A Divine Emissary struggled back to his feet, two faint red marks blooming across his face, contorted in fury.
He could have used his divine power immediately to erase the marks, but he deliberately chose not to.
"Impossible? Impossible!" he shrieked, "In a Pseudo-Divine Domain, how could you possibly be faster than me?"
He was unaware that Chen Feng was employing techniques from the King of Fighters, skills that, strictly speaking, did not belong to this world's cultivation system. Not only the Pseudo-Divine Domain, but even the true Divine Domain couldn't impede him!
"I don't believe it!" the First Divine Emissary roared, black light blazing around him. With a single palm strike, the space before him immediately fractured into a series of tears.
If it were a contest of speed, he would surely use the Teleportation Charm. If it were purely a contest of strength, Chen Feng would be no match. After all, the opponent was leveraging divine power, even if weakened; it was still difficult to counter.
The space before Chen Feng shattered like broken mirrors, and a massive rift instantly lunged toward him. The appearance of spatial tears meant he could no longer risk using the Teleportation Charm, lest he be transported directly into the rift—a disaster from which crying would be useless.
"Hmph!" Chen Feng snorted coldly, his feet shifting like phantoms as he dodged—a move he hadn't used in ages: Phantom Crane Steps!
The Phantom Steps weren't as swift as the Teleportation Charm, but in close-quarters combat, dodging, and maneuvering, they possessed an unparalleled advantage.
The First Divine Emissary saw a blur before his eyes. Chen Feng, who had been standing nearby, was suddenly right in front of him.
"Heh heh. Still want to..." The young man's face seemed to transform into a demon in an instant. Immediately, the First Divine Emissary felt a sharp pain across his face—a cry of agony—and another footprint appeared on his skin.
"Bang!" He was slammed heavily onto the ground once more.
Chen Feng wasn't merely playing with him; this was a tactic. With the existence of Divine Power Crystal Beans, the opponent’s body was virtually immortal; killing him in one blow was impossible. By repeatedly using the same move, he could enrage the Emissary, forcing him to reveal an opening—an opportunity Chen Feng needed.
As for what kind of flaw would appear, that was something he would have to react to as it happened!
Against this kind of Divine Emissary, who could constantly restore injuries using Divine Power Crystal Beans, there were only two ways to kill him. The first was to obliterate the opponent into fragments in a single strike, leaving no chance for recovery (the Eighth and Third Divine Emissaries died this way). The second was to destroy the opponent's soul; divine power could restore the body, but not the soul (the Second Divine Emissary was killed when Chen Feng forcibly extracted his soul).
The First Divine Emissary's cultivation was far superior to the Third Divine Emissary’s, making the probability of shattering him in one hit slim. Therefore, Chen Feng aimed to provoke him, making him agitated so that the effect of soul extraction would be greater.
As expected, the First Divine Emissary roared, a black light flickering in his eyes, his entire body seeming to ignite, becoming monstrously fierce.
"Aah..." With a massive shout, ten Divine Power Crystal Beans materialized in his palm, and he crushed them all simultaneously!
Although the Divine Power Crystal Beans contained only faint divine power, the human body had strict limits when handling any divine energy. When the Second Divine Emissary fought Chen Feng, although he was at a disadvantage, no matter how critical the situation, he only dared crush one bean at a time. It wasn't stinginess; his body could only withstand one. Crushing any more would likely cause him to explode before Chen Feng even needed to act.
The Third Divine Emissary’s cultivation was only slightly higher than the Second’s. In his final moments, he took out four Crystal Beans, intending to crush them—four was his absolute limit; exceeding that number meant death.
Yet, the First Divine Emissary now crushed ten Divine Power Crystal Beans!
"Crack... crack..."
Amidst a myriad of sharp snapping sounds, the First Divine Emissary's muscles swelled rapidly under his bellowing, and his height instantly doubled. The man, originally about 1.8 meters tall, now loomed at over three meters!
Innumerable streaks of dark light radiated from his towering frame. It seemed that by using too much divine power, he could no longer perfectly control the energy within him.
"Be careful, he's resorting to self-mutilation out of sheer rage..." A faint voice drifted over from the side.
The two turned to look and saw that the Woma Pope, who had been unconscious, had somehow awakened. A look of worry crossed his pale face.
"Self-mutilation?" Ling Feng asked, puzzled.
"Yes!" The Woma Pope coughed, expelling a mouthful of stale air. "I once heard the previous Pope say that the human body can only bear a finite amount of divine power. However, by burning the soul, one can endure greater divine power in a short span! But after burning the soul, even if one survives, they will become an imbecile. This is, in essence, an attack method that gains power through self-harm!"
"Burning the soul?" Chen Feng felt a jolt in his heart. The Flame Dragon had burned its soul once within him, and he himself had done it once. Under such circumstances, soul energy could unleash incredibly powerful forces, and one could certainly withstand more Divine Power Crystal Beans.
What infuriated Chen Feng was that after burning the soul, the soul matter was scattered throughout the body; it was no longer a single, cohesive entity. Now, even using "Soul Extraction" on the opponent would be useless!
