The head rolled off the shaman's neck and hit the ground with a dull thud. The heavy sound was swallowed by the roaring tide of demonic qi, yet it struck like a muffled thunderclap in the hearts of the experts watching from the shadows.

He's dead?

Shock filled the faces of Bai Lin and Shi Mulan. They knew the abilities of the barbarian shamans well. Their shamanic divine arts were extremely strange, and without preparation, one careless moment could lead to being caught. This was especially true for geniuses who had mastered dream-illusion techniques. Whether one could wield such techniques was a sign of talent on the shaman's path of cultivation.

Only true geniuses could master such powerful divine arts. The shaman, Sar, whom Lin Zheyu had just killed, was one of the barbarian clan's talents. Otherwise, he would not have dared venture deep into the demon god barrier to fight for the opportunity of rule fragments.

Bai Lin quickly reacted and immediately changed his strategy. His figure flashed as he moved to intercept the nearby barbarian warrior.

"Stay right there!" Bai Lin barked.

His aura erupted as powerful blood qi surged out, coiling around him like rising war smoke. The muscles in his arms swelled, and his palm widened like a great fan as he struck at the barbarian warrior. Shi Mulan reacted just as quickly. As the situation shifted, she changed tactics and tied down another expert.

"As expected..." muttered Tu Yuan.

Hiding in the dark, a trace of helplessness appeared on his face. Even the shaman had died. There was no chance left for him. In this situation, as a teammate, he could only grit his teeth and accept it. He had to make a move.

His figure vanished with a pop, and suddenly appeared two hundred meters away.

Tu Yuan slammed his right hand onto the ground. Beside a barbarian expert who was rushing toward Lin Zheyu, a massive earthen wall suddenly rose up with a rumble. Then Tu Yuan waved his left hand, sending a sheet of yellow-brown light sweeping toward the man.

"Your opponent is me!" Tu Yuan moved forward, his voice cold.

Though his expression remained cold, he could not help but curse inwardly, What a bunch of idiots. So many of them came, yet they did not attack together. Instead, they rushed in one by one to die.

Still, Tu Yuan only vented a few curses in his heart. In a situation like this, a coordinated assault was impossible. The rule fragments had not yet begun to descend. It was not the time. At most, they would probe each other. Only if the opponent proved too weak would they strike to kill. If the two sides seemed evenly matched, it would remain at the level of initial testing.

The barbarian shaman named Sar had intended only to probe from the start. At most, he looked down on martial artists and wanted to plant a shamanic divine seed in advance. He had never intended to kill Lin Zheyu in a single move. Martial artists might be crude, but their vitality was extremely strong, and their instincts were terrifying.

Even he had no confidence in being able to kill one quickly. He simply had not expected that his arrogance would cost him his life. In a moment of carelessness, Lin Zheyu killed him instead, leaving him no chance to use even his desperate escape technique.

***

The instant the shaman's head slid from his neck, Lin Zheyu grabbed the corpse and vanished from where he stood. He could sense several figures in the darkness making decisive moves. Although Tu Yuan, Bai Lin, and Shi Mulan had each intercepted one opponent, others still rushed at him without hesitation.

"Thief!" a furious shout rang out.

In the darkness, over a hundred faint, half-transparent claws suddenly appeared. They were packed densely together as they tore through the void and appeared behind Lin Zheyu, raking toward his back. This was a powerful ability possessed by barbarian totem experts after manifesting their totem dharma form.

"Hm? Spatial power!" Lin Zheyu was slightly surprised.

His long study had not been in vain. His understanding of spatial rules had reached at least 30% of the level behind that attack, though he still could not integrate it into his own techniques. Seeing this method now, a flash of insight crossed his mind. Unfortunately, he was in the middle of a battle and did not want to reveal more of his strength. He had no intention of dragging this out. Ignoring the insight, he shifted sharply to the right.

After all, it was an attack imbued with spatial power. Even if it was not strong, it was not something Lin Zheyu could easily evade. Three of the faint claws struck his back. His robe tore apart instantly, but when they reached his skin, they left only three shallow cuts. In the blink of an eye, the marks vanished as if they had never existed.

"The technique is strange, but too weak," Lin Zheyu said, shaking his head slightly as he sensed the damage.

A pity about the robe he had just acquired. It cost quite a few spirit stones.

"Stay where you are!" the furious shout came again from behind.

A burly figure emerged, wrapped in a powerful dim glow that formed into a fierce beast covered in spikes, with sharp horns and claws. As he stepped forward, invisible spatial power spread. With a single step, he crossed over a hundred meters and caught up in an instant.

