Chapter 137 - 93: Leap in Combat Power (Part 4)
The scales of the Dragon Lizardman before him had a distinct dark red hue, indicating that its bloodline was quite pure and its Talent Witchcraft would be formidable.
Its body was clad in a suit of well-forged metal armor, protecting all its vital areas.
The armor’s surface bore countless marks—slashes from blades and swords, gashes from claws, and even the charred black imprints of flames.
On closer inspection, most of the marks on the armor were relatively shallow; the few deeper ones, however, had all managed to miss its vital spots.
This was proof enough—it was a veteran of countless battles.
Mo Ning instantly realized what this was—a Dragon Lizardman Martial Arts Master!
An ordinary Dragon Lizardman was troublesome enough, but a Martial Arts Master among them was exceedingly rare.
A Martial Arts Master could command powerful Qi and Blood Power. The power from its diluted Giant Dragon bloodline allowed it to cast Talent Witchcraft, making it exceptionally dangerous.
Even an Elite First Level Apprentice who had mastered Level Zero Witchcraft would have an over eighty-percent chance of being killed when facing a Dragon Lizardman Martial Arts Master.
Mo Ning was already accustomed to the ever-increasing difficulty of the challenges in the Simulation Space, so he didn’t complain.
"HUFF... PSSSHHH...!"
The Dragon Lizardman let out a heavy breath, which carried a strange, faint power that could unsettle an opponent’s mind.
A trace of clear surprise lingered in its vertical pupils.
It had planned to ambush its target from behind, creeping up silently for a one-hit kill—its preferred method of hunting.
But the target’s reaction had been astonishingly fast. He’d instantly cast a strange sliding-type Witchcraft, putting a considerable distance between them.
The Dragon Lizardman flicked its serpentine tongue. Its voice was hoarse and deep. "Human... I will sever... every one... of your fingers..."
With those words, the Dragon Lizardman’s image suddenly loomed larger in Mo Ning’s eyes.
Its body swelled rapidly in his vision, like an inflating balloon, growing from two-and-a-half meters to five—a small, mobile mountain.
This was clearly a Secret Technique similar to Spiritual Intimidation.
A Dragon Lizardman Martial Arts Master that also possessed Spiritual Intimidation... not even a First Level Apprentice would dare to face it.
In that instant, Mo Ning let out a soft cry and activated a derivative technique from the High Mountain Breathing Technique.
It was a "byproduct" of his recent improvements to the Breathing Technique—he had distilled its core principles, compressing them into a "spike" that could be activated in an instant.
His spirit became as hard as steel. The Dragon Lizardman’s Spiritual Intimidation washed over him like a wave against a reef, unable to shake him in the slightest.
The Dragon Lizardman’s body instantly "shrank" back to its original two-and-a-half-meter height.
Mo Ning cast Fast Sliding again. He turned in midair, his Sheepskin Boots carving an arc through the sky as he slid up the trunk of a Cold Pine tree.
The Dragon Lizardman Martial Arts Master opposite him, wielding a battered round shield in its left hand and a scimitar in its right, was just preparing to charge.
It froze for a second, stunned by the sight.
His enemy had climbed a tree. How was it supposed to fight him now?
The Dragon Lizardman immediately adjusted its strategy. It opened its maw, which was full of sharp teeth, and spat out a blazing fireball.
"WHOOSH—"
The fireball surged from deep in its throat, rapidly swelling from the size of a fist to the size of a human head. It shot toward its target, dragging a long, fiery tail through the air.
But the fireball missed its mark, striking a Cold Pine instead.
Mo Ning was simply too agile.
The instant the fireball left its mouth, Mo Ning had already calculated its trajectory.
He immediately adjusted the fluctuations of his Magic Power, changing direction in midair. He leaped from the treetop of one Cold Pine and landed steadily on a neighboring one.
This was all part of his strategy.
The Dragon Lizardman Martial Arts Master’s close-combat abilities were terrifying. If it got near, there was a greater than ninety-percent chance he would be killed instantly.
Therefore, he had to maintain his distance and use the terrain to his advantage.
Getting to high ground, looking down on his opponent—that was the best course of action.
The trees were not the Dragon Lizardman’s domain. It was too large and heavy to move between the branches, and its scimitar was too long to be wielded effectively within the canopy.
If the monster dared to climb the trees, it would be sacrificing most of its mobility.
When it came to moving nimbly through the trees, Mo Ning was completely confident that he was far superior to the monster.
Soon, a life-or-death chase unfolded between the man and the Dragon Lizardman in the Cold Pine Forest.
The Dragon Lizardman frantically spat fireballs at a frequency far exceeding the capability of a normal Dragon Lizardman, as if its Magic Power was infinite.
This was clearly the result of a system enhancement.
Mo Ning was already used to the Simulation Space’s perverse method of constantly ramping up the intensity.
The system seemed to operate on the cruel philosophy of "If it doesn’t kill you, train until it almost does," pushing his limits higher time and time again.
A minute passed.
A large swath of the Cold Pine Forest was now ablaze.
Billowing black smoke surged skyward like countless ignited pillars, churning and spreading across the lead-gray sky, shrouding the entire battlefield in a suffocating haze.
Mo Ning kept circling the edge of the inferno, using the swirling smoke to disrupt his opponent’s vision.
He cast two Sub-zero Level Secret Techniques—Free Breathing and Visual Clarity.
Free Breathing formed a thin film of air around his mouth and nose, blocking out the smoke and dust. It only allowed pure air to enter his lungs.
Meanwhile, Visual Clarity condensed a transparent Magic Barrier in front of his eyes, like an invisible pair of goggles.