GDK 809: Han Tu
Near the West of Ethereal City, a rather peculiar fight was happening. Three midgods that cultivated in the energy of earth stood with their backs sticking closely with each other. Their brows were bunched and they were looking all around vigilantly, ready to handle any sudden attacks.
Then, the ground between the three slowly sunk without them noticing. A pair of hands stealthily came out from the hole and tickled one of those feet.
The person who got tickled was startled. He immediately swung the huge hammer in his hand at the ground. His other two partners only stared blankly for a moment before they reacted. They immediately shouted, “Kill him!” and sent a burst of earth energy towards those sneaky hands.
The pair of hands that appeared from the ground suddenly crystallized while the element of earth wildly converged in its palms and formed a thick layer of armor. One of those hands swept forward and blocked the enormous hammer while the other swatted on one of the attackers’ soles.
“Arghh!!” A miserable shriek sounded. The person felt as though all of the earth’s energy were concentrated on his foot. His bones made a few cracks before that foot of his shattered and started spurting blood.
“Don’t step on the ground!” One of them shouted. Their earth divine energy had shot into the ground. However, when their attacks landed, the earth that they knew so well suddenly seemed all so unfamiliar to them. It was as though layers of barriers had deflected their divine energy. They realized that their attacks were, yet again, ineffective.
A shiny broadsword filled with divine energy was suddenly thrust at the region where the two hands appeared. Ting! The broadsword which should have pierced into the ground like a hot knife through butter bounced off as a burst of sparks came out from its tip.
Evidently, this attack had also caused no harm to the sneaky attacker.
The gods living in Ethereal City surrounded the area and watched the fight from a distance. They seemed very curious and would discuss the fight in low voices.
Although all of those in the fight were cultivators of the earth element, the expert who was hiding underground had shown extreme mastery on the utilization of earth element, as though he was one with the earth. Although the expert had never shown his face, from the power contained in the divine energy on his two hands, the onlookers could tell that he was around the same strength as those three above the ground. They were all in around mid-stage midgodhood.
Although they were all in the same realm, the expert hiding underground had stayed on the front foot all along. Although he had not been an inch off the ground, he could somehow move anywhere he wanted to. He could quickly throw a sneak attack at his opponents, immediately retreat underground, and move elsewhere. Evidently, this expert was on a whole nother level in his mastery and understanding of the earth element.
“Who could this fella be? He is only a midgod, and yet, he commands such spectacular mastery over earth energy. Absolutely unbelievable!” exclaimed a bystander who cultivated in the energy of wind.
“I have met a few highgods of earth before, but never have I seen anyone who could conceal themselves underground so fluidly and effortlessly! Not only that, but this expert could even form Crystal Fortification on his hands! Could he be concealing his actual strength? Otherwise, how could a midgod have such profound knowledge into the element of earth?” another bystander exclaimed in disbelief.
“This mysterious expert has stayed in Ethereal City for some days but he had never come out from the ground even till now. I wonder how he or she looked!” remarked a bystander.
While the crowd was talking, the underground guy again miraculously disappeared himself, as though he had never appeared. The midgod who lost a foot diverted divine energy to the injured leg. A vein on his leg burst from the skin.
The trio of midgods no longer dared stand on the ground but hovered in midair cautiously. They looked incredibly distressed.
Cultivators of the element of earth could unleash their fullest potential only when they had their feet on the ground. They need to be touching the ground to utilize the energy found in the ground and it will allow them to gather the element of earth faster than they could while hovering in midair. The sight of three gods of earth not being able to step on the ground seemed very bizarre and ironic to the onlookers.
Those who didn’t know might even think that the three were cultivators of the wind element fighting an invisible earth element expert!
“Han Tu, show yourself if you have balls. Don’t hide underground like an ostrich!” shouted that midgod whose leg was bleeding. He was looking at the ground below him and gnashing his teeth.
His two partners were standing on his two sides. They seemed to be in great headaches.
“Han Tu? Wow, so it’s him! Why is this person in the Space Dominion?” a midgod of fire cried out in surprise. He seemed to know the background of the expert hiding underground.
“Excuse me mate, do you know who that mysterious earth energy cultivator is?” those standing beside him turned to the midgod of fire and asked. They were dying to know the mysterious person’s identity.
“Han Tu is an earth energy expert who’s recently been rising in fame in the Earth Dominion. It is said that when he first arrived at the Earth Dominion, he had just mid-stage lowgod strength. But somehow, he managed to rapidly soar in strength and attained mid-stage midgod realm in just a short few decades! He had made a lot of enemies in the Dominion but no one could catch him!” explained the midgod of fire. He was pleased to receive such attention.
