The Noa Ruins? No, Houshan Is My Home Turf!

After three months of personal training under Bibi Dong, Xiao Ran had reached level 40 and become a Soul Ancestor. During that time, he had absorbed the Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring he had obtained from Xiao Wu, gaining Galaxy Form's fourth Soul Skill, Galaxy Magma Storm, Dark Lugiel's fourth Soul Skill, Dark Abyssal Extinction, and the ring's bonus skill, Invincible Golden Body.

"Something feels strange about these ruins." Everything before Xiao Ran felt unfamiliar, yet oddly familiar.

He had barely taken a few steps when a purple dimensional wormhole appeared inside the cavern, blocking his path.

"Could this be the entrance? I can feel it pulling me in. Well, here goes!"

"Super Fusion, Ultraman Ginga!"

Once transformed, Xiao Ran walked straight into the wormhole.

The space on the other side was vast beyond measure.

Broken stone pillars covered in star patterns stood all around him. Overhead, an immense starfield slowly turned. There were no lamps, yet a faint silver glow suffused the space. At its center stood half a Noa Statue.

"Holy shit! Noa! Bibi Dong wasn't kidding. These really are the Noa Ruins! He's the big brother of the Mysterious Four Ultras!"

"Come to think of it, Noa really does love scattering statues everywhere. I thought he'd stop at the Ultraman universe, but he even dropped one in the Douluo universe." Xiao Ran couldn't help grinning.

He slowly approached the statue and reached toward its base.

Boom!

A silver-red beam burst from the statue and shot into the sky. When the glare faded, a familiar face appeared before Xiao Ran.

"Nexus!!!" Xiao Ran's pupils contracted.

Ultraman Nexus was Noa's juvenile form. His eyes glowed silver-red as he silently took a fighting stance.

"Hey, hey, don't be like that, Senior Noa! I'm not here to fight. We're fellow countrymen meeting far from home! I'm thrilled just to see you!"

Nexus gave him no chance to explain. He vanished, and Xiao Ran instinctively twisted aside. A silver-red blade of light skimmed his cheek and slashed a pitch-black rift into the void behind him.

"A Dou Zun really is terrifying."

Xiao Ran stopped talking and unleashed Galaxy Form's full power. "Galaxy Solace!"

"Feel the love!"

But after all that effort, it did absolutely nothing. Nexus stood there and let Galaxy Solace wash over him without the slightest change.

"Damn it, Senior Noa! I spoke respectfully because you're my senior, and you look down on me?"

"Second Soul Skill, Galaxy Fireball!"

Four enormous fireballs hurtled toward Nexus in a flash. He merely brought his hands together before him and effortlessly neutralized the attack.

That's insane! Xiao Ran's mind reeled.

Nexus remained silent. He swept his arms outward, deploying the Meta Field. It spread instantly, bathing the ruins in pale blue light. Xiao Ran felt his Soul Power turn sluggish, as though an invisible force were suppressing the power inside him.

Nexus struck again. Energy gathered in his wrist weapons, and he hurled crescent blades of light in rapid succession.

"Is that Particle Razor?"

"Well, then—first Soul Skill, Galaxy Flash Slash!"

The plasma crystals across Xiao Ran's body turned purple. Energy gathered in the crystal on his head, which fired a purple cutting blade.

The silvery crescent met the purple blade. Their collision scattered sparks like stardust, and a shock wave rolled outward.

Xiao Ran was hurled to the ground. Nexus hadn't budged.

"Damn it. No wonder he's the strongest of the Mysterious Four Ultras."

Nexus pressed his advantage. Crossing his arms, he fired a golden beam: Cross Ray Storm, one of his most powerful finishing attacks.

"Shit! Galaxy Magma Storm!"

Ginga gathered fiery energy. A crimson tornado of magma formed in an instant, and the raging firestorm surged forward!

Bang!

The magma storm held for a moment, then rapidly dispersed. Nexus's Cross Ray Storm kept coming at Xiao Ran without losing any force.

Xiao Ran dodged as fast as he could, but the beam was faster. It hammered him relentlessly and sent him crashing into a mountain of layered rock.

"Ding-dong, ding-dong." Xiao Ran's timer began flashing without pause.

"Cough, cough... Damn it, Nexus doesn't understand a word I'm saying. Oh! I've got it!" Xiao Ran sat slumped on the ground.

"System! Hurry!" Xiao Ran shouted.

"I have been here the whole time."

"I'm desperate again! That should trigger the keyword. Give me Ultraman Saga's power, quick!"

"You have used up all activations of Ultraman Saga's power. It is currently unavailable."

"What? You fail me now, of all times? Screw you, System! What am I supposed to do? I want to go back! There are still a ton of girls waiting for me! Boo-hoo." Xiao Ran looked utterly defeated.

"..."

"Ding, ding, ding!"

"Special conditions detected in the host's surroundings. Keyword 'Houshan' triggered."

"Loading energy for you. In view of these special circumstances, Ultraman Ginga Ultimate Form—'Houshan Ginga'—has been unlocked."

The instant the words "Houshan Ginga" exploded in Xiao Ran's mind, the Ginga Spark within him erupted with dazzling blue light. Unprecedented power surged from deep within his body.

"Houshan Ginga? Wait, does that mean..."

Xiao Ran suddenly remembered a legend of Ultraman: whenever Ultraman Ginga fought in a place called "Houshan," he gained an incredible boost in power. It was Ginga's home turf, an ultimate form that even the Mysterious Four Ultras had to take seriously.

"All right, then. Let's go, Ginga!"

Xiao Ran sprang to his feet. His timer stopped flashing, and brilliant blue light engulfed him. But the light did not stop there. It swelled wildly, rising higher and higher!

A pillar of light soared skyward, shaking the entire starry ruin. Xiao Ran's body grew visibly—ten meters, fifty, a hundred... until a towering blue giant stood amid the vast stars, more than a hundred times his former size.

His plasma crystals shifted from purple to dazzling silver-white. Starlight flowed through the patterns across his body, and the Ginga Cross Blade atop his head pointed straight at the heavens.

Nexus visibly paused, his silver-red eyes flickering. He, too, began to grow until he matched the enlarged Houshan Ginga in size.

"Noa, you had your fun beating me up. Now—it's my turn!"

"Red Star Shines on the Earth!!! ..."

"You're done!!!"

"Ginga Lightning Strike!" Xiao Ran summoned thunderclouds and gathered spiraling lightning, sending a vortex of thunder crashing toward his foe.

Nexus unleashed Cross Ray Storm again, but this time, the difference was overwhelming. Ginga Lightning Strike did not slow in the slightest. It blasted straight into Nexus.

Boom!

Nexus was driven back and dropped to one knee, residual lightning still crackling across his body.

Now he no longer underestimated the Ultra Warrior before him. He changed forms at once.

Light blazed around him, and all the power of light in his body surged. Silver radiance shone through him as wings of light slowly unfurled from his back, becoming Noa's Wings. His form transformed into Noa.