[Sea of Ashes, Boat of Eternal Darkness]

"Boom!"

The destructive sonic waves swept over the blazing arcane sword light, and Juventus's figure seemed to take a step back. Then, he made a sword-wielding motion, and an even more intense sword light tore through the void and slashed straight down.

Ronan unleashed his second punch with tremendous force, and large patches of dark red patterns lit up on the ancient death knell formed from Itai and Spirit Force.

A larger, deep red halo appeared.

The third punch!

"Buzz--"

Beneath Ronan's feet, the entire Dead Sea suddenly trembled and boiled.

The terrifying recoil caused the muscles in his right arm to explode one after another as he threw the punch.

"Boom!"

With the fourth punch, Ronan's chest split open, revealing the hard, white bones beneath.

He seemed oblivious and continued throwing his fifth punch.

This time, his eyes were bleeding, and countless capillaries on both sides of his eyelids burst.

Ronan seemed to know why the wizards of Echoes of the Past had perished.

When this beautiful magical melody begins, an invisible force compels the performer to play it to the very end, regardless of the consequences.

They ripped off the trachea, removed the ribs, tore open the skin, and took out the heart.

In his mind, images of the Echoes of the Past's destruction and the hissing of countless Comb-boned Demon Snail flashed alternately.

Ronan threw punch after punch, completely lost in the moment, unaware of how many times he had tolled the death knell.

As the world-destroying sound waves gradually subsided, Ronan looked up and saw that the surrounding area was completely transformed into a deep red field.

At this moment, his eyes were bloodshot and scabbed over, and there was almost no intact skin or flesh on his body. His snow-white veins were exposed, like broken strings.

The Undying Bird's flames flowed slowly like water, gradually repairing the broken body.

Juventus's figure came into view. The [Aura Sword] was no longer in his hand, and his entire body was covered with fine cracks, like a beautiful piece of porcelain about to shatter.

"Click--"

With a crisp sound, shards of glass-like material peeled off Juventus.

His physical body crumbled, gradually revealing his true, original form.

Is it worth it?

Juventus looked at Ronan and spoke calmly.

Ronan smiled and shook his head. "There's no question of whether it's worth it or not; I've always been this way."

Do you feel like you've won?

Juventus lowered his head and looked at his palm as he spoke.

A burst of golden light erupted from his palm, and within the light, a warhammer wreathed in lightning and fire slowly appeared.

"The Golin's Hammer?!"

Ronan's eyes widened slightly.

"You recognize it?"

Juventus glanced at him, then continued, "Originally, this tactic was specifically prepared for him. But now, it doesn't matter."

"The Black Wizard King?"

Ronan instantly understood who Juventus was referring to when they said "he".

Juventus did not answer, but simply grasped the handle of the golden warhammer.

In that instant, an unprecedented surge of emotion welled up within Ronan.

An invisible surge of energy emanated from Juventus, instantly spreading throughout the entire battlefield.

At that moment, inexplicably, all the fighting stopped.

Everyone looked up, including those Abyss Monsters who seemed tireless and fearless of death.

All eyes were focused on Juventus. A mysterious aura rapidly amplified around Juventus, forming a transparent vortex in the sky. Countless energies converged, and in the blink of an eye, it transformed into an ocean composed entirely of lightning and flames.

Juventus, wielding their warhammers, seemed like true gods holding supreme authority over this land.

In the distance, the fierce battle subsided, and Anglie's solemn figure emerged from the floating shadows.

He gazed in that direction, and behind him, Lidexin, with his Moth-faced, also appeared. The latter noticed Juventus at this moment, and a deep sense of fear and jealousy flashed in his eyes, which finally turned into a strange and eerie smile on his face.

Nearby, Serena stared blankly at the sky, at the figure wielding lightning and fire, who resembled a god.

Her gaze shifted to another battered figure, and she raised her hand as if to grasp something, but then helplessly let it fall.

Is it about to end?

Serena murmured, but no one answered her; everyone around her was enveloped in a profound sense of despair and heaviness.

Beneath the ever-growing mass of lightning and fire in the sky, they could no longer see any hope of victory.

Everyone is waiting patiently for the final judgment.

"You're right about one thing."

Juventus examined the magnificent and imposing golden warhammer in his hand, then looked up at Ronan.

"The Prophet Eve did indeed deceive me."

"I will not become a second Helamus, nor do I need to become a second Helamus."

Juventus said calmly, "Whether it's that person's bloodline or Helamus' legacy, they are merely tools to help me reach higher levels."

Even a genius like Helamus could not escape death in the end.

But I won't.

Juventus gripped the hammer handle tightly, his narrowed eyes gleaming with a dazzling light, and said with unwavering certainty, word by word. "Thousands of years from now, this continent, and the next, will be filled with the legend of Juventus!"

As soon as he finished speaking, countless black threads suddenly shot out from his body.

These black lines instantly extended infinitely, disappearing into the countless Abyss Monsters surrounding them.

