Xuanqing Guard

Even within the Illusion Realm, Shen Hao could tangibly feel the threat of life and death; the billionaire who should’ve been lounging on a screen in another world could really kill him in this place.

Don’t want to die? Then finish the other guy off.

He scattered a dense web of Thunder Serpents to open a path, his body shrunk behind the flashes, mind constantly calculating the distance between himself and his opponent.

Less than two breaths, those micro-missiles he’d thrown out crashed into the Thunder Serpent web, and a fierce, concentrated explosion instantly tore the electric net apart, the aftershock spread more than ten zhang away, flipping up bricks and stone from the ground, the power no less than that previous one.

But this time, Shen Hao’s figure wasn’t harmed at all by the blast, not even a hint of his shadow appeared in the smoke and dust.

Another Escape Skill!

Judging by the illusionary Iron Man in the distance, he didn’t react further; instead, he hovered in the air, both hands glowing as if he was on guard?

A crescent-shaped Blade Gang shot silently from underground, extremely fast, but the illusionary Iron Man adjusted his position mid-air and dodged easily; it was as if he’d located Shen Hao, firing multiple beams at the ground, blasting deep craters.

It was like playing hide-and-seek; Shen Hao hid beneath the earth, the illusionary Iron Man sporadically spraying attacks but unable to lock Shen Hao’s position. Instead, his own floating altitude kept lowering with each adjustment and dodge, now less than two zhang above the ground.

Suddenly, another surge of Blade Gang flashed by—its density surpassed all previous, weaving like a net or claws, slashing from two oblique directions toward the illusionary Iron Man.

On one side he dodged toward the space closer to the ground, while erecting a red metallic Long Shield to block, freeing one hand to bombard the ground below with beams again.

This time, though, the beams didn’t pierce the ground; just as they neared earth, an invisible force devoured them, and at the illusionary Iron Man’s feet, a figure appeared—it was Shen Hao, still in Earth Escape Skill mode after more than ten breaths.

Shen Hao now had no aura at all—barely any body heat. It was almost the Qi Concealing Talisman’s effect, but in the Illusion Realm, that talisman couldn’t possibly be used; his only reliance was his own mastered skills.

If you looked closely, you could see a faintly visible layer around Shen Hao, swallowing and spewing.

It’s Black Cut!

Without the Qi Concealing Talisman, Shen Hao couldn’t escape the illusionary Iron Man’s lock-on; since the opponent could fly, winning would be impossible. So Shen Hao had a sudden idea: use Black Cut’s devouring effect to isolate all external manifestations of himself, then approach with Earth Escape Skill, pressing with Blade Gang to force the enemy’s position, creating a window to decide victory.

That’s why only when Shen Hao used his hand to swing Blade Aura did the enemy manage to lock his location for a brief moment and strike.

At this moment, the illusionary Iron Man was less than one zhang above the ground, perfectly forced right above Shen Hao—a blind spot of perspective for all humanoids.

The timing arrived. Shen Hao immediately sprang out from Earth Escape’s stealth, leaping up, both hands flinging out several Black Cuts, blocking the opponent’s escape route.

"Puchi!"

Just as Shen Hao anticipated, while the illusionary Iron Man could take his Blade Gang head-on without a scratch, it was different when faced with Black Cut’s devouring effect.

Several metallic cracking sounds rang out—whether armor on hands and feet or that Long Shield, all split apart under Black Cut’s devouring, cracking right down the center. Really, the structure parts were devoured, causing them to break.

Especially both legs shattering—this guy lost all flying power and fell straight down.

"Let me see you fly now, bastard!"

Shen Hao’s leap didn’t stop; he crashed right into the airborne opponent, pounding down with fists—by the time the enemy hit the ground, Shen Hao had hammered the head five times, and these weren’t ordinary punches: each was reinforced with Black Cut at the front, smashing until the head was utterly destroyed, riddled with fist-sized molten holes.

Less than thirty breaths passed; Shen Hao stood up from the dust, dragging the head of the illusionary Iron Man.

The time was short, but his depletion was immense; unleashing Black Cut so many times and nearly a dozen breaths of Earth Escape stealth had left his Sea of Consciousness shaking with emptiness.

Picking up the metal skull, Shen Hao ripped it apart—the armor inside was empty, no sign of that billionaire, nor any so-called high tech, just a pitch-black steel shell. Looks like the Illusion Realm can’t conjure living things yet.

The illusion wasn’t real enough—at least not inside; what it showed was the combat abilities and appearance Shen Hao remembered most about Iron Man, but the interior was fake.

In the Illusion Realm, "fake" meant "flaw;" Shen Hao could use soul and "doubt" as an opening, peel back the illusion’s veil across the board, and finally let his consciousness return to reality.

That’s basically how all Illusion Realms are broken.

With Shen Hao’s Soul Strength, holding up this metal skull—such a huge flaw in the illusion—meant the outcome was obvious; only three or so breaths later, everything in Shen Hao’s "world" began to collapse, vision cloaked in thick mist.

"Done!"

As soon as the thought rose, the world in front of him flickered—felt like falling from the sky back to earth—feet finding solid ground, shouts and chaos all around confirmed he’d gotten clear.

Blinking twice, Shen Hao confirmed he was standing in the middle of the street, but his body felt weak, and he staggered several times before regaining balance. Someone quickly steadied him.

"Eh? Hundred Households of Shen, you’re out?!"

The voice was unfamiliar; Shen Hao turned his head and saw a stranger, just about to be on guard and pull away, but the man quickly said, "Lord Shen, don’t panic. I am a Personal Guard directly under Commander Lord Pang. You may not have seen us, but you should’ve heard Deacon Nie mention us?"

Glancing around, indeed three men were garrisoned around him; seeing the other’s Waist Token, Shen Hao finally relaxed completely.

"What happened? Where are my Guards?"

"You were hit with Illusion Killing Skill. We were just about to help stabilize your soul, but never expected you’d break out yourself. As for your Guards, they’re all dead."

Shen Hao had guessed as much, but hearing it still sent a blaze of anger surging up inside. He shook off the man who was holding him, steadied himself, and walked toward the carriage stopped ahead; at the driver’s spot at the front, he saw two corpses still in their seated position.

"Do any of you know who’s trying to kill me?"