The Supreme God of Martial Arts

Whizzing hysterically, the Skull Scorpions changed their direction after realizing they had missed their target.

Like a flash flood, they charged at Austin once again.

Their coppery smell assaulted him, almost making him choke.

Aware of the much dreaded venomous sting of the scorpions, he cut a stern face, plotting his next move.

But before he could react, he was alarmed by yet more hissing and whizzing.

This time, the whizzing was only a few meters from where he stood.

Another heap of sand appeared to move, charging furiously at him.

"Damn it! Why are there so many Skull Scorpions around this place?"

Are there really any treasures here?"

Never had Austin imagined a place so full of Skull Scorpions, ready to attack an intruder.

Worse still, the scorpions could withstand his thunder sword aura.

For starters, not even Astral ranked martial arts masters could fight against Austin. Especially, his thunder sword was too lethal for

such a battle.

Yet the armies of scorpions were not only numerous but also powerful enough to fight back — a terrifying reality.

"I bet, by the stories I've heard, there must be sreal treasures under these sands.

Hopefully, that's true. Or else I'll be wasting my there."

With a final decision, he put away the Lightning Sword and took out the Slaughtering Sword instead, ready for the battle of his life.

Since he had broken into the preliminary stage of Astral Realm, it was now easier for him to use the Slaughtering Sword than

before.

At least he did not need to sleep for a whole day just to recover after fighting with the sword like the first tthat he used it.

Also, the spiritual tree of his soul could suck up the murderous intent that kept invading the Soul Sea. That way, he could get new

bursts of energy to replenish his spiritual power, right in the middle of fighting.

So using the sword meant a few extra benefits for him.

And indeed, those added advantages were the little things that could prove decisive in battle. However, Austin also understood the

limits of his vital energy at the moment. As such, he'd be cautious about invoking the entirety of the sword's hidden power.

Holding the sword with well-practiced precision, he manipulated the thunder unicorn to get out of the elixir field using his mind.

"Con!"

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he bellowed.

Then he flashed the sword, raising bloodthirsty aura.

With a deafening bolt of thunder, the force of his strike sent a thick cloud of dust flying high into the air.

Meanwhile, on the ground, flashes of powerful rays struck towards the scorpions, hitting them like a torrential rain of fire.

Scorched by the flames, the scorpions scattered, frantically trying to find a hiding place.

But there was just no escaping. In a short time, the scorpions started dropping dead, their initial coppery, venomous smell fading

into fumes of roasting flesh.

The ground under shook and rumbled with terrified commotion.

About an hour later, the battle died out.

A deafening silence fell, leaving only smoke, dust and a few flickering embers of the raging fire that had swept across the field less

than an hour ago.

The charred remains of the scorpions littered the sand.

Black patches and unsightly streaks colored the sand, where blood had flowed when scorpions suffered cuts before the fire

engulfed them.

Austin put the Slaughtering Sword back in the Space Ring and also put the thunder unicorn back into the elixir field.

He landed on the sand and found a clean area. Then he hunkered down for a rest from the intense action.

He did not stand up until the murderous intent in his Soul Sea was fully absorbed by the spiritual tree.

"What on earth is in this sand?

If there is really anything here, it has to be under the sand," he murmured to himself.

For a moment, he walked back and forth across the field, trying to read any signs of what was under the sand.

He wanted to see if he could find something.

"It seems there is nothing, though.

Would that mean that the story about the Skull Scorpion was just a rumor?"

Feeling incredulous, he muttered.

"Damn it, I'd better smash this sand and see if | can find anything!"

After hesitating for a while, Austin, gritting his teeth focused his phenomenal power on the right fist.

Again and again, he exercised punching on the sand.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

With earthshaking bolts of his punches, he raised a dark cloud of dust that swirled high into the air.

In a short time, the area becincreasingly dim.

The whirlwind building up by the minute brought with it a threatening aura that hang heavy in the air.

"Well, looks like | have wasted my there.

Fought with a group of Skull Scorpions for no reason at all,"

Austin complained, shaking his head after several punches.

The bolts of thunder that issued from his hand left a huge hole, about ten meters deep in the sand.

Standing at the bottom of the hole, he was disappointed to realize that there was nothing in the sand.

With a forced smile, he stomped on the sand and was ready to give up and leave.

But just then, the ground under his feet becshaky.

Without any warning, it began to move like waves.

The whole thing caught Austin by surprise.

Reacting to the change, he was about to activate his bodily movement skill to escape the quicksand.

However, a strong force dragged him down, completely sinking him under.

After he disappeared, an intense black whirlwind swept across the endless sea of sand.

Once more, a heavy cloud of dust darkened the sky, swirling violently in the storm.

Finally, when the eye of the storm moved to the deep hole that Austin dug, the wind slowly died out.

The falling dust filled up the place, completely burying Austin under the weight.

Trapped beneath, Austin had no control over anything.

In the loose sand, any effort he made at rising only pushed him further down, as there was nothing to hold his weight.

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From every direction, the pressure just kept growing.

To cope with the threat, he poured out his vital energy to form a defensive shield.

It took him a while, struggling to regain balance.

Thankfully, his efforts began to pay off.

The pressure from grit and gravel abated.

But he was still falling.

By now, he sensed he had entered a different place altogether — an empty space.

Hurtling through space, he quickly activated his inner power for floating, to avoid crushing.

It took him quite a while before he slowed to reasonably safe speeds.

For the next few minutes, he was fairly in control.

At long last, he landed on a firm surface, more stable than the loose sand which had caved under his feet. Although not so hard as

to hurt him on impact.

Feeling relieved, he sighed and spat out the sand that had filled his mouth.

Shaking off the dust, he let out a burst of vital energy.

Then he took a moment to survey the area, trying to orient himself.

What he saw stunned him.

Here was a world full of vital spiritual energy and evidence of life over the centuries.

Great mountains with thick forest cover surrounded the place.

Mist and cloud adorned the mountain peaks in breathtaking beauty, but the buildings at the foot looked too derelict for occupancy.

Oddly, the condition of the houses looked better with each row going upward. Actually, the highest rows were almost untouched by

the effects of age.

Austin suspected these were the ancient ruins of a reclusive sect that had once lived here in seclusion.

Meanwhile, Austin also found hundreds of thousands of human bones scattering all over the ground.

The discovery of bones ruined the allure of this beautiful world with a ghastly sight.

Carefully, Austin looked around with mixed emotions.

Never in his wildest dreams had he expected to find ruins of a sect under this black sand.