I Am Overlord c1-962
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Xiang Shaoyun applied healing to all three birds, greatly alleviating their injuries before feeding them some spring water to further hasten their recovery. Two days later, the three were able to once again spread their wings and soar in the sky.
Xiang Shaoyun couldn't help lamenting the effectiveness of the power of wood in terms of healing. He also rejoiced that he had such power under his control now.
Even after comprehending the profundity of wood, he still didn't plan to go out hunting for the devilish plants. He remained there to cultivate in peace. This time, he would focus on using all nine profundities at the same time and test his energy absorption speed and see if it could reach a decent level.
The wood energy was the thickest in the Forest of Antiquity, but that did not mean that there were no other energies. Xiang Shaoyun could still absorb other energies, but the absorption speed wouldn't be as fast as when he was absorbing wood energy.
After repeated attempts, he was able to increase his absorption speed, but he failed to absorb all nine energies at the same time. Perhaps he had to fuse all nine profundities, creating a brand new and unique profundity, before he could accomplish it.
In the past, he never thought of fusing the profundities. But the vague idea in his mind seemed to turn more and more distinct as if he really could do so. He had a feeling this would be the secret of solving the biggest issue of cultivating nine powers.
His inspiration came from the Light of Wisdom, but fully solving the issue would still be exceedingly difficult. For now, he already had a general idea of what he should do. First, he needed to fuse the profundities of the five main elements. Only then would he start working on fusing the other four powers.
Even so, fusing the five main elements wasn't an easy feat. After repeated attempts, he made no progress and was forced to stop for now. A month after entering the battleground, Xiang Shaoyun finally started his hunt.
During the hunt, he obtained decent gains, and there were many unharvested treasures in the forest. So long as one was strong enough, one would be able to obtain them.
Money managed to become a fifth-stage Demon Emperor. He wasn't originally in a rush to break through, but after being injured by the Crushing Sky people, he was furious and broke through two stages in a row.
Xiang Shaoyun had a feeling Money was still hiding a lot of his strength. Perhaps he had yet to even fully digest the dragon bone.
While hunting, Xiang Shaoyun also encountered many academy disciples. However, he had not met any Overlord Legion members. Thus, he felt somewhat gloomy, as he was worried about them.
But when he recalled how they would be mostly safe with the protective jades, his worries were alleviated.
One day, he suddenly heard a familiar voice while traveling, "You bastards! Don't push it, or the Overlord Legion will not spare you!"
Xiang Shaoyun had a good memory, and he immediately recognized that the voice belonged to Pan Yun, an Overlord Legion member. It seemed he had encountered trouble.
"Haha, the Overlord Legion is targeted to be cleaned from the battleground. If you're smart, crush your protective jades and leave. Otherwise, you'll suffer," came a different voice, followed by a series of arrogant laughter.
Chapter 837: Trashing the Royals in Anger
Apart from Pan Yun, there was another Overlord Legion member there as well. She was Yuan Xuefen, a fifth-stage Emperor known for her Windchaser Arrow technique. Both had been teleported to the same area, so they were able to group up quickly.
Unfortunately, they had caught the attention of the Royal Army members. Relying on their superior numbers, the Royal Army people heavily injured the two.
The so-called Royal Army was none other than the faction founded by Huang Tianji in the academy, a faction ranked higher than the Overlord Legion. If it wasn't for the Overlord Legion's recent rapid growth, the gap between the two would be much larger.
This particular Royal Army group was led by a peak fifth-stage Emperor called Shuai Hong, one of the four strongest guards of Huang Tianji. Shuai Hong was extremely handsome. His face looked like it was sculpted, and his eyes were as bright as the brightest star. He stood tall and straight, looking full of vigor with his azure armor and halberd.
A group of about a dozen disciples of different cultivation levels was following him, and they held the absolute advantage in the battle. As far as they were concerned, Pan Yun and Yuan Xuefen were as good as theirs. Thus, they were completely at ease, exposing their plan without care. Little had Shuai Hong imagined that Xiang Shaoyun would arrive and overhear their conversation.
