The First Battle to Subdue Devils

Old Chen looked up and, sure enough, saw Hu Mang. Unlike before, this time Hu Mang held the familiar gleaming silver spear, its blade glowing with patterns: one Innate Thunder Pattern, then another, Innate Thunder Pattern ...

When eighteen Innate Thunder Pattern lit up on the surface of the Shattering Thunder Spear, the spear became extremely hot and started to smoke, indicating that the "Yang Spear" state was activated.

But this wasn't the limit. The nineteenth lightning pattern, the twentieth lightning pattern, the twenty-first lightning pattern...

In fact, from the moment the nineteenth lightning pattern lit up, it didn't appear on the gun barrel, but on the palm of the Hu Mang.

The nineteenth lightning pattern was on the palm, the twentieth lightning pattern was on the forearm, and the twenty-first lightning pattern was on the upper arm. Soon, the Hu Mang's body seemed to be covered with a layer of Innate Thunder Armor. Whether it was the Heavenly Gang Qi, the Thunderfire Bow, or the Evil-Discernment Eye, they all turned into components and were embedded in the armor.

The thirty-six Innate Thunder Pattern combined can evolve into Demon-Subduing True Armor, capable of purifying and eliminating evil.

"This big gun," the old man said, "Is the energy converter behind the furnace." Hu Mang whispered.

"Go and maintain it for me."

But the two of them.

The Hu Mang glanced at the two people still lying on the ground, lightly stomped its boots on the ground, and the next moment, the two were quickly covered by a cage made of black bars and slowly sank into the ground.

The Heavenly Soldier Divine Office include half of the Prison-Subduing Official and half of the Devil-Slaying Bladesman.

The old man took a deep breath, and without saying a word, headed straight for the Thunderfire Furnace. Behind the furnace, there had long been a Spirit Electricity Converter.

As Hu Mang looked at the horde of remnants of the Divine Dynasty who were encircling him from all directions, and at the countless thoughts hidden in the darkness of the void from within the tribulation clouds, he revealed a radiant smile.

"Since none of you are willing to be the first to step in, none of you want to let others reap the rewards, and all of you want to be the mastermind behind it all, then I'll start this first battle to vanquish the demon."

"In this situation, let me recite a poem while He Chang is opposite me, looks at me indifferently."

"The secrets of this place have been sealed. You can no longer use that move you used before. Surrender now."

Hu Mang remained immersed in poetry writing. Although he wasn't a humanities student, he was still a top student at the academy, albeit one specializing in civil engineering.

"The clouds of calamity obscure the sun and lock the vast sky; only the remnants of the army drag their shadows along."

The false god occupies the palace, deceiving the Heavenly Dao; the homeland turns to ashes, vanished into the wilderness.

"You!!"

Just as He Chang was about to say something, the entire Tempering Treasury shook violently, and the figure of the "Devil-Subduing Heavenly Soldier" appeared directly opposite him, his spear unleashing the strongest of the Three Devil-Subduing Forms, "Qian Yang Subdues Devils"!

At the tip of the spear, a blazing golden sun suddenly exploded, illuminating the night sky above the treasury as if it were daytime!

In just a few breaths, He Chang's disheveled figure was sent flying backward. His body had just transformed into a "Punishment Beast" when, in the next instant, countless knife marks appeared on its surface, followed by a burst of blood mist and a spray of blood.

Besides the Devil-Subduing Heavenly Soldier, Hu Mang also absorbed half of the Devil-Slaying Bladesman.

He Chang crashed heavily into the wall of a government warehouse, tearing the entire wall off. After struggling to his feet, he saw three human heads flying into the air.

The three remnants of the Divine Dynasty— the Thunder Patrol Soldier, the Lightning-Drawn Sentry, Drum-Beating Strongman —couldn't even hold off the enemy for three breaths.

Their bodies remained standing in the same position as when they were alive, with divine and bloody light gushing upwards from the severed necks like a fountain, before slowly dissipating. Only then did the three headless corpses fall to the ground one after another.

How could this person's marksmanship be so formidable!

Moreover, even the complete version of the Devil-Subduing Heavenly Soldier shouldn't be this terrifying."

The divine power emanating from the other party was even stronger than that of him, the Thunder God God-blessed Thunder Official.

That was impossible!

Amidst the smoke, Hu Mang casually severed the heads of the two priests with his spear. The next moment, more than a dozen lightning chains suddenly shot out from the surrounding dark clouds, binding his hands and feet. At the same time, a muscular man appeared from the dark clouds, his body wrapped with more than a dozen lightning chains.

Is it the Locking Thunder Official?

The Innate Thunder Pattern on the surface of the spear suddenly began to flicker.

Hu Mang glanced down at the lightning chains binding his hands and feet, then looked up at the Locking Thunder Official opposite him.

Then, Hu Mang grinned at the other person.

Amidst the opponent's terrified gaze, a dozen or so Soul-Locking Chain shot out from Hu Mang's palm. These chains were entirely black, entwined with Profound Yin Devil Qi, and traced dense trajectories in mid-air like living things, before binding the Locking Thunder Official's body in turn.

Almost without a stalemate, Locking Thunder Official was pulled over by that enormous force, his feet leaving the ground, and he involuntarily flew towards Hu Mang.

Hu Mang didn't use his gun; he simply raised his free left hand, palm facing the incoming head, and clenched it tightly.

"Bang."

A good watermelon burst open on the spot, splashing juice everywhere, red and white all over the ground.

