ps. Update first, then revise. No text to see, for a better reading experience.

The golden-painted giant realized that Mr. Hei and his team were planning to ambush him. Far from being alarmed, he instead revealed a mocking sneer.

After all, the gap in rank cannot be bridged by mere schemes and plots.

With spatial lockdown in the cave, Mr. Hei and his four companions no longer needed to conceal their presence.

The five of them didn’t waste any words, revealing all their hidden tactics.

In an instant, their momentum drastically changed, and under their combined assault, they seemed to be able to contend with the golden-painted giant.

“Attack!”

In the presence of such a powerhouse, they couldn’t afford the slightest carelessness—a minor mistake could lead to a fatal crisis.

The first to strike was the previously vanished assassin.

Although Su’en couldn’t see him, he could clearly hear the crackling of dense thunder elements in the air.

Upon closer inspection, he saw the golden-painted giant’s body surge with lightning, as if a lightning-fast figure was darting around him. In just a moment, several purple thunder chains as thick as arms appeared.

The thunder chains, composed of elemental constructs, had no physical form. As soon as they materialized, they bound the golden-painted giant on the spot.

The giant pulled hard at the chains, and the lightning exploded, but he found that the chains could stretch and couldn’t be broken by sheer force alone.

His eyes narrowed slightly, as if he had guessed something, and he exclaimed in surprise and doubt, “Elemental thunder chains? Tsk tsk… you rats have indeed found some nice treasures…”

But with a cold snort, he showed no concern, “Pity, how much of the power of such high-grade cursed items can you utilize? It would have been better to keep them hidden. Since you’re so eager to seek death, I’ll grant your wish!”

……

The thunder chains restricted the golden-painted giant’s movements, but they couldn’t completely immobilize him.

As he spoke, his arms’ veins bulged, and he forcefully dragged the chains to form a seal. As soon as the warlock’s seal was completed, the golden elements around him surged, and scales like those of a pangolin condensed on his skin, covering his entire body. His aura soared to new heights.

At this moment, even with the thunder chains wrapped around him, his speed was as fast as before!

The golden-painted giant stomped his foot and charged towards Mr. Hei and his four companions.

Su’en didn’t dare to look directly at the target and didn’t know what exactly happened.

But just the oppressive feeling of that golden light made him feel as if a golden torrent was rushing over, unstoppable and powerful.

In the blink of an eye, accompanied by a “dong” sound like the tolling of a bell, the entire sealed space echoed with the sound.

A red, molten giant collided with the golden-painted giant.

The shockwave was like a tsunami hitting the shore, causing the entire space to tremble violently.

The top-tier professionals were unharmed, but there was still a small fry here.

At the moment of collision, Su’en felt as if his head was next to a cannon, his mind shook, and it seemed as if his soul was about to leave his body. Unconsciously, a trickle of blood flowed from his ears, and the aftershocks continued to pierce through his eardrums…

Su’en’s eyes were grave, “Phew~ This level of battle is indeed not something a second-tier professional can get involved in…”

If it weren’t for blocking some of the pain perception, this aftershock would have really cost him dearly.

Forcing his scattered thoughts back together, he still hung upside down on the wall, like a stone, without any movement.

…….

The aftermath of their contact was so astonishing, what about the combatants themselves?

The Red Demon caught a punch from the golden-painted giant but also spat out a mouthful of black blood.

A direct hit from a fifth-tier powerhouse is not so easy to catch!

But the Red Demon didn’t let go. His arms twisted like vines, locking the golden arm in a grappling technique. His body suddenly burst into flames, and he transformed into a magma giant, slowly pulling the scale-covered golden arm into his body.

For a moment, the scorching heat seemed to melt the golden scales.

The Red Demon’s talent was an extreme amplification of strength, and after the second awakening, he possessed the power to move mountains. Yet even so, it was extremely difficult to shake the golden giant.

Seeing this, the golden-painted giant only sneered.

