Silence. Absolute, terrifying silence.
The spectators—cultivators from great sects, rogue warriors, and even the Grand Elder of the Void Sect—stared at the sky with slack jaws.
Kuroto (Black Earth), a prodigy of the Black Cloud Clan, had been refined into nothingness. He was not weak; he was a follower of a Sequence. Yet, Ryuzaki Haruto had killed him as easily as crushing an ant.
"Ryuzaki Haruto!"
A roar shattered the silence.
Ryuzaki Raijin hovered in the air, his silver armor sparking violently. His hair stood on end, glowing with the fury of a thunder god. To have his follower killed right in front of him was a slap in the face he could not tolerate.
"You dare kill my man?!"
BOOM!
Raijin didn't wait for an answer. He raised his hand, channeling the full power of his [Thunder Tribulation Battle Body].
[Eight Desolations Thunder Palm]!
Countless bolts of blue lightning coalesced into a massive palm print, descending toward Haruto with enough force to level a city block.
"Divine Son, careful!" Ryuzaki Kenji shouted, his face pale. He knew firsthand how heavy Raijin's attacks were.
But Haruto didn't dodge. He didn't even draw a weapon.
He simply clenched his fist.
ROAR!
A dragon's roar echoed from his body. Not a technological sound, but the primal cry of an Apex Predator.
[Ancestral Art: Dragon God's Fist]!
Haruto punched upward. It looked effortless, like a casual stretch.
But behind that punch, 70,000 Giant Elephant Particles woke up. 700 Million Kin of force exploded.
A phantom of a golden dragon wrapped around his arm, colliding with the lightning palm.
CRACK-BOOM!
The lightning palm shattered like glass. The golden dragon continued upward, smashing into Raijin's chest.
"Guh!"
Raijin's eyes bulged. He was launched backward like a kite with a cut string. His right arm—the one he punched with—twisted at a sickening angle, the bone shattering instantly.
Blood sprayed across the sky.
THUD.
Raijin crashed into the ruins of his own villa, creating a second crater.
"Is... is that it?" a spectator whispered.
"One punch? He suppressed Sequence Five with one punch?!"
Ryuzaki Yukino covered her mouth. Reika's eyes shone with adoration.
"Master is invincible," Reika murmured, clutching the tea box.
In the crater, Raijin struggled to stand. His arm hung limp, but blue electricity crackled around the wound. Miraculously, the bones began to snap back into place. Flesh knit together.
"Regeneration?" Haruto raised an eyebrow. "Cockroaches are hard to kill."
"I... I haven't lost!" Raijin roared, flying back into the sky. His eyes were bloodshot. His pride was in tatters.
"I cultivate the Supreme Law! I possess the Thunder Battle Body! I represent the Heavens' Punishment!"
[Forbidden Art: Thunder God's Incarnation]!
Dark clouds swirled around Raijin. A massive avatar of a Thunder God formed behind him, wielding a spear of lightning.
"Represent the Heavens?" Haruto scoffed. The wind whipped his white robes, but his expression remained bored.
"Even the Heavens must bow before me. Who are you to represent them?"
Haruto raised both hands.
Left Hand: [The Soldier's Art]. Ten thousand weapons—swords, spears, axes, halberds—manifested from golden Mana.
Right Hand: [True Dragon Heaven-Trapping Technique]. A lifelike Azure Dragon materialized, its claws tearing the void.
"Kneel."
Haruto pressed down.
The Dragon and the Weapon Storm descended simultaneously.
RUMBLE!
The Thunder God avatar was torn apart by the dragon. The weapons rained down on Raijin, piercing his lightning armor.
"Impossible..."
Raijin didn't even have time to scream. He was slammed out of the sky again.
WHOOSH.
Haruto vanished. His Demon Wings flickered, and he reappeared instantly above the falling Raijin.
He raised his foot, glowing with divine light.
STOMP.
Haruto kicked Raijin straight down into the earth.
BOOM!
The impact shook the entire city. A mushroom cloud of dust rose up.
When the dust settled, the crowd gasped.
Raijin lay in a crater, his armor shattered, his body broken. Standing on his chest was Ryuzaki Haruto.
Haruto stood with one foot on his cousin, his hands clasped behind his back, looking spotless. He hadn't even used the Supreme Bone or the Sacred Body Vision.
"Ryuzaki... Haruto!" Raijin wheezed, blood bubbling from his mouth. "Get... off me!"
CRACK.
Haruto pressed harder, breaking Raijin's ribs.
"Why can't you just be a good little brother?" Haruto sighed. "Why are you so blind?"
"I... give me time!" Raijin roared, tears of humiliation mixing with blood. "In ten years... I will surpass you!"
Haruto looked down at him. His eyes held no anger, only pity.
"I have no interest in defeated opponents," Haruto said softly.
"Even if I gave you a hundred thousand years... you would only be able to watch my back as I walk away."
PUCHI.
Raijin froze. The words cut deeper than any blade. His Dao Heart—his belief in his own invincibility—shattered.
"Guh... AH!"
Raijin spat out a mouthful of heart's blood and fainted from sheer rage.
Haruto stepped off him, dusting off his boots.
"Clean this up," Haruto ordered Kenji. "We leave for the Secret Realm tomorrow."