Chapter 44

Amidst the deafening explosions, energy erupted on the square, sending up countless clouds of dust. The ground looked as if it had been bombed by countless shells, with craters everywhere. Two of the elders were injured, clutching their shoulders.

This frightened everyone. Nu Lin was truly too powerful. Although his attacks seemed to have similar effects to those of the others, only those who participated knew the vast difference. Nu Lin's attacks were not only wide-ranging but also highly penetrative, something the others could not withstand. Their only option was to dodge.

However, Nu Lin seemed to give no chance for the others to catch their breath. After they dodged his first wave of attacks, his second wave was already upon them. This time, it was not white light columns but massive fire dragons. Another series of explosions followed, and then the third, fourth, and so on, until the tenth wave, when Nu Lin finally paused slightly.

Looking at the others, they were now all covered in dust and dirt, and most were injured to varying degrees. Three of the four elders were already dead, and one of the eight benefactors had also perished. Only Zhan Yi, to preserve his strength, had moved to the side after Nu Lin's first attack and was not affected.

"Haha... pitiful humans, do you still want to fight me? I'll tell you, if you submit to me and become my slaves, I will spare your lives. If not, I will kill you all now," Nu Lin laughed at the injured crowd.

"Humph... Nu Lin, you killed our people. We will fight you to the death today," the crowd responded angrily and attacked Nu Lin again. However, their eyes clearly glanced at Zhan Yi while attacking, knowing that if no miracle happened, they would likely all die today.

But when they saw Zhan Yi's expression, they couldn't help but feel depressed. The one designated by their ancestors was now watching the chaos with keen interest, occasionally smiling, which was extremely frustrating.

In fact, through observing the battle, Zhan Yi had noticed some patterns. He realized that Nu Lin seemed to always stand on the statue, not moving at all except for turning around. Through his soul perception, he also discovered that Nu Lin's soul energy seemed particularly weak, which made him start to think.

Although he had never fought an ancient demon beast before, he knew that all cultivators had stronger soul energy as their power increased. However, the energy contained in Nu Lin's body and his soul energy were completely disproportionate, yet his attacks were perfect, which was truly incomprehensible.

After much deliberation, Zhan Yi made a bold hypothesis: the Nu Lin they were seeing was not the real Nu Lin but a manifestation of a part of his body, or a clone. He believed Nu Lin was trying to break through the seal gradually through these battles.

He had read about Nu Lin before and knew that Nu Lin was skilled in transformation and could control parts of his body with his soul for combat, so he felt his judgment was reliable.

Although Zhan Yi observed Nu Lin's condition, it did not mean he could defeat the clone. Therefore, he did not move, knowing that he only had one chance to defeat Nu Lin. If he failed, the consequences would be dire. This chance was to absorb Nu Lin's soul energy through his clone before Nu Lin emerged, making it difficult for him to move and minimizing the damage to himself.

"Mr. Zhan, use your ultimate move quickly! We can't hold on much longer," the old benefactor shouted loudly as Zhan Yi was pondering.

Zhan Yi was slightly stunned and looked at the scene. In this short time, another benefactor had been killed, and the others were increasingly injured, almost unable to hold on.

Seeing the hopeful looks of the crowd, Zhan Yi finally gritted his teeth and shouted, "Everyone, retreat!"

The crowd was invigorated by Zhan Yi's words, their eyes shining. They believed Zhan Yi was about to use his ultimate move and, fearing it would harm them, quickly moved out of the circle.

Nu Lin also turned to look at Zhan Yi, his eyes full of curiosity. He did not expect Zhan Yi to be so young and able to command the benefactors and elders. Moreover, they had just asked him to use his ultimate move. Could this young man be an expert? The more he thought, the more puzzled he became. Seeing Zhan Yi walk to the statue, Nu Lin finally could not hold back, "Kid, what do you want to do?"

"Haha, Mr. Nu, I have fully witnessed your might. I never thought you were so powerful. They are truly overestimating themselves to fight you, which is just asking for death. So I have decided to lead everyone to submit to you and serve you in the future," Zhan Yi laughed heartily and said very generously.

This sentence shattered the hope that the crowd had just seen. They looked at Zhan Yi with angry eyes, and Nu Lin also did not expect Zhan Yi to say such a thing. However, he soon nodded in satisfaction, "Haha, pitiful humans, you are indeed different from them. This should have been done long ago."

"Mr. Nu, thank you for the compliment. However, before I submit, I have one thing to discuss with you," Zhan Yi said politely and very sincerely.

"Alright, what is it?" Nu Lin said with a proud look.

"Mr. Nu, although I have seen your powerful energy, I feel that it is all long-range attacks. I have heard that ancient demon beasts have great physical strength. I also feel that I am strong, so I would like to challenge you to a strength contest," Zhan Yi explained.

"This...," Nu Lin seemed hesitant.

"Of course, if Mr. Nu is afraid, it doesn't matter. We will follow your orders anyway. I just don't want them to look down on you," Zhan Yi added when he saw Nu Lin's hesitation.

"Who said I'm afraid? Let's do it. Today, I will show you the power of an ancient demon beast," Nu Lin finally spoke. In fact, his hesitation was not due to a lack of confidence in his strength but because he suspected Zhan Yi had some ultimate move against him. Now, provoked by Zhan Yi, he could not resist.

"Mr. Nu, you truly live up to your reputation as an ancient demon beast. I admire your fearless spirit the most," Zhan Yi immediately gave Nu Lin a thumbs up, praising him, but inside, he was laughing. No matter how powerful an ancient demon beast was, it was still a beast, and it was so simple to find a way to catch him.

"Haha... kid, you speak well. But how do you want to compare strength?" Nu Lin laughed satisfactorily at Zhan Yi's words.

The crowd around them was also puzzled. They did not understand what Zhan Yi was up to. Surrendering was one thing, but challenging Nu Lin to a strength contest was just asking for trouble. While ancient demon beasts had powerful energy, cultivators who reached the level of a dispersed immortal could still match them. However, in terms of physical strength, even a god would find it hard to compare with Nu Lin, as demon beasts were naturally the epitome of physical strength.