The Counter-Tide God: Hun Zhan
In Qi Sheng's Perception, the throne held a crimson skeleton enveloped in flames.
Every bone in his body was marked with war runes, and as they flowed, it seemed as if countless war drums were Roar.
This mutilated body had its sharpness etched into every bone and blood; the mere aura it emitted was enough to slay a god.
Within the hollow eye sockets of the skull, two faint yet persistently burning crimson Soul Fire flickered.
Surrounded by immense war power, yet also emanating a dense aura of decay and death from every crevice of the skeleton.
Birth and death, strength and weakness, alternate in a cycle within it.
The owner of this mutilated body was none other than the Counter-Tide God: Hun Zhan.
Qi Sheng's gaze locked onto Hun Zhan's body, Sacrificial Power Pool surged and burned fiercely. The overwhelming Sacrificial Power spread along with his divine sense, washing away the remaining divine breath and past imprints of Hun Zhan like a tide.
Instantly, countless Shatter images and powerful divine energy fluctuations intertwined and exploded in his Perception, the sound deafening. The images flashed back, unfolding the beginning of the Hun Zhan and the Counter-Tide before his eyes.
"The bones of a warrior should stand tall between heaven and earth, unyielding and indomitable."
"The warrior's spirit shall burn eternally, forever enduring!"
This maxim, etched deep within the soul of the Hun Zhan, resonated within his Perception.
What followed was a scene of carnage capable of shaking the heavens and the earth.
The sky Shatter, thunderclouds surged, and inky black mist blotted out the sun, swallowing up all the light in this world.
The three figures of the Black Tide Demon Gods stood atop the black mist, their forms towering like ten-thousand-foot-high mountains. The Demon Gods power surrounding them corrupted all things, and wherever they passed, heaven and earth collapsed and the laws of nature were disrupted.
Just as the world-destroying power swept in, Hun Zhan's figure stood resolutely in the chaotic void revealed after the collapse of the Monster World. Crimson divine flames surged from his body, like a prairie fire, transforming Daybreak the blazing sun at dawn, instantly burning away the black mist that filled the sky and illuminating this world on the verge of destruction.
He gripped the blade of war tightly in his hand. The blade was entirely crimson and engraved with countless war runes. The light emanating from his body pierced the sky, gathering a boundless power that could turn the world upside down. Like a crimson lightning bolt, he charged forward with unwavering determination, actively attacking the encirclement of the three Demon Gods.
The deafening roar of clashing weapons instantly shattered countless mountains and rivers in the distance. Mountains collapsed, rivers overflowed, and the earth cracked open into deep ravines, from which chaotic energy surged forth.
The war blades of the Hun Zhan clashed fiercely with the claws and Demon Gods, and divine light and demonic mist intertwined violently.
The burst of energy shockwave tore the surrounding space to shreds, and even time itself seemed to stand still for a moment.
Divine blood gushed forth from Hun Zhan's body, crimson as flames, and as it dripped into the void, it ignited a raging battle.
The black mist released by the Demon Gods was shattered, turning into wisps of black smoke and dissipating, but it continued to surge out from the Demon Gods's body, frantically eroding Hun Zhan's body.
In the midst of the fierce battle, Hun Zhan's bones shattered, divine blood gushed out incessantly, and his body was covered with deep wounds that revealed the bone. The power of the Demon Gods surged wildly into the wounds, corroding his divine personality and soul, and his body was severely injured by the Demon Gods several times.
But with his unwavering determination, he rallied his battered body and charged forward once more.
The war power emanating from him not only did not weaken, but became even more intense. Every swing of his blade was imbued with the belief that he would rather perish than let the enemy die.
The scene abruptly shifts, and the figures of the three Black Tide Demon Gods gradually disintegrate into wisps of black mist under the onslaught of divine flames and the power of war, eventually vanishing into the world.
Hun Zhan, covered in Bloodbath, his divine body tattered and broken, his left arm gone, his divine core cracked, and the divine flames around him almost extinguished, tightly gripped a broken war blade in his hand, the blade still wet with divine blood and Demon Gods power.
He slowly raised his head, his broken body standing tall beneath the sky. His empty eyes looked down upon the Monster World, where all he saw was devastation and suffering.
The Black Tide continues its rampage, leaving civilizations crumbling and ethnic groups annihilated wherever it goes. The corpses of powerful native tribes litter the land, and rivers of blood flow, staining the mountains and vegetation crimson.
Many gods who once fought alongside him and protected their homeland perished one after another, their divine bodies Shatter and their souls Annihilation, leaving no trace.
The Four Gods, severely wounded and in hiding, are pursuing the elusive power of the Di Zhao's Origin, while all races are already in dire straits.
