Tang Ya explained clearly that in the previous battle, she had used divine power exclusively. When the spiritual energy of the three opponents encountered her divine power, it had all dispersed. Only Zhao Tongzhi's spiritual energy not only failed to disperse but was also subtly evenly matched.
Tang Ya had every reason to suspect this. If Zhao Tongzhi had used divine power when fighting her, her spiritual energy would not have been able to touch her at all.
Kong Yuan, standing beside Zhao Tongzhi, flicked her saber, preparing to charge and fight desperately. Zhao Tongzhi grabbed Kong Yuan's arm, looked at Tang Ya, and said with a mocking smile, "Gods not only retreat in battle but also find excuses for their failures."
"Am I whoever you say I am?"
Tang Ya stopped flipping her saber, her gaze fixed on Zhao Tongzhi. In an instant, Tang Ya's eyes turned pure white, and the azure sky turned gray and white. A pair of divine eyes gazed at Zhao Tongzhi.
Zhao Tongzhi held her dual sabers, her spiritual energy erupting, meeting Tang Ya's gaze with equal intensity.
In the gray and white world, Zhao Tongzhi, burning with cyan spiritual energy, was the only anomaly. Beneath her alluring appearance lay a surging fighting spirit.
The next moment,
The sky returned to its azure hue. Tang Ya retracted her divine eyes. She looked at Zhao Tongzhi and couldn't help but think, "Strange."
Zhao Tongzhi was not a god, nor did she possess divine power. What burned on her was undeniably spiritual energy, spiritual energy originating from Sesuo Jiang, the god of divine power.
Had she truly only been fighting her with spiritual energy just now?
Impossible.
Spiritual energy was a product of divine power branching out, a force left behind by Sesuo Jiang. It was a power of a completely different tier than divine power. Pure spiritual energy, even if cultivated to a very high level, could not compare to divine power.
It was like an egg. No matter how large it became, it was still an egg; it could never be as hard as a piece of iron.
Tang Ya fell into confusion again. What was this girl all about?
"Tang Ya, since you can't find an excuse, then die here."
As Zhao Tongzhi spoke, the spiritual energy in her dual sabers burned fiercely. The three powerhouses of the Hunter team beside her also burned their spiritual energy to their utmost. Compared to myriad strange abilities, they trusted their own reinforced spiritual energy more. Ferocious power and ultimate speed were the security they pursued.
Zhao Tongzhi's spiritual energy burned to its limit. Her cyan robe billowed behind her, and the ponytail she had tied in the morning became disheveled. She appeared frenzied, her gaze fixed on Tang Ya.
The fierce wind howled like knives, blowing like wolf howls, sounding the battle horn.
Four balls of burning spiritual energy collided with Tang Ya like meteors. The forest and grass were repeatedly plowed by the scattered energy, and the hillside crumbled.
Tang Ya could still parry with ease. In fact, she had no intention of counterattacking. She was constantly pondering why Zhao Tongzhi's spiritual energy could be evenly matched with her divine power.
She couldn't understand.
But Zhao Tongzhi didn't care about that. Her dual sabers were like a pair of enormous cyan wings. She struck one after another. Although there was no discernible pattern, her attacks excelled in power and speed.
Zhao Tongzhi was the main attacker, while the other three provided assistance. For a time, they even forced Tang Ya to retreat repeatedly.
Ten kilometers away, atop a tall building,
He Li rested his left hand on his saber hilt, his gaze distant. He was observing the battle. He was also puzzled as to why Zhao Tongzhi of the Hunter team could directly confront divine power with spiritual energy. He himself could also clash spiritual energy with divine power, but that was divine spiritual energy fused with divine power.
But, what right did Zhao Tongzhi have to do the same?
Could it be, as Tang Ya said, that Zhao Tongzhi was a god? And the spiritual energy she used was not purely spiritual energy, but divine spiritual energy fused with divine power?
It didn't seem like it. The moment any god leaked divine power, all gods on Earth, regardless of distance, would perceive it immediately.
For instance, he had sensed two powerful divine forces clashing just now. One was Aigefen, whom he had met before, and the other was unknown.
And now, he could clearly sense Tang Ya's divine power.
But he couldn't sense Zhao Tongzhi's divine power. This indicated that Zhao Tongzhi was not a god.
Not a god, yet able to directly confront divine power with spiritual energy. Zhao Tongzhi was rather interesting.
He Li gazed at the distant battlefield. Tang Ya was being besieged by four people and eight monsters. However, they were not Tang Ya's match. Although Tang Ya was only a lower-tier god, she was still a god. How could the divine power she possessed be comparable to human strength?
Tang Ya departed. Only the twelve members of the Hunter team remained on the battlefield. The eight monsters, having returned to human form, lay on the ground, covered in blood. Dozens of wounds gaped on their bodies, constantly spewing blood. After lying on the ground for only a short while, a pool of blood had formed beneath them.
They were laughing, laughing heartily, laughing wildly.
They had repelled a god and had survived. Gods were not invincible, and today was the best proof.
Support troops arriving from all directions carried away the injured.
Zhao Tongzhi looked in the direction Tang Ya had left, sighing softly with a complex expression. Her dual sabers returned to their original size and were sheathed.
Kong Yuan sat on the ground, her hands supported by the medical team as she received simple bandaging. She looked at Zhao Tongzhi, whose expression was complicated, and for a moment, she didn't know what to say or what to ask.
The Hunter team, whose responsibility was to slay gods, had their leader as a god. What could be more ironic than this?
Therefore, she dared not speak, nor dare she ask. She turned to look at her two companions, and it happened that they were also looking at her.
Kong Yuan met the gaze of her two companions, shook her head gently, and then slowly lowered her head.
At this moment,
Zhao Tongzhi suddenly spoke, "You don't need to listen to her nonsense. I am not a god. She is just finding an excuse for the fact that I could be evenly matched with her."
Zhao Tongzhi turned to look at her three subordinates, pursed her lips, and smiled. "Instead of thinking about these things, you three would be better off seizing the time to cultivate. If you could be a bit stronger, the four of us could have successfully killed her today."
Kong Yuan said with a wry smile, "How can it be that simple? Cultivation is something that if you are one way before thirty, you will be that way after thirty. Progress is too slow. Moreover, we are all getting older. To advance further, wouldn't we be old and frail?"
Zhao Tongzhi said nothing more, only staring blankly in the direction Tang Ya had left.
Talent, such an ethereal thing, could not be forced. Some things were not enough with just hard work, such as… cultivation.
Those with high talent progressed as easily as drinking water.
Those with low talent often remained stuck at a certain realm for their entire lives.
The Hunter team was a case of picking the tallest among the short. The special operations team within the Hunter team, like these three individuals, were the tallest among the tall.
This was not to say they were exceptionally outstanding or powerful, but merely that among a group of short people, they were the tallest.
Zhao Tongzhi sighed deeply, turned back to smile at the three, and walked to the car on her own.
The three exchanged glances, bewildered.
...