Chapter Ninety: Ineffective to the Point of Collapse

At this moment, the two sides were separated by more than twenty meters. Yet Qin Chuan did not launch an attack, for he knew nothing of the Flame Lord’s skills; a rash assault might put him at a disadvantage.

Qin Chuan’s restraint did not mean the Flame Lord would hold back. Facing an opponent three levels lower, the Flame Lord brimmed with confidence.

Just moments ago, Qin Chuan had devoured the Fire Lotus Seed, reaching level twenty-four and upgrading his Blink – Immunity skill once more.

Now, his immunity duration had extended to 1.2 seconds, granting him remarkable flexibility.

The Fire Elemental Lord strode down, wielding a flaming blade over half a meter long. He quickly entered striking range, and the passive effect of his Fire Spirit Body began to afflict Qin Chuan.

“Ding! You have received fire damage. Sword Body loses 0.01% per second.”

Hearing the system prompt, Qin Chuan nearly laughed aloud. “0.01% damage per second—only 1% after a hundred seconds. That’s negligible.”

With his current resilience, the Fire Elemental Lord’s passive damage was barely consequential. Moreover, the Cold Jade he wielded was a supreme icy artifact, possessing great resistance to flame.

The Flame Lord, however, was deeply shaken. He observed Qin Chuan’s calm demeanor, clearly unaffected.

“This Dragon-patterned Cold Jade Sword is truly extraordinary—still not a hint of panic.”

“But in my eyes, this is nothing but ignorance.”

The Flame Lord had utmost faith in his own skills. He believed that a single strike landed upon Qin Chuan would leave him wishing for death.

Without hesitation, the Fire Elemental Lord leaped into the air, unleashing his skill in a downward slash.

“Blazing Heaven Cleave!”

Given the volcano’s sloped terrain, his attack from above gained both speed and momentum. Purple flames surged upon his blade, its sharpness rating soaring to 780+.

Qin Chuan’s resilience stood at roughly 630+; a hit would inflict considerable injury. Moreover, Blazing Heaven Cleave was not a mere single blow, but a succession of three strikes—if they connected, the cumulative damage would be formidable.

“Qin Chuan, be careful!” From afar, Zi Zi saw the Fire Elemental Lord leap high and launch a ferocious attack at Qin Chuan, crying out in alarm.

Facing the ferocious blade, Qin Chuan felt not the slightest fear. Instead, he inverted his sword’s tip and launched a simple attack against the flaming blade.

“What?! He dares to confront me head-on? That’s courting death!”

The Flame Lord was certain of his blade’s superiority; a sharpness of 780+ was top-tier among third-rank beings.

Yet he never imagined that Qin Chuan’s sharpness far surpassed his own.

He simply could not conceive that a level twenty-four Qin Chuan could possess such a high sharpness rating. In his mind, reaching 550+ would already be impressive.

Reality, however, always has its surprises.

“Clang! Crack!”

“Ding! Critical hit triggered—damage increased by 150%, knockback effect applied.”

“Ding! 40% slow effect triggered.”

As blade met sword, the flaming blade shattered outright.

The Flame Blade, the Fire Elemental Lord’s companion weapon, was linked to his body and boasted a resilience of 760+.

But Qin Chuan, after slaying a wave of fire elementals, had his rage meter maxed. That seemingly ordinary strike was, in fact, his peak attack.

The critical hit’s damage reached a staggering 1460+, nearly twice the Flame Lord’s resilience.

“Ah! Impossible!” The Fire Elemental Lord, wracked with pain, stared in disbelief.

Qin Chuan had shattered his blade with a single strike—equivalent to severing the Flame Lord’s arm. Reforging it would not be easy.

With his weapon destroyed, how could he unleash three consecutive slashes? Even the Blazing Heaven Cleave skill was now unusable.

Worse still, the Flame Lord was knocked backward, tumbling through the air. The spectacle left every fire elemental dumbstruck.

“My heavens! What just happened?”

“Lord Flame’s blade shattered—and he was knocked backward!”

“How could this be?”

…

All the fire elementals believed it was an illusion, but reality proved harsh.

In midair, the Flame Lord reacted swiftly, opening his mouth wide to unleash his skill—Fire Dragon Breath.

“Fire Dragon Breath!”

A fire dragon, claws bared, lunged at Qin Chuan, threatening to engulf him in an instant.

The Flame Lord felt a measure of relief. “Thank goodness I reacted quickly. Had he gotten close, I’d be flayed if not killed!”

In the brief seconds of combat, the Flame Lord’s heart had undergone a seismic shift. He no longer considered Qin Chuan a pushover, but an adversary to be feared.

The moment his blade broke, he lost the will to continue fighting.

He could only hope Fire Dragon Breath would repel Qin Chuan, allowing him to activate his ultimate and flee into the volcano.

Yet again, his hopes were dashed.

“Blink!”

Qin Chuan blinked forward, charging straight through the fire dragon, and struck with a simple attack.

“No! Why is he untouched after facing the fire dragon’s assault?”

“Oh heavens, don’t come any closer!”

The Flame Lord’s mind neared collapse, unable to comprehend why all his attacks failed.

“Clang! Crack!”

“Ah! The pain!”

Though it was a basic attack, a sharpness of 978+ utterly overwhelmed the Flame Lord’s defenses.

With that sword strike, the Fire Spirit Body cracked, suffering significant damage.

“Ah! How can your attacks be so monstrous! But I won’t give up!”

“Rebirth by Fire!”

Terrified, the Flame Lord instantly activated his ultimate, boosting all attributes by 25%.

Now his resilience soared to 950+, sharpness to 750+, speed to 560+.

Thus, Qin Chuan’s next two basic attacks inflicted minimal harm.

The Flame Lord’s luck was considerable; after four sword strikes, he still hadn’t been frozen.

Half a second later, he landed, unleashing Fire Dragon Breath once more.

“Die! You never expected I could use this skill again!”

“And this time, the damage is much higher!”

“Surprised? Unexpected, isn’t it?”

He was certain that at such close range, he would surely hit his mark.

For at this moment, Fire Dragon Breath’s damage had reached 930+.

Indeed, the fire dragon swept through Qin Chuan’s sword, engulfing him instantly.

“No! Qin Chuan!” Zi Zi saw Qin Chuan swallowed by the fire dragon and felt a sudden pang in her heart.

“You won’t die—you mustn’t!”

Zi Zi stared intently ahead, fighting back tears.

Qin Chuan had not anticipated the Flame Lord’s ability to unleash the skill again. But with immunity active, he feared nothing.

Now, his 1.2 seconds of immunity became the key to crushing the Flame Lord.

So, all surprises belonged to the Flame Lord.

When the fire dragon receded, Qin Chuan emerged unscathed.

“No! Impossible!”

The Flame Lord’s scream nearly triggered another volcanic eruption.

“Surprised? Unexpected, isn’t it?” Qin Chuan’s mocking voice echoed in the Flame Lord’s ear, sending him into a fit of rage.