Chapter 3: Condensing the True Body

Watching Rod fall into a perilous situation, with the werewolf already chasing him and swinging a cold-bladed sword at his head, those in the distance who noticed this scene couldn’t help but hold their breath, not even daring to exhale loudly! They stared wide-eyed at what was happening, their hearts in their throats.
“Ahead!” A loud roar shattered the unusual silence on the city walls. Seeing Rod in such mortal danger, Curly Hair couldn’t hold back anymore. Soon after, several people, including Nightingale, also started shouting loudly!
This time, Nightingale dared not place too much hope in Rod. In such a dangerous situation, no one could escape unscathed—even a holy-grade warrior would find it hard to survive, let alone Rod, who was only a royal-grade fighter. At least that’s what Nightingale thought.
Yet, as everyone grew anxious and worried, changes began to occur in the world around them. The scene that followed left everyone staring in shock and amazement!
It was clearly felt that, in just an instant—less than 0.1 seconds—elements throughout the world seemed to be driven by some force and became wildly active! Especially the fire element. The magicians present were the most astonished; their mastery of magical elements made them look utterly incredulous.
The level of activity of the fire element far exceeded their imagination. Even holy-grade magicians thought it would be difficult to summon so many elements to attack them in such a short time. Yet Rod did it. Indeed, it was obvious that these elements were rushing toward him rapidly, centered around him.
Carefully controlling the elements, Rod frowned deeply, with sweat pouring down his forehead. At this critical moment, he chose to risk everything! He decided to condense his combat energy true body now.
With the strong defensive power of his combat energy true body, combined with his own resistance, he might be able to survive this disaster. That was his plan. He had only used his combat energy true body three times, all during practice! The first time was before reaching the royal grade; that experience taught him a lot, helping him successfully enter the royal grade realm. After that, he used it twice more out of a desire to experiment and practice.

Although these two attempts to form his Battle Qi True Form were much faster compared to the first, even the shortest one still took over ten seconds! Yet now, there was less than three seconds left—just three seconds for the pursuing werewolves to reach him and slash down with their swords. Without any defense, the consequences of such an attack would be unimaginable, and no one knew better than Rod what that outcome would be.

Yet even so, he decided to take the risk. Success would be great—not only would he escape danger, but he would also achieve significant progress at this critical moment.

He divided his mental energy into three parts: one controlled the Battle Qi emanating from his body, another intervened in the incoming elements to control them, and the last served to maintain balance and stability.

At this critical moment, as Rod let out a loud roar, a bright red glow enveloped his body. The surrounding Battle Qi surged, creating a fierce wind! Instantly, those elements began to solidify at a visible speed. In the blink of an eye, a vague set of armor formed around Rod’s body, shielding him!

“Battle Qi True Form!” Those who had been amazed moments ago were now stunned. Seeing this, everyone understood what had happened! The elusive Battle Qi True Form, something long desired yet extremely difficult to achieve—something both enviable and seemingly unattainable—had been used by that guy to avoid danger in this life-or-death situation.

With wide eyes, the crowd fell silent. Even the wildly attacking magical beasts, which had been aggressive just a moment ago, seemed affected by this powerful elemental fluctuation, slowing down their attacks and calming down temporarily.

“He… he’s doing it…” Watching what was happening, Curly’s voice trembled slightly. Battle Qi True Form—he never expected Rod to make such a choice at this moment. It was truly a shocking decision.

Nightingale also stared wide-eyed, her face filled with complexity, mixed with a hint of despair.

The True Body of Combat Qi – although something that even Golden Warriors can achieve, few people manage to reach perfection throughout their lives! Throughout recorded history, even the greatest geniuses seem to need to reach the mid-Imperial level before they can achieve perfection, and such individuals have been few in number. As for those considered to have great natural talent, they usually only manage to do this after reaching the Saint level. Before that, although they can form their True Body of Combat Qi, the time required is unimaginable, leaving them unable to use this skill in battle! After all, in intense fights, that amount of time could easily be fatal.

