Medusa Artifact, Qiangu Zhangting's Madness, I Am Emperor... I Am Emperor

Beyond the simple and brutal increase in power, the difference between Two-Word Battle Armor and One-Word Battle Armor was that it eliminated the donning process. Three-character Battle Armor, meanwhile, underwent a fundamental sublimation, evolving a Battle Armor Domain suited to its host!

Within the Myriad Laws of Nature Domain, all laws dissolved and returned to their origin. Yin and Yang circulated, forming the Laws of Heaven and Earth on their own, dismantling every foreign energy incompatible with the balance of Yin and Yang.

The instant Qiangu Zhangting's Dragon Domain entered the Myriad Laws of Nature Domain, it dissolved completely, breaking down into part of the Yin Yang attribute. It was assimilated and absorbed by Tai Chi Dao, transformed into Soul Power that sustained the Myriad Laws of Nature Domain.

Tai Chi Dao had nearly surpassed the limits of Three-character Battle Armor and could be considered half a piece of Four-Word Battle Armor.

Zhao Xuanzhen had handled the three aspects of Mecha Design, Mecha Manufacturing, and Mecha Repair himself. He had also gone to great lengths to gather seven top-tier rare metals, while Blacksmith Heipi Jiu Tian was responsible for forging them.

At the end of the day, the Eight Deceitful Gods were also part of Zhao Xuanzhen's abilities. Thus, the degree of fusion between Zhao Xuanzhen and Tai Chi Dao was so high that even Zhen Hua and Muye, two worldly and experienced Four-Word Armor Masters, were utterly astonished!

After coming out of seclusion, Muye had successfully broken through to Level 95. He had sparred with Zhao Xuanzhen after the latter completed his Three-character Battle Armor, and even Muye's Four-Word Battle Armor Domain had been eroded by Myriad Laws of Nature!

Though the Body Douluo's Soul Power still did not rank among the peak powerhouses of the Douluo Continent, and there were countless Super Douluo with more Soul Power than Muye, his Four-Word Battle Armor was unquestionably among the top five on the Douluo Continent in terms of strength. That was the caliber of Zhen Hua's close friend and a god-tier mecha master!

No road in life was walked in vain; every step counted. Qiangu Zhangting had chosen to focus wholeheartedly on cultivating Soul Power, entrusting all four stages of Battle Armor production entirely to others. Thus, when facing a top-tier Battle Armor Master, his less-than-perfect compatibility with his Battle Armor was bound to put him at a disadvantage. Just as now, his Dragon Domain was utterly vulnerable before the Myriad Laws of Nature Domain!

"Seventh Soul Skill, Weapon Soul True Body!"

The importance of Battle Armor in the Dragon King's Legend era went without saying. With his own Battle Armor Domain shattered, Qiangu Zhangting had no choice but to activate his Martial Soul Avatar to resist the domain of the strongest Three-character Battle Armor of the age.

Six black, three red—nine Soul Rings circled Qiangu Zhangting again and again. As a descendant of the Qian Gu Family, his Soul Ring configuration was naturally not lacking. The blood-red Seventh Soul Ring blossomed with light, and the Coiling Dragon Staff buzzed and trembled, exhaling fierce Heaven and Earth Righteous Qi.

As the Coiling Dragon True Body was unleashed, Qiangu Zhangting entered the state of Man and Staff as One. His mind melted into the Coiling Dragon Staff, and a hundred-meter platinum dragon raised its head in a roar. The Evil-Breaking Dragon's radiant dragon eyes locked onto Zhao Xuanzhen, its immense dragon might mixed with undying fighting spirit!

"War God Fight the Earth!"

His roar exploded like thunder. Under the pressure Zhao Xuanzhen brought him, Qiangu Zhangting unleashed the ultimate mystery of the Coiling Dragon Staff—the Unyielding Staff Technique!

The Unyielding Staff Technique had been created by an ancestor of the Qian Gu Family. It drew upon the meaning of the Unyielding Soul Spirit looking down upon heaven and earth, using a single person's strength to contend against heaven and earth. The technique had nine forms, and Qiangu Zhangting had successfully comprehended three. War God Fight the Earth was its first form!

Qiangu Zhangting gripped one end of the Coiling Dragon Staff, while the other rapidly expanded into a colossal staff a hundred meters long. The Evil-Breaking Dragon followed it like a shadow, its dragon roars tearing through the air.

