Iron Armor Shattered, Black Hole Prototype (Battle Frenzy!!!)

The night wind swept through the empty courtyard, dry leaves scraping against the bluestone slabs with a rustling sound.

Guang Biao stood at the center of the grounds, and the uniform representing the authority of the Mecha Battalion captain suddenly felt a little tight around his neck.

He subconsciously loosened his collar, his Adam's apple bobbing with difficulty as his gaze shifted between Tang Linyuan before him and the Soul Saint Xing Tie behind him.

What kind of situation was this?

Paying money to avoid disaster, he accepted that; bowing his head and apologizing, he endured that too.

But fighting a nine-year-old child?

If he won, word would spread tomorrow that "Guang Biao bullied a nine-year-old," and his reputation would be ruined;

If he lost... although he felt it was absolutely impossible for him to lose, if he failed to hold back and injured this little ancestor, that Level Eight Saint Craftsman stationed in Eastsea City would probably tear him apart and toss him into a furnace.

"Brother Xing, this..." Guang Biao lowered his voice, forcing an expression uglier than crying onto his fleshy face. "Isn't this... a bit too much?"

Xing Tie stood in the shadows with his arms crossed, like a black iron tower.

He did not look at Guang Biao. His mind was filled with what had happened at the beef restaurant that day.

That spear had been embedded in the wall without a trace of Soul Power fluctuation, yet it had weighed as heavily as a mountain.

He had needed to use a thousand-year soul skill to enhance himself before he could pull it free.

"Fight."

Xing Tie spat out a single word, concise and direct.

He grinned in the darkness, revealing a mouthful of white teeth. His eyes carried a hint of amused anticipation.

"Don't hold back. If you dare to halfheartedly throw the fight like you're humoring a child, and Young Master Linyuan gets unhappy, then the president's side... you can weigh the consequences yourself."

Guang Biao's eyelids twitched violently.

Don't hold back? Against a three-ring Soul Elder?

Fine.

Guang Biao nearly ground his molars to dust. Since they insisted on fighting, he would just be a qualified punching bag.

His Martial Soul, the Iron Armor Dragon, was thick-skinned and tough. Taking hits was what he did best.

He only needed to raise his defense to the limit, control the strength of his counterattacks, and make sure he did not injure this young master with the recoil.

"Since Young Master Linyuan is in the mood, then Guang will accompany you for a little sparring."

Guang Biao walked to the center of the grounds and took a deep breath. His bones crackled like popping beans.

"Teacher Wu, move back a little more."

By the wall, Tang Wulin shuffled backward while tugging on Wu Zhangkong's sleeve. With his other hand, he expertly pulled out a handful of sunflower seeds from his pocket.

"Another five meters, really! When my brother goes crazy, he doesn't even spare the floor tiles."

Wu Zhangkong glanced at his student, who was happily watching the show while eating seeds. His feet did not move, but a spark called "anticipation" ignited in his usually tranquil ice-blue eyes.

At the center of the grounds, their auras drew one another in.

"Buzz—"

The air seemed to be viciously clenched by an enormous hand, releasing a dull tremor.

"Hah!"

Guang Biao let out a low roar as six soul rings—two yellow and four purple—rose beneath his feet.

Martial Soul Possession, Iron Armor Dragon!

His body instantly swelled, his already burly frame rising to two and a half meters tall as it burst through his uniform.

Layers of dark gray granite dragon scales covered his entire body. His arms became as thick as stone pillars, and half-foot-long claws extended from his fingertips.

A thick dragon tail lashed irritably behind him. Every strike against the ground sent fine cracks spreading across the bluestone slabs beneath his feet.

The pressure of a Soul Emperor's Soul Power erupted without restraint. The surrounding air became as viscous as mercury, making it hard to breathe.

Across from him, Tang Linyuan remained calm, as if he were looking at a wild beast about to be slaughtered.

He made a grasping motion with his right hand toward the side.

Boom!

The Tyrant Profound Divine Spear appeared in his hand out of thin air, its butt heavily striking the ground.

There was none of the overwhelming shockwave of a Soul Emperor, yet the instant the spear butt touched the ground, Guang Biao's heart skipped a beat.

It felt like a sea-stabilizing pillar had been driven into raging waves.

No matter how boundless your Soul Power, I would remain unmoved.

A domineering, ancient, crushing pressure that seemed capable of breaking every spine spread from the boy. It forcibly smashed aside Guang Biao's Soul Power field and carved out a vacuum within a Soul Emperor's domain.

"Please."

Tang Linyuan held the spear in one hand and slowly raised its tip, pointing it at Guang Biao's brow.

The movement was not fast, yet it was terrifyingly steady.

Guang Biao put away the last trace of contempt in his eyes.

