Martial Immortal vs. the Third Herrscher

Su Qing'an felt an unprecedented sense of clarity within his body, a scene that had only been recreated once before in the Stigmata Space when he used Rin as a natural Stigmata.

But that was just a vague illusion in the spiritual world; no matter how real it might seem, it still paled in comparison to reality.

Unrestrained and without any scruples.

The chains that imprisoned lifespan and shackles were temporarily transferred to the realm of Udu-dust Duchen via the [Stigmata], allowing Su Qing'an to truly unleash his full power.

Moreover... due to the unexpected changes within Udu-dust.

This state of complete connection between oneself and the self seems to be even stronger than one initially imagined.

Su Qing'an was unaware that he was dressed in ancient clothes, with white hair and red eyes, resembling an immortal. Perhaps the change in appearance could not quell the increasingly burning fire in his heart, or perhaps all of this was already insignificant under the influence of killing intent.

[Thousand Stars] Ultimate Amplification.

The burst of lightning vanished with a deafening roar, and like a raging fire in the sky, it suddenly unleashed a magnificent storm.

The boy stood in the eye of the storm, his snow-white hair flowing down, serene and unwavering.

In the next frame, Su Qing'an stepped on the crimson feathers that had vanished along with him, and in the instant that time seemed to stand still, he approached the Third Herrscher.

His five fingers defiantly ignored the Honkai Energy defense, piercing through the dense lightning plasma to grab her slender arm.

In the instant the force twisted, the Honkai Energy of heaven and earth surged into the body, forming a corresponding arrangement of inspiration.

Inch Heart Fist, fully revamped.

[Eight Desolations]

With a forceful flick.

One kilometer, two kilometers, three kilometers.

The girl's petite body was relentlessly smashed to pieces by unreasonable techniques, shattering three apartment buildings and a department store along the way.

Each collision generated massive bursts of lightning, seemingly trying to counteract the immense force. However, the terrifying kinetic energy, carrying an irresistible force, completely ignored the power's struggle within a mere three seconds, slamming Satou Yunona against the highway.

This is Su Qing'an's own Inch Heart Fist.

After truly breaking free from constraints, the boy finally found his own source of inspiration Meme.

This seemingly casual flick was the culmination of his accumulated skills and the ultimate martial arts technique he had reached.

On the pure path of martial arts, he unknowingly began to stand shoulder to shoulder with that immortal.

Even further...

The Third Herrscher lay beneath the spiderweb-like cracks in the earth, her slender figure facing the sky shrouded in dark dust. Her pure white skirt remained undamaged, swaying gently in the wind.

Satou Yunona seemed to still cherish the expensive white dress, but her delicate face was expressionless, her eyes empty and lost, like a silent doll.

The Third Herrscher was unharmed, just like Himeko when she was transformed into Zombie warrior. Her body was covered by a Honkai Energy barrier, making physical methods meaningless to her.

Given her ability to use her powers independently, it's no surprise that Satou Yunona emerged unscathed.

But the slender arm that the boy had once held was now covered in bruises.

Even more unreasonable, the [Stigmata] ruthlessly absorbed a portion of the Honkai Energy from the Third Herrscher's body in that instant, taking advantage of the brief moment of emptiness to directly damage her frail physique.

Even Herrscher should not reveal the slightest flaw when facing Martial Immortal stands at the third level of the Divine Void Sword Qi.

In fact, if Su Qing'an were willing, with this unexpected ability and speed, the probability of the Third Herrscher dying would be ten percent.

But he held back.

After that, the Honkai Consciousness will no longer give Su Qing'an the opportunity to truly kill Satou Yunona.

That's good.

Only like this...

Only in this way could he deal with the Third Herrscher using a fighting style that aimed to kill the opponent with all his might.

Only in this way can Su Qing'an find a way to redeem herself without being half-hearted.

The Honkai Energy flowing within the Third Herrscher's body is far greater than the Honkai Energy required for those thunderstorm phenomena, resulting in the previously almost inexhaustible Honkai Energy reserves being more than half depleted by this single attack.

Such formidable opponents are Herrscher- level beings; the Herrscher Core, connected to the Imaginary Space, possesses an endless Honkai Energy.

Su Qing'an was unsure of the true limits of the [Stigmata], but in its partially destroyed state, the current [Stigmata] could not infinitely accommodate the Herrscher's continuous attacks.

