CHAPTER 273 OBEDIENCE

Seeing the scorpion tail rushing down at him, Rocky only knitted his brows. Yet he stood stock still,

unmoved. Determination was glinting in his eyes, and an air of heroism and total control was

surrounding him.

The timber spirit manipulator was caught by surprise at the sight of Rocky's resolve to not make even a

move to dodge the insect queen's scorpion tail. Stunned, he thought, 'What the hell wrong with this

man? Is he suicidal right now?! Whatever, it's his funeral. This just means that the Dark Heaven Insect

will save me the trouble of dealing with this guy. Ha-ha!'

As a loud bang echoed in the air, the scorpion tail had impaled deep into the ground. There was an

implosion of sand spread around where Rocky stood, obscuring vision.

The timber spirit manipulator sneered as he watched this all take place. He was certain that Rocky had

been killed by the Dark Heaven Insect. He was just about to turn to leave when the scorpion tail

suddenly shot up. And he saw a vague figure standing behind it.

"What the hell!?" The timber spirit manipulator choked out a cry. His wide eyes were filled with vivid

astonishment. "How is this possible?!" Rocky stood behind the tail without so much as a scratch on

him.

In the fog of battle, Rocky had done the impossible: he had succeeded in taming the Dark Heaven

Insect under such critical circumstances. He could only credit to the Beast Taming Skill for the success.

He had fully consumed all the Beast Taming Skills that Sheridan had taught him alongside the

supplementary knowledge on zoology and animal genetics. Ultimately, this was the key to his success.

Rocky won the insect queen's trust with his sincerity and friendliness; something that would even

astonish Sheridan himself if he were here to witness the feat of recruiting the insect queen as his

helper.

Rocky merely shot the timber spirit manipulator an indifferent look before he turned his attention to the

Dark Heaven Insect, saying, "Thank you so much! Don't worry. I'll take very good care of you."

The Dark Heaven Insect roared its answer before it stared at the timber spirit manipulator, who had

previously tried to kill it. Now that it had regained its strength, it would definitely have a bone to pick

with him.

The timber spirit manipulator, for his part, was still frozen in shock, unable to believe that Rocky

survived the insect queen's scorpion tail.

"What kind of trick did you play, asshole?" the timber spirit manipulator demanded angrily.

Rocky merely glanced at the timber spirit manipulator before he shifted his sight to the Jumbo Horned

Beetle, which was still fighting against Uriah and Little Rubygon. Although Uriah and Little Rubygon

were clearly at a disadvantage, he had hoped that they would be able to buy some time. As long as

Rocky could defeat the timber spirit manipulator, the Jumbo Horned Beetle, no matter how strong it

was, would be nothing upon losing its master. Content held by .

Rocky immediately took out a Heaven Divine Lotus Seed, which could only charge him up with twice

the spiritual power at most. A Heaven Divine Lotus Seed was far more superior to an advanced Dark

Heaven Egg. The spiritual power contained within a Heaven Divine Lotus Seed was massive and

beyond comprehension. Although this seed had just a little spiritual power left, it was still enough to

replenish Rocky and help him approach the sixth grade of the Earthly Stage.

The timber spirit manipulator didn't recognize the Heaven Divine Lotus Seed in Rocky's hand, but he

could tell that it had to be some kind of a priceless treasure. Greed filled his eyes as he suspected that

Rocky might have more treasures beyond that seed. He decided to find out what those were right after

he killed him.

The timber spirit manipulator's face darkened to a murderous expression as he made up his mind. As if

called, dazzling thunderbolts surged up around him, with electric currents thrumming through his body.

Rocky had to admit: a Heavenly Stage spirit manipulator was indeed formidable.

Now that the timber spirit manipulator was ready for the fight, Rocky joined in by immediately activating

his spiritual power as well. He channeled his spiritual power to his hand to smash the Heaven Divine

Lotus Seed. As the spiritual light shimmered from the seed, a stream of strong spiritual power flooded

into his body. The intense spiritual power was running through all the meridians in his body. Rocky only

had thirty percent of spiritual power before, but now he had a full charge with surplus power circulating

throughout his body.

In a matter of seconds, Rocky had regenerated enough strength to approach the sixth grade of the

Earthly Stage, spiritual light glinting around him. Although the light around him was not as strong as the

timber spirit manipulator's, it was still a fearsome sight to behold.

Realizing what the sight before him meant, that Rocky was an Earthly Stage spirit manipulator, the

timber spirit manipulator was dumbstruck in shock. He gasped, "You're this strong!?" The trace from

Rocky had been weak and faint before, but with this unprecedented boost, he suddenly approached

the sixth grade of the Earthly Stage. The timber spirit manipulator stood rooted, struggling to accept

this fact.

And yet it was the only answer that made sense. It also explained to him how Rocky could be so self-

composed and dauntless in front of him. The timber spirit manipulator roused himself from these

thoughts and collected his wits. Though he had a severe handicap: one of his arms was paralyzed by

Centipede-snake's venom, he was at the Heavenly Stage, which still far overwhelmed Rocky's

strength. The timber spirit manipulator was confident that he could easily take down Rocky even with

one hand.

The timber spirit manipulator, however, was constantly glancing around his surroundings even as he

stared at Rocky. He hadn't yet seen through Rocky's lie, and remained on guard for the hidden

companion that might be around.

"Thunder Bursts Strike!" The timber spirit manipulator summoned a spiritual martial arts technique of

the Heavenly Stage in the next instant. The second he roared, a ball of thunderbolts surged up from his

left arm, divided into three bolts of thunders, and charged towards Rocky. With the strike, the weather

darkened and turned tumultuous.

"Nebula Cloud Transformation!" Facing the three thunderbolts, Rocky threw out his hands and

activated his attack. His spiritual power channeled between his palms, forming a ball of nebula-like

light. He then threw the ball of power at the thunderbolts.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The impact between their spiritual power strikes shook the ground. Deafening echoes rang through the

air, and dazzling light blinded their vision.

The Thunder Bursts Strike from the timber spirit manipulator was ultimately more forceful. He remained

far stronger than Rocky was, after all, and the spiritual martial arts he summoned were superior to the

Nebula Cloud Transformation. Rocky's attack only counteracted a single thunderbolt. The other two

were still there, crashing towards him. And just when the bolts were merely an inch away from him, a

long shadow descended from the air and shielded him from the attack.

The two bolts disappeared into thin air as they struck against the long shadow with bangs.

"Thanks!" Rocky replied, pleased, to the insect queen. It was its scorpion tail that protected him from

the two thunderbolts.

The timber spirit manipulator's jaw practically fell to the ground. Not only had the insect queen spared

Rocky's life, but now it even shielded him from the attack. He could not understand why this insect

queen would be so submissive in front of Rocky. Was this insect queen a pet now?

Shaking off his shock, the timber spirit manipulator only strengthened his intent to kill Rocky.

The fight, in equal turn, began to intensify.