A major section of the King's Lair was utterly decimated. Not a vegetation in sight as craters were topped with unconscious bodies of many spirit beasts. It had been one entire day since he was discovered and only now did Ja Sun manage to properly play with all of them. It was tiring, to be honest— being this good in something. But knowing full well that he couldn't fill up on snacks, Ja Sun finally turned to the two beasts that he considered the main event.
Even the Heavenly Snow Maiden wasn't spared. Despite her attraction to human males, Ja Sun had only let himself down to one spirit beast in this case and that was Ah Yin— none other.
Although the slightest bit exhausted, Ja Sun hadn't exerted himself fully. Heavenly Snow Maiden would have been somewhat of an interesting challenge if it wasn't for his own extreme resistance to the heat and cold elements.
Exhaling a small sigh, he heard a cold and callous voice, "Oh? The human still feels quite unsatisfied? What a continent you rule, Di Tian. You really lived up to the dragon name— Man stronger than beasts, eh?"
The rambunctious laugh emanated from the Evileye Tyrant as Ja Sun gazed into the mountainous pupil with a hint of gratification.
'Ah, volunteers everywhere...' Ja Sun felt emotional and clenched his talons for the umpteenth time. He only knew a little about the Evileye Tyrants and much less their monarchs who should have more versatility. If humans can form spirit skills aside from their lineage then so can spirit beasts and Di Tian who kept his silence could even make laws bend to his whims. That's how Di Tian locked the space around Ja Sun, he realized. But the Evileye Tyrant, despite his bravado, hadn't shown such capabilities.
The beast was either unable to do so... or he was simply baiting Ja Sun to take him out with an ultimate attack.
Surprising Ja Sun, however, the Evileye Tyrant's body began to converge. Under Ja Sun's impressed gaze as he viewed the process to have his horizons broadened further, the Evileye Tyrant turned into a humanoid, albeit, eldritch creature. Four limbs fashioned from twirling red tentacles that didn't end into human-like hands but remained cylindrical. His body, too, was fashioned similarly. However, instead of a human head, the Evileye Tyrant's head seemed to be a little conical and covered by a red helmet whose front was imprinted with a gigantic eye.
{A/N: Slightly similar to Deoxys in Pokemon.}
"Don't act so surprised now," the Evileye Tyrant chuckled, "Although limiting my physical strength, my spiritual and mental divine intent remains uninhibited and how stupid of me would it have been to expose my weakness, a literal eye, to one of the fastest human I have had the fortune of meeting."
Ja Sun's gaze finally glowed. Finally, someone who understands it.
As the Evileye Tyrant stated, it wasn't beneath Ja Sun to make use of such an obvious flaw. If his size would have been larger, then sure, the Evileye Tyrant could have kept his form intact as if but Ja Sun had proved that his skills made him superior to the spirit beasts who rely on their physique the most. Now that Evileye Tyrant wasn't willing to confront using his physique, he could cover his weakness and go all out without any fear.
"Although I have heard about Evileye Tyrants... it is my first time seeing one. Is your species extinct, too? Like True Dragons?" Ja Sun inquired, not initiating the battle just yet. He wasn't stalling for time but genuinely wanted to know a few more things.
"Oh? You don't know? I guess your spirit rank does indicate your lack of this planet's knowledge. Ah, my bad. A planet is a giant sphere on which we live. It's not exactly a common knowledge and many buffoons, man, and beasts alike, believe that the planet is just flat ground and sea—"
"I know what a planet is," Ja Sun rolled his eye.
"Then know this. Beyond this so-called Dou Luo Continent, there exist other large bodies of land. Heh, ironically, they were once dragons—"
"Hrrr," A soft growl emanated from Di Tian's being, interrupting the conversation as the eldritch red being 'glanced' at Di Tian and broke into a fit of chuckles, "Come on, humor is nothing but tragedy given time. You still can't laugh about it? No wonder you've only ever attracted that Abyss Demon," the being then turned its head towards Ja Sun once again and remarked, "I'm from a different continent where the Evileye Tyrants flourish. I'm their monarch, the Evileye Tyrant Emperor. However, with the strength you've presented, for this battle, you may call me Tyrant Eye."
"Another continent... huh," Ja Sun nodded. It's not like he could say that he didn't see it coming.
Well, now that his curiosity was sated, he relaxed his shoulders and waited for the opponent to make the move. By now, he had revealed quite a bit of his abilities... but a vast majority of them still remained hidden.
