CHAPTER 587 TOXIN HAS NO EFFECT ON ME

The end of Henry's sentence was punctuated by a slow, rolling heat. Particles of sand swept up with

the air, obscuring his body from view until the hazy image created a mirage. Henry looked as though he

had turned into a pool of reddish-brown sand. His figure exuded an aura of lifelessness, ruin, and

authority.

"Everybody says that you are an ace genius with a strong body. Today, please impress me with it!"

Henry's eyes narrowed menacingly as he spoke to Ricky. A dark scarlet cascaded over the black of his

pupils.

The crack of thunder punctured the air as though a sudden chill collided with the heat.

Upon hearing Henry's provocative words, Ricky moved instantaneously. He launched the first level of

Ultimate Golden Body. As if disturbed by the massacring power of the movement, the wind around him

whined in protest.

Honed as he was by endless battles, Ricky's intuition told him Henry was different. He was out of the

ordinary, and Ricky could sense danger lurking beneath the calm front. His jaw clenched from

anticipation. The excitement in his bones pushed him to rush the fight, striking first with the massacring

power and holding nothing back. They traded blows, but he couldn't keep pace with Henry. Eventually,

he found himself with his arms up to shield his face and torso, forced into a defensive position.

"Is this the first level of Ultimate Golden Body?" Henry was pensive as he stroked his chin with a hand.

His eyes took careful note of Ricky's form and stance. There was a note of disinterest in his voice as

though he'd known of the Ultimate Golden Body and had seen the cultivation method before.

Without hesitation, Henry began spewing intense energy of ruin from his body, which rapidly turned into

a layer of reddish-brown sand and enveloped him completely. By the second, Henry looked like a

warrior clad in reddish-brown robe.

Ricky tensed, appraising the new development in his opponent. With the aid of the four zones inside

his body, he could sense that the reddish-brown sand had greatly fortified Henry's body.

They stared each other down, each painfully aware of the other's smallest movements. Both of them

eager to fight as the tension built between them. In sync, they both leaped up into the air and struck

each other with a decisive blow.

In a moment, hundreds of rays of golden light filled the sky along with a clanging. Their fists, radiating

golden and reddish-brown power respectively, collided with each other. When their energies met, the

earth bent to their will, wracked with shock waves and an intense brightness, blinding whoever saw it

from below. Vulnerable to the disaster they created, they both recoiled from the impact. Each warrior

took a dozen steps back on the shaking ground before they managed to plant their feet in the grass.

The sound of someone clicking their tongue in distaste pervaded the atmosphere before it was

drowned out by the continuing fight. Ricky and Henry ran wildly at each other. They bounded toward

each other every time their collision forced them apart. Their feet never stayed on the ground for more

than a second.

For the first time, Ricky had met his match in this place.

In the past, he had been confronted by many strong enemies, but none of them was as powerful as

Henry. A part of him should have rejoiced at the novelty. However, Ricky started to feel the stress on

his body caused by the prolonged fighting.

He hadn't been forced into the defensive again, but nor had he found an upper hand in their fight. They

kept at it, with Ricky straining his eyes for a weak spot every time they collided. After they clashed for

the twelfth time, his hands started to give way. Pain and a prickling sensation shot up through his arms.

Ricky found he had a slackening grip. His hands trembled from the pain, making it harder to tighten his

fist.

At the same time, Henry could feel his legs start to give out. They quivered, slowly losing the strength

to stand with each passing second.

The tremor spread throughout Henry's body. Cracks formed on the red robe he fashioned for himself as

the sand fell off.

Though he was usually reserved and unemotional, ripples of grim determination marred his blank

expression. His teeth bit down, caged in and prevented his heart from leaping out from his throat.

"You deserve to be called an ace genius. As a second-class lower spiritual king, you have already

attained a high combat efficiency to rival that of a second-class middle spiritual king. I admire you from

the bottom of my heart." The way Henry's eyebrow raised emphasized the derision in his tone. He

looked at Ricky with every intent to kill, his fingers itched to land that final blow. "The next battle must

be very exciting and thrilling."

"Incompetent warriors don't have the guts. You know, the word 'incompetent' is not in my dictionary!"

Ricky flashed him a devilish smile as he spoke.

As if mocking, Ricky mimicked the look on Henry's face. He, too, saw the end of the battle, itched for

the killing blow. The difference was that he would be the harbinger of his foe's death.

