Supreme Spirit—Xuanyuan Yellow Emperor

Finally, after an unknown amount of time, the System's voice rang out again:

"Ding... Activation complete. The host has adapted to the rules of Soul Power."

In an instant, the Central Earth Apricot Yellow Qi within Zhou Chen's body fell silent, and the Soul Power Pressure that had filled the entire secret chamber vanished without a trace, leaving behind only a glittering golden crystal ball covered in cracks.

Meanwhile, Su Yuntao and Tang San were gasping for breath as if they had survived a disaster. Their eyes were filled with shock—and faint fear—as they looked at Zhou Chen!

The three of them remained silent, and the atmosphere gradually froze.

After a long while, the somewhat embarrassed Zhou Chen was the first to break the silence. Looking at Su Yuntao, he asked, "My Soul Power test is finished, right?"

"O-of course it's finished."

Su Yuntao froze for a moment. Then, looking at the cracked golden crystal ball on the table, he said uncertainly, "It's just that the Soul Power Crystal has been destroyed, so I can't determine your Soul Power level."

Under normal circumstances, even someone with Innate Full Spirit Power could only reach Level 10 at most. But how could a mere Level 10 Soul Power nearly shatter a Soul Power Crystal and suppress him, a Level 26 Great Spirit Master, until he could not move?

Though it was hard to believe, Su Yuntao still formed a terrifying suspicion: this kid's Innate Soul Power was likely far beyond Level 10!

"Ha..."

Letting out a long breath, Su Yuntao, still reeling from the shock, did not forget his duty as a mere tool. He pointed at the six black stones arranged in a circle on the ground and slowly said, "Kid, step inside. It's time to awaken your Spirit."

"Mm."

Zhou Chen stepped forward in two strides and stood among the six black stones.

"Focus. I'm starting."

After giving the reminder, Su Yuntao slapped the ground, and six streams of green Soul Power flowed into the six black stones. In an instant, the pale golden barrier rose again.

The next moment, countless golden specks of light emerged from the barrier and continually seeped into Zhou Chen's body. Waves of warm energy caused the Central Earth Apricot Yellow Qi within him to stir!

"Just as I thought!"

Su Yuntao's eyes instantly burned with excitement, because the golden motes appearing around Zhou Chen were hundreds, even thousands of times denser than those around an ordinary person!

If this kid's Spirit was as powerful as his Soul Power, then Su Yuntao had to recruit him into Spirit Hall. If he did, he would have rendered great service, and a promotion would be within reach!

Boom!!

A Golden Light Pillar that pierced through heaven and earth descended from the sky, instantly blasting through the dome of Spirit Hall and engulfing Zhou Chen completely!

The next moment, Zhou Chen, bathed in golden radiance, slowly began to float. Combined with his handsome features and noble purple robes, he looked less like a mortal creature than anything else.

"Th-this... is that light pillar!"

Tang San stared blankly at the scene and muttered.

A few days ago, he had seen an identical Golden Light Pillar descend upon Zhou Chen's Residence. But the spectacle back then had been nowhere near as grand as this!!

By now, Su Yuntao was too stunned to speak. His mouth hung wide open, while strange clicking noises came from his throat.

"Ding... The host's Spirit has awakened. Please receive it."

Accompanied by the System's notification, a massive humanoid silhouette radiating golden light slowly forced its way out of Zhou Chen's body!

The moment the humanoid silhouette appeared, the nearby sky was completely swallowed by darkness, black as ink. The only remaining light was the Golden Light Pillar connecting heaven and earth.

Immediately afterward, bolts of golden lightning streaked across the sky. Amid peals of thunder, vast stretches of pale golden auspicious clouds formed!

"Why has the sky gone dark?"

"What is that light pillar?"

"That's the direction of Spirit Hall!"

Faced with such a magnificent phenomenon, countless people throughout Notting City began to question, shout, and then panic.

Crack!!

Suddenly, thunder roared across a thousand miles as an enormous bolt of golden lightning struck the dome of Notting City's Spirit Hall, completely overturning the heavy stone roof!

Then, without losing any momentum, the lightning smashed the more than ten-meter-tall Six-Winged Angel Statue inside the hall to pieces!!

It was as though this were a signal!

The next moment, Zhou Chen suddenly opened his eyes. The enormous humanoid Spirit behind him immediately released rings of golden light waves, and an oppressive aura, as heavy as mountains and as vast as the heavens, spread outward!

In an instant, Su Yuntao and Tang San were knocked unconscious by that overwhelming pressure!