With the Staff Soul Realm, Unyielding Staff Technique, and Evil-Breaking Dragon Soul united as one, Qiangu Zhangting finally possessed some of a genius's bearing. The Coiling Dragon Staff carried an unyielding will capable of piercing the heavens as it descended fiercely!

This strike gathered all the rage Qiangu Zhangting had accumulated over the years. The Qian Gu Family had produced three Limit Douluo in one generation. Originally, as long as he grew according to plan, he would have been the unshakable next-generation Spirit Pagoda Master.

Then, eight years ago, Zhao Xuanzhen had risen abruptly. In his debut battle, he crushed the Shrek Academy team, then reached the top of the Young Genius Ranking in one stroke. He defeated the arrogant Imperial Dragon Xu Tianzhao, crossed the sea to crush Mountain Dragon King Long Yue—each feat made his name resound far and wide. The Soul Master world of the Sun Moon Federation universally recognized Zhao Xuanzhen as a peak quasi-god destined to suppress an era.

Qiangu Zhangting had witnessed Zhao Xuanzhen's rise. His attitude gradually changed from disdain to wariness, eventually reaching the point of something close to panic.

After all, Zhao Xuanzhen came from the Phoenix family, one of the ruling families, and had a legitimate claim to inherit the position of Spirit Pagoda Master. For the first time in his life, Qiangu Zhangting experienced what it meant to feel alarmed and unsettled.

He had thought himself capable of anything, but Zhao Xuanzhen ruthlessly shattered that unrealistic fantasy. Qiangu Zhangting had immersed himself in a beautiful dream for years, only to be slapped awake. All he wanted was to smash to death this rebel who dared offend the dignity of the crown prince!

The Coiling Dragon Staff smashed down with brutal force, one staff shattering ten thousand laws. In Qiangu Zhangting's vision, black, black, black, gold, black, red, purple-gold—seven terrifying Soul Rings emerged, and the purple-gold Soul Ring at the very end shone brilliantly!

A Manifestation that stood tall and upright rose from the ground, its head touching the azure sky and its feet planted in the netherworld. Zhao Xuanzhen stood at its brow center, his eyes like blazing golden flames. As the War God Fight the Earth strike of the Unyielding Staff Technique came crashing down, the True Self Manifestation slowly raised one hand, spread its five fingers, and reached for the Coiling Dragon Staff without dodging!

"Boom—"

The deafening blast shook the air as violent Soul Power shockwaves spread wildly, wrecking the ground of the Space Battlefield beyond recognition. The Spirit Pagoda higher-ups in the meeting room instinctively leaned forward, staring fixedly at the image on the Soul Guide Screen. That mountain-splitting, peak-cleaving Coiling Dragon Staff had actually been caught barehanded by the Manifestation's palm, which was covered in mysterious and profound runes!

"What?!"

Qiangu Zhangting was horrified. The Evil-Breaking Dragon twisted and struggled frantically, continuously driving the power of its dragon soul in an attempt to break free from those five fingers like sky-pillars. Yet the True Self Manifestation's palm did not move in the slightest. As its fingers closed, the Coiling Dragon Staff emitted harsh metallic creaks of compression.

At this sight, a ruthless resolve flashed through Qiangu Zhangting's eyes. The Coiling Dragon Staff began vibrating at high frequency, layers upon layers of platinum staff shadows surging up the True Self Manifestation's arm!

The second form of the Unyielding Staff Technique—Heaven-Shaking Earth-Shaking!

At the brow center of the Manifestation, Zhao Xuanzhen's lips curled in a mocking arc. His eyes, brilliant as the blazing sun, overlooked the struggling Coiling Dragon Staff. How could an ant shake a tree? The tremors of Heaven-Shaking Earth-Shaking entered the Manifestation's body, yet they were no more than a breeze brushing past a mountain. The True Self Manifestation remained utterly unmoved.

"A half-baked Unyielding Staff Technique will only make you a laughingstock. Qiangu Zhangting, ask yourself—do you possess the unyielding will to fight heaven?"

Upon hearing this, Qiangu Zhangting could not help gritting his teeth. In truth, it was not just Qiangu Zhangting. Spirit Transmission Douluo Qian Gu Dongfeng's nature was completely at odds with the cultivation method of the Unyielding Staff Technique, making it difficult for him to cultivate it to a profound realm even over the course of his life.

"Blazing Flames Destroy the World."

Zhao Xuanzhen's indifferent voice was like a decree of execution issued by a deity. The sky erupted with purple-gold radiance a hundred times fiercer than the sun!

