I will eventually become a divine being through accumulating constantly

Countless tendrils intertwined rapidly, stretching out to block the path ahead of Xue Jing.

"Bang!" A punch laced with the Power of Twins burst forth, blasting a spiral pathway through the roots in front of him; Xue Jing passed through the channel, but the black-robed woman had already been carried away from her original position.

His gaze locked onto the black-robed woman, who was moving away; he flipped in mid-air, stepping on a root, ready to push off.

At that moment, countless tendrils surged towards him, waving furiously with immense volume and speed; it was apparent from the sharp whistling of the air that they carried tremendous kinetic energy.

Xue Jing had no choice but to stop; his skin began to break out in dense, mottled dragon scale marks, and then he started to rapidly spin in place, turning into a tornado.

Golden Scales Transformation!

"Sssssss—"

The roots that touched him were shredded as if they had met a wood chipper, producing a noise similar to a chainsaw cutting through wood, with countless wood chips and pieces flying about and scattering.

However, the number of tendrils was endless, showing no sign of stopping, and they continuously swung at the spinning Xue Jing.

Xue Jing realized that this could go on indefinitely so he stopped spinning and used Twin Speed. He stepped randomly on a tendril and weaved back and forth in the air at extreme speed, while countless tendrils chased tirelessly after him.

"Give up, it's meaningless," the black-robed woman continued to persuade.

She watched Xue Jing moving rapidly, commenting while inwardly sighing.

'At such a young age, to have trained martial arts to such a level, truly impressive.'

'But, you're just unlucky, my secret technique happens to be the perfect counter for Martial Artists...'

The black-robed woman controlled the roots beneath her feet, carefully gliding through the air, always keeping at least tens of meters away from Xue Jing.

Although she held the winning ticket, she remained cautious not to let a Martial Artist get close to her.

After a while of continuous shifting and dodging in the air, Xue Jing suddenly felt his breathing hitch.

A problem with his breathing threw off the rhythm of his power, and his speed slowed down considerably.

"Have you noticed?" The black-robed woman saw his actions slow and smiled slightly, commanding the countless tendrils to stop.

Xue Jing landed on the ground and instinctively took a couple of deep breaths, but the oxygen he drew into his lungs was nearly negligible.

"The air has become thin," said the black-robed woman in a gentle voice.

Xue Jing frowned as he saw her not attacking and asked, "What did you do?"

The woman stood in the air, smiled, and stretched out her hand to the right. A thick green tendril came to her palm like a puppy, being stroked by her.

"Do you know what plant this is?"

Xue Jing did not respond, and the woman did not insist on an answer; she continued on her own:

"'Nagussium Chalatos,' that's this child's name."

"It grows in the Otherworld, and its name is the transliteration from the Otherworld's language, meaning 'the air is a man's whore.'

"It is a rather vulgar name, but quite apt."

"Unlike plants from our world, this child cannot perform photosynthesis, it does not absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen. On the contrary, it possesses a respiratory ability similar to humans, feeding on oxygen."

"And its efficiency in consuming oxygen is far greater than that of humans, almost describable as frenzied, a very non-eco-friendly child," the woman said, looking down at Xue Jing.

"Martial Artists require the coordination of breathing to utilize power; without a large supply of oxygen, you cannot bring forth your power. The air around us has been devoured by this child and has become so thin that we can barely stave off suffocation."

"A Martial Artist unable to use power will have their combat effectiveness reduced to a fraction... You might as well come back with me obediently."

"After all, we will be colleagues in the future. I don't particularly want to tie you up forcibly; that would be too unsightly..."

Xue Jing took several deep breaths, facing what seemed to be a desperate situation with an unchanged expression.

"I see, that explains your confidence," he said softly.

The woman tilted her head, "Don't even think about leaving this 'forest'... You can't escape. You have seen how fast these children are; without the ability to use the power, you definitely cannot run away."

"Run?" Xue Jing shook his head.

He glanced at the countless dense tendrils around him—and the large patches of shadow created on the ground where sunlight was blocked by the tendrils.

Countless streams of black energy were drawn from the vast expanses of shadow and flowed towards Xue Jing.

Seeing this, the expression of the woman in the black robe finally changed.

With her eyes wide and jaw dropped she uttered, "This..."

What the hell?

"Although I'd rather not reveal it," Xue Jing said slowly, looking straight at her.

Countless streams of black energy surged, entwining around his body.

"Boom——"

Dark Flame ignited, burning upon his body and forming a coat of black flame, making him appear like a god of the Netherworld clad in death.

"You didn't think... that you were the only one who could use magic, did you?"

Xue Jing clenched his palm, and a clump of Dark Flame exploded, scattering countless small black flame fireballs the size of thumbs.

The numerous fireballs spread out and flew towards the woman in the sky like raindrops.

Countless streams of black energy were drawn out from the vast shadows, absorbed by the black flame fireballs, causing them to swell in size until they became basketball-sized by the time they reached the woman.

Numerous black flame fireballs, like a meteor shower, furiously smashed towards the woman.

"This... How is this possible!"

The woman quickly controlled countless tendrils to pounce on the numerous black flame fireballs.

"You... You're also a Blessed One!?"

Dark Flame hit the tendrils, erasing a section of them out of existence, as if undergoing an Annihilation reaction, like an eraser wiping them away.

The multitude of fireballs erased countless tendrils, and the wounds looked as if a giant beast had gnawed on them, not at all like they were scorched by flames.

"Come on then, magic it is, oxygen sucking it is, wench it is?"

Xue Jing cursed under his breath, with black flames igniting all over his body.

"I had hoped to interact with you all as an ordinary martial artist, but was met with nothing but disdain."

"No more pretending, I can do magic too, I'm laying my cards on the table."

He clenched his hand, and the Dark Flame burning in the air suddenly came to life, spawning dozens of crows with white, empty eye sockets.

The dozens of crows flapped their wings, opened their beaks, and cawed silently as they flew towards the woman in the air.

"What kind of power is this, and which Heretic God do you serve?" The woman asked sternly, waving her hand as well and controlling countless tendrils to reach for the crows.

At the same time, dozens more tendrils lunged towards Xue Jing himself.

The situation had changed; she could no longer hold back.

Xue Jing snorted mockingly, clasping his hands together.

Countless streams of black energy were drawn from the vast shadows, converging on his body.

Dark Flame arose from his body, came to life, and gradually covered him entirely, forming a black humanoid upper body around him that continued to grow larger.

The black humanoid slowly took on a more distinct form, with scales covering its body, forming a set of full-body armor like the Infantry Armor from the Song Dynasty.

The humanoid had only an upper body, about six meters tall, with Xue Jing encased in its stomach, presenting a black semi-translucent appearance, adorned with Dark Flames, and only two white empty eyes visible beneath the full-face helmet.

"So it's the Descend of the Tree Realm, is it? I'm Susanoo, goddamn it!"

The black energy swirled around the hands of the black giant, condensing into a pitch-black long sword.

"Come on, the great battle of the Ninja Realm begins!"

...

(Sweating profusely, stop cursing, I'll try to update more and speed up the pace...)