Chapter 1589: The Hunt

"You cannot afford me," Toregene Khan said.

"There is no price that Great Qin cannot afford," the Terracotta General replied. However, the khan merely shook his head. The data Wang Wei offered was instrumental to the future of the Barbarian Clan. With the small data he had gathered, Toregene Khan had already created half an outline for his future transcendent path.

And even without that deal, Toregene Khan would not betray the Dao Opening Sect. Based on what he’s learned about Wang Wei, he knew this person would be a vital figure of the Eternal Ascension World. If he had to choose who to bet, Toregene Khan would not hesitate to choose the much younger and inexperienced Wang Wei.

"That’s a shame," the puppet with an expressionless clay face said calmly. It raised its hand to summon a shield and guandao while staring directly into the khan’s eyes. Toregene smiled before twirling his spear; his body then released a brutal and savage aura.

"This hunt should be interesting," Toregene uttered. As a hunter, nothing excited him more than finding a worthy prey. He moved his body, leaving a trail of afterimage behind him. The Khan did not play around. For his first attack, he directly used an ultimate skill: [Eternal Piercing]. His spear was designed to pierce any defenses, but on top of that, it would continue the piercing process for all eternity.

The Terracotta General raised his shield to block the attack, but his defense was instantly penetrated. He reacted instantly to condense another one, but the result was the same. Without any choice, he continued to condense more protective measures, but this attack was continuous, with no signs of stopping.

The general realized he could spend the rest of his time in this confrontation, building an endless number of shields or defensive measures, but the result would be the same. So, he changed tactics. He absorbed the enemy’s piercing attack and converted it into his own strength.

The Qin’s guardian swung the guandao with his left hand, forcing Toregene to face an attack containing his own power. However, the leader of the Barbarian Clan remained calm in the face of this counterattack. One of the afterimages he left behind suddenly turned corporeal and blocked the massive weapon with another spear strike.

However, this was just the beginning. More afterimages became real, and they immediately bombarded the puppet with piercing attacks from all sides. The Terracotta General scanned the upcoming assault. He was created for one purpose: to protect the Emperor, protect Qin.

As such, his Dao was a combination of Earth — a symbol of the material from which he was born — and the Defense Dao. So, facing all these powerful enemies was nothing new to him; in fact, he had faced worse situations.

A green, circular shield suddenly surrounded his clay body. When all the spears hit its body, the Terracotta General made a pushing motion to release all the absorbed power from this attack, instantly killing all these clones.

’An opportunity,’ Terogene Khan thought. As a hunter, he knew the best time to strike an enemy. So, in the brief window that his opponent released the energy and did not have enough time to react, his spear struck like a venomous snake heading for vulnerable prey.

[Absolute Defense]

Terogene’s attack was impeccable. Unfortunately for him, his enemy was created solely for the purpose of defense. So, even in this time of weakness, the general’s shield moved on its own volition and blocked. The shield and spear should have clashed, generating a powerful shockwave that tore apart the environment.

However, Terogene’s attack was a fake; it was another hidden afterimage. His real body had secretly appeared behind the lump of clay and stabbed it directly through its head. This attack sequence was well-timed, perfectly encapsulating a seasoned hunter at work.

The best outcome for this attack would have been an instant end to the battle, and the worst outcome would have been a severe injury that would have given Toregene Khan an advantage throughout the entire fight. Unfortunately, fate was not in his favor.

Just as his spear full of his True Will was about to hit, the Order-Disorder of the surroundings was disturbed. His attack of unfathomable speed was suddenly reduced to below the speed of light, allowing Qin’s guardian to evade.

Toregene Khan’s lips twitched as he looked at the battle in the distance. "How about we move our fight to another location?"

The Terracotta General glanced at Origin Seal City. He had a duty, but it appeared it could not be done. ’There might be some unexpected variables, but everything will be fine as soon as his majesty defeats his opponent.’

"Void Battlefield?"

"No, let’s move to an isolated domain," Toregene Khan rejected. He had his own worries. While the Void Battlefield was vast enough that all the Paragons in the world could fight simultaneously, he worried about the Qin powerhouses. He did not have much faith in the continent’s two new Primals. He feared they might work together to deal with him once they’ve won their fight, so he wanted a more open area to facilitate his escape during an emergency.

"As you wish," the Terracotta General said before teleporting to a desert domain in the Origin Seal Continent’s territory. Toregene Khan immediately noticed this was an environment with elevated earth energy, which was advantageous to his opponent. However, he did not care. If used correctly, the terrain will also benefit him.

[Predator’s Camouflage]

Toregene Khan disappeared from sight. Many predators have the ability to camouflage themselves, ensuring a successful hunt. As a human, he was not born with these abilities. However, as the ultimate hunter, such power was a requirement. And with his disappearance, a strange atmosphere enveloped this zone.

[Earth’s Sight]

The earth sees and experiences everything — or it should. Through its connection, the general tried to detect his opponent, but it was futile. The Khan has hunted numerous lifeforms, including earth-based creatures. In fact, it would not be outlandish to say he has hunted the earth itself.

A brief frown flashed in the general’s cold face as he tightened the shield and guandao. A few seconds passed, and for some reason, he had a feeling of fear slowly building in his mind. The idea of an apex predator watching all his moves and ready to pounce at any time could not be removed from his mind.

’I’ve been influenced," the Terracotta General swiftly realized. He was a puppet. Although he had a soul, his spirit was programmed with an eternal mission, and he had long abandoned all emotions that could affect the mission. But now, one has reappeared.

[Emotion Protection], [Spirit protection, and Soul [Protection] — the general swiftly cast three spiritual defensive spells. ’Not enough,’ the general thought as he added a few more defensive measures. His approach worked, for the most part. The fear was gone, but the unsettling sensation that an attack might appear anywhere at any time persisted; on the contrary, it intensified with every passing moment.

[Earth’s Invasion]

The Terracotta General cast another spell, trying a second time to detect his opponent. The earth energy in this desert permeated every aspect of this domain: all matter, particles, space, time, and energy — they were transformed by the earth’s energy to become observers for the general. He then combed through every corner of this zone to find his opponent.

’Find you.’

The guandao is a combination of a sword or saber and a spear. The Terracotta General learned both these weapons. He also learned from the philosophy of swordsmanship that the greatest defense is an unparalleled offense.

The [Mountain Cleaving Strike] did more than cut a mountain. It separated the void into two, forming an enormous space fissure and even shook the spatial Heaven Laws themselves. Such an attack would have injured even the most meaty body refiners. While the Barbarian Clan is known for their body refining, Toregene Khan was about to be in tremendous pain.

Instead, the sound of something popping echoed between Heaven and Earth. The general calmly looked at his right hand, and his shield was gone; better yet, his right hand was also missing. He slowly turned to a perfectly intact Khan. The latter was looking at the clay arm lying on the spear’s tip.

"The first blood has been shed," Toregene Khan said calmly. The general’s arm then turned into a light source that entered his body. The Khan’s body then started to emit a red hue or aura.

The Terracotta General focused. He understood the meaning of that red aura. This technique was based on the concept of a hunter eating their prey’s flesh for sustenance. By "eating" his arm, his opponent had now acquired a blessing that would boost all attacks toward puppet-kind.

’His Hunter Dao is a problem,’ the general analyzed. He gathered the earth energy around him to build a replacement arm. Although not as good as the original one, it will have to do for now.

"It’s time to push this battle to the peak," the Terracotta General said as he summoned his connection to Grand Dao Constructs.

"Indeed," Toregene Khan replied while doing the same.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.