An ancient, desolate dragon roar containing endless intent of annihilation echoed above the nine heavens!

The thick clouds were torn apart. From the rift in the shattered sky, a boundless purple-gold dragon lowered its majestic head. Its dragon eyes burned with purple-gold flames capable of incinerating all things, and it unleashed a dragon breath condensed with Destruction Laws.

The dragon breath split apart, and tens of millions of purple-gold dragon flames roared down. Each carried a terrifying aura of destroying all things and plundering life force. Having absorbed the divine power of Devil Island's two God Kings, the Blazing Dragon King Torso Bone's Soul Skill had evolved. Destruction Dragon Flame poured down everywhere upon Qiangu Zhangting and the Coiling Dragon True Body gripped by the True Self Manifestation!

"Unyielding Staff Technique, Stand Tall and Upright!"

Qiangu Zhangting let out an almost despairing roar. At the brink of life and death, the Evil-Breaking Dragon drained every last trace of energy within its body, its dragon form turning into an indestructible heavenly pillar thrust upward.

That tragic and heroic will to prop up the sky and steady the earth spread outward. The Evil-Breaking Dragon rushed toward the torrential rain of dragon flames from Blazing Flames Destroy the World, seeking to carve out a patch of sky beneath which its master could survive.

"Rumble!"

There was not even a second of stalemate—it was complete, overwhelming annihilation!

The light of destruction devoured everything, so blinding that no one could keep their eyes open. The lofty gaze of the purple-gold dragon and Zhao Xuanzhen's icy eyes at the brow center of the True Self Manifestation were deeply branded into the souls of the Spirit Pagoda higher-ups.

As the light slowly faded, the imposing Coiling Dragon True Body had vanished. Qiangu Zhangting knelt in wretched condition at the center of a deep pit, his Three-character Battle Armor shattered inch by inch, revealing a body covered in scorch marks and blood. The Coiling Dragon Staff that symbolized the glory of the Qian Gu Family had been broken cleanly in two!

At the break, Destruction Dragon Flame still burned fiercely, ceaselessly destroying the remaining spirituality of the Coiling Dragon Staff. The aura of the Evil-Breaking Dragon Soul was so weak it was nearly imperceptible.

"Pagoda Master Qiangu, the battle is over." A faint smile rested on Leng Yaozhu's lips.

The outcome had been decided. The dust had settled.

Zhao Xuanzhen had not disappointed her, nor had he disappointed everyone who believed in him. Having defeated Qiangu Zhangting head-on, from this day onward, he was one of the Four Great Spirit Emissaries and the first in line to inherit the position of Pagoda Master—the undisputed Spirit Pagoda Crown Prince!

"Tianfeng, don't be so hasty. Zhangting has not left the Virtual Space, which means he still has strength left."

Qian Gu Dongfeng's face darkened. In the end, he would have to use that trump card!

Within the Virtual Space battlefield, Qiangu Zhangting lowered his head. A glimmer of madness, venomous to the extreme, ignited within his blood-red eyes!

The outcome of this battle was far too important. He could not lose his status as the Spirit Pagoda's heir. It was the honor his branch of the Qian Gu Family had guarded generation after generation. No matter what, he had to win!

"Zhao Xuanzhen—"

His hissing sound resembled the dying roar of a beast. Qiangu Zhangting suddenly raised his head, his left hand shooting into the inside of his shattered Battle Armor chestplate like lightning and pulling out a dull gray iron token!

Light was swallowed by that tiny iron token, and daylight fell into a sinister night. A twisted snake shadow emerged, its long hair formed from vicious giant snakes, while its scarlet beast eyes revealed ancient malice!

The divine artifact enshrined by the Qian Gu Family, wielded by Medusa, the God of Sin and a Level 3 Deity—the Soul Seizing Token!

Once the Soul Seizing Token appeared, invading enemies would have their souls scattered and spirits dispersed. There had never been an exception in the Qian Gu Family's history of using this divine artifact.

The Virtual Space battlefield was linked through the Sea of Consciousness, so the Soul Seizing Token's attack could follow that connection and strike directly at Zhao Xuanzhen's original body. If it hit, the result would at the very least be a shattered Sea of Consciousness!

Medusa's sealed third eye suddenly opened. A beam of light shot out like a cursed arrow fired from the deepest depths of hell, ignoring the distance of space as it attacked Zhao Xuanzhen!

Wherever the beam passed, two solidified trails of petrification remained in the air. Malice from the remnant soul of the God of Sin locked onto Zhao Xuanzhen, as if intending to drag him into an eternal abyss!

