Chapter 921 - 409: Shockwave! (2)
The blood that should have sprayed through the air vanished in an instant, and the wound before his heart disappeared once more, as if it had never existed.
Xu Ran, full of Spirit, straightened his body and once again stared fearlessly at Xu Ran.
"Keep going!"
Xu Ran’s tone was brimming with confidence.
"You’ve comprehended Dark Force?"
Seeing Xu Ran act like this, a thought rose in the bald man’s heart, and he immediately asked.
"Bang—"
Hearing this, Xu Ran didn’t answer. Instead, he stamped his tender right foot. In that instant, a dull thud sounded from the ground.
In a flash.
With Xu Ran at the center, within a radius of one zhang, the dust on the ground floated up as if touched by a spring, then slowly fell back down.
"Bang—"
At the moment the dust fell, Xu Ran’s right foot stomped down again, and the dust rose once more.
"Bang—"
"Bang—"
"Bang—"
...
With every stomp of Xu Ran’s right foot, within a radius of one zhang centered on him, dust floated into the air.
"So this is called Dark Force!"
At this moment, Xu Ran felt somewhat suddenly enlightened.
When the bald man’s Red Tassel Spear stabbed into the Iron Spear, Xu Ran clearly sensed an invisible aura channeling through the Red Tassel Spear, passing along the Iron Spear, and slamming straight into his chest.
Moreover, this aura was extremely concentrated.
At that moment, Xu Ran realized something was wrong. With no defense at all, his whole body was sent flying backward.
And that wasn’t all.
In the process of being blasted back, the tiger’s mouth that had already been somewhat injured split open completely, and even his chest cavity was pierced through.
However.
Perhaps Xu Ran’s fate was not to die. Even he hadn’t expected that, with his Great Success Innate Saint’s Sacred Body and Innate Qi sealed, his recovery would be that strong!
The wound at his chest cavity healed in an instant.
At the beginning, he absorbed dawn glow and moonlight solely for the sake of Innate Qi.
But he hadn’t expected that these two substances born between heaven and earth would have such a powerful effect, making his fleshly body so strong!
It was precisely because of this unexpected discovery that Xu Ran decided to mock the bald man, provoking him into launching the same attack as before.
As expected.
As a Gatekeeper, the bald man had to stop Xu Ran here. That was something he was bound to do.
Even if Xu Ran hadn’t mocked him, he would still have attacked Xu Ran again and again, until he was completely slain.
But Xu Ran.
What he excelled at most was enlightenment in the split second between life and death.
When he was first struck by Dark Force, he sensed something was off and gained some insights.
So, he spoke to mock the bald man in order to make his body experience it once more, and break through that threshold right before his eyes.
The facts proved just that; his ability to comprehend had not disappointed him.
The dust continuously floating in the air was the best proof.
The three senior brothers and junior sister watching Xu Ran undergo the trial saw the dust drifting ceaselessly in midair, and their faces showed complex, indescribable expressions.
"He... just comprehended it like that?"
The Second Senior Brother said in shock.
To be honest, even he didn’t know how many times he’d said words to this effect.
Ever since Xu Ran entered the Nine-Layered Giant Tower trial, every time he was nearly unable to progress further, some indescribable comprehension would appear, allowing him to overcome the obstacle.
Even though they’d already witnessed this far too many times, seeing it unfold again before their eyes was still utterly shocking.
The Little Junior Sister was the same, her already large eyes widening, with unbelievable golden light flickering within.
"This..."
Even she, ever proud, found herself at a loss for words.
Xu Ran’s operations like this were simply too many. Even for her, a talent among talents who had seen countless geniuses, her assessment of Xu Ran had advanced yet another level at this moment.
Moreover, at the critical juncture of life and death, to be bold enough to use his own body to trade for technique—this kind of mindset was something no one could match.
After all.
If the outcome failed to match his expectations, then there was only one fate awaiting Xu Ran: death.
You have to know.