"Xuefen, looks like we have no choice but to leave early," said Pan Yun with a bitter smile.
"I cannot accept withdrawing just like this. I want to try fighting," said Yuan Xuefen stubbornly.
Pan Yun clenched his teeth and said, "I'll cover your retreat. I never hoped to enter the top 100 anyway."
He used a defensive technique unique to him and erected a barrier before Yuan Xuefen, trying to create an opportunity for her to flee.
"You overestimate yourself. Neither of you can hope to escape. Get them both!" commanded Shuai Hong with a disdainful sneer.
Suddenly, a voice rang out, "Are you capable of getting them both, though?"
Before Pan Yun and Yuan Xuefen, a figure appeared out of nowhere.
When the two saw the newcomer, joy covered their faces. They exclaimed, "Overlord!"
Shuai Hong's pupils shrank when he saw Xiang Shaoyun. His halberd lashed out as he roared, "Attack with your full strength and take them down at all cost!"
Shuai Hong was very clear that if they couldn't defeat Xiang Shaoyun with a rapid attack, they would be the ones to flee in the end. Before they could attack, Money attacked from behind them. His strong and sturdy body swept about, sending several disciples flying.
On the other side, Xiang Shaoyun met Shuai Hong's attack with a domineering punch. The fist crushed through Shuai Hong's attack before striking his chest, blasting him away.
The other Royal Army members failed to surround Xiang Shaoyun because Money's sneak attack had caught them by surprise. As for Shuai Hong, he had been sent flying with a single punch, causing their morale dropped. Regardless, they were all genius cultivators who would not flee just because of lowered morale. They used their full strength, exposing one trump card after another to resist Xiang Shaoyun and Money.
Their strength was rather impressive. If this was half a year ago, Xiang Shaoyun would have had a hard time dealing with them. But now, he could suppress them completely.
Xiang Shaoyun moved into their midst, shifting the energy in his fists to a green energy that made each punch of his seem like the attack of an ancient tree. He looked like he was punching randomly, but it also seemed like he could predict all their movements in advance. He proceeded to wreak chaos among them.
Money, with his recent growth in strength, trashed a few of their opponents. The Royal Army members did not lack quality armor and weapons, and thus, they weren't completely helpless. However, the advantage they had established earlier was completely destroyed.
The only thought they had in mind right now was to escape. Otherwise, they would either be killed or forced to withdraw from the battleground. Xiang Shaoyun did not intend to show them any mercy. He relied on his ultimate speed and trashed the Royal Army members. They were completely helpless against him.
"Xiang Shaoyun is actually this strong? We need to retreat, or this will be it for us!" said Shuai Hong. His earlier confidence was nowhere to be seen, and he started fleeing.
Unfortunately for him, a nearby flower suddenly bloomed and swallowed him just as he started fleeing. Shuai Hong was too focused on fleeing and had not expected to be ingested by a flower. He was forced to attack with his full power to destroy the flower.
That tiny delay gave Xiang Shaoyun the time to finish up with the others before rushing toward him. Without holding anything back, Xiang Shaoyun stomped on Shuai Hong's face.
"A
HHH!"
Shuai Hong felt like his entire nose had been destroyed, an intense pain assaulting him as blood sprayed out of his nose.
With one foot on Shuai Hong's chest, Xiang Shaoyun asked, "What did you mean earlier when you said that the Overlord Legion was the target for cleanup?"
With a stubborn look, Shuai Hong said, "I won't tell you anything."
"Then that leaves you with only one option," said Xiang Shaoyun coldly.
"Yes, I choose to say goodbye," said Shuai Hong, howling with laughter. He crushed his protective jade, and Xiang Shaoyun could only watch on as his prisoner vanished right under his nose.
Shuai Hong was a fifth-stage Emperor, someone strong enough to get onto the Dragon Phoenix List. For him to unhesitatingly give up and withdraw from the battleground, he was quite a resolute person.
"You think I can't figure anything out without you?" Xiang Shaoyun sneered as he returned to his previous position.
Money, Pan Yun, and Yuan Xuefen had the remaining Royal Army members under control. A small number of them had been able to withdraw using their protective jades.
