……

Bang! Bang!

Leonard continued to face the Grand Centipedeus head-on, not showing any intention of backing down. He bravely charged forward and courageously threw his attacks without holding back.

He ignored the little damage that he was getting from the impact that the giant centipede was throwing at him with its claws and legs. He might be barely able to scratch the surface of the exoskeleton of this monster, but his attacks were gradually growing stronger as he became more familiar with the Ancient Power of the Primal Beast that he was controlling.

Moreover, he was also becoming more and more skilled at using this higher form of mana and making it look similar to the ‘Blood Force’ that his master had mentioned to him in the real world.

Aside from this, his Qi Circulation Method, the ‘Supreme Blood Sutra’, was also reaching another level. He was starting to master this method the more he fought the Grand Centipedeus.

The weaker version of this method, the ‘Blood Sutra’ had already given him a qi circulation that fitted him perfectly. But with this stronger version of it, he started to feel his boiling blood reach another level.

Unknown to him, the crimson aura that was surrounding his body was changing according to his progress in the ‘Supreme Blood Sutra’.

At first, the aura that was covering his body was getting a deeper color, making it resemble the color of the blood more. Then sparks of crimson lightning appeared along with this aura from time to time.

As Leonard continued to circulate his Qi and blood simultaneously with the help of ‘Supreme Blood Sutra’, the changes in his aura started to become more distinct as time went by.

Then, unknown to him, wavy tattoos started to appear on the surface of his skin one after another. It started from his arms and reached his shoulders before spreading to his chest and the entirety of his back.

He did not notice it due to the set of leather armor that he was wearing. It was covering these tattoos that seemed to be containing a power that he could not completely harness.

It took him quite a while to realize that something was happening to his body. He felt a hot energy circulating throughout his body. In response, his entire body was also starting to feel hotter. It was as if his body was on fire.

The more time passed, the hotter the circulating blood became. It felt like the blood had become lava that was circulating through his veins.

Due to this, Leonard could not help but halt his tracks and retreated, disengaging from the battle. He wanted to subdue the raging blood or at least keep it under control first before continuing.

Seeing that Leonard was retreating, the Grand Centipedeus suddenly gave chase while releasing a loud shriek that shook the entire place.

But before it could even cover the distance between them, the shadow underneath it suddenly moved.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

Multiple black hands stretched out from the massive shadow that the giant centipede had and grabbed its body and legs, preventing it from moving further.

Then a silhouette dashed around its body while leaving a series of small but deep gashes on its exoskeleton. There were also some shadow energies left in those gashes, preventing the hard armor of the giant centipede from recovering.

The attacks might not deal that much damage, but they at least could prevent the hard exoskeleton from recovering its original state and even contaminating it a little.

Swoosh!

The dashing silhouette suddenly stopped a few distance ahead of the Grand Centipedeus before Diablo materializing himself.

At this moment, Diablo was a little different from his previous appearance. His armor was currently covered with a shadow aura that seemed to be alive. Even the shadow under his feet seemed to have a life of itself as it released tentacles that danced along the air.

His eyes were glowing with purple light which was similar to the aura that was covering the blade of his daggers.

Diablo was starting to get the gist of harnessing the Power of the Shadows that he had gotten from the system due to this quest scenario.

This power was perfect for him, it had given him the ability to control the shadows. But despite knowing how to use them due to the inheritances that he had gotten from the Soundless Assassination Technique, he realized that he could not fully display its powers.

The martial manual had taught him quite a lot of things, especially when it came to how to use the shadow. But he also discovered that the technique focused more on assassination, making it a little lacking after he understood the Power of the Shadows.

He might have tried some of the techniques that he had learned from the Soundless Assassination Techniques to the Grand Centipedeus as this monster was a perfect target practice. Given its huge body that made it impossible to miss, Diablo was having a field day when executing the techniques.

But aside from dealing damage to the hard exoskeleton of the giant centipede, he could not move its massive health bar.

Diablo understood that he was lacking something. He needed more powerful attacks that break through these tough defenses. He was lacking a few techniques that he could use along with this Power of the Shadows, matching its prowess.

When he was thinking about this, he could not help but compare himself to Leonard and Shin. He was not sure what was happening to Shin due to the wall of stone spikes blocking his line of sight, but he could at least see Leonard, who seemed to be undergoing an evolution or sort.

He was still not fully understood what was going on, but at least that was what he was thinking based on what he was seeing.

He understood that he at least needed to buy more time for Leonard.

But as he glanced at Leonard, he could not help but feel envious a little. He understood that his Hyperactive Immersion was special, especially with his Demon Eyes. But he was also starting to realize the edge that the Reality Manifestation had.

Being able to perform with that was way above his real capabilities was one thing, but that was only possible if he was utilizing the Demon Eyes well. At least at the fourth pace even if he did not use the fifth one.

But if he took off that particular skill, Diablo fully understood that he would not stand a chance against players of Shin and Leonard’s caliber.

Diablo realized the advantage of having a Qi Circulation Method and brought it into the game. They could apply it to their respective mana, granting them a power that surpassed the game’s logic.

“Is this the limit of the Hyperactive Immersion?” asked Diablo to himself as he dodged the series of stomps that the Grand Centipedeus was throwing at him.

He then remembered something when he was being treated by Professor Henry, he heard that the Reality Manifestation was based on Hyperactive Immersion.

It was not that Reality Manifestation was better, but it was because he had yet to fully showcase the real powers of the Hyperactive Immersion.

