Instantly, a scream echoed as the Grandmaster was digested by the monster, causing Wang Zhan's face to darken. He could sense the slight recovery in the creature's strength!

Damn it!

The monster cackled, "Hehehe, there are still many of you. Guess how many I can kill right under your nose?"

Wang Zhan's face turned icy as he stared back at the creature, his voice cold. "You're nothing more than a defeated foe. Stop being so arrogant! Everyone, get away from here now, or don't blame me if you die!"

Wang Zhan almost roared the last sentence.

He'd done his part, and done it thoroughly.

At the same time, the crowd swiftly came to their senses.

Yes, yes, escape quickly, or we'll meet the same fate as that Grandmaster!

Of course, they saw Wang Zhan's efforts to hold back the monster. Therefore, some people immediately looked up and responded to Wang Zhan, "Thank you, Lord Martial King, for saving our lives! We have nothing to repay you with, but we will never forget…"

And so, one, two, three... An untold number of people obeyed Wang Zhan's words. Those who managed to escape quickly turned around and thanked him.

Wang Zhan immediately muttered to himself, No! You *can* repay me. Per person... for those without money, we'll see. For those with money, two billion!

After all, I also have to spend a lot of effort; two billion isn't too much, is it?

As for their faces... As one of the contemporary Federation's experts in using mental energy, and the inheritor of the Ancient Art of Mental Energy Usage Repository, how could I, Wang Zhan, forget them?

The creature laughed loudly, its voice full of sarcasm, "HAHAHA... What hypocrites! In that case, I'll let them die one by one with the hope you've given them!"

Wang Zhan shook his head. He was done talking to this thing. Its brain, apart from slaughter and madness, had lost all reason. It truly didn't understand the art of making money. Money! Money! Money! Can't your stupid blockhead understand? Making others feel indebted and then earning money from them—now *that* is what I call art.

So, let it kill! If it really managed to kill a few more, the survivors would surely be even more willing to pay up.

Of course, this wasn't me wanting them to die. After all, being a spectator always carries a price. Without some vigilance, did they really expect Jesus, the god revered by the Royal Family, to personally descend and save them? Impossible.

Still, Wang Zhan wasn't entirely heartless; he would always appear right where the monster was about to strike. Thus, the Grandmasters, Grandmasters, and even Martial Kings who were preparing to follow Wang Zhan's orders and frantically escape only heard Wang Zhan's repeated battle cries and the ensuing rumbles.

"'Fatal One Slash!…'"

They, however, had already escaped the core battlefield and suffered no harm.

It had to be said that Wang Zhan's timing of advancement was quite appropriate. Even though the physical changes and the temporary loss of the System's effectiveness from the advancement would cost Wang Zhan many trump cards and easily place him in danger. But it was precisely because of this that Wang Zhan now had the opportunity to contend with the monster before him and attempt to settle things with one decisive blow.

During this time, the monster still relentlessly tried to hunt down the innocent bystanders. However, due to Wang Zhan's repeated interventions, apart from a few unlucky souls who became sacrifices for its strength recovery, the rest had already followed Wang Zhan's instructions and retreated frantically. Those who managed to get far away from the combat zone successfully held onto their miserable lives, just as they wished.

Among them, naturally, was Lu Family's Old Ninth!

He had originally thought that the two figures in the sky would, at best, need to team up to be a match for him. But looking at the current situation, he realized just how ignorant and naive he had been.

They're all deeply hidden masters…

Forget everything else. Based solely on the peculiar martial arts of that strange fellow in the large black robe, he knew he was far from being a match. That was clearly a shadow bloodline talent that was impossible to defend against! Not to mention his target this time, the young man wielding a sharp weapon.

Could I really withstand that slash? Impossible. Didn't I see that fellow in the large black robe get sliced apart multiple times? If I, Lu Family's Old Ninth, were to go up there, unless Wang Zhan refrained from using Fatal One Slash and merely sparred with ordinary martial arts... otherwise, Wang Zhan wouldn't even need to gauge my strength. As long as I wasn't strong enough to withstand the edge of Wang Zhan's Liyun Blade, killing me would be as easy as crushing a worthless cur.

Of course, setting the Liyun Blade aside, Wang Zhan was, at best, just a rapidly developing genius with superior innate Talent. This, therefore, proved one thing: Just how incredibly formidable and domineering Wang Yidao's Fatal One Slash was!