Crossing his arms before his chest, Guang Biao adopted the most secure defensive stance. "Please!"

"I'm coming."

Before those three words had finished echoing through the air, the boy had vanished from where he stood.

Too fast!

Guang Biao's pupils shrank to pinpoints. Before his retina could even catch an afterimage, a suffocating gale had already struck him head-on.

Tang Linyuan used no flashy techniques. Borrowing the terrifying momentum of his charge, he united waist and stance, his spine rolling like a great dragon turning over. The spear in his hands was no longer a spear, but an iron staff that would shatter heaven and earth!

He viciously smashed it toward Guang Biao's scale-covered shoulder.

[Calamity Annihilation Second Form: Sea Severing]

"Bang!"

The enormous crash was like a heavy hammer striking a giant bell, leaving the spectators' eardrums aching.

Guang Biao only felt a terrifying, monstrous force travel from his arms through his entire body. That was absolutely not strength a three-ring Soul Elder could possess!

His knees buckled, and the hard bluestone slabs beneath his feet instantly shattered into fragments. His feet sank three inches into the soil!

How was that possible?!

This pure physical strength was actually capable of suppressing him, a power-attack Soul Emperor famed for his strength?

Before he could release that breath of stale air, Tang Linyuan flicked his wrist. The spear, which had been smashing downward, instantly rebounded from the recoil and turned into a sky full of spear shadows.

[Calamity Annihilation Third Form: Void Splitting]

The spear tip quivered violently, producing a shrill, high-frequency hum that made teeth ache.

This was not merely a thrust. It was also a cut.

Every thrust from Tang Linyuan accurately struck the seams between Guang Biao's dragon scales and the weak points around his joints.

Clang clang clang clang clang!

Sparks flew everywhere like a dazzling fireworks display.

Guang Biao sucked in a sharp breath.

The iron armor defense he had always been proud of had become practically useless. Intense stabbing pain came from all over his body, and cracks had already appeared in several scales.

"Good! Do you really think I'm made of mud?!"

Guang Biao's temper flared as well.

If he let a nine-year-old child suppress him like this, where would the dignity of the Eastsea City Mecha Captain go?

"Roar!"

His first soul ring lit up. Iron Armor Protection!

His third soul ring lit up. Dragon Power Burst!

Gray light blazed around Guang Biao. His formerly dull scales instantly took on a metallic sheen, and both his defense and strength doubled at once.

He no longer passively endured the attacks. His thick dragon arm carried a howling wind as it ignored the sky full of spear shadows and punched directly at the incoming spear tip.

Trading injury for injury, force against force!

Instead of retreating, Tang Linyuan advanced. A sharp light flashed in his eyes—the excitement of meeting a worthy opponent.

The first soul ring beneath his feet suddenly lit up.

First Soul Skill: Tyrant Decision!

The spear instantly became as heavy as a thousand jun. Its black shaft seemed to absorb all the light around it.

The spear tip and iron fist collided fiercely.

Boom!

Shockwaves rolled outward, uprooting the ornamental trees in the courtyard and sending shattered stones flying everywhere.

Tang Linyuan used the force to flip backward and land. His feet plowed two deep trenches through the ground before he stabilized himself.

Yet Guang Biao staggered back two steps. The hand that had thrown the iron fist trembled slightly, blood dripping from its knuckles. Several dragon scales had shattered away, exposing bright red flesh.

"Ancient Martial Arts: Borrowing Force to Strike."

The instant Tang Linyuan landed, he sprang forward again. The Tyrant Profound Divine Spear seemed to come alive in his hands, sometimes like a nimble snake entering a cave, sometimes like Mount Tai crushing down.

The spear shaft wound around, clung, rebounded, and flicked upward.

Guang Biao possessed immense brute strength, yet he felt as if he had fallen into a great net called "technique."

Every heavy blow he threw was cleverly deflected by that spear, while every counterattack from his opponent was deadly and aimed straight at his vital points.

"Is this a soul skill too?!" Guang Biao was so frustrated he nearly vomited blood. He had never seen such a fighting style.

"This is a killing technique."

Tang Linyuan replied coldly, and his spear momentum abruptly changed.

He leaped high into the air, gripping the spear with both hands. The black mutated Dragon Soul behind him raised its head in a roar before merging into the spear.

The surrounding light suddenly dimmed, as if even the moonlight had been swallowed by the spear.

A heart-palpitating gravitational field enveloped Guang Biao, making his body feel ten times heavier. Even raising his hand became extraordinarily difficult, while the ground beneath his feet shattered inch by inch.

[Calamity Annihilation Fourth Form: Falling Star]

The spear descended like a meteor, carrying a momentum that would destroy everything as it locked onto Guang Biao's head.

