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Among the three, the obviously strongest veteran warrior Heideman had already leaped into the air, the five spiked heads of his flail spreading apart. Differing in size, weight, shape, and chain length, the five heads moved as if wielded by five separate individuals, each following its own trajectory. Shrouded in varying intensities of azure light, they descended from above, enveloping the space below.

In an instant, the trio had woven an inescapable death trap.

Unfortunately, their opponent was a warrior who could split the skies and shatter the earth.

At the moment their attacks converged, the silver-haired figure of the Werewolf Sword Saint vanished without a trace. The purple blade light, green halberd afterimages, and colossal blue mace forces clashed violently, the residual shockwaves obliterating the ground within a hundred-meter radius, instantly blasting out a crater seven to eight meters deep.

"Celestial Saint, all you do is dodge—ah—!"

"Come out—thud—!"

"Watch out—boom—!"

Just as the three were about to speak after their failed strike, a fierce counterattack struck.

The halberd-wielding warrior Shaklo took a direct punch to the face, sending him flying backward. His back scraped along a kilometer-long slope until he soared over the Lion Clan's main formation atop the hill and crashed into the rear camp. The lightning-attributed Orc Freddy was similarly struck in the chest by an unseen fist, launching him backward like a ballista bolt. He smashed into the Eight Trigram Formation behind him, causing chaos—soldiers from both sides were sent flying amid the deafening tumult before he finally embedded himself deep into the ruins within the formation. Meanwhile, Heideman, who had attacked from above, was met with an upward kick to the abdomen. His armor shattered as his body spiraled over two hundred meters into the air before plummeting back down.

Accompanying this was Chen Xuanfeng's furious voice: "Hmph! Attacking with only your basic combat energy—do you look down on me as a Sword Saint? If you continue fighting with this attitude, I won’t guarantee you won’t end up as pulp!"

The three Orcs had only utilized their Sword Emperor-level combat energy in their attacks, holding back both their magical power and the full potential of their weapons. Though their physical prowess made their combat energy comparable to that of a Sword Emperor who had mastered the Emperor Martial Overlord Art, their overall lethality still fell short of two or three human Holy Crest Saints wielding "Holy Crests." Such an attack wouldn’t have defeated Chen Xuanfeng even before he reached the Saint realm, let alone now—naturally provoking his anger.

The water-attributed veteran Heideman, being the strongest among the Orc Sword Emperors, managed to flip midair and land safely despite being kicked skyward. He responded solemnly, "Cough... Apologies, Celestial Saint. Though we knew you might be a Sword Saint surpassing even Master Leimen, as followers of His Majesty Samantha, we subconsciously denied the possibility of you surpassing our master. That’s why we instinctively underestimated your power earlier. As atonement, allow us to show you the Orcs' most lethal battle formation. All warriors, activate Beast Form and form the Beast Tide Annihilation Formation!"

"ROAR—!"

Heideman was the first to transform. Surging blue light enveloped him as his wild lion-like mane fused into seven draconic horns, his pupils shifting into golden spindle-shaped beast eyes. His exposed skin, where his armor had shattered, became covered in dense scales, while blade-like fins sprouted from his shoulders, wrists, and knees. Simultaneously, his azure combat energy coalesced behind him into the phantom of a dragon-headed, serpent-bodied, fish-tailed draconic chimera—the manifestation of his fusion with the "Abyssal Tide Dragon."

In response, massive surges of magical energy erupted from both the Lion Clan’s hilltop camp and the Eight Trigram Formation, materializing as towering illusions—one of an amber-colored colossal beetle, the other of a violet eagle crackling with lightning. The remaining dozens of Orc Warriors, though lacking the grandeur of the three Sword Emperors, also underwent rapid transformations, displaying various beastly traits across their bodies. Dozens of intertwined magical and combat energies spiraled into a multicolored tornado, accompanied by the roaring of lions. Despite numbering only thirty or forty, their presence surpassed the presence of an entire army.

Chen Xuanfeng made no move to interrupt, allowing them to complete their transformations and assemble their formation. Only when the three Sword Emperors rejoined the battle line, elevating the combined power of the "Beast Tide Annihilation Formation" another tier, did he smirk and declare, "Good. Now let’s see how much of my power you can withstand!"

Seeing them finally fighting seriously, Chen Xuanfeng began gathering his own strength.

His Holy Grail Battle Aura was pure white, while his Nine-Headed Hydra Battle Aura was the deepest black. But what happened when the two merged completely? Striped? Gray? Neither. Upon reaching the Saint realm and fully comprehending its mysteries, Chen Xuanfeng’s combat energy, like his Nine Yin True Energy, had become utterly transparent and colorless.

Yet, it was not invisible.

Just as rising flames distort the air, warping the view through their heat haze, ripples of transparent, glass-like rings emanated from Chen Xuanfeng’s raised hands, layering outward. Though silent, these ripples caused the radiant combat energy and magical auras of the Orcs to sway and drift unnaturally.

Despite the agreed time limit, Chen Xuanfeng didn’t rush to attack. Instead, the Orcs grew restless as the ripples of his combat energy spread across the land and soared into the sky, their majesty surpassing even the combined presence of their dozens of elites.

They also knew that a Saint Master’s "presence" arose naturally, permeating the surroundings without effort. But Chen Xuanfeng’s "presence" was unique—it drew from the energy tides of the Astral Abyss. Left unchecked, its overwhelming pressure would crush weaker warriors, while even Sword Emperors would find their ability to harness the Astral Abyss’s power disrupted, drastically weakening them. Though Chen Xuanfeng had restrained his "presence" per their agreement, this restraint alone eroded their fighting spirit. The more they realized how much power he had sealed away to face them, the more their fighting spirit waned.