Chapter 165: Evenly Matched

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Another Primordial Immemorial Venerable.

Could it truly be possible?

He made me bleed from that punch after all.

Even though I've also survived being split into two before, so it wasn't that big of a deal.

The big deal itself was that his attack pierced through my defenses and barriers, which not even gods could harm.

At most, they could destroy a layer, or something leave only cracks.

But he instantly bypassed all defenses and immediately hit my body directly.

He didn't need to put any energy into that attack either.

He's… strong.

Incredibly strong.

Why?

Just why is this man here?

Where did he come from?

And why does he remind me so much of… Murim?

Is he truly from Murim?

He reminds me of Murim, but I have never seen his face before, and he also came from a gray portal.

It means he arrived from a Parallel Timeline World.

From Earth…

No, this can't be possible. Just what…

What am I thinking?

Could this young man be…

"YOU RUINED EVERYTHING! DON'T YOU KNOW HOW MANY DIED BECAUSE OF YOU?!"

His hands became like gigantic beastly claws as he attempted to tear my body into shreds.

I tried to stop him, but he wouldn't listen to my words.

He charged against me with tremendous power, shaking the heavens and the ground below.

I strengthened my body and quickly imbued it with several layers of defenses, yet each one of his attacks tore through my defenses anyway.

CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!

Several slashing wounds covered my skin… this sensation.

It was pain!

"Your defenses are weak!" he screamed angrily. "Makes sense why you lost against him, why you ended up ruining everything!"

"Just what in the world are you talking about?! Can't you explain to me?!" I asked.

I quickly decided to counterattack, this time without holding back anymore.

RUMBLE!

The sky trembled as the clouds gathered into a titanic spear.

{Primordial Nirvana's Spear}!

He intercepted the incoming spear, capable of splitting the heavens with his bare claws.

CLAAASH!

BOOOMMM!!!

A huge explosion in the shape of the spear reached him, a technique at full power I only used against the Primal King in this world and against Venerables before.

"Don't make me laugh…"

However, his body seemed almost unscathed, although I noticed his hands had gained a lot of bruises.

I see, he's truly… at my own Realm.

"That technique would have definitely disintegrated you… I've just confirmed what you are."

"Oh? And what is that?"

He smiled defiantly, his eyes suddenly glowing bright red as his aura started growing stronger and stronger and stronger.

"ROOOAARRR!"

"AWOOOOO!"

"GRAAARRH!"

Until it shaped into a twelve-headed wolf-like monstrosity, surging from his Aura and absorbing the heavens themselves to realize its form.

TRUUUM!

And with that came a tremendously strong presence, a powerful shockwave that pushed me away with immense force.

This was without a doubt his Venerable Authority.

"I despise you." He said. "I can't believe I even got the chance to come to the past, but… I'll make it worthwhile and do it right now. Now that I am here… I'll stop it all from happening. You're no longer needed; you never were."

"So you come from a future in this world? One where I ruined everything?" I asked him; I couldn't even read his soul. "Tell me more. There's no point in fighting! We could discuss this peacefully. You possess… no malice in your heart."

I couldn't help but feel no true malice from him; if anything, he seemed wounded and despairing, hollow.

Yet all these negative emotions, when he faced me, became hatred…

"Hah?" He smiled maniacally. "You don't know a single thing about me!!!"

With a furious scream he charged.

I waved my hands, using my Spatial Manipulation to tear apart the space where the two of us were, and teleporting this space away from the city.

FLASH!

"Teleporting away from the city… Were you afraid I would destroy it?! I would never do such a thing!" he roared angrily.

His Aura encompassed his body, taking the shape of golden and white fur, while his hands gained enormous claws and so did his feet; he gained a long tail—no, several of them.

He was wearing his Aura like Armor or Equipment, a technique not even I had done before! And above all, his Aura… its very nature was very different than mine.

Yet he somehow managed to also attain the Primordial Immemorial Venerable Realm?!