Every hair on Guang Biao's body stood on end. He sensed the threat of death.

If he did not block this strike, his skull would definitely be smashed apart!

"Fifth Soul Skill: Earth Splitting Dragon Roar!"

He dared not hold anything back any longer. Even if he might injure his opponent, he could no longer care about that.

Guang Biao threw back his head and roared furiously. The sound waves became a tangible earthen-yellow shockwave mixed with shattered stones, rushing toward the black star falling from the sky.

However, the spear was not scattered by the sound waves.

It tore through the sound barrier, tore through the defense, and tore through the sound waves.

Just as the spear tip was about to touch a point three inches above Guang Biao's head, Tang Linyuan's movement suddenly changed.

It was an incredibly strange pause, like a raging waterfall abruptly freezing in place.

The violent momentum of Falling Star suddenly collapsed inward at that moment, becoming contained.

Two runes flashed at the spear tip simultaneously.

One was a silver-gray Space Rune that distorted light, while the other was an ink-black Devour Rune that devoured energy.

The two intertwined and rotated.

The surrounding space instantly warped, and every sound vanished.

A fist-sized, extremely unstable black vortex formed at the spear tip.

There was no sound, no explosion, no dazzling display of light.

There was only a soul-shuddering—pure nothingness.

[Calamity Annihilation Fifth Form: Black Hole]

Though it was only an incomplete prototype, though this strike instantly drained eighty percent of Tang Linyuan's Soul Power.

The moment that spear thrust out, it was as though the world had been muted.

Guang Biao discovered in horror that his fifth soul skill... had vanished.

That violent soundwave energy was swallowed whole by the black vortex without even causing a ripple.

All defenses, all Soul Power, were as fragile as paper before that tiny vortex.

Then, the vortex pressed against the toughest dragon-scale armor on his chest.

Crack.

An exceedingly faint breaking sound rang clearly through the deathly silent courtyard.

That sturdy dragon scale, capable of withstanding high-explosive Soul Guidance Shells, was silently erased as if rubbed away by an eraser, leaving behind no residue at all.

The vortex stopped against Guang Biao's skin.

If it moved forward another inch, his heart would disappear with it, and his soul would be exiled into the Void.

Time seemed to freeze.

Tang Linyuan's face was pale as paper. The hand holding his spear trembled slightly, and large beads of sweat dripped from his chin onto the ground.

Across from him, Guang Biao remained frozen in his roaring posture, his entire body rigid as cold sweat instantly soaked his back.

He lowered his head to stare at the bizarre black vortex on his chest, feeling as if even his soul were trembling.

What the hell was that thing?

"Pfft."

A soft sound rang out.

Tang Linyuan dispersed his Soul Power. The black hole instantly collapsed, and the Tyrant Profound Divine Spear turned into a streak of light and vanished.

His body swayed violently, and just as he was about to fall, Tang Wulin—who had been prepared nearby—rushed over like a leopard and caught his brother.

"Cough, cough..."

Tang Linyuan coughed out a breath of stale air, his chest heaving intensely.

He raised his head and looked at the completely stunned Soul Emperor before him, who had even forgotten to maintain his Martial Soul Possession. A weak yet satisfied curve lifted at the corner of his lips.

"Captain Guang Biao."

The boy's voice was somewhat hoarse, yet still calm.

"Thank you for letting me win."

Wu Zhangkong stared fixedly at the spot where Tang Linyuan's spear tip had paused. His hand clenched tightly into a fist inside his sleeve, his nails piercing his palm.

Space collapsed, and energy was annihilated.

That spear strike... if he had faced it, if he had not worn Battle Armor...

He couldn't block it.

He absolutely couldn't block it.

In the shadows, Xing Tie drew a deep breath, as if trying to inhale every ounce of surprise from his entire life into his stomach.

He strode forward and slapped the back of Guang Biao's head while he was still standing there in a daze.

"Wake up! You lost!"

Only then did Guang Biao snap back to his senses. It was as though someone had pulled out his spine; his legs went weak, and he collapsed onto the ground.

He panted heavily, his eyes blank as he looked at Tang Linyuan, whom Tang Wulin was supporting, as though he were looking at a little monster.

"I'm convinced..."

Guang Biao wiped the cold sweat from his face, his voice still trembling and even carrying a hint of a sob.

"Young Master Linyuan... I'm convinced. Completely convinced."

Although he still had his sixth soul skill unused, he knew perfectly well that none of his abilities could block that spear strike.

That wasn't a gap in Soul Power. It was a gap in dimensions.

This had been a complete and utter crushing defeat.

Not in terms of Soul Power, but in realm, technique, and even the level of life itself—a dimensionality reduction strike.