This means that once this boundary is breached, the indelible power of the [Stigmata] will easily crush its own body.

Even in a semi-dead state, the [Stigmata] still gave the boy the confidence to face the Herrscher head-on.

The ability of [Stigmata] is very simple.

First, the phenomenon of absorbing Honkai Energy or Honkai Energy itself.

Second, store this Honkai Energy.

The last ability is the key to forming a solid triangular cycle.

That is, to release the absorbed Honkai Energy.

At the same moment that the Third Herrscher was thrown into the avenue, causing the ground to sink and emitting a mournful cry.

Su Qing'an stood atop the dark clouds formed by a million corpses, and whispered:

"Too dirty."

Thus, all the Honkai Energy absorbed was released, recreating the terrifying Celestial Phenomenon shaped by the Herrscher Authority.

In an instant, a thunderstorm that spread into a filthy sea of clouds engulfed everything.

The human skeletons and Honkai Energy particles swirled together into a beam of pitch-black light.

The Soul Essence was frantically squeezing the limits of the [Stigmata], attempting to revive it with more power.

The Void Sword Qi assists in controlling the Honkai Energy between heaven and earth, causing it to be gathered, compressed, and shaped.

At last.

The thunderous magma solidified, and the Sea of Light dried up.

In the blink of an eye, only a [Calming the Tempest] forged from corpses and power remained in the once clear sky.

The boy gripped the sword hilt without hesitation. With steps that swept across light and shadow, as if across fifty-five thousand years, he unleashed [Time Cutter] upon the distant Third Herrscher.

The Third Herrscher remained silent, requiring no intermediaries or skills, and without any thought or concern.

She merely grasped his hand in a perfunctory manner.

Power governs rules; strength is the only truth.

Countless Honkai Energy particles were born amidst flashes of lightning, colliding and expanding millions of times over an infinitely stretched period of time.

Before the boy could even get close, the Honkai Energy naturally took shape and then erupted.

The dragon's head, emerging from the void, emanated dangerous thunder and a wind that resembled a hoarse roar.

Its clearly defined beast eyes, like intricately interwoven lines, stared directly at the faint sword marks etched from top to bottom in the sky and the boy who had arrived before it. It leisurely raised its head and let out a long howl, emitting a deathly sigh of destruction.

It couldn't outrun the speed of drawing the sword, but it became the Third Herrscher's impenetrable wall, hindering the sword strike.

Su Qing'an's body appeared insignificant compared to the monster formed from the condensation of power, and the immense Honkai Energy it contained seemed to have already seen through his own limits.

[Stigmata] cannot contain this level of Honkai Energy all at once.

If one stubbornly enters the dragon's head alone and is forced to the limit of [Stigmata], it would not be surprising if one were to simply die.

However, [Udu-dust • Critical Point] allowed Su Qing'an to reach not only his peak combat power, but also to surpass the limits he could not achieve before.

When their souls are highly linked and overlapped, reaching a wondrous frequency, even the power of the [Stigmata] is shared with Udu-dust.

Countless crimson feathers are all illusions of Udu-dust, yet these illusory bubbles, indistinguishable from reality, have indeed become extensions of the [Stigmata].

Facing Herrscher's wide-ranging offensive alone should have exceeded Su Qing'an's capabilities, but this seemingly simple extension was enough to break through that constraint.

Accompanied by gentle murmurs and whispers in her ear, Udu-dust, whose soul has merged into the formless realm, manipulates a mesmerizing illusion and descends upon the world.

The crimson ocean was as magnificent as the rosy clouds, and for a moment, the boy pulled these clouds, which seemed to fill the sky, before the dragon's head.

This is a fragile illusion.

This is an illusion that needs no destruction.

This is a pointless trick.

But each feather, as exquisite as a work of art, is an extension of the [Stigmata].

Every scale on the dragon's head was stained with crimson feathers.

Because it is an illusion, it cannot be destroyed.

Because it is an illusion, it cannot be shaken off.

The [Stigmata] cannot withstand the Honkai Energy all at once, so it is naturally fearless to clear the path with tens of millions of times of energy.

The trajectory of Honkai Energy is as intricate as the fine weave within a magnificent feather robe.

The crimson feathers on the dragon's head flickered like breathing, and the [Stigmata] allowed Honkai Energy to circulate within them.

Thousands of feathers slowly faded away, disappearing from sight.

