The instant Ye Chen spotted the energy core, his eyes narrowed, and his figure shot out like flickering lightning, streaking toward it. However, just then, the energy core, which had been azure blue, abruptly shifted its luster, becoming even more seductively beautiful, radiating a breathtaking, dangerous splendor!
"Not good!" Upon witnessing the core’s escalating beauty, Ye Chen abruptly halted his advance. His expression flickered, and he tapped the ground with his toe, leaping backward in a swift retreat.
In a mere 0.3 seconds, time moved too quickly…
The Ant-Man hadn't significantly increased his speed, only by a few thousand points. If he had been further from the ice crystal monster, he might have had time to escape, but now, he was barely ten zhang away from the energy core!
Almost as soon as he retreated several dozen zhang, the energy core, whose colors were mutating faster and faster, suddenly detonated!
BOOM
A cataclysmic explosion roared out, akin to a nuclear blast. A savage, sharp shockwave expanded outwards. Countless high-rises crumbled into dust, and many nearby monsters were enveloped by the shockwave before they could even utter a scream, flung back into oblivion!
In the distance, White Dragon, Mo Feng, and the others, having witnessed the self-destruction power of the magma monster, paled instantly upon seeing Ye Chen engulfed by that white light shockwave. Rage erupted across their faces; they roared like savage beasts, their eyes flashing red, driving back the monsters they were fighting to charge toward Ye Chen!
Though they knew Ye Chen was powerful, the sheer destructive force of these monster self-destructs was immense—no less than a small nuclear bomb—and utterly impossible for mortal flesh and blood to withstand. Even they felt waves of dread radiating from within the white light shockwave.
"Get out of my way!" Yue Dan roared, his face contorted with fury. He smashed the head of a purple-streaked Demon Ox blocking his path, then bellowed as he charged towards Ye Chen.
"Brother,"
Ye Zhu’s eyes filled with sorrow. Her figure moved like a withering, exotic butterfly, laced with a tragic beauty, as she swiftly darted forward. A brilliant white light suddenly flared between her eyebrows, tracing an esoteric trajectory. Instantly, the bones and blood within her body compressed intensely, causing her speed to surge exponentially.
At the entrance to the ruins, the cheers of hundreds of thousands fell silent.
Everyone stared in stunned disbelief at the expanding circle of explosion. Even though Ye Chen had rapidly retreated at the last second, he had still been caught in the shockwave. They knew too well the destructive capacity of these monster self-detonations.
"He... he didn't escape?"
"How is that possible?"
"God of Slaughter, could it be...?"
A sense of suffocation gripped everyone, their faces turning pale—unsure if it was concern for Ye Chen's safety or fear of the crisis awaiting them next.
Huang Tianci, having just slain a Bloodthirsty White Fang Dog, looked up, clutching his golden-yellow longsword. Against the backdrop of the endless, dense mass of monsters, that single, mound-like light marking the shockwave was startlingly conspicuous. His eyes widened, and his body trembled slightly. "What kind of monster is that? It... it actually self-destructed!"
"It's over."
"That power rivals a small nuclear bomb, doesn't it?"
Beside him, seven or eight men and women looked utterly ghastly. They hadn't expected these monsters, clearly non-terrestrial beings, to be so terrifying. Were they from outer space, or perhaps another dimension?
As chaos began to ripple through the crowd—
The shockwave shield slowly contracted, dissipated, and finally revealed a vast crater, its diameter annihilating every living thing within its range. All that remained on the ground was land slick as ice mirrors...
The earth was entirely covered in frost, every grain of sand frozen solid!
Just as everyone stood agape, the perfectly calm, mirror-like sheet of ice suddenly shuddered with a sharp thud, causing the entire ground to buckle. Many shards of ice were flung into the air...
As the ice splinters tumbled and glittered mid-air, a clump of sand and rock, frozen solid within the ice, slowly began to bulge upward, pushing the surface open. Immediately, something sharp and blood-red surfaced from the ground. First, an extremely keen, blood-red battle saber came into view...
White Dragon, Yue Heng, Ye Zhu, and the others, who had been charging forward at full speed, all halted abruptly. Their faces shifted from shock to ecstatic joy as they gazed upon the saber forged from red crystal...
On the icy ground, a dark silhouette slowly emerged from the depths. Standing on the ice, his body seemed weary, bent over slightly, gasping for breath, the air he exhaled instantly freezing into white mist and shattering into ice fragments.
At the ruins entrance, everyone’s eyes were wide; absolute silence reigned.
"He's not dead!"
"He's still alive!"
"Heavens, he survived even that!"
Everyone stared at the man, their disbelief palpable. He had withstood an attack of that intensity purely on brute force?
At the ruins gate, Murong Xue clutched her crimson lips. Only when she saw the intact figure did her heart finally settle. She stared intently for a moment, then suddenly turned toward the still-dazed General and soldiers beside her, shouting loudly, "Hurry inside! The ruins will close soon!"
At her command, all the Generals snapped back to attention. Even those who had been somewhat hesitant about entering the ruins jolted awake, cold sweat immediately slicking their foreheads, as they yelled and surged toward the entryway!
At the entrance to the ruins, the strange fire clinging to the black hole had been shattered by the Six-Tailed Silver Fox after Ye Chen’s arrival, thus lifting the flame seal.
