Child of Destiny

...

David looked briefly at Darren, who was about to finish preparing his advanced martial skill. He knew that it was already too late to prepare a similarly powerful technique, so he did not force himself on doing so.

But at the same time, it did not mean that he could not buy himself enough time to prepare an advanced technique.

He took a horse stance and squatted his hips before raising the golden staff in front of him. He opened his palm and hung the staff on his thumbs, slightly squeezing it with his palms.

Taking a deep breath, he released his mental energy and created a bell-looking barrier around him. He was also chanting a series of mantras during the process while rune after rune appeared on the surface of the barrier, reinforcing its defensive capabilities.

'Sadhu Temple Technique: The Will of a Bodhisattva'

This was a defensive technique that he had picked when he visited a Buddhist Temple from another country. The monks there were practicing a form of martial arts that piqued his interest.

Those monks were not particularly strong, but their defensive techniques were very powerful. He was barely able to break through their defense despite giving his all. Not only that, their defensive techniques could also be formed within a short span of time, letting them have the initiative in battle.

David wanted to learn their techniques but since he was following a different path and practicing a different discipline, he could not learn their methods entirely.

But due to his stubborn nature, he stayed in the temple for quite some time to learn their teachings. And after spending his time there, he managed to learn the concept of their martial arts and incorporated it with his Mentalism Techniques.

After experimenting with it for a long time, he managed to create his own version of defensive techniques – similar to the ones from the Buddhist Temple. And as gratitude, he named those sets of techniques based on their teachings.

Swoosh!

It was at that moment that Darren finally swung his black sword down. The extended blade made of black flame also fell after it, descending with a powerful suppression aura.

'Codex of the Great Devil: Path of Annihilation'

Bang!

The opposing powers collided, clashing greatly. One of them seemed to be an unstoppable force as it continued to press down while the other looked like an immovable object that remained to stand strong.

David's technique might not have any offensive capabilities but it was still strong enough to withstand such a powerful attack of his opponent.

He continued to maintain the barrier by supplying it with his Divinity Grade Mental Energy while preparing his advanced technique.

When both David and Darren could no longer support their respective techniques, they quickly retracted their powers and prepared for their next move.

Since Darren had focused everything on that offensive skill, he was slightly slower than David, who was already waiting for this opening to arrive.

David pulled the golden staff back with his right hand while extending his other hand forward, forming a finger gun gesture with it. He then focused his mental energy on it before firing a series of air bullets toward his opponent.

Bang! Bang!

'Myriad Manifestation Method: Air Pressure Bullets'

Swoosh! Swoosh!

Darren might not be able to see those invisible bullets, but his ears were sharp enough to hear their movements.

Focusing his senses, he read their trajectory before swinging his black sword, blocking and deflecting each of the air bullets while moving backward. He was trying to distance himself away from David, as far as possible, so that he could have enough time to prepare another advanced move.

Unfortunately, David had no intention of letting him do whatever he wanted this time.

Bang!

Stomping on the ground, David propelled his body forward, flying straight to Darren while dragging his golden staff behind.

Tightly gripping the staff with both of his hands, he channeled his mental energy on it while also releasing heavy pressure at the same time.

From Darren's perspective, he could see a silhouette of a monkey-looking apparition behind David. It had a pair of glowing eyes that seemed to be able to see through him. It looked like every move that he was going to take was being read by that apparition.

Moreover, it was mimicking the movements that David was taking. It was holding a golden staff with both of its hands the way David held them and was also about to swing it in a similar manner.

'Myriad Manifestation Method: Monkey King Style – A Strike that Overturns the Heavens'

David swung the golden staff in a horizontal manner. The staff seemed to have extended and grown in size as it swept through everything on its path.

Seeing the incoming attack, Darren could not help but frown deeply. Seeing the range that the sweeping staff covered, he knew that there was no way that he would be able to avoid it.

Left without a choice, he could only face it head-on and rely on a strong constitution to withstand it. He also had to believe in the healing capabilities of his Evil Core which was similar to innate regenerative abilities that Demonic Practitioners had.

Bang!

Stomping one of his feet on the ground, he swung his black sword at the incoming attack while pouring all of his Evil Qi on it. It might not be strong enough to contend against this attack from David, but it could at least weaken the strength behind it and lessen the injuries that he was about to suffer.