The local forces were scattered and fought their own battles. Under the encroachment of the Black Tide, they suffered repeated defeats and were on the verge of extinction.
The gale whipped his blood-stained robes, and divine blood dripped from his broken body, striking the cracked earth. Each drop of divine blood nourished patches of war runes, shining brightly.
In this moment, the Monster World is nearly wiped out, and the Evil Moon's radiance continues to spread. Soon, this world will be completely swallowed up by the Black Tide and the Evil Moon, leaving no trace of life.
Having barely survived with his mangled body, Hun Zhan gazed at the land he had dedicated his life to protecting, and at the native tribes on the verge of extinction. In his eyes, there was no despair, only a burning passion.
He knew perfectly well that the Four Gods had gone to seek the origin of the Di Zhao, and their return was uncertain, perhaps never to return.
He knew all too well that the native races of the Pale Continent, and even those of the surrounding continents, could no longer withstand any more turmoil. Only by protecting this land and preserving the remaining races could they have a future.
Even if it means he has to protect this future with his broken divine body.
Hun Zhan has made a decision.
He suddenly looked up, and the remaining war power around him surged violently. His soul trembled. Even though his body was about to disintegrate, he still burned his divine blood and soul, and issued a shout that shook the ages and resounded throughout the universe to the remaining billions of races.
The voice pierced through the black mist, crossed mountains and rivers, resounded across the Pale Continent, and echoed across every nearby land, carrying an overbearing aura and an unwavering determination. "The Di Zhao has been extinguished, the Four Gods have fallen, and we may have lost hope of rekindling the Di Zhao's Flame, but I have never given up. From now on, take me as your torch, and lead you, armored and bladed, to Conquest the Black Tide, Sweeping the invaders, until we reclaim our homeland and restore the glory of the Monster World!"
"I hereby swear: I need not inherit the Di Zhao; I will Transcendence the Di Zhao and become a true god. Wherever the Black Tide arrives, I will slay it with my blade; wherever Evil Spirits invade, I will grind them to dust."
This domineering and awe-inspiring declaration of war resounded like thunder across the Pale Continent and even over several nearby ravaged continents, igniting hope in the hearts of millions of surviving races like a spark.
This shout marked the beginning of the Tidal Rebellion Legion.
It also marked the beginning of the local ethnic groups' resistance against the Black Tide and their efforts to protect their homeland.
At that moment, Hun Zhan raised the broken war blade in his hand, and crimson divine flames surged from his body once more, sweeping across the four directions, blotting out the sky and dispelling all the black mist in the world. He gathered all the remaining power and beliefs of the various races around himself.
His own light shone like a torch, and his divine thoughts manifested into countless Avatar, overlooking the countless surviving races in various places, issuing a domineering declaration.
They etched their beliefs deep into the souls of every native being. "With the Counter-Tide as our banner, with war as our faith, with our broken bodies as our shields, with our divine souls as our spearhead, we will protect the peace and well-being of our descendants, safeguard our vast lands and rivers, sweep away the Evil Spirits of the Black Tide, and restore clarity to our world."
"Though my divine essence crumbles, my soul Annihilation, and my body turns to ashes, the tide of Counter-Tide will never be extinguished, my native race will never perish, and all those under my Counter-Tide are warriors, and all my warriors will fight to the last drop of blood!"
After speaking, Hun Zhan resolutely ignited his remaining war power. The Divine Flame burned fiercely, enveloping his broken body, scorching the Demon Gods power within him, and reshaping his Shatter divine body.
He endured the extreme pain of his soul being torn apart, and dragged his body, already riddled with holes and corroded by the power of the Demon Gods, and officially changed his name to: Counter-Tide God.
Going against the Black Tide, surviving against all odds, and fighting against the future—this became his obsession.
This tragic and resolute scene remained unknown to anyone, except for Qi Sheng, who witnessed it all in his Perception of the past.
In the eyes of other races, this native war god, in his prime, fought three Black Tide Demon Gods alone, slaying powerful enemies single-handedly. Then, he appeared out of nowhere, his body blazing with divine flames, Sweeping all the remaining Black Tide forces in the surrounding area with absolute power, and quelling the rebellious Alien Races forces.
In the midst of the raging Black Tide and the collapse of heaven and earth, they managed to create a haven for the local tribes on the verge of extinction, and opened up a path for survival.
At that time, Hun Zhan was seen by them as spirited, sharp, unruly, and incomparably powerful. Every move he made displayed Divine Might, and he should be the true god of the new world, worthy of the reverence of hundreds of millions of races.
However, they were unaware that after slaying the three Black Tide Demon Gods, Hun Zhan was already exhausted, his divine essence Shatter, and his divine soul damaged. Every moment, he was enduring the corrosive power of the Demon Gods and the pain of his divine body collapsing.
