Chapter 213: The Fusion of Killing Intent and Combat Energy

They weren’t moving at full speed; the group traveled quite leisurely. With magical beasts to carry them, their pace wasn’t slow at all. Their destination was Wuyou City, located about six or seven hundred miles away.

Wuyou City was one of the four major towns in the habitat of the Dark Source demons, situated farthest to the west among them and belonging to the neutral faction. Of course, holding the grand competition here held immense significance.

It was obvious to everyone that the opposition faction was worried about the pro-war faction acting recklessly, while the pro-war faction didn’t want to hold the competition in the Opposition’s Dark Moon City. Thus, Wuyou City, part of the neutral faction, became the best choice. This tradition had persisted for hundreds of years until today.

As the competition neared, the Dark Source also became bustling. Masters from various factions gathered in Wuyou City, and it seemed every discussion revolved around it.

Rod and his group didn’t take the main road but moved through mountains and forests. With a master like Melon around, they certainly didn’t have to worry about reckless magical beasts causing trouble—that would be seeking death!

Other than traveling, Rod’s main task during this period was to master the control of killing intent. Controlling a cold and fierce killing intent wasn’t easy, let alone learning to use it effectively. Thus, fifteen days turned out to be an extremely tight schedule.

Following Melon’s teachings, Rod began his training by cultivating his mindset. It had to be said that the “Self-Cultivation” technique taught to him by Xuanyuan earlier was very effective, and it played a crucial role once again.

In just a few short days, Rod managed to contain all his killing intent within his body. Then, he started controlling it under Melon’s guidance, integrating it into every move he made.

These tasks sounded simple, but putting them into practice was far from easy. So, Rod and his group spent almost half their time traveling and the other half practicing.

Starting from achieving nothing at first, Rod gradually grasped some techniques by the third day. His talent once again left Melon in awe.

Although he could only use a little of it, his moves and the aura he emitted underwent a qualitative change after focusing on killing intent. The greatest effect of killing intent was to attack a person’s mind, leaving an indelible impression and a sense of fear—essentially a form of psychological warfare.

When two strong opponents meet, psychology can largely determine the outcome of a battle. If you gain an advantage psychologically, you can invisibly suppress your opponent under your attacks, thereby achieving a coercive offensive strategy.

After mastering some tricks, the next task was to keep improving and expanding one’s achievements. On the tenth day of their journey, Rod and his companions arrived at a small town less than two hundred miles outside Wuyou City. Perhaps because the upcoming competition was approaching, the usually quiet town was now bustling with activity. The arrival of the three of them naturally attracted a lot of attention.

As mounts, especially powerful ones, magical beasts were symbols of status—ordinary people could never expect such treatment. Naturally, the identities of these three left a deep impression on those who were preparing to attend the competition, drawing everyone’s attention.

Although imperial-grade magical beasts might not be extremely strong, making them obedient mounts was difficult even for god-tier powerhouses, as magical beasts had their own dignity. The three found a hotel to stay at. As night fell, at least a hundred people gathered in the town, heading to Wuyou City, creating a lively atmosphere.

Sitting at a table by the window having dinner, surrounded by chatter, almost everyone was talking about this competition. The most frequently mentioned topics were the Purple-Winged Thunder Eagles and the Nash family. These two families, which had a mortal enmity with Rod, seemed to be thriving lately, and this competition seemed to bring about some changes due to them.

Pricking up their ears to listen to the discussions at a nearby table, Rod, Melon, and Rubio all looked serious. “The Purple-Winged Thunder Eagles definitely won’t return empty-handed!” one of them said firmly.

“Yeah, that’s true. They’re now known as the sixth family. Apart from a few spots reserved for the demon race, only the four major families each get one spot to enter the Netherworld. The Purple-Winged Thunder Eagles are excluded— they won’t accept that. If they really don’t get a chance this time, it will be a humiliation for them; where will they put their face?” another added maliciously.

“It seems the Purple-Winged Thunder Eagles will be participating in this competition too!”

“No way. Isn’t such a competition only open to members of the demon race?”

