Chapter 547: Chapter 547

The gale howled as it swept through the clouds. Sand and stones whirled wildly across the earth.

"Such a pure-hearted man. I wonder whether he had truly walked the path of the Dominator Fist in the original course of history and gained his Heart of the Dominator Fist..."

Cassius stood on the steep slope with a calm gaze. He felt a rare trace of sentiment. Among the four extreme combat artists who had attacked him, Whale King Arlington had been the most gifted.

His future prospects had been far brighter than the likes of Holy Fist Demon Phoenix, who had strayed down a crooked path. Sadly, he had become a fist technique master far too late, only achieving it in the past two or three years. He had not yet had time to accumulate inner depth or perfect his path.

Had Whale King Arlington, like Holy Fist Demon Phoenix, spent decades as an extreme combat artist, he would have been the foe Cassius feared most, and the outcome of today's battle would have been impossible to predict.

Of course, there were no ifs in reality. Once defeated, one simply lost. The victor took all, and the loser left only his life behind. The Dominator Fist was the epitome of the law of the jungle. It was dark and blood-soaked. One who walked its path had to remain forever atop the food chain, exercising their will with absolute self-centeredness.

One of its most distinct traits was imposing one's own will upon others! Beating another's body and spirit relentlessly! Each exhilarating battle was the finest nourishment for a Covert Martial Artist on the Dominator Fist path, and Cassius had feasted well.

The four extreme combat artists were like four fully ripened forbidden fruits. A single bite sent juices spurting out, and devouring all four amounted to a lavish banquet. It was an almost unbearable pleasure.

The number of people who could stably maintain extreme combat artist strength in the whole world were no more than the fingers on one hand. A few others achieved it by special means, such as Armor Ghoul, who had been resurrected by the Gate Organisation, but they could not be compared to the living.

Thus, an extreme combat artist on the Dominator Fist path could find at most four or five real opponents. By taking one step forward at a time against those four or five formidable foes, they would finally break through into the Dominator Fist realm.

But these four extreme combat artists had been utterly defeated. Cassius had re-enacted the feats of his Dominator Fist forebears, battling through all the world's top masters. Therefore, naturally...

At the very moment the dust settled, he awakened the Heart of the Dominator Fist. It was a spiritual heart forged by the fusion of multiple combat styles, Will of the Fist, and slaughtering.

To become a Dominator Fist, one must first possess the Heart of the Dominator Fist!

In past ages, many masters who trod the path of the Dominator Fist spent half a lifetime refining their Qi and fist techniques to perfection, yet still could not break into that legendary realm. They could not even sense it.

It was because their soul and will lacked a central heart. For extreme combat artists, given enough time, perfecting fist techniques or Qi bit by bit was merely a matter of painstaking effort. However, the Heart of the Dominator Fist was hard to form. It required talent, tempering, and an opportune catalyst. Without doubt, Cassius had felt that catalyst in this battle of one against many, and he had seized it with a mighty hand!

His Heart of the Dominator Fist had successfully come into being within his soul and will. That meant Cassius was now only separated from the Dominator Fist realm by the easiest step. He simply had to push his Qi to its limit and perfect the sixty-six acupoints of the Southern Dipper Red Falcon Fist. Both goals were already not far away.

He stood tall, his black coat flapping wildly.

Scarlet stars lit one by one across the surface of his robust muscles, forming a three-dimensional image of a gigantic blood-red vulture. Densely packed acupoints twinkled together.

Forty-four, forty-five, forty-six...

A chain of muffled pops rang out as acupoint after acupoint broke through.

Forty-seven, forty-eight, forty-nine, fifty, fifty-one!

Five stars lit up simultaneously, flashing crimson radiance. The Southern Dipper Red Falcon Fist's acupoint count had surged past the threshold of fifty. The final sixth stage of Death's Fang Force now lay conspicuously close.

He would still need to battle monsters, formidable foes, and fellow practitioners! Every victory would bring Cassius immense benefit. At the same time, the purple acupoints of the Southern Dipper Sonic Snake Fist resonated softly. Given time, it too would surely rise to balance with the Red Falcon Fist.

