Chapter 439: A battle between top speed ability users!
The straight-line distance of the third floor was around nine hundred miles, yet Xia Fei had spent nearly ten hours in the labyrinth, which covered almost 6700 miles! This was evidence of just how inscrutable the labyrinth was.
“That was close!” Phantom was gazing back at the endless highwalls behind as he whistled.
Xia Fei nodded. “Indeed. The complexity of this maze is really unbelievable, and the traps are even more sinister! Had it not been for my Crafty Approach and my speed ability, I would’ve probably died back there.”
Phantom concurred. “It’s a good thing that we made it through. I felt some strange energy fluctuations just now; did you also feel something like that before?”
Xia Fei nodded. “Yeah, I felt something strange just now as well. Perhaps they came as a result of the traps being triggered.”
Before them was the same teleportation platform, made up of both black and white stones, as the ones before. However, the size of this platform was smaller compared to the others previously, most likely because the Black and White G.o.ds also believed that there would not be as many warriors who could successfully reach this point, which was why they had deliberately shrunk it down.
Xia Fei looked at the point counter on his wrist. “Do you know how many points I earned getting through this labyrinth?”
“How many?” Phantom curiously wondered.
“A million points!”
“One million! The points you earned before were barely over one hundred thousand, yet just clearing the labyrinth awarded you with one million points! This time, you’ll surely be able to exchange it for something good at the temple on the fifth floor. It might even be possible for you to get your hands on an Immortal-grade weapon!” Phantom was excited.
Xia Fei replied, “I’ll still need to survive till the end. The points earned from my mobilization of the Evil Spirit Trees to attack Uti’s forces are actually tabulated to me, and now I’ve got a total of 1.4 million points. Looks like this Holy Realm actually encourages insectoids to kill one another.”
The two chatted as they stepped onto that teleportation platform.
*Whoos.h.!.+*
The beam of light shot down from the sky, and Xia Fei was instantly transported to the fourth floor!
He felt scalding warmth all around him, as if he were inside an oven!
Before him appeared a scene of moving lava, with magma slowly flowing like an ocean, wave after wave lapping against the sh.o.r.e.
The fiery red color was reflected onto the white stalact.i.tes which had formed on this cavern’s ceiling. Were it not for his combat suit, he would probably get roasted just by standing here!
Furball suddenly opened his eyes. The beast’s whole body was bathed in the fiery glow around, and he looked like he was feeling very comfortable. He had been sleeping the entire time Xia Fei was traversing that labyrinth, not even sparing a single glance at the traps around them. To actually have been able to sleep so soundly despite the dangers around them, Xia Fei could not help but admire this pet’s strong nerves.
Xia Fei took his mask and wore a pair of protective goggles in place to prevent the scalding temperature from harming his eyes.
There was just lava and even more lava ahead. He had no idea how he was supposed to get through this.
The point counter on his wrist displayed the environment of the fourth floor, and the location for the two teleportation platforms were across this almost one-thousand-mile lava pool, and there was no way across except traversing through this hot lava.
“Just how are you supposed to get across? Even if you are able to fly, you can’t possibly fly all the way just like this. The scorching temperature this lava emits is enough to cook you alive.” Phantom was scratching his chin as he wondered.
Xia Fei also had his eyebrows scrunched together. They were five miles away from the lava, and the heatwave it was diffusing was already unbearable. There was no need to mention directly being on top of the lava pool itself; anyone with even the slightest bit of common sense would know that heat rose.
Suddenly, a dour voice spoke!
“Are you that human warrior?”
Xia Fei turned in the direction of the voice and saw an insectoid warrior dressed in a gray combat suit walking out from the forest of stalact.i.tes just a distance away!
Xia Fei had superhuman senses, but he had not realized when this person arrived!
Recalling the slight energy fluctuations he had sensed back in the labyrinth on the third floor, Xia Fei finally understood where they had come from. It turned out that this insectoid followed him to the third floor and had reached this fourth floor’s lava trial ahead of him.
Since the insectoid warrior, who had managed to hide his presence, arrived before he did, it appeared that he was not anyone simple!