Even now, among the tens of thousands of fighters on the city walls, there are many Saint-level powerhouses, and even quite a few near-God and God-level beings. Yet, very few can be seen fighting with their True Body of Combat Qi – barely enough to count on one hand. Even if there are such individuals, they usually form their True Body of Combat Qi before battle to avoid casualties.

The reason for this is not because no one knows how to use it, quite the opposite – many people can use it. In fact, about half of the Saint-level powerhouses can use it. So why isn’t it used? It’s because the consumption of Combat Qi is extremely high, making it impossible to fight for long. There isn’t enough supply, and it also places a huge strain on the user’s abilities and mental strength. Otherwise, why wouldn’t everyone use it? Using a True Body of Combat Qi greatly reduces the risk of injury – why not do it?

Naitrod, who was watching closely, had very little time left. Even those who mastered the True Body of Combat Qi at the highest level would find it difficult to do this, as it still took four or even five seconds to prepare and activate it. In the current situation, that time was enough to kill Rod.

That’s why those people were surprised and shocked when they saw Rod choose to form his True Body of Combat Qi at this moment, and why Nightingale showed a look of despair! Attempting something impossible will surely not yield good results.

Even the werewolf couldn’t help but feel a chill at what was happening before his eyes, his movements pausing slightly. Clearly, he hadn’t expected this to happen either.

Yet, no one could have imagined that this brief pause would give Rod an excellent opportunity.

“Crack!” Amidst the chaotic fluctuations of elements, only Rod’s roar could be heard—a thunderous sound that shook the heavens and earth, reaching every ear.
The violent condensation of elements brought about a fierce wind that swept across the land, forcing those around to step back in shock.
“Wretched humans, die!” With a grotesque expression and a cold smirk of triumph on his lips, the werewolf roared loudly. Rod, who was right in front of him, had already swung his long sword, ready to strike his scalp. Though a brief hesitation had cost him some time, he believed he had succeeded—no one could dodge his attack. Not even this imperial-class human, let alone his own Wolf King, a divine being. Even the Wolf King would need considerable effort to avoid his assault under such circumstances.
“Head…”
“Brado…” Screams echoed, reaching Rod’s ears and those of everyone else.
Some people could already guess the outcome and closed their eyes out of pity for this once-popular and talented young man, the one who founded the Death Scythe Squad, now about to die at the hands of the werewolf.
Even faintly, Rod could see their expressions of despair! As the sword neared his head, even through the layer of combat energy shielding him, he could sense its fierce momentum and icy chill.
His combat energy avatar hadn’t fully formed—only less than eight layers had been completed—so it couldn’t unleash its full power! A sense of despair, even confusion, settled over Rod’s heart. Though the werewolf’s momentary distraction had bought him nearly a second, it wasn’t enough to save him. Was his adventure about to fail?
Unwilling to give up, he stared at the descending sword and felt the aura of death. Time was running out; he couldn’t wait any longer. In this critical moment, Rod had no choice but to dodge. Yet even then, he refused to give up on forming his combat energy avatar.
With a fierce roar, he accelerated the formation of combat energy around his body. As the sword fell, he twisted his body, and just before it hit the ground, he slammed his foot hard, creating a sharp sound. Using the rebound force, he propelled himself to the side, trying to buy himself some time—just a little more. Rod could feel his condition improving; the abundant combat energy told him it was almost time. Just a little more time.

At the same time, his mental energy was released to the fullest extent, and the fighting qi within his body was unleashed without restraint. The intense fighting qi caused a layer of deep red flames to burst out of his body like a volcanic eruption. At that moment, the Dark Dragon also began to change; as if drawn by some force, it let out a faint long howl before suddenly emitting a powerful purplish-black aura that rushed toward Rod.
“Combine!” In an instant, winds surged and storms arose as the fighting qi created fierce gusts. Another roar came from Rod’s mouth. He felt that the concentration of the fighting qi had reached his desired level, and a hint of excitement appeared on his face.