Bian stood on one end, clad in silvery armor which was shining brightly under the morning sun.
He didn't kill any sacred-blood creature and yet he had a sacred-blood armor. The Empirical Decree was a power to behold, especially since the armor wasn't your regular type.
Because it was fused with shields, several pads protected vital areas of his body, like his chest, skull and more. These impervious pads were an extra inch thick and were seamlessly fitted in the armor.
Because it was fused with weapons also, there were two-inch-long blades growing out of the forearm and back of the heel.
Essentially, the armor had enhanced protection and could also attack.
It covered Bian entirely from neck to toe, with no gap to take advantage of, and even the joints were covered by the armor.
The only downfall of the silver armor was that it kept his face exposed. Most of his head was covered, but his face was left open.
His weapon still remained the berserk mutant Scornful Bane. A bone-white katana with great durability and an even sharper edge.
Since Bao'er was also clad in sacred-blood armor, her protection was somewhat guaranteed.
Weirdly, her sacred-blood armor covered her entirely from head to toe. Bian suspected it was because hers had more armor beast soul fused into it, while his was a bunch of different beast souls.
And now with the sacred-blood wings he had synthesised, he could always escape since he had just confirmed that the highest level of power here was at the mutant level.
On the other side was a male spirit who looked like a middle-aged man in his forties.
There were deep permanent bags under his eyes and his dark hair was glossy. His body was sculpted like a Greek god, not too bulky but also not too lean, rather finding a perfect balance in between.
Yet even with such a physique, he held a gentle gaze, seemingly unfazed by everything around him. As if nothing truly mattered in this world.
'No armor?'
Earlier he didn't use the Dongxuan Aura to probe Earl Starshine in case she could track him back. It was the first time Bian saw a spirit with no armor on.
"I'm not known for holding back, let's settle this in five moves."
A totem flew out from behind Marquis Nero. A palm-sized wooden carving of a snake.
OOO!
An inhuman wail shocked the area as the totem flew towards Marquis Nero at inconceivable speeds.
The wooden carving didn't hit the Marquis, but fell into his skin with a bright light.
Hisssss!
A slender golden serpent slid out of the light quicker than lightning.
"He's fast!"
Bian barely managed to block the fangs of the snake, but it rammed him backwards into the sky, with its monstrous momentum.
While Bian was mid-air before he landed, the wooden totem came out from the snake, a pulse of light phased through it from top to bottom and it changed to a carving of a bear.
In less than a second, the totem came out, changed to a bear, and flew back into the Marquis!
His opponent was clearly aiming to finish him off as he fell from the sky, but why would Bian follow his lead?
He summoned a pair of draconic wings, then flew away from the four-meter brown bear waiting below.
"So he can shift into different monsters."
Before Bian even finished speaking, the totem flew out again, changed to a falcon, and went back into the bear.
"Big mistake going airborne," Marquis Nero said in a whisper.
There was a flash of light and a falcon flew up to Bian in the skies.
How could a mutant falcon compare to sacred-blood wings though?
Bian used a twist to avoid the charge of the falcon, but could only watch as it advanced to the skies.
"I need a long-ranged attack!"
He groaned as he flew away from the area. He couldn't see where the Marquis had gone because the spirit flew towards the sun, effectively blinding Bian.
With the falcon's speed, it had already surpassed the meagre range of the dongxuan sutra and Bian wouldn't unleash the Emperical Aura, unless he wanted to announce his presence to the whole kingdom.
Besides, regardless of the speed of his wings, they weren't mobile enough to fight aerial beasts. He would have to depend on seven twists for that and he didn't fancy his chances of a fight in the air without any means for distanced attacks.
A gentle whoosh sound came to his ears and it got louder at a faster pace.
"Peregrine Falcon Stoop, the fastest attack in the animal kingdom!"
Bian's face changed, his instics were screaming danger.
[Firing on all cylinders]
The monotonous female voice of the sanctuaries whispered in his ears.
THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!
THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!
The three inner pillars began speeding up, each beat faster than the last.
Bian's body crystallised into a jade statue, a sense of wholeness and dreadful power filled him up.
His mind processed information at unparalleled speeds, time slowed down in his eyes.