But one thing was clear that Ja Sun used his seemingly inexhaustible spirit skills and divine intent to compete with every being he faced. His own physique, even if at the level of the divine, or to be precise, making him a quasi-divine human, was nowhere near a spirit beast due to sheer innate difference. This placed the Evileye Tyrant Emperor in a similar position who was more proficient with his spirit and mental skills.
Sensing the lack of need for words any longer, the Evileye Tyrant let out his domain but Di Tian didn't move this time. This caught Ja Sun's attention for a second but he placed his focus on the scarlet-red domain that blotted the sky and the ground alike.
"Hmm... this is... a mental domain," Ja Sun expressed his amazement. This is the first time for him to have experienced such a domain himself. After all, he had a similar domain in the form of True Fantasy. The violent mental energy that was of similar quality but far exceeded his own accumulations despite his mental world being an amalgamation of two seas of consciousness raged within the domain. It threatened to suppress Ja Sun's mind as he closed his eyes for a second and relished the sensation.
*Bang*
Ja Sun felt his chest almost cave in as a long scarlet-red beam of mental energy condensed and attacked Ja Sun's body out of nowhere. The physical attack was merely a side effect as vast mental pressure bore into Ja Sun's mental world only to be countered by the glimmering golden defensive sphere formed from his Fiery Golden Pupils. However, instead of letting the attack dissipate, the golden defensive line flashed and a similar mental attack launched out of Ja Sun, piercing towards Tyrant Eye as a red disc shielded him from the counter.
The Fiery Golden Pupils not only make Ja Sun immune to mental attacks but also counter such attacks passively. This was one of his most useful techniques by far and that is why he had never even shared this technique with anyone else.
"How interesting... such a technique shouldn't belong to the likes of you," Tyrant Eye gave a cold but hollow chuckle, "Let's test your defenses then."
Multiple pillars of similar scarlet light formed around Ja Sun once again. The domain itself suppressed Ja Sun but given that his mental domain was above the average threshold, the suppression itself was quite limited. Instead, Ja Sun found that the attacks now gained an extraordinary quality. They weren't just... mental attacks anymore.
Each pillar of light struck him but retreat wasn't an option. The damage to his body was a bit noteworthy by he would also heal at a breakneck pace given that all the wounds were only on the surface while the pain from these barely fazed him. The mental attacks would get countered.
To the naked eye, Tyrant Eye and Ja Sun remained stationary within the scarlet red domain but only those with similar divine intents could view Tyrant Eye's attack and Ja Sun's passive counters which the Tyrant Eye would eventually defend against. It was as if the tyrant eye was attacking himself, so, why in the right mind would he keep doing this?
The answer came soon in the form of a sense of annoyance that made Ja Sun feel ironically, pleasingly surprised.
"Emotions!" Ja Sun gasped, his eyes gaining a strange glint, "Who would have thought that emotions can be transferred in such a manner using mental energy. I always thoughts that these emotions can be naturally suppressed but you view them as another form of energy... and if it's energy, it can be cultivated and dispersed."
Surprised by Ja Sun's comprehension, the silent killing intent in Di Tian's eyes grew stronger while Tyrant Eye stopped for a second and congratulated Ja Sun, "Indeed. And if you can comprehend it, there lies a possibility that someday, you could cultivate such a spirit skill, too. Alas, you met me. And this isn't the only thing I can do.
Even if you know what's going on, by now, you're filled with emotions of carelessness and rage. Lust and depravity. All these makes one's mind dull and—"
Before the Tyrant Eye could continue, the three of Ja Sun's eyes turned momentarily red as if his vessels were about to pop close to his eyes and reddish mist escaped his body as if unable to bear what had begun to bloat Ja Sun's senses.
Irrationally Calm but Endless Killing Intent.
Of course, it never seeped out but the fleeting sense of doom made the duo shudder despite themselves, cold sweat flooding their bodies since it reminded the old beasts of some rather... unsightly moments in their lives.
Yet, Ja Sun's words surprisingly took them further down the memory lane, "I hope... I really get to go all out against the two of you. Let's stop playing..." His tone turned the slightest bit somber, "You're both different, right? Let me guess, old-time rivals that argue against one another but face a terrible outsider, you would be willing to put your differences aside and take me by surprise.
That's why you didn't leave the domain. With his mental energy all around us, he can mask his compressed voice to contact you and signal you..."