Perhaps feeling confident of victory, he played with his prey, unhurriedly saying, “Fire Art of Melting Gold? A good idea indeed. But you have no idea how vast the gap in rank is. The difference in the grade of spells cannot be compensated for by a bit of cleverness…”

As he spoke, a seven-pointed star alchemical formation suddenly lit up under the giant’s feet, and with a light shout, “Flesh Alchemy – Diamond Body!”

As soon as the spell was cast, the scales on the giant’s body stood on end like a porcupine, and looking at them was blindingly sharp.

What was even more shocking was that as soon as his fifth-tier spell was activated, the bright golden light made the seven-pointed star formation under the Red Demon’s feet suddenly dim. It was as if in an instant, the fire elements around were absorbed by the fifth-tier formation.

“So this is the fifth tier…”

Su’en watched this phenomenon and immediately thought of the records in the alchemical books: “Rank suppression! Elemental plundering!”

An alchemist’s spells utilize the elemental forces around them in an equivalent exchange.

But the elemental energy in the same area is limited, and how much can be converted and controlled depends on the strength of the alchemist.

If two alchemists cast spells at the same time, the higher-tier spell/alchemist can plunder more elemental energy, even forcibly assimilating the lower-tier alchemist’s spell to their own needs.

This is the disparity in rank!

With this move, the Red Demon’s scorching heat was instantly doused with cold water, and he could no longer trouble the golden-painted giant.

He had just absorbed the fist into his body, and with the scales standing on end, not only did it fail to melt the arm, but it felt like thousands of needles exploding inside him, causing severe damage.

“Spurt~”

Another mouthful of magma-like black blood spurted out, scorching the ground and emitting a wisp of green smoke.

The Red Demon, awakened with a second-tier talent and facing a direct confrontation, was severely injured with one strike.

But it was not in vain!

The time he bought allowed Mr. Hei and the others to seize the opportunity to strike.

…….

As the golden and red figures touched, Su’en suddenly noticed a seven-pointed star emblem light up under Mr. Hei’s feet, and upon closer inspection, the sequence of his seals was actually the spell for unlocking alchemical implants.

“A fourth-tier alchemical implant? So Mr. Hei has already advanced to the fourth tier…”

Su’en was surprised as he had never seen Mr. Hei’s alchemical implant before.

The warlock’s seal was completed in an instant, and the space within the seal suddenly changed, turning into a library filled with bookshelves. On the mahogany bookshelves were densely packed gold-embossed books.

Strangely enough, although the books had clear text, upon closer inspection, they became blurry.

Moreover, what was even more shocking was that the ceiling of the library turned into a vast starry sky.

At a glance, the stars were dazzling and the depths were endless, the more one looked, the more mesmerizing it became. It seemed to draw one’s gaze in, making it impossible to look away.

Su’en, now very sensitive to psychic power, immediately guessed something upon seeing Mr. Hei’s implant: “Does this implant include a psychic spell? Is this the dangerous psychic secret technique that Mr. Hei said he was practicing?”

“What a strange implant, it’s actually a library…”

While Su’en was contemplating, he suddenly felt very odd.

He also realized that this might be related to Mr. Hei’s profession as a “Scholar.”

Moreover, Mr. Hei was clearly considering that there was still a second-tier professional here, afraid that he would be affected by the battle’s aftermath, so he placed a bookshelf in front of Su’en.

But that wasn’t all!

As soon as Mr. Hei’s implant was unlocked, his hands didn’t stop forming seals.

He seemed to merge with the library, and countless seven-pointed star magic circles lit up on numerous books.

In the center of the library, the golden-painted giant, who was about to pursue and finish off the Red Demon with a few more punches, saw the surroundings change and his brow furrowed. For the first time, a serious expression appeared as he muttered to himself, “He has already advanced to the fourth tier and fused with an implant like ‘House of All Things.’ No wonder he had the confidence to take action.”

While muttering, he suddenly pulled out his arm, no longer caring about the Red Demon who seemed to be severely injured.

Instead, he charged towards Mr. Hei.

