It Hurts A little

Ronal remained motionless, watching with an expression of mild amusement, as if he were merely observing a passing spectacle.

"Is your combo over?" He tilted his head slightly. "It hurt a little."

He raised a hand and casually slapped Wang Lufei.

There was a loud impact. Wang Lufei spun wildly, flipping through the air before crashing into the ground.

"Oh?" Ronal stretched his fingers. "I might have gotten a bit serious by accident. Must be the rain."

The sky darkened further. The downpour intensified, and with it, Ronal's presence swelled. His aura surged, his body expanding. His humanoid form melted away, stretching taller and broader. His frame shot up to over ten meters, his upper body becoming unmistakably fish-like, monstrous and grotesque.

Wang Lufei's relentless Second Gear assault had done nothing. If anything, it had only angered him.

"Hold the grass…" someone muttered. "Lufei threw everything he had… and there's not even a scratch?"

"This boss is insane. How the hell are we supposed to fight this?"

"This is why he's a Dragon-Level threat!"

"Dragon-Level? What's that?"

"You seriously don't know? Go look up One-Punch Man!"

Despite Wang Lufei lying motionless, despite First Ice Man already down, despite Star still unconscious, the players grew more excited. Some had already started attacking Ronal.

"Ahhhhhhh!"

Ronal turned his gaze toward them.

"A snack wouldn't hurt." He licked his lips and moved.

"Ah! Don't eat me!"

"Hold the grass! The boss is actually gonna eat us?!"

"Run!"

Panic erupted, players scrambling in all directions. But Ronal laughed, savoring the moment.

"The weak should crawl before the strong!"

Then a voice cut through the rain.

"The Sect Master is here!"

Ronal turned. A lone figure walked forward, undaunted by the storm. Behind him stood Indomitable Bear and Evolutionary Player, but Ronal barely spared them a glance.

The only one that mattered was the man at the front.

A human in the Late Spirit Vein Realm.

"You're the Sect Master, aren't you?" Ronal grinned, his voice thick with amusement.

"Yes." He Yiming met his gaze without hesitation. "Sea monster… you dare invade my Yan Huang Sect?" His tone was calm, but each word carried a razor-sharp edge. "Then today, I will kill you."

There was no room for negotiation. No mercy. No second chances.

Ronal chuckled. "Kill me? You think you can?"

He Yiming's eyes flickered across the battlefield. The dam. The fallen players. There was no one left standing. No one but him.

Ronal stepped forward. "Then die."

A foot the size of a boulder came crashing down.

He Yiming barely had time to react. The sheer speed of the attack was beyond anything he had expected.

"Colored Arm!"

His left arm darkened as he raised it in defense.

There was a deafening impact. The force sent He Yiming flying, his arm shattering instantly.

Mid-air, he coughed up blood.

He landed hard, pain exploding through his body.

Colored Arm hadn't been enough. Not even close.

Ronal, however, looked just as surprised. "You blocked it?"

His gaze sharpened. Foundation Establishment cultivators could annihilate Spirit Vein warriors effortlessly. Even the most resilient Ironscale Sea Race fighters would have been crushed in a single blow.

But this human,this weak little Spirit Vein cultivator had only lost an arm?

"Heh." Ronal grinned wider. "Interesting."

But He Yiming already knew.

Melee combat was impossible.

Without hesitation, he turned and leapt back. "Retreat!"

But Ronal wasn't about to let him escape. The ground trembled as he gave chase, each step carving deep craters into the earth. He was closing in too fast.

Then, suddenly, he felt it. A shift in the air. A flicker of danger.

"Heavenly Thunder Technique!"

A golden bolt of lightning roared from the sky, crashing into him.

For a moment, silence.

Had it worked?

He Yiming's eyes lit up with hope only for it to vanish a second later.

"There's actually a technique like this?"

Ronal stood, smoke curling from a scorched wound on his chest.

It had left a mark, but only a small one.

He had blocked most of the force in time, yet… it had still hurt.

His expression darkened slightly.

"This technique… It actually managed to wound me?" His gaze locked onto He Yiming. "You… is your body attuned to Heavenly Thunder?"