It took me all that Murim had to offer; I even had to absorb the Ancient Human to attain this level of power.

But he took a much different approach, a much different path altogether!

Divinities.

I could sense them all through his entire Aura.

The Divinities of countless Gods he fought, killed, and devoured.

Hundreds.

"RAAAHHH!"

CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!

His attacks came rushing down as I intercepted them with my bare hands, his Soul Blade, cutting through the aura of protection he encompassed himself through.

SLAAASH!

"Hmph!"

However, he twisted his body and kicked me several times in a row, pushing me away as he created endless shockwaves that twisted and destroyed the skies.

BAAM! BAAM! BAAM!

"Hah!"

I kicked the skies and rushed towards him like a meteor, unsheathing my blade and swinging it vertically and horizontally, unleashing hundreds of slashes within a split second.

"{Heavenly Soul Blade Storm}!"

SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!

"I can do the same thing!"

He roared back and quickly intercepted the attacks, his body rapidly recovering from the hundreds of small bruises he received, which turned into large wounds.

"{Heavenly Wolf's Hell-Tearing Claws}!"

So he had techniques!

SLAAASH! SLAAASH!

Two slashes from his hands were all it took from my entire barrage of sword slashes to explode and dissipate.

BOOOM!

"{Heavenly Wolf's Earth-Shattering Charge}!"

He rushed down, fusing with his Aura, until he resembled something close to a werewolf, a gigantic silvery-white furred werewolf with golden claws and three heads.

CRAAASH!

The force he used to push me down was so immense I felt my insides constantly twisting and breaking. I gritted my teeth, resisting the intense pain, rapidly conjuring several elements in a row.

Void, Soul Blade, and Time!

Concentrate their power.

Void and Soul became my sword.

And Time, became its sharpness.

Against such a powerful foe, I must improvise as I fight.

Just like I once did back then, many times, through many battles.

Have a huge repertoire and then adapt to their abilities!

"{Time-Slashing Tenebrous Soul Void Blade}!"

My Soul absorbed the Void Essence and temporarily became pitch black.

At the same time, I wielded it completely as a blade, conjuring a titanic sword.

Even his eyes widened for a moment.

"Y-You…?!"

SLAAASH!

A massive slashing attack reached him; he was unable to evade as I twisted space around us and kept it tightly together.

"Augh!"

BOOOM!

The attack exploded as he was sent away, reaching the skies above and then outer space.

A huge slashing wound crossed through his chest all the way down his thigh; his blood was bright red, so he's still a human.

"Let's talk now."

I rushed towards him, and as he gritted his teeth, his hands were encompassed with blue light, which quickly froze his wound and slowly regenerated it back to normal.

"Despite having reached your level, you were able to hurt me this much. No, I am fairly sure I even surpassed you!" he said angrily.

"Your fighting style is impressive," I said. "You're strong, indeed… If we fought constantly day and night, there's large chances of you winning."

"Tch!" he clicked his tongue like an unruly brat. "This isn't even the beginning; I'll show you my-"

"But you're forgetting something," I said. "Back in Murim, I fought countless foes many times; they were always stronger than me. Sometimes one realm, two realms… even three realms above. I've survived by adapting, running away, and coming back stronger. I learned and mastered the art of fighting foes stronger than me. I was the first Mortal to kill an Immortal too, did you know? I lost both of my legs, one arm, my face was burned, my eyes exploded, my internal organs were twisted… but he died, and I lived."

"…"

"What makes you think I suddenly have not a single chance against you when I've always fought beings stronger than me and won?" I asked. "Tell me why."

"Hmph," he muttered, his Aura suddenly growing larger. "So what? You talk so grandiose about all these things you achieved… But when it was time to protect your world—when it was time to protect your family—you died anyway! You're just full of yourself!"

FLASH!

"{Demonic Lion King's Jaws}!"

His Aura exploded as it transformed into hundreds of horned black, red, and golden colored lions, biting through my Aura and tearing it apart.