In the ice and snow world, the area spanning fifty li was nothing but frost.
Ye Chen drew deep, ragged breaths. The self-destruction power of the black creatures was 100 times their base strength! That Level 5000 monster's explosion carried the force of 5000 levels. However, in his Ant-Skeleton form, his body strength was multiplied by 4000 (his physique multiplier being 60 times 100).
Thus, while he sustained some injury from the shockwave, it wasn't severe. Furthermore, at the instant of the blast, he had shielded himself with the Sky Crystal Battle Saber—a weapon so tough that its sheer weight required a Level 10,000 powerhouse just to move—blocking the majority of the shockwave. The remainder caused little actual damage.
Whoosh!
A wave of weakness suddenly washed over his entire body. The black horns on Ye Chen’s forehead retracted into his body, and his face became somewhat ashen. The strength fled from his arms, rendering him unable to hold the Sky Crystal Battle Saber, causing the weapon to tumble...
CRASH!
The entire ice world suddenly shook violently, sinking into a deep pit. Countless tiny ice fragments were launched upward, and countless hairline fractures spread across the surface. The earth itself trembled slightly, the vibration no less intense than a flood dragon slamming onto the ground!
The onlookers in the distance were struck dumb!
Was that... was that merely a weapon?
Many Super-Generals from the Huaxia Base City, along with Bing Yun, Murong Xue, and others, stared in shock, some utterly dumbfounded. Though they had long suspected that a saber of such terrifying size must possess astonishing weight, they had never imagined... it would be this ludicrously heavy!!
Watching the saber, which made the very ground shudder merely by falling slightly, Huang Tianci and the others stood frozen for a long moment before forcing wry smiles. With this kind of weight, they doubted they could move it even in their Super modes...
"The man is incredible, and his weapon is equally incredible!"
"This is too freakish."
As astonishment mixed with speechless frustration settled in everyone’s minds.
Behind the monster army, within the black mist.
The handsome man lounging on the Dark King’s throne watched, his serpentine hair flowing, flicking his forked tongue. His eyes seemed to pierce through the void, locking onto the outside world, quickly settling on Ye Chen. After a brief moment of focus, he withdrew his gaze and remarked lightly, "It seems there are still some Ghost God Realm experts on this Primordial Star (Spirit Civilization calls it Earth). However, he is nearly spent. A'Man, go resolve him!"
"Yes!" The Minotaur bowed respectfully before turning to leave the black mist. The instant he turned, he reverted to his true nature, standing straight, his eyes gleaming with savage, bloodthirsty light.
The four-meter-tall handsome man watched the Minotaur depart, then turned his head to the young man standing beside the throne, who appeared remarkably small, only reaching the height of his thigh.
The youth's face was pale, perhaps from tension or fear.
"Tell me, who is the most powerful among your humans?" the handsome man asked casually.
The young man swallowed, his voice trembling. "There was once a man named Ye Chen, who was very strong, but he disappeared. Over in another realm, there is one called the Wolf Emperor, who is even stronger than that Ye Chen."
"Oh." The handsome man nodded. "What is his combat power?"
In his world, strength was measured by combat power, not physique level.
"A... approximately a few hundred thousand," the youth mumbled, lowering his head. Though he wasn't certain, he offered a random figure.
"Only a few hundred thousand scums..." The handsome man smiled faintly, feeling a sense of ease. "This is good. The world I shall dominate has arrived."
"Congratulations, Your Highness. Once this Primordial Star is fully subdued, even the King will abdicate for you."
"Indeed, Your Highness is a favored son of heaven..."
The winged man and the enchanting woman rushed to offer flattery.
"Hmph!" The handsome man snorted coldly, though he said no more outwardly. Internally, he scoffed: What do you know? This Primordial Star is something my own father has yearned for. Can you possibly grasp its true value? Once I conquer this place, will I care about my father’s petty little kingdom?
Beside him, the youth couldn't help but interject, "You promised me a territory, and that I would never want for food or drink."
"Mm." A wicked smirk curved the handsome man's lips. "I will grant you wealth you can never exhaust!"
"Jiecha..."
"Hehehe..."
The winged man and the enchanting woman both chuckled, gazing at the minuscule young man as if he were already dead. Only through death could one enjoy inexhaustible riches!
"You all—" The youth was not a fool; he instantly grasped the implication, his eyes flashing with regret. He gritted his teeth, resentment burning within him. He had once been a member of the Light Guild. One day, he had journeyed with a group to Shanghai to kill monsters, but his companions had all perished. He alone stumbled into a certain location...
Then, without anyone noticing, he had struck a bargain with the demon before him. Yet now, the demon was reneging on the deal!
Damn it! The youth silently gnashed his teeth, though his expression remained unnervingly calm.
"Are you cursing me?" The handsome man’s brow suddenly twitched as he glanced at the youth. He raised a massive hand, dense black light swirling around it, enveloping the youth: "Does the dignity of this Emperor allow itself to be challenged by an ant like you?"
"No!" The youth struggled violently but was entirely powerless, instantly swallowed by the black light...
P: Chapter update complete! It’s the middle of the month, are there any more monthly votes! How many old readers are ready to pledge, Jie Jie! For those who haven't voted, please smash those recommendation tickets! Stealing has its own code—be a virtuous, noble, and great thief! Heng Heng! (To be continued)~~~~