Xia Fei nodded calmly. His feet s.h.i.+fted slightly as he carefully guarded against this newcomer.
Furball yawned, its eyes glancing carelessly at a black shadow behind the insectoid, which looked to be a large Spirit Cat with spotted fur.
“My name’s Nimuni.”
Xia Fei was surprised as he chuckled. “So you’re the expert who’s ranked ninth on the Sacred Warrior Leaderboard, the fastest speed ability user among the insectoids. It’s an honor.”
Nimuni was equally light on his feet as Xia Fei, and the two now circled each other.
When he spotted his Spotted Spirit Cat s.h.i.+vering in fear, Nimuni remarked, “You’re exotic beast is very powerful, to have scared my Lil’ Spot until she’s unable to move; I wonder what kind of exotic beast is it, and what grade it’s at?”
Xia Fei flashed the insectoid a cheeky smile, and Nimuni was slightly shocked by it deep down.
Furball appeared to be very reluctantly standing on Xia Fei’s shoulder, opening its mouth to let out three consecutive growls! All were directed at the Spotted Spirit Cat!
The first growl caused the Spotted Spirit Cat to tremble all over, its ears standing up in alert.
The second growl made the Spotted Spirit Cat’s two amber eyes roll upward as it collapsed to the ground.
By the time Furball’s third growl came out, that Spirit Cat had already died, looking completely terrible as it did.
“It’s called Furball. No grade,” Xia Fei casually answered.
Nimuni’s expression changed greatly. Scaring his exotic beast to death with just three low growls was proof of Furball’s unfathomable grade!
“Your exotic beast may be very powerful, but that doesn’t mean that you are, too!” Nimuni stood still as he pointed right at Xia Fei. “Do you know why I’m the strongest ability user in all of the insectoids?”
Xia Fei shrugged nonchalantly.
“It’s true that you having broken the speed of thirty thousand meters per second is an impressive feat, but my speed’s much faster than yours!”
“Take this!”
*Zoom!*
With that, Nimuni dashed to Xia Fei as a steel hook extended from his wrist. The hook had a rather peculiar appearance, with it looking like the talons of a falcon!
His speed was very fast! Much faster than Xia Fei’s!
“His speed is over forty thousand! Be careful, Xia Fei!” Phantom was utterly shocked!
Just as he shouted this, Xia Fei was already exchanging a hundred moves with Nimuni!
It must be stated that this was a match between two top speed ability users, and to describe this fight as a visual blur was an understatement!
*Clank!”
October Flying Snow and Nimuni’s steel hook clashed, and an ear-piercing ring sounded. The two backed off as they retreated to a corner of the battlefield.
Nimuni laughed loudly. “Now, you know! When two speed ability users clash, the victor shall be the one with the faster speed!
“While the reaction speed you’ve just demonstrated is very quick, your speed is slower than mine! I’d like to see how long you can mentally last against me!”
*Whoos.h.!.+*
“The fight resumed!
Both parties were actually able to attack and retaliate five hundred times every second! Even the most advanced high-speed camera would have difficulty capturing this battle.
When both parties disengaged, a very small cut appeared on Xia Fei’s left thumb, which dripped with quite a bit of blood, while Nimuni remained unscathed.
Xia Fei’s expression turned severe. What Nimuni had said was correct. When two speed ability users fought, it was only naturally for the one who had the higher speed to win. Xia Fei was basically twenty-five percent slower than his opponent, and such a difference in a battle that rapidly changes every second was essentially fatal!
Fortunately, Xia Fei still had his Crafty Approach and his superhuman mental reaction time. As such, he was more or less able to hold on, and victory was still in sight.
Furball howled anxiously, watching Xia Fei get injured yet being unable to help. That was because his energy b.a.l.l.s were not fast enough to catch up to Nimuni and his forty thousand meters per second of speed. Even if he tried, there was no way that his attack would be effective.
“Is this the strongest speed ability user mankind has to offer? I’m truly disappointed,” Nimuni guffawed. “I have yet to use my full strength; once I go all out and attack, I’m afraid that you won’t even last a full minute.”
