The Void High Priest raised his right hand, black light condensing in his palm. The light grew denser and darker, resembling a miniature black hole. He was preparing to use this strike to end Su Chen's life, and simultaneously end this invasion.
At this critical juncture, Chen Hao, who was lying on the ground, suddenly opened his eyes.
His eyes were no longer an ordinary black, but had turned gold—a bright, sun-like gold. His body was enveloped in a golden radiance; the light was warm and brilliant, dispelling the darkness and chill in the hall, much like a newly rising sun.
"Sword of Light—Solar Will!"
Chen Hao sprang up from the ground. The Sword of Light in his hand erupted with blinding golden light, all the inscriptions on the blade lighting up. The radiance was even more intense than the flash bombs from earlier. He was like a small sun himself, radiating boundless light and heat.
The Void High Priest narrowed his eyes; the golden light made him uncomfortable. His power of the Void and the power of light were innately opposed, like water and fire, incapable of coexisting.
"Impossible."
For the first time, a look of surprise appeared on the Void High Priest's face.
"You are merely a four-ring Soul Ancestor, how could you awaken the Solar Will? This is a skill that only a seven-ring Soul Saint can master!"
Chen Hao didn't answer, because even he didn't know what had happened. He only remembered that while he was unconscious, a light had appeared in his mind. The light was very warm and gentle, as if calling out to him. He followed the direction of the light and walked into a golden world, where countless points of light danced. Every point of light was the will left behind by a predecessor of the Sword of Light.
They were saying to him: Stand up, fight, do not give up.
So he stood up.
"Solar Will—Judgment of Light!"
Chen Hao raised the Sword of Light above his head. A golden orb of light condensed on the blade, growing larger and brighter, like a miniature sun. He hurled the orb at the Void High Priest. The orb flew through the air, and wherever it passed, the black mist was dispelled, runes turned to ash, and the air itself became pure.
The Void High Priest didn't dare to be negligent. He condensed all his power of the Void between his hands, forming a massive black vortex. At the center of the vortex was a miniature black hole capable of devouring everything.
The golden orb and the black vortex collided.
There was no explosion, no roar, only a silent annihilation. Light and dark, good and evil, life and death—two diametrically opposed forces canceled each other out, annihilating one another in the collision.
The golden orb grew smaller and smaller, and the black vortex grew weaker and weaker.
Finally, both vanished simultaneously, and the hall returned to peace.
Chen Hao stood where he was, gasping for breath. The golden light on his body had faded, and the Sword of Light had returned to its original appearance. His face was as pale as paper, his soul power almost entirely depleted, but a faint smile hung on his lips.
The Void High Priest's expression had also changed. For the first time, the emotion of anger appeared in his purple pupils. His hands were trembling, a manifestation of the excessive depletion of his power of the Void.
"You... you ants..." The Void High Priest's voice was filled with killing intent. "You actually dared... you dared to injure me!"
He violently raised his hands, preparing to launch his final strike.
But at this very moment, the black sphere suddenly let out a loud bang. The silver-white liquid had completely permeated the interior of the sphere. The cracks on its surface began to expand, the dark red glow turned into a blinding white light, and the entire sphere trembled violently, as if about to explode.
The Void High Priest's expression completely changed as fear crept onto his face.
"No—impossible! My research! My life's work!"
The black sphere exploded, and countless black fragments shot out in all directions. Every fragment contained terrifying power of the Void. The black-robed cultists in the hall who were struck by the fragments instantly turned to ashes, not even having time to scream.
The Void High Priest released a black shield to block the fragments, but his face was already twisted to the extreme. Anger, indignation, and despair intertwined, making his face look like a ghost's visage.
"You will regret this." The Void High Priest's voice was like a curse from the deepest abyss. "You destroyed my research; the Lord of the Void will not spare you. The Void Cult will not spare you. The Heaven Dou Empire will be destroyed, everyone will die, and you will wail in hell, never to find release!"
After he finished speaking, his body turned into a cloud of black mist and disappeared through the ventilation shaft at the top of the hall.
The black fragments were still flying about. Su Chen forced himself to stand up and released a Spatial Barrier, enveloping the students within. The fragments crashed against the barrier, making crackling sounds, and every impact left a crack in the barrier.
Blood spilled from the corner of Su Chen's mouth. His soul power was almost completely depleted, and the Spatial Barrier could shatter at any moment.
"Hurry and go!" Su Chen shouted to the students. "Run outside, don't look back!"
The students supported the wounded and ran toward the main gates. Ares grabbed the unconscious Lin Xue with his remaining left arm and strode out rapidly. Chen Hao dragged his injured body along, following at the back of the group.
Only after everyone had run out of the hall did Su Chen dispel the Spatial Barrier and stagger out. His speed was very slow; every step was like struggling through a quagmire. The black fragments chased at his heels, narrowly missing his back.
The moment Su Chen ran out of the base's main entrance, the entire iceberg began to collapse.
Massive blocks of ice fell from the mountain peak, smashing into the ground with thunderous booms. The internal supporting structure of the iceberg had been destroyed, and the entire mountain was caving in at a rate visible to the naked eye. The base was buried under millions of tons of ice and snow, and those black-robed cultists who hadn't managed to escape in time all became burial sacrifices for the iceberg.
The students ran a long way, only stopping to rest when the sounds of the iceberg's collapse grew faint.
They stood on the snow, looking at the collapsing iceberg in the distance, remaining silent for a long time.
"Did we... succeed?" a student asked in a low voice.
"We succeeded." Su Chen leaned against an ice tree and nodded weakly. "We destroyed the Void Cult's base in the Extreme North."
"The heroic spirits are immortal; our guardianship will never cease." No one knew who said it first, but then everyone repeated it in unison. Their voices echoed across the frozen plains of the Extreme North, drifting far into the distance.
Chen Hao looked at the Sword of Light in his hand. The inscriptions on the blade were still glowing faintly, as if responding to his call. He closed his eyes, and those points of light, the wills of those predecessors, appeared in his mind once more.
"Thank you," he said silently in his heart. "I will keep moving forward and protect those who need to be protected."
Lin Xue had already woken up. Although her body was still very weak, she was no longer in mortal danger. She walked to Chen Hao's side and gently patted his shoulder.
"Not bad," Lin Xue said. "Even though you looked back, you didn't die, so I'll forgive you."
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