Seeing their attack blocked again by the human before them, those squids seemed genuinely enraged. The remaining two squids roared, raising their tentacles, clearly intending to employ the self-destructing suckers for an attack, just like the other one had.

Mo Han was greatly alarmed by this turn of events. The sheer power radiating from the suckers on those squid tentacles had far exceeded his expectations. Those previous suckers had only come from two tentacles of a single creature, and he had already struggled immensely to cope. If the rest of the squids attacked simultaneously with their suckers, he feared he would truly be overwhelmed.

With this thought, Mo Han hesitated no longer. He shouted to Xiao Long and Xiao Han, signaling them to evade. Xiao Long and Xiao Han, having already witnessed the suckers' might, immediately bolted backward at Mo Han's command, seeking distance to dodge the incoming threat.

Mo Han, clutching his long sword, fell behind Xiao Long and Xiao Han, tasked with providing cover for them.

Seeing Mo Han and the others attempting to flee, the squids were unwilling to let them escape. With a collective roar, countless self-destructing suckers launched from their bodies, dense and thick like a swarm of locusts, rushing toward the fleeing Mo Han and Xiao Han.

Mo Han, bringing up the rear, felt a prickle of dread crawl up his scalp at the sight.

The sheer quantity of the suckers, coupled with their terrifying power, meant he had no confidence in absorbing all of them. Mo Han could have easily evaded the self-destructing suckers by simply using his Flight technique or channeling his Dou Qi to ascend into the sky. However, if he did that, Xiao Long and Xiao Han, ahead of him, would surely be unable to escape the barrage and would suffer severe injuries.

Considering this, Mo Han gritted his teeth, resolving to meet the incoming barrage head-on with his full strength. A brilliant white light erupted from his long sword. Then, Mo Han raised the blade and swung it violently toward the swarm of suckers. A wave of white Dou Qi shot forth from his sword, flying directly toward the approaching suckers. Mo Han swung again immediately after.

Another burst of Dou Qi followed the first, racing toward the suckers. As Mo Han’s sword danced with increasing speed, dozens of Dou Qi streams formed a net-like pattern, surging to meet the incoming tide.

These maneuvers were conceived in desperation; Mo Han intended to use the Dou Qi to prematurely detonate a portion of the suckers, lessening his burden later so he could better manage the remainder. Upon meeting Mo Han’s Dou Qi defenses, the suckers immediately detonated.

The powerful shockwaves generated by these explosions affected the trajectory of the surrounding suckers, momentarily carving out a vacuum zone around Mo Han’s Dou Qi. However, due to the overwhelming number of suckers, the defensive Dou Qi was extinguished after neutralizing only a fraction of the threat. The remaining self-destructing suckers quickly filled the void left by the initial blasts and continued their assault on Mo Han.

This outcome, however, was within Mo Han’s expectations.

He had never intended for those initial Dou Qi strikes alone to neutralize the entire attack, so he remained unfazed as the rest rushed toward him.

With a low cry, Mo Han channeled his Dou Qi to its absolute limit, enveloping his entire body in a protective barrier. He brandished his long sword, moving rapidly to meet the self-destructing suckers. With every swing, Mo Han ensured he struck and detonated one sucker, allowing its explosive force to dissipate outward. The energy from these detonations rushing toward him was entirely absorbed by his body’s protective Dou Qi shield.

Yet, given the astonishing power of each sucker—each blast rivaling a high-level offensive spell—Mo Han’s personal Dou Qi reserves were draining at an alarming rate, despite his temporary defense. Soon, a sense of exhaustion washed over him. His sword arm slowed, and a single self-destructing sucker struck his protective barrier precisely. With a deafening boom, Mo Han felt an immense power impact his shield. Though uninjured, he felt a surge of blood rush upward, and his body involuntarily staggered backward.

Mo Han’s anxiety mounted. If this continued, he feared his Dou Qi would be depleted before he could eliminate the creatures, leaving him vulnerable to the undeniably potent explosions. Being hit directly would cost him dearly.

As Mo Han fretted internally, his remaining Dou Qi dwindled critically. Due to the insufficiency of his power, two more suckers breached the defense of his sword and slammed into his protective barrier. Mo Han felt a sudden sweetness in his throat and involuntarily spat out a mouthful of blood. In this perilous moment, a fierce surge of energy erupted within him, instantly flooding his body. The sensation was agonizing, his body feeling as if it were about to tear apart, ready to explode. Mo Han roared out in pain, and immediately, a halo of multicolored light enveloped his entire form.

The self-destructing suckers, upon striking this seven-hued Dou Qi, detonated, but they could not breach the vibrant shield. From within the radiance, Mo Han roared again, unleashing a massive, thick stream of seven-colored Dou Qi—far more potent than his previous bursts—from his long sword. This concentrated energy immediately broke down into countless fine streams that flew out, obliterating every last remaining self-destructing sucker.