“Is it also possible for me to learn a Qi Circulation Method inside the game?” he asked, talking to himself as he brandished his daggers around, sending a series of shadow crescents forward and blocking acidic venoms that the Grand Centipedeus had spit.

As those thoughts entered his mind, he suddenly sensed an attack coming from his side. He did not know when and how it bypassed his senses, but he knew that could not afford to face this attack head-on.

He would be afraid if this was before since even most of his escape skills would not help him in this situation given the large area that the sweeping body of the giant centipede was covering. But with the current power that he had, dealing with this situation would not be a problem.

When the massive body of the Grand Centipedeus was about to reach his position, the shadow underneath his feet suddenly expanded as sank on it.

Diablo did not even hesitate to use one of his escape skills. He disappeared from his position and appeared a dozen meters in the distance.

The shadow swallowed him before spitting him out from the shadow of the giant centipede. But right after he was spat out by the shadows, the Grand Centipedeus seemed to have expected that as its giant spear-like legs were already descending from above.

Diablo did not even hesitate to use one of his escape skills. He disappeared from his position and appeared a dozen meters in the distance.

But right after his body materialized in the distance, he suddenly saw a bunch of stone pillars heading in his direction, covering almost all his escape routes.

“Is it able to predict where am I going to appear and attack ahead of time?” Diablo raised his brows as the series of attacks did not pause and continued to head in his direction in full succession.

Diablo continued to use his escape and movement skills one after another, dodging the attacks repeatedly. He was also using the Power of Shadows to restrict the movements of the giant centipede. He even threw a couple of counterattacks, targeting the joints of the monster and trying to destroy them.

However, due to his attacks lacking the proper way to utilize their full potential, they did not deal that much damage. However, he was able to create some cracks in the tough exoskeleton that it had and even corroding it with the residual shadow powers left by the attacks.

That was when the Grand Centipedeus opened its mouth and spat an acidic liquid that flew straight to Diablo.

What surprised Diablo was when the acidic liquid was spat out, portals appeared hovering above the giant centipede before spitting out different kinds of insects and arachnids with large bodies. They might not be as big as the Grand Centipedeus, but they were as huge as bears at the very least.

One of the insects was a huge moth that unknowingly appeared above Diablo. He did not know how long this moth was there, but he noticed that it was gently flapping its wings, which spread an unknown power in the air.

Before Diablo could do anything about it, he noticed that his entire body was paralyzed without his notice. He also could not properly circulate the energy within his body, making him unable to control the shadows.

He knew that he was in trouble, especially when the acidic liquid was already approaching him.

Swoosh!

But before it could reach him, there was a powerful energy wave that blocked its path and halted its advance.

Looking at the color of the energy wall formed by the residual energy of the previous attack, Diablo did not need to look where it came from to know who it was.

Ta-ta!

Shin suddenly landed beside Diablo before swinging the Yamato, creating a powerful gust of wind that swept through the surroundings. It cleared the air and sent the power that the moth was spreading away.

When it happened, Diablo instantly regained his control over his body. He was about to resume the battle when Shin suddenly extended his head to the side and stopped him.

Diablo was slightly confused and looked at Shin. But the latter did not explain much as he took out a black book from his inventory and passed it.

Looking at the cover of the book, Diablo could see that there was a shadow aura that was covering it. He could also see a golden text on its cover, telling him what kind of book it was.

“Shadowless Art,” Diablo read the title out loud before turning to Shin with a confused look.

“I can see that you are lacking something, and I think this will help you greatly to find it,” said Shin while keeping an eye in front of them.

The Grand Centipedeus did not make any sudden move after the acidic liquid that it spat failed to devour Diablo. Instead, it focused its energy on keeping the portal activated as it spat out more arachnids.

Shin could see a dense demonic energy shrouding the bodies of these monsters, but he could tell that they did not belong to the Bug Tribe. They would be fine if they did not face any more Bug Tribe members. .𝒎

“Why are you giving this to me?” asked Diablo instead of accepting the black book. He knew that it was a martial manual, and it was a very advanced one at that.

“It is not for free, though,” answered Shin in a nonchalant tone.

Diablo immediately understood and somewhat hesitated. But after putting more thought into it and remembering what he had decided earlier, he sighed before nodding his head. “I just hope that you will be different.”

“You can count on us,” said Shin as he shoved the Shadowless Art Martial Manual to Diablo before walking forward.

“You can go and learn it for now. You can return after digesting everything,” he said as his eyes never left the Grand Centipedeus.

He also sent an invitation to join the Empyrean Talons as he continued. “You can leave this thing to me. I’ll buy the two of you as much time as possible.”

Diablo stared at the back of Shin before tightening his grip on the martial manual as he hit the accept button in front of him.

*Ding*

System: Player Diablo had joined the Empyrean Talons!

Shin smiled under his mask when he heard the notification before directing his gaze to the giant centipede. He then mumbled in a quiet voice. “It has been a while since I summoned these guys.”

‘Equipment Skill (Mask: Nephilim’s Gemini Mask): Spirit Summon’

‘Equipment Skill (Mask: Nephilim’s Gemini Mask): Spirit Fusion’

Phantom Swordsman Skill: Phantom Apparition’

Two clones suddenly appeared on each side of Shin, standing slightly behind him. One was the Eclipse Clone which was the fusion of the Sun and Moon Clones while the other was the Phantom Clone.

With Shin’s current strength, both currently possessed a power that surpassed most of the ordinary clones. The pressure that each of them had was no weaker than what a peak Titled Ranker had and almost comparable to an ordinary Godlike Player.

Shin raised his head and ordered. “You two deal with the underlings while I handle the big one.”

…

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