In that moment, the image of Fabre's smile rose in Gan Jin's mind, along with the tragic finality of the Requiem that returned nothing, the overbearing aura of Gan Zhanxuan, and everything he had witnessed these past few days—even the Heavenly Crucible Barrier, blazing with the same tyrannical spirit in its eyes, seemed to warp, resembling Gan Zhanxuan himself. Under this spreading offense, Gan Jin recalled so much, far too much, pouring every emotion into his fists, unleashing power that surged with fierce intensity, growing stronger with every strike. Retreat!

Retreat! Retreat! Retreat!

Endless retreat! Under Gan Jin's onslaught, the Heavenly Crucible Barrier fell back again and again, his initial confidence seeming to erode entirely. He stubbornly maintained his defense, waiting for Gan Jin’s aura to finally fade.

Yet, Gan Jin's offensive showed no signs of waning after its initial deployment; instead, his momentum grew stronger, his attacks relentless, causing the Heavenly Crucible Barrier to question his judgment—had he made a mistake? Why else would he have unleashed fifteen consecutive, overwhelming blows? Gan Jin’s attacks grew heavier, one eclipsing the next, like an endless cascade of stars plummeting from the heavens, possessing an undeniable, irreversible momentum.

The Heavenly Crucible Barrier maintained the tranquil state of 'Great Serenity,' yet his composure was slightly unsettled by the assault, as if he couldn't possibly catch these falling stars, and instead felt on the verge of collapse from exertion. Such formidable momentum! It could actually influence one's state of mind!

As the Heavenly Crucible Barrier absorbed wave after wave of Gan Jin's attacks, his spirit underwent an ineffable purification and sublimation. He almost felt gratitude for Gan Jin’s relentless offense; this baptism of blows made him feel the power of his bloodline stirring, ready to awaken. With such an offensive baptism, when his bloodline power fully awakened, it would mark the sublimation of both body and spirit, allowing him to leap beyond ordinary War Saint realm peers and stand at the absolute pinnacle.

The Heavenly Crucible Barrier's spirit was incredibly strong; not only was it unbroken by Gan Jin's fist force, but it was actually tempered and elevated within it, poised for the breakthrough—far stronger than many peak Dou Soul experts or even Half-Saints. Had someone of equal strength taken the Heavenly Crucible Barrier’s place against such a relentless surge of fists, they might have already succumbed to mental collapse, utterly routed like a burst river dam. But the Heavenly Crucible Barrier had experienced much on the Demon-Human Battlefield, and his spirit was abnormally formidable.

No matter how much Gan Jin’s fists hammered down like a gale and torrential rain, he remained like a willow branch in the storm, swaying but never breaking. The Heavenly Crucible Barrier weathered fifteen of Gan Jin’s blows! A feeling swelled within him—the sheer audacity that he could lift up the sky if it collapsed!

The starlit fall of those fists had been caught! What else could possibly stop the Heavenly Crucible Barrier on his path to becoming the strongest? That heroism surged in the Heavenly Crucible Barrier’s chest, instantly transforming into limitless dominance.

The New Hegemon Fist seemed poised to reignite. Though many bones in his fists were fractured in this exchange, they could still be used to kill! The very instant the New Hegemon Fist began to revive, Gan Jin’s entire Dou Qi erupted with the sound of thousands of bowstrings snapping in unison.

Just as everyone expected Gan Jin’s momentum to decline, he exploded once more! More powerfully than any previous surge! A wild, unrestrained roar bellowed from Gan Jin’s chest, shaking every person present, as if he were a slumbering Demon King awakening—the sound seemed to pierce directly into their souls.

For a moment, everyone doubted if they were hearing Gan Jin’s true heart, a dream of transforming into a Demon King to shatter the current world and rebuild everything anew. Under the Demon King’s awakening, Gan Jin swung his dual fists again. His archery combat skill, a synthesis of the human race’s Divine Archery and the barbarian tribe’s Heavenly Archery Secret Art, now manifested as a fist technique.

It was no longer the Consecutive Arrows, nor the Beacon Fire Linking; it was uniquely Gan Jin’s—the Downpour! Downpour! Indeed!

Gan Jin’s fists poured down like a torrential rain. His Dou Qi transformed into countless mighty bowstrings, propelling his fists to unleash a savage, indiscriminate bombardment. The recently revived aura of the Hegemon Fist instantly quieted under the dense onslaught of the Demon King’s downpour.

Gan Jin’s attacks grew faster, each blow more fierce than the last. The surrounding air was already a chaotic mess, churned by the back-and-forth whipping of his fists. The Thunder Soul Domain, under the intense pressure, also grew rapidly!

The power of his bloodline began to boil without his notice. Faint roars of the Golden Gryphon King seemed to pierce through time and space, reaching the Heavenly Crucible Barrier’s ears and searing into his mind and soul. The massive silhouette of the Golden Gryphon King manifested in the Heavenly Crucible Barrier’s mind, and under this summoning, the power of his bloodline actually began to awaken!