He wanted to kill this person he perceived as the greatest threat first!

…….

A professional who could advance to the fifth tier was naturally not foolish.

Previously lured here, the golden-painted giant had guessed that it might be a trap.

But he didn’t care.

He also wanted to see where the “rats’” companions were, to catch them all in one go!

No matter how fat a rat is, it’s still a rat!

The strongest in the underground world were only third-tier professionals. Even with an ambush, he didn’t feel threatened!

But now, seeing Mr. Hei, who had advanced to the fourth tier, the golden-painted giant felt threatened for the first time.

The opponent dared to seal the space and take action, knowing he was a fifth-tier professional, so he must be confident.

Now that the library had appeared, he faintly realized that an invisible net was closing in, feeling completely exposed as if… his complacency had also been calculated.

Although the golden-painted giant still felt that the people in front of him were rats that could be killed easily, looking at Mr. Hei calmly forming seals, his instincts told him…

This man must be killed first!

…….

Su’en had seen Mr. Hei take action before. Back in the ruins, he had watched Mr. Hei seamlessly switch between four-element spells, which was astonishing.

But the aura of Mr. Hei now was completely different!

With the complex and profound warlock’s seal in his hands, the golden books in the library also shone with golden light, revealing that he was casting a fourth-tier gold spell.

The complexity of the spell patterns that lit up on the seven-pointed stars made Su’en feel the same pressure he felt when he saw the runes on the blue-skinned zombie in the basement of Green Street 88.

This spell was clearly more complex.

Before he could think further, the two had already clashed.

How fast was the golden-painted giant?

With a stomp, his figure shot out like a cannonball, covering a hundred meters in a rush. The astonishing speed contrasted sharply with his hulking giant’s body.

But it seemed as if everything was calculated.

As the golden-painted giant charged, Mr. Hei’s final warlock’s seal was also ready. He clapped his hands as if triggering some special law, and the golden elements in the space suddenly stalled, merging with the vast library.

A second ago, the golden-painted giant saw Mr. Hei using a gold spell and had a trace of disdain in his eyes.

Using a gold spell against a fifth-tier gold alchemist, what a foolish choice?

However, as he was about to scoff, he suddenly noticed an abnormal flow of elements around him. His face changed instantly, and he exclaimed in his heart, “This is not an ordinary arcane spell… he… he actually knows ‘Elemental Theft’!”

Mr. Hei paid no attention to the fist that was almost upon him, his hand seals changed: “Merge!”

At that moment, a bizarre scene occurred.

The golden paint that solidified on the golden-painted giant like armor melted away like candle wax, pooling on the ground.

Just now, to quickly kill the others, this fellow had condensed a large amount of gold elements in the sealed space.

This left no elements for others to use!

But now, the dense gold elements filling the space not only failed to aid the golden-painted giant but also turned into a quagmire due to the state of the elements being altered by some law.

This caused the golden-painted giant to slow down as he ran, as if he were trapped in a swamp, his speed decreasing more and more, seemingly about to be ensnared!

……

Under normal circumstances, a fifth-tier spell against a fourth-tier spell would be a one-sided defeat without any suspense.

The gap in rank cannot be bridged by the grade of the spell, whether it’s a common spell or an arcane one… it’s impossible.

But Mr. Hei, the alchemist, didn’t choose to clash head-on; he chose “theft”!

He stole the gold elements condensed by the golden-painted giant, directly changing the state of the elements, giving the impression of “using the enemy’s strength against them.”

With perhaps less than a tenth of the effort, he moved the enemy’s full strength.

“What a clever tactic!”Su’en, although unable to comprehend the mysteries of this spell, could guess the principle behind Mr. Hei’s technique based on his current understanding of alchemy.

To unravel a spell with finesse means you must have a thorough understanding of it.

This implies that Mr. Hei, although not a fifth-order mage, must have a profound understanding of fifth-order spells!

At this thought, Su’en couldn’t help but feel emotional: “Just how much knowledge does Mr. Hei have in his mind…”