Chapter 70: High God

Dodging the lightning, Qiankun fixed his gaze ahead and only then noticed a young man in a violet robe floating in midair. A mark of lightning adorned his brow, and his entire body crackled with electric energy as he gathered radiance in his hands. With a mocking smile on his lips, he looked down at Qiankun. “Not bad, kid. You’re pretty fast!”

“A High God?” Sensing the violent, terrifying aura emanating from the violet-robed youth, Qiankun narrowed his eyes slightly.

“That’s right!” The youth, his tone tinged with arrogance, glanced at Qiankun disdainfully. “Kid, I advise you to turn back. The sixteenth layer of the Gods’ Tomb isn’t a place you have the right to venture. If you insist, you might just lose your life here.”

Qiankun, however, let his battle spirit rise and grinned. “You want to kill me? It’s not that easy. So what if you’re a High God? I actually want to see just how powerful a High God really is!”

“Arrogant brat, then die!” With a sneer, the violet-robed youth let out a low shout. With a flip of his hand, a massive lightning dragon surged toward Qiankun, its wild energy flooding the space, causing Qiankun’s figure to tremble and vanish.

Almost simultaneously, Qiankun’s form reappeared beside the violet-robed youth, a phantom sword shadow slashing fiercely at him. The blurred sword shadow distorted the space, creating overlapping images and making everything appear hazy.

Clang! The violet-robed youth’s expression changed, and he sidestepped with incredible speed, summoning a divine sword crackling with lightning to meet the shadowy blade. The clash of metal rang out clear and sharp, and the youth was sent flying backward by the force.

Steadying himself, sword in hand, the violet-robed youth looked at Qiankun with a somewhat grim expression, inwardly both startled and angry. “A Mid God? How can this kid, a Mid God, possess such strength? Even if he cultivates the laws of wind, his speed shouldn’t be this fast! If I hadn’t reacted quickly just now, I might really have fallen at his hands.”

“Well? High God? Do you still think you can kill me so easily?” Qiankun asked, his tone teasing.

“Your speed is indeed astonishing, and your attack power strong. You must have fused some profound laws, right? But unfortunately…” The violet-robed youth shook his head coldly. He casually swung his sword, and a phantom lightning serpent shot forth, piercing Qiankun’s body before he could dodge.

Yet, the youth’s confident face quickly changed. “What? How is there no reaction at all? Could it be… does he possess a soul-defense artifact?”

“Soul attack?” Qiankun laughed inwardly. That was the one thing he feared least. Even the soul attacks of a Perfect High God might not be able to kill him, let alone this ordinary High God. For Qiankun, the violet-robed youth’s soul attack was nothing more than a drizzle, lacking any threat.

With his face darkening, the violet-robed youth switched to material attacks, waving his hand as several lightning dragons roared toward Qiankun, wild energy flooding out to block every possible escape.

But in the next instant, the violet-robed youth’s face changed yet again. Qiankun suddenly split into over a hundred figures. Though dozens were obliterated by the lightning dragons and the spreading energy, several dozen managed to escape beyond the attack’s range. Without giving the youth time to attack again, these figures turned and surrounded him.

“Damn it!” The violet-robed youth, furious and alarmed, summoned a surge of lightning, enveloping himself as a raging electric net spread out, collapsing any of Qiankun’s figures that dared approach.

Even so, one figure drew near without obstacle. With a sneer, a fierce sword light flashed, accompanied by a melodious sword cry that left the violet-robed youth momentarily dazed. “Did you really think your lightning attacks could harm me?”

Swish… Qiankun’s blade cleaved the youth’s head, striking the lightning-element High God core. The sword’s energy blew apart the youth’s head, and a water-element Mid God core flew out alongside the High God core. The lightning that had filled the air quickly dissipated.

Sensing divine senses sweeping over, Qiankun’s lips curled into a cold smile. With a wave, he collected the divine cores, artifacts, and space ring left behind, then vanished, returning to the fifteenth layer of the Gods’ Tomb.

Within two or three breaths, streaks of light landed where Qiankun and the violet-robed youth had fought, revealing men and women whose expressions were grim. Each was powerful—a High God.

“How is it possible? A Mid God managed to kill Yaros, a High God?” a burly man exclaimed.

A woman in a dark red robe, radiating a heavy murderous aura, said, “A Mid God with such power must be one of Lord Beirut’s favored geniuses.”

“He was smart enough to realize the sixteenth layer wasn’t a place for him yet, so he retreated decisively,” a gentle, blue-robed middle-aged man added.

“That’s enough. Yaros is dead, but it was just bad luck. Let’s go back!” a sinister black-robed man said, turning into a shadow and disappearing at a terrifying speed.

On the steps at the entrance from the fifteenth to the sixteenth layer of the Gods’ Tomb, Qiankun looked back and murmured, “Among the High Gods in the sixteenth layer, that violet-robed Yaros was probably at the bottom. The true strong ones… their strength can’t be underestimated. If I encounter a truly formidable High God, I’ll have to use soul techniques to deal with them. But that would be pointless—the High God artifacts and cores in the sixteenth layer are of little use to me now.”

With that, Qiankun sat cross-legged on the steps, closed his eyes, and continued to meditate on the profound laws of the wind element.

He didn’t know how much time passed, but as the ten-year mark approached, Tarosa and the others finally came to see him.

Slowly opening his eyes, Qiankun watched as Tarosa, Dilin, and the others approached. “Don’t even think about entering the sixteenth layer of the Gods’ Tomb. I went in and encountered a lightning-element High God. It took all I had to kill him and escape. With your strength, entering would just mean certain death.”

“A High God?” Tarosa and the others exchanged surprised looks, then could only smile bitterly.

“So, how did you fare in those god tombs?” Qiankun asked, curious.

Hise shook his head helplessly. “Lord Qiankun, among us, only Priest Xingyun obtained a Mid God core. The rest of us just got some artifacts, which is still something, I suppose.”

“Good. As I said before, if you didn’t get any cores, I can grant you one,” Qiankun said calmly, looking at Hise and the Martial God O’Brien. “Hise, O’Brien, think carefully. If you refine a god core to become a Mid God, your future achievements will be limited.”

O’Brien replied without hesitation, “Lord Qiankun, I became a god by refining a core. Cultivating to be a Mid God on my own is even harder.”

“I’ve been cultivating for thousands of years to become a god; reaching Mid God realm would take who knows how much longer,” Hise said, shaking his head with a bitter smile. “I don’t have the patience for that. It’s better to refine a core and become a Mid God faster.”

Qiankun said no more, flipping his hand to produce a dark-element Mid God core and a fire-element Mid God core, tossing them to O’Brien and Hise. “Take these and refine them at your leisure.”

“Thank you, Lord Qiankun!” O’Brien and Hise were overjoyed, bowing in gratitude as they received their Mid God cores.