With a clang, Ding Meng, who was halfway through his charge, summoned a mirror image of a crown around his body. This was his first time exchanging blows with a Warrior-level character, so he didn't dare to be careless in the slightest.
With a crisp crack, the golden cage shattered into countless specks of light that scattered throughout the hall. Ding Meng's charge didn't stop. Before he even arrived, he had already slashed out with his two blades. He had mastered the Blazing Sun Battle Runes by now.
Of course, this kind of attack wouldn't be able to hurt his opponent. Quan Jinwei's palms produced two glove-like balls of golden energy, which he gently parted to the sides. The blades formed from Origin Energy were also shattered into powder, just like the golden cage.
At this moment, Ding Meng had already closed in on Quan Jinwei. He gathered all his strength and punched Quan Jinwei in the face. The wind generated by his fist was so fierce and hot that Quan Jinwei stopped underestimating him.
He grabbed Ding Meng's fist with one hand and sent out another stream of pure Origin Energy from his palm. He had decided to let this young man have a taste of what it meant to ask for trouble. However, he was wrong this time. As soon as he sent out this stream of Origin Energy, Ding Meng's fist erupted with an even more violent force, instantly pushing back against his own Origin Energy.
"Flame Energy Rushing Fist" was just a cover, the real killing power was "Flame Energy Penetrating Force". This force instantly drilled into his palm, along his arm, and shook his body.
Quan Jinwei's reaction speed was really fast. Starting from his shoulders, he twisted his body in a very strange position, like a snake twisting and turning. Ding Meng's penetrating force was actually channeled into the ground.
Boom — — —
The ground violently collapsed, and countless stone slabs were shattered. Large chunks of stone flew into the air and exploded. For a moment, the hall was filled with smoke and dust. After the smoke and dust dissipated, a huge pit with a diameter of thirty meters appeared in the center of the hall. Furthermore, the bottom of this pit couldn't be seen.
The power of this punch made Quan Jinwei reveal a serious expression. He stood at the edge of the crater and similarly circulated his origin ability.
Earlier, his Origin Energy Body had only formed a pair of gloves, but now it had spread to his entire body. It was as if he was wearing a set of golden armor. Ding Meng knew that this was because Quan Jinwei had cultivated the Source Substance Protection technique to a very high level. It was as if he was wearing a set of high-grade alloy armor. Moreover, his entire body was emitting a golden mist that enveloped his real body.
The system finally sounded the alarm, "Target origin ability index: 5800/9800 points!"
Little Rascal couldn't help but suck in a breath of cold air. "Oh my god, almost 60 million points. This is an intermediate warlord with an extremely deep foundation. Ding Meng, let's retreat!"
This was also the first time Xiao Ai did not suggest an immediate elimination. "ACT5570, the situation is dangerous. Evacuate immediately!"
Although it was said to retreat, the problem was, where should they retreat to now?
There were a dozen or so tunnels around the hall, but they had yet to ascertain the terrain. If they couldn't get through this hurdle, they would die no matter where they ran.
Ding Meng took a deep breath. This time, all eight of his origin cores were operating at the same time. His origin ability core conversion rate had increased to 3.0 times, and his current origin ability index had increased to 4000/5000 points. He still hadn't surpassed Quan Jinwei's combat strength, but Ding Meng was confident that he could fight Quan Jinwei head-on.
He leapt into the air, covering dozens of meters with each leap. He somersaulted in the air and executed his signature Carp Leaping Over the Dragon's Gate. His current hand chop was just as powerful and domineering. When this chop was unleashed, his entire arm turned red. Even normal armor would be melted by this chop.
Quan Jinwei seemed to know how powerful this chop was, so he didn't dare take it head-on. Instead, he waited until Ding Meng's chop was about to land on his temple before he raised his hands and used his wrists to clamp down on Ding Meng's chop. He then used the force of the chop to throw himself backward. Ding Meng was immediately thrown to the ground, but Ding Meng's reaction was extremely fast. When he landed, he kicked back into the air.
There was another explosion. Quan Jinwei's forehead was struck, and he was forced back a few steps. A large part of the air was blasted apart, causing a cloud of dust to fill the air once again.
A yellow figure floated through the cloud of dust. Quan Jinwei had actually switched from defense to offense. He began to punch and kick Ding Meng, who was on the ground. His attacks weren't fast, and each of his moves was methodical. However, Ding Meng was gradually beginning to feel the strain. This was because every time he clashed with Quan Jinwei, his opponent's punches and kicks would transmit an extremely powerful force that caused Ding Meng's punches and kicks to feel as if they were gradually being imprisoned. They were extremely heavy and consumed a lot of energy.
In addition, Ding Meng's punches and kicks couldn't injure him at all. The layer of golden mist produced by the Origin Substance Barrier greatly reduced Ding Meng's strength.
Little Rascal grew anxious. "We can't continue like this. He's going to exhaust us to death sooner or later."
When Ding Meng heard this, he feinted with a punch. After exchanging blows with Quan Jinwei, he retreated lightly.
It was fine if he didn't retreat, but once he did, he encountered a problem. This was because halfway through his retreat, Ding Meng felt as if his back had collided with a large wall. When he scanned the area with his telekinesis vision, Ding Meng was instantly shocked. He didn't know when, but a giant golden wall had appeared behind him. This wall's surface area completely filled up the cross-section of the hall, making it impossible for Ding Meng to dodge. There were also all kinds of complicated and profound diagrams and strange symbols floating on the wall. This was undoubtedly the opponent's ultimate move.
