Armipotent

Tang Shaoyang was surprised at how easily Andus broke through his Heavenly Tortoise Shell. Even Eol the Divine Dragon was having a hard against his toughest defensive skill, yet this man sliced it through easily. He expected the sword to bounce off the barrier and followed with Heavenly Swords. He now had to use his counter to block the incoming saber.

Nine Heavenly Gates, Fifth Gate: Heavenly Swords - Heavenly Revoke

The dark Chaos Energy enveloped his sword as he slashed his sword upward. The sword clashed against the saber and the red lightning. His foot sank to the ground from the impact. Meanwhile, Andus was thrown away from the impact, falling to the ground with a big thump.

The red dust rose and covered the figure. A figure stood behind the red dust as the dust slowly settled down. Andus got back on his feet but he suffered an injury from the early clash. A big cut through his chest, showing the red flesh.

Roar!

Andus let out a deafening roar as his fur stood out, producing red lightning that covered his body.

[You have resisted Fear!]

A notification Tang Shaoyang never had before, popped out. He was confused about what it meant by resisting Fear, 'Does the roar just now a skill that inflicts fear?' This was the first time he encountered such a skill. He knew how to use his aura to intimidate his enemy, but not fear.

'This is why having a proper fight is better than just winning to gather the God Shard,' He was glad to fight his opponent properly instead of winning the battle one-sidedly. The trial might not give him the level, but he got the experience to fight an opponent he never fought, gaining more knowledge and also limit-testing his ability. He learned today that his toughest defensive skill is easily cut. 

The brown-red bear leaped toward Tang Shaoyang again. This time he had the saber in his right hand and the round shield in his left hand.

Tang Shaoyang noticed the difference in the red lightning. He could feel the bear get closer to him, "I haven't really tried The Heavenly Beast since I got the Chaos Energy," He muttered in a low voice.

Nine Heavenly Gates, Sixth Gate: Heavenly White Tiger

The mirage of a white tiger formed behind him. He did not plan to use the Heavenly Tortoise Shell to defend against the saber. A blade against a blade, "Let's try once,"

Nine Heavenly Gates, Fifth Gate: Heavenly Swords - Heavenly Revoke

Andus could not see Tang Shaoyang's hand movement. The moment he saw the sword, it was right before him. However, he was prepared for this moment. The red lightning around his body moved into one spot, the round shield. He put the shield forward to block the incoming sword.

He saw the sword and the beast, and the white tiger roared at him. Andus responded with a roar as two different energies clashed, "I won!" That was the first words he said as he managed to push the sword with his shield. He raised the saber, and the red lightning in his shield moved toward his sword.

Tang Shaoyang was certainly surprised that his Heavenly Revoke was completely nullified by the bear. But he always expected it to happen after Andus sliced through his Heavenly Tortoise Shell. He was prepared to lose in the clash and used [Blink].

He blinked behind Andus with his sword sheathed. There was no more swordplay as he planned to continue the fight instead of killing Andus in one strike. A palm strike should not kill the tough brown-red bear, at least that was what he thought.

Nine Heavenly Gate, Fourth Gate: Heavenly Force, Heavenly Shattering Palm

Andus was completely caught off guard by [Blink]. The bear sensed his opponent was behind him, but he was struck before he could do anything. He felt the crushing force hit his back, crushing his spine and organs as his figure rocketed down to the ground.

Andus' vision blurred from that single strike, and he was hardly breathing with his organ crushed. The fact that he was alive was because of his Advanced Regeneration. However, that was not enough to reverse the damage done to his body. He pushed his body and flipped over to see the figure in the air. Carelessness got into him, and he was now dying with regret. Losing without being able to use everything he had was frustrating. He was too cocky because not many opponents could survive from his combo because his Red Lightning had the ability to nullify most of his energy.

He now met a strong opponent that fought back, but his carelessness brought to his doom. His mouth kept spewing blood as his vision was getting blurry and blurrier. He wanted to continue to fight, but his body could not follow up with his will.

