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Chapter 182 Demons and Monsters, The Awakening!

"Last time you fled in disarray from my hands, and yet you dare to show up before me now."

Su Heng let out a light "hmph."

He rose from the giant rocky mountain, arms crossed over his chest, looking down on Xu Hanlin from his elevated position. Back at the Demon Suppression Tower, right after concluding his retreat and awakening the Transformed Dragon State, Xu Hanlin could barely pose a threat to him.

But times have changed, and Su Heng had further improved the Domineering Dragon Thirteen Forms Secret Technique, on top of merging with Dragon Blood.

He had undergone a complete transformation, and was now innumerably stronger compared to that day.

Meeting his old opponent again...

"I've said before, those who I've left behind will forever struggle to catch a glimpse of my shadow." Under the darkened sky lit with terrifying thunder, Su Heng's calm voice slowly carried through, "I acknowledge your courage, but you will pay with your life for your foolishness."

"A grudge for the murder of my mother, intolerable under the same sky."

Xu Hanlin's face was twisted with fury, his eyes bloodshot, as the tide-like anger and hatred in his heart could no longer be suppressed.

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He undid his robe and flung it off with force.

The black cloak was swept away by the gusting wind, vanishing into the rolling clouds above.

His originally normal-sized body began to inflate rapidly, exceeding three meters in a blink. His steel-like shell of a body creaked as muscles squirmed. Thick and sinister black veins, like chains, covered his entire body.

Xu Hanlin's body was ablaze with black Demon Flames, shooting up into the sky and unexpectedly dispersing the vast encircling light of calamity.

Having reached the deepest part of the Longevity Heaven Secret Realm demonstrated Xu Hanlin's strength was not to be underestimated. It was unknown, however, where this portion of his power came from.

Su Heng's eyes narrowed slightly, not bothering with further thought.

Boom!

A thunderclap sounded in the sky.

At the same moment, Su Heng made a decisive move, his exaggeratedly fierce punch crossing the distance through the air.

The vast and terrifying strength of a mountain torrent converged in his left arm, which instantly became engorged and blood-filled, and dangerous red light flickered between the gaps of the dark Scale Armor.

With a 'hiss', a large amount of scalding steam rose. The colorless, incorporeal air was compressed and condensed into a jelly-like solid, combined with the black vigor, it stormed towards Xu Hanlin like a missile bombardment.

Crack—

The exceedingly hard ground shattered like a mirror dropped on the floor, exploding instantaneously, with numerous black clouds of dust surging into the sky. The howling wind dispersed the dust. A vast crater dozens of meters wide suddenly appeared in Su Heng's view, but in the center of the pit, Xu Hanlin's body had vanished into thin air.

"Hmm?" Su Heng's eyes narrowed a fraction, a flicker of surprise crossing his mind.

Despite his own strength, a casual blow should not have obliterated Xu Hanlin outright. After all, Xu Hanlin's mere presence demonstrated that his current strength was most likely even greater than that of Li Lingxiu and Cui Mingri.

Moreover, and more importantly,

Xu Hanlin might have disappeared, yet the beastly strong intuition that warned of danger did not dissipate.

Shick!

A fluctuation suddenly appeared within his Gravity Sense, causing Su Heng's expression to change subtly.

Without looking back, he curled his five fingers into claws and reached back with a swift grab.

Almost at the same time, a pitch-black, over ten meters long, covered with gloomy Demon Flames, exceedingly sharp giant Arc Blade appeared out of nowhere behind Su Heng.

There was no piercingly sharp sound of cutting through the air, nor any precursors; if not for the premonition, with Su Heng not having reached the Heavenly Deceit realm and without probing his senses, it would have been impossible to react.

Clang!

image after image flashed through his memory like lantern slides.

The courtyard filled with blooming flowers, the locust tree inside, the River Lantern Festival that year, and the bloody sunset on the day of their farewell.

Bang!

His broad body collided with the even vaster earth.

A huge crater suddenly formed.

Xu Hanlin's body bounced up, rolled, and smashed into a mountain peak, creating a long, narrow ravine with the violent friction.

Blood stained all these images a dark red.

Excruciating pain, an uncontrollable twitching all over his body.

All those beautiful images vanished, replaced by the gruesome scene in the Demon Suppression Tower where his mother's heart was ripped out and crushed.

Blood was everywhere, flowing unstoppably, so much of it. And then there was that blood-soaked farewell letter, everything.

Gulping for air, black smoke began to rise from Xu Hanlin's body.

His injuries healed at a speed visible to the naked eye, and with a roar, he somehow staggered to his feet from the ground.

He crossed his arms, swung them fiercely. Muscles contracted, pulling his skeleton back into position. Then his wings spread again, and with a strong push against the ground beneath his feet, the impact wave created by the explosion of rock and mountain shot Xu Hanlin toward Su Heng like a streak of blood-colored lightning.

In the distance—

The strong wind blowing head-on scattered Su Heng's long hair.

Seeing the rapidly enlarging figure of Xu Hanlin approaching in his line of sight, a rare look of surprise flashed across Su Heng's face.

His last strike, though not with his full strength, was still unreserved. Even a true Heavenly Deceit Realm warrior should have been smashed by that punch. Yet Xu Hanlin was not only alive, but fighting more ferociously, his vitality too exuberant to be described.

And the aura he was emanating,

was no longer human, but closer to the demons and monsters Su Heng knew.

"Is this also the power of the Demon Country's Ruler?"

Su Heng suddenly remembered the conversation he had with Li Daoxuan when they first met.

In this world, demons and monsters can generally be divided into four different types: fairies, goblins, ghosts, and monsters. But beyond these four, there is a special existence known as "Demon". It is said that humans are unawakened "Demons". If this theory is correct, then it would seem Xu Hanlin is currently awakening.

A sudden interest arose in Su Heng's heart.

Xu Hanlin now was a fierce fire burning fiercely, and Su Heng planned to add scalding oil to this fire.

"I'm curious to see just how many surprises you can bring me."

With a "rip" sound, Su Heng tore the robe off his shoulder, shook his neck, his face wearing a ferocious smile, his broad and sturdy body surging across the scorched earth. He threw a punch without any tricks, colliding directly with Xu Hanlin.

Boom!

Heavenly Thunder ignited fires on earth.

In the unprecedentedly massive explosion, Xu Hanlin was once again sent flying.

He successively smashed through seven or eight protruding peaks, his body buried deep in a rubble of debris. His eyes were blood-red, a sweet metallic taste filled his mouth and nose. Xu Hanlin struggled to open his eyes, everything a blur. Suddenly, a "whish" sound came from above, and a large black hand emerged out of nowhere, seizing Xu Hanlin by the neck.

With a desire for brutality and destruction, Su Heng's fist pounded down on Xu Hanlin's face like a hammer.

With a "crack", Xu Hanlin's head rotated one hundred eighty degrees. The unmatched force spun his body like a top in mid-air. In a flash of lightning, he landed on the ground. Before he could get up, Su Heng's boot was already stomping down hard on Xu Hanlin's chest.

Countless ribs broke in an instant, and blood sprayed forth.