Chapter 661 655: A Brutal Beatdown

'So fast!' Shen Haoran thought as the Saint Child appeared before him in an instant. He hadn't even been able to track the Saint Child's movements. 'His speed... it's countless times greater than mine!'

"Not a bad reaction!" The Saint Child's lips curled into a playful smile as he watched Shen Haoran lean back to dodge his strike.

"Well then, let's see if you can keep up with my speed now!" the Saint Child sneered, his figure once again vanishing on the spot.

'Retreat!' The instant the Saint Child vanished, the hairs on Shen Haoran's body stood on end—an instinctive reaction to danger. He slammed his foot into the ground and shot backward. 'His speed is too great. I can't get entangled with him!'

However, before Shen Haoran could move back, the Saint Child's figure instantly appeared beneath him. The next moment, a fist slammed directly into his stomach. A torrent of ferocious power erupted. With no chance to dodge, Shen Haoran took the hit directly. His body shot out like a cannonball, smashing through countless walls before finally carving a long trench in the ground as he skidded to a halt.

"Hiss…" The intense pain made Shen Haoran suck in a sharp breath. 'Not only is the Saint Child terrifyingly fast, but his attacks are this powerful too.'

"This is no time to be distracted!" Just as Shen Haoran was cursing inwardly, the Saint Child's figure descended from the sky like a meteor, stomping down ruthlessly on the spot where Shen Haoran lay.

BOOM!

A massive explosion rang out as the surrounding earth instantly collapsed. Countless cracks spread out like a spiderweb, and huge boulders flew into the air. When the dust settled, a crater several meters deep had appeared where Shen Haoran had just been lying. Inside the crater, however, there was no one but the Saint Child.

The Saint Child raised his head, his expression impassive as he gazed up at the sky. There, Shen Haoran quietly hovered in mid-air, flapping the Vermilion Bird Wings on his back.

Shen Haoran stared down at the Saint Child below, his expression grim. He felt a wave of lingering fear. 'Luckily, I dodged that. Otherwise, that one stomp would have at least severely injured me. This Saint Child's power is not as simple as it seems.'

Shen Haoran kept his eyes locked on the Saint Child, but in the blink of an eye, the man vanished from his line of sight. The next instant, a cold voice sounded from behind him. "You cornered rat, is running all you know how to do? If that's the case, then this is no longer fun!"

The instant the voice rang out, Shen Haoran threw a punch behind him. But his powerful strike only pierced through the Saint Child's afterimage, failing to even graze the hem of his clothes.

"Is that all the speed you have? You disappoint me!" The Saint Child's voice echoed from above. Before Shen Haoran could even look up, the Saint Child clasped his hands together, forming a hammer-fist that he smashed ruthlessly onto Shen Haoran's back. Like a kite with a severed string, Shen Haoran plummeted toward the ground.

The Saint Child's figure flashed, and he was on him in an instant, kicking Shen Haoran back into the air. Shen Haoran became a human punching bag, battered back and forth by the Saint Child in mid-air. There was nothing he could do. Their speed and strength were on completely different levels, and he didn't even have the power to retaliate.

BOOM!

With a thunderous crash, Shen Haoran was kicked toward the ground by the Saint Child. His body slammed into the earth like a meteorite, creating a pit so deep its bottom couldn't be seen. Shen Haoran lay silently inside it, still as a corpse.

"I suppose the game is over." The Saint Child seemed to have grown bored. He sneered down at Shen Haoran, then slowly raised his right hand. Dark Demonic Qi rapidly gathered in his palm, instantly forming a pitch-black Demon Spear. Without a moment's hesitation, he hurled it toward Shen Haoran's heart.

WHOOSH!

A sound of tearing air echoed as the spear's powerful wake carved a long trench in the ground. Even from a great distance, one could clearly feel the piercing aura emanating from the Demon Spear. It was a strike that looked as if it could run the very earth through, and in an instant, it was right in front of Shen Haoran.

BOOM!

In the next instant, a deafening explosion erupted. A terrifying storm of Spiritual Power raged within the crater where Shen Haoran lay. The crater, originally just over a person's width, had now expanded by a countless magnitude. Nearly half of the mountain forest before the Dragon Tomb had collapsed. Such was the terrifying power of the Demon Spear's attack!

When the dust settled, all was quiet save for the clatter of a few loose stones. Even Shen Haoran's aura was gone. The Saint Child glanced dispassionately at the crater below, a scornful smile playing on his lips. "Hmph," he snorted. "To think you'd dare to shout in my presence with such meager strength. You truly don't know your own limits."

'Feeling Shen Haoran's aura disappear, the weight in the Saint Child's heart finally lifted. 'Shen Haoran knew how to break the Hundred-Refinement Soul-devouring Array. As long as he's taken care of, the plan is foolproof!'

After one last glance at the dust-shrouded crater, the Saint Child turned to leave. But just as he did, a small storm suddenly began to brew in the depths below. This vortex rapidly expanded until, in the blink of an eye, it had completely enveloped the crater.

The Saint Child whipped his head back around. When he saw Shen Haoran standing in the center of the vortex, he froze as if struck by lightning, his body trembling violently.

In the eye of the storm, Shen Haoran was half-kneeling. His clothes were in tatters, draped loosely over his shoulders. His body was covered in wounds, large and small—a ghastly sight—and his entire upper torso was stained red with blood. Despite all this, his aura had not diminished in the slightest. In fact, it had grown even stronger. His Qilin Arm was now manifest, and the Demon Spear the Saint Child had created for the final blow was now clutched in his hand, unable to move a single inch.

RRRIP…

Beneath the Saint Child's dark gaze, Shen Haoran slowly rose to his feet. He casually tore the tattered remnants of his shirt from his body. Then, his Qilin Arm clenched. With a sudden squeeze, the Demon Spear—a weapon that could pierce the heavens and the earth—was crushed in his grip, exploding into countless wisps of black energy that scattered in every direction.

"Is this the extent of your power? How disappointing," Shen Haoran said flatly, casually wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth. The entire time, he had been taking the Saint Child's attacks head-on. He hadn't even activated his Black Tortoise Shield. 'It was all to let my body acclimate to his speed and power. Now that I'm used to them, there's no longer any need to hold back.'

Hearing Shen Haoran throw his own words back in his face, the Saint Child's expression turned livid. Shen Haoran's aura was now more than twice as strong as it was before. 'This means he was hiding his true strength all along... He was just toying with me!'

"I'm going to kill you!" the Saint Child roared, blasting toward Shen Haoran. This time, he unleashed his full power. He would not give Shen Haoran another chance to stand back up…