Time did not allow for lingering thought. Lucifer Nihao brought his palms together, and with a resonant tremor, all the swords held by the demon warriors ascended into the air, coalescing around him into a long, serpentine dragon of blades.

Body as Sword! Manifestation Merged as Sword!

At the precipice between life and death, Lucifer Nihao suddenly grasped a higher echelon of the Way of the Sword. All the swords genuinely flowed into his body, not by physical entry, but by shattering into fragments—sword essence flooding his being!

With thousands of sword essences within him, Lucifer Nihao’s body radiated the very aura of the blade. Anyone looking upon him would suffer the illusion that this was not a demon, but a sword itself!

Sacrificing the Self to Become the Sword! Lucifer Nihao yielded his life to become the blade, pushing the concept of the sword to the absolute zenith of his existence. He sought to halt the Ultimate Awakening of Cheek Follitt; should that awakening complete, whether His Majesty the Great Demon King could prevail became highly uncertain.

The Ultimate Awakening—that realm was always the domain of a demigod!

A thousand swords entering his body, Lucifer Nihao transformed into the sword and lunged toward Cheek Follitt!

“Teleportation!” Duan Fengbuer roared, mobilizing his Soul Domain. Cheek Follitt’s body vanished abruptly in mid-air. Lucifer Nihao’s form had already arrived. His finger suddenly sliced through the void with a shout: “Appear!” Bang! Duan Fengbuer’s body shuddered violently, his rosy complexion instantly turning the color of old parchment. He couldn't help but spit out a mouthful of blood; his Soul Domain had been momentarily shattered by this Sword Demon’s strike. Cheek Follitt’s body reappeared in the air. During his awakening, he flipped the sacred artifact longsword in his hand, and the Sword Demon’s sword light impacted it millions of times before dissipating.

As the sword light vanished, Lucifer Nihao’s blade manifested directly before Cheek Follitt. This single strike! Even Qian Jin would have to evade its sharpness!

“Teleportation!” Jiuyang Fenghua cried out sweetly, immediately spitting up another mound of blood. Her Soul Domain failed to breach Cheek Follitt’s proximity; the endless sword aura blocked every Soul Domain from reaching him.

The moment the sacred artifact longsword contacted Lucifer Nihao, it actually showed cracks! At this instant, the Sword Demon, who had staked everything on this gamble, possessed a body more resilient than a sacred artifact! He was the sword; all swords in the world must submit to him! The sacred artifact longsword in Cheek Follitt’s grasp could not alter this reality!

This sword could only become a part of his body!

Bang! The sword body shattered!

Cheek Follitt’s body swayed in the air. He opened his only remaining left eye and raised his hand, grasping Lucifer Nihao’s hand, from which sword energy was now wildly surging: “So, this is the essence of the sword. Thank you. I understand now!”

“Devour!” Lucifer Nihao cried out in astonishment. Rumor held that those achieving Ultimate Awakening gained an additional special ability, akin to the Twin Soul Domains of a True Saint Warrior! He never imagined he had failed to completely stop Cheek Follitt—this hybrid, with Duan Fengbuer’s assistance, had completed the Ultimate Awakening.

“Your sword… is my sword. Your body… is also my sword.” Cheek Follitt stared expressionlessly at Lucifer Nihao, whose body was rapidly shrinking. All sword intent and sword energy flowed into his palm like a raging river, becoming the first great gift for his ascent to Ultimate Awakening!

“I am not reconciled…” Lucifer Nihao’s roaring voice faded rapidly, settling into a withered, ancient corpse that crashed heavily onto the ground.

A generation’s powerhouse, dead just like that!

“You… how could you achieve Ultimate Awakening?” Lucifer Saerig stared blankly at Cheek Follitt, his usually composed face twisted with rage. In every bloodline, only one person could achieve the Ultimate Awakening per generation! Now Cheek Follitt had awakened first! His own power, at the verge of Ultimate Awakening, meant he could never break through in this lifetime!

