Watching this group rush onto the floating island, Su Li activated "Spider Walk," overtaking everyone without hesitation and charging straight toward Gao Shupeng's group alone.
"Looking for death—" The man with a scar like an earthworm on his face, one of the five Level 6 experts on Gao Shupeng's side, showed a ferocious expression. He hadn't expected Su Li to be so bold as to charge ahead alone, and immediately struck out, joining the others to kill Su Li in an instant.
But some sensed something off. Song Yuanqing, for instance, vaguely felt that Su Li's move was unusual. Anyone with a brain knew that charging in alone like this was suicide—so why was he so daring?
This thought made him hesitate slightly.
At almost the same moment, Su Li reached them, gripping the Dragon Rhinoceros Sword in both hands. He activated the fully restored spiritual energy within it and unleashed the "Dragon Rhinoceros Slash."
With the first swing, the immense power of the "Dragon Rhinoceros Slash" erupted. The Dragon Rhinoceros Sword transformed into an energy greatsword over two meters long. With a deafening crack, a fissure over three meters long split the ore ground, sending碎石 flying. The scar-faced man bore the brunt of it. Before he could even scream, he was shattered by the devastating force of the "Dragon Rhinoceros Slash." Gao Shupeng, Wei Cheng, and several Level 5 fighters close behind also suffered.
In that life-or-death moment, their incredible reflexes kicked in. Gao Shupeng let out a roar, his skin undergoing a drastic change as if coated in ink. He dodged left in the same instant, but the residual power of the "Dragon Rhinoceros Slash" still grazed his leg, slicing through his pants without harming his ink-black skin.
Wei Cheng lacked such an ability and wasn't as quick as Gao Shupeng. As he tried to sidestep, the "Dragon Rhinoceros Slash" swept across his abdomen. Flesh and blood flew from his midsection downward, leaving only his upper torso to collapse to the ground. He let out a hoarse scream, his face twisted in terror and pain, before the expression froze—a fatal blow that killed him in just two or three seconds.
The eight Level 5 spiritual source users behind them reacted even slower. If even scar-face and Wei Cheng, both Level 6 experts, couldn't evade, how could they?
Three Level 5s were killed instantly, and two others were injured by the blast.
In his mind, information surfaced.
"Level 6 Spiritual Source User: Spiritual Source 25/90"
This single strike netted Su Li seven spiritual sources.
In just one exchange, two Level 6s and three Level 5s were dead, two more severely wounded—nearly half their strength was wiped out.
Everyone gasped, including Gao Shupeng, whose pale face twisted in shock.
Though Su Li's "Dragon Rhinoceros Slash" was devastating, it could only be used once per strike, requiring a cooldown before reuse. But the people from Golden Eagle No. 1 Building A didn't know that.
The sheer power of that one sword strike terrified them. In their panic, seeing Su Li charge again with his sword, they scattered and fled. Only Gao Shupeng let out a sharp howl: "Attack together—I'll kill him!"
He gripped his long blade with both hands, sweeping it horizontally toward Su Li, showing no fear of the Dragon Rhinoceros Sword.
Su Li had already noticed earlier that Gao Shupeng, struck by the Dragon Rhinoceros Sword, had turned his skin ink-black. Even the sword's sharpness couldn't harm him. Clearly, Gao Shupeng possessed a spiritual source technique similar to Wang Xiangyu's "Steel Skin," rendering him impervious to blades once activated.
At Gao Shupeng's roar, Song Yuanqing, who had paused, lunged at Su Li as well, equally unafraid of Su Li or his Dragon Rhinoceros Sword.
Gao Shupeng and Song Yuanqing didn't flee; instead, they actively attacked Su Li, halting the others who had been about to scatter.
Gong Xiao, Xu Haishui, Luo Jun, and the others fanned out, encircling them.
Gao Shupeng's long blade clashed with the Dragon Rhinoceros Sword and snapped instantly, but he discarded the broken blade and charged recklessly, reaching out to grab the Dragon Rhinoceros Sword from Su Li's hands.
"This guy..." Su Li frowned. Gao Shupeng was relying on his blade-proof body, unafraid of the Dragon Rhinoceros Sword, to try and seize it by force.
This "Spiritual Source Technique" of invulnerability was indeed bizarre. Even the Dragon Rhinoceros Sword's sharpness couldn't pierce it, unless he could find some fatal weakness on his body.
But what truly surprised Su Li was Song Yuanqing, who was also charging at him. His skin had turned ink-black too, just like Gao Shupeng's, making him equally invulnerable.
Did these two share the same "Spiritual Source Technique"? Or was this not a technique at all, but a special ability gained from killing some elite or boss monster?
