Gotei 13!

Boom—

The contrast between the giant hammer and Li Chen's arm was suffocatingly stark.

Yet the result was unexpected—using only one hand, he effortlessly blocked an attack powerful enough to sink a continent, his expression calm.

Li Chen's Level 6 Vector Manipulation required immense computational power to achieve its reflective defense, placing extremely high demands on the user's mental strength.

But that was no problem at all for Li Chen.

As president of the League of Heroes, he enjoyed the full attribute bonuses of hundreds of members—each member's abilities were raised by one level, then stacked onto him. In terms of base attributes alone, one of his hands could crush over a hundred ordinary Thanoses.

More terrifying still, as the league expanded, there was no upper limit to the power increase Li Chen gained. Even if members died or left, the enhancements he had already received would not disappear. As long as a member grew stronger, Li Chen's bonuses would increase in tandem.

"Is that all the strength you have? That barely counts as scratching an itch..."

Hammer King Borodin's eyes widened as he stared at the scene before him in disbelief.

Even Ghost God Jig had never dared to take his full-force blow head-on. Yet that heavy hammer, powerful enough to shatter the earth, had now been casually stopped with one hand by his opponent, who looked utterly effortless.

"My turn."

With a flick of his fingertips, Li Chen activated Vector Manipulation, instantly rebounding the giant hammer into the air. The tremendous impact forced Borodin to stagger back several steps.

"Too many skills makes it hard to choose... Let's use this one."

Surging Reiatsu began to gather, gradually forming a spear-shaped mass of spiritual energy. The Reiatsu of dozens of captain-class Soul Reapers was compressed into this single strike.

Thanks to the enhanced Reiatsu bonuses from Ulquiorra and Sosuke Aizen, Li Chen's spiritual energy reserves were practically limitless, roughly equivalent to the combined Reiatsu of a hundred thousand captain-class Soul Reapers.

"Your era ended long ago."

"Now, you're even weaker than you were when you were alive."

"Sleep forever in defeat—"

"Thunder Lance!"

Blinding purple Lightning Bolt swallowed Borodin's tomb. When the thunderstorm subsided, only a giant hammer and four dropped treasures remained.

"That's... it?"

"That was as easy as playing a game."

Tohka nodded seriously, her face utterly relaxed as she spoke.

After the first Vortex of Wind was defeated, the remaining enemies all fell beneath Li Chen's blade. The entire battle had been a crushing rout.

There was a chasm-like gap in strength between Pseudo-God-Level Li Chen and Early Super-Dragon-Level Hammer King Borodin, one that far exceeded even the difference between a Wolf-level Threat and Super-Dragon-Level.

"Cleanup's done. Sort the equipment and get ready to leave the dungeon."

"Wait, is that... Kinako Bread?"

Yatogami Tohka suddenly stopped. An indescribable pull made her turn her head involuntarily. In the faint glow at the corner of the dungeon lay her favorite Kinako Bread.

A strange halo seemed to flow beneath its golden crust. It not only gave off an enticing aroma, but also carried a resonance that struck straight at the soul. By the time Li Chen reacted, Tohka had already bitten into it.

"Tohka! Where did that bread come from?"

Li Chen's pupils contracted sharply as his eyes locked onto that "bread." Scarlet words appeared in his data view:

[Taotie Blood]

Energy Conversion Rate +500%

Energy Tolerance +800%

Chance to awaken an incomplete Taotie Bloodline after consumption

*The ancient ferocious beast can devour all things and make them its own, including the Infinity Stones

Bloodline essence disguised as food? Li Chen instantly realized something was wrong—this was clearly a scheme aimed at Tohka!

Dark crimson bloodlight was already flowing around Tohka's body, and the Taotie Bloodline was perfectly compatible with her Spirit power. At the same time, Li Chen felt a hunger capable of devouring heaven and earth rise within him, as though he could digest even the stars.

"Do you feel anything strange?" Li Chen asked nervously, holding Tohka by the shoulders.

The girl pressed a hand to her stomach in confusion. "It's just... I suddenly feel really hungry."

Behind that seemingly ordinary answer, the bloodline of a ferocious beast was silently reshaping certain fundamental aspects of her.