“Impossible… impossible… it cannot be… how could this be…”

Lucifer Saerig’s eyes widened, his pupils vacant and devoid of light. He shook his hair wildly like a madman: “I was supposed to achieve the Ultimate Awakening, I, Lucifer Saerig…”

“Your blood… shall be my blood. Your flesh… shall be my flesh. Your body… is my sustenance! I will become the Devil among Devils.”

Lucifer Xingchen’s voice suddenly resonated across the square. All the demons realized the source of the sound… was emanating from Lucifer Saerig’s abdomen!

That’s right! From Lucifer Saerig’s lower abdomen, the voice of Lucifer Xingchen spoke! The peerless demon genius who hadn't even participated in the New Demon King competition, the genius upon whom infinite hope for Ultimate Awakening had been placed—at this moment, he spoke from within Lucifer Saerig’s body.

“Blood Shadow Fighting Technique!” a demon cried out in shock—a cruel technique existing only in ancient demon legends!

Using a secret method to parasitize the body of a close relative, absorbing their flesh and blood essence to break free and be reborn—the Blood Shadow Fighting Technique! It was an evil technique driven by the desire for power, where “I am in you, and you are in me!”

Pfft!

From Lucifer Saerig’s abdomen, the abdomen of a True Saint powerhouse, a muscular adult male arm, slick with gore, thrust out. The arm grasped Lucifer Saerig’s own pulsating heart!

“Ah!” Lucifer Saerig let out a scream of terror. He was astonished to realize he didn't know how to counter.

“My brother! Everything you have is mine! During the contest for the Heart of Lucifer, I suffered body explosion. All essence entered the Heart of Lucifer, yet my will strangely did not perish! This is very odd, but because of this… I was absorbed into your body. I truly must thank you!”

Body explosion? Lucifer Saerig’s eyes snapped open, and a scene he had never consciously recalled flashed in his mind: the scene where Lucifer Xingchen first seized the Heart of Lucifer, only to have his body explode!

This image had long been present in Lucifer Saerig’s memory, but he had always remembered Lucifer Xingchen snatching the object and leaving!

During these past days, Lucifer Xingchen within had been constantly interfering with his will!

Indescribably bizarre! Saerig refused to believe that true souls existed; all strong figures had proven that genuine souls did not exist.

Yet, it was so strange! The will of the dead Lucifer Xingchen had not been extinguished; it had entered his body via the Heart of Lucifer, and moreover…

Crack!

At Lucifer Saerig’s shoulder, another powerful arm sprouted. This arm immediately seized Lucifer Saerig’s head and brutally wrenched the head of the True Saint powerhouse clean off!

“Lucifer Saerig, you have lost the heart of a warrior! You didn't even believe you would achieve Ultimate Awakening; you are not qualified to live!” Lucifer Xingchen, emerging from the body, was completely nude, blood staining his robust physique as waves of bloodline power rapidly awakened. The black wings on his back had already formed three pairs!

Ultimate Awakening! The Fallen Angel Bloodline Demon Warrior! This generation saw two individuals achieve ultimate power!

By absorbing everything from Saerig, absorbing the Heart of Lucifer they had both acquired, Lucifer Xingchen had defied the stars and shattered the history of ultimate bloodline power!

In the same era, two Fallen Angel Demon Warriors reached the might of Ultimate Awakening! History had created too many miracles in this single day!

All the demons were stunned; no one expected events to shift so quickly! Just as Qian Jin was about to face the contemporary Great Demon King to determine the strongest figure of the age, a demon achieved Ultimate Awakening!

The power of Ultimate Awakening had always been an invincible existence! At this moment, was Qian Jin still the number one powerhouse?

The realm of True Demon’s intent was difficult to describe, yet it had a particularly immense influence on demons, much like the Supreme Intent of the True Self (Zhen Wo) for the bloodline warriors of the True Strategy Dynasty.

Every time someone comprehended True Self or a demon comprehended True Demon, its effect was somewhat analogous to a common warrior entering the Saint realm—only, it didn't truly activate the bloodline warrior’s power, but rather provided an elevation in their realm. This elevation in understanding usually stimulated the awakening of bloodline power.

