Beneath a gloomy sky and howling gales over a desolate earth, a stifling atmosphere hung like a heavy curtain across the entire battlefield.
Go Hon52 stared in terror at the skeletal Lin Xia before him, the despair in his heart surging like a violent, relentless tide.
"Earth Stage Late Stage..."
The surrounding air seemed to freeze in anticipation of the impending clash, making it almost difficult to breathe.
"What... what kind of monster is this?"
Go Hon52's voice trembled, his eyes filled with dread.
Yet, as a seasoned Dongying ninja, the stubbornness deep in his bones was stirred by this formidable opponent.
Quickly forcing down his inner terror, Go Hon52 resolved to make one final, desperate struggle.
Would Lin Xia give him the slightest opening?
In an instant, a ghostly light flashed in Lin Xia's eyes, and his skeletal frame shuddered slightly.
Spikes shot out like lethal arrows in a move known as "Bone Spike Storm."
The bone spikes pierced the air with a sharp whistling sound, "Swish—swish—."
Gleaming with a chilling silvery-white light, they traced graceful arcs through the air, tearing faint fissures in the atmosphere along their path.
Go Hon52 rolled frantically to dodge, yet was still grazed by several bone spikes as tiny droplets of blood bloomed in the air like red plum blossoms.
Enduring the pain, Go Hon52 moved with phantom-like speed.
His ninja blade carved out sharp flashes of light in an attempt to parry the ceaseless barrage of bone spikes.
Lin Xia turned his skull slightly, accurately judging Go Hon52's trajectory while guiding the direction of the bone spikes.
A bone spike grazed past Go Hon52's cheek, leaving a shallow bloody gash.
Go Hon52 barked angrily, "Monster, today I shall make you see my true power!"
Lin Xia replied coldly, "I am merely a skeleton of Yanhuang, and all evil shall be brought to justice," paying no heed to the ninja's astonishment.
Immediately following, Lin Xia opened his jaw and spewed roaring flames, a technique known as "Blazing Breath."
The fire surged like an angry dragon, the scorching red flames laced with golden light, resembling the wrath of the sun descending upon the mortal world.
"Whoosh—whoosh—," wherever the flames reached, everything ignited instantly; the earth baked until it was scorching hot, and the air filled with a pungent, burning stench.
Go Hon52 had no choice but to flee in panic. He quickly pulled a smoke bomb from his robe and hurled it hard against the ground.
With a "bang," smoke billowed instantly, and Go Hon52 seized the opportunity to swiftly shift his position within the haze, attempting to shake off the fierce flames.
Yet Lin Xia's perception was razor-sharp, and he kept his senses firmly locked onto Go Hon52's aura.
Lin Xia lifted a skeletal arm slightly and waved it, conjuring a whirlwind out of thin air that instantly blew the smoke away.
Then, opening his mouth once more, he unleashed an even more powerful jet of flames straight at Go Hon52.
Seeing this, Go Hon52 hurriedly threw several shuriken in an attempt to disrupt Lin Xia's attack.
The shuriken melted instantly in the flames, though they did slow the fire's speed just a fraction.
Go Hon52 seized the moment to sidestep, dodging the fiery assault by a hair's breadth.
Without a shred of mercy, Lin Xia summoned a howling gale, spinning his hands rapidly.
A massive wind sphere materialized, a move known as "Cyclone Rasengan."
The wind sphere spun at high speed, emitting a piercing shriek, "Woo—woo—," as surrounding dust and sand were sucked into it, forming a spectacular tornado.
The surface of the wind sphere gleamed with a pale blue light like a mysterious vortex of energy, and the fierce wind blew like blades, making it almost impossible for Go Hon52 to keep his eyes open.
The gale swept dust and sand across the sky, plunging the battlefield into deeper chaos.
Go Hon52 struggled to steady himself in the fierce wind, but the black case containing the god genes and the data computer were both blown aside.
Yet he had no time to worry about that; desperate only to survive, he executed a ninjutsu technique that made his body light as a feather, drifting with the wind in an attempt to evade the formidable wind sphere.
At the same time, his ninja blade flashed repeatedly, sending out crescent blade-qi to weaken the sphere's power.
But the might of the wind sphere was simply too great, rendering Go Hon52's resistance somewhat feeble.
Narrowing his glowing eyes, Lin Xia thrust both hands forward violently, sending the wind sphere hurtling toward Go Hon52 with destructive force.
Go Hon52 scrambled to the side, the wind sphere grazing past his body as the immense pressure left a trail of scratches across him.
With an angry roar, Go Hon52 formed hand seals at lightning speed, executing a powerful ninjutsu.
A black beam shot from his hands straight toward Lin Xia.
Unflustered, Lin Xia raised a skeletal arm and flicked it dismissively, causing the black beam to vanish instantly into nothingness.
Combining his fire and wind manipulation, Lin Xia merged the flames with the gale, instantly transforming them into a gigantic fire dragon that roared as it charged at Go Hon52.
Wherever the fire dragon passed, the air warped from the intense heat, emitting a "sizzling" sound.