Earth shrinking technique? Lin Zheyu thought.

This was not the first time he had seen such an ability from barbarian experts. The first one he killed had used something similar. The one before him had clearly mastered it as well. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

There are so many people watching, so I did not want to reveal too much... but since you want to die...

There were many experts watching nearby, most of them barely concealing their presence. A sweep of Lin Zheyu's Perception Domain revealed them easily. That was why he did not want to expose too much strength. Playing weak had its advantages. Unfortunately, the barbarian chasing him would not let up. The man had grasped spatial power, even if only superficially, and combined it with a technique like Earth Shrinking Technique, making his speed astonishing. Even Lin Zheyu felt a hint of envy. If he could master such a technique, his lightness and movement techniques would undergo another dramatic transformation.

"You killed Sar and still think you can run? Stay here!" the barbarian roared.

The man's body shook, and the spikes on him shot out, vanishing into the void. When they reappeared, they were already behind Lin Zheyu. His spatial ability came from his cultivated totem. If perfected, it could rival the innate divine abilities of ancient yaos. But reaching that level was extraordinarily difficult, and he had only grasped the surface. Even so, in his view, it was more than enough to deal with this martial artist.

"Die!" the barbarian shouted.

At the moment the spikes were launched, his right foot stepped forward as well. Following the spikes, he arrived behind Lin Zheyu. His right claw lashed out. The faint, half-transparent claws were razor-sharp, slicing through the void with a hiss as they tore toward Lin Zheyu's head.

"Hmph!" Lin Zheyu snorted, showing no intention of dodging.

Having resolved to kill this barbarian expert who had grasped only the surface of spatial power, a brilliant light burst forth from his blood, muscles, skin, and bones. The light fused into the golden runes, and the golden body dharma form on him emitted a faint glow. Yet under Lin Zheyu's deliberate concealment, it only flickered beneath the skin and was not fully unleashed.

He spun around sharply. The dense spikes drove into his flesh, but the moment they pierced the skin, they were blocked by the golden dharma form condensed from the runes beneath it.

Lin Zheyu raised his left arm to block. The sharp claw tore through his arm, ripping flesh and exposing bone. This attack was not an intangible energy strike. Its power far surpassed the earlier spikes and translucent claws. The claw carried dense spatial power, as if it were the sharpest weapon in existence, and it tore through his flesh defense. But that was all. Once it reached the bone, the golden runes within activated on their own and held firm.

The barbarian's expression changed drastically.

"How is this possible?"

He had named this claw attack Spatial Blade. Infused with powerful spatial power, it turned his claws into the strongest weapons imaginable. Even peak Foundation Establishment realm body-refining cultivators could be torn apart by a full-force strike. Yet now, as it struck this martial artist's arm, it felt as if he had hit an indestructible alloy. It would not budge at all.

Lin Zheyu gave him no time to recover. Another barbarian expert was already closing in. Any delay would make things worse. His right arm swelled, dense golden light gathering beneath the skin and forming clusters like knotted muscle. The golden runes on the surface absorbed demonic qi and transformed into dark purple-black runes, releasing matching energy as a disguise.

This was the golden body dharma form he gained after bringing the Primordial Golden Body to the Perfection of the second stage. Lin Zheyu did not want to reveal the golden energy within him. Compared to that, the purple-black energy cultivated through demon arts was far easier for others to accept. Dual cultivation of demon arts and martial cultivation was not unheard of. It was nothing remarkable.

A thunderous boom erupted. At the instant the claw came down, Lin Zheyu's fist struck the man's chest.

Cracking sounds rang out as the grotesque spikes on the barbarian's body shattered under Lin Zheyu's blow. His fist drove forward without resistance, punching straight through the man's chest.

The man spat out a mouthful of blood. His face turned deathly pale, and a savage glint flashed in his eyes. Lin Zheyu had no intention of giving him time to recover. His left arm swelled rapidly as well. The gruesome wounds closed in an instant, replaced by bulging knots of flesh.

The wind howled as his left fist smashed down toward the man's head, but it struck nothing. The barbarian's figure flickered slightly, his face twisted in ferocity, and he vanished from before Lin Zheyu. When he reappeared, he was already two hundred meters away.

"Spatial power again!" Lin Zheyu frowned slightly.

Have these geniuses really grown this strong?

After reappearing in the distance, the barbarian spat out another mouthful of blood. The spatial ability he had just used placed an enormous burden on him. Even with the help of a dharma treasure, he could only use it once. He dared not linger. Spitting out another mouthful of blood, he gritted his teeth, took a great stride, and used his Earth Shrinking Technique to flee at full speed.