Tilting his head slightly, three of his eyes narrowed down, "How very insulting to my intelligence. Granted, I act no better than a steroid-driven battle-lusting whore... but at least, provide someone like me the satisfaction of giving my all."
***
"It's too early for you," Di Tian felt himself under the familiar crimson sky as the peaceful but paradoxically cold tone continued, "For even a descendant to face me. You can't quench my thirst... your blood is simply without value and my sword cares not for your meager life."
His body shuddered and he looked towards the white-haired man in a plain crimson robe. A blood-red sword in his hand only made Di Tian's body go cold but what truly terrified him was the lingering gaze this divine entity left on him.
"Well... live on, I guess," the being turned around stunning Di Tian.
As the pitch-black dragon looked around... his heart shuddered at the sight of an entire continent littered with the corpse of his brethren.
"I suggest you begin eating. Humans and beasts alike would use the strength of dragons to mutate themselves. The first one to become the most terrifying of you mortal... lives to see a bitter path ahead."
With that, the figure vanished in a mirage of blood-red swirl while Di Tian already felt the hungry intent of various spirit beasts... including the few remaining true dragons like him.
***
"— ake the fuck up!"
Tyrant Eye's mental pillar struck Di Tian, waking him up from his daze and the only thing he viewed was Ja Sun's emotionless stare as he continued, "Why did you think I left the two of you for the last?"
"Leave us for last?" Di Tian finally spoke up, "You, who only possess the raw qualities of supremacy but not its intricacies. You, who have an eye for the laws of this world but are still blind to its depth...
Words of arrogance have never felt more repulsive."
Narrowing his eyes, Ja Sun felt dark wisps of energy emanating from Di Tian's body. This was the same form of energy that Ja Sun had felt during his meditation session with the artifact— Evil Sage's Third Eye and on Qian Daoliu.
Law.
Although saturated with darkness attribute, the energy of law was wielded once again. Sensing that he had riled the so-called beast god enough, Ja Sun didn't wait any longer and shot towards the duo without waiting for another moment.
"Naive," Di Tian uttered as the wisps of energy curled into tiny spheres of darkness that instantly latched onto Ja Sun's body. His body instantly felt pressured from various directions at once. His flesh sunk in and even the Vajra Gauntlets had cracks of the width similar to a strand of hair spreading across from the point of origin being the dark spheres itself.
"Truly a fool taking our generosity for granted. The one who deals the killing blow gets to keep the corpse of this human," Tyrant Eye cackled. A terrifying energy rippling with spatial and mental concepts began to collect over the imprint of the eye covering the entirety of the helmet. The Tyrant Eye learned early on that it's not about glamor but the efficiency of the attack that suited his form the most and that's what he did.
However, Di Tian didn't reply to the eye's words and snorted, the balls of darkness instantly sharped and turned into shrapnel that dug into Ja Sun's body in the other second. Feeling as if maggots were digging into his body, Ja Sun only laughed, "Oh, stop you pervert! It tickles—"
His laugh was cut short by the terrifying beam of energy that made the surrounding space itself ripple.
However... it wasn't aimed at his body.
The beam blinked away from Ja Sun's gaze and entered his mental space before striking against the golden barrier once again.
"Hmm? That isn't just a defensive skill but an isolation skill that mimics immunity... pfft! But is there anything or any being truly immune?" The Tyrant Eye wasn't the least bit frustrated by his attack missing. He wanted to simply bypass the defenses of Ja Sun's mental world using spatial concepts and found things more deeply about Ja Sun's skills. In fact, it was the first for Ja Sun, too, after all, this was the first time someone attacked him in such a manner.
But making Ja Sun stop in his track again was an accomplishment only Di Tian could achieve. The... 'law' of darkness was melding into his blood. The tiny bits and particles of this energy were supremely heavy and made it physically hard to move.
Slash!
Slash!
Chuckling, Ja Sun slashed at his arms and legs, and torso, allowing the darker than crimson blood to leak and drench his coat of fur further. Seeing that the two beings were doing their hardest to keep him from approaching them at the moment, Ja Sun, too, stopped trying to push past their defenses. Brilliant pairs of wings appeared around him and then fell into multiple silver feathers in an instant while he began to cover himself in a sphere of feathers.
"All that talk about not being able to go all out... what a joke," Tyrant Eye sneered and launched a barrage of mental energy that bypassed the wings... but—
"Eh?" Shock was apparent on Tyrant Eye's tone when he turned around to view a purple flash of mental energy striking into his body while bringing a stench of death that only a master of mental energy like him could perceive.
