The enormous body of the Azure Heavenly Dragon took up the vast majority of the battlefield. The twin horns on its head occasionally fired off bolts of green lightning, each one carrying tremendous force. Everyone still able to fight on Zhu Ziyang's side was forced into a frantic scramble to dodge. At the same time, the Azure Heavenly Dragon launched coordinated attacks with its claws and tail.
Its dragon claws were razor-sharp, and its tail immensely powerful. A single hit from either could seriously wound—or even kill—its target.
"Ice Sovereign Dragon!" Zhu Ziyang shouted, wielding the Ice Dragon King Spear. Unleashing the full power of his Ultimate Ice, a colossal ice dragon over a hundred meters long manifested behind him. It followed the tip of his spear like a true behemoth, unleashing a storm of ice lances and dragon breath toward the Azure Heavenly Dragon.
The Azure Heavenly Dragon was surprised by the massive ice dragon that rivaled its own size. It could sense the imposing aura radiating from the ice dragon—its bloodline was extraordinary. In terms of bloodline strength alone, the Azure Heavenly Dragon knew it was inferior. But, alas, it had already become a true divine dragon, whereas that one was just a residual soul.
With that thought, the Azure Heavenly Dragon sprang into motion. Standing upright on its hind legs, it bared its fangs and underbelly to the group. It opened its maw wide, rapidly gathering green lightning above its head into a massive thunderball. With a violent toss of its head, the thunderball shot toward Zhu Ziyang.
Zhu Ziyang didn't panic. A silver glint flashed in his eyes—time itself seemed to stop for an instant. In the next moment, the Ice Sovereign Dragon charged at the Azure Heavenly Dragon, while Zhu Ziyang himself teleported above the Azure Heavenly Dragon's head. The Stillness Fate Ending Scythe in his hand had turned from gold to black. Beneath his feet, a never-ending black river appeared, dotted with drifting white flowers.
A black river like the underworld—white blossoms pure and redemptive.
Stillness Fate Ending Scythe, Eighth Soul Skill:
Severed Fate: River of the Underworld!
Time stop was ineffective against a God Rank being like the Azure Heavenly Dragon. It only hesitated for a moment before reacting. With a thought, the thunderball caught up to the Ice Sovereign Dragon, unleashing a fierce clash of thunder and ice. At the same time, the Azure Heavenly Dragon raised its head and locked eyes with Zhu Ziyang above.
Zhu Ziyang's eighth soul skill had fully formed. The River of the Underworld and the Other Shore Flower descended from the heavens, crashing toward the Azure Heavenly Dragon.
"Roar!" the Azure Heavenly Dragon howled and suddenly surged forward, charging straight into the River of the Underworld. It didn't seem to care about Zhu Ziyang's soul skill at all. Its enormous head smashed through the black river. Though its scales absorbed a wave of deathly energy and some fell from its forehead, it sustained little actual damage.
It opened its maw wide—it was trying to swallow Zhu Ziyang whole!
Zhu Ziyang's eyes narrowed. Even his eighth soul skill had been shattered head-on. A God Rank physical body truly defied reason. As the jaws descended, Zhu Ziyang swung his Stillness Fate Ending Scythe and slashed across the dragon's lips, using the recoil to leap free from the dragon's mouth.
"This is impossible!" the dragon's eyes widened. His lip had been injured—just from that casual follow-up strike! This shouldn't be happening. He was a god! How could a mere martial soul injure him?
"Oh?" Zhu Ziyang was surprised as well. He hadn't expected that simple strike to actually draw blood. Their coordinated attacks earlier hadn't managed to leave a scratch on Niu Tian. So what changed?
He glanced at his scythe, then at the enraged Azure Heavenly Dragon, and realized something.
The Stillness Fate Ending Scythe wasn't just his martial soul—it had fused with the divine weapon, the The Fallen Scythe. It wasn't fully merged yet, but already displayed divine weapon-level power. Clearly, the thing that had wounded the Azure Heavenly Dragon wasn't the scythe itself, but the divine energy from the The Fallen Scythe embedded within it.
With this realization, Zhu Ziyang smiled meaningfully.
The Azure Heavenly Dragon, now wary of the scythe in Zhu Ziyang's hand, shrank down and returned to human form—still clad in green dragon-scale armor and with a pair of dragon horns on his brow. He looked fierce and commanding.
"I thought I was taking you seriously enough," said Niu Tian. "But I still underestimated you. To think you've already obtained a divine weapon... It seems your path to godhood isn't far off. Unfortunately…"
His tone darkened. The pressure in the air changed again. Zhu Ziyang suddenly felt as though the entire world had turned viscous—like being trapped in a swamp, making movement difficult.