Having successfully repelled the sucker assault, Mo Han realized the seven-colored energy within him showed no signs of depletion; rather, it seemed to be gathering and intensifying.

Mo Han felt an urgent distress. While he was certainly bewildered by the sudden transformation of his Dou Qi into a seven-hued spectrum, he had no time to contemplate it.

The energy of this nascent seven-colored Dou Qi was already pressing against the absolute limit of what his body could contain. If he didn't expel this power soon, his body risked exploding from the sheer strain. He wryly thought that he might become the continent's first Sword Saint to be blown apart by his own energy—a record he had zero desire to claim, despite his general ambition for firsts.

Resolved, Mo Han began to slash his sword wildly, forcing the internal energy out. Suddenly, the sky filled with dancing seven-colored Dou Qi. Where these streams struck the earth, they caused tremors, each impact resounding with a heavy thud and gouging massive craters into the valley floor.

In the blink of an eye, nearly the entire surface of the valley floor had been planed away by the spectral energy—a display far beyond human capacity. Even the onrushing super-magical beasts, moments before aggressive, now displayed looks of sheer terror in their eyes; Mo Han’s current manifestation of power had instilled fear in these ancient creatures.

As Mo Han continued his frantic release, he inadvertently noticed the squids. A flash of inspiration struck him: since he had to vent this energy anyway, why not make these super squids the target? Furthermore, it was because of them that he had been forced into this desperate state. With that thought, Mo Han immediately turned his focus onto the unfortunate ancient beasts.

With a fierce shout, Mo Han’s sword slashed out countless seven-colored Dou Qi streams that surged toward the super squids. The intensity matched the barrage of self-destructing suckers from moments before.

The air became a swirl of seven-colored energy, instantly enveloping all the super squids within the attack radius of Mo Han's power.

Facing the incoming torrent of seven-colored Dou Qi, the squids, though terrified, refused to surrender passively. They huddled together, spitting out streams of red bubbles while violently flinging every last remaining sucker from their massive tentacles toward the oncoming energy. However, upon impact with the seven-colored Dou Qi, the suckers and red bubbles were shattered, unable to fully intercept the attack.

The residual seven-colored Dou Qi rapidly closed in on the super squids. By this point, the creatures were utterly defenseless; their tentacles had been stripped bare of suckers during the previous engagement, and they lacked the time to conjure more red bubbles. The potent streams struck the super squids, exploding upon contact and inflicting massive trauma.

In mere moments, the super squids were covered in horrific, bleeding wounds, a truly tragic sight. They could only flail their remaining limbs to cover their vital areas, neglecting the rest of their bodies. But the seven-colored Dou Qi was unforgiving. After only a few impacts, their tough tentacles were shredded and severed in multiple places. Coupled with the body wounds, the agony forced agonizing screeches from the super squids.

However, after unleashing that torrent of seven-colored energy, Mo Han felt the frenzied surge within his body gradually subside, and he stopped the desperate release. He slowly regained his composure. The valley floor was now a scene of devastation. The canyon walls and ground were riddled with craters caused by the seven-colored Dou Qi.

Seeing the aftermath, Mo Han himself was startled. He hadn't realized the monstrous nature of this energy; compared to his own Dou Qi, his standard power likely didn't reach even one-third the strength of this seven-hued manifestation. He had been too focused on venting the energy to notice until this panoramic view provided him with a new comprehension of its power.

This energy surpassed the known limits of human Dou Qi. Mo Han had never heard of anyone achieving seven-colored Dou Qi. Even legendary Sword Gods, according to records, only manifested golden-yellow energy—nothing like this vibrant spectrum.

As Mo Han was pondering this, the voices of Xiao Han and Xiao Long behind him broke his trance. They had quietly approached and stood behind him, their eyes reflecting a sense of awe mingled with apprehension at the sheer power Mo Han had just displayed. Yet, this was not fear, but admiration.

Just then, Mo Han heard a fresh, miserable cry from ahead. Remembering the remaining squids, Mo Han swiftly used a movement technique to check on the ancient beasts. But upon witnessing the scene, despite knowing they were his enemies, a pang of reluctance struck him.

All four squids lay in pools of their own blood, covered in grotesque wounds from which crimson fluid still seeped. The heads of two squids had been pulverized beyond recognition by the seven-colored Dou Qi, leaving them motionless—undoubtedly dead. The other two were not faring better, riddled with terrible injuries, though their heads had sustained less damage, allowing them a few final moments of life. Still, given the massive blood loss, their survival was measured in minutes; death was only a matter of time.

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