However, misunderstanding this attack as a 'flash', the Tyrant Eye got hit hard when a being similar to Ja Sun with an ornate headgear around the third purplish gold eye let loose a torrent of needles into his sea of consciousness.
Since Ja Sun knew where to poke to make mental energy grow stronger, he also now had enough experience to know where not to poke.
"Aaarrrgghhhhhh!" The Tyrant Eye issued a blood-curdling screech due to the surprise attack as the violet flash of light shot out the moment a dark claw struck and disappeared into Tyrant Eye's body.
"How dangerous~!" Ja Sun chuckled as he absorbed his Death Astral Combatant back, which had already been recovered for quite some time now.
"That was..." Di Tian's gaze revealed confusion while Tyrant Eye hissed, "The Astral Combatant! How the hell did you gain Extreme Phantom's legacy skill?"
"Sick, right?" Ja Sun chuckled surrounded by feathers while he felt his body unable to move. The method was cruel enough to make Ja Sun realize that soon, his body would tear down by the weight itself.
But...
"I think that's enough interference."
Law or not, his physique's core, only worked to devour everything blessed or wretched to up his strength.
Similar to Ja Sun, a dharma figure in his heart swallowed deeply. Its bronze body began to inflate while wisps of darkness entered the Yin-Yang War Physique, constantly refining the energy and providing Ja Sun with pure internal energy to keep on going.
Sensing the work of another core, Di Tian's gaze momentarily thinned down.
"I'm going to kill you," Tyrant Eye huffed coldly while Ja Sun scoffed, "And what were you doing for the past five minutes?"
Now free of restrictions and having a good idea of what the beasts are capable of, Ja Sun kept the feathers around him still and crouched slightly. His first spirit ring began to glow alongside the shock force of his gentle fist emerging, too.
"But you did inspire me..." Ja Sun suddenly smiled, "If energy can be perceived and cultivated... it can be distributed, too. I've limited my imagination... too much!"
Suddenly, the feathers around him began to rustle strangely. They grew chaotic as if Ja Sun had lost control of them and a few even dissipated...
Yet, the sum of feathers that remained now seemed to have an odd glint while they revealed a strange force within them.
The shock force.
"Parlour tricks!" Di Tian scoffed and stepped forward. Yet, it was as if the space itself shrunk under his feet and he was upon Ja Sun, bypassing the feathers directly and standing in front of him with a collected look in his eyes.
"Your strength and comprehension are indeed commendable."
Space shackled around Ja Sun, this time more restrictive than the last time, "Humans value talent in spirit energy but we understand the value of battle talent and comprehension. That is what keeps a beast alive. Unfortunately, you are on a level far below."
Di Tian's left hand had turned into a dark claw with glimmering black scales as it easily pierced Ja Sun's abdomen.
"Rest in... pieces," Di Tian narrowed his eyes and whispered, a hint of hate finally breaking through that collected look of his.
Ja Sun's eyes widened. Shock was apparent on his face as he looked down. Blood soon dripped out of the corner of his lips while Tyrant Eye laughed, "Looks like it's just you and me, Di Tian! Let's compete who gets this human's body!" Conveniently forgetting that he was the one who issued the claim on Ja Sun's corpse for the individual who deals the killing blow.
"Hmm?" Di Tian narrowed his eyes as he failed to pull out his hands while feeling something... nauseating crawl around his wrist still stuck in Ja Sun's body.
"Still not done?" Di Tian chuckled darkly and used his other claw to stab into Ja Sun's neck. However, this time, Ja Sun's head didn't fall off. Instead, the two beasts observed a haunting scene of his head flinging down with a purplish good still keeping his head and neck connecting and forming a thick trail.
The similar purplish goo began to crawl upon Di Tian's hand lodged into Ja Sun's body and he felt myriad toxins, strangely, strong enough to even make him cautious slowly fill up his systems and make his immune system act up outrageously.
"Guh!"
Growling, Di Tian pulled his arm back as the considerable hole in Ja Sun's chest was filled up by the purplish, slimy goo.
"I feel you. It looks disgusting, huh," Ja Sun's neckless head chuckled finally.
***
Shoutout to MrKnighty, Branden Eugley, Alhron Ello, Anthony Pignataro, SanMarco Geddes, Jacky Chen, Jimmeuht, David, maurocf, Poke!!
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