The headless corpse flew forward a short distance due to inertia before crashing heavily to the ground, twitching twice, and then remaining still.

After mastering the Profound Yin Body Refining Technique, Hu Mang's strength would be at least three thousand jin, if not ten thousand.

For an ordinary person, the only increase is strength.

But for a master like him who specializes in weaponry, three thousand jin is a complete qualitative change.

Don't be fooled by his seemingly casual moves; each attack is equivalent to the full force of his previous strike while riding a dragon and tiger, using the Dragon-Suppressing Stake.

Moreover, he doesn't need to put on a grand display to perform the Dragon-Suppressing Stake. Just like a pile driver, with each step he takes, the bulging muscles and fascia all over his body automatically evolve into the stance technique.

This is the Wood Element expert who taught him the "Dragon-Subduing Pile Method," the one who said he had "mastered the stake technique."

Because Dragon Vein is not a dead vein, but a moving one, only a constantly moving Dragon-Suppressing Stake can hold the Dragon Vein in place.

When Hu Mang heard this, he was completely dumbfounded. What kind of monstrous physique would it take to achieve this? A muscle-bound tyrant?

And now, it seems he's become one of the "muscle giants."

Therefore, in the eyes of the enemy, the entire Tempering Treasury seemed to be experiencing an earthquake. With each tremor, the Qi and Blood and Law Power of these officials, including their spellcasting, would be disrupted. And each time they stopped, a spear would emerge like a poisonous dragon, snatching the life away from the opponent.

After Hu Mang wiped out nearly half of the remnants of the Divine Dynasty present, especially most of Thunder God's officials, the remaining "remnants of the Divine Dynasty" looked at each other and scattered.

With a smile on his face and a large spear in hand, Hu Mang calmly and unhurriedly charged out of the Tempering Treasury, randomly picking an unlucky guy to follow him.

Unnoticed by anyone, the Hu Mang's "Eye of the Tribulation Dragon" had already been activated, and wisps of Tribulation Qi and Calamity Ash were being continuously drawn into it.

Although he had already expended a lot of energy, it didn't mean he couldn't rebuild his power.

Especially after inheriting the karma of the previous Devil-Subduing Heavenly Soldier.

"Heavenly Lord!"

He Chang appeared beside Gong Lei, the female Thunder God, at some point, his blue-faced, fanged face filled with shame.

He lowered his head, not daring to look directly at the other party, his voice filled with fear and resentment. The carefully arranged encirclement and killing scheme was easily broken by the other party, who didn't even deplete the other party's divine power much. Instead, the other party took the opportunity to kill more than a dozen priests.

Such a record would be an unspeakable disgrace for any of Thunder God's subordinates.

Gong Lei completely ignored him.

She stared blankly ahead, her eyes devoid of any human emotion.

Deep within her eyes, thunder, fire, dark clouds, divine power, and divine authority all churned, intertwined, and collided, as if a miniature heavenly tribulation was unfolding inside her eyeballs.

He Chang's face paled, and he quickly added, "Your Majesty, this person most likely inherited all the legacy from that person back then, which is why he was able to display such abilities. It's not that I'm incompetent."

Gong Lei, the female Thunder God, continued to ignore him.

In her eyes, the dark clouds churned even more fiercely, as if two storms were tearing and devouring each other deep within her pupils.

At some point, the dark clouds in the sky began to churn to both sides, not blown away by the wind, but forcibly separated by some more powerful will.

A terrifying aura descended from the sky, pressing down on He Chang so much that his knees buckled and he involuntarily knelt on the ground.

Then, the dark clouds above the entire Demon-Subduing City descended three feet.

Then, the dark clouds slowly parted to both sides, as if an invisible giant hand had torn a huge rift in the middle.

Sunlight streamed through the cracks, enveloping the entire city.

The light shone precisely on the area where the Hu Mang was located.

Hu Mang finally raised his head, his smile widening.

"Now you know you want to fire me? Where were you before?"

"You know I inherited her legacy, but do you know exactly what she inherited?"

Under the sunlight, the Hu Mang's divine power was not stripped away or suppressed; instead, it began to burn fiercely!

There were no flames, no high temperatures, but the light of divine power shot up several meters high, like a bonfire doused with oil, forming a towering flame around him.

As this "burning" occurred, the divine power within the Hu Mang was forcibly increased in an incredible way.

His aura rose steadily, as if an invisible shackle was being broken and shattered one by one.

The half-step taken by that female general back then was called the Divine Kindling Method.

By burning one's divine office itself, one breaks through the upper limit of the authority of the priests. This is not by borrowing external forces or taking shortcuts, but by using one's divine office, and even one's life, as fuel to throw into the fire in exchange for power that transcends the limits.

This is a road of no return.

After the burning, the divine authority will cease to exist, but before that, the more fiercely it burns, the closer the power will be to that unattainable realm.

"Speaking of which," Hu Mang pointed his spear in the direction of Gong Lei, "I've figured out the last two lines of that poem."

He paused, then recited aloud. "The clouds of calamity obscure the sun and lock the vast sky, only the remnants of the army drag their shadows along."

The false god occupies the palace, deceiving the will of Heavenly Dao; the homeland turns to ashes, its graves lie in the wilderness.

A divine spear quelled a catastrophe; a solitary courage illuminated the cold banners for millennia.

Even as my body decays and all illusions are swept away, I will still be the last soldier of humanity.

As he finished speaking, the divine light burning around him suddenly surged, almost rivaling the celestial light.