A green longsword appeared in Niu Tian's hand, radiating divine brilliance. The sword aura had already taken solid form—clearly another divine weapon.
As the sword appeared, Niu Tian's temperament turned sharp. His eyes brimmed with murderous intent as he charged straight at Zhu Ziyang.
Zhu Ziyang's expression turned grim. He knew Niu Tian had become even more dangerous. His companions were still trapped by the slowing domain, and even Ma Xiaotao, the closest one to him, was over ten meters away. In normal conditions, that would be negligible—but within a God Rank slowing domain, ten meters was as far as a thousand.
The longsword stabbed forward. Zhu Ziyang immediately raised the Stillness Fate Ending Scythe to block it. Niu Tian pulled back, then slashed downward. Zhu Ziyang parried again—metal clashed on metal.
Niu Tian gripped the sword tightly and gathered thunder in his other hand, punching toward Zhu Ziyang's chest.
Zhu Ziyang crouched low, absorbing the force through his scythe. At the same time, he kicked out toward Niu Tian's lower half.
Niu Tian didn't even try to dodge. Instead, he dashed forward with the momentum, thrusting his sword at Zhu Ziyang's back.
Zhu Ziyang had no choice—his eyes lit up, and he instantly teleported a hundred meters away. Why not to Ma Xiaotao or Snow Empress and Ice Empress? Because they were still slowed. Running to them would only burden them and put them in more danger. That wasn't wise.
Seeing Zhu Ziyang retreat, Niu Tian pressed forward, firing off bolts of lightning to hinder him while continuing his assault with the divine sword. Zhu Ziyang defended with soul skills while gradually retreating—waiting for his chance.
He had a method to kill Niu Tian. But first, he had to ensure the strike would land.
Meanwhile, Ma Xiaotao watched Zhu Ziyang being forced back, his body covered in wounds. He was on the verge of collapse. Her heart burned with anxiety. Even under her martial soul avatar state, her ninth soul skill hadn't helped her escape the slowing domain. At best, she went from 0.5x speed to 0.75x. It made no real difference.
A determined glint flashed in the Fire Phoenix's eyes. She retracted her martial soul avatar and resumed human form. Calming her emotions, she then suddenly opened her eyes—a crimson-gold longsword appeared in her hands, still sheathed. Its true form was hidden, but it was her final hope.
"Come out already!" Ma Xiaotao roared. Her right hand gripped the hilt, left hand on the scabbard. She pulled with all her might. Her delicate hands bulged with veins. Golden flames burst from the sword, immediately engulfing her hands. The temperature was so intense it ignited the surrounding air.
Even with her Ultimate Fire attribute, she couldn't withstand this divine flame.
Her hands were instantly scorched. Bloody flesh was revealed within the flames, fueling the golden fire further as it spread up her arms. If she didn't let go, the flame would consume her whole body.
But Ma Xiaotao didn't care. Her face was filled with unwavering resolve and fierce defiance. Her eyes burned with the will to die—and a certain face that brought her peace.
Her hands were now bone-white skeletons. The golden flame had completely devoured her flesh, but her bony fingers still clenched tight—and grew even stronger.
Finally, a portion of the Fire God Sword's blade emerged, though most of it remained in the scabbard. Still, it was enough to make Ma Xiaotao ecstatic. Ignoring the golden flames creeping toward her shoulders, she continued to draw the sword with all her strength.
Suddenly, the Fire God Sword began to tremble violently—either moved by her resolve or enraged by her recklessness. The hilt and sheath shuddered so violently that Ma Xiaotao's body trembled with them.
She didn't stop. Beads of sweat on her face evaporated instantly into smoke. Her face flushed with heat, eyes still resolute, though a trace of haziness crept in—signs she was about to lose consciousness.
Clang——
A crisp sword cry rang out, catching the attention of both Zhu Ziyang and Niu Tian. They turned simultaneously and saw Ma Xiaotao holding a bizarre longsword—red on one side, blue on the other. But what truly drew Zhu Ziyang's gaze was her condition.
Her arms were reduced to skeletal bone, and white flame still burned at her shoulders. Her beautiful face wore both exhaustion and joy, stabbing pain into Zhu Ziyang's heart.
She had succeeded. Ma Xiaotao had drawn the Fire God Sword. Despite her terrible condition, the divine weapon's presence alone made Niu Tian's eyes narrow with surprise and vigilance.
(End of Chapter)
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