Amid Su Li's confusion, he activated "Spider Walk," darting away like lightning. His muscles bulged as he entered "Demon Muscle" state, boosting his strength and speed further. He had some experience dealing with such invulnerable foes. Though the Dragon Rhinoceros Sword couldn't cut them, pure force could still injure or even kill them by shaking their internal organs through the skin.
This steel-skin-like ability had a weakness: while it resisted sharp weapons, it couldn't withstand massive blunt force, which could transmit through the skin and damage internal organs.
With Su Li's single strike killing two Level 6s and three Level 5s, the battle's momentum shifted. Gong Xiao and Xu Haishui charged in, attacking Fu Tianhua together, forcing him into a retreat.
Luo Jun, Bai Wenwei, Jin Sixing, Ling Tian, and Wang Xiaofei surged forward. Gao Shupeng's side now had only five Level 5s left, two of them injured. Only three could truly fight, and against Luo Jun's five, they were outmatched.
"He's mine!" Gao Shupeng growled hoarsely, his right hand unafraid of the Dragon Rhinoceros Sword's edge as he grabbed it. His left hand formed a fist, meeting Su Li's incoming left punch.
Hearing this, Song Yuanqing immediately turned away from Su Li and rushed toward Fu Tianhua to help him against Gong Xiao and Xu Haishui.
Su Li was already in "Demon Muscle" state, his muscles swelling and pulsing, power surging. His left punch was formidable, but to his surprise, Gao Shupeng's muscles bulged similarly, and his fist met Su Li's with nearly equal force.
"How is this possible?" Su Li was stunned, then noticed the muscles on Gao Shupeng's chest swelling into a vague demonic face.
"Is that Demon Muscle?" he realized with shock.
"Demon Muscle" was his own spiritual source technique—how could Gao Shupeng have it too?
In his astonishment, Gao Shupeng kicked out, landing a heavy blow to Su Li's abdomen.
Su Li activated "Silver Armor Cover" to protect his stomach, then yanked the Dragon Rhinoceros Sword free from Gao Shupeng's grip. He used "Spider Walk," moving like a ghost to target Fu Tianhua instead.
Gao Shupeng was strange—both invulnerable like with "Steel Skin" and seemingly possessing the same "Demon Muscle" as Su Li. Killing him quickly might be tough, so Su Li decided to eliminate the others first and wear Gao Shupeng down slowly.
With "Spider Walk," the open ground of the floating island was perfect for him. In a flash, he dashed forward, catching most off guard. Though Gao Shupeng was troublesome, he couldn't keep up with Su Li's speed.
At that moment, Fu Tianhua was locked in a tough fight, making him vulnerable to a surprise attack.
Song Yuanqing blocked Xu Haishui, while Gong Xiao fought Fu Tianhua alone. Her "Storm Shield" perfectly countered his abilities.
Fu Tianhua's left hand emitted a white light for close combat, causing explosions on contact, but Gong Xiao's "Storm Shield" was immune to such attacks. Instead, her "Heterospike Barrage" kept Fu Tianhua scrambling to defend.
Su Li was about to seize the chance to kill Fu Tianhua when a shadow flashed beside him. Gao Shupeng had matched his "Spider Walk," and worse, his left hand glowed with white light as he struck.
This caught Su Li completely off guard. He quickly activated "Silver Armor Cover."
Gao Shupeng's white-light fist slammed into his chest and exploded. Though "Silver Armor Cover" protected Su Li from injury, the blast still sent him flying, and he crashed to the ground.
Gao Shupeng flicked his right hand, sending a white light projectile toward the fallen Su Li.
In that instant, realization struck Su Li like lightning. He suddenly understood Gao Shupeng's true ability.
In this brief exchange, Gao Shupeng had used several terrifying powers: the same ink-black, blade-proof skin as Song Yuanqing; his own "Demon Muscle" and "Spider Walk"; and now the white light attack, which was Fu Tianhua's ability.
It was impossible for one person to master so many abilities, especially ones identical to those around him. Fu Tianhua's white-light attacks were clearly a spiritual source technique, and so was his "Demon Muscle"—how could Gao Shupeng possess two spiritual source techniques at once?
There was only one explanation: Gao Shupeng's "Spiritual Source Technique" allowed him to copy the abilities of those around him.
His power was replication.
This ability was almost heaven-defying.
He now had Song Yuanqing's invulnerability, Su Li's "Demon Muscle" and "Spider Walk" for terrifying strength and speed, and Fu Tianhua's white light for both ranged and explosive close combat.
He was a one-man army, wielding multiple spiritual source techniques—a true monster.
Su Li rolled across the ground, narrowly avoiding the white light, which struck the ore with a thunderous explosion, blasting a small crater and sending debris flying.