BANG!
The thunderous sound reverberated through the sulfurous air, the shockwave rippling outward like a pebble disrupting a stagnant pond. A shadowy figure, agile as liquid mercury, darted backward—its edges blurring from the devastating backlash of its own attack, deflected by Ji Wuye's Deflecting Blows.
WOOSH!
At the same time, wisps of steam hissed where its feet scraped against the volcanic ground, leaving scorched imprints in its wake.
Meanwhile, Ji Wuye pivoted with the fluid grace of autumn leaves dancing on the wind, his robes whispering softly around his lithe form. His eyes, sharp as carved jade, narrowed fractionally as he discovered the same shadow—impossibly—was already upon him again, its shadowy fist cutting through the superheated air with a distinctive whoosh.
CLANK!
The resounding clash rang out like a temple bell struck by lightning, the sheer force of the impact sending tremors rippling through the fractured terrain.
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[!] Your passive skill, Deflecting Blows (B), has been triggered!
================
The attacker's form became a dark streak against the crimson sky as it was sent hurtling backward, its metallic body scraping across the fractured surface of the lava field with a deafening screech. Each bone-jarring impact sent spider-web cracks racing through the obsidian-like ground.
The fissures deepened with an ominous groan, chunks of black rock surrendering to gravity and plunging into the ethereal blue magma below. The molten substance surged upward through the widening gaps, casting an otherworldly azure glow across the battlefield that danced across Ji Wuye's features.
As the dust settled, the attacker's true form emerged from the volcanic haze, its metallic carapace glinting in the eerie light.
"I've been waiting for you," Ji Wuye's said. Time seemed to slow as his jian slipped from his grasp, the blade catching the blue light of the magma as it hung suspended in the air like a falling star.
While, at the same time, Ji Wuye's body moved. His waist coiled forward like a spring, his elbow drawn back with the tension of a master archer's bow. The charred black silk of his martial robe rippled as his forearm emerged—his fist coiled in a perfect striking position.
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SWOOSH!
The air itself seemed to part before the attacker as it recovered with inhuman speed, its metallic form gleaming with an inner light as it mirrored Ji Wuye's stance with mechanical precision.
BANG!
Flesh met metal in an earth-shattering collision. The impact sent visible waves through the air, distorting the very atmosphere like ripples in a pond. Ji Wuye's knuckle met the cubic, geometrically perfect metallic fist of his opponent.
It also revealed its true form—a being of midnight-black metal, its surface absorbing light like a starless sky. While it shared the fundamental design of the Mini Starforged Sentinel, however...
Unlike its miniature counterpart that barely reached Ji Wuye's waist, this entity cast a dominating shadow across the fractured landscape.
The metallic figure stretched an imposing 6.7 chi skyward—one would need to bow its head to pass through ordinary doorframes.
Ji Wuye's long, snow-white hair whipped like pale flames in the aftermath of their collision, each strand catching the blue light from the magma below and creating an ethereal halo around his form.
His crimson eyes, bright as fresh blood and sharp as newly forged steel, remained locked on his towering opponent.
A smile—equal parts satisfaction —spread across his features as he witnessed the massive Starforged Sentinel skid backward.
The Starforged Sentinel's midnight-black surface remained pristine and unblemished, reflecting the crimson sky like a dark mirror.
Even after weathering two deflected attacks and a direct strike, its frame showed no outward signs of stress—no hairline fractures, no dents, not even a scratch marred its geometric perfection.
'Ha! So this is your limit!' The thought bubbled up in Ji Wuye's mind, accompanied by a soft, knowing chuckle.
But instead of disappointment, a feral smile tugged at the corners of Ji Wuye's lips. 'Let's see how much more this 'invulnerable' body can withstand!'
In this stretched moment, where time seemed to flow like honey, Ji Wuye's free hand transformed from its defensive position into a precise weapon.
The movement was fluid yet decisive, like a striking viper, as his arm shot upward with frightening speed, muscles rippling beneath the charred silk of his robe.
GRAB!
His fingers, strong as steel, locked around the Starforged Sentinel's cubic head. Then, like a dam breaking, time surged forward to its normal flow...
BANG!
The shockwave of Ji Wuye's attack reverberated through the battlefield like a thunderclap, the force rippling outward in visible distortions of the superheated air.
The spiderwebbed cracks in the ground beneath them shattered completely, fragments of the broken terrain disintegrating as bluish magma surged freely into the space below.
The Starforged Sentinel, massive and imposing, had been flung backward—but only partially. While its middle and lower body were violently launched by the devastating punch, its head was held fast in Ji Wuye's iron grip, halting its momentum abruptly.
Bluish magma pooled around Ji Wuye's feet, the molten rock hissing and spitting as it lapped at his white shoes, but not a single thread of his clothing was burned, thanks to the Cloak of Flame that had merged seamlessly with his martial robe.
However, the focus was not on this scene. Instead, it was on the jian now firmly gripped in Ji Wuye's right hand, while his other hand continued to hold the Starforged Sentinel's head in an iron grip.
The Sentinel's lower body hung limp, floating aimlessly in the bluish magma, still unable to recover from the devastating impact of Ji Wuye's previous attack.
"It lives up to its name—still invulnerable," Ji Wuye remarked.
In the next moment, as the Starforged Sentinel struggled to recover, Ji Wuye drove the sharp tip of his downward-pointing jian straight into the Starforged Sentinel's core, located in the center of its chest and then...
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[!] You have killed Level 35 - Starforged Sentinel!
===========================
At that exact moment, a transparent notification screen appeared before Ji Wuye's crimson pupils, flashing the confirmation of his victory.
By then, Ji Wuye had already leapt out of the bluish magma creek as he propelled himself clear of the molten flow.
While at the same time, his fingers dug into the surface of a massive boulder composed of midnight-black Celestial Ore, flecked with silver-white patterns that shimmered like the stars in the night sky under the crimson glow of the volcanic landscape.
'Time to head to the anvil,' he thought. But before turning to depart, Ji Wuye cast one last glance at the floating remains of the vanquished Starforged Sentinel. It drifted away slowly within the bluish magma creek, its core destroyed by the decisive strike of his jian.
