At this moment, Li Rui seemed like a Great Mage, standing still, with an umbrella in his right hand and forming seals with his left, calling down a second bolt of lightning.

Song Yuanhua’s charge towards Li Rui was forced to stop, and he couldn’t even use his Escape Technique in time; he had to respond immediately.

Once again, his figure was engulfed by the lightning.

At this time, the others did not continue celebrating prematurely; they didn’t even know what to do. In this state, Li Rui seemed to have a ten-level difference from them, completely in a different class.

When the lightning dissipated again, Song Yuanhua was still standing, but the top of his hat had spiderweb-like cracks, and there were some scars on his body.

Li Rui knew that he had already inflicted some damage on the opponent, as the Blood Leech that entwined him had restored the injury he suffered in the first clash.

By now, Song Yuanhua’s eyes were red. Without any pause, he wanted to take the opportunity to dash close and slaughter Li Rui, who was calmly casting spells from behind.

However, that terrible power began to gather once more.

Again?!

Song Yuanhua’s mentality collapsed.

Even though he cautiously assessed Li Rui’s power according to Zuo Qiutian’s instructions, setting Li Rui’s evaluation very high from the beginning, he still couldn’t anticipate the current situation.

The third All Heaven Great Thunder Fire Seal Spell shattered his hat completely, and the strongest treasure he had saved as a trump card was thus ruined.

The killing intent in his heart surged, yet he didn’t choose to continue looking for an opportunity. Instead, he drilled into the ground with the last part of the damage still impending during the lightning’s dissipation.

"He’s running away!"

Zhang Hujun shouted a reminder to Li Rui.

Li Rui waved his hand, leisurely took out a bottle of Spirit Recovery Potion, and drank it without rushing to act.

The Escape Technique could cover ultra-long distances in a very short time, crossing dozens of miles in seconds. The Earth Escape was invisible and difficult to pursue. Cheng Mingyue tried to stop him with her control abilities at the last moment but was still a step too late.

While others were still in shock, Dong Sanchuan ran to Li Rui’s side and asked, "How are you, are you alright?"

"No problem."

Li Rui took out a bottle of rare-grade stamina potion.

This kind of stamina recovery item was even rarer than those that recovered Spiritual Power, and among all the spoils of war, there was only this one bottle, and it was merely rare-grade, but now any recovery was valuable.

"What a pity!!"

Nan Jiumei shouted, "Just a little bit more; if it weren’t for that powerful hat of his, he’d definitely be dead here."

"At least he’s injured."

Those familiar with Li Rui sighed in remorse, while others secretly assessed him. This person had almost single-handedly injured and forced back a world NPC.

At this moment, a signal flare shot into the sky, the red halo hovering above.

"What’s that...?"

"It’s him, he escaped towards Sheep Horn Ridge!"

Li Rui nodded and looked towards Cheng Mingyue. She understood his intention, maximized her enhancement, and then Li Rui transformed into a stream of light, disappearing from where he stood.

"Escape Technique! Damn it!"

Nan Jiumei exclaimed in shock.

Now, everyone understood why Li Rui was confident in killing Song Yuanhua.

It was just an Escape Technique; who didn’t have one?

This was the strategy he had set in the command headquarters.

In the plan, Li Rui would cooperate with everyone to exhaust the enemy, causing Song Yuanhua to use Earth Escape to flee when outmatched.

At this time, the role of those large groups on the periphery became apparent. They were distributed all over, not to hold Song per se, but to signal after the Earth Escape ended so that the demon race’s signal arrow, like a beacon, would guide Li Rui by pointing out the escape direction of Song Yuanhua.

There was a deviation in reality; the battle ended almost as quickly as it began. Song Yuanhua’s power was higher than estimated, but the result wasn’t far off.

Next, Li Rui just needed to catch up using Wind Escape and finish the kill.

Li Rui nearly used his greatest strength, speeding up the Wind Escape as much as possible. He continually checked the remaining time for Reverse Yin and Yang.

seconds.

seconds.

seconds.

If he couldn’t catch up before the transformation ended, it would really be a complete failure.

However, he still had confidence because there was a second backup plan. He had already instructed the command headquarters to arrange Rain Summoners or demons capable of stirring the wind in various places beforehand, instructing them to cast wind in the direction indicated by the signal as soon as they detected Song Yuanhua escaping with Earth Escape.

