Chapter 81: Pleasant Surprise

The Azure Green Mantis was a Second-Tier Peak exotic insect with decent strength.

Its entire body was covered in vibrant green chitin. Two translucent wings extended from its back, and its body stood roughly half a person tall.

It preferred to inhabit densely forested areas, where its agility and flight capabilities gave it a considerable advantage.

It possessed a D-Grade Top-Tier Bloodline, the Flying Mantis Bloodline.

The Bloodline granted it exceptional agility and the ability to fly through the air. More importantly, it possessed a pair of enormous arm scythes that were frighteningly sharp, capable of cutting through metal and splitting stone with ease.

Ryan’s expression changed slightly.

He had almost forgotten that after breaking through to the Origin Spirit Realm, a warrior’s Mental Awareness could be released from the body.

After capturing certain exotic beasts and making them acknowledge their master through a drop of blood, a warrior could raise them as pet beasts and use Mental Awareness to control them during battle, effectively adding another combat method to their arsenal.

Owen had only recently broken through to the Origin Spirit Realm Initial Stage, yet he was already capable of controlling a pet beast.

However, most warriors wouldn’t begin cultivating pet beasts so early.

The reason was simple.

It was expensive.

Meticulously nurturing a pet beast consumed enormous amounts of resources, and the cost was no less than cultivating a Bloodline Fighter.

Most warriors were already struggling to obtain enough resources for their own cultivation. Where would they find the additional wealth needed to raise a pet beast?

Therefore, most warriors would first focus their resources on strengthening themselves.

Only after reaching the Origin Spirit Realm Late Stage or Peak would they gradually consider cultivating pet beasts.

Ryan himself had three Ghost Bees with him.

Unfortunately, his cultivation had not yet reached the Origin Spirit Realm, so he couldn’t properly establish a connection with them or control them in battle.

Thinking about it now, Ryan couldn’t help but feel somewhat bitter.

If it had remained a one-on-one battle, he could still have managed.

But now that it had become two against one, the situation immediately changed.

His difficulty in dodging increased dramatically.

SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!

With Owen and the Azure Green Mantis working together seamlessly, their attacks descended like a torrential storm.

Even with the perfect combination of Spider Silk Swing and Godly Travel Boots, no matter how careful Ryan was, there would always be a moment when he couldn’t account for everything.

PFFT!

The sharp dagger once again swept across his body.

This time, it caught Ryan in the chest.

Blood immediately splattered through the air.

Fortunately, the Overlord Body was sufficiently powerful, and the dagger only managed to leave behind a shallow wound.

The injury wasn’t serious.

However, once there was one opening, there would inevitably be another.

And then another.

Under the relentless, densely packed attacks of Owen and the Azure Green Mantis, Ryan’s injuries gradually increased.

One wound became several.

Several became dozens.

Before long, his body was covered in crisscrossing cuts.

Even the formidable defensive power of the Overlord Body couldn’t withstand being repeatedly attacked in the same places.

Its defenses were gradually being broken through.

Large and small wounds appeared across Ryan’s body, crimson blood continuously flowing from them. The pain was unimaginable...

In the blink of an eye, his black combat suit had been dyed crimson, making him look like a blood-soaked shadow moving through the forest.

At the same time, his entire body was saturated with Mystic Yin Lightning energy.

Grey-blue lightning constantly flickered across his skin, resembling countless electric serpents wildly crawling over his body.

Crackling and popping sounds rang out continuously.

If not for the Overlord Body Battle Armor phantom that repeatedly appeared around him, flickering violently as it struggled to protect him, Ryan would have already collapsed.

The Mystic Yin Lightning energy was frantically eroding his body.

It felt as though he had been submerged in a ten-thousand-year-old frozen pool.

Wave after wave of icy, sluggish pain spread throughout his limbs and organs.

Ryan could barely lift his arms anymore.

His entire body was numb and freezing, yet every inch of him was also filled with a sharp, stinging pain.

The Mystic Yin Lightning energy had spread throughout his body, severely restricting his movements.

His once-fluid mobility had been almost completely sealed.

He could no longer dodge as freely as before.

This was the first time Ryan had encountered such a troublesome situation since obtaining and sealing the Overlord Body Bloodline.

He had originally believed that an Enhancement-Type Bloodline didn’t need to rely too heavily on combat artifacts.

But this battle had completely changed his mind.

His own strength was important.

But necessary external means were equally important.

If he possessed a suitable combat artifact, he wouldn’t dare claim that he could easily reverse the situation.

However, whenever he encountered strange or mysterious powers like the Mystic Yin Lightning, he wouldn’t have to rely entirely on his physical body to withstand them.

At the very least, his chances of victory would be significantly higher.

"Heh heh, the hunt is over!" Owen gave a cold laugh. "Ryan, surrender and die!"

BOOM!

He frantically circulated the Mystic Yin Lightning Bloodline within his body.

Grey-blue lightning erupted around him, crackling violently as his entire figure became wrapped in electricity.

His body suddenly blurred.

WHOOSH!

With the pitch-black dagger in hand, Owen shot forward.

"Ultimate-Grade Origin Realm Battle Skill, Thunder Whirlwind Stab!"

His speed was astonishing.

His entire body formed a horizontal spiral trajectory, resembling a gigantic spiral arrow being fired from a bow.

Layers of glowing afterimages were left behind as he advanced.

At the tip of the dagger, violent grey-blue lightning gathered and twisted together, resembling a spiraling electric Flood Dragon.

Its power was terrifying. If this strike landed, it would be more than enough to pierce through Ryan’s body and tear apart his internal organs.

At nearly the same moment, the Azure Green Mantis flapped its wings violently.