“Well, logically it should be that way, but this time the pro-war faction gave one spot to the Purple Wing Thunder Eagles and another to the Nash family. It’s said that the Nash family has a supergod-level warrior, so they naturally got a spot. Anyway, each of the four towns has four representatives, so the pro-war faction has eight spots; giving away two won’t make a difference. The Purple Wing Thunder Eagles and the Nash family are their allies now, so it’s only fitting!”
“Yes, I heard that too. It seems the head of the Nash family broke through the godly barriers and reached that level after being injured in that great battle. How enviable! Now the Nash family has really risen to prominence!”
“That’s hard to say. You all know about the Black Phoenix clan and the Dragon clan—they’re now mortal enemies of the Purple Wing Thunder Eagles. They won’t let them succeed so easily. I heard that Dark Moon City gave a spot to that Rod?”
“Rod? No way, that guy?”
At that moment, a wave of exclamations came, causing Rod to wear a bitter smile! But the situation with the Purple Wing Thunder Eagles and the Nash family weighed heavily on his mind. If the Purple Wing Thunder Eagles participated, their enemies would surely become much stronger. On the other hand, had the old man from the Nash family really broken through? Could it be such a coincidence? Things were doomed now, Rod thought to himself in frustration.
“That guy is terrifying. You know about that great battle in Dark Moon City, right? It was his doing. It’s said that on that day, the old man from the Nash family, the eldest of the Purple Wing Thunder Eagles, and over a dozen of their top fighters tried to launch a surprise attack but failed. The battlefield was in a mess—both the Nash family and the eldest of the Purple Wing Thunder Eagles were injured, and all over a dozen of their top fighters were lost, including their sixth elder. It was a huge loss! The old man from the Nash family also broke through after being seriously injured that time. Rod is dangerous; if he participates this time, there’ll be interesting action!”
“True. Enemies hate each other even more when they meet—a fierce battle is inevitable!”
For a while, the people behind them discussed heatedly. Rod, Melon, and Rubio exchanged glances, not knowing what to say. Had they really become celebrities?
Who will the Purple Wing Thunder Eagles and the Nash family send to compete this time? It’s certain the old man from the Nash family won’t participate—supergod-level warriors can’t take part in this competition, it’s the rule. With Melon by his side, he shouldn’t be in too much trouble. Even if he reached supergod level, he wouldn’t be a match for Melon! As for the Purple Wing Thunder Eagles…

His brows were tightly furrowed. He couldn’t stay by Melon’s side forever—there were still many things to do. It seemed things had gotten complicated now. With a sigh, his mind in turmoil, Rod looked worried. “Alright, let’s go. We still need to rest!” Seeming to sense Rod’s concerns, Melon said calmly and led the two of them upstairs to their room. Without trying to comfort Rod, Melon knew that many things couldn’t be resolved just by others offering advice. Rod had to overcome them on his own. If he couldn’t even handle such difficulties, there was no talk of a future—things would just stay as they were. It was fine not to participate! After all, this was a hurdle every person, especially a warrior, had to face. He believed Rod could overcome it. In fact, it wasn’t really such a big deal—wasn’t it just that the enemy was stronger? Since a confrontation had already occurred, one shouldn’t fear the enemy’s strength. Back in the room, Rod sat alone at the table, sighing. He knew his days ahead would be difficult. The Purple-Winged Thunder Eagles surely knew he was going to participate in this competition, and they would surely set up defenses and try every means to stop him, raising the difficulty level even further. “No, I must succeed!” he muttered to himself. No one could be an obstacle to him. At least in Rod’s view, what about the Purple-Winged Thunder Eagles family? What about the Nash family? It wouldn’t be easy for them to kill him. Even if they wanted him dead, he could leave them disabled. Thinking of this, his mood lightened slightly, and his expression relaxed. Melon saw all of this. Seeing Rod like this, he was secretly relieved—he hadn’t misjudged him after all. Back on the bed, Rod sat in lotus position and began to train. His training now wasn’t just ordinary practice. According to Melon, having terrifying killing intent without using it was like being tyrannical toward nature itself. So Rod started trying to integrate this killing intent into his combat energy. Since combat energy already had five types of energy, adding one more didn’t matter. If he was already going crazy, he might as well go even crazier. The killing intent within his body was unleashed and merged with the combat energy. From initial resistance and rejection to the combat energy’s willing acceptance, the speed was so fast that Rod was both shocked and ashamed. The change seemed too rapid! He could sense that the mysterious blue energy within the combat energy seemed very interested in the killing intent and eager to merge with it. It was precisely because of this energy that the integration of combat energy and killing intent was so simple and easy.

After spending most of the night, Rod finally merged his murderous aura with his combat energy. Once done, he exhaled, wiping the sweat from his forehead. Everything had gone smoothly beyond expectations—unimaginably smoothly.