Go Hon52 stared in terror at the ferocious fire dragon, fleeing desperately in all directions with nowhere left to hide.
"What on earth is this power?" Go Hon52 muttered in disbelief.
Knowing he could not remain on the passive defense, he resolved to take a calculated gamble.
Gathering all his strength, Go Hon52 raised his ninja blade high and slashed viciously at the fire dragon.
The blade flashed, colliding with the fire dragon in a massive explosion of sound.
Yet the dragon's power was overwhelming; the recoil sent Go Hon52 flying backward as a mouthful of blood sprayed from his lips.
Hardly had Go Hon52 steadied his footing when countless vines burst from the ground behind him like agile serpents, rapidly wrapping around his limbs.
This move was known as the "Vine Strangulation Array."
The vines swayed in the wind as though endowed with lives of their own.
Lined with sharp barbs, those vines guaranteed that once bound, escape would be nearly impossible.
Deep green in color, the vines bore mysterious patterns on their surfaces that flickered like ancient magical runes.
Go Hon52 swung his blade frantically to sever the vines. His movements were swift and decisive, his ninja blade flashing like lightning as he chopped relentlessly at the oncoming foliage.
Yet the vines seemed endless; no sooner was one severed than more surged forward to take its place.
Go Hon52 felt his strength beginning to wane as his stamina drained away.
Unbeknownst to him, Lin Xia released a mysterious neurotoxin in a move called "Toxic Shadow Mist."
The poison quietly permeated the air, forming an eerie purple haze that spread like the breath of a demon.
"Sizzle—sizzle—," wherever the toxins drifted, flowers and grass withered instantly, and the earth lost its vitality.
Detecting the danger of the poison, Go Hon52 immediately held his breath and cleared his mind while executing a cleansing ninjutsu.
He formed hand seals and chanted under his breath, causing a green radiance to emit from his body in an attempt to fend off the toxic corrosion.
However, Lin Xia's neurotoxin was exceedingly potent, and the effects of Go Hon52's detoxifying ninjutsu were limited.
His body was still compromised, causing his movements to grow sluggish.
"How can this be? What manner of monster is this?"
Go Hon52 roared in despair, forced to hold his breath and concentrate, which further slowed his actions.
Faced with Lin Xia's overwhelming pressure, Go Hon52 decided to stake everything on one final desperate move, executing the Expansion Technique.
Go Hon52's body swelled rapidly, tripling in size in an instant, though still under five meters tall.
He roared, attempting to suppress Lin Xia with his enlarged physique.
Yet Lin Xia remained entirely unfazed. With a fierce shout, he activated his Gigantification skill.
His form expanded instantly to roughly six meters tall, looking down at Go Hon52 from on high.
Lifting a skeletal arm, Lin Xia swept it forward forcefully, instantly shooting out resilient spider silk in a technique called "Spider Silk Binding Web."
The spider silk gleamed with a silvery radiance like a giant net, flying swiftly toward Go Hon52.
With fierce concentration, Lin Xia kept his eyes locked on Go Hon52's every movement.
The spider silk wrapped tightly around Go Hon52.
Struggling desperately, Go Hon52 twisted his massive body, trying to break free from the restraint.
He clawed at the spider silk with giant palms, but the silk was incomparably tough and impossible to tear apart easily.
Then, Lin Xia waved his skeletal arm once more, stirring a mysterious force.
The spider silk instantly became as hard as steel, its edges sharp as blades, much like the skills of Yunge in Honor of Kings.
The silk whipped through the air with a piercing "shh-shh" sound, as though capable of splitting space itself.
Go Hon52 thrashed wildly, yet failed to break free from the steel-like, razor-sharp binding.
Every struggle left deep gashes across his body courtesy of the spider silk.
Unwilling to accept defeat, Go Hon52 executed another powerful ninjutsu.
A massive shockwave erupted from his body, attempting to blast through the spider silk restraints.
Yet Lin Xia's spider silk was indestructible, turning Go Hon52's efforts to naught in an instant.
Launching another attack, Lin Xia swept his skeletal arm, sending countless bone spikes raining down upon Go Hon52.
Go Hon52 offered stubborn resistance, but still took several direct hits from the spikes.
Clenching his teeth, he glared at Lin Xia. "I will not surrender easily!"
Lin Xia replied with cold indifference, "Those who cross Yanhuang shall be executed, no matter how far."
Finally, Lin Xia launched an all-out assault, hurtling toward Go Hon52 with the irresistible momentum of a thunderbolt in a move known as "Berserk Impact Break."
A formidable surge of energy radiated from Lin Xia, driving him forward with unstoppable momentum while leaving a brilliant trail of light in his wake.
Lin Xia's speed was lightning-fast, seeming to pierce through space itself with a resounding "Boom—."
Completely unable to withstand such overwhelming force, Go Hon52 was utterly defeated in an instant.
Lin Xia gazed down at the fallen Go Hon52 as the ghostly light in his eyes slowly faded.
By now, the wind had gradually died down, the dark clouds slowly parted, and sunlight spilled over the land that had just endured such a fierce battle.