CHAPTER 126 - DEFIANCE DIVINE SKILL: DEFIANT SWORD

Han Wu had also noticed Zhang Gang’s and Liu Letian’s presence through his locust. He informed Tian Wen, who cautioned him against acting rashly. Zhang Gang had been a Demigod for many years and was considered quite powerful. Han Wu, having only just ascended, stood little chance of winning a direct confrontation.

Tian Wen kept a calm demeanor. “Mr. Zhang, Mr. Liu, I didn’t expect to run into you both today.”

Liu Letian ignored him completely. To their surprise, Zhang Gang greeted them warmly. “Mr. Tian, what a surprise! I’m fortunate to meet you both here. Han Wu, I’ve been searching for you ever since we crossed paths at the Divine River Ruins.”

Han Wu’s heart skipped a beat at the mention of the ruins. How did Zhang Gang know I was at the Divine River Ruins? The mask Tian Wen gave me was supposed to prevent Demigods like him from inspecting my data.

He hoped Zhang Gang lacked concrete proof and replied, “I don’t know what you are talking about.”

“Is that so? Then I must have mistaken you for someone else,” Zhang Gang said. “Still, I must admit your progress is remarkable. You are the same age as my son, yet already a Demigod. It’s a shame my fool of a son lost his divine realm and is doomed to remain useless forever.”

Tian Wen sensed the rising tension and, worried the situation would spiral into a fight, quickly found an excuse to leave. “Mr. Zhang, Mr. Liu, Han Wu and I still have matters to attend to. We’ll take our leave. Goodbye.”

He promptly dragged Han Wu away.

Only after they had put some distance between themselves did Liu Letian huff. “Brother Zhang, are you really letting them go so easily? He’s the one who crippled your son.”

Zhang Gang laughed coldly. “Don’t worry. We will meet him again as long as he doesn’t leave this place.”

Liu Letian nodded. “True. Let’s upgrade our tent and use our armies to crush them. I doubt a newly ascended Demigod can challenge us.”

Meanwhile, Tian Wen was still pulling Han Wu away as he spoke. “Zhang Gang and Liu Letian are both here. They’ll do everything they can to cause trouble. You’ve just become a Demigod and don’t have a Divine Skill. You can’t beat Zhang Gang right now. We should leave before they catch up.”

Han Wu disagreed. “Mr. Tian, how can you lose confidence? We arrived first, so we should have the advantage.”

Tian Wen explained, “That’s because you don’t understand Zhang Gang well enough. Before I arrived, I heard he gained a powerful sponsor who greatly increased his strength. He even nurtured a Lord life form.”

Han Wu pouted. “I doubt that he’s that strong. He looks weak to me.”

“Stop trying to fight him for now. You’ve got great potential. Even if we don’t get a proper Divine Aspect here, it'll only delay your growth slightly,” Tian Wen said, his tone more cautious.

“The exams are coming soon, so you should be very careful. Although you don’t have to take the exam since you’re on the reserve list, you still must pass the test given by Imperial College. Preserving your strength is your top priority right now.”

Han Wu felt touched by Tian Wen’s thoughtfulness but still refused to listen. “Mr. Tian, this is a rare chance to enter the Ancient Battleground. You should know I won’t give up just because of Zhang Gang. I hope you understand, and I’m sorry for not listening.”

He then commanded his army and flew toward his next target.

Tian Wen stomped on the ground angrily. “You little runt. How can you be so defiant? I’m doing it for your own good!”

Han Wu fought harder in the battles that followed. Zhang Gang’s threats hung over him like a sharp sword, forcing him to grow stronger as quickly as possible.

While purchasing Sacred Objects, Han Wu had already planned his next move. He intended to use the Rank 4 Sacred Object: Underworld Seal, to turn his core race into souls after death, then consume them with the Defiance Divine Skill: Souleater Gaze. This would quickly raise his Divine Aspect’s rank.

He had planned to wait until his locust army grew large enough, but with Zhang Gang already present, he had to seize every second to increase his strength. Returning to his tent, he sent his Heroic and Unique locusts back to his divine realm, leaving only three Locustman Lords to guard him. Then he summoned 700,000 Elite locusts.

They would serve as cannon fodder, and he didn’t mind sacrificing them since he had even more in his divine realm. Han Wu brought all 700,000 Elite locusts into the Ancient Battleground and ordered them to detonate on every Divine Soul they encountered. Each locust could summon two clones before all three exploded.

After death, the Underworld Seal converted each one into a soul. Though these souls were extremely weak, Han Wu had never intended for them to fight. Their sole purpose was to boost his Divine Aspect’s rank.

Souleater Gaze!

The swarm of locust souls was drawn into Han Wu’s eyes and transformed into energy for his soul to absorb. He felt his soul grow stronger after devouring the souls of 700,000 Elite locusts. At the same time, the Defiance Aspect advanced by one-sixth according to the experience bar.

He needed only five more repetitions to rank up his Divine Aspect and unlock another powerful Divine Skill. With this first success, he returned and summoned another 700,000 Elite locusts. He didn’t care about the rank of the Divine Souls he encountered. He commanded his locusts to launch relentless self-detonation assaults until all 700,000 perished.

Han Wu repeated this process five more times, and the experience bar for the Defiance Aspect finally reached its limit. Two distinct Divine Skills then appeared for him to choose from.

[Option 1: Defiance Divine Skill: Defiant Sword. Summons a powerful weapon through the Divine Skill. Converts physical damage to magical damage and vice versa. Can be merged with any swords. Effects are permanent.]

[Option 2: Defiance Divine Skill: Defiant Dual Gun. Summons a powerful weapon through the Divine Skill. Can turn ranged physical damage to ranged magical damage and vice versa. Can be fused with any guns. Effects are permanent.]

Han Wu faced two paths: specialize as a swordsman or as a gunman. He glanced at the Rust Demon greatsword and chose the former. With numerous sword-related skills already in his arsenal and a preference for a greatsword, the decision came easily.

Once he selected the swordsman path, knowledge of the Defiant Sword streamed into his mind. By the time he regained focus, he had learned the Divine Skill’s effects, characteristics, and usage. He felt its power and admitted that it was an incredible Divine Skill.