In the past, it was always the ultimate bloodline powerhouses who comprehended True Self or True Demon, stimulating other demons who had not yet achieved ultimate bloodline awakening to advance further. Now! The Great Demon King, without having achieved ultimate awakening, comprehended the realm of True Demon, stimulating those demons who potentially could reach Ultimate Awakening.

On this demon land, many bloodline demon warriors had reached the peak of True Saint, lacking only the opportunity for the next awakening.

The demonic intent of the True Demon, coupled with the vast aura stirred up during the battle with Qian Jin, created a mental stimulation far beyond the comprehension of ordinary demons.

Any powerhouse witnessing such a battle could gain enlightenment from it, improving their path forward.

Lucifer Saerig had absorbed one-tenth of the essence of the Heart of Lucifer; Lucifer Xingchen had similarly absorbed one-tenth. These two-tenths, combined with their exceptional genius, bizarre circumstances, and the True Demon's intent, meant that if they couldn't be spurred into Ultimate Awakening, they never would be.

With the emergence of two Ultimate Awakening powers, dialogue became unnecessary; they were mortal enemies. The only course was to eliminate the other! And they had to do it before the opponent fully mastered their Ultimate Awakening strength!

There was no alternative! If both sides were severely wounded, the outcome would be decided by their second-strongest powers.

In that case… Qian Jin’s existence would be enough to suppress all other demons on the field!

Identical demon warriors, yet different fighting techniques! In an instant, Lucifer Xingchen found he could gain no advantage. His opponent knew every technique he knew, yet he was unfamiliar with many that his opponent possessed!

Back then, Lucifer Liushui had imparted all the fighting techniques of the Fallen Angel clan to Cheek Follitt and Qian Jin, but Lucifer Liushui had not taught Lucifer Xingchen the techniques he had learned from Qian Jin.

Most importantly! Cheek Follitt had just seized the swordsmanship of Lucifer Nihao; currently, the world's strongest swordsman was Cheek Follitt.

The former Commander Cheek was already a rare swordsman, the king of assassination. Having taken everything from Lucifer Nihao, combined with his own assassination skills, even if Lucifer Nihao were reborn and fought him again, Commander Cheek could kill him with a single blade.

Cheek Follitt flicked his wrist, and the scattered sword energy reformed at his fingertips. He pointed it into the air, unleashing peerless sword intent. Lucifer Xingchen, full of vigor after achieving Ultimate Awakening and intending to unify the Human, Demon, and Barbarian races, was forced into repeated retreats by Cheek Follitt.

Qian Jin ignored the two Ultimate Awakened ones. Instead, he stared fixedly at the retreating Great Demon King, lost in contemplation. Everything around him instantly vanished; he could hear nothing, see nothing, and feel nothing.

The Great Demon King’s Twin Soul Fusion was not achieved through technique, but by using intent to merge the two souls into one—a method vastly different from the Twin Soul Fusion he himself knew.

If the previous technique-based Twin Soul Fusion was worth the value of an ordinary stone, then this intent-based Twin Soul Fusion was the most precious gem among the Human, Demon, and Barbarian races.

The difference was comparable to that between a small village and an entire nation. The resulting might of simultaneous Twin Soul Fusion was completely different.

The matter of Triple Soul Fusion—Qian Jin had considered it for more than a day and night. He could manage Twin Soul Fusion, but Triple Soul Fusion was impossible. No matter how fighting techniques tried to merge, even incorporating the all-encompassing thought of Chaos, true Triple Soul Fusion remained unattainable.

Triple Soul Fusion! Qian Jin clearly felt that this would be the key to another qualitative leap in his strength!

True Demon! Having fought the Great Demon King, Qian Jin felt the impact of the True Demon intent more directly than anyone standing on the sidelines could ever grasp.

True Demon, True Demon, True Demon! What was a True Demon?

Qian Jin’s mind was filled with the recorded history of the demon race he had witnessed. His own Star Chaos contained and encompassed everything, yet it lacked a certain clarity of detail. While it broadly included everything, achieving fine-grained, precise inclusion was an entirely different concept.