Such was the power of Cassius's three core principles: advancing one Southern Dipper fist technique effectively advanced two.

Once he entered the ancient ruins and mastered the Southern Dipper Waterbird Fist, all three fist techniques would resonate, so refining one would raise all three. It was obviously a monstrous, terrifying ability. Moreover, the Southern Dipper fist techniques would train three times faster in daily cultivation, turning one day into the effect of three.

As he reveled in his progress, Cassius quickly looked at his Golem Covert Martial Arts. His eyes moved to the upper-right corner where the technique status panel was clear.

[Golem Covert Martial Arts: Qi Embodiment 94.7 % (Total Three Stages).]

The Qi Embodiment stage of the Golem Covert Martial Arts was nearing completion, and only lacked 5.3 %. The farther one trained, the harder progress became, demanding high-quality life vibration energy. Ideally, he would need extreme Cataclysmic Spirit level energy.

Cassius had personally slain Lava Shaman of the Totem Temple and shattered the sun totem granted him by the Totem King. Similar to the previous Evil Remains, the sun totem was a Cataclysmic Spirit level dark creature with energy on par with an extreme combat artist.

Cassius naturally would not let it slip away, and had decisively absorbed its life vibration energy. Otherwise, even when shattered and plunged into magma, the sun totem would not have exploded. It collapsed only because Cassius had absorbed its essence, leaving it unable to sustain itself.

"I wonder how much this extreme Cataclysmic Spirit level totem can raise my power?"

The thought flashed through his mind, and he used it at once. Barring special cases, Cassius liked to use what he obtained immediately. After all, raising one’s strength sooner meant grasping greater power sooner, so that he could remain composed in the face of the unexpected.

The extreme Cataclysmic Spirit level life vibration energy shattered and seeped into his body. Instantly, a heat swept through every corner of Cassius's body. His pores seemed to spout magma, radiating endless heat, while a scalding life magnetic field rippled outward. It slowly baked soil and stone alike as it spread.

He felt pain flow through his body, but his physique was now far stronger and could fully withstand it. Cassius stood motionless, letting the flames temper his Qi, making it ever more condensed. The strength and quantity of his Qi slowly grew. The pace was not especially fast, but it was extraordinarily steady.

Since his Golem body was so powerful, the process that should have taken a while concluded swiftly. Cassius’s eyes snapped open.

With a single inhale...

Semi-transparent white airstreams converged like inverted whirlwinds, forming a spiral funnel. From afar, it looked as though a pale waterfall descended from the sky to be devoured by Cassius alone. It was a striking contrast of vast and tiny.

He slowly exhaled a white breath and glanced to the upper-right where the progress bar was displayed.

[Golem Covert Martial Arts: Qi Embodiment 94.7 % (Total Three Stages)] → 96.8%

The cultivation progress had risen by 2.1%! Not bad, considering it grew exceedingly hard to raise after ninety percent. The remaining 3.2% would likely demand at least two extreme Cataclysmic Spirit level dark creatures, or more remnants of an Ultimate Dark Form.

Once the Qi Embodiment stage hit one hundred percent, the sole barrier to Cassius's full entry into the Dominator Fist realm would be the acupoints of the Southern Dipper Red Falcon Fist.

Put that way, the task was arduous, but the road was no longer far.

Gathering his thoughts, Cassius returned to the present. He looked down at the great pit on the left. Holy Fist Demon Phoenix was sprawled inside like a dead dog, his coat completely drenched in blood.

Cassius had originally thought that Holy Fist Demon Phoenix might, as in the last International Exchange Tournament, produce something like the Ring of Calamity to summon another Xiadu avatar, so he had remained on guard against his hidden cards and the possibility of a bitter struggle with Xiadu.

However, it seemed the Ring of Calamity was not a mass-produced item, nor could Xiadu's avatar be summoned at will. Having used it at the exchange tournament to save his life, Holy Fist Demon Phoenix was powerless when the same situation arose a second time.

