The Abyssal Will went berserk.
Faint ripples spread outward. One, two, three... Thirteen phantom figures appeared in all: a mutated Abyss Snake with nine heads, a humanoid Demon wreathed in lightning and thunder... Each stood proud and imposing, its might reaching the heavens. Though they were only phantoms conjured by the Abyssal Will, their mere presence put immense pressure on Er Dongsheng.
They were thirteen extraordinary figures from the Abyss's history. Though the Abyssal Will had recreated them, they still carried the world-crushing might of their originals. The aura that had shaken countless planes and filled myriad races with awe had never faded.
"What are they?"
As Er Dongsheng stared at the thirteen overwhelming phantoms, his Martial Dao Will kept warning him: these were dangerous Demons who could destroy his body and soul in an instant!
"They were the supreme overlords of the Abyss. Only thirteen appeared across its endless history. All were Ancient Demons, and though they were Demon Lords, they possessed far greater power than ordinary Demon Lords. Every one of them was a peerless figure who had fought across the ages. Each led Abyss Demons to invade and destroy countless Sunlight Planes. Innumerable Abyss Demons sang of them, and innumerable planes feared them!" The system had found the answer in Er Dongsheng's inherited memories.
Heavenly might rolled forth, boundless and overwhelming. This was only a wisp of the Abyss Heavenly Dao Will, yet it possessed the full majesty of the Heavenly Dao. At the final moment, with its strength about to fail, the Heavenly Dao Will brought out its trump card.
"Awooo..."
A golden figure emerged. It was the phantom of a Nine-Headed Serpent. Its nine heads stared coldly at Er Dongsheng, their eyes utterly indifferent, without the slightest ripple of emotion.
Boom! It suddenly stepped forward, broke through the Ink Spirit Flame's barrier, and stood before Er Dongsheng.
"Damn it! How did it get out? Do I have to fight it myself?" Er Dongsheng gritted his teeth and decided to enter the fray.
A martial artist would not bow beneath another. He had his own unyielding will. Since ancient times, a disagreement could send blades flashing and blood splashing five paces. That was a fighting man. To battle heaven and earth and never admit defeat—that was a martial artist. And Er Dongsheng was exactly the sort who would run headfirst into a wall and still refuse to turn back.
"Then come on. Let's fight!"
A chance to battle the Ancient Demon Lords whose names rang across countless worlds was something a martial artist could only dream of. It meant more than words could say.
He stepped forward. All nine heads attacked Er Dongsheng at once, and nine kinds of elemental strikes—wind, water, fire, thunder, lightning, light, darkness, poison, and more—reached him in an instant.
As expected of the Ancient Nine-Headed Serpent, a Demon Lord who commanded the elements of countless planes.
This was a world of consciousness, and it had perfectly recreated Er Dongsheng at his strongest. He shot out both claws and struck the elemental attacks hurtling toward him. Clang, clang, clang! Each blow rang out like metal on metal. Those attacks could not break through his defenses. They were futile!
"Good! I'm at my strongest, while you're nothing but puppet phantoms summoned by a Heavenly Dao Will on its last legs. In that case, let's have a proper fight! Show me just how powerful you Ancient Demon Lords really were!"
Boom! A cannon punch slammed into the Nine-Headed Serpent.
Er Dongsheng's fists seemed to split the vast starry sky. He fought himself into a frenzy, attacking head-on with sweeping, ferocious blows. Every punch resonated through his simulated body. His essence, energy, and spirit twisted into a single strand, drawing out the greatest force that body could wield. He seemed to have become a Demon Lord himself, his might reaching the heavens.
"Inch Force, Barrage!" His fists flew. Sharp bursts of force drove through the Nine-Headed Serpent's body, each punch drawing blood and piercing deep inside. Great swathes of black matter peeled away and vanished—the Heavenly Dao substance that formed its phantom.
Boom! With a sharp crack, Er Dongsheng clashed with the Demon Lord again. Both took several steps back.
"No wonder you were a renowned Demon Lord of antiquity. You're only a phantom, fighting on someone else's ground, yet you're still this formidable. Impressive. Truly impressive!"
"But we're not done! Come on, let's fight again!"
At that moment, Er Dongsheng seemed possessed by the War God. Controlling his strongest self, he threw himself back into battle against one of antiquity's mightiest Demons!
His most primal instincts surged free. He existed for battle alone!
Kill!
He shifted in front of his foe again, leaped into the air, and unleashed the familiar Heavy Cannon. Then...
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The enormous Nine-Headed Serpent phantom flew backward and fell near the Heavenly Dao Will. Its form began to break apart!
Er Dongsheng did not press his advantage. He stopped his forward rush and fixed a domineering gaze on the twelve figures remaining across from him. Now he was brimming with confidence.
Roar!
Er Dongsheng let out a long howl, releasing all the humiliation the Heavenly Dao had inflicted on him!
Come on, let's fight again!
Er Dongsheng roared as flecks of blue light appeared in his eyes. Exhilaration gripped him. In this soul space, free from the Heavenly Dao's many restraints, he could unleash his abilities to their fullest.
The system began using the Ink Spirit Flame to hold the Abyssal Will at bay, while Er Dongsheng charged the thirteen phantoms and plunged into battle.
"Ah!"
With a long roar, Er Dongsheng punched a humanoid Ancient Demon Lord away. He spun and drove one fist at another Demon attacking from the side, only to be struck from behind by a Demon outside the melee. It had attacked from a distance!
One misstep led to another. A single wrong step meant a plunge into a bottomless abyss. Once the sneak attack landed, the other Demon Lords struck Er Dongsheng even harder. Demons knew nothing of shame; striking a foe when he was down was their way! These might have been phantoms, but the Heavenly Dao's simulations were no crude imitations. If they were not perfect, they were at least eighty or ninety percent true to the originals!
"Pfft!" He crashed heavily to the ground and spat a mouthful of blood, which turned into a wisp of black smoke and vanished.
"Fuck, that cost me!" Er Dongsheng stared at the fading smoke. That had been his precious mental energy!
It seemed he had no choice but to get serious. He rose, traded another blow, then spun away.
He formed a hand seal with his left hand while his right tapped several points on his body. Since this was a world of the mind and he was in his ideal state, he could use the Daoist School's arts from his previous life here.
"Eight Gates Technique! Gate of Opening, Gate of Rest, Gate of Life—open, open, open!"
Boom!
As Er Dongsheng's words fell, an even more immense aura burst from his body. A storm of gale-force winds seemed to sweep through the game hall. His transformation drew the attention of every Demon present. Even the system and the Heavenly Dao Will stopped fighting, as though waiting to see what would happen.
"Hahaha! So strong! So strong! I never thought these arts would make me this powerful!"
"But this still isn't enough. Nowhere near enough!"
Flecks of scarlet had begun to spread through Er Dongsheng's blue eyes. His face was wild with battle-madness. To him, this fight was a pleasure. It was rare to find opponents who could match him!
"Come on! Come on! Let's fight again!"
"Gate of Pain, Gate of Limit, Gate of View, Gate of Shock—burst wide open!" His right hand tapped point after point across his body. He had now opened seven of the eight gates, pushing his body to its limit. His madness knew no bounds!
"Come on!"
His savage eyes locked on the twelve phantoms across from him, each as fathomless as an abyss. In an instant...
Boom!
The sound rang across the heavens...
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