In the whirlwind, the speed of Swirling Wind Nine Turns was even faster than Earth Escape.

Whish!

When he appeared, he immediately saw Song Yuanhua’s astonished expression.

How could he also know Escape Technique?

"Just accept your death peacefully."

As Li Rui spoke, the seal had been completed, and another All Heaven Great Thunder Fire Seal Spell descended.

Although the mana restoration effect of the legendary item had ended, he still had an inexhaustible source to use. During his arrival with Swirling Wind Nine Turns, he activated this skill, allowing his Spiritual Power to reach the level where he could unleash a big move.

By this time, Song Yuanhua’s condition was already terrible. He had used Earth Escape despite the lingering power of the last All Heaven Great Thunder Fire Seal Spell. When the extreme cold lightning made direct contact with his body, he realized that he still underestimated the damage of that spell.

The might of heaven was indeed powerful. Even after fleeing this far, he could feel that sinister aura chaotically rushing in his body, requiring him to spend most of his energy to suppress it.

And now, seeing the accumulating power in the sky once again, he knew he was truly about to be defeated here.

He thought back to a few months ago.

.....

"Mr. Zuo? I’ve heard from the boss that you repeatedly lost to an unknown junior?"

Song Yuanhua lay perched against the pergola railing by the pond, full of smiles, "Do you need me to help kill him?"

Zuo Qiutian had his hands in his sleeves, a fishing rod beside him, yet he did not cast it into the water. He just stood on the bank watching the tranquil surface.

"He is an outsider from beyond the skies."

"An unknown outsider."

Song Yuanhua had both respect and disdain for this scholarly-looking person.

The respect naturally came from his possessing mysterious methods despite not excelling in cultivation, achieving several deeds that shook the world.

The disdain stemmed from the fact that such a person couldn’t see that the path his boss tread was the correct one, but instead ventured down a crooked road.

Zuo Qiutian didn’t react much to his attitude but simply said, "Yuanhua, you don’t need to regard outsiders as enemies. They can be foes or friends."

Song Yuanhua sneered inwardly, thinking this was just an excuse for failure, but he said no more.

Later, following Zuo Qiutian, he truly met the troublemaker. After returning from the Land of Fire, he inquired again.

"Mr. Zuo, why can’t I comprehend that kid’s methods?"

Zuo Qiutian sighed, "That’s the power of heaven."

Song Yuanhua frowned, "Power of heaven? Could it be... the so-called Upper Realm is, in fact, the beyond?"

"Not so, that’s where the disagreement with your boss lies."

Zuo Qiutian glanced at his puzzled expression and chuckled, "Never mind, perhaps I’ll teach you one day if there’s a chance. But earlier you mentioned having the opportunity to eliminate that outsider named Li Rui. I’ve changed my mind. If possible, please kill him."

...

"Mr. Zuo, there’s no longer a chance to teach me."

Song Yuanhua discarded the short knife in his hand, "But... I can still kill him." 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

The light in his eyes surged with brilliance, and he charged at Li Rui with all his might. A blood-red talisman was affixed to his forehead without him knowing when, and despite the high-speed sprint, the charm paper remained steadfast.

At the same time, Li Rui sensed a strong threat.

He saw Song Yuanhua’s body begin to swell, the veins becoming clearly visible, even as the forefront of the All Heaven Great Thunder Fire Seal Spell made contact with him. Yet, Song Yuanhua seemed unaware, merely charging at him.

Self-detonation?

In an instant, Song Yuanhua was only tens of meters away from him, a growl like that of a fierce beast emerging from his throat.

"You’ve won, but you must die too!!!"

His body was swollen like a balloon, the power of the blood evils starting to leak out.

This was Zuo Qiutian’s handiwork; the blood-red charm could enlarge and burn cultivation into several times the usual power. However, a mortal body couldn’t bear such force, only serving as fuel for the evil blood power.

Once beyond the critical point, the force the body suppressed would violently explode, turning everything in a vast range to ashes.

Li Rui gently shook his head.

"What a decisive person."

"Such a pity."

Rewind.

Nine seconds ago, I was still dozens of miles away.