Chapter 675: 674. Show one's skill with a small task
Lu Yao, with terrifying momentum, punched a hole through the immense cyberpunk building, and gently landed next to Fran.
"Your Knight has answered the call~"
He performed an exaggerated bow, eliciting a bittersweet smile from Fran.
At that moment, Lu Yao stood nonchalantly, but the approaching clones couldn't help but keep retreating as if they instinctively sensed fear.
Merlin recognized this world-renowned figure with a bit of surprise:
"It's you! Is the flesh of the Martial Saint this formidable? Returning through the atmosphere at 30,000 kilometers per hour and disregarding all sorts of thermal weapons!"
Lu Yao looked at the white-bearded old man and said indifferently, "You're from the Tianyuan Realm?"
A glint flashed in Merlin's eyes, his expression unchanged, "Correct, have you been to my world?"
Lu Yao said with interest, "You are quite unique, not a single mechanical part on you."
"As you see, I've taken the path of transcending genetics."
Merlin openly admitted and asked casually, "I haven't been back to the Tianyuan Realm for a long time, has mechanical ascension taken the lead now?"
Lu Yao nodded, "I'm afraid so, the people I've seen have all undergone deep physical modifications, more like machines than humans."
Merlin frowned and muttered to himself, "It seems 'Dao Jun's' plan is about to succeed... after I take care of you, I'll go back and see."
Then, his expression turned cold, and he looked at the two of them and said solemnly, "Chit-chat time is over, let's get to the point."
At this moment, gateways on the ground began to open, accompanied by the uniform stepping sound, nearly a thousand clones of ancient warriors emerged.
Their strengths varied, but even the weakest possessed the combat power of the leak-free level, and at least thirty percent had congealed the Indestructible Will!
This was Merlin's confidence—the Clone Army he had accumulated over thousands of years!
"Although the soul cannot be replicated, the talent of a strong person cannot be ignored either. With time and patience, one can build an invincible force that crushes everything!"
Upon hearing this, Lu Yao flexed his wrists and said with a half-smile, "Invincible? They are but hastily grown inferior products, quite the grandiose claim."
The clones may be many, but elites were rare. Most were nothing more than expendables that had forcibly elevated their realms at the cost of their lifespan.
Merlin said coldly, "There's an old saying in the East—ants can kill an elephant, and even you, a Martial Saint, have your limits. Plus... it will be I who kills you!"
Suddenly, the white-bearded old man transformed.
His body rapidly expanded and twisted, his muscles steel-like and coiled, turning into a 2.4-meter-tall humanoid monster with organic armor covering its vital parts.
A mask-like armor also covered his face, and Merlin said in a muffled voice:
"At this moment, I possess near Martial Saint-level strength, plus the Clone Army. You're definitely going to die! But I'll try to preserve the integrity of your body. With your genetic sample, my army will grow even stronger."
As he spoke, the Clone Army also closed in.
Lu Yao stepped forward, shielding Fran behind him, and whispered, "Take care of yourself, I'll resolve this quickly."
Fran's face showed conflict as she shouted at Merlin, "Teacher, stop! This is a meaningless fight..."
"Naive girl!"
An invisible raging flame began to surge around Merlin, clearly the power of impressive life energy!
"I have converted to the great True God and am about to embark on a conquest of all the realms! At this moment, I fight for the glory of God as an Angel Envoy!"
With that, he waved his hand, and the Clone Army, crying out their battle cries, charged forward!
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The roars of 1,000 supreme masters echoed through the skies, and Merlin waited in the back for an opportunity. This was a kill scenario exerted with full force.
Unfortunately, Lu Yao was not just a Martial Saint as imagined.
In an instant, the 182 Nuclear Fusion Acupoints within his body ignited, and a terrifying energy surged throughout his body.
Fran felt a sudden terror in her heart and instinctively kept retreating, utterly astonished:
Am I actually unable to stand by his side? Has the Holy Knight become so powerful after just over half a year of not seeing him?
"Being able to throw a punch with all one's might is indeed a beautiful thing!"
Lu Yao had not yet encountered a fight where he could go all out after breaking through to the Mixed Yuan, and he had not even made a full-fledged move yet.
At this moment, the opportunity finally arrived!
He lifted his arm behind his body and threw an ordinary-looking heavy punch at the charging enemy.
In the eyes of Merlin, Fran, and the entire Clone Army, this punch seemed very slow.
The punch was extremely fast, so fast that everyone was unable to follow its speed. They could only capture a single instance of its trajectory, which is why it appeared slow.
The real speed of the punch had already neared 40 times the speed of sound, even more ferocious than the heavy blow of the Primordial Ancestor from back in the day!
Around Lu Yao's fist was also a cluster of blazing red light, the result of the extreme friction overheating the atmosphere.
His fist, like a meteorite, continuously pushed the air in front of it without any dissipation of force.
Under Lu Yao's impeccable control, and with the enhancement of True Qi, Divine Thought, and Martial Path's will, the terrifying energy was released within a 10-square-centimeter area with a sudden burst!
At this moment, Merlin's face changes drastically, and he leapt to the side to dodge, but he was still a step too slow.
The "Mach Ring" formed by the supersonic airflow struck like a massive tidal wave, grazing a considerable part of his body and at the same time engulfing countless clones.
Subsequently, the kinetic energy converted into potential energy caused a series of violent explosions, forming a rising mushroom cloud.
In the earth-shattering tumult, the area was instantly a mess.
Fortunately, the place was made of alloy, and there was not as much dust as outside. The debris being blasted into the sky soon settled down, and visibility gradually returned to normal.
In the center, there now lay a 50-meter-wide and 200-meter-long trench... or rather, a canyon.
The edges were very precise, as if cut with a knife and chiseled with an axe.
A third of the Clone Army was annihilated by this strike, and Merlin had suffered no light injuries merely from being grazed by the aftermath.
His body missing parts here and pieces there, the incomplete and ragged appearance was quite pitiful.
Although his wounds were healing at a visibly rapid pace, his heart was filled with sheer terror!
In ancient times, he had fought with a real Martial Saint, and his physical capabilities were even superior, but now he felt as fragile as a delicate flower!
And what was even more shocking was that the other party was definitely not merely at the realm of a Martial Saint!
Merlin muttered, "To constrain a star within one's body… It's so similar to the transformation of the Angel Envoys... Could it be the legendary Mixed Yuan?"
Lu Yao slowly spread his arms, posing the initial stance of "Supreme Taiyi Thunderclap Hand," and said:
"Congratulations on getting the answer right. As a reward, I will send you on your way with a formal technique."
An overwhelming energy surged again as Lu Yao's palms swung in a full circle and then slammed together violently!
The previous strike was just a trial run; this was a formal attack using Martial Path skills.
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