Without the Ring of Calamity, Holy Fist Demon Phoenix could not make Cassius feel danger or dread. At most, he was just another ordinary assailant in the battle. In terms of drawing Cassius's attention, Holy Fist Demon Phoenix fell far short of Whale King Arlington.

"Quit pretending. Do you think if you fake death I'll spare you?" Cassius spoke expressionlessly as he stood at the pit's edge.

At the bottom of the pit, Holy Fist Demon Phoenix still lay motionless, aura utterly gone like a corpse that had bled to death.

"Boring." Cassius shook his head, unwilling to play such games. Core members of the Gate Organisation would hardly reveal vital information to him. Even if he captured Holy Fist Demon Phoenix, there would be little value.

"Fraud who deceived the world with a false title, ashes are your real end. I lack a Heart of the Holy Fist but possess the Heart of the Dominator Fist. So, I'll send you, fake Holy Fist, to hell with this real heart..." Cassius's figure flickered and vanished.

The sky seemed to crack like a mirror as a gigantic fist descended onto the deep pit from the darkness. The wind and skyrocketing pressure flattened the ground.

"No!!! Lord Xiadu will avenge me!!! The Gate Organisation will avenge me! In two years, I'll wait for you in hell, Cassius from Golem Sect!" The once motionless Holy Fist Demon Phoenix suddenly turned his head skyward.

His handsome face twisted grotesquely, covered in blood. His eyes shone with the terror and madness of imminent death as well as ultimate hatred.

But a giant steel fist blotted out the sky. It crashed down with a will to destroy everything.

One punch reduced him to pulp! Like crushing a chick or squashing an ant!

The Golem's huge shadow slowly raised its fist, revealing that not even scraps of Holy Fist Demon Phoenix remained in the pit.

"Not achieving the true Holy Fist realm, not condensing the Heart of the Holy Fist, nor even possessing the qualification to tread that path. What kind of confidence did you have to call yourself a Holy Fist..." Cassius turned slowly, not sparing a glance at the widened pit, and walked away.

"I guess, other than the elusive Xiadu, even the Gate Organisation are mere chickens and dogs before me. Heheheh..." Cassius laughed, and his final words drifted on the wind.

"After this battle... Without its top fighters, the Gate Organisation truly is nothing but stray dogs."

The rain of magma gradually dwindled over the half destroyed spore forest.

"You wish to cooperate with me? And voluntarily offer this ancient White Bone Tree? Interesting, interesting... hahahaha..." Cassius chuckled lightly, gazing at Tyrant Black Dragon and Ripple Master Monchi before him.

A minute earlier, he had settled everything and swiftly shifted focus to the two forces of the Ripple Masters and Black Rain Manor. He was especially interested in Black Rain Manor, since the ancient White Bone Tree he coveted was held by Ripple Master Monchi and Tyrant Black Dragon.

Cassius's eyes swept openly over Monchi, knowing the tree was on him. However, before he could expose this or force Ghost-Man or Iron Knight to rebel, Ripple Master Monchi, one of its leaders, took the lead and betrayed first!

He had noticed Cassius's gaze and realised something. Thoughts had been racing ceaselessly in his mind. Once Cassius was finished, Monchi acted immediately. He approached undefended, full of openings and lowering his stance. He held the ancient White Bone Tree up with both hands. Thɪs chapter is updatᴇd by NoveI~Fire.net

"Mighty one, I wonder if you know that a secret of immortality lies on the Eternal Archipelago that is connected to this tree..."

Ripple Master Monchi had two goals in his journey to the Eternal Archipelago.

First, to avenge the previous generation's Lord Thunder Spirit at any cost. He sought vengeance against the mysterious mighty being lurking behind the archipelago. Second, to explore the secret of immortality along the way. After all, no one was uninterested in eternal life, even if only to satisfy their curiosity.

Of the two, the first was absolute. Ripple Master Monchi had fled the archipelago and hidden in Black Rain Manor for decades, clinging to life solely to avenge Lord Thunder Spirit!

That was his pillar for living, his sole belief. If he could get his vengeance, he could abandon everything—including immortality!!!