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*****
"Di Tian, take another strike from me!"
"Slaughter Angel!"
Within Qian Renhan's dantian, the Yin-Yang Twin Soul Cores spun rapidly. Simultaneously, the Fallen Angel Martial Soul and the Shura Sword Martial Soul erupted with light. Under the influence of the complementary Yin-Yang soul cores, the two vastly different soul power attributes fused into one.
At that moment, the angelic Martial Soul behind Qian Renhan transformed into a blood-colored version—blood-red appearance, crimson hair, scarlet wings, and a blood-drenched longsword in hand.
"This is... Martial Soul Unification!"
Until now, Di Tian had only shown such a massive emotional shift once—when he witnessed the seven crimson soul rings of Qian Renhan's Shura Sword. This marked the second time he was truly shaken. "This human... he can actually achieve this level?!"
"Black Dragon Sword!"
Di Tian hurled the black longsword in his hand. The technique known as the Black Dragon Sword had two stages in a one-on-one battle. The first stage was a sword aura used to shatter an enemy's defensive stance. The second stage unleashed the sword itself, annihilating everything in its path. The true form of the Black Dragon Sword could destroy anything and also release a deafening dragon roar, delivering immense spiritual shock to its opponent.
However, Di Tian knew well the consequences of being struck by the Shura Sword—it inflicted wounds that were not only difficult to heal but would continue to worsen. Added to that, Qian Renhan's mastery of the black-elemental attribute gave him a dangerous edge. Di Tian feared that if he were seriously injured, Qian Renhan might kite him to death. That was why he had been holding the Black Dragon Sword to block the Shura Sword until now.
As the Black Dragon Sword tore through the air, its hilt transformed into a vivid miniature black dragon coiling around the blade, unleashing a sky-shaking roar.
Qian Renhan's eyes glowed with a violet-gold light that burst forth like a shield, blocking the spiritual impact of the dragon's roar. Still, the overwhelming volume caused his ears to bleed slightly.
"Self-created soul skill: Blood Angel Shura—Slash!"
A blood-red sword aura, stretching a full kilometer, slashed out. The very space was torn apart in its path. The Black Dragon Sword was cleaved from tip to hilt before the eye could follow, the broken blade tainted by the crimson aura, then shattered into countless fragments.
"My Black Dragon Sword!"
Pain and sorrow flashed in Di Tian's eyes. This blade had taken him countless millennia to forge, using his own soul power to compress, temper, and nurture it. It had nearly reached the level of a divine weapon and was one of his most devastating techniques. Its destruction now meant it was lost forever.
Boom—
The blood-colored sword aura struck Di Tian's colossal dragon form. The sheer volume of sword energy burst outward, staining the sky in blood-red.
"Di Tian!" x2
Below, Bi Ji and Zi Ji cried out in unison, their eyes welling with tears.
"No way, no way... Di Tian can't have lost before even unleashing his ultimate move."
Even the Ten-Thousand-Year Old Coin, the Myriad Beast King—despite his immense faith in Di Tian's strength—felt panic grip his heart at the terrifying sight of the strike landing. The roots that had blanketed thousands of meters around the Lake of Life subtly retreated, ready to feign death and hide if Di Tian truly fell.
Qian Renhan exhaled slightly, staring into the thick blood-red mist ahead and murmuring, "I was only able to unleash that self-created soul skill because of the fusion of my Yin-Yang Twin Soul Cores and the fact that the Shura Sword surpasses the Fallen Angel in rank. That allowed me to temporarily assimilate them. But... if the Shura Sword and the Fallen Angel were on equal footing, could I unleash two different strikes instead?"
"Human, you've truly earned this beast god's admiration. Despite not being a god yourself, that last strike of yours reached divine-level power."
Di Tian's figure emerged from the bloody haze, having taken the full force of Qian Renhan's most powerful strike. His dragon body, stretching several hundred meters, was covered in wounds, bleeding profusely. His left arm had been completely severed, and most of his massive wings were torn away. Only his right arm remained intact. From the state of his injuries, it was possible to deduce how he had managed to withstand Qian Renhan's attack.
Though grievously wounded, Di Tian's golden eyes still burned with a fierce light.
"If I can drag you to hell with me... then my journey as Di Tian is not in vain."
As soon as he finished speaking, Di Tian's right claw began to transform rapidly. His joints swelled and thickened, and multicolored scales started to emerge, covering the dark dragon scales on his arm. A far larger, radiant claw—shimmering with all seven colors—took shape over his hand, surrounded by an earth-shaking dragon's roar.
The roar grew louder and louder, like a crashing tidal wave or a mountain collapsing. The deafening sound completely shattered Qian Renhan's eardrums, blood flowing freely from both ears.
"Dragon God Claw... this pressure, this fluctuation—it's different from last time." Qian Renhan's heart pounded wildly. He had seen the Dragon God Claw three years ago, but its current power was on an entirely different level.
Di Tian's eyes were filled with reverence and awe. "The Dragon God Claw is a divine technique granted to me by Lord Dragon God himself—it is true god-tier power."
"Until now, aside from using it to resist tribulation lightning, I've never unleashed even thirty percent of its full strength. There simply hasn't been a need. On this continent, no soul master or soul beast has ever forced me to go all out—let alone compel me to use the full might of this divine technique."
"Dragon God Claw!"
Di Tian swung the radiant claw forward. It blazed with multicolored phantom shadows, and wherever it passed, space itself collapsed. The terrifying force radiating from it was so immense that the sheer pressure nearly shattered Qian Renhan's bones.
"Qian Renhan, witness the true power of the Dragon God Claw—a strike that rivals a third-tier god. Unless a god descends in person, no one can save you. But alas, they're too late. I'm delighted to have you as company on your journey to the afterlife."
A dark red mark on Qian Renhan's forehead flared to life. Not only did the power of the God of Shura awaken, but even the dormant power of the God of Darkness—who had remained inactive all this time—began to stir. From the edge of the Lake of Life, the scarlet eye embedded in the hilt of the divine-grade Shura Demon Sword opened. Space split open as the sword flew to Qian Renhan's side.
Yet Qian Renhan did not reach out to grasp the divine sword. Instead, he said coldly, "Any living being who borrows external power to unleash an attack beyond their own limits must first ensure their body can withstand it. Di Tian, since you can release the Dragon God Claw, then I'll receive it with nothing but my own strength!"
"Nine-Ring Explosion!"
All nine soul rings of Qian Renhan's Fallen Angel Martial Soul shattered beneath his feet. The energy within them surged into the Shura Sword in an instant.
Di Tian laughed loudly. "It's not enough—nowhere near enough! Even if you blow up every soul ring, it still won't be enough!"
The seven soul rings on Qian Renhan's Shura Sword fused into one, transforming into pure, concentrated power upon the blade.
The Great Xu Mi Hammer technique involved merging all soul rings into a Martial Soul, converting them into raw strength. Exploding soul rings, on the other hand, unleashed tremendous force by destroying them outright. In some respects, these two techniques could be fused.
When one used the Great Xu Mi Hammer while simultaneously detonating their soul rings, the resulting force could be amplified by the inertia of the hammer swing. The combined power of the technique and the explosion reached the absolute peak of what this method could achieve.
(End of Chapter)