Chapter 397: To Deceive! To Sneak Attack!

Chapter 397: Come to Deceive! Come to Ambush!

"Die!"

The bio-demon unleashed all his power, throwing a punch that shook heaven and earth.

Crack! Boom!

The invisible armor on Li Wei shattered, fragments flying everywhere.

His body exploded, scattering into flames across the ground.

The sky around them suddenly darkened.

The bio-demon looked up—the heavens were veiled in dark blue fire.

He crouched low and leapt with all his might, trying to escape through the only exit.

Crack!

The dragon's jaws snapped shut above and below, sealing off the demon’s final path of retreat.

Eris felt an intense surge of magical energy behind him and instinctively turned back.

One glance left him stunned.

A massive dragon head, as enormous as a mountain peak, had appeared upon the arena.

He had never seen such an exaggerated fire dragon technique.

Outside blazed crimson flames,

but within burned deep azure inferno of staggering intensity—

a temperature reaching hundreds of thousands of degrees.

The mysterious liquid coating the bio-demon’s skin trembled violently, quickly evaporating away.

It was this very substance that granted him extraordinary resistance against fire.

Now even it could not withstand the scorching of the blue flame.

Sizzling sounds filled the air.

"Ahhhh!"

The bio-demon screamed in agony.

"I surrender! I surrender!"

He collapsed onto the ground, curling himself tightly, doing everything he could to minimize further harm.

Li Wei heard his cry of surrender

and let him be.

The blue flames vanished, returning to their normal red glow.

The great dragon head gradually dissipated into thin air,

revealing both figures standing once more upon the battlefield.

Flames still wreathed Li Wei’s form as he stared at the motionless, curled-up bio-demon lying prone before him.

Seeing no movement for quite some time stirred suspicion in his heart.

“Could he have died?”

Just as he moved forward to investigate, a sudden gash opened from the creature’s back, launching forth a black shadow.

So swift was its flight that even mental perception failed to react in time.

In less than a fraction of a second, the assault was already complete.

A needle-thin yet razor-sharp black stinger pierced deep into Li Wei’s flesh.

Instantly, Li Wei sensed his mana slowing down, his nerves numbing.

Slowly rising to his feet, the bio-demon retracted the venomous tail extending from his spine.

Staring intently at Li Wei, a hideous grin spread over his charred face.

"Hehehe... you're finished."

"This is the third most lethal poison known to man—Scorpio toxin."

"My tail has been crafted using the stinger of a seventh-tier scorpion; even legendary warriors would perish under its sting!"

Feeling confident about victory, he took pleasure in explaining things to Li Wei—

partly to boast and intimidate,

partly to buy time until the poison claimed Li Wei’s life.

True enough, the stinger came from a seventh-tier scorpion.

But said scorpion had long since perished many years ago.

How much potency remained within the stinger was uncertain.

Had it been taken fresh from a living, prime-condition specimen, naturally it would easily slay a legendary warrior.

Yet now, whether the lingering remnants of poison from a long-dead beast could still pose any real threat to one such as him remained questionable.

Li Wei clearly perceived the overwhelming dominance of the Scorpio toxin.

Within it lay traces of "Rule" power—

the Rule of Poison itself.

However, these rules were incomplete, fragmented ones.

Even inferior compared to the rudimentary Flame Rule which Li Wei himself possessed.

Despite being broken fragments, even if they retained but mere scraps of the original poison’s strength,

they remained terrifyingly potent.

Not even the body of a Flame Lord could resist the corrosion wrought by such toxins.

Li Wei distinctly felt his limbs stiffening, vitality ebbing steadily away.

Without hesitation, he activated his Flame Rule, attempting to purge the fractured poison-rule from within.

Alas, the Scorpio toxin proved too formidable.

His elementary Flame Rule simply couldn’t suppress it.

With no other choice, Li Wei drew out the Tear of the Goddess.

The moment he pulled it forth,

he immediately regained control of his body.

Buzz!

Atop the Sacred Mountain located at the center of the Human Empire,

stood the Holy Temple of Light.

Usually serene and peaceful, the temple abruptly radiated waves of holy light.

The Cardinal walked into the sanctuary, bowing his head slightly as he called out, "Your Holiness."

"Someone has channeled the power of the Goddess's Tears in the west of the Firmament Continent," the Holy Maiden said.

A look of doubt crossed the Cardinal’s face. "The west of the Firmament Continent? Is there not only the Endless Sea there?"

The Holy Maiden replied, "The Goddess's Tears went missing from Storm City, which is situated within the desolate wastes of the Western Desert."

"Recently, the five apex mage towers held an exchange tournament at the Spatial Tower, which happens to be anchored right above the Endless Sea."

"Therefore, it is highly probable that the Goddess's Tears were stolen by someone from the Elemental Tower."

"The four-winged angel that fell not long ago is also very likely connected to this person."

By piecing together these fleeting clues, the Holy Maiden had narrowed down the culprit to the domain of the Elemental Tower.

With his head still bowed, the Cardinal said, "If it was someone from the Elemental Tower who stole the Goddess's Tears, can we not simply demand that they hand the person over?"

The Holy Maiden countered, "No. Go there yourself for this matter and bring them back to me. I want them alive."

Hearing this, the Cardinal nodded and said, "Understood. Then I shall take my leave."

The Holy Maiden gazed out toward the distant horizon, ripples finally disturbing the otherwise placid depths of her eyes.

"You're still alive?"

"You're actually alive! Impossible!"

The biochemical demon stared at Levi in utter shock.

Not only was Levi still alive, but he was completely unscathed.

The scorpio venom had already been neutralized by the Goddess's Tears.

In that critical moment, Levi could no longer afford to care about the consequences.

After all, this was the Endless Sea, far away from the Firmament Continent.

The Central Continent, the heart of the Firmament Continent, was the true territory of the Church of the Holy Light.

There was no way they would travel to such a remote place just to capture him.

With the scorpio venom purged, Levi no longer held back.

"Burn!"

Flames erupted across the biochemical demon's body.

Unquenchable fire.

The specialized mucus coating his skin lost its efficacy, failing entirely to repel these seemingly ordinary flames.

"Ahhh!"

Swoosh!

Following a sudden flash of white light, the biochemical demon vanished from the spot.

Where he had just been standing, only a tournament token remained.

With a casual wave of Levi's hand, the tournament token flew into his grasp.

All the points accumulated on that token now belonged to him.

Glancing down at his total score, it had already reached 172.

The majority had come from the two summoners who were eliminated earlier.

A smaller portion came from the biochemical demon.

The arena points themselves contributed the least.

He still needed 128 more points to purchase the Spatial Javelin.

Which meant he needed to defend the arena for at least another two hours.

Levi turned his head to look around.

The battles outside the arena had already drawn to a close.

The alchemist who had been fighting Eris had fled aboard a beast-shaped magical golem.

The illusionist had slipped away at some unknown point.

Perhaps realizing they were no match for Levi.

Or perhaps thinking that even if they defeated Levi, they would still have to face Eris's challenge.

Deeming it an unprofitable venture, they had retreated.

In short, Levi would be able to hold the arena in relative peace for a while.

Eris also managed to cast a concealed magical barrier around the perimeter, preventing others from spotting the arena from afar at a glance.

Though it would be of little use against those calculating minds who had already observed and memorized the arena's location.

It would at least ward off a great deal of unnecessary trouble.