With every step he took, he burned his soul, exerting all his strength to support his broken body, to hold up a sky for his native people, and to exhaust his efforts for the rise of the Tidal Rebellion Legion.
He should have lived a full life long ago, but he survived thanks to his indomitable spirit.
Life alternates between death and resurrection.
Death is the continuous, rule-level erosion of the Demon Gods, while life is the influence of the "momentum" rule created by the Hun Zhan.
The scene shifts again, and billions of races respond to the call of the Counter-Tide God, donning armor and wielding weapons, converging from all directions— the Pale Continent, the Ground Roar Continent, the Mountain Sacrifice Continent, and so on. Warriors of all races stand shoulder to shoulder, their battle flags fluttering, the crimson banners spreading across the land like wildfire, the name of the Tidal Rebellion Legion resounding throughout heaven and earth, shaking the ages.
The once fragmented and nearly destroyed local forces, inspired by the belief in Hun Zhan and motivated by his domineering declaration, completely put aside their selfish thoughts, united as one, and reassembled into an unstoppable and immense force, like a spark in the darkness, rapidly spreading and becoming an unstoppable force.
They abandoned their past estrangement and strife. Many of their former followers who had worshipped the Four Gods now converted to the Counter-Tide God. With the belief in protecting their people, they fought Bloodbath in the world ravaged by the Black Tide, carving out a path to survival.
That period was the strongest time for the Counter-Tide.
Countless gods descended from the heavens, but they withered away in the brutal wars of rise to power.
However, under the leadership of Hun Zhan, they defeated all the remaining Black Tide forces from the "Four Gods vs. Demon Gods" battle on the nearby continent.
The Tidal Rebellion Legion rose to prominence, with war as its faith and adversity as its sharp edge, intimidating all sides and becoming the most dazzling force in the new era.
But the war also cost the Tidal Rebellion Legion a heavy price.
The current strength of the Tidal Rebellion Legion is less than one-tenth of its peak strength.
Hun Zhan was now completely exhausted, and the Demon Gods power that had seeped into his soul deepened with the passage of time, gnawing at his remaining soul and bones day and night like a maggot clinging to his bones.
The body that once could fight three Demon Gods alone has long been corroded to the point that it no longer has the strength to even lift a hand, let alone personally go to the battlefield and wield a blade to kill enemies. It has been completely reduced to a crippled body that can only be supported by its soul, and it has lost even the basic ability to move.
But Hun Zhan knew very well that he absolutely could not die.
The reason why the Tidal Rebellion Legion was able to rise from a disorganized group to a force that could intimidate all sides, and to stand firm amidst the rampage of the Black Tide, was never just because of the bravery of its warriors, but because of the prestige of the "Counter-Tide God".
He is the soul of the Tidal Rebellion Legion and the spiritual pillar of all races and ethnic groups.
More importantly, he still possesses the "origin of war" power bestowed upon him by Di Zhao. This power is the fundamental reason why the Tidal Rebellion Legion can rise against the odds and why its warriors can continuously break through on the battlefield.
Once he falls and his soul Annihilation, the war power bestowed by Di Zhao will dissipate.
The War Imprint on the soldiers will also fade away.
Without its spiritual pillar and foundation of strength, the Tidal Rebellion Legion will once again split and collapse.
The native people he has dedicated his life to protecting will be destroyed and devoured by foreign forces.
In the face of utter despair, Hun Zhan's undying obsession reignited. Even as he endured the extreme pain of his soul being torn apart, he still managed to maintain his broken soul and issue a divine decree, summoning the strongest warriors from all races under the command of the Tidal Rebellion Legion.
Those warriors and priests who survived countless bloody battles and remained loyal to the Counter-Tide gathered in this underground palace. With his crimson skeleton as the core and the cultivation and war power of the strongest of each race as the foundation, they built an Undying Grand Formation that penetrated the very soul.
This secret is known only to a very few top-tier warriors.
The sole purpose of this great formation is to burn the war power within the bodies of powerful individuals from various races, continuously injecting it into the bones and soul of Hun Zhan. This allows him to resist the erosion of the Demon Gods's power while painstakingly repairing his Shatter divine essence and soul, maintaining his immortality and clear consciousness.
From then on, Hun Zhan became firmly rooted on the War Throne, becoming the core of the Undying Grand Formation, and also a prisoner of his own obsession.
He had to endure extreme pain every moment.
On one hand, there was the pain of soul-devouring caused by the erosion of the Demon Gods's rules; on the other hand, there was the burning pain of the great formation burning energy to repair the soul. The two kinds of pain intertwined and overlapped, day and night without stopping for a moment. However, the Soul Fire in Hun Zhan's body was still burning stubbornly in the empty eye sockets, never having the slightest thought of going out.