"I'll give you all one chance. Tell me what's going on, or I will kill you all," demanded Xiang Shaoyun coldly.
They trembled when they sensed his thick murderous intent. Some of them were unwilling to withdraw from the battleground this simply, so they started speaking. It turned out that the Royal Army and the Flaming Sun had joined hands to clear the Overlord Legion from the battleground.
Xiang Shaoyun's face turned ghastly when he heard their explanation. He commanded, "All of you, withdraw immediately."
"You promised to spare us! You're breaking our trust!" said one of them unhappily.
"I am already being merciful by not killing you, yet you're here talking about trust with me?" said Xiang Shaoyun as he gave the person who had spoken a kick.
Bang!
Chapter 838: The Overlord Has a Lot of Tricks up His Sleeve
When all the Royal Army members withdrew from the battleground, Xiang Shaoyun looked at Pan Yun and Yuan Xuefen and asked, "Why are there only two of you?"
"Overlord, we haven't found anyone else," said Pan Yun.
"Take one day to heal up. After that, we will go look for the others," said Xiang Shaoyun.
Pan Yun and Yuan Xuefen did not waste any time and immediately started healing. Xiang Shaoyun shot them a glance before using the profundity of wood to create a concentration of pure wood energy. The wood energy slowly permeated their bodies. The two sensed something, and they opened their eyes to look at Xiang Shaoyun in confusion.
Xiang Shaoyun said nonchalantly, "Focus on healing and don't think of anything else."
They now knew that what they felt was done by Xiang Shaoyun, so they stopped thinking and focused on healing again. The wood energy Xiang Shaoyun used this time did not have a clear healing effect like what he had done for the three birds, but it still helped to accelerate their recovery, and it was one of the ways one could use the profundity of wood.
Xiang Shaoyun had a feeling that if he could deepen his understanding, he would be able to push his comprehension on the recovery aspect of the profundity of wood to the limit.
In the blink of an eye, a day passed. Pan Yun and Yuan Xuefen woke up from their meditation.
"Thank you, Overlord," they stood up and said respectfully.
Xiang Shaoyun waved his hand and said, "We are brothers and sisters. There is no need to say all these polite words. Let's go. Time to look for the others."
He took the lead and walked in a certain direction. Pan Yun and Yuan Xuefen followed him as they mused inwardly, The overlord sure has a lot of tricks up his sleeve.
They were well aware that with their healing capabilities, recovering to about 80 percent of their optimal state in a day was not possible. They would be able to recover up to 50 percent at most. With Xiang Shaoyun's assistance, they had upped their recovery by at least 30 percent. That was truly shocking.
One should never look down on the 30 percent increase. In moments of life and death, time was essential. In their eyes, Xiang Shaoyun became even more deep and unmeasurable.
Xiang Shaoyun did not care about what they were thinking. He scanned his surroundings with the senses of his Nether Soul Domain and used the profundity of wood to fuse with the forest, clearly sensing all plants in the area.
The devilish plants were extremely good at disguising themselves. At one glance, a devilish plant would look the same as an ordinary plant, and they would lie in wait to unleash a fatal attack when one least expected it.
Relying on his sharp senses, Xiang Shaoyun slaughtered all the devilish plants he came across, not giving them a chance to launch any sneak attacks. Pan Yun and Yuan Xuefen weren't even given a chance to do anything. They felt somewhat embarrassed to be watching and doing nothing as they traveled.
After all, they were the subordinates and should be the ones charging ahead. But now, the leader was the one charging ahead, causing them to feel extremely ashamed. Fortunately, Xiang Shaoyun soon allowed them to go ahead. He did not do so because he was tired of taking the lead. Rather, he had a sudden flash of inspiration he needed to focus on.
He had discovered that whenever he killed a devilish plant, pure wood energy and devilish energy would leak from the dead plants. When he absorbed the energy, he found that it was extremely beneficial for him. This area already contained dense ambient wood energy. However, the wood energy from the dead plants was much denser.