And this was only the beginning!

The next second, with Spirit Hall as its center, all one hundred thousand-plus residents of Notting City fainted simultaneously beneath that incomparably tyrannical pressure! Throughout the streets and alleys, countless pedestrians collapsed in neat waves!

Only Spirit Masters above Level 30 could barely remain conscious, but even they could only lie on the ground, unable to move.

"Is this... the wrath of a god?"

Inside the Spirit Hall Branch, Cassius, the Bishop of Notting City and a Level 47 Soul Ancestor, stared in utter horror at everything unfolding before him.

At his side, more than a dozen Spirit Hall deacons lay sprawled in disarray. Only a handful with Soul Power above Level 30 remained conscious, yet they could only lie there like vegetables.

Only Cassius himself could still stand!

But he could do no more than stand...

West of the city.

This was where Notting City's only junior Spirit Master academy stood: Notting Academy.

At this moment, nearly all of the academy's hundred-plus teachers and students had passed out. Only a middle-aged man who looked to be in his fifties was still forcibly resisting the Soul Power Pressure spreading throughout the city.

He was the academy's dean, as well as one of Notting City's three strongest experts—a Level 42 Soul Ancestor.

"What exactly... is that light pillar?"

The middle-aged man gazed at the Golden Light Pillar running through heaven and earth, his eyes full of shock. Deeply uneasy, he glanced toward the desk beside him, where a thin figure lay unconscious across its surface.

"Once Xiao Gang wakes up, I'll ask him. After all, he's from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Family..."

In the city, inside one of Zhou Chen's Blacksmith Shops.

A middle-aged man was staring intently at the Golden Light Pillar piercing heaven and earth, his eyes filled with confusion.

The man appeared to be around fifty. He was tall and burly, with bronze skin exposed beneath his tattered robes. His face was sallow, his hair disheveled, and his beard unkempt, making him look exceptionally scruffy.

He was Tang San's father, the Clear Sky Douluo, Tang Hao!

The powerful pressure released by Zhou Chen was utterly ineffective against a Titled Douluo like him.

"What a strange pressure... Its intensity isn't particularly high; a Soul Ancestor above Level 40 could withstand it head-on. Yet its range can cover an entire city! This... seems somewhat similar to the divine domain of the City of Slaughter."

Tang Hao muttered softly, smiling bitterly to himself. He had seen that Golden Light Pillar before, and it was inseparably connected to little Zhou Chen.

"I should go take a look at Spirit Hall."

Tang Hao sighed under his breath. With a slight sway of his body, he vanished from sight.

Though he was not a responsible father, such a major incident had occurred, so he naturally had to check on how his son Tang San was doing.

And, while he was at it, take a look at that kid Zhou Chen...

At the same time.

Zhou Chen, shrouded in the Golden Light Pillar, turned around and silently gazed at the enormous golden humanoid Spirit.

At this moment, the golden humanoid Spirit was wrapped in a dense layer of golden radiance, making both its face and figure indistinct. Only a pair of star-like gleaming eyes stared at Zhou Chen from afar.

After a long while, as the golden light gradually faded, Zhou Chen finally saw the humanoid Spirit's appearance clearly.

Then he... turned pale with shock!

Though the golden humanoid Spirit's face remained blurred, its form had changed drastically.

Upon its head sat a Twelve-Stringed Jade Crown, while it wore an Apricot-Yellow Gold-Gilded Robe. Nine Five-Clawed Golden Dragons coiled around the robe, while phantoms of mountains and rivers, vegetation, birds and beasts, the sun, moon, and stars appeared around it!

That abyssal majesty immediately brought eight words to Zhou Chen's mind:

Above heaven and below earth, I alone am supreme!

"System, what exactly... is this Spirit?"

Though this Spirit possessed magnificent majesty and gleamed with golden light, clearly making it a top-tier Spirit, the Spirit encyclopedia he had read last night contained nothing remotely similar.

"Ding... Host, your Spirit shares the same origin as the Yellow Emperor's Internal Classic. It is one of the Five Emperors, Xuanyuan Yellow Emperor, also known as Di Hong Shi!"

The moment he heard this, Zhou Chen felt dizzy. No wonder awakening his Spirit had triggered such an overwhelming phenomenon of heaven and earth!

His Spirit was actually the legendary Xuanyuan Yellow Emperor, who governed the Five Qi, cultivated the five grains, comforted the myriad people, pacified the four directions, forged a sword at Mount Shouyang, and ascended to heaven on a dragon?