Original Work

Yatogami Tohka already had an astonishing appetite, and now she had fused with the remnants of the Taotie Bloodline. She could practically eat an entire country's grain reserves empty. Supporting this innocent little glutton really wasn't easy. "You're not allowed to eat random things again."

"But that Kinako Bread was so delicious. It was the best thing I've ever eaten." "Listen, you can't casually eat things that drop in dungeons." "Got it."

After that warning, fortunately, the remnants of Taotie Blood had not harmed her this time. But she might not be so lucky next time. It would be disastrous if she accidentally ate something dangerous. Still, judging by Tohka's expression, she clearly hadn't taken it in at all... Li Chen helplessly picked up the orb on the ground that contained the power of laws.

Immortal King Bolladin

Death Attribute Amplification 1000%

Death Law Strength +666

Passive Skill: Undying Body

After fusing with the Death Law Orb, Li Chen gained another type of law under his command. The remaining two orange-grade items were both relics left behind by Hammer King Borodin.

[First Item: Purple Pendant]

Supreme Majesty

Magic Resistance +9000

Mental Strength +1000

Base Strength +500

Kingly Aura Amplification 300%

(Based on the wearer's kingly aura, has a chance to summon Hammer King Borodin for 30 seconds at Early Super-Dragon-Level strength)

This equipment was made for kings. The stronger one's kingly aura, the easier it was to summon Hammer King Borodin. Though it could only last half a minute, it possessed combat power comparable to an S-Class Hero.

There were only a handful in the League of Heroes with kingly aura:

Pharaoh Yugi Mutou

Lionheart King Artoria

Yatogami Tohka, whose origin was "Kingdom"

Philosophy Master Billy

Thor, the uncrowned Thunder God (barely qualified)

After weighing his options, Li Chen gave the pendant to Tohka, the person closest to him.

[Second Item: Giant Warhammer]

Earth Goddess's Hammer of Destruction

Base Strength +35000

Agility -500

5% chance to inflict Stun

0.1% chance to release a Shockwave

Li Chen stared at the attributes displayed on the panel in surprise—the strength bonus was a staggering 35,000 points, the most outrageous numerical increase he had ever seen. But such an astonishing bonus did not come without a price. The user would suffer a negative effect of losing 500 points of speed. More troublesome still, without extraordinary base strength, one would struggle even to lift this weapon called the Earth Goddess's Hammer of Destruction, let alone wield it flexibly in battle.

Several members of the team—Yan Lingji, Li, and Yatogami Tohka—clearly had little interest in such a heavy weapon. In the end, this top-tier orange-grade equipment could only be temporarily stored away, awaiting the appearance of a truly suitable owner.

After completing the Ultra-Dragon-level Threat dungeon, the team reaped a rich harvest: each minor BOSS contributed ten thousand points, while the final BOSS, Hammer King Borodin, provided another thirty thousand, for a total of eighty thousand points. This wealth was enough to raise an ability to S-Class standards, such as Thor's power system.

At that moment, in the president's office, Li Chen noticed that all three members' combat power had risen significantly. Using his president privileges, he extracted ninety percent of the energy gains from each member. Combined with his existing reserves, his total energy points surpassed three million, enough to summon multiple S-Class Heroes.

"Eighty thousand energy points from a single dungeon run!"

"These resources should be enough for me to break through to a new realm."

"I can buy so much Kinako Bread..."

Not only had the members' strength soared, but the energy resources they had accumulated also far exceeded what ordinary people could imagine. If word got out that the president was leading dungeon runs, it would probably ignite a frenzy.

After leaving the dungeon, Yan Lingji and Li immediately began strengthening themselves.

"Upgrade Fire Charm Art to B-Class, and enhance physical fitness to B-Class." Yan Lingji's energy reserves were rapidly consumed, in exchange for a leap into a new tier of strength. Both abilities were significantly enhanced.

Li chose instead, "Enhance magic power to B-Class, and optimize the Sunstone to B-Class." By focusing on strengthening her advantages and innate traits, her overall strength also entered a whole new stage, greatly narrowing the gap between her and Thor. The two members broke through their bottlenecks one after another and stepped into a higher level of power.