Ricky's smile widened and he licked his lips. Truth be told, he'd grown bored and complacent over the

years. Only a rival like Henry could have rekindled his thirst for life and passion for victory.

"I'll throw all my energy into the next battle and go all out for a victory!" True to his word, the reddish-

brown energy of ruin began building inside Henry's body again as soon as he finished speaking.

"Ricky, I'm telling you, the next battle between us is not a matter of promise. It's a matter of life and

death! From the bottom of my heart, I would love to defeat you and kill you. Although you are an ace

genius, I'll finish you off at this time and in this place."

"Yeah! Your strict attitude towards the battle was exactly what I expected. Otherwise, even if I won the

battle, it would just be plain and boring," Ricky answered with a laugh.

The air around Henry rumbled forebodingly.

A different kind of force began building in his body, one that was more destructive. It seeped into and

then out of his skin, as though he couldn't hold too much of it at a time. It was dark and gaseous––a

black toxin.

This type of toxin looked the same as the toxin in the Virulent Sand Flow. It appeared to be the

outcome of Henry's recent cultivation.

"I guess this toxin is your latest experiment. Is my guess correct?" Ricky asked.

"Correct. I'm telling you, my Sandy Mutant can assimilate any kind of sand. The toxic sand in this area

is out of the ordinary, you know." Henry's eyes sparkled as he blew his own trumpet.

"I advise you to be careful and cautious. It's very dangerous. You need to prepare for any possibility."

Whoosh! With that, Henry quickly and decisively launched the first attack.

Henry already knew from their previous bout of fighting that Ricky was on the same level as himself.

The key to winning this battle, then, was to act swiftly and decisively. He struck first, the strength

behind his attack left no doubt about his intentions.

Body seething with energy, Henry delivered a heavy blow at Ricky. He was reinvigorated as the blazing

force of the Ruin Enlightenment mixed with the inky toxin and wound around his arms. The two forces

compounded in his attack until his fists felt like hammers dominating a nail.

"Virulent Dragon Fist——Three-style Fist!"

His feet pattered on the ground before he leaped and pummeled Ricky. The blow was followed by

another and yet another, the ferocious repetition never giving his opponent a chance to counter. The

path of Henry's dancing fists traced the shape of a black virulent dragon in mid-air.

The force of the Virulent Dragon Fist suddenly split up into three, whirling and twirling around, striking

Ricky from different angles each time they landed.

In the split-second, the booming sound of an opposing force rang in Ricky's ear. Without any hesitation,

Ricky launched both his massacring runes and devouring runes. The two rune types fused instantly

and formed a powerful strike. Property belongs to Nôvel(D)r/ama.Org.

"Massacring Magic Fist!"

Golden light swept through the air, forming into a huge fist as it powered through. It clashed with

Henry's Virulent Dragon Fist, creating a light show in the sky.

"How foolishly bold you are! My Virulent Dragon Fist is highly venomous. A single collision would mean

certain death." A bark of laughter escaped Henry's lips as he watched the sparks come from their

attacks. He made no move to strengthen his attack, confident in its potency.

"I'm telling you, although my toxin looks the same as the nerve in the Virulent Sand Flow, there's a

fundamental difference between their toxic effects."

"Are you sure about that? If so, I would like to try a taste," Ricky joked back with the same

assertiveness.

"Does Ricky not fear my toxin?" Henry muttered to himself. To be met with aplomb felt like having the

rug tugged from underfoot. Doubt set in as to whether the other man had more tricks up his sleeves.

After all, Henry had earlier been firmly convinced that Ricky wasn't a trickster of any sort.

...

The explosive nature of their battle interrupted Henry's thoughts.

There was little else Henry could do, now that he was in the thick of things. Try as he could to

concentrate on their continuing fistfight, he felt the desperation in the pit of his stomach. With an

unbidden frenzy, he dispatched the toxin into Ricky's body. He wanted to be rid of it immediately.

To his surprise, at the most crucial moment, Ricky's devouring runes rocketed up and began absorbing

the toxin with the same frenzied speed.

"Who would have thought this could happen? It turns out that your scarlet runes have unexpectedly

finished my toxin off," Henry exclaimed incredulously. His eyes widened as he watched the menacing

toxin seep into Ricky's body with the obedience of a pet coming home.

"Any type of toxin doesn't affect me," Ricky growled and bared his teeth, threateningly.