"That's it? I thought he could receive one or two hits. I didn't expect him to die with one strike," Tang Shaoyang muttered as he landed next to the brown-red bear. He truly did not expect to kill Andus with one strike.

Andus felt bitter to hear that as he also did not expect to die with just one strike. He finally met a strong opponent, but he could not go all out to fight.

[You won!]

[You have obtained a God Shard!]

[God Shard: 5]

"Aren't they too weak?" Tang Shaoyang complained as he heard the notification. The additional number in his God Shard count did not make him happy.

[They are not weak for their rank. You are too strong for them, Master.] Vandir The Death King corrected his Master.

If the opponent was a God Rank, they might survive that one strike. However, The Demi-God Rank was no longer his equal opponent, not after he killed dozens of God Ranks. Probably, Tang Shaoyang was also the highest level of the Demi-God Rank as well.

As the brown-red bear's body slowly dissipated into particles of light, Tang Shaoyang waited longer instead of instantly queuing for another battle. He expected the bear to challenge him for a rematch. His last words were to provoke Andus to issue a rematch. His target was not just the three God Shards, but the red lightning. He tried to understand how it worked so he knew how to fight against it in the future.

His expectation was met with disappointment because Andus did not issue a rematch against him. Quite smart since the bear must realize it was not worth issuing a rematch against someone who one-hit killed him.

Tang Shaoyang queued for another battle while reflecting on his gain from the battle. After the battle against Andus, he changed his view of the Trial of God. He realized that there was something more important than just collecting God Shard. It was to fight and understand his opponent's power, the knowledge he could gain by fighting them instead of killing them in one strike.

A skill that induced a fear that was new. There might be more skills that induce abnormal status aside from fear. The unknown red lightning could easily be sliced through his strongest defensive skill. He learned those from a short fight, and now he was pondering how the red lightning works.

"I wonder if it worked similarly with me Energy Destruction Touch…"

Energy Destruction Touch was destroying the energy which disrupted the skill and ended up canceling the skill itself. He recalled if the red lightning canceled his Chaos Energy.

"No, it did not cancel my skill. If it canceled my skills, the whole shell would disintegrate instead of getting sliced through," He recalled the saber only cut through a certain part, not disintegrating the whole barrier.

[I think the red lightning absorbing your Chaos Energy, Master,] Vandir The Death King offered his insight, [The key was when you clashed against his shield. Do you remember when he gathered his red lightning on his shield?]

Tang Shaoyang nodded while recalling his second clash against Andus.

[After the clash, he transferred his red lightning to the saber, and it got much stronger after the clash against your sword. I also noticed the red lightning turned darker afterward. I think the red lightning could absorb other energy temporarily which can be used to nullify your skill as well. You can hardly notice it because the red lightning could not absorb all the energy in your skill, just partially and that was why you did not notice it. Of course, that's just a theory of mine from observing two clashes. I need more data to be sure.]

Tang Shaoyang recalled the second clash, and after getting reminded by Vandir. He realized that the red lightning in the saber was indeed stronger than when it was on the shield. He did not notice the change of color in the red lightning. As he was in deep thought, notifications rang in his head.

[You have found an opponent!]

[Are you ready to battle? (04:59)] [Accept]

[If you fail to accept the battle in five minutes, you will receive a penalty.]

[Penalty: You are not able to queue for the trial for three hours!]

[Your opponent is Malrus of Battelon World!]

[You have three minutes to prepare for the battle! (02:59)!] [Ready!]

[Choose ready if you are ready for the battle!]

"Interesting…." Tang Shaoyang chuckled, "It seems the System is pitting me against the Demi-God Rank from Battelon."

This was the third battle, and all his three opponents were from the same world, Battelon. The first and second time might be a coincidence. However, it was no longer a coincidence for the third time. All of his opponents for the upcoming battle might be from Battelon.

[Malrus is ready for the battle!]

[Welcome to the Red Plain!]

[Kill or force your opponent to surrender to win the battle!]

[You will receive the God Shard upon winning the battle!]