That strike just now pierced straight through his heart. If his body didn’t have the imagined repair ability, even if he wouldn’t die instantly, what awaited Xu Ran would only be a slow death!
Compared to the other two’s shock, the Senior Brother’s reaction was not as obvious as theirs, but in his heart, he was just as constantly shaken.
In fact, the shock in his heart surpassed that of the Second Senior Brother and Little Junior Sister combined.
He, who was qualified to enter the Nine-story Giant Tower Study, had read all the ancient books within, and knew inside information unknown to others. He could be considered the person with the broadest knowledge in the Origin Realm right now.
However.
Xu Ran was born in a remote border village that didn’t even have methods of Cultivation. Before obtaining the Body Refining Manual, the villagers’ only problem was filling their stomachs.
Growing up in such an environment, let alone ancient texts, they probably didn’t even have the most common supernatural tales; the vast majority of people didn’t fully recognize their characters.
So Xu Ran absolutely did not know the specific effects of dawn glow and moonlight.
Much less that he possessed Great Success Innate Saint’s Sacred Body and Innate Qi.
Just the recovery effect of the Great Success Innate Saint’s Sacred Body alone far surpassed the recovery from his absorption of dawn glow and moonlight.
Therefore, even when Xu Ran was injured, he wouldn’t sense the degree of his physical recovery.
Even if he did sense that something was off, he would directly attribute it to the Great Success Innate Saint’s Sacred Body.
In other words.
Xu Ran dared, in this very trial, to let the bald man strike him directly in the heart and trade life and death for Dark Force.
This kind of courage was extremely brave.
Even he, the current Senior Brother of the Nine-Layered Giant Tower, the one who resolved the Near Ancient Era’s problem of Spiritual Qi exhaustion, wouldn’t dare to make such a move.
Just on this point alone, Xu Ran was worthy of the qualification of a Young Divine King!
...
In the midst of the trial.
The bald man held his Red Tassel Spear, eyes wide as he stared at Xu Ran, this Young Divine King who had comprehended Dark Force in just two moves.
"As expected of one detected by the Nine-Layered Giant Tower as a Young Divine King—your courage is extraordinary!"
As a Gatekeeper, and likewise as Xu Ran’s opponent.
He was very clear that before this, Xu Ran hadn’t known his physical body had such terrifying recovery.
Otherwise, in the Swordsmanship trial, at that stage when his Great Success Innate Saint’s Sacred Body had not yet been sealed, just relying on his fleshly body’s terrifying healing alone, Xu Ran could have worn him down to death.
At that time, no one knew that Xu Ran had been absorbing dawn glow and moonlight to temper his flesh since birth.
If they had known.
Then just now, he definitely wouldn’t have unleashed Dark Force because of Xu Ran’s mockery.
That definitely wouldn’t have been enough to kill him outright; he would have been forced to use a far more powerful killing move.
The result.
This outcome was beyond his expectations; it had actually allowed Xu Ran to comprehend Dark Force in the midst of battle, and even just at the initial moment of comprehension, he could directly affect the things within one zhang around him!
This kind of talent was truly terrifying!
"Clang—"
As the bald man was still in shock, suddenly, a clear metallic collision rang through the Dueling Arena.
Following the sound, he saw a tall Iron Spear before him, and beneath that spear was a small, skinny figure.
Looking closely, it was Xu Ran.
He slowly raised his head, looked at the bald man who had blocked him, and smiled faintly.
"Just now it was always you sneak attacking me. Now, it’s my turn!"
"You..."
The bald man had just opened his mouth to speak.
At that moment, a fierce, subtle vibration transmitted from the shaft of the Red Tassel Spear and quickly shook up into his hands.
In an instant.
The bald man no longer even had the strength to hold onto the Red Tassel Spear.
With a ’clang’, the Red Tassel Spear fell to the ground, leaving only the bald man staring wide-eyed at the small, skinny human before him.
Seeing the bald man’s shock, Xu Ran smiled again.
"How is it!! The feeling of Dark Force... feels good, doesn’t it?"