A System That Beats Death

Turning around to face Xin, the Great General then began to slowly walk towards him. The shocked expression on Xin's face satisfied his ego greatly and with a menacing grin, he stated, "The last snake left".

Raising his sword for the final blow, he was ready to strike downwards. Then, a feeling of panic settled in. Cold sweat rolled down his brow and goosebumps began to form on his forearms. Despite having never experienced this foreign feeling, the instinct of fear in a greater being was stronger than that of mortals.

Swiftly turning back to look at Shen, the inferno on a burning body was still visible. However, instead of being incinerated, he seemed to be assimilating with it.

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"A mere mortal transcended a great beast. And this is before his assimilation with the System. Need I say more regarding his potential?", the entity said with a smirk to the other nine.

When their response was silence, his grin widened.

The eldest then finally stated, "As I was created with this duty and power already established, I am unfamiliar with the concept of potential. Please elaborate further"

"For someone originally from a useless world, it could be comparable to you surviving the end of the universe"

"...Then we shall entrust him with the System"

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As the flaming figure took a step, the opposition flinched both in horror and terror. Not just in fear of the being's might but in shock at how much damage he could tolerate. Scattered throughout his body were severe burn marks but besides that, parts of his body were thoroughly charred and began to turn to ash. All of these fatal injuries and not even a whimper of pain.

At first, the Great General was shocked but then his expression darkened immensely. Sensing the imminent danger, he knew he could not be careless. Two gigantic flames soared into the sky with one of a crimson color while the other of a flickering blue. The sight caused the weary armies to pause and stare in awe.

Taking another step, he then vanished. To the common folk, it looked as if he disappeared or ran but the Great General knew the truth. Turning to deflect, he was surprised to see Shen directly charging into his flames. Unleashing his aura and strengthening the flames to the utmost, he halted Shen's charge and slashed downwards with his sword. Despite the tremendous pressure, Shen's blade swung to counter it. When it met Shen's blade, it was pushed back but at the cost of Shen's blade as it shattered from the tremendous force used.

'As if a mortal's blade could contend with mine', the Great General thought scornfully and slashed to decapitate Shen once again. During the strike, his eyes made contact with Shen's and he couldn't help but feel a primal fear. Staring back at him were eyes that seemed devoid of a soul and yet felt as if they d.e.s.i.r.ed to annihilate everything that possessed a soul.

Before he could snap out of the trance, Shen snapped the blade tempered by dragon blood in half with only his teeth. He then drove his fist directly into the Great General's abdomen. Struck by such tremendous force, the Great General spewed blood and expected to fly a great distance. Peculiarly, his feet remained rooted despite the shockwave and tried to block the next strike. When his palm tried to block Shen's strike, instead of feeling resistance he felt intense pain as the blow carved a clean hole through his palm. If the both of them were not enveloped in contesting infernos, the bloodshed would be unprecedented even when the previous battles were taken into consideration.

With his hand still through the Great General's palm, he then carved a hole directly through the Great Beast's c.h.e.s.t and pulverized the ribcage to reach the heart.

Shen grasped Da Lan's heart and a tsunami of water formed around it which eliminated even the combined inferno that covered the sky. The spirit of the Vermillion Bird fought back but was helpless against its own end.

"I should've asked for your help sooner", Da Lan said with a peaceful smile on his face.

[A-Rank Quest Completed:

Reward: False Phoenix Heart

Points Gained: 10000]

When the Great General collapsed, a resounding cheer was heard throughout the battlefield. Before Xin could go to help Shen though, he saw a shadow descend. It belonged to a tiger with fur the color of silver and a height greater than 5 meters.

With a single swipe, he then ended the already transient Shen who turned to dust.

"Genbu, what happened to ignoring their feud?", the beast bellowed. When the response was silence, the tiger's expression darkened. Before it could leave though, an ear-shattering scream resounded throughout the battlefield.

What then ensued was a clash between the tiger and Xin who had unlocked the atavism within his bloodline. The power of Dragon Blood flowed through his veins and strengthened his physique while granting him the ability to cause shockwaves with his voice, dragon scales that could withstand point-blank cannon blasts, and claws that could slice through steel.

Once the one-sided clash ended, the tiger sighed audibly as it restrained Xin with one paw alone.

"A mere partial vessel could never compare to me, the being people become vessels for", the tiger growled in an annoyed tone. It then left without being hindered.

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"An uninvited foe just had to ruin the moment", the entity scowled.

"I'm going to rectify this"

"I also feel indignant, but this is excessive", one of the others stated, trying to stop him.

"It's fine. His body is already doomed, and I want this arrogant bastard to feel true terror", the entity said with a menacing grin.

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In its departure, the tiger then halted.

"What's wrong, Genbu? Didn't want to admit your faults in front of the lesser creatures", the tiger spoke as if amused.

A silhouette belonging to Shen then emerged.

"You are awfully conceited for a trespasser. I shall return your greetings", an ethereal voice spoke.

"W-who are you!?", the great beast growled as its fur stood on end.

Instead of a verbal response, the beast felt the ground collapse in tandem with its skull.