CHAPTER 809: Han Tu

In the western part of Ethereal City, a strange battle was taking place. Three earth energy cultivating Midgods stood with their backs to each other. Their eyebrows were knit together, and they looked around, ready to deal with any suddenly attacks.

Then the ground between the three of them slowly sank without them noticing. A pair of hands stealthily emerged from the hole and tickled one of those feet.

The person being tickled was startled. He immediately swung the huge hammer in his hand at the ground. His other two partners stared blankly for a moment before reacting. They immediately shouted, "Kill him!" and sent a burst of earth energy towards the sneaky hands.

The pair of hands that emerged from the ground suddenly crystallised, while the Earth Element in their palms gathered wildly, forming a thick layer of armour. One of those hands swept forward and blocked the giant hammer, while the other struck at one of the attackers' soles.

"Arghhh!!" A pitiful scream sounded. The person felt as if all the energy of the earth was focused on his foot. His bones cracked a few times before his foot shattered and began spurting blood.

"Don't step on the ground!" One of them shouted. Their earth divine energy had shot into the ground. But when their attacks landed, the earth they knew so well suddenly seemed so unfamiliar. It was as if layers of barriers had deflected their divine energy. They realised that their attacks were once again ineffective.

A shining broadsword filled with divine energy was suddenly thrust into the area where the two hands had appeared. Ting! The broadsword, which should have pierced the ground like a hot knife through butter, bounced back as a burst of sparks shot out from its tip.

Apparently, this attack had done no harm to the sneaky attacker either.

The gods who lived in Ethereal City surrounded the area and watched the fight from a distance. They seemed very curious and discussed the battle in low voices.

Although all the participants in the battle were Earth Elemental Cultivators, the expert hiding underground had shown extreme mastery in the use of the Earth Element, as if he were one with the Earth. Although the expert had never shown his face, from the power contained in the divine energy on his two hands, the onlookers could tell that he was about as strong as the three above ground. They were all at around the Mid-stage Midgod of Midgodhood.

Even though they were all in the same realm, the expert hiding underground had stayed in front the whole time. Though he had not been an inch off the ground, he could somehow move wherever he wanted. He could quickly launch a sneak attack on his opponents, immediately retreat underground, and move to another location. Obviously, this expert was on a whole other level in his mastery and understanding of the earth element.

"Who could this guy be? He is only a Midgod, yet he has such a spectacular mastery of earth energy. Absolutely unbelievable!" exclaimed a bystander cultivating in Wind Energy.

"I have met a few Earth Gods before, but I have never seen one who could hide underground so fluidly and effortlessly! Not only that, but this expert could even form crystal fortifications on his hands! Could he be hiding his true power? Otherwise, how could a Midgod have such profound knowledge of the element of earth?" another bystander exclaimed in disbelief.

"This mysterious expert has been in Ethereal City for several days, but he has never come out of the ground. I wonder what he or she looks like!" remarked an onlooker.

While the crowd was talking, the underground man himself miraculously disappeared again, as if he had never appeared. Having lost a foot, the Midgod diverted divine energy to his injured leg. A vein on his leg burst open.

The trio of Midgods no longer dared to stand on the ground, but hovered cautiously in the air. They looked incredibly desperate.

Earth Elemental Cultivators could only reach their full potential when they had their feet on the ground. They needed to touch the ground in order to tap into its energy, and this would allow them to collect the Earth Element faster than if they were floating in the air. The sight of three earth gods unable to touch the ground seemed very bizarre and ironic to onlookers.

If they didn't know better, they might even think that the three were Wind Elementalists fighting an invisible Earth Elementalist!

"Han Tu, show yourself if you have balls. Don't hide under the ground like an ostrich!" shouted the Midgod whose leg was bleeding. He looked down at the ground and gritted his teeth.

His two partners stood on either side of him. They seemed to be suffering from severe headaches.

"Han Tu? Wow, so it's him! Why is this person in the Space Dominion?" a fire god shouted in surprise. He seemed to know the background of the expert hiding underground.

"Excuse me, mate, do you know who this mysterious Earth Energy Cultivator is?" the people standing beside him asked the Fire God. They were desperate to know the identity of the mysterious person.

"Han Tu is an earth energy expert who's recently become famous in the Earth Dominion. It is said that when he first arrived in the Earth Dominion, he was only at the Mid-stage of Lowgod Strength. But somehow, in just a few decades, he managed to rapidly increase his strength and reach the Midgodhood! He had made many enemies in the Dominion, but no one could catch him!" the Fire God declared. He was pleased with the attention.