Qiangu Zhangting's ferocious grin mixed madness with delight. No one could escape the divine skill of Medusa, the God of Sin!

"Buzz—"

Purple-gold radiance too dazzling to behold exploded forth. A dragon roar even more ancient and violent than Blazing Flames Destroy the World tore apart the dead silence of the Soul Seizing Token's dark night. A purple-gold long spear flowing with the intent of annihilation appeared in Zhao Xuanzhen's hand.

The Super Divine Artifact, the Huanglong Spear!

Holding the Huanglong Spear, Zhao Xuanzhen seemed to transform into a deity wielding the authority of destruction. He thrust forward with the simplest, most direct stab!

Medusa's curse was blasted into nothingness by the Huanglong Spear's Destruction Spear Aura. The spear's momentum did not fade. After annihilating the petrifying beam, the Huanglong Spear only grew more powerful as it stabbed directly at the Soul Seizing Token suspended before Qiangu Zhangting!

"Roar—"

Medusa's remnant soul let out a shrill and miserable scream. Under the destructive might of the Super Divine Artifact, a crisp cracking sound rang out, and this divine artifact sustained by sacrifices of countless living beings exploded into fragments!

The dragon roar shook the nine heavens, proclaiming the Blazing Dragon King's eradication of the God of Sin. Destruction Dragon Flame swept through all directions, burning every fragment of the Soul Seizing Token into smoke that dispersed between heaven and earth.

As the smoke and dust slowly cleared, Zhao Xuanzhen stood unwaveringly with the Huanglong Spear in hand, its tip angled toward the ground. Destruction Dragon Flame reflected in those ink-black eyes, cold as ten thousand years of profound ice.

Qiangu Zhangting staggered and fell, his eyes hollow. His lips moved, but no sound emerged. All his ambition, schemes, and trump cards were jokes before Absolute Strength. Before the companion Super Divine Artifact of the Ancestor of Destruction, even despair seemed insignificant.

Zhao Xuanzhen looked at Qiangu Zhangting, whose Heart of Dao had shattered. He had long prepared for Qiangu Zhangting to fight without honor. As the old saying went, despise the enemy strategically, take the enemy seriously tactically, and kill the enemy on the battlefield!

Using the Huanglong Spear for the first time, Zhao Xuanzhen could not help marveling that a Super Divine Artifact truly was extraordinary. The Huanglong Spear was even a peak Super Divine Artifact among Super Divine Artifacts.

The Dragon God's Divine Spark of Ruin had used the Blazing Dragon King's Destruction Divine Spark as its foundation, while the Gold Dragon King inherited the Dragon God's ruin attribute. In a certain sense, the Gold Dragon King was a lesser Blazing Dragon King. The Golden Dragon Spear had completely filled the Huanglong Spear's broken portions. Coupled with its fusion with Destruction Fragments and Devil Island's Power of Creation, after being reborn through fire, the Huanglong Spear's power surpassed what it had once been!

Teng Snake was doing sit-ups in Zhao Xuanzhen's Sea of Consciousness. There was no need for it to act this time; Medusa's household junk was unworthy of contending with the Huanglong Spear!

With a flash, Zhao Xuanzhen grabbed the collapsed Qiangu Zhangting with one hand. It was not as though he lacked vicious methods that acted directly upon the Sea of Consciousness, but ordinarily there was no need. He was used to sending them straight to hell cleanly and decisively, but Qiangu Zhangting was currently within Virtual Space, so killing him would be pointless.

Zhao Xuanzhen had never been one to repay grievances with virtue. He immediately entered revenge mode, forcibly making Qiangu Zhangting meet his eyes. A deep-blue Formation Diagram emerged in his pupils—the Eight Trigrams Qimen Four-Pan Array!

"Kun gives rise to True Essence; the great transformation cycles throughout, refining and melding it into truth. Then take the body as the nation, qi as the people, and the heart as emperor."

Qiangu Zhangting wore a vacant expression as Zhao Xuanzhen's mysterious and profound Qimen incantation reached his ears. Then deep-blue imprints of Eight Trigrams Qimen appeared in his eyes, and the final sharpness in them degraded into dull confusion. As though he had lost all self-awareness, he muttered:

"Kun gives rise to True Essence; the great transformation cycles throughout, refining and melding it into truth. Then take the body as the nation, qi as the people, and the heart as emperor...

The heart as emperor... I am emperor...

I am emperor!!!"