"Lin Lei of the Baruch Family?" Odin immediately recognized who had come. Lin Lei's fame across the Yulan Continent was simply too great. In terms of status, he was even a notch above the former Warrior Grandmaster and Grand Priest on the Yulan Continent. After all, Lin Lei's achievements were truly legendary in nature.
Odin's face turned ashen. He glared at Lin Lei and ground out the words through clenched teeth: "You still dare to show yourself!"
"If I didn't come, how would I kill you?" Lin Lei's voice was cold as ice.
"Ha, ha ha…" Odin laughed in fury.
The deaths of his son and brother had already sent Odin into a blind rage. He also knew about Lin Lei — nearly two thousand years ago, Lin Lei had only just stepped into the god-level realm. In Odin's view, even if Lin Lei was a genius, reaching the level of Highgod was about all he could expect. To fuse profound mysteries?
That was not something that could be accomplished in a short time.
In the instant Odin laughed in his rage, his entire body transformed into a blur and appeared before Lin Lei in the blink of an eye. A thunderous "boom" rang out as Lin Lei's figure was knocked backward, sent hurtling out of the great hall by the force of the impact. Odin flashed a cold smile toward the hall's exterior, then flickered out after him.
"Lord Odin and Grandmaster Lin Lei are battling…"
Immediately, the crowd of ministers in the great hall surged toward the exits in a clamor. Even the palace guards and attendants poured out of the hall. Everyone was looking in every direction, craning their necks toward the sky, trying to locate Lin Lei and Odin. But the two of them were nowhere to be seen.
"Who do you think will win — His Majesty or Grandmaster Lin Lei?" the ministers whispered among themselves.
"His Majesty once reduced half the Yulan Empire's capital to rubble with a casual flick of his hand. With that kind of power, he'll surely win."
"But Grandmaster Lin Lei hasn't appeared in nearly two thousand years. With his monstrous talent, he's definitely grown even stronger."
While the ministers were murmuring among themselves, a terrible explosion suddenly thundered from a corner of the palace grounds—
"BOOM!"
A distant palace building erupted violently. Countless shards of stone and tile shot out in every direction at blinding speed. Fragments that struck the palace walls hundreds of meters away crashed through with a "bang," punching gaping holes in the masonry. Screams rang out continuously. A large number of palace maids and guards who had been innocently caught in the crossfire were struck by the flying debris — some with their skulls shattered, others with arms broken off…
But the ministers all looked upward.
Even the envoy being held by the palace guards raised his head to look.
There, hovering in the sky above Odin's imperial palace, were Lin Lei and Odin. Lin Lei had fully transformed into his dragon form, dragon scales covering his entire body, his dark-gold eyes staring coldly at Odin across from him. Odin, meanwhile, wore an expression of utter disbelief. "No — impossible! Impossible!"
Their brief exchange moments ago had left Odin stunned.
"A physical attack?" Lin Lei said icily. "I know you're skilled in the Laws of Death — why not use them?" Lin Lei had noticed that in their clash just now, Odin had been using the elemental laws of wind. His body was radiating wind-attribute energy, with not a trace of death energy about him.
As far as Lin Lei knew—
Odin, known as the "Evil Sovereign," was strongest in the Laws of Death.
Odin gritted his teeth and stared fixedly at Lin Lei. "I don't need them to deal with you! I'll show you what real regret feels like!" With that, his body surged forward, and a massive tornado erupted between heaven and earth. At its center, Odin charged toward Lin Lei with a world-ending momentum, his palm thrusting out like a blade aimed directly at Lin Lei's body—
"Hssss—"
A clear spatial rift tore open in the air, though this was only the material plane. A Highgod could rend space with ease.
"Laughable." Lin Lei didn't bother to defend himself at all. Instead, he charged straight at Odin, deliberately allowing the palm-blade to strike his body.
Clang!
The palm-blade hit Lin Lei's body with a metallic ring. A faint white mark was all that appeared on his dragon scales. The sight left Odin dumbfounded. Lin Lei seized the opening — his dragon claw shot out, seized Odin's right arm, and tore with savage force—
Tear~ Flesh and blood erupted as an entire right arm was ripped clean off.
Whoosh! The lightning-fast dragon tail swept in immediately after.
Odin managed to dodge, but no matter how quick his evasive movement, a deep gash still appeared across his abdomen, blood gushing out in a steady stream. Staring at Lin Lei, Odin gasped in shock, "How can your body be so…" As he spoke, his wounds were already healing rapidly. Only the severed arm was slower to regenerate.
"Too weak. Far too weak!"
Lin Lei spoke with cold detachment, then loosened his right hand. The severed arm plummeted from midair and crashed onto the ruined palace grounds below. The tornado Odin had conjured moments ago during his physical attack had already destroyed large sections of the palace. The ministers huddled nearby were covered in dust and debris, sheltering behind the palace's powerful protectors.
"Impossible!" Odin roared and charged again. This time, his entire body was enveloped in the blurry outline of a sword — a phantom greatsword that slashed straight toward Lin Lei.
Lin Lei gave a cold smile. His speed suddenly surged as he dodged the sword strike, then his claw smashed directly into Odin's face, tearing away a massive chunk of flesh. Odin's entire body was sent flying backward.
"Too slow." Lin Lei continued. After reaching the Highgod level, his speed had increased enormously once more. Combined with his terrifyingly powerful body, his velocity was far beyond what Odin's wind-aspect divine clone could match. Odin had no ability to resist whatsoever — after all, he was only using his wind-aspect divine clone right now, not his strongest death-aspect divine clone.
Odin turned to look at Lin Lei, his eyes blazing with shock and fury. He could not accept what was happening!
"How can he be this powerful?" Odin couldn't believe it.
"Where's your death-aspect divine clone?" The words had barely left Lin Lei's mouth when his figure was already beside Odin. At the same time, his right leg, sharp as a war blade, slashed toward Odin's neck. Odin flinched and retreated frantically, barely escaping the kick. Before he could catch his breath, a resounding "boom" rang out — Lin Lei's dragon tail swept across his midsection—
Odin's body was severed in two. Shattered bones, hearts, and lungs and other viscera spilled out in a ghastly mess.
The upper half of his body went flying.
"I thought you were something special?" Lin Lei's voice rang out. "Boom!" A straight punch from Lin Lei hammered into Odin's chest, which caved in like wet mud as blood sprayed wildly. But Odin's lower half was already regenerating at a rapid pace. His left arm swung violently toward Lin Lei.