art in this magic?" Lucifer Liushui retreated, covering her mouth with a continuous, charming laugh, causing the peaks on her chest to tremble gently. "Let big sister teach you what magical artistry truly is."

Lucifer Liushui flicked her exquisitely carved bracelet. The shadow beneath Qian Wutian’s feet suddenly writhed, transforming into a gigantic mouth that lunged to swallow him.

"Fragile dark power."

Qian Wutian spat a cold curse. The scabbard in his hand once again rippled with magical waves. The sunlight in the sky seemed to concentrate, crashing down into the expanding dark magic at his feet.

Poof!

The dark magic vanished without a trace, like a bubble pierced in water. At that exact moment, Lucifer Liushui flickered, springing toward Chek.

"These people are mine to kill. You intend to interfere?"

Qian Wutian shifted, drawing his longsword with a sound like a dragon's roar. The sword intent pressed directly against Duan Fengbuer’s neck. Before the blade arrived, it had already transformed into dozens of sword shadows, completely enveloping Duan Fengbuer.

Killing! In any battle, any unstable element must be eliminated beforehand! Lucifer Liushui flipped her palm, aiming directly for Chek’s throat. Eliminate all unstable factors preemptively! The Qian family members were absolutely not easy to deal with. Although his strength was only at the Fifth Battle of Demon Subjugation, no one could guarantee he didn't possess some strange life-saving ability.

In truly massive battles, this scenario played out repeatedly: when the two powerhouses were both severely wounded and nearing collapse, a minor player, previously unable to influence the tide, would determine the final victor.

Lucifer absolutely forbade such an outcome. Since Chek had been found, if this man refused to become a concubine, then kill him! Then send him to that idiot Crown Prince! The Qian family’s Elven King lineage warrior was now far more valuable!

The battlefield shifted too quickly. Chek, under heavy injury, struggled to exert force. Duan Fengbuer reached out to pull Chek back, sweeping his long spear across the front of his body.

Bang, bang...

Two sounds of vibrating bowstrings echoed from high above. Two Battle Soldier-grade arrows tore through the air!

A shield composed of black shadow materialized before the incoming arrows. The high-speed projectiles pierced the shadow shield lightly. Fan Tugkuang’s face showed astonishment—this dark magic seemed too weak?

Whoosh...

The trajectory of the arrow that pierced the shield suddenly underwent a massive change, veering sharply toward Qian Wuchen instead!

Simultaneously, a shield made of yellow sand blocked the other arrow. The solid sand shield was penetrated by the projectile, kicking up countless grains of sand, but due to this momentary delay, the target Qian Wutian had locked onto was already empty.

The speed of the two ultimate lineage warriors was too fast. Their long spears struck Qian Wutian’s longsword, sending sparks of fighting aura scattering everywhere, effectively draining much of the Elven King lineage warrior’s aura. Lucifer Liushui’s palm strike was now upon him.

"Die!"

It's broken! The damned chains are finally broken!

The boiling yellow sand behind Duan Fengbuer suddenly shot high into the sky, rising a full zhang (about 3.3 meters) high! It was like a high-pressure water column erupting from a burst underground pipe, only this time, it sprayed dry, scalding golden sand.

The massive, thick golden sand pillar soared upward before scattering outward. The sand that had been burying Gan Jin could no longer contain him; he burst out of the deep pit, his muscular upper body exposed.

Regaining his breath fully, Gan Jin felt the chains of fighting aura within him completely melted by the surging torrent of heat. His meridians and acupoints seemed to melt away in an instant, only to reform rapidly through the high-speed rotation of his fighting aura, creating new acupoints. The melted meridians then reassembled, becoming even sturdier!

Even his two severed arms seemed to melt at that moment. The medicinal fluid previously infused into his body boiled violently, no longer being slowly absorbed, but instead surging directly to his limbs, injecting all its potency into the bone structure. His injuries recovered significantly, to an extent his body could perceive.

With the hundred and eight acupoint chains unlocked, the fighting aura that erupted was stronger than ever before! Gan Jin leaped out of the pit. Raising his hand, he felt that all the heat flow within a half-meter radius centered on him could be commanded.

As the anomaly manifested, the two attacking lineage warriors paused momentarily, but Gan Jin had already left the pit. In one hand, he snatched the Zhanmadao (Horse-Cleaving Saber) from Chek’s grip and swung it toward Qian Wutian; his other arm, not yet fully healed, struck out toward Lucifer Liushui.