Xia Fei was unperturbed. His brain was working overtime as he sought to come up with a strategy against this.
“If you surrender now and show willingness to crawl between my legs, I promise to spare your life.” Nimuni spread his legs open as he treacherously taunted his opponent. A smug delight could be seen from both his words and action.
Xia Fei knitted his eyebrows and easily let out a slight laugh.
With a light tap of his right arm, Xia Fei released the safety switch for his Celestial Moon.
Nimuni laughed. “It’s no use. That set of circular blades on your right arm’s useless. You’ve already lost when it comes to speed.”
Xia Fei calmly extended two of his fingers and wagged them. “There’s something you’re mistaken.”
“What is it?”
“I’m not the fastest speed ability user among all humans.”
Nimuni coldly snorted. “I doubt it as well. With your cultivation, you aren’t even fit to wash my feet!”
Xia Fei flexed his muscles a little, seemingly unconcerned with Nimuni’s arrogant claim. However, Furball could not stand it, shooting out three energy b.a.l.l.s at that moment.
*Whoosh whoosh whoosh—*
Nimuni was left an afterimage of himself as he darted aside by a hundred meters, causing Furball’s attack to miss.
“Kiddo, don’t you know that speed is the hardest ability to deal with in this universe? You’re clearly no match for me, and neither is your master,” Nimuni teased.
Furball understood what the insectoid said, and he howled wildly, his eyes turning bloodshot from anger!
Xia Fei reached out and patted the beast on his head. “There’s no need for you to do anything. If I can’t even deal with such a trivial enemy like this, I hardly qualify as your master.”
“What arrogance!” It was Nimuni who castigated Xia Fei. “You clearly can’t beat me, so what’s with all that nonsense you’re spouting?! Humans are truly so despicable!”
Xia Fei remained unfazed, his finger beckoning Nimuni, as if telling the latter to come and attempt an attack.
Nimuni was furious. Forty thousand meters per second versus thirty thousand meters per second! Xia Fei losing was only a matter of time, and he simply could not understand where the latter was getting his confidence to be smug.
“Then let me show you what’s true power!”
*Pa!*
That gray combat suit of his suddenly tightened, his well-defined muscles became obvious underneath, and his combat boots shone brightly.
Speed ability users were highly reliant on their combat suit, and without them, their superhuman speed would most likely have them charging out of orbit once they accelerated.
“Take this!”
Nimuni’s body arched, his steel hook before him as he came charging right at Xia Fei like a bolt of lightning!
Meanwhile, Xia Fei actually stood rooted where he was and remained unmoving!
Could he have already given up?!
“Thousand Venerables!” Xia Fei suddenly bellowed!
Just as Nimuni’s steel hook was only one hundred meters away from Xia Fei, an inexplicable scene unfolded!
*Whoosh whoosh whoos.h.!.+*
Celestial Moon suddenly turned the sky silver and glittery as it came howling outward, surrounding the entire battlefield in the eye of an airtight tornado!
This was the third-tier combat technique of psychokinesis, Thousand Venerables!
It was an insane AoE attack skill!
The eighteen circular blades, which made up Celestial Moon, suddenly turned into 180,000 blades! It covered every corner and every possible gap as it attacked!
Nimuni, who had already accelerated, did not have that inexplicable physical agility Xia Fei’s Crafty Approach had, so he had no way of evading this insane Tier 3 psychokinetic combat technique!
The faster his speed, the greater the damage Celestial Moon inflicted upon him!
*Ping!*
The number-one insectoid speed ability user Nimuni turned into a b.l.o.o.d.y corpse as he suffered these heavy and relentless cuts! His entire body got perforated by the countless connecting edges!
Nimuni’s corpse flew up high before landing heavily on the ground, no longer breathing.
The corners of Xia Fei’s lips curled into a wicked smile as he told himself, “I didn’t get to tell you: ‘I’m not the fastest, but I’m the only dual ability user of mankind’!”
It was beautifully done!
Phantom and Furball both cheered loudly!