By this time, the First Divine Emissary had completed the soul-burning process. With a shriek, his body vanished in an instant!
"Bang!"
A violent pain shot through Chen Feng's back. An overwhelmingly powerful force struck him from behind, sending him tumbling forward horizontally. At the same time, a sweet taste flooded his throat, and he spat out a mouthful of blood!
"Such speed!" Chen Feng created a series of cracks on the high platform as he skidded across it, his upper garment torn (he had changed into new clothes after returning to the valley; it was no longer the stolen armor), revealing the purple-red sun tattoo on his chest.
But before Chen Feng could stand, the transformed First Divine Emissary reappeared before him, grabbing him and slamming a punch into his chest, sending him flying again!
Boom! This impact was even stronger, and Chen Feng felt his vision swim, nearly passing out.
"No, if this continues, I will definitely be beaten to death!" Chen Feng roared internally as he struggled. His eyes snapped open wide, and he performed two consecutive somersaults in mid-air, stopping steadily suspended above the ground.
He dared not be careless now. He raised both hands, intending to unleash Sunlight Illumination, but halfway through the execution, the First Divine Emissary reappeared before him.
"Bang!"
Smashed away for the third time! He had been so arrogant, teasing the opponent three times moments ago, and now the retribution was immediate.
The opponent was enveloped by immense divine power, seemingly sealing off the surrounding space. If he tried using the Teleportation Charm now, the outcome might be even worse. But the opponent's speed was so great it was practically instantaneous teleportation. What now?
Chen Feng shifted his feet and executed the Phantom Crane Steps again, but after just two steps, the opponent ghosted before him once more.
"Aah..." This time, Chen Feng seemed prepared and did not hesitate. He roared, raising a ball of purple flame in his hand.
Hundred Styles Burn! Black Power 53!
Bang!
With a deafening crash, Chen Feng's Ghost Burn collided fiercely with the opponent's incoming fist.
Clang, clang, clang!
An immense force sent Chen Feng staggering back dozens of steps, but the First Divine Emissary also retreated a single step.
"Oh, I understand now!" Chen Feng's eyes lit up; a flash of inspiration struck, and he had made up his mind.
The First Divine Emissary had burned his soul and absorbed a massive amount of divine power. While his body withstood it, he could not perfectly control this power. Aside from rapid movement, his attacks were pure, brute-force strikes—punches! Moreover, his punches, thrown hastily after moving so fast, lacked significant power, otherwise, even with Chen Feng's sturdy body, he would have been killed already.
If he kept evading, he would constantly be hit. Therefore, he had to attack proactively!
He wouldn't use any domains or rely on the might of heaven and earth; he would confront the opponent with pure, raw power!
With this realization, Chen Feng's slightly panicked heart gradually calmed, and he slowly closed his eyes.
"What is he doing? He can’t even see him with his eyes open, this is suicide..." the Woma Pope cried out in alarm.
"He will win!" Ling Feng murmured, looking at the closed-eyed Chen Feng, her eyes filled with unwavering certainty. Though she didn't understand Chen Feng’s actions, for some reason, she chose to trust him unconditionally.
Instantly, the closed-eyed Chen Feng raised his right hand. A swirling flame appeared in his palm, growing larger and larger, like a cyclone.
Darkness Power 67, Kof Hundred Styles Eight Cup!
"Aah..." Chen Feng bellowed, sending the gigantic Eight Cup crashing directly down toward his own feet!
"Is he insane?" the Woma Pope shouted, his face growing even paler with anxiety. Launching a devastatingly powerful move directly at his own feet—what else could this be but madness?
As he watched anxiously, the Eight Cup slammed into the ground of the Heaven-Reaching Platform. Strangely, the ground did not shatter. Instead, the flame of the Eight Cup instantly spread out like rolling wind, radiating outward from Chen Feng.
Whirrr...
A fierce screech echoed in the air. The First Divine Emissary charged forward again. But as he entered the area of the Eight Cup flame, his speed dropped dramatically. If he was lightning before, now he was crawling like a snail!
The time-freezing effect of the Eight Cup!
Slamming the Eight Cup onto the ground wasn't an attack invented by Chen Feng. In King of Fighters '97, Iori Yagami had once struck the ground with a massive Eight Cup. Its immense power had, for a period, caused the Earth to stop rotating! It was precisely because of this move that Earth’s time became disordered, leading to Kyo Kusanagi, whom he had killed, being resurrected.
Chen Feng couldn't keep up with the opponent’s speed, and he had no idea where the next attack would come from. Chen Feng’s only option was not to evade but to directly ground the Eight Cup to alter the flow of time around his body!
"Die!" Chen Feng roared as he saw the First Divine Emissary’s speed slow to that of a snail. He slammed his right hand onto the ground, every muscle in his body bulging, his eyes flying open, concentrating all his strength into his right arm!
Super Special Move, Ralf: Cosmic Phantom, Dark Power 70!