While facing Truce’s powerful strike, Jeremiah remained calm. He didn’t even flinch and raised his arm to block the blow.
The shadowsteel staff crashed down with a resounding impact on his arm. Instead of the expected scene of broken bones and a flying body, the staff only made his sleeve flutter. He didn’t suffer any injuries.
Jeremiah stood still with a smile on his face.
“Huh?” Truce’s eyes widened in shock. If the earlier thrust had been jusť a test, this sweeping blow was delivered with full force.
He would have understood if Jeremiah had used grandmaster-level internal energy. But Truce didn’t feel any energy fluctuation from him. In other words, Jeremiah had relied purely on his physical strength to withstand the blow.
Could this seemingly frail priest be a grandmaster of body refinement? If so, a tough battle lay ahead. After all, Truce was also a grandmaster of body refinement.
“I didn’t expect that skinny priest to catch Venerable Truce’s staff barehanded. He’s got some skill.”
“But what’s the point of having great defense? He’s just a punching bag. Besides, when it comes to raw physical strength, how can any foreigner. compare to Venerable Truce, who has that legendary Adamantine Body Art?”
“Exactly. Venerable Truce was just warming up. If he went all out, he could kill that foreigner in no time.”
The brief clash on the battle ring sparked a flurry of discussions among the spectators. They knew Truce’s strength well. After all, he had a profound cultivation and immense physical power.
Jeremiah’s ability to withstand two hits unscathed proved his formidable skill. Still, it wasn’t enough to change the inevitable outcome.
“Your strength is decent, but you’re nowhere near enough to defeat me,” Jeremiah said with a smile.
He continued, “I’ll give you three minutes to show me what you’ve got. Use all your skills if you’ve got any because you won’t get another chance once the time is up.”
His calm tone was laced with arrogant disdain, as if victory was already in his grasp.
“Hmph! I don’t need three minutes to beat you. Thirty seconds will suffice!”
Truce scoffed, his expression turning serious.
He knew Jeremiah was no pushover. To defeat him, Truce would need to bring his A-game.
“Today, you’ll witness the Banisher Technique of Aureate Monastery!” he declared and leaped into the air. With both hands gripping his staff, he aimed a heavy blow at Jeremiah’s head.
Rumbling sounds echoed as the shadowsteel staff flared with a blinding golden light and unleashed a surge of terrifying power.
Jeremiah raised an eyebrow and instinctively sidestepped to avoid the crushing blow.
The shadowsteel staff, surrounded by a golden light, struck the floor with immense force. It carved a deep groove into the battle ring’s surface.
The battle ring, with a diameter of about 330 feet, was made entirely of black gold stone, which was comparable to steel in hardness. Hence, its ability to carve out such a deep groove with a single swing highlighted its immense power.
If that strike had landed on someone, it would have instantly turned them into a bloody mess.
The staff missed its target, but Truce wasted no time. He swung the staff horizontally and aimed straight for Jeremiah’s legs. The golden light enhanced his strike, making it lightning-fast and devastating.
Jeremiah quickly leaped into the air and drifted backward to evade the blow.
“Just what I was waiting for!” Truce’s eyes narrowed with cold resolve as he channeled all his internal energy into the staff. The golden light flared up and transformed into a golden dragon that lunged toward Jeremiah in the air.
This was the Drakon Banisher, one of the ultimate moves of the Banisher Technique. It was a fearsome, unstoppable attack that drove demons and gods alike to retreat. Plus, Truce’s power was magnified many times from its previous forms.
At that critical moment, Jeremiah was trapped in midair after the previous assaults. He couldn’t dodge and could only brace himself for the oncoming blow. The transformed shadowsteel staff crashed into Jeremiah with an earth-shattering impact.
He crashed into the ring with such force that it created a human-shaped crater in the black-gold stone. Dust and debris exploded around him, and the air crackled with energy.
“Excellent hit!”
“Take that, you foreign scum! Let’s see if you can survive this!”
The spectators went wild upon seeing that.
Truce’s ultimate strike was so devastating that even a tank would have been reduced to scrap in an instant. Everyone expected Jeremiah to be flattened into a puddle of flesh.
When everyone thought the match was over, a sudden clattering of falling stones caught their attention.
Then, Jeremiah walked out from the cloud of dust. He looked unscathed except for a bit of dust on his clerical robe.
“This is my favorite outfit, and you’ve ruined it. How are you going to compensate me?” He glanced down at his slightly torn robe. His smile faded into a grim glare. He was furious, and the consequences would be severe.