Thus, with his bones as his body, his soul as his guide, and the great formation as his support, he stubbornly held on to his last breath, guarding the foundation of the Tidal Rebellion Legion.
As long as his soul remains, the war power bestowed by Di Zhao will continuously nourish the entire Tidal Rebellion Legion, the War Imprint on the warriors will never fade, and his power will become the confidence of all Counter-Tide warriors, supporting them to continue Bloodbath on new battlefields and resisting foreign invasions.
However, as the Tidal Rebellion Legion entered a recovery period after its peak, a new era for the Monster World also began during this phase.
With billions of races pouring in and heroes rising up, the Black Tide launched its second invasion, and the black mist once again swept across the world— the Tidal Rebellion Legion was once again plunged into a life-or-death crisis, but Hun Zhan could only sit stiffly on the War Throne, watching helplessly as his warriors Bloodbath, unable to mobilize even the slightest bit of his own power.
At this point, he was no longer able to fight. Only those two faint clusters of Soul Fire stubbornly burned, telling of his unfulfilled obsession and protecting the momentum against the Counter-Tide that he had built with his life's blood.
His last words still resonate in the hearts of the Tidal Rebellion Legion warriors. "My soul will never perish, it will guard this land, ensuring you have a blade on your journey and a home on your Return Journey."
Qi Sheng, far away on the Origin Altar, lost his usual composure, his eyes filled with shock.
At this moment, he finally understood that the situation of the Tidal Rebellion Legion was far more complicated than he had imagined. All the doubts he had about the Hun Zhan in his heart were also revealed in the past scenes Shaping the burning Sacrificial Power.
He had a question at the time.
After the Tidal Rebellion Legion got back on track and its defenses became increasingly solid, the Hun Zhan completely fell silent.
He no longer appeared on the battlefield, no longer presided over the affairs of the legion, and even rarely issued orders, as if he had completely retired behind the scenes.
Qi Sheng had made a guess at the time.
It is speculated that Hun Zhan might be trying to use the continuous invasion of the Black Tide and the combat power of the Soul Return Clan to build a cyclical battlefield, allowing the Counter-Tide warriors to accumulate war power in endless battles, and making the entire Tidal Rebellion Legion his "power container" so as to continuously harvest war power and break through the shackles of strength.
This conjecture seems reasonable, but there is one aspect that cannot be reconciled.
Hun Zhan was the strongest among the Eight Extremes Gods back then, and he didn't even deign to pay attention to the Four Gods divine rank was higher than his own. How could he be willing to be confined to this small world of the Pale Continent, obsessed with a limited-scale cyclical war?
With his strength to contend with the Black Tide Demon Gods, he could easily go to a higher-level battlefield, reap even more immense war power, and realize his declaration of "Transcendence the Di Zhao".
Only now, seeing the crimson skeleton engulfed in flames on the throne, did Qi Sheng finally understand the truth behind all the anomalies.
Hun Zhan was already on the verge of death.
As his divine sense slowly approached the War Throne, Qi Sheng clearly Perception that within the crimson skeleton, only a faint, almost extinguished wisp of divine soul remained—the remnant soul of the Hun Zhan.
The millions of figures clad in crimson robes on the plaza had a lifelong mission: to use themselves as a medium to continuously supply the remnants of the Hun Zhan with war power, maintaining his last glimmer of life and preventing him from being completely annihilated.
The so-called "circular battlefield," the deliberately maintained standoff between the Black Tide forces, was a helpless move on his part.
He had long lost the ability to Conquest proactively, and could only rely on continuous small-scale wars and the power supplied by sacrifices to barely keep on his feet and maintain the deterrent power of the Counter-Tide God.
Once he falls completely, the Tidal Rebellion Legion will be leaderless, and the entire Pale Continent, as well as all the native races protected by the Tidal Rebellion Legion, will face annihilation.
Looking at the cluster of Soul Fire stubbornly flickering in the flames on the throne, Qi Sheng felt a mix of emotions.
This top war god, who once boasted that "I will Transcendence the Di Zhao's Di Zhao without inheriting it," ultimately could not withstand the erosion of time and failed to fulfill his vow. He could only prolong his life in this way, protecting the Tidal Rebellion Legion he created and the world he cared about all his life.
Qi Sheng's divine sense hovered over the throne.
Half-dead from the Hun Zhan, the Tidal Rebellion Legion appears stable, but in reality, it is already fraught with danger.
The Black Tide threat, the threat from external enemies—all sorts of hidden dangers are already lurking in the shadows.
His biggest concern was whether this self-proclaimed successor to the Di Zhao would be willing to lower himself and follow him after learning that he was the one who truly held the power of the Di Zhao's Origin.
The answer is now clear.