When he raised his head again, he saw Quan Jinwei swinging his palms at Ding Meng from afar. Every time he swung his palms, a giant golden wall would appear in the hall and press down on Ding Meng from all directions.
In that instant, Ding Meng felt as if he was about to suffocate. These walls were emitting an endless amount of sealing energy. Not only did they prevent him from moving, but the pressure was also increasing. It felt as if a real mountain was pressing down on him, crushing him to death.
From afar, it looked as if Quan Jinwei's Wall of Holy Splendor was stacked on top of each other. It was like a giant polygonal gemstone that firmly imprisoned Ding Meng within.
Quan Jinwei couldn't help but laugh. "You didn't take the path to heaven, but chose the path to hell instead. I said I wanted you to join us, so you have to join us."
The Prototype finally sounded an alarm. "The system's capacity has reached a critical value. Please reduce the energy conversion …"
Ding Meng gritted his teeth and said, "Activate extreme mode."
Little Rascal was aghast. "If you activate extreme mode, the silver core stone's energy will be converted to maximum power. If you try to break free from its control, there's a risk that the Prototype will disintegrate, and you might also be seriously injured."
This situation was similar to when he fought with an ice element expert. He was repeatedly trapped by the power of Dark Ice, and he had to think of a way to break free. However, this time, the power of Dark Ice had become a sealing force field for the Hardened Warrior. If he wanted to fight back, he had to use all his strength. If he didn't, he would die.
The system's voice said, "Extreme mode has been activated. Current energy conversion rate is 5.0x. Current energy index is 62,000,000. The Prototype has been attacked by an unknown energy. Damage rate is 22% …"
Ding Meng knew that success or failure depended on this one move. He waved his hand, and countless wing fragments immediately appeared in the form of Catoptric Deflection, which flew toward the walls around him.
However, a jaw-dropping scene occurred. The fragments couldn't hit the walls at all because the sealing energy emitted by the walls had slowed them down.
"This …" Ding Meng was dumbfounded.
Xiao Ai immediately explained, "That's because the sum of your telekinesis energy isn't greater than the energy of these walls."
The walls were getting closer and closer. When they were less than five meters away, Ding Meng felt as if all the bones in his body were about to explode. He was now truly experiencing the strength of an Origin Energy General. This was only a Hardened Warrior that focused on defense, not a Lightspeed or Thermal Warrior that focused on offense. If Quan Jinwei had been a Lightspeed Warrior, Ding Meng probably would have died long ago.
What should he do?
Ding Meng could sense that the Origin in his body was slowing down, but Quan Jinwei showed no signs of stopping. In addition, the strange red light in his eyes was now visible to the naked eye.
Little Rascal finally panicked. "We're the Greatest King. We can't lose to him."
Xiao Ai said, "That's right. We won't kneel and beg for mercy. If we're going to fight, we'll fight to the end."
Ding Meng didn't need their encouragement. The closer he was to the brink of death, the more his fighting spirit soared. He suddenly laughed coldly. "You want me to join you? You're dreaming."
Quan Jinwei stared at him fiercely. "Then you can die!"
Ding Meng waved his hand again. The Catoptric Deflection made a series of rapid cracking sounds and turned into a sword in the blink of an eye. Ding Meng endured the intense pain and forcefully operated the Origin, especially the eighth point and the smelting essence. When the eighth point was successfully constructed, it established a connection with the seven points in his heart. It also formed a virtual line with the Diamond Starfusing Art. It was like a sword hidden inside his body. The hilt was the heart, while the tip was the brain.
Now, this fiery red illusory sword had left his body. It was as if it had a life of its own. Under Quan Jinwei's bewildered gaze, the illusory sword and the Catoptric Deflection actually merged into one. Their entire body became bright red, as if they were burning fiercely, bursting forth with a monstrous battle intent.
This was the Origin Energy method unique to the eighth point — the Diamond Starfusing Sword Art. Its principle was to release Origin Energy externally. When Ding Meng's body was restrained, the refined essence would be injected into the weapon. It was different from ordinary energy injections. Ordinary energy injections only increased the temperature and heat of the weapon, but the Diamond Starfusing Sword Art was equivalent to transplanting the effects of the origin from the body into the weapon, allowing the weapon to truly possess the energy of an Origin Energy user and carry out the will of an Origin Energy user. The person was the sword, and the sword was the person. The person and the sword were one.
"Go!"
Ding Meng waved his hand. The fiery red sword immediately rose above his head and burst forth with rings of light. It was faintly discernible, seeming both real and illusory.
"Child's play!"
Quan Jinwei laughed disdainfully. He continued to apply pressure with his palms. The space compressed by the Wall of Brilliance was getting smaller and smaller. At most, in ten seconds, Ding Meng would be crushed into meat paste.
However, in the next moment, his smile froze. He also revealed a look of disbelief.
Ding Meng had miraculously disappeared from the wall. Two seconds later, three identical Ding Meng's appeared outside the wall. They were located in the center of the wall, on the left side of the wall, and on the right side of the wall. They vaguely formed a triangle.
"What is this thing?" Quan Jinwei's face was full of surprise.