Its body shot forward through the air, while its enormous arm scythes descended toward Ryan’s head with terrifying momentum.

One attacked from the front.

The other attacked from above.

They had perfectly sealed Ryan’s escape routes.

"Hmph!"

Seeing the terrifying attacks approaching at such close range, Ryan’s expression became extremely solemn.

This was a critical moment between life and death.

He no longer dared to hold back.

"Devouring World Art, Burst!"

As soon as his voice fell,

BOOM!

A terrifying wave of air erupted from Ryan’s body and soared into the sky.

A massive ring of dust exploded outward.

The ground beneath his feet groaned and cracked, while fine sand and gravel were sent flying in every direction.

Ryan’s eyes suddenly turned a terrifying blood-red.

Wisps of eerie black smoke rapidly emerged from his body, swirling around him and intertwining with the brilliant golden-yellow phantom of the Overlord Body Battle Armor.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Violent waves of energy surged through his entire body.

His black hair rose wildly into the air.

The wounds covering his body suddenly closed, and the bleeding stopped as if time had been reversed.

Then,

Something even more astonishing happened.

The vast amount of Mystic Yin Lightning energy that had been ravaging his body was instantly swallowed by the emerging black smoke.

All of it. Not a trace remained.

Ninefold World Devouring Power!

In an instant, the terrifying power of the Devouring World Art was completely applied to Ryan’s body.

At this moment, Ryan resembled an ancient blood-eyed exotic beast awakening from a deep slumber, his body shrouded in endless black smoke.

An ominous aura of evil and brutality erupted from him.

It was as though countless vicious spirits had emerged from the depths of hell, filling the surrounding space with an oppressive, soul-stirring presence.

And at precisely this moment,

Owen’s dagger, wrapped in grey-blue lightning, had already reached within one centimeter of Ryan’s chest.

The tip of the dagger was practically touching him.

Owen’s gaze met Ryan’s blood-red eyes.

For a brief instant, their eyes locked.

Then,

Something bizarre happened.

It was as though time itself had suddenly frozen.

Owen’s body stopped.

His forward thrust was forcibly halted by the Overlord Body Battle Armor phantom, now intertwined with the eerie black smoke.

He remained suspended in his stabbing posture.

No matter how desperately he tried to push forward, the dagger couldn’t advance even a single millimeter.

Owen’s expression changed drastically.

Then he noticed something even more terrifying.

The concentrated Mystic Yin Lightning power surrounding the dagger’s tip was being devoured.

The moment the lightning came into contact with the eerie black smoke, wisps of it were immediately absorbed.

The brilliant grey-blue lightning rapidly dimmed.

Even the power contained within his attack was being weakened.

"What?!" Owen’s pupils constricted in shock...

The Azure Green Mantis wasn’t faring any better.

Its enormous arm scythes were also firmly blocked by the Overlord Body Battle Armor phantom.

The eerie black smoke wrapped around the armor like countless dark serpents.

At the same time, the tremendous force behind the mantis’s downward strike was being partially absorbed.

Its attack was gradually losing momentum.

Its razor-sharp scythes ultimately stopped precisely one centimeter above Ryan’s forehead.

They couldn’t descend even a fraction further.

"What is this black smoke...?"

Gareth and the two remaining black-clad henchmen stared in shock.

Their eyes were wide open, their expressions filled with disbelief.

None of them could understand what this strange black smoke actually was.

They had never imagined that Owen’s terrifying killing blow, combined with the Azure Green Mantis’s attack, would be completely stopped.

Not only had their attacks failed to penetrate Ryan’s defenses, but their power was actually being devoured.

Jake was equally stunned.

His lips parted slightly as he stared at the scene, holding his breath without realizing it.

He had completely forgotten to speak.

Meanwhile, Ryan himself was experiencing an entirely different emotion.

Pleasant surprise.

He had originally thought the World Devouring Power’s primary function was simply to devour energy.

But he had never expected it to possess such an additional application.

The black smoke could instantly absorb the remaining Mystic Yin Lightning energy within his body.

And when it intertwined with the Overlord Body Battle Armor phantom, it could significantly strengthen his external defense.

More importantly, It could passively absorb a portion of the power of attacks that came into contact with it.

That absorbed energy could then be converted into his own power.

Although the passive absorption was nowhere near as powerful as the active absorption produced when he directly cast the Devouring World Art, it was still enough to weaken incoming attacks and, more importantly, disrupt the enemy’s offensive rhythm.

It could even slightly extend the duration of his Devouring World Art Burst.

Ryan’s eyes flashed.

Previously, he had only briefly tested the World Devouring Power’s abilities.

He had never actually used it in a genuine life-or-death battle.

He hadn’t expected it to have so many practical applications.

"What... what the hell is this black smoke?!"

Owen’s heart trembled.

A terrifying sensation of impending death suddenly surged through his body.

The eerie black smoke gave him an instinctive feeling of danger.

It was as though he were staring directly at something that should never exist.

Then he looked into Ryan’s blood-red eyes.

At this moment, Ryan’s entire body was shrouded in black smoke.

His blood-red eyes were cold and sinister.

The brutal aura radiating from him seemed capable of devouring one’s very soul.

Owen’s pupils shrank to pinpoints.

A chill ran down his spine.

Without thinking, he and the Azure Green Mantis instinctively attempted to retreat.

But,

It was already too late.

Before Owen could retreat more than a few steps, Ryan, shrouded in eerie black smoke, slowly tilted his head.

The corners of his lips curled upward into an eerie smile.

His blood-red eyes locked firmly onto Owen.

Like a blood-eyed ghost crawling out of the depths of hell, Ryan stared at him with a terrifying, almost playful expression.

The smile on his face grew wider.