Death of the Pope of Light

Above the Hall of Gods, Priscilla stared at his right hand in a daze.

At this moment, his entire arm had been pierced through, blood flowing out as his body trembled slightly.

He could not comprehend how the physical body he had always taken such pride in had become so fragile.

One had to know that the physical bodies of divine beasts were generally far stronger than those of humans; if it were a super divine beast, it was even possible to elevate one's physical body to the level of a Sovereign Artifact.

As the only divine beast on the continent, Pulixier's ability to protect a sanctuary for magical beasts under the pressure of numerous human divine-level experts was certainly related to the internal conflicts among humans, but it was undeniable that his strength was also an indispensable trump card.

He had once sparred with Airlock years ago; although the laws Airlock comprehended were quite unique and seemed to contain the application of certain high-level laws, Priscilla had only been at a slight disadvantage thanks to the sheer toughness of his physique.

When it came to physical combat, no one was his match.

Yet today, the physical body he was so proud of had been shattered head-on by Huosi.

The others watched this scene with hearts pounding in terror.

They could not understand it; even if Huosi's strength had increased, how could his physical body have become so strong? It was beyond their comprehension.

"I said it before, everyone, let's attack together."

Huosi spoke once more, his tone devoid of any fluctuation as he continued to look down at the few people on the ground with indifference.

"Fine. If you can defeat us working together today, I, Airlock, will submit to you."

After a few seconds of silence, Airlock stated his position directly.

He had finally realized that Huosi was brimming with confidence today, intending to defeat them all single-handedly.

If Huosi could truly accomplish that, what would it matter if he submitted?

The expressions of the others shifted for a moment, and after exchanging glances, everyone except the Pope of Light nodded in the end.

Although the Pope of Light was unwilling to agree in his heart, he knew it was not the time to voice it.

Thus, he prepared to join the others; as long as they defeated this arrogant fellow, everything would be resolved, and no one could be allowed to tarnish the great Lord of Light.

Huosi did not know his thoughts, and even if he did, he would likely only sigh that that thing, Augusta, had absolutely nothing to do with greatness.

When it came down to it, the Lord of Light that countless people worshipped was merely a figure of their own imagination; they had no idea what the true Lord of Light was actually like.

"Take this!"

Airlock was the first to draw his black spear and dash toward Huosi.

Blue currents converged, swirling around the spear to form a water dragon that charged toward Huosi.

Seeing this, the others unleashed their own ultimate techniques, beginning to coordinate their attacks.

"Looks like I need to get a little serious."

Huosi shrugged, his body instantly covered by the Interstellar Battle Armor, and a layer of azure light radiated outward.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Three different attacks struck Huosi, but in the end, they only produced three loud booms without having any real effect.

"Damn it, what on earth is this thing? A divine artifact?"

Alsop felt a bitter taste in his heart, his movements slowing down slightly as a result.

He could not understand what was going on with this hard turtle shell; even their combined attacks couldn't damage it. Could it be a mid-level or even a high-level divine artifact?

Was Huosi really so lucky that he could just stumble upon a high-level divine artifact?

If Huosi knew his thoughts, he would definitely roll his eyes; the Interstellar Battle Armor was completely different from ordinary divine artifacts.

Material defense artifacts in the Coiling Dragon world were merely for defense and did not alter the physical body itself.

Therefore, the material attacks of a defense artifact user would not increase, and when facing an overwhelmingly strong enemy, they could still be shaken to death through the artifact.

This was something that even a Paragon highgod could not avoid.

In the original story, the Light Paragon Clementine wore a material defense Sovereign Artifact, yet he was still nearly shaken to death by Linley and eventually had to hand over the Red Diamond Crystal.

The Interstellar Battle Armor in Huosi's possession was different; the armor was completely integrated with him, as if his body had been directly remodeled.

Therefore, the current Huosi had essentially undergone a direct physical upgrade; both his defense and material attack power had increased by a significant margin, and he could even boost his speed.

"Get out of the way!"

Following a roar from Airlock, a water dragon surged forward with a howl, heading straight for Huosi.

"Come on!"

Huosi faced the water dragon head-on, his expression unchanged.

The next second, a massive curtain of water rose up, obscuring everything.

"Did it work?"

Airlock asked, feeling somewhat uncertain.

That move just now was the strongest attack he could unleash by pooling his divine power, and its destructive force was immense.

The only drawback was that it required a certain amount of time to prepare, making it difficult to use in a one-on-one duel.

For this siege, he had let the others stall Huosi while he began to charge his power directly.

Now, even after successfully unleashing his strongest attack, Airlock did not relax in the slightest. He had a premonition in his heart that perhaps this move would not truly be able to injure Huosi.

Sure enough, the next second, the massive torrent of water instantly dissipated, and Huosi's unscathed figure appeared before everyone.

"Everyone, fall back and prepare for soul attacks!"

Seeing that Huosi was still composed and at ease, Airlock made a prompt decision, retreating while sending a telepathic message.