One by one, the Magic Creature corrupted by the power of the abyss died silently. Their deaths seemed to give rise to a mysterious power, which, through the transmission of black threads, continuously converged into Juventus's body.

One after another, Elemental Spirit Crystal emerged from Juventus.

Juventus's figure unconsciously rose higher, eight Elemental Spirit Crystal forming a ring around him, and he looked down at Ronan from his superior position.

Do you know what the innate abilities I possess, given my Eight-Star Yuanling cultivation level, are?

A monster with ram's horns, a lion's mane, and a snake's tail roared as it charged out from the horde of Magic Creature. Its entire body was bound by dense black lines, and it uttered mournful cries of supplication. But in the next second, it too was drained of all its life force and died silently.

Juventus didn't even glance at the dead Chimera; they were focused solely on what lay before them.

There, infused with the power gained from the deaths of countless Magic Creature, another radiant crystal is rapidly emerging at the very center of the eight Elemental Spirit Crystal.

Juventus looked at the ninth crystal that had appeared out of nowhere with a satisfied and slightly intoxicated gaze, and said softly, "It's complete."

By paying a certain price, I can make up for the deficiencies in my bloodline foundation and elevate my primordial spirit to the nine-star level in a short period of time.

The Ancient Wizard Revival Society perfected this talent for me, so now I don't even need to bear this cost myself, and the effect I gained has become permanent.

Nine Elemental Spirit Crystal arranged themselves into the shape of a crown in the void, slowly "wearing" on Juventus' head.

Juventus' already terrifying momentum reached an unprecedented peak at this moment.

Bolts of lightning and flames descended, coalescing into a throne beneath Juventus. He wore a crown, wielded a golden warhammer, and Helamus' Law Control manifested piece by piece on his body.

At this moment, he was supreme and noble, and nothing in the world could steal even a fraction of his brilliance.

He looked down at Ronan with an almost pitying gaze.

"Now, you have lost your last and only advantage over me."

As fellow inheritors of Helamus' legacy, I decided long ago that you would have the privilege of being the first to witness my full glory."

After speaking, Juventus slowly raised the hand that held the golden warhammer.

The sea of thunder and fire that had been brewing in the sky for so long began to descend, forming a huge funnel shape, with the bottom of the funnel landing precisely on the warhammer.

A vast and boundless power poured in, and centered on the golden warhammer, countless Rule Veins in the void revealed and emerged.

At that moment, everyone present felt their hearts plummet. In their minds, the entire sky seemed to solidify into a thick iron plate, relentlessly and heavily crushing everything below, as if to mercilessly grind and destroy it.

Countless figures knelt down, leaving only Ronan standing in the vast battlefield.

He bore almost all the pressure head-on.

His still-healing wounds continued to burst open under this immense pressure.

Before he knew it, Ronan was covered in blood.

But he seemed completely oblivious to the pressure; his expression and his eyes remained unusually calm throughout.

A speck of gray suddenly appeared near Ronan.

Like a smoky gray snowflake, or like a piece of burnt-out ashes.

Juventus noticed the gray area and a hint of mockery flashed in his eyes. He wanted to say something, but Ronan had already spoken.

"I told you long ago, you've been fooled by those people from the Ancient Wizard Revival Society..."

Ronan looked at the gray snow before him, stretched out his hand, and nine dazzling Elemental Spirit Crystal appeared one by one in his palm.

Ronan reached out and grasped the largest one, as if holding a plump fruit.

An indescribable, strange tremor emanated from Ronan's fingertips. Juventus's eyes flickered, and the next second, he swiftly brought the golden warhammer in his hand down towards Ronan.

"Boom!"

The terrifying pressure that had been building up to its peak was now fully released, with endless thunder and flames pouring down like a leak in the sky.

Before Ronan's figure was completely engulfed by countless bolts of lightning and flames, Ronan made a sudden clenching motion with his hands.

The last sound drifted out faintly.

"You have no idea what a true Yuanling, the Nine Stars, is!"

"Call--"

Endless lightning and fire rained down, resembling a scene of true world destruction.

At that moment, time seemed to slow down, and everyone stared blankly at the terrifying sight of the hammer of judgment falling.

However, after half a breath...

A gray spot suddenly appeared amidst the thunder and fire, then began to spread wildly.

In the blink of an eye, the gray color completely obscured all the lightning and fire.

In the sky, Juventus's face showed shock for the first time. He suddenly stood up from his throne, opening his mouth in disbelief as if to say something.

The next second, that ashen color had already swallowed him, the Sky Dome behind him, and everything else.

In the endless gray expanse, more than ten times larger and more magnificent than the previous ocean of thunder and fire, everyone seemed to see—

From that ocean of ash, something ancient and forbidden, a colossal creature, seemed to be breaking through the waves.

Crush everything.

Burn everything away.

Washing away everything.

In a daze, Ronan's figure appeared in the endless grayness.

His long hair flew in the wind, and he opened his arms as if reverently welcoming the arrival of something.

"This is the true Nine Star Elemental Spirit."

"Sea of Ashes"

"The Ship of Eternal Darkness!"