Once a certain amount is absorbed, space is released to allow for further absorption.

These two simple processes almost caused the dragon's head to fall apart, while the Honkai Energy flowed obediently to one location like information from a port.

--The [Calming the Tempest] forged from bones and power.

The clouds and rosy hues completely dissipated, and the dragon's roar abruptly ended under the trajectory of [Time Cutter].

This sword strike, like an unyielding destiny, annihilated the creation of the Authority, borrowed the Honkai Energy accelerate, and incorporated the techniques of the Void Sword Qi and the inspiration Meme of the Inch Heart Fist, pulling out meteor-like potential energy and invisible sword qi, which landed on the body of the Third Herrscher.

This is all-out effort.

To be truly wholehearted.

This sword strike encompassed all of the boy's martial arts and Honkai Energy techniques from the beginning to the present. It was closer than ever to the meaning of [Time Cutter], like the limit of a single frame in a movie, falling like light before even the blink of an eye had passed.

After the girl's frail body was struck, she was sent flying thousands of meters away like Paper Kite. The sword energy along the way stretched endlessly, cutting everything into fine dust, clearing away the buildings full of Honkai Beast and Zombie, and leaving indelible scars on the ground.

The impact, lasting several seconds, created a commotion loud enough to echo throughout the entire Canghai City. The Third Herrscher leaned against the wall of the ruins, her bare feet and skirt still spotless.

Satou Yunona's hair fell loosely, obscuring the fair skin above her delicate collarbone. Her expression was obscured, but the surrounding scenery testified to the effectiveness of the sword strike.

However, unlike last time when he immediately rose up and unleashed his power to launch an attack.

This time, she seemed to be lost in thought, gazing into the distance.

[The extent to which his ability to absorb Honkai Energy can extend is unknown, but this action further illustrates that this ability has an upper limit.]

[Although he's a strange human, he's still not someone to be feared.]

[Just avoid any physical contact with him; lavish your power as you please, my apostle.]

The words of the Honkai Consciousness entered Satou Yunona's heart without any hindrance; His words were a command that the girl could not disobey.

The things and sounds of the outside world had long since faded away. In that instant, the limit that this blank consciousness could achieve was to compress the range of the thunderstorm to focus only on what was in front of it.

And the purpose...

It was simply protecting that backpack.

Satou Yunona inexplicably came to understand that her strange feelings for the boy weren't entirely her own.

It's like a counterfeit plagiarized from someone else; even if you feel a strong resonance with it, it's still a counterfeit.

But that backpack was different. Even though the contents inside were the same as what Su Qing'an said, and no money had been paid for them, the girl thought she would make up the difference sooner or later.

Well, even if I feel a little guilty and think it's not proper.

But... but it only costs a few hundred dollars to fix.

So it's okay, she'll work hard to earn money.

In Satou Yunona's mind, the odds and ends in that backpack, worth a few hundred dollars, were all she had. These were all she had, and naturally, these were all she cared about.

It's like a farmer sitting in a barren field surrounded by a pile of scrap metal; how could he not know that to outsiders, these things are just scrap metal?

Even so, he wouldn't allow himself to lose this junk that he had no reason to keep.

Because he had nothing else.

Clear footsteps followed the words of the Honkai Consciousness, and slowly the boy came into view, holding a broken, black sword blade, silently staring at himself.

No feelings, no thoughts.

The girl clearly looked clean and tidy, but her silent posture leaning against the wall resembled that of an abandoned, worn-out doll.

He seemed to be gazing into the depths beyond the girl's empty eyes, the broken blade in his hand disintegrating back into the initial Honkai Energy mixed with the pitch-black particles of the corpse, reassembling into a brand new ancient sword.

As expected... I couldn't suppress these emotions no matter what.

Revealing one's [Stigmata] abilities to the enemy is the most foolish and arrogant act imaginable; not going all out from the start is tantamount to suicide.

The unscathed Third Herrscher before us is the best proof of this.

Even his strongest attacks were like a gentle breeze to her, having no effect other than being impressive in scale.

But if this is the folly that must be tolerated to achieve the best outcome, Su Qing'an is happy to accept it.

Facing the Honkai Consciousness, the boy indifferently repeated the words he had spoken at the beginning:

"I'll make you get out of Yuno's body and beat you until you break down."

But now, these words, still spoken in a light tone, carry a weight that the Honkai Consciousness cannot ignore.