Yan Lingji still had one unused drop of Vermilion Bird Blood. Even if it could not activate the incomplete Vermilion Bird Bloodline, the fire-attribute enhancement alone was enough to significantly increase her combat power.

"Want to keep challenging? Let's do it again!" Yatogami Tohka waved her arms excitedly, clearly obsessed with this game-like experience.

However, Li Chen noticed that the Super-Dragon-Level dungeon entrance that had originally been open to him had suddenly dimmed. The system might have patched the loophole. Faced with that, he could only shrug helplessly.

"Let's call it a day." Li Chen gently declined the invitation. Clearly, this exploit for farming energy points had been forbidden by the system.

"Fine, then. My stomach is completely empty."

Tohka rubbed her abdomen. The lingering effects of Taotie Blood gave her an intense sense of hunger, as though she needed to feast immediately to ease it.

"Yan Lingji, go back and fuse with the Vermilion Bird Blood first." Li Chen turned to Li. "Please look after her."

"Understood." Li readily agreed. Yan Lingji, meanwhile, was secretly looking forward to it. As a descendant of Yanhuang, obtaining the inheritance of the ancient divine beast Vermilion Bird was truly an opportunity she had dreamed of.

"Tohka, if you're hungry, go to the restaurant."

"Aren't you coming too, Little Chen?"

"I still have some matters to handle."

"Mm... all right."

After the three left, only Li Chen remained in the spacious president's office. When his energy reserves surpassed three million, the system added a new "Faction Summoning" feature—consuming one million energy points would randomly summon an organization.

It could be the weak Axe Gang, the powerful Valhalla, or even the legendary Land of Light... Though the cost was steep, energy points were accumulating at an astonishing rate as the guild dungeons continued operating.

"Activate Faction Summoning."

[Ding! One million energy points consumed. Beginning random draw...]

[Ding! Congratulations, you have obtained the Hero Association faction.]

This organization from the world of One-Punch Man had more than a dozen S-Class Heroes, including top combatants such as Silver Fang, Atomic Samurai, and Metal Knight.

Li Chen carefully reviewed the hero roster. Among the B-Class Heroes were familiar names such as Zombieman, Tanktop Master, and Metal Bat. Yet even after searching several times, he never found the bald caped hero.

"What a shame. It seems this is the association roster from before Saitama-sensei registered as a hero."

Though the strongest one was absent, Tatsumaki, the second-ranked Terrible Tornado, was already listed. Even more reassuringly, the fifth-ranked Child Emperor and seventh-ranked King had already joined the league.

"At least I broke even. Might as well draw two more times."

Looking at the system interface and its balance of over two million points, Li Chen decided to invest it all into another round of summoning. Either way, those points would not grow on their own if left unused.

[Ding! One million energy points consumed. Activating random faction draw...]

[Ding! Congratulations, you have obtained the Quasi-S-Class Faction—Four Emperors Group.]

The sea overlords from the world of One Piece descended together. Its Quasi-S-Class combatants included legendary pirates such as Kaido and Edward Newgate, while its B-Class ranks featured New World powerhouses such as Portgas D. Ace and Diamond Jozu. Though they were slightly inferior to the Hero Association in numbers, their overall combat power was overwhelmingly superior.

Before he could examine the detailed roster, more notifications appeared one after another:

[Ding! One million energy points consumed...]

[Ding! Successfully summoned S-Class Faction—Gotei 13!]

The guardians of the Soul Society crossed dimensions to arrive. This Soul Reaper army, composed of thirteen divisions, had captains who each possessed top-tier hero strength. Though some captains might drag down the overall evaluation—such as a certain canine captain—the fact that it was rated as an S-Class Faction at least meant it possessed genuine peak S-Class combatants.

"S-Class Heroes: Kenpachi Zaraki, Jushiro Ukitake..."

The list made Li Chen's eyes light up slightly.

The overall strength of the Gotei 13 was indeed a pleasant surprise.

With Head Captain Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto and complete-form Ichigo Kurosaki as two peak S-Class powerhouses, even without Squad Zero's support, this force was strong enough to rank among the top factions.