Thus, Xiang Shaoyun started absorbing the energy from the dead plants, growing his wood and devilish energies. This could be considered an unexpected gain. Thus, he allowed Pan Yun and Yuan Xuefen to take the lead while he immersed himself in absorbing energy.
Of course, he was also doing so to allow Pan Yun and Yuan Xuefen to gather more points. He could see that the two worked together well. Pan Yun would focus on defending while Yuan Xuefen would focus on attacking.
During the process, they were also able to gather some king and emperor medicines, further enriching themselves. After about five days, they encountered a group of about a dozen Overlord Legion members.
This group had yet to encounter any Flaming Sun or Royal Army members. But some of them had already been forced to withdraw by crushing their protective jades. After all, the devilish plants weren't easy opponents. Any carelessness could be fatal.
After meeting up with them, Xiang Shaoyun's confidence increased. He was hoping he could encounter other factions so he could eliminate those factions' people.
Not far away from Xiang Shaoyun's group, Tang Longfei and Ning Wenhuang were leading a group of about 30 people as they ran from two different groups.
The two groups were none other than the members from the Flaming Sun and the Royal Army. There were about 50 of them in total, holding a complete advantage over the Overlord Legion people.
Fortunately, among the Overlord Legion's group were Mu Qingyu and Wang Xin. Both were fifth-stage Emperors, allowing them to withstand the attacks of the Flaming Sun and Royal Army members while fleeing.
The chase seemed extremely intense. The occasional sneak attack from the devilish plants further increased the chaos.
The person leading the Flaming Sun group was Li Li. She had always been low profile and was extremely loyal to Yu Ziyang. She had an impressive cultivation speed and was already a sixth-stage Dragon Ascension Realm cultivator. She was comparable with An Lulu the Lady Violence.
The Royal Army group was led by a fifth-stage Dragon Ascension Realm expert. Working together, Tang Longfei and the rest were having a hard time even escaping.
"Run, everyone! Don't get tangled up! We will have our revenge after finding the overlord and Deputy Commander Ouyang," said Tang Longfei.
"Hehe, you better crush your protective jades and leave, or all of you will suffer," said Li Li with an indifferent smile.
She attacked unceasingly, forcing Tang Longfei to retreat again and again. She demonstrated a formidable combat pr
owess that caused even the surrounding devilish plants to move out of her way.
Even with Wang Xin assisting Tang Longfei, the two were still not her match. As for Mu Qingyu, he was busy dealing with the fifth-stage Dragon Ascension Realm expert from the Royal Army and was unable to help the others.
A few people from the Overlord Legion were forced to crush their protective jades one after another, and some were able to forcefully escape. Finally, Li Li's whip struck Tang Longfei's chest, tearing his armor apart. He spat blood and collapsed onto the ground.
Wang Xin wasn't doing very well either. He was kicked in the stomach and was currently vomiting on the ground.
"Deputy commander of the Overlord Legion? Nothing special," said Li Li with contempt, ready to launch her final attack.
"Fine," Tang Longfei sighed as he prepared to crush his protective jade as well.
Suddenly, an indifferent voice rang out, "Is that so? Why don't you come meet the commander, then?"
Chapter 839: Defeating Li Li
The voice felt like it was heavenly music in Tang Longfei's ears. He exclaimed in excitement, "Overlord!"
As for Li Li, her expression turned unsightly. However, she still wasn't afraid since her strength had also grown greatly recently. Without any hesitation, she attacked Tang Longfei, trying to finish him off before doing anything else.
But before her whip could strike Tang Longfei, a silhouette appeared before her and caught her whip in his hand. The whip's lash was insanely powerful, capable of threatening even a peak Emperor. And yet, the newcomer was able to catch it with bare hands, greatly alarming Li Li. The newcomer was none other than Xiang Shaoyun.
"Get over here," Xiang Shaoyun roared as he pulled and dragged Li Li toward him.
She was naturally unwilling to be caught so easily. Using all her strength, she planted her feet into the ground, trying to stop herself from being pulled. However, it seemed like her struggle was completely pointless, and her body continued approaching Xiang Shaoyun at a rapid speed, her buried feet leaving two deep trenches on the ground.