CRASH! CRASH! CRASH! CRASH!

"{Abyssal Black Spiderweb Domain}!"

FLUOSH!

And right after that, within that split second I was about to respond, he unleashed a domain of spiderwebs, trapping me inside!

"Wait, isn't this…?!"

"Familiar, isn't it?"

BAAAM!

He punched my stomach with tremendous force, sending me flying across the domain of spiderwebs as I saw his reflections emerge one after another.

"This is the only power I could learn from her before… Before she died," he said through all his reflections. "But it's good enough, isn't it?!"

RUMBLE!

The Domain twisted as all his reflections attacked me from every angle at the same time.

BAAM!

A punch to the face.

CLASH!

A kick to my right elbow.

CRASH!

A palm strike to my left shoulder.

BOOM!

A massive hammer blow to the back of my head.

CLASH!

And a piercing spear-like attack to my left leg.

He was constantly aiming for every pressure point of my body, aiming to completely paralyze me.

The amount of pain and damage I was receiving was no laughable matter.

I had to quickly release it all at once!

"{Divine Soul Blade Spirit Summon}!"

Suddenly, through my immense quantities of energy, I summoned tens of thousands of gigantic blades made of spirit energy, ki, and mana.

And then I fused them into my technique, combining them with Demonic Energies from the Demons and the power to twist and skip time from a certain Skill.

FLUOOOSH!

A Domain of gray and black flames was conjured, encompassing all of his reflections at once.

"{Primordial Heaven Soul Blade}: {Timeless Void Heaven Inferno}"

Each Blade Spirit unleashed the same technique over and over again, as thousands upon thousands of slashing attacks covered everything with Timeless Void Flames, capable of devouring Time and the Void at the same time.

SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!

Each of his reflections met their end as they were split apart into countless pieces, all while the flames expanded through the entire domain, beginning to rapidly shatter it apart.

Crack, crack…!

CRASH!

As the Domain shattered into pieces, he was already behind me, conjuring dozens of Nirvana Spears—the exact same technique I had used before, but multiplied by dozens of times!

"{Starlight Nirvana Spear Barrage}!"

By absorbing the surroundings' starlight, I saw something I had yet to achieve.

"Cosmic… Power?!"

CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!

A barrage of piercing spears reached me, made of starlight and heavenly light energies; they impacted my entire body at the same time.

Once more, he aimed at my pressure points!

My entire body was being riddled with large wounds, although not yet holes that pierced through all; he was still trying to pierce through my flesh and bones entirely.

"I Am… Light!"

As he attacked me and left little for me to counterattack, absorbed all of my Authority and Elemental Powers, fusing with my Photonic Essence at once.

FLAAASH!

"Ungh?!"

The light was so bright and strong it burned his eyes, making him step back momentarily. I spread out my body and made it larger, grabbing all of his spears and destroying them with my bare hands.

A second later, I unleashed a barrage of dozens of Buddha's Palms of Tranquility, a powerful Martial Monk Art that targeted the very soul together with the body, sending calming waves to the brains to stop anger from a target.

BAAM! BAAM! BAAM! BAAM! BAAM!

"Unnggh?! Aaarrggh!"

He grabbed his head in pain as he received the attacks, but quickly glared at me with even more anger!

So it didn't work.

"I Am… Light!"

FLAAASH!

Suddenly, his entire body exploded with a bright white and silver light, encompassing everything and illuminating Earth below us.

And his body changed; he became…

A being made of silver and white light, like me.

"You have the same techniques as I have… Even Photonic Essence?!"

"No, they're not like yours… they're better."

His gigantic body made of light gained a werewolf-like appearance again as his aura transformed into the shape of many different animal body parts, attacking me all at once.

I couldn't escape at this point, so I decided to fight to the end, channeling the power of my Unique Martial Arts once more.

BAAM! BAAM! BAAM! BAAM!