Previously on I Pick Up Talents on the Interstellar Battlefield...
Shengongsi Yuzuo and his companions arrived at a battlefield, only to discover that the powerful beings they were hunting had already been killed by a mysterious, skilled opponent. As they used a mirror to track the assailant, they found themselves ambushed by an "Eight Trigrams Array" that suppressed their spiritual energy and trapped them within an ice maze. The ambushers revealed themselves, gloating over their trapped prey.
"Shatter for me!"
A colossal serpentine entity, dozens of meters in length, materialized from the surrounding Spiritual Energy. Its scales bore the markings of gray calamity, and its blood-red pupils spewed a viscous black mist, chilling the wind and snow into an icy dread.
The enormous snake’s tail lashed out with tearing force, aiming for the quartet stationed on the ice barrier.
"Scatter!" Qin Tian commanded. They simultaneously evaded to their sides. The serpent ignored their dispersal, instead pivoting its immense form to slam into the adjacent ice wall like a battering ram.
"Boom!" The towering ice wall disintegrated, sending shards plummeting like a tempest.
The monstrous snake maneuvered continuously, its tail and head relentlessly assaulting the ice walls, causing one after another to crumble.
Finally, it plunged beneath the surface, its massive body churning under the ice layer, instantaneously rending the cyan-golden patterns at the heart of the array.
Shengongsi Yuzuo smirked coldly, his objective achieved. Though he wasn’t concerned about the array itself, Beitiao Hezi and the others were significantly weakened by its suppression. Without its destruction, they would soon become liabilities.
The instant the array patterns were obliterated, Beitiao Hezi and the remaining two felt the oppressive weight lift. Their long-dormant Spiritual Energy surged anew, as fluid and unimpeded as a thawed river.
"Many thanks, Young Master!" The woman in purple, her complexion regaining some color, hastily regulated her breathing.
Shengongsi Yuzuo offered a slight nod, his gaze returning to Qin Tian on the ice wall's remnants, palpable killing intent radiating from him.
"It is impolite to not reciprocate. Today, I shall show you who the true hunter is!"
Without further preamble, he transformed into a streak of light, hurtling towards Qin Tian. His fist, adorned with snake-scale patterns, whistled sharply through the air.
Qin Tian’s eyes narrowed. Without a word, he descended from the ice wall, his saber slashing towards Shengongsi Yuzuo.
"The rest is up to you all!" he declared, his figure merging with Shengongsi Yuzuo’s assault.
Zhuge Yu and the others retreated in unison, acutely aware that interfering in a clash of this magnitude would only invite chaos.
Taishi Feng tightened his grasp on the Heaven-piercing Halberd, his gaze locked with the hulking warrior. Huo Yuansheng unsheathed his longsword, his chilling presence directed at the woman in purple. Zhuge Yu manipulated an array plate at his fingertips, the faint glow of residual patterns serving as a ward against Beitiao Hezi’s potential ambush.
"Clang——!"
The Thunder Saber met the snake-scale glove with a deafening clang of metal on metal.
Shengongsi Yuzuo’s glove exuded an aura more sinister than Shengongsi Hao Er’s. Intricate array patterns etched between the scales were as hard as steel, emitting a peculiar suction that seemed to absorb Spiritual Energy.
Having deactivated his Overlord Body·Emperor State, Qin Tian's strength was considerably diminished. The force transmitted through his saber from Shengongsi Yuzuo’s strike numbed his hand, propelling him backward into a jagged ice remnant, showering fragments everywhere.
"Only Tier Six, and you possess this much strength?" Shengongsi Yuzuo’s brow furrowed slightly.
Such combat prowess could not possibly account for Hao Er’s demise in his final form. Could his opponent still be concealing his true power?
Meanwhile, elsewhere, the battle had already ignited.
The burly man swung a pair of massive golden hammers, gold-element Spiritual Energy surging. The hammerheads blazed with dazzling light, as if a colossal spirit had descended, crashing furiously towards Taishi Feng. "Die for me!"
Taishi Feng met the onslaught without fear, his Heaven-piercing Halberd infused with his very Qi and Blood. Golden halberd light collided with the hammerhead, and with a resonant "boom," both combatants were forced back three steps, their strength surprisingly matched.
"You can actually withstand my strike?" Surprise flickered in the burly man’s eyes. He boasted a Tier Six Nine Stars Golden Bloodline, renowned for his raw power, and hadn’t anticipated his blow being met head-on by an equal.
"Less talk! Again!" Taishi Feng bellowed with laughter, his Qi and Blood surging once more as he charged forward. The metallic symphony of their clash echoed incessantly across the frozen expanse.
The confrontation between Huo Yuansheng and the woman in purple unfolded with a markedly different dynamic.
The woman wielded a slender sword, her movements intricate and unpredictable, reminiscent of a serpent's darting tongue. Each thrust targeted Huo Yuansheng's vulnerable points. However, Huo Yuansheng's swordplay was akin to lightning, swift and utterly fierce.
While their Spiritual Ability Levels were virtually identical, the woman clad in purple found herself gradually succumbing to the residual energies of the formation. The speed of her delicate sword began to wane, providing Huo Yuansheng with a crucial opening. His frigid blade then grazed her wrist, etching a thin crimson line.
The duel between Zhuge Yu and Beitiao Hezi unfolded as the most peculiar spectacle.
Beitiao Hezi brandished an ancient bronze mirror, its surface shimmering. Twisted Visages of Mirror Demons emerged from the ice wall, unleashing piercing shrieks. An unseen wave of spiritual energy surged towards Zhuge Yu.
He was ingeniously employing the ice wall as his reflective surface.
"Engaging in spiritual assaults within my domain?"
Zhuge Yu scoffed. The formation plate pulsed with energy, and the fractured ice wall was instantly enveloped in a dark mist, transforming into a faintly glowing black ice wall. The Mirror Demons, upon contact with this spectral ice, dissolved as if encountering their ultimate bane.
"Soul Guard Transform Array!" Zhuge Yu's fingers danced with incredible speed, weaving azure and gold patterns that coalesced into a luminous shield before him, utterly nullifying the spiritual onslaught.
Beitiao Hezi's countenance grew grim. His abilities were far better suited for reconnaissance and providing support; direct confrontation was not his strong suit, and he was now even more severely hampered by Zhuge Yu's formidable formation.
At the very heart of the icefield, Qin Tian ascended from the shattered icy fragments, the purple lightning crackling around his Thunder Saber intensifying.
He cast a placid gaze upon the approaching Shengongsi Yuzuo.
Boom!
Shengongsi Yuzuo's foot impacted, splintering the ice layer beneath. His figure shot towards Qin Tian like a projectile launched from a bowstring, his right fist shrouded in a dense, grayish-black mist. The very essence of Calamity Qi coiled around the punch, animate and menacing.
This was the distinctive Calamity Qi inherent to the Giant Snake Bloodline. Those afflicted not only experienced the erosion of their Spiritual Energy but were also cursed with ill fortune, where even the slightest misstep in combat could spell their doom.