Fourth Battle of Demon Subjugation! Erupting from the earth, Gan Jin's fighting aura not only recovered but had advanced continuously, surging straight to the realm of the Fourth Battle of Demon Subjugation. With a raised hand, the earth’s heat flow surged out. Lucifer Liushui's slender eyes narrowed slightly, flashing with a blade-sharp gaze. What! What was going on? How could this person control the heat flow beneath the earth?

The rolling heat flow converged in the Ancient Barren Sand Sea, forming a strange, transparent yet visible state resembling water droplets—like the heat haze shimmering above asphalt on a hot summer road.

The only difference was that these heat flows were rapidly drawn into Gan Jin’s fists. A casual palm strike possessed more than double its usual power!

"Dou Xin Consciousness!" Fan Tugkuang descended the mountain. Seeing the scene as Gan Jin unleashed a palm strike, he exclaimed in shock: "Condensing fighting aura into the seed of life, cultivating it into a true Battle Heart! A Battle Heart capable of borrowing the power of the surrounding heaven and earth? How is this possible? Only when a Demon Subjugation warrior breaks through to become an Extermination Demon warrior can they condense a Battle Heart."

Clang! Bang!

The clash of metal reverberated; palms met, fighting aura scattered, and waves of heat rolled out. The yellow sand on the ground churned up countless grains under the force of their impact, like a rainstorm of sand beneath the sky. (Pirate websites are copying again.)

In just one saber strike, Qian Wutian’s arm felt electrified, and his chest felt as if struck by a monstrous, charging beast. Despite his feet being dug into the sand, he was still sent sliding back over ten meters, leaving two deep gouges in the ground.

Crack! Crack!

Gan Jin’s broken bones clicked again. Lucifer Liushui also heard the same sound of bone fracture from her own palm. Intense pain and surging fighting aura transmitted relentlessly up her arm. A metallic taste flooded her throat, bringing forth traces of blood. If her wings hadn't stabilized her balance, she would have tumbled backward uncontrollably.

How could this be? I am at the Ninth Battle of Demon Subjugation; how could I be repelled by a mere Fourth Battle of Demon Subjugation practitioner with a single palm strike? Lucifer Liushui retrieved a Level I Pain Suppression Scroll from her robes. Black light instantly invaded her wrist; the broken bone couldn't be reset, but it could temporarily numb the area.

Battle Heart Consciousness? Is this what they call Battle Heart Consciousness? Gan Jin slightly raised his still-aching, not-fully-recovered arm. So, the method of mobilizing surrounding power for my use wasn't my own unique discovery? It has a name: Battle Heart Consciousness?

Fan Tugkuang rubbed his eyes vigorously, trying to ascertain if Gan Jin had truly achieved Battle Heart Consciousness. The more closely he observed, the more shocked he became. This was truly the Battle Heart Consciousness. However, the Battle Heart Consciousness was traditionally only achievable when a Demon Subjugation warrior reached their peak, compressed their fighting aura into a seed, and then broke through to become an Extermination Demon warrior, thereby gaining the ability to borrow the power of heaven and earth.

How powerful was the power of heaven and earth? No one could say precisely. Perhaps only warriors who awakened ultimate lineage powers truly understood its strength, for at that point, they were heaven, they were earth! They were the supreme rulers of worldly power.

Only Extermination Demon strength could possess a complete Battle Heart! This was an ironclad rule that even lineage warriors had to obey. Fan Tugkuang stared at Gan Jin in shock. This rule, which even ultimate lineage warriors had failed to break, had been shattered by this ordinary warrior standing before him.

"Battle Heart Consciousness? How is this possible?" Lucifer Liushui cried out in astonishment. Her own strength, at the peak of the Second Order Ninth Battle, was about to allow her to nurture a Lucifer Battle Heart seed, grasp the use of heaven and earth's power, and break through to a higher realm in one go.

"You," Gan Jin looked at Qian Wutian and suddenly stepped forward. The ground seemed to contract under a Suodi Shu (Ground Shrinking Technique), instantly erasing the ten-meter distance in a single stride. The Zhanmadao descended upon him: "You came to kill me, didn't you?"

Fast! Unimaginably fast! Qian Wutian's eyes were instantly filled only with this overwhelmingly powerful strike. Heaven and earth seemed completely occupied by this saber blow. To dodge? Where could he possibly run?

No escape, no evasion! He hastily raised his longsword above his head to meet the Zhanmadao. The collision of metal produced countless brilliant sparks. The Battle Soldier longsword shrieked, allowing Gan Jin's fighting aura to leak out, while Qian Wutian’s internal organs jolted simultaneously. Blood spurted uncontrollably from his mouth, and his body could no longer remain upright.

P.S.: Twelfth update! Any monthly tickets? Any at all?

End of Chapter.