After a short pause, when he saw that the onlookers were still staring at him, he smiled faintly and continued, "He is very skilled in the use of Earth energy. Some have even said that his understanding of the earth element surpasses that of a highgod. He is a very mysterious person. No one seemed to know where he came from or what his goals were. He attracted the attention of many Highgods soon after he entered the Earth Dominion. I even heard rumours from the Earth Shrine that the Overgod of Earth had summoned him for a meeting, but he refused. He was a loner and an eccentric in the Earth Dominion. Though he has offended many, no Highgod has been able to capture him!"

"So it turns out to be him! I heard rumours about this person the last time I visited the Earth Dominion," a god said as he approached the crowd from a distance. Then he added, "Strange things have been happening these days. Many young but outstanding experts have begun to appear in every Dominion. I have heard of a man named Han Mu who has been making news in the Life Dominion. He has also attracted the attention of the Overgod of Life. From the Fire Dominion is a man called Han Huo. They all have strange names, but they all have the word 'Han'!"

"There's a young man from the Dominion of Darkness named Bryan who's also becoming famous. Rumour has it that he has only recently come to Elysium from a low level material plane. But somehow, despite his origins, he has supreme skills in refining medicine and possesses terrifying strength. I heard that he even defeated a Highgod! It seems that there is a wave of miraculous experts coming out of all the Dominions!" said a Lowgod of death.

"That boy named Bryan is really something. I heard a thing or two about him when I was in the Dominion of Destruction. It is said that he founded a pharmacy called Celestial Pearl - if I remember correctly. Business was booming in the Darkness Dominion!"

"Blah, blah, blah... " the onlookers began to discuss the phenomenon. For a moment, they forgot about the three Midgods still floating in the air and Han Tu under the ground.

Suddenly, a group of earth energy cultivators wearing matching divine armour to that of the trio rushed into the area. The group of ten gods seemed to be a detachment of divine guards from some family clan. It consisted of one Early-stage Highgod, three Late-stage Midgods, and six Mid-stage Midgods.

The Highgod who led the group was small and stocky. He had dry, yellowish skin. As soon as he arrived, he glared at the three hovering in the air and shouted, "Get back on the ground!

The three Midgods cowered. At the angry shout, they immediately landed on the ground. The Midgod who lost a leg grumbled, "Lord Verón, Han Tu should be underground right now!"

"Do you really need to remind me of that?" replied the Highgod called Verón in an annoyed manner. He looked around with fierce rays in his eyes and coldly shouted, "Have you seen enough? Get lost!"

Verón had Highgod strength, while the gods watching were mostly of Lowgod and Midgod strength. Upon hearing Verón's call, the crowd began to disperse. Although they wanted to see more action, they were too intimidated to stay and watch.

"Han Tu, I know you are underground. Don't think you can escape us just because you've come to the Space Dominion! I'm telling you - we'll catch up with you no matter where you run!", Verón lowered his head and shouted coldly at the ground after the crowd had dispersed.

Suddenly, large spikes shot out of the ground. The Midgod who had lost a leg was hit. A large spike pierced his crotch. He let out a pitiful scream as the pain coursed through his brain.

The divine guards had not expected to be attacked in Verón's presence. Caught off guard, three of the divine guards were struck. Some had their feet pierced, while others suffered injuries to their legs. They hurriedly flew back to the sky before cursing at the ground, grimacing in pain.

Verón was furious. He sent a burst of divine energy towards the earth and shouted, "Han Tu, show yourself if you have the guts!

A deafening explosion rang out from the trembling earth. Since Verón was a Highgod, the power in his attack was nothing ordinary.

Several hundred metres away from the gang, Earth Elite Zombie emerged from the ground. He said to Verón: "Fucker, stay here if you have the guts! My father will be here soon and he will beat the shit out of you!" The Earth Elite Zombie's appearance had not changed in decades, and he still had that naive look. But one thing had changed - his eyes glowed with energy and intelligence. He had even learnt to use vulgarities and act arrogant. He was almost half as good as Han Shuo.

Verón stared blankly for a moment, as if he had not expected the Earth Elite Zombie to have a father. He glanced at his weeping and screaming divine guards before replying, "Your father? I'm not going anywhere, even if your grandfather comes. Let's see if he can touch me!"