Meanwhile, Wang Zhan, seemingly nonchalant from a distance, repeatedly thwarted the monster's attempts to feed. This instantly caused the monster's expression to darken.

"'You! Are! Seeking! Death!'"

As a powerful entity possessing high-level Martial King's strength, when had the monster ever encountered such a predicament? It was actually being suppressed from start to finish! It even had a feeling that even if Wang Zhan didn't possess Fatal One Slash, it absolutely couldn't gain any advantage against him. At most, it just meant Wang Zhan couldn't kill this monster, which could remain unharmed even if sliced in two.

The problem was, Wang Zhan was now clearly trying to wear it down slowly, dragging out its recovery to create time for himself, and then kill it! Otherwise, why was it that despite having devoured three or four Grandmasters, the Essence Energy it replenished still couldn't keep up with its consumption rate?

However, watching this creature rage impotently, Wang Zhan just laughed heartily, completely unconcerned. "'Whether I'm seeking death or not isn't for you to decide. You're just a defeated foe. Of course, I can give you another chance. Be smart, submit to me, and I might spare your life…'"

HISS!

The monster bared its teeth and snarled. Then it roared suddenly, its figure flickered, and vanished into thin air. The next moment, it was already before Wang Zhan, roaring fiercely, "'Utterly delusional! Die!!'"

At that instant, Wang Zhan could even see its multiple arms and those pairs of fluorescently glowing palms. Wang Zhan's heart tightened; he hadn't expected this at all.

This thing can actually use poison?… How despicable! We've been fighting for so long, and now you resort to dirty tricks?

The next moment, BOOM… Before Wang Zhan could process it, while he was frantically dodging the monster's killing move, he inadvertently got struck hard on the shoulder by one of the monster's arms. A wave of numbness spread through his body, followed by a heavy, thunderous crash as he hit the ground.

Little did the monster know, that even though Wang Zhan was severely injured, with a significant amount of toxin left in his body by the monster, causing him to go numb and lose much of his sensation, what Wang Zhan was actually thinking was:

Damn it! This monster… it must die by my hand!… I've never experienced anything like this. Was I really tricked?

HUM!

Just as the monster in the sky was cackling madly, gloating over its apparent triumph against Wang Zhan, "'HAHAHA! With just you, you dared to take my toxin! This time, you're deader than dead, aren't you!…'"

Then, Wang Zhan suddenly shot up into the sky. His body was not only completely unscathed, but there wasn't even a speck of dust on him. He just stared at the monster, his gaze filled with growing satisfaction and eagerness, as he said, "'Hehehe, not bad, not bad! I didn't expect you to possess such a fine thing! A powerful toxin that can corrode mental energy—it's a real shame for you to keep it hidden away!'"

The monster's glee abruptly came to an end. It stared at Wang Zhan incredulously, looking at his clear and unblemished form. Where was the slightest trace of toxin corrosion or the previous violent impact? He looked as if he were casually strolling through his own courtyard, utterly at ease.

Therefore, the monster's voice finally turned cold, laced with boundless astonishment, "'The one fighting me just now… was that merely one of your mental energy clones?'"

It simply couldn't believe it. How powerful would a person's mental energy clone have to be to reach such a level? Throughout this long battle, it had always believed that the one standing before it was Wang Zhan's true body, because everything felt so incredibly real! Otherwise, Wang Zhan couldn't possibly be this strong. Moreover, Wang Zhan's aura, posture, internal energy, flesh and blood… no part of him seemed illusory. Therefore, the monster was certain. This also meant that as long as it could kill him, everything would be over. Yet, in the end, it discovered that the other party had simply been treating it like an idiot, toying with it for amusement!! They had fought for so long, yet his true body had never appeared. Moreover, Wang Zhan's true body was even stronger than the monster's. How could this be possible? Who didn't know how many resources had been poured into the monster's growth?

However, Wang Zhan just cackled, his gaze cruel and cold, "'Of course. Given your abilities, I think fighting my clone is quite enough for you. If you were to face my true body, you'd genuinely end up crying.'"

It sounded like consolation, but it was, in fact, utter contempt!

However, only Wang Zhan knew the truth.

Although this clone appeared to be a flesh-and-blood clone on the surface, it was all an illusion. It was merely because after his advancement, his initially expanded mental energy, once rapidly condensed, granted him immense control. This gave him the ability to manipulate residual vital energy and flesh and blood to forge such a clone. In essence, it was like an outer coat: if he didn't like wearing it, he could discard it; if it wore out, he could discard it too.

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