"What do you know? If the master allowed Gray Merchant’s full bloodline release, there must be a purpose. The pinnacle of battles is direct confrontation!"
Dox couldn’t be bothered to communicate with Angel’s brainless admirer, merely continued watching the distance, awaiting the changes to come.
Not only Dox, but also The Sage, the Black Earl, and the Wicked Woman were curious about what Angel was doing.
Really, just for a fierce and exhilarating battle?
The answer - of course not.
When Earl Mi transformed into a Gemstone Giant, letting those gem explosions pass through him, Angel took the initiative to stop him.
Because Angel finally sensed an anomalous emotion.
But this anomalous emotion was very subtle, sometimes there, sometimes not. To avoid Earl Mi making large moves and causing insensitivity in perception, Angel temporarily stopped him.
However, Angel also understood the importance and urgency, defeating the Grey Merchant was currently the most important thing, detecting "her" presence was just an additional option.
The reason Angel dared to stop Earl Mi this time was that he was confident of victory. Therefore, he placed the additional option as a priority.
After Earl Mi stopped, Angel began to carefully investigate the source of the anomalous emotion.
Without the interference of the surrounding turbulent elements, Angel quickly discovered the source of the anomalous emotion.
But this answer surprised Angel.
Because this extremely subtle emotion came from... the Grey Merchant!
Yes, it was the Grey Merchant with whom he was still dueling.
Now, Angel sensed two completely different emotions from the Grey Merchant. The first emotion was from the Grey Merchant himself, the most obvious and unconcealed, with a slight hint of goodwill. — Although Angel didn’t know why the Grey Merchant’s emotions were inexplicably excited at this time?
The second emotion was also from the Grey Merchant, fundamentally different from the emotions conveyed by other creatures, very faint, sometimes there, sometimes not, like separated by a layer of gauze, blurred.
But even in this blurriness, Angel still discovered this anomaly. Because it was "parasitic" on the Grey Merchant!
Surrounded by hostile emotions, Angel was very attentive to the few emotions of goodwill, especially since the Grey Merchant, as his opponent and the only one in the Merchant Organization showing goodwill towards him, drew even more of Angel’s attention.
Therefore, when inconsistent emotions appeared on the Grey Merchant, Angel noticed it immediately.
The reason it’s called "inconsistent emotions" is that while the Grey Merchant had goodwill towards Angel, the subtle emotion was completely opposite, harboring clear malice towards Angel.
This malice, if placed in the void surrounded by chaotic and extremely evil emotions, Angel wouldn’t have been able to perceive. But on the Grey Merchant, the contrast was too obvious.
In Angel’s view, there were only three situations for this sudden malicious emotion: First, the Grey Merchant had multiple personalities, and his other personality bore malice towards Angel; second, the Grey Merchant had some life form or energy entity similar to Earl Mi or elemental partners, and it was these sentient beings that bore malice towards Angel.
The third situation, however, was that of the one secretly observing.
Angel naturally leaned towards the third situation, as the first two were merely possibilities, but it could be certain that the one was definitely observing in secret.
Therefore, in Angel’s opinion, there’s a higher probability for the third situation.
However, if it really was the one’s observation, Angel was truly surprised, as he always thought "she" would investigate this duel through the Magical Energy Array using God’s View. Or perhaps just hiding nearby the arena.
Unexpectedly, she was directly on the arena, observing closely as an opponent.
Angel didn’t even know what he had done to provoke the other party so much, to be so targeted?
Could it be because of that painting he destroyed? That painting was so important that even the Noah Family could be put aside, only focusing on him?
Angel didn’t know the reason, but that malice was undeniable.
Since he had temporarily pinpointed "her" location, Angel withdrew his perception to avoid detection by the other party.
It was at that moment Angel withdrew his perception that he heard the Grey Merchant’s voice, "I understand, sir, what you want is a true battle."
Angel: "??? What are you talking about?"
Then, before Angel could react to this statement, the Grey Merchant began to activate his bloodline, saying to Angel with a face full of battle intent, "I will fulfill your request!"
Angel: "..."
In just a few short seconds, how did the Grey Merchant’s demeanor suddenly become so passionate? From his gaze, it seemed like not joining him in this fiery spirit would be a mistake.
And from where exactly had the Grey Merchant understood that he wanted a "true battle"?
If he had wanted a true battle, would he have sent out Earl Mi?
Angel was completely bewildered now, but seeing the Grey Merchant’s increasingly swelling muscles and the surging blood energy, he knew that staying frozen would be impossible.
It was time to determine the victor.
...
Activating the bloodline doesn’t actually take much time. Especially for a pure bloodline like the Blood Origin Wizard, even with a full bloodline activation, it can be done while fighting, and the time wouldn’t exceed two seconds.
But now, the Grey Merchant took nearly twenty seconds just to activate his bloodline.
The bloodline form slowly took shape: first, the skin slowly exuded various crystals and gemstones, next, scales and armor constructed of crystals gradually covered the whole body, then the muscles gradually swelled, bones slowly transformed, and the dragon-like aura gradually climbed to the peak.
Another signature feature was the Grey Merchant’s mask, initially covering the whole face, gradually becoming a "forehead ornament," then a "hair clip," finally becoming a decoration on a crystalline scale.
From this, it could be seen that the Grey Merchant’s body was gradually getting larger.
Would this make him stronger? No, it would make him more handsome.
Of course, the Grey Merchant wasn’t aiming for handsomeness. He was just waiting for his opponent, waiting for Earl Mi’s move.
As long as Earl Mi showed the intention to start fighting, he would immediately enter battle mode.
In his mind, this was a "true battle," a necessary respect for his opponent.
The Grey Merchant held his pose for about half a minute, when Angel finally came to his senses and slowly extended his hand, aiming at the Grey Merchant.
The Grey Merchant saw this, knowing the battle had begun!
Without hesitation, the massive "Gemstone Earth Dragon" leaped up, controlling the entire muscle center in the air, transforming into a sharp crystalline roller, rolling towards Angel to crush him!