Focusing! Previously, in his pursuit of invincible momentum, Qian Jin had always focused broadly on the surface (mian), rarely focusing precisely on the point (dian). Now that he could grasp the surface entirely, he knew he needed to focus on the point. The moment he grasped both point and surface, that would be the state of his true Chaos Great Perfection.

Focusing on the point? Focusing on the surface? Qian Jin quietly asked himself: Isn't this point also a surface? If this point is magnified, it contains more points, and every point is a surface, and every surface is a point.

What is the difference between a point and a surface? Qian Jin sank into deep contemplation. The Dou Qi surrounding his body exhibited bizarre fluctuations—sometimes vast, sometimes shrinking, sometimes chaotic, sometimes filled with order. The older generation of True Saint demon powerhouses sensed the drastic changes in Qian Jin’s aura, and their spirits shifted again. This brat was actually comprehending something! He was already this powerful; if he truly comprehended something else, how terrifying would he become? Would he truly approach the might of Ultimate Awakening?

Even if they weren't sure he would become that powerful, they absolutely could not allow Qian Jin to continue advancing. His existence was already an enormous danger.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Three sounds of Dou Qi piercing the air erupted. The three great Dou Souls within Qian Jin’s body rose into the sky. Once completely independent, a thread of Dou Qi now connected them!

Is this… the beginning of… Triple Soul Fusion? At this moment, every demon powerhouse present, excluding the battling Lucifer Xingchen, felt their hairs stand on end. The might of the Great Demon King’s Twin Soul Fusion was already pressing close to Ultimate Awakening, creating a gap between him and ordinary True Saint powerhouses that was like the difference between a mortal and a god.

And now Qian Jin was attempting Triple Soul Fusion? If this brat truly succeeded…

No! They absolutely could not let Qian Jin complete the Triple Soul Fusion! While he was immersed in comprehension and unable to move, they had to kill him! Kill him thoroughly!

The demon powerhouses, without uttering a word, instinctively perceived this danger and possibility. If the battle between the two Ultimate Bloodline powers ended with one side barely victorious, the second-tier combatants would decide the outcome. Qian Jin, regardless of what level of insight he gained before awakening, would be an invincible entity whom even the Great Demon King could not defeat!

Now! This was the best opportunity! Qian Jin, due to his comprehension, possessed no defensive capability!

The power of True Saints erupted one after another within the bodies of the demon powerhouses. Beelzebub Gule’s belligerence drove him to be the first to attack. His body streaked like a meteor, battle intent infinite, his blade aimed directly at Qian Jin’s head.

“You want to kill Qian Jin? Have you asked me, Duan Fengbuer?”

The Nine-Headed Serpent Dou Soul billowed up. Duan Fengbuer’s long spear materialized silently beneath Beelzebub Gule’s body, aiming to pierce the demon powerhouse clean through.

“Fast!”

Beelzebub Gule roared, his Speed Soul Domain accelerating him further. He hurriedly evaded Duan Fengbuer’s thrust, but he could no longer strike Qian Jin’s head with his blade.

After parrying Beelzebub Gule, Duan Fengbuer spun around and thrust his spear at an approaching Chimera bloodline demon warrior!

Chimera! The mortal enemy of the Nine-Headed Serpent!

The two bloodlines had clashed on the Human-Demon battlefield for ages. At this moment, the patriarch of the established Chimera bloodline met Duan Fengbuer’s spear head-on with his battle saber. The power, no less than that of the Serpent Emperor of old, resulted in a clash that brought Duan Fengbuer to near parity. A sickening curse power flowed along the spear towards Duan Fengbuer!

This was the Chimera’s special ability, not a Soul Domain!

Duan Fengbuer opened his mouth and spat out a black energy sword. Upon emergence, everything seemed destined for corrosion; any object, even the air, touched by it would decompose and rot.

Poison! Duan Fengbuer’s poison, after absorbing many potent medicinal agents prepared by Qian Jin, was now second only to the world’s best. No one, demon or human, dared claim the title of number one; even the Barbarian race’s supreme poison master might not dare compare against Duan Fengbuer’s toxins.