After taking a short pause, when he saw that the onlookers were still staring at him, he put on a faint smile and continued, “He is very skilled at the use of earth energy. Some even said that his understanding of the earth element has surpassed those of a highgod. He is a very mysterious character. No one seemed to know where he came from or his goals. He attracted the attention of many highgods soon after entering the Earth Dominion. I have even heard rumors from the Earth Shrine that the Overgod of Earth had summoned him for a meeting, but he refused. He’s been a loner and an eccentric in the Earth Dominion. Although he had offended many, no highgods could capture him!”
“So it turns out to be him! I have heard rumors about this person the last time I visited the Earth Dominion,” said a god as he walked to the crowd from a distance. He then added, “Strange things have been happening these days. Many young but outstanding experts have started appearing in every Dominion. I hearsay of this fella named Han Mu who has been making news in the Life Dominion. He too attracted the attention of the Overgod of Life. From the Fire Dominion is a guy called Han Huo. They all have strange names, but they all have the word ‘Han’!”
“There is a youngster from the Darkness Dominion called Bryan who’s also been rising in fame. Rumor says that he came to Elysium from a low-level material plane just recently. But somehow, despite his origin, he has supreme skills in refining medicines and possessed terrifying strength. I heard that he even defeated a highgod! It seems that a wave of miraculous experts is popping out from all the Dominions!” remarked a lowgod of death.
“That youngster called Bryan is really awesome. I have heard a thing or two about him when I was in the Destruction Dominion. They say that he founded a pharmacy named Celestial Pearl – if I remember correctly. The business has been flourishing in the Darkness Dominion!”
“Yada yada yada…. “ the onlookers started discussing the phenomenon. For a moment, that had forgotten about the three midgods that were still hovering in midair and Han Tu under the ground.
Then, suddenly, a group of earth energy cultivators wearing matching divine armor as the trio arrived at the area in a haste. The squad made of ten gods seemed to be a detachment of divine guards from some family clan. It was composed of an early-stage highgod, three late-stage midgods, and six mid-stage midgods.
The highgod that led the squad was short and brawny. He had dry, yellowish skin. As soon as he arrived, he glowered at the three hovering in midair and shouted, “Get back on the ground!”
The three midgods cowered. Following the angry shout, they immediately landed on the ground. The midgod who lost a leg sullenly reported, “Lord Verón, Han Tu should be right underground!”
“Do you really need to remind me that?” replied the highgod named Verón in an annoyed manner. He looked all around with his eyes that were glinted ferocious rays and coldly shouted, “Have you folks seen enough yet? Get lost!”
Verón had highgod strength while the onlooking gods were mostly of lowgod and midgod strengths. After hearing Verón’s shout, the crowd started dispersing. Although they wished to see more actions, they were too intimidated to stay and watch.
“Han Tu, I know you are underground. Don’t think that you can escape us just because you have come to the Space Dominion! I’ll tell you this – we will get to you no matter where you run!” after the crowd dispersed, Verón lowered his head and coldly shouted at the ground.
Suddenly, large spikes shot out from the ground. That midgod who lost a leg was hit. A large spike struck right his crotch. A miserable loud shriek sounded as the pain swarm to his brain.
The divine guards did not expect to be attacked in Verón’s presence. Having been caught off guard, three of the divine guards were struck. Some had their foot pierced while some received injuries on their legs. They hastily flew back to the sky before cursing at the ground while grimacing in pain.
Verón was enraged. He sent a burst of divine energy towards the earth and cried, “Han Tu, show yourself if you have the guts!”
A deafening explosion sounded from trembling ground. As Verón was a highgod, the power contained in his attack was nothing ordinary.
Several hundred meters from the gang, earth elite zombie emerged from the ground. He said to Verón, “Fucker, stay here if you have the guts! My father will be here soon and he will beat the shit out of you!” Earth Elite Zombie had not changed in appearance even after decades and he still had that naive look. But one thing had changed – his eyes were glinting with energy and intelligence. He had even learned to use vulgarities and behave arrogantly. It was almost half as good as Han Shuo could do.
Verón stared blankly for a moment, as though he did not expect that Earth Elite Zombie would have a father. He took a quick glance at his crying and screaming divine guards before he replied, “Your father? I’m not going anywhere even if your grandpa comes. Let’s see if he can even touch me!”