There was no denying that Burning Spirit was an exceptional technique. With its enhancement, the patrol captain could briefly hold his own against a C-rank opponent despite being only D-rank.
But such techniques had one major flaw—they couldn’t be sustained for long, and the side effects were severe.
As the mist around him grew thinner, the katana-wielding enemy regained the upper hand, pressing him with overwhelming force.
“I’ll take over!” Su Mo roared, shoving a red fruit into the captain’s hand before charging forward with his blade.
Learning from his last mistake, he avoided direct clashes this time, opting for finesse instead.
The Broken Army Blade Art, created by Ye Qingyu, had a unique trait—each move flowed seamlessly into the next, growing fiercer with momentum. Meanwhile, the Ye family’s Jade-Seeding Technique specialized in using softness to overcome hardness, skill to dismantle brute force. Combined, they embodied the pinnacle of precision and adaptability.
Su Mo channeled his internal energy using the Jade-Seeding Technique, threading wisps of spiritual power into Tetanus Blade.
The weapon buzzed in response, radiating excitement.
Su Mo was startled—he hadn’t realized the blade was so sentient. He’d clearly underestimated it before.
But it wasn’t just the blade that was excited. The Japanese leader’s eyes hadn’t left Tetanus Blade since the fight began.
The look on his face… one might’ve mistaken it for the gaze of a lovestruck fool.
Clang!
The two blades met, but Su Mo suddenly twisted his wrist, sidestepping the clash. Neither attacking nor defending, he used the momentum to vault into the air.
Exposing himself like this was practically suicidal. Seizing the opportunity, the enemy leader slashed upward—only for Su Mo’s blade to flicker like a ghost, deflecting the strike.
Clang!
The impact was weak, barely a scratch, but it gave Su Mo the leverage he needed. With a flip, he twisted midair, landing above his opponent.
Behind his bronze mask, Su Mo’s eyes burned with killing intent. His slender but powerful frame drove the heavy blade downward in a devastating arc.
Crack!
The katana—the pride of the Japanese warrior—shattered like brittle wood under the force of Su Mo’s strike.
The enemy leader barely dodged in time, the residual blade energy gouging a trench into the ground.
“Nani?! (What?!)” He stared in disbelief at the bronze-armored figure. “Ima no wa nan no waza desu ka? (What technique was that?)”
Su Mo frowned. “I don’t understand!”
“Qingbudong?” The enemy muttered the phrase a few times, committing it to memory.
Now disarmed, he was vulnerable—and Su Mo had no intention of playing fair. He swung without hesitation.
“Nani?! (What?!)” The enemy’s face twisted in fury as he swiftly drew his thumb across his fingertip, chanting under his breath.
A drop of blood burst in the air, transforming into a streak of light that vanished into his body.
“Be careful! He’s using ninjutsu!” The patrol captain, having recovered some strength from the red fruit, rushed to assist.
“Bone-Shattering Palm!”
As a D-rank fighter with a developed energy sea, the captain’s palm strike carried immense force. Combined with Su Mo’s blade, the attack sent the enemy flying over a dozen meters.
But it was too late—the ninjutsu had already taken effect. The man’s eyes turned completely red.
He coughed up blood, spouting a stream of furious Japanese, his expression righteous, as if he were some avenging hero.
“What does this ninjutsu do?” Su Mo asked.
“Judging by the eye color, it’s probably fire-based—likely boosts his attack power,” the captain guessed uncertainly.
No sooner had he spoken than the enemy leader lunged forward, his body radiating violent heat. His combat prowess had indeed surged.
The gap in strength was too wide. Before they could react, both were slammed to the ground and pummeled relentlessly.
Su Mo, at least, had his bronze armor to absorb most of the damage. The captain wasn’t so lucky—his already weakened body took a brutal beating.
Su Mo tried to counter, but a fist to his abdomen sent cracks spiderwebbing across his armor.
Scorching fire-attribute spiritual energy flooded his meridians, searing through him like molten metal.
Unlike the white mage’s blazing flames, this heat carried no visible fire—yet the internal devastation was far more agonizing than any burn.
Gritting his teeth, Su Mo summoned an alloy shield, but his weakened state made it useless. The enemy shattered it effortlessly.
“Anata-tachi wa yowasugimasu! (You’re too weak!)” The Japanese leader sneered, scanning the battlefield smugly. Seeing that he was the first to finish his fight, his lips curled in satisfaction.
He yanked off Su Mo’s bronze mask, revealing the delicate, striking face beneath. His grin widened. “Yoshi! (Good!)”
As he leaned in for a closer look, Su Mo recoiled in disgust—but he was powerless to resist. The invasive fire energy had reached his energy sea, threatening to cripple his foundation.
Then—something shifted.
The usually dormant cyan core in his energy sea twitched.
And with that, the tides turned.
His energy vortex suddenly accelerated, generating a terrifying suction force.
The fire-attribute energy, once the hunter, became the prey—swiftly devoured by the cyan core.
Within moments, the burning sensation vanished without a trace.
But the cyan core wasn’t satisfied. It pulsed restlessly, resisting all of Su Mo’s attempts to suppress it.
Freed from the fire’s torment, Su Mo’s body snapped back into action. He launched upward, a whip-like kick aimed straight for the enemy’s groin.
Instinct saved the man. He barely dodged in time.
“Bakayarou! (Bastard!)”
At least that phrase Su Mo understood.
Enraged, the enemy retaliated with a punch to Su Mo’s shoulder. The impact splintered the bronze armor further—but no fiery energy followed.
Worse, the man’s fist stuck to Su Mo’s shoulder, as if glued there.
Before he could react, the cyan core unleashed an absorption force unlike anything before—a black hole in human form.
By the time the enemy realized what was happening, it was too late. His spirit energy, blood essence, even his fire seed—everything was being siphoned away.
“Holy shit!” Su Mo panicked. If this continued, the man would be drained into a desiccated husk. Not out of mercy—Su Mo had none for enemies—but because this looked way too sinister for a “good guy” like him.
Thirty seconds later, Su Mo shoved the now skeletal enemy away, exhaling sharply.
Inspecting his energy sea, he found his vortex spinning lazily, the core floating undisturbed.
But the previously sluggish cyan core was now bulging, nearly double its original size. It pulsed rhythmically, as if digesting its feast, occasionally exhaling wisps of processed “waste.”
The core eagerly absorbed every last trace, leaving nothing behind.
Su Mo could only stare, dumbfounded.