"That is all we can do."

Salanna sighed inwardly. To be honest, she felt that they would most likely be defeated today.

None of the people present were deities who cultivated the Laws of Death or Fate, so their attainments in the soul were not high. It would be difficult for their soul attacks to deal with an opponent of the same level.

Even if six people attacked simultaneously, the damage to the soul would not be enough. Furthermore, she felt that Huosi must still have other trump cards; even if their soul attacks were sufficient, Huosi would have a way to cope.

"Soul attacks? Come on then!"

Huosi returned to his original appearance, showing no intention of pursuing them.

Today, Huosi had long since made up his mind to defeat them head-on. He needed to crush them in every aspect to ensure they were convinced of their defeat.

"Soul attack!"

Several different attacks struck from multiple directions, instantly submerging into Huosi's body.

Huosi did not dodge, instead allowing the soul attacks to enter his sea of consciousness simultaneously.

Within his divine sense, the destructive soul energy seemed to have found its target, crashing directly toward the core of Huosi's soul.

However, the next second, a golden light enveloped his sea of consciousness, blocking all the attacks with a rigid posture.

What, exactly, is a soul?

Since arriving in this world, Huosi had been pondering this question.

In his previous life, there were many scientific definitions for the soul.

But none had ever been verified; the existence of the soul had never even been proven on a scientific level.

In the Mechanical Civilization universe, there was not much research into the essence of the soul either.

However, based on the theories provided by the technological space and his own understanding and cognition, Huosi had discovered a few things.

The soul in the Coiling Dragon universe was the foundation of everything and the core of a life form.

One could live without a physical body, but not without a soul. Just like Doering-Kowart, who hid in the Coiling Dragon Ring for five thousand years; lacking a physical body did not hinder him from teaching Linley.

At that time, if he could comprehend the profound mysteries of the laws and break through to become a deity, the Laws of the World would naturally grant him a new body.

By then, he would have been completely resurrected, but he did not live to see that day.

And the soul, from a scientific perspective, could also be considered another type of matter that existed within the physical body and served as the core of life.

When a life form below the deity level died, it was not truly dead; rather, the physical body was destroyed and the soul entered the Underworld. When a powerful deity's soul fused with a godspark, death meant the soul would scatter and vanish.

For the soul to scatter and vanish was true death. Even a Sovereign could not resurrect them; at most, when creating a universe, they could make a replica.

Although this replica had the same face, the same memories, and even those who did not know better would directly think it was the person themselves.

But within the Hongmeng Space, these were two different people, because their souls were different.

Relying on these lines of thought, Huosi had researched a corresponding soul-defense divine artifact.

Huosi did not know if the soul-defense divine artifacts refined in the divine planes followed the same logic, but with this, ordinary soul attacks were no longer enough to harm him.

Although the artifact was currently inferior to a defensive Sovereign artifact, it was not something that the attacks of a lowgod could destroy.

"Tch, so that's how it is!"

Seeing that the attack was ineffective, Airlock was not surprised, but stopped in mid-air to stare at Huosi:

"I have to admit, you exceeded my expectations. Your defense is impeccable, but you cannot defeat us with defense alone."

"You are right. Then let's try my attack."

Huosi smiled slightly, satisfying his request.

"Swish!"

"What?"

"In my hometown, there is a saying: 'Of all the martial arts in the world, only speed cannot be broken.' The speed mysteries of the Wind Laws use the same principle to instantly defeat an enemy."

Huosi's figure turned into streaks of afterimages, as if he were a clone, and he began to attack from all around them.

"Hum!"

A dagger rested against Airlock's forehead, emitting dangerous ripples. Although it had not been verified, Airlock could be certain that if Huosi wanted to, he would already be dead.

Is this really a deity who cultivates the Earth Laws? The Earth Laws shouldn't have such a boost in speed, right?

Doubts flooded everyone's hearts, but the result could no longer be changed.

Huosi, with his own strength, had defeated them all.

"You win!"

Airlock spat out these three words with some bitterness, then smiled in relief.

"It seems the times have changed."

Alsop sheathed his weapon readily, showing no intention to continue the fight.

The others exchanged glances, and eventually, they all ceased their attacks, leaving only the Pope of Light standing alone.

"No, this cannot be! I am a follower of the Lord of Light. If you dare to seize the faith of the Lord of Light, you will surely be punished by Him!"

The Pope of Light's eyes were bloodshot, and he stubbornly refused to surrender.

The Light Church was something he had inherited from his master, and the Lord of Light was the faith of his entire life; he would not allow it all to be destroyed in his hands.

As the most devout believer, he could not accept that the faith he had upheld his whole life would come to an end under his watch.

Reason told him that he should surrender, but emotionally, he did not want to live on in such a disgraceful manner.

"Lord, I have done my best. Please, you must avenge your follower!"

The Pope of Light finally gritted his teeth and struck his own forehead with a palm.