Chapter 2158 — Absolute Dragon Awakening

After a long, tense silence, the barbarian suddenly burst into laughter, her voice so powerful it rattled the air itself. "You'll slaughter us all? With what-your pitiful cultivation base?" she mocked.

"I wouldn't recommend it, but you're more than welcome to find out," Yuan responded with a calm smile on his handsome face.

The barbarian's grin vanished, replaced by a chilling frown. "I dislike you. Arrogant, weak, and oblivious- you don't even know when to hold your tongue." Without giving Yuan a chance to respond, she lifted her arm high and struck. In the blink of an eye, his head was reduced to nothing.

"Yuan!" Yaoqin cried, her eyes going wide with horror. How could it be? He had fallen so easily, when only moments ago his calm and confidence had seemed unshakable.

Seeing this, Lady Chen muttered, "I knew he was bluffing this entire time... I should've killed him when I had the chance!" Strangely, even after his head had been annihilated, Yuan's body showed no sign of collapse. It stood tall and unwavering, exuding the eerie impression that he was still very much alive.

"How unpleasant." The barbarian clicked her tongue and reached for Yuan's body. Though she had destroyed his head, she had deliberately left the rest intact since she still intended to study his physique.

What followed left the barbarian-and everyone else-frozen in shock. The headless corpse moved. Against all logic, it raised an arm and caught the barbarian's hand in an unyielding grip. Then, everyone watched as Yuan's destroyed head regenerated completely.

"Heavens! It's a monster!" The barbarians cried out loud.

Once Yuan's regeneration was finished, he calmly stared at the barbarian before him and said, "You'll need to do more than just destroy my head to kill me."

"What the hell are you...?" The barbarian muttered in a low voice.

"Is that how he survived the Rod of Destruction?" Gu Ruyan stared at Yuan in a daze.

The barbarian yanked and twisted, trying to break away from Yuan's grip. But to her utter disbelief, she could not budge an inch. His grasp was immovable, heavy as if a mountain itself were shackled to her arm. 'What is happening?! His raw strength... It's beyond comprehension!' the barbarian cried inwardly, panic flashing in her eyes.

While she was still caught in disbelief, Yuan pulled his other arm back and unleashed a devastating punch toward her face. Despite being lost in thought, the barbarian still managed to intercept Yuan's punch. But his strength was monstrous and beyond her comprehension. The instant their clash resounded, her body was wrenched from the ground, and before she even understood what had happened, she was sent crashing backward.

"Chief Mu?!" The other barbarians exclaimed in shock after seeing her being pushed back by a mere Golden Immortal.

The female barbarian, Chief Mu, quickly steadied herself in midair, though the shock on her face lingered and refused to fade. After staring at Yuan in silence, excitement suddenly lit up Chief Mu's face. Her cultivation burst forth in the next instant, flooding the area with tyrannical pressure. "I don't care who or what you are. Survive ten of my attacks, and I'll let you and your friend live," she declared.

Yuan's lips curved into a smile. "You'd better not go back on your word... or I'll kill you." As Yuan stepped forward, he activated Absolute Dragon Awakening the evolved form of True Dragon Awakening after consuming the Dragon Ancestor's Blood Essence. His aura soared skyward, surging to unimaginable heights. Compared to his former True Dragon Awakening, this new power was at least a hundred times stronger. More astonishing still, his cultivation, which had stagnated at Golden Immortal, suddenly shattered its bottleneck, propelling him into True Immortal. Yet this advancement was not a true breakthrough but merely a temporary boost brought on by Absolute Dragon Awakening. For that reason, it could not be counted toward his quest.

"?!?!" Chief Mu could scarcely believe what she was seeing-her features frozen in bewildered awe. And yet, instead of fear, a spark of exhilaration flared ever brighter in her eyes.

Since his opponent was a seventh-level God Ascension powerhouse, Yuan couldn't afford to go easy. Not only did he use Absolute Dragon Awakening, but he also retrieved Number One Under Heaven to fight Chief Mu. Though she stood at the Seventh Level of God Ascension-an expert nearing the peak of the cultivation world-Chief Mu didn't dare underestimate Yuan, despite him being merely an Immortal. She summoned her weapon: a pair of axes gleaming with a chilling light, as though carved from pure ice. Gripping them firmly, she advanced to confront Yuan.

With Number One Under Heaven in hand, Yuan cloaked it in his Supreme Sword Aura. Enhanced by its fifth unique ability, the aura sharpened to an unimaginable degree-so keen that even the slightest movement seemed to rend the fabric of space, leaving a visible scar in the air. In response, Chief Mu coated her axes with Supreme Axe Aura. Yet compared to Yuan's enhanced Supreme Sword Aura, hers was clearly inferior. To bridge the gap, she infused her weapons with Celestial Qi.

When they clashed a split second later, their weapon auras erupted outward, tearing countless slits through the surrounding space and exposing the ominous void beyond. Yet, in the next breath, the wounds in reality swiftly mended themselves.

"That's one," Yuan said.

"I can see why you're so damn arrogant, but you still have to survive nine more strikes!" Chief Mu exclaimed as she prepared her second strike.

Meanwhile, Gu Ruyan and the others could only watch in stunned disbelief. "We've been fighting a monster like that this whole time...?" Lady Chen murmured in a daze.

"Impossible... How can an outsider wield such power...?" Gu Ruyan collapsed to his knees in despair.

Yaoqin remained silent, yet the astonishment in her eyes spoke louder than words. The barbarian wrapped in fur robes narrowed her eyes on Yuan, seemingly in deep thought. Moments later, Chief Mu unleashed her second strike, and Yuan confronted it with a smile. (More chapters in Buyers club for TMT)