The fierce poison mist dispelled the aura of the curse and instead rolled toward the Chimera demon warrior. Suddenly, a fierce gale swept up from the ground, carrying all the poison mist high into the sky. The patriarch of the Gale Beast bloodline had made his move!

The three True Saint Demon Warriors instantly forced Duan Fengbuer into a completely disadvantageous position. The endless wind blades were about to graze his skin when golden light and the two Dou Souls erupted, blocking every single wind blade. “You want to injure my comrade? You must ask me first!” Fen Tucangge, wielding Twin Souls, activated his Grand Gold Dou Qi protective technique—a defense few in the world could pierce. As he knocked his opponent back with a punch, his Eight Desolations body rapidly approached Qian Jin, the Life and Death Star Seal descending from the air.

The patriarch of the Undying Monarch bloodline! Once among the strongest bloodline demon warriors! Even now, he was the strongest bloodline patriarch short of a few monsters!

The Life and Death Star Seal, representing the cycle of life and death, descended. Li Dongfeng unleashed the full power of his Three-Headed Golden Dragon Dou Soul. Lightning power coalesced into a Thunder Fist, meeting the blow from Ba Huangzheng’s punch. He was forced back dozens of steps before stabilizing himself. The gap between the veteran powerhouse and the new generation of powerhouses was immediately apparent.

“What?” Ba Huangzheng stared at Li Dongfeng in shock. His full-power strike had failed to severely wound this young Three-Headed Golden Dragon bloodline warrior. Just how profound was this youth’s foundation? He was only repelled? Were all the young people of the True Strategy Dynasty insane? One was more powerful than the next! Compared to them, the new generation of demons was significantly weaker! If they couldn't be killed now, the demon race would be in peril in the future!

With national interest paramount, Ba Huangzheng put aside other thoughts. The Life and Death Star Seal was reformed entirely from Dou Qi when Li Dongfeng’s body vanished from thin air. In the next instant! The Three-Headed Golden Dragon’s Thunder Fist appeared directly behind Ba Huangzheng’s back.

Teleportation! What was this? Ba Huangzheng was so shocked his hair stood on end. Had the Nine-Headed Serpent bloodline warrior become so fierce that he could manage three battles at once and still have time to aid others?

Jiuyang Fenghua instantly teleported Li Dongfeng away. The Dynasty of Prosperity and Decline Seal preemptively met the veteran bloodline demon warrior before Ba Huangzheng could strike.

And since he also possessed the War God’s seal and the Three-Headed Golden Dragon bloodline! Ba Huangzheng recoiled, unwilling to endure the combined assault of these two young powerhouses. He forcibly dodged, but the residual punch energy struck him, causing a stifling sensation in his chest, making him want to vomit blood.

Once Beelzebub Gule made his move, the other demon powerhouses followed suit. All demons, at this moment, discarded any notion of demon honor. The square was already so ruined, and even His Majesty the Great Demon King had been defeated; they had to kill Qian Jin now, or the demon race would face severe trouble in the future.

The number of True Saint powerhouses present in the City of Depravity this time was even greater than in the City of the Divine Capital—a total of twenty True Saint powerhouses. All unleashed their full strength, disregarding everything, desperate to completely drown and kill Qian Jin!

Insane! They’ve all gone insane! Pan Mengshen watched the demon powerhouses whose eyes flashed with killing intent and bloodlust. These demons, usually aloof and holding no one in their sight, had now cast aside all their demonic pride to kill Qian Jin!

“Defend Qian Jin with all your might!” Duan Fengbuer roared. Simultaneously, Pan Mengcheng and Mengshen, two True Saint powerhouses, spared no effort, activating their full strength to intercept four powerful True Saint Demon Warriors on either side of Qian Jin.

The conflicting forces of Dou Qi and magic, a mixture of devastating powers, erupted as Pan Meng spat a mouthful of blood onto his opponent’s face, immediately following up with a headbutt! That decisive strike sent the Demon Race powerhouse flying!