His fierce aura continuously climbed, climbed, climbed, and climbed higher! Suddenly! Everyone present felt it—Gan Jin’s aura had truly reached its zenith, an earth-shattering attack was about to be unleashed.

Everyone sensed that when Gan Jin launched this final punch, it would mark the sublimation of his combat skills and warrior path onto a brand new page. They also felt that after this single punch, the victor would be truly decided! It was this punch!

Aided by the explosive resurgence of the Violent Soul Domain, it smashed through the Heavenly Crucible Barrier’s final line of defense. The fist transformed into the most savage arrow, slicing through space, driving fiercely towards his forehead, which was just beginning to bloom with true Saint-level power—Thwack! Gan Jin’s fist shattered the head of the number one fighter on the Conquest Academy’s Hundred Battles Ranking.

Red and white gore sprayed outwards in a messy deluge. This genius of the Gryphon King bloodline, who once ranked first on the Conquest Academy’s Hundred Battles Ranking and possessed an incredibly tenacious spirit, who aimed to become a young powerhouse like Gan Zhanxuan, still could not withstand the punch delivered by the awakened Demon King Gan Jin. With a single blow crushing his skull and blood spurting wildly...

the robust body of the Heavenly Crucible Barrier crashed down with a dull thud, symbolizing the end of a generation's legend at the Conquest Academy. He would never again have the chance to contend for the Newcomer King title against other young elites in the Rookie King Tournament; he could no longer compete with this generation for the title of the strongest. He would never again lead troops into battle, beheading countless demons, watering a monument to a famed general with the blood and lives of demons and human warriors.

Cold sweat trickled down more than one person's forehead. People even forgot to breathe, staring blankly at the victor on the battlefield, Gan Jin. The powerhouses repeatedly swallowed, this had been a fight too fierce to even draw a proper breath—what a shame for the Heavenly Crucible Barrier!

His bloodline power had clearly begun to awaken; with just a few more breaths, at most a few more breaths, he would have transformed from a Half-Saint into a true War Saint. Just a few more breaths, and the final outcome would have been entirely different. But for the Heavenly Crucible Barrier, those last few breaths were an unbearable luxury.

People who normally wouldn't begrudge wasting days now found themselves begging for mere seconds. Yi stared blankly at Gan Jin's receding back. How long had it been?

When they first met beyond the frontier, he could easily have defeated or even killed this young man. Now, his growth had completely surpassed his own. What terrifying speed of development!

Bang! Gan Jin’s fist violently ruptured, scattering blood clots. An immense, silent power suddenly exploded without warning—a force so subtle that even Pan Hongji hadn't detected it before it burst forth.

This power, once unleashed, was devastating. It wasn't just Gan Jin's fist that tore open, sending blood flying; it acted like a chain reaction, surging up his wrist, forearm, and upper arm. Countless arcs of electric light shot out with the spraying blood.

Even the Fengyun Dou Qi couldn't fully absorb the current in time, instantly striking nearly half of Gan Jin’s body. The Thunder Soul Domain—though not entirely complete—had already surpassed the rudimentary stage and was rapidly forming within the Heavenly Crucible Barrier’s mind. In that split second between life and death, the Heavenly Crucible Barrier had not given up on survival, nor his desire to win; he desperately spurred everything to activate his bloodline power, accelerating the formation of the Soul Domain.

Normally, when a warrior dies, their Soul Domain vanishes with them. Yet, the Heavenly Crucible Barrier’s Thunder Soul Domain possessed an unstoppable momentum of continuation even while forming rapidly. The moment he died, the Thunder Soul Domain continued to form almost instinctively.

Gan Jin’s punch shattered the Heavenly Crucible Barrier’s head, unknowingly piercing that not-yet-complete Thunder Soul Domain. When a Soul Domain fully forms, it becomes completely intangible—the person is the domain, and the domain is the person. Before a Soul Domain is fully realized, it is like a seed, growing rapidly.

The mass of lightning resembled a plump, large seed. Gan Jin’s fist struck this seed. The Fengyun Dou Qi, sensing the lightning’s power, instinctively tried to absorb it, yet it had no idea this was a Thunder Soul Domain it fundamentally could not consume.

Soul Domain power was meant for those who had truly reached the Saint realm to control. Gan Jin was not a true Saint, perhaps barely a Half-Saint under duress. Even an incomplete Thunder Soul Domain was still a Thunder Soul Domain, far more complete than the rudimentary Violent Soul Domain—it was nearly a fully realized Soul Domain.

Such power was enough to instantly reduce an ordinary top-tier Dou Soul warrior to charred dust! Gan Jin only survived because he had consumed too much of Oulala's Volcano Potion, and because his Fengyun Golden Body combined with the half-shield combat skill to form a unique protective Dou Skill—further enhancing his defense. In just half a second, Gan Jin would have been right there beside the Heavenly Crucible Barrier he had just killed.

Lightning instantly enveloped more than half of Gan Jin’s body, as if he were trapped within an electric net.