His spirit was completely activated, guiding his every move.
Facing the threat of death, Bian didn't dare hold back and used everything he had.
He grabbed the Scornful Bane with both hands, channeling all his powers towards the blade.
With a roar, he slashed upwards.
In his vision, this strike was still too slow.
There was nothing in front of him a moment ago, then suddenly a large three-meter falcon suddenly appeared in a blur of wind and feathers.
Such speed had already surpassed mutant level and even sacred-blood creatures couldn't avoid this attack.
There was a resounding roar and a screech.
Whoosh! Shing!
Two distinct sounds, one of a blade slicing air and the other two objects colliding at unbelievable speeds.
Thud!
The falcon landed on the ground and transformed back.
Bian was hit by the slipstream following the falcon and was flung unceremoniously to the ground.
He stood up with a pained expression. Part of the armor below his left chest, where his abdomen was located, had been shattered.
Crystallised flesh was scattered around Bluestone Coast, and when Bian gazed at his injury, the edge of his crystallised heart was visible.
"Any last wishes?" Bian asked Marquis Nero who remained on one knee.
No matter their beef, Bian respected a man who admired nature much like himself.
"Kill... the duke."
Marquis Nero said gently, yet that little movement triggered something.
A vertical line appeared from the crown of his head. His body split apart for a brief moment before shattering into light particles.
Then a moment later, the particles disappeared.
"Are you okay?" Bao'er asked with some concern.
"Yeah, but only because of the armor. If he was also sacred, then I might have lost a torso!"
Bian had to admit, regardless of being underdeveloped for the fight, Marquis Nero was the strongest spirit he had fought.
Not in terms of level — obviously, sacred spirits and super spirits would be stronger. But if power levels were equalised, then the Marquis would definitely be in the top ten spirits ever.
As Bian walked away from the coast, he remembered a famous thought experiment that occurred among two scientists in the geno hall.
Among mundane creatures, with no gene enhancement, could a hundred men beat one silverback gorilla?
Different arguments were thrown until most people generally accepted that a hundred men would beat a gorilla.
Not that there wouldn't be casualties and injuries, but the gorilla just had no way of winning.
Then one scientist asked, what if the gorilla had the mind of a human?
Till this day, it remained an open debate.
A gorilla had enough power to lift twice its weight, which was already monstrous enough, but it also had a bite force greater than that of bears and lions.
If a person could control the gorilla — and as the scientist posed the question, a professional fighter — the results would be disastrous.
The reason was because beasts were beasts and people were people.
No matter the monsters he faced in the sanctuaries, Bian always found a way to defeat them.
But a beast with the intellect of a person was a force to truly be reckoned with. It was understandable why the Marquis was so tough.
His transformations might not have looked impressive now but what off as an Emperor?
A Dragon to wipe out armies, Pheonix to evade all of heaven, Turtle to become impenetrable. The Marquis would be a force of nature.
Wasn't there a popular kids' show about one boy who got a watch and could transform into different aliens? The boy then went on to beat universal powerhouses.
'It's a little bit violent, which would make it perfect for Bao'er. A boring kids' show wouldn't bore her to sleep, it would bore her to destruction.'
Using the Dongxuan Sense, Bian accidentally stumbled upon an underground cellar where different precious stones from Bluestone Coast were stored.
He terraslipped into the cellar and hid in the deepest compartments. These portions of the underground facility had already been filled up, so hopefully no unlucky soul would wander here.
"I dont know if I should love or hate my luck sometimes!"
Bian said with a heavy heart.
He summoned the Regen Torch and deactivated the body pillar while laying down.
Instantly, blood spilled out of the gaping abdominal cavity.
The pain assaulted Bian in waves, but the worst was yet to come.
Gritting his teeth, Bian directed the flaming torch toward the injury.
Instead of the bloody wound getting cauterised, the flesh began healing at a pace visible to the naked eye.
"Does it hurt?" Bao'er asked.
'Of course it freaking hurts, do you want to get slapped for asking such a question?'
Shaking his head, Bian reined in his inner demon and answered with copious amounts of sweat dripping from his forehead.
"Yeah, just a little bit."