A throng of powerhouses crowded into the confined space, resulting in the most savage, direct, and simplest form of combat: flesh and bone tossed about, the frequent sound of snapping limbs echoing. If not for the Soul Domain provided by the Great True Gold Dou Qi, which greatly bolstered everyone’s defensive capabilities, even the bodies of True Saints would have been beaten down under such a siege.

The Demon Race powerhouses attacked with frenzied abandon; even Lucifer, despite her pregnancy, threw herself into the fray. Fortunately, her status as a Princess afforded her a shred of innate consideration from her brethren.

In the span of mere seconds, every young Bloodline Warrior was drenched in gore—some their own, some their enemies’—and not one remained unscathed.

If not for the Newcomer King having fought Qian Jin once before, and if not for the stoic Zhen Ce initiating the Thought Soul Domain, elevating the team’s coordination to a level that made the Demon Race inwardly choke on their fury, these young True Saints would have already been beaten into submission by these few seconds of brutal fighting alone.

The merciless, instant clash ended with the Demon Race powerhouses being collectively blasted backward. Each bore some measure of injury, but their demonic faces registered more shock and awe than pain.

The combined, overwhelming strikes from twenty True Saint powerhouses had failed to bring down these few young elites of the Zhen Ce Dynasty. Though wounded and swaying as if barely able to remain upright, they stubbornly refused to fall.

After the second wave of attacks, their bodies began to wobble precariously, looking as if the slightest touch would send them sprawling. Yet, despite the subsequent rapid assault, they remained standing, seemingly poised to collapse the moment they were left untouched.

But, impossibly! These youths, who should have already fallen, stood firm, their faces blazing with an unyielding battle intent that refused true defeat.

Standing, standing, standing! Their eyes conveyed a single, profound message: Behind us! Qian Jin! He has not yet awakened; we cannot carry him away! Therefore, we must remain standing!

If the enemy attacks, we will stand! If disaster strikes, we will still stand! Even if the stars collapse, we must stand! To uphold this sky for Qian Jin!

Standing, standing, standing! We cannot fall, because our friend is still not awake. Standing, standing, standing! We yield nothing, for my friend is right behind me! Stand! Stand! Stand! Even if every bone shatters, even if life ends, we must stand, stand, stand!

The frenzied Demon Race powerhouses felt more terror and dread rising within them than mere shock.

They did not fear death; they would not fear a God appearing before them!

But these young people forced them into fear! These unyielding youths represented the future of the Zhen Ce Dynasty! Their future adversaries! If they could not be crushed now, what predicament awaited the Demon Race in the years to come?

In the span of mere seconds, a True Saint expert could easily launch a hundred strikes! Yet, a hundred blows failed to bring them down.

“We must kill them, or it will be too dangerous!” Ba Huang Zheng Rong was the first to react: “For the future of the Demon Race, everyone, press the attack together!”

The Demon Race powerhouses silently nodded in agreement. If these youngsters survived this day, who in the Demon and Barbarian clans could possibly stand against them in the future? This pressure, this mass assault, was dangerous for them, but it was also a tremendous forging experience.

If they endure this, the Demon Race will face serious trouble in the future! For their descendants, for the future of their race, the Demon powerhouses disregarded everything else, locking their gazes fiercely onto their intended targets, and beyond those targets, onto the unconscious Qian Jin! Taking down these defenders was imperative! Killing that Qian Jin, who was still immersed in his realization, was absolutely essential!

“Come! Come! Come! Cough… cough…” Duan Feng Bu Er’s wild, heroic roar, filled with fighting spirit, was abruptly choked off by a clot of blood he coughed up. With a pale face, he stared at the Demon Race powerhouses: “Your fists and feet can only help me blast open the gate to ultimate awakening! I feel it, I truly feel it… I really feel it…”

Duan Feng Bu Er appeared utterly possessed, his crimson eyes blazing with the madness and bloodlust of a beast: “I feel it, I smell it! Do you feel it? That closed gate of ultimate awakening, you all have forced it open for me… I feel that I will achieve ultimate awakening very soon… very soon!” PS: Please vote for monthly tickets! ?1?