Vol 3. Chapter 92: No Longer What He Once Was
“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!”
Driven by rage, Xue Tianao resolutely unleashed the power within his body.
Along with the Child of Destiny’s earth-shattering roar, the entire Imperial Palace, as well as the mountain peak on which it stood, was instantly enveloped by an incomparably terrifying and overwhelming aura! The holy-attribute mana within Xue Tianao’s body broke free at that very moment. Naturally, the presence of holy-attribute energy attracted countless Abyss Demons in the surrounding area. In the sky, tens of thousands of Abyss Demons began charging toward the ‘Divine Armament Hall,’ greatly increasing the pressure on the Imperial Palace’s defenders.
However,
strictly speaking, it would not matter even if those defenders simply let the Abyss Demons through, because the terrifying aura surrounding the ‘Divine Armament Hall’ was absolutely not something ordinary Abyss Demons could break through.
‘Shackles, release!’
Xue Tianao roared inwardly once again.
Just like Miss Mengxi,
as a Chosen One, Xue Tianao indeed possessed an immense amount of holy-attribute divine power within his body. This divine power was precisely Xue Tianao’s greatest trump card. However, unlike the Daughter of Destiny, the divine power within Xue Tianao would not release itself, even if his life was in danger.
It was precisely because of this that Xue Tianao in his previous two lives had been so easily insta-killed by Xiao.
For more than ten years in this life, Xue Tianao had constantly researched how he could utilize the immense power within his body and how he could undo the restraints placed upon it. Hard work eventually paid off. With the aid of various System items and his own relentless efforts, Xue Tianao finally discovered a way to unleash this power.
However,
this power was far too overwhelming. Attempting to use it would result in a powerful backlash. If he completely released it, the resulting backlash would most likely wipe him out in one go. Because of this, Xue Tianao could only experiment one step at a time, gradually learning how to control the ‘degree’ of release.
Eventually, he divided the release of his divine power into three stages. Every time he released one shackle, Xue Tianao’s strength would undergo a qualitative leap. Likewise, the pain he suffered would multiply exponentially. Now that Xue Tianao had reached the Peak Seventh Tier, he could easily release the first shackle, bringing his strength close to the Early Eighth Tier without suffering much backlash.
But once the second shackle was released, Xue Tianao would have no choice but to endure tremendous pain.
Yet now,
facing an enemy as powerful as the Black Rose Duke, facing the very person who had caused his death twice, and in order to smash that contemptuous and disdainful face apart, Xue Tianao released the second shackle without the slightest hesitation.
In an instant,
golden light surged forth.
Vaguely visible chains surrounding Xue Tianao shattered once again.
An oppressively powerful divine force instantly erupted from Xue Tianao’s body like a flood bursting through a dam. The moment this dense divine power was released, it helped Xue Tianao recover from his disadvantage in terms of sheer presence. Under the enhancement of this second layer of divine power, Xue Tianao’s pale golden radiance quickly reached a point where it could stand on equal footing with Xiao’s gray-white aura.
The sheer abundance of mana within his body rose from the Early Eighth Tier all the way to the Mid Eighth Tier.
Combined with the powerful foundation granted by divine power, even an ordinary High Eighth-Tier powerhouse would probably find it difficult to contend with the current Xue Tianao.
The explosive increase in his aura caused confidence to surge within Xue Tianao’s heart.
Back then, it was precisely by relying on this state that he had defeated the Demon King-class Flame Prison. He had even defeated a monster among monsters like Flame Prison, so dealing with a mere Eighth-Tier human should naturally be no problem at all! After all, under most circumstances, Abyss Demons were far stronger than humans of the same tier...
While releasing his power,
Xue Tianao was also constantly watching Xiao’s face. On one hand, he wanted to prevent his opponent from taking advantage of the opportunity to launch a sneak attack. On the other hand, he wanted to see how Xiao’s expression would change.
Ever since Xiao had seen him, a faint smile filled with contempt had remained on his face from beginning to end, and this made Xue Tianao extremely displeased. He was no longer what he once was. After becoming a Saint-Class powerhouse and even repelling Flame Prison, every powerhouse on the continent had to show him at least some respect.
No one dared look at him with such disdain.
No one dared look at him, the Child of Destiny, that way.
By unleashing his power, Xue Tianao wanted the enemy before him to understand just how powerful he had become! He wanted to see astonishment appear on Xiao’s face. No! It would be even better if Xiao became completely panic-stricken!