Bang!

Darren was sent flying right after the collision. He could feel a couple of broken bones. His right was even dislocated due to the powerful impact. Fortunately, such injuries were nothing to people like him who were a wielder of Evil Powers.

Forcefully twisting his body in the air, Darren did a quick flip as his body was recovering at a visible rate. And when he landed back on the ground, most of the broken bones were already been fixed while his dislocated arm regained its original state.

Swoosh!

He just regained his footing when David suddenly appeared above him and was about to swing the golden staff downward.

With a quick flick of his wrist, a blazing black sword materialized on his right hand once again before quickly swinging it above him.

Bang!

"Ugh!" Darren could feel an intense discomfort due to the collision. The ground where he stood even sank down, filling it with countless cracks that were spreading in every direction.

Shaking off the uncomfortable feeling, he forced his arm to push David away before quickly calming the disoriented energy within his body. That collision just now, shook the energy flow within him, making it hard for him to properly move his body.

David lightly tapped his toes on the ground right after he landed back on it. That simple movement propelled him back toward his opponent, charging ahead like a ferocious beast.

Right after he reached Darren, David swiftly struck with his staff in quick succession. The latter was still not able to calm the disoriented energy within him, so he was a little late to respond.

Upward strike, downward strike, poke, high and low sweep, and cross attack – David continuously struck with these movements, shuffling between them to confuse his opponent. His attacks were also mixed with straightforward and faint movements, giving the opposing party a hard time reading their trajectory.

Darren, who was slowly regaining his footing, was repeatedly struck by such basic movements. He managed to block a couple of them but he could not avoid the ones that were coming from a tricky angle.

While Darren was looking for a way to escape his current predicament, he overlooked one of the attacks that were trying to strike the back of his knee.

Bang!

Darren felt as if his legs were ripped apart after receiving that attack. He quickly lost his balance due to it and was about to fall down.

He was about to force his body to control the angle of his fall, trying to get a more comfortable position to counterattack. He could use his falling motion to throw a spin attack with his sword.

Unfortunately, his face was immediately greeted by one end of the golden staff, striking from below and resembling an uppercut attack.

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Bang!

Ugh!

He tried to angle his head to dodge but his chin was caught instead. His head was thrown upward as his body spun around, following the momentum.

That attack shook his head, making him feel a little dizzy. And before he could even regain himself, he suddenly felt that David 'picked' him up. He felt that the staff of his opponent 'supported' his back as it lifted him up.

What happened next was his body being thrown up in the air by David.

Swoosh!

Due to his dizziness, Darren could not tell which was pointing in what direction. And adding the fact that his body was spinning rapidly when David threw him in the air, he totally lost his ability to sense his surroundings.

Bang!

In the meantime, David quickly followed after Darren. He leaped in the air while dragging his golden staff.

Swoosh!

And when he finally caught up to his opponent, he twisted his waist as he held the golden staff with both of his hands.

He did not hesitate as he channeled all of the mental energy that he could gather on the golden staff. And when he twisted his waist back, he struck the staff with everything he had, slamming it on the body of his opponent.

'Myriad Manifestation Method: Monkey King Style – A Strike that Annihilates the World'

If Darren could see David right now, then he could see the apparition of the monkey-looking person behind the latter once again, doing the same set of actions.

Bang!

Darren's body suddenly stopped spinning right after it was struck by the golden staff. His body was bent in an arc midair before being sent straight to the ground.

Swoosh!

Boom!

A huge crater was created upon impact, burying Darren's body in the ground.

David then fell gently. He took a deep breath right after he stood at the edge of the crater. He then quickly turned around and sprinted in a certain direction. He did not even bother to look back as he still had a more important task to do.

He really wanted to capture Darren for interrogation later. For someone who was quite talented and powerful given his age, he should have a decent standing within the organization. He would surely have important information on him that David and the military could use to have a better understanding of the Hextech Laboratory and its plans.

Unfortunately, saving Shiella was more urgent right now. David already wasted a lot of time in this place, so he had to hurry and head over to the direction where he last sensed her presence.

If they were lucky, then they might find Darren still lying under the ground when they got back. But if he was no longer here when that time came, then they could only blame their terrible luck.

"Just hold on a little longer," muttered David as he ran forward with all his might.

...…