Hayes, Ashley, and Mordechai looked even more shocked than the Luo Clan members present.
Considering that Ricky was almost as strong as Mordechai, and there shouldn't be a considerable gap
between Mordechai and Jeremy in terms of strength, the three of them believed that Ricky would be
just as strong as Jeremy.
However, what they had just witnessed proved that they had thoroughly underestimated Ricky's
strength. It looked like Ricky was way out of Jeremy's league.
But only Ricky knew where his enormous strength had come from, as he knew that his strike could be
equal to that of a middle spiritual emperor.
He had been able to take his challenger down with one blow because there was a great amount of
bloody evil power there.
On the other hand, that tiger could also control the bloody evil power and the fiendish power in that
place. But because it hadn't developed its psychic intelligence, it could only use those powers to
increase its fighting power. That was its biggest difference compared to Ricky.
Ricky was both powerful and intelligent. Plus, he had the Devourer Zone. Through his own fiendish
power in his Devourer Zone, he could use the bloody evil power and fiendish power here to their
optimum potential compared to how the tiger had used them.
Perhaps, that was the reason that he could unleash an attack more powerful than that of a lower
spiritual emperor.
If Ricky and Jeremy fought in another place, it would undoubtedly be a close battle.
Of course, there was another explanation for Jeremy's loss. It was because he had recklessly
underestimated Ricky's strength. If he had taken Ricky seriously from the start, their fight would not
have ended like this. Perhaps, he would have had a chance to escape.
Once Ricky got rid of Jeremy, he turned his attention to the remaining three members of the Luo Clan.
They were all stuck still, their mouths agape in shock. But before they could recover their wits, Ricky
brought them down using the fiendish power inside the water once again.
A deathly silence settled over the battlefield.
It was not until the three men's bodies fell lifeless on the ground that Hayes, Ashley, and Mordechai
came back to their senses.
"Wow, Ricky, I didn't expect that you have improved this much already!" Hayes exclaimed as he looked
at Ricky in wonder.
"Ha-ha! I can't take much credit for this, as the fiendish power helped me a lot. Besides, Jeremy didn't
take me seriously. If we weren't in this place, it might have turned out differently," Ricky answered with
a modest smile.
"Don't be so modest! No matter how you won this, you are still the winner. That's what matters,"
Mordechai chimed in.
The second those words fell from his mouth, the token in Ashley's hands suddenly lit up and made
rumbling noises.
"What's happening to this token?
Is it detecting a Territory Seal nearby?" Ashley asked as her eyes flashed with excitement.
"I don't think so. We've been here for a long time, so if there was a Territory Seal in this area, it would
have acted out a while ago. If my guess is right, it might have something to do with Jeremy,"
Hayes surmised logically.
Thus, the four of them immediately began looking through Jeremy's spiritual space tools. They soon
found a token that contained a square grey-white seal in it, but they had no clue what materials it was
made from.
"Look! Here is the Territory Seal!" Hayes yelled out with a hint of excitement in his voice.
"We don't have any use for that, but it would determine the relocation of all the Sage Level forces'
territory in the outer region of the Middle Land." "It seems like lady luck has shown favor on us. We
finally got our hands on one Territory Seal." Ricky spoke delightedly. "If the people from the other four
branches each find one, we would have enough to keep our sect."
"After we're done here, I will reach out to the members from the other four branches and see if they've
got any news," Ashley said.
"You mean you can contact the other four branches from here?" Ricky asked curiously.
"Yeah. I always keep in contact with the holy sons and holy daughters from the other four branches.
We make sure to have a way of contacting each other," Ashley revealed voluntarily, which surprised
Ricky. It seemed that she no longer hated him, and she could even share information willingly now.
"Thank you; we appreciate you doing that. After all, we need to forge good relationships with the other
four branches in the Territory Battle. I bet that those people from the other four branches are thinking of
the same thing. Otherwise, our Five-element Sect would long have been disbanded," Hayes remarked.
Afterward, Ricky devoured the bloody evil power within the pure fighting energy. With that done, he and
his companions began to refine the fighting power.
It took them five long days to get the work done.
After those days, their efforts paid off, as their strength improved a lot. Their spirit and energy had
improved even more.
Once they had absorbed the pure fighting energy, their fighting spirit significantly increased.
Moreover, they obtained the martial arts experience of the powerful warriors who had died on ancient
battlefields.
Typically, most warriors placed a lot of value on their experience and comprehension of martial arts.
Every time a warrior's fighting spirit increased, their spirit also directly improved. Spirit and energy were
exceedingly valuable to warriors. Once their spirit and energy improved, their strength also increased in
turn.
On top of that, even their talent and physical body improved alongside it.
That was why the pure fighting energy could help warriors acquire a fake mutant.
"Although I only absorbed a little pure fighting energy, I can still feel that I have improved in all aspects.
My Shadow Sword Mutant, in particular, has greatly developed. It can interact better with the heavenly
law now," Hayes remarked, looking absolutely thrilled.
"I feel the same way! The pure fighting energy is indeed better than any elixir," Mordechai agreed as
his face lit up with excitement too.
"Ricky, why don't you save some pure fighting energy for your girlfriends? It'll probably help Amelia
improve her talent and mutant power, and it might even help Tina remove the source of the evil spirit in
her body.
After all, the pure fighting energy carries the powerful warriors' will, which can restrain the evil spirit,"
the Dragon Intent Grass suggested.
"That's a good idea," Ricky responded with a nod.
The four of them first rested for a while, and then Ashley moved to contact the people from the four
branches just as she had said earlier.
But before she could do that, a sound abruptly broke the silence, and it seemed to be coming from her
body. She flipped her palm, and a crystal ball of water appeared with a drop of blood essence in it.
"Oh! I just got a message from Raylan," she reported as she gazed into the crystal ball.
"Really? Raylan sent word?" Ricky said with a smile that didn't reach his eyes.
To be honest, he didn't see eye to eye with Raylan. And he was sure that Raylan would not hesitate to
kill him if he had an opportunity. Frankly, he could never trust Raylan to guard his back.
"So, what did Raylan say?" Hayes asked Ashley.
She didn't answer immediately. First, she checked the crystal ball with her mind, and her eyebrows
soon arched involuntarily as if she had heard something shocking.
"What's wrong? Did something happen to him?" Mordechai asked when he noticed Ashley's peculiar
expression.
"He is requesting back up. It looks like he and his team are being hunted down by Brandon, a member
of the Luo Clan. They are currently in an ancient battlefield called the Land of Thorn, and they're in big
trouble!" Ashley cried out urgently.
"They are in the Land of Thorn?! That place is very dangerous..." Hayes commented, frowning as he
recalled what he knew of that place.
"Maybe they didn't have a choice. Otherwise, they wouldn't have risked their lives entering the Land of
Thorn," Mordechai cut in.
"Did he tell you how we can find them?" Ricky asked Ashley.
In the meantime, he knew that he had to put aside his personal conflict with Raylan. They must come
to Raylan's rescue no matter what. After all, he was the holy son of the Five-element Sect now, so it
was also Ricky's job to keep Raylan and his team safe.
Although Raylan held a grudge against him, Ricky couldn't stand idly by and watch him die.
That was how a powerful and honorable warrior should act.
Of course, all bets would be off once Ricky successfully saved Raylan. If Raylan tried to kill him, Ricky
would show him no mercy then.
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