By now, Karl had gotten his breath back and walked towards Kent.
Although he was still regulating his breath, he knew exactly what had happened just now. He tried to
calm down but the shock and amazement that was implanted deep inside of him could not be easily
subdued.
As a result of blood essence loss Karl was still frail. It was immensely difficult to recover from this
considerable loss. Only Treasures from Heaven and Earth or other advanced medicinal pills and elixirs
could cure it.
But this would make no difference in his following battle.
Seeing that Karl had regained consciousness, Ricky's eyes darkened. Kent, already a hard nut to
crack, now had Karl as his back-up. This meant that he had to fight against another formidable enemy!
"It will be determined that it was because of my low level of realm!" Ricky sighed to himself.
If only he himself had already reached the seventh grade of Blood Purification. He would stand a much
better chance of matching a strong rival like Karl in that case.
Pompeo and Aiden came to help, but were held back by two other disciples. Theo and Kayla were also
stopped by Ricky.
It was not because of blind bravery on Ricky's part, but because of the fact that Theo and Kayla were
too weak at the moment to win against the two brothers. Kayla could very well be facing the same
situation; after all, she had just reached the seventh grade of Blood Purification.
As for Theo, an eighth grade of Blood Purification, was in fact ill-matched with the title. His previous
loss of a drop of blood essence had greatly weakened him. Now he was practically only as strong as a
warrior in the seventh grade of Blood Purification.
Theo and Kayla felt deep regret. They clearly understood why Ricky had declined their help, and they
bitterly lamented not having taken time and efforts in enhancing their skills. They could only stand back
and watch.
Karl walked over and pulled Kent up.
As Kent at this moment calmed down, it was no longer possible for him to be provoked and driven mad
by Ricky again.
"Well, then you guys come together!" Ricky said, taking a deep breath. A vicious fight was about to
break out. Yet Ricky wasn't afraid at all. He still had two aces up his sleeve that were waiting to be
used.
"Well, Ricky, I have to admit that you are excellent in both casting of weapons and cultivation of martial
arts! I have never seen or heard in these two fields a more talented person than you," Karl said coldly.
"But since you are proving to be an annoying obstacle in our path, we will trample you today."
After saying that, crimson lines arose on his skin, an indication that he was about to blast Glyphic
Array.
Then the two brothers walked intimidatingly toward Ricky. The smell of death filled the air.
"Brother, obstacles can never be overcome without taking risks. This time let us show him what a real
Glyphic Array is!" Karl said.
As a matter of fact, Ricky would have found himself in a very miserable situation if Karl and Kent had
applied their previous array-- the Bloodsucking Array.
But there was not enough blood essence for them to do this.
"I know." Kent agreed in a low voice. They had no other choice, despite some reluctance. Ricky was
not an easy adversary. He was too strong to be defeated easily.
Between their eye browses a drop of blood emerged. It was the blood essence of the two brothers,
which soon merged into their array.
In a flash, the blood essence multiplied the power of their array, and the force of roaring flames inside
the cave now turned into a fiery tornado.
"Double Bloodsucking Claws!"
As the two brothers roared, two gory claws came out from their back.
The two bloody talons were much stronger than the previous one formed by Kent. And the array,
thanks to the blood essence, demonstrated its real, maximum power.
"Go to hell! You will now have the honor to die from my brother's Glyphic Array!" Karl snarled
ferociously while launching an attack with the bloody claws.
Everything today should have gone well according to their plan. First, they would have killed the Earthly
Fire Dragon at the ninth grade of Blood Purification by using the blood essence of Theo and Kent. They
were supposed to have at last easily obtained the magma containing dragon's blood.
The whole plan, however, was ruined by Ricky.
They felt nothing but extreme hatred towards this unfamiliar warrior who had ruined everything.
···
"Fifth Degree of Nine-degree Body Refining Formula! Give me the strength!" Ricky growled to himself,
filling his lungs with air. The mass of green above his body turned blue in an instant.
That was obviously the fifth degree of Nine-degree Body Refining Formula-- the first surpise move of
Ricky.
"I haven't used my Fifth Degree of Nine-degree Body Refining Formula for a long time since returning
from the Blizzard Cliff. Today, let me show you its power!" Ricky shouted.
Suddenly, between Ricky's eyebrows, a drop of blood essence also emerged.
"You guys have the blood essence! Well, that's not rare at all. I have it too!" Ricky said with a hint of
sarcasm in his voice.
"Devouring Fire, please do me a favor! Use my blood essence and unleash the power inside of you!"
Ricky yelled internally, mustering his strength.
Raging flames sprang from the Devourer Zone. After absorbing Ricky's blood essence, the flames
glowed even brighter, and then spread all over Ricky's Iron Destroyer.
Here was another ace up Ricky's sleeve-- the Devouring Fire.
The Devouring Fire's power meant that one could be even stronger if the blood essence was fed into
the fire. Because Ricky mixed his own blood essence with Devouring Fire, his strength increased,
enabling him to fight against the brothers.
Ricky ran up and encircled his neck with the Iron Destroyer. He drew the cultivation method of taming a
bear of Five Beasts Arts that then produced a hot bright strike of destructive force.
"Bam!"
The bloody strike and two scarlet claws crashed into each other.
The collision went far beyond the power of a single warrior at the eighth grade of Blood Purification. It
was now tantamount to a clash between warriors at the ninth grade instead.
The two waves of completely different colors were rippling at full speed, pounding as they spreading
over the surroundings. The battle among Pompeo and the other three warriors was interrupted. The
whole cave seemed to have fallen into a state where heaven fell down and the earth split in two.
Everyone focused their eyes on the scene, knowing that the result of this collision would play a decisive
role in the determining the final outcome of the battle.
The intense shockwaves continued for a long time.
Among the endless blood waves, screams echoed. Then two figures were flung out by the force of the
waves. It was Karl and Kent.
No injuries were seen on their bodies. There were only flames burning briskly, causing their skin to be
ripped off. Above the raging fire, a mysterious power was swallowing up their energy.
The two brothers tried every effort to stamp out the fire, which was now their main concern. They
screamed in agony the whole while.
It took them about a quarter of an hour to extinguish the flames around their bodies and by the time
they put out the fire, they were exhausted. Coupled with the terrible burns on their bodies, they were no
longer capable of fighting.
When the waves of blood dissipated, Ricky emerged.
There was a scar on each of his shoulders. He was out of breath, looking like a drowned dog. There
was no more energy or power in him to fight any longer.
How lucky he was! Thanks to the power of the Fifth Degree of Nine-degree Body Refining Formula, he
survived from the two brothers' unrivaled array and even broke it. Otherwise anyone, Ricky included,
would have been torn into pieces by the powerful collision. What a turn of events!
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