Unfortunately,
Xue Tianao was disappointed.
Xiao’s expression remained exactly the same, without even the slightest change.
This sight caused the fury within Xue Tianao’s heart to soar even further.
‘So you’re really this arrogant...’
“I’m no longer what I once was! Don’t think I’m still that little brat you can casually crush whenever you want! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!”
You dare look down on me like this!
I’ll make you pay the price!
Just like in so many stories, villains who opposed the protagonist would always pay the price for their arrogance!
‘Divine Might Stance — Twin Wheel Strike!’
With that thought in mind, Xue Tianao swung the two divine weapons in his hands, the ‘Heaven-Splitting Sword’ and the ‘Helheis Axe.’ Blinding radiance surged into the heavens as he charged toward the black-haired man ahead with overwhelming, mountain-crushing momentum...
However,
the scene Xue Tianao had imagined, where he suppressed Xiao, never appeared.
In the next instant,
black light rippled within Xiao’s eyes. He abruptly swung his demonic spear, stirring up a dense cloud of gray-white mist before violently thrusting it toward Xue Tianao.
‘Crack~’
The demonic spear struck Xue Tianao’s golden force field.
In an instant,
a violent and overwhelming force suddenly erupted from the tip of the demonic spear. An eerie and sinister power poured from the spearhead and abruptly spread across Xue Tianao’s golden force field.
?!!!
This...
What is this?! How is this possible?!
The next moment,
under Xue Tianao’s disbelieving gaze, his powerful and suppressive golden force field was effortlessly shattered by the demonic spear with unstoppable momentum! Along with a crisp shattering sound and an eruption of dense gray-white mana, his force field instantly transformed into countless golden specks of light that scattered through the air.
The battle axe and longsword slashing toward Xiao were also abruptly knocked flying with a single sweep of the spear.
‘Th-This is impossible?!’
Seeing his attack neutralized so effortlessly, Xue Tianao’s expression changed dramatically. The smugness, confidence, and fury that had covered his face just moments earlier disappeared without a trace, leaving behind nothing but intense shock and confusion. He simply could not understand how an attack into which he had poured enormous amounts of mana and divine power, while even wielding two divine weapons, could possibly have been neutralized so easily?!
However,
the current Xue Tianao no longer had any time to think about ‘why.’
Because,
to Xue Tianao’s astonishment, after destroying his attack, the Black Rose Duke had already flashed directly in front of him! Meeting those black eyes, deep as a dark abyss and utterly cold and emotionless, Xue Tianao’s entire body trembled as a chill rose within his heart.
?!!!
N-No!
Although he had realized the danger, Xue Tianao’s body seemed unable to keep up with his mind’s reaction.
Just as Xue Tianao began making a defensive move,
a terrifying black energy cannon carrying world-destroying might suddenly erupted from Xiao’s fingertip and mercilessly slammed into Xue Tianao’s chest. In an instant, heaven and earth seemed to collapse, space itself twisted, and the outer walls and ceiling of the ‘Divine Armament Hall,’ along with countless corpses scattered across the ground, were directly reduced to ashes by the shockwave of this single attack...
Xue Tianao, who had been directly struck in the abdomen by the energy cannon, could no longer suppress an agonized howl that seemed to tear straight from his very soul.
The pain felt as though every cell throughout his entire body was being ripped apart. Xue Tianao’s face twisted more and more violently, all of his features contorting until they practically tangled together. His formerly handsome appearance had long since vanished. The current Xue Tianao possessed nothing but a ridiculous face resembling that of a clown.
If Xue Tianao’s female fans saw their idol looking like this, their faith in him would probably collapse on the spot...
“RUMBLE~!!”
Accompanied by a terrifying release of power that shook heaven and earth, and an eruption of black light,
Xue Tianao, blood spraying from his entire body, was violently blasted backward and embedded headfirst into the distant mystic-steel gate...
“Hmm...”
Looking at the golden-haired man in the distance whose dignified appearance had completely vanished, and recalling Xue Tianao’s words just now, Xiao thoughtfully raised a hand to his chin. For once, his expression became remarkably serious and contemplative.
“Enmmm, no longer what you once were?”
As he said this,
Xiao could not help letting out a mocking chuckle.
That’s it?
“Why do I feel like... there’s no difference at all? You’re still just as... pathetically weak as you were before.”