Three Hundred and Eightieth Time, We Won
One month.
There's only one month left.
This was the last bit of time Jiang Hao had given him.
A month later, the Ancestor Fragment completely dissipated.
One month later, the ancestor arrived.
One month later, either He dies, or they die.
There is no third way.
Uchiha Kei led three thousand warriors and traveled for seven whole days.
We traversed endless ruins, barren plains, and towering mountains.
On the seventh day, they stopped.
Because there was no road ahead.
A massive abyss lay before them.
It is so deep that its bottom is unknown, and so wide that its boundaries are invisible.
On the other side, there was only chaos.
A thick, gray fog billowed, obscuring what lay within.
Jin stepped forward and peered into the abyss.
"This is..."
"The Ancestor's seal," Uchiha Kei said. "He sealed himself on the other side."
"Why?"
"Because He is waiting," Uchiha Kei said, "Waiting for Jiang Hao to die, waiting for the Ancestor Fragment to dissipate, waiting for Him to descend into this world completely."
"Now, Jiang Hao is dead, and the Ancestor Fragment is inside me."
"He doesn't need to wait anymore."
As soon as the words were spoken, two beams of light shone from the chaos on the other side of the abyss.
Red and black stripes.
Those were two eyes.
Huge, indifferent, all-seeing eyes.
Ancestor.
He is watching them.
"The three hundred and eightyth time." His voice came from the chaos, deep and thunderous.
"You've finally arrived."
Uchiha Kei did not reply, but simply gripped his Black Blade tightly.
Three thousand warriors gripped their weapons simultaneously.
Zu looked at them and suddenly smiled.
The laughter shook the heavens and earth, and the mountain walls on both sides of the abyss began to collapse.
"Three thousand warriors, twelve Apostle Fragment, and a container."
"You think you can kill me like this?"
His voice was full of mockery.
"Three hundred and seventy-nine times, and each time, you thought you were ready."
"Every time, you thought you could win."
"Every time, you lost."
"The same thing happened the three hundred and eightyth time."
Uchiha Kei spoke up.
"No the same."
"Oh?" Zu's voice held a hint of interest. "How is it different?"
Uchiha Kei raised his Black Blade.
Three hundred worlds appeared around the blade.
This time, I don't need to win.
"All you need to do is... survive."
Zu was silent for a second.
Then, He smiled.
The laughter grew even louder.
"Survive? Hahahaha..."
"You think surviving is easier than winning?"
"What do you think an ancestor is?"
"The ancestor is the beginning, the end, the creation, the Destruction, and everything!"
You won't survive.
"None of you will survive."
As soon as the words were spoken, countless dark figures emerged from the chaos on the other side of the abyss.
Creatures of darkness.
An endless array of dark creatures.
This is a hundred times better than the previous ten thousand.
Each one possesses the strength of a pseudo-immortal at the peak.
Each one carries the aura of its ancestor.
They surged forth from the chaos like a tide, crossed the abyss, and rushed toward them.
Jin took a deep breath and clenched his fist.
"Brothers."
"Warm-up complete."
"The real battle has begun."
Three thousand warriors roared in unison.
They charged into the horde of dark creatures and fought alongside the monsters.
Uchiha Kei stood still, without moving.
He's watching.
Look at those two eyes in the chaos.
Grandfather was also looking at him.
"What are you waiting for?" Zu asked.
"I'll wait for you to come out," Uchiha Kei said.
Why did I come out?
"Because you're afraid."
The ancestor remained silent.
"You're afraid of me," Uchiha Kei continued. "Three hundred and seventy-nine failures, and you think you've seen through everything?"
"But you missed one person."
"Who?"
"I."
Uchiha Kei raised his Black Blade.
Three hundred worlds began to merge.
No, it's not a fusion.
It is... burning.
The power of three hundred worlds burned on his blade, transforming into a pillar of light that pierced through heaven and earth.
Wherever the beam of light passed, the dark creatures instantly turned to ashes.
Where the beam of light passed, chaos began to dissipate.
Where the beam of light passed, for the first time, a flicker appeared in the ancestor's eyes.
That was... fear.
"You... how could you...?"
"Impossible," Uchiha Kei said, "But it is possible."
"Because I am not Jiang Hao."
"I am Uchiha Kei."
He slashed down with a single stroke.
The beam of light cleaved through chaos, cleaved through the abyss, cleaved through everything.
From the chaos, a colossal figure emerged.
That was the ancestor's true form.
Countless eyes, countless tentacles, countless gaping mouths, countless forms, all intertwined to form an indescribable monster.
He is too big.
So great that the three thousand warriors were like dust before Him.
So vast that those three hundred worlds were like toys before Him.
Big to...
It's despair-inducing.
But Uchiha Kei did not despair.
He gripped the Black Blade tightly, staring at the enormous monster.
"So, this is your true form."
Countless eyes of the ancestor were simultaneously fixed on him.
"The 380th time, you are indeed different."
"But it's different, which doesn't mean we can win."
Countless tentacles lashed out at him simultaneously.
Each tentacle carries with it the rules of Destruction.
Each tentacle could easily kill a being surpassing even a true immortal.
Uchiha Kei took a breath.
He closed his eyes.
Three seconds.
As Jiang God once said, the False Ancestor Fragment can only last for three seconds.
Within three seconds, he must awaken the full power of his three thousand warriors.
He had three seconds to unleash that strike.
Within three seconds, he had to...
Survive.
He opened his eyes.
The first second.
False Ancestor Fragment exploded within his body.
At the same time, light shone from the three thousand warriors.
That's resonance.
Their power, dormant for over a thousand years, surged into his body at this moment.
Jin was the first to transform into a speck of light and merge into his body.
"New Lord, live on."
The second one.
The third one.
The fourth one.
The three thousand warriors all turned into specks of light and merged into his body.
The second second.
Uchiha Kei's aura surged to an unprecedented level.
The power of three thousand warriors, the power of three hundred worlds, the power of twelve Apostle Fragment, the power of three Ancestor Fragment...
Everything merged into his body.
He opened his eyes.
In my eyes, I see the birth and death of the universe.
He gripped the Black Blade tightly.
A completely new world emerged from the blade.
That is...
The Three Thousand Worlds.
The third second.
He unleashed that strike.
Wherever the blade's edge passed, all of the Ancestor's tentacles were severed.
Wherever the blade's light passed, countless eyes of the Ancestor closed simultaneously.
Wherever the blade's light passed, chaos dissipated, the abyss was filled, and the world was restored to clarity.
Blade light...
It severed the ancestor's true form.
Zu let out a deafening roar.
In that roar, there was anger, pain, fear, and...
Unwilling to accept it.
"The three hundred and eightieth time..."
His voice grew weaker and weaker.
"You... won..."
Uchiha Kei stood in the void, watching as the Ancestor's true form began to collapse.
Countless eyes closed, one by one.
Countless tentacles, one by one, broke off.
Countless gaping mouths closed one by one.
He is disintegrating.
He is dying.
He is...
Dissipate.
Finally.
The ancestor has completely disappeared.
Only endless emptiness remained, along with Uchiha Kei alone.
He stood in the void, gripping Black Blade.
Three thousand warriors have already merged into his body.
Three hundred worlds have been burned to ashes.
The twelve Apostle Fragment and the three Ancestor Fragment have been fused into one.
Now, there is only one world inside him.
The Three Thousand Worlds.
That was a world bought with the lives of three thousand warriors.
That was his last trump card.
He raised his head and looked up at the gray sky.
The sky began to clear.
The sun shone on this land for the first time.
He closed his eyes and spoke softly.
"Jiang Hao, A-Yi."
"We won the 380th time."