Lord of Prayer

Amidst the resounding clang of colliding steel, the enormous molten wings on his back fully unfurled, stained a sacred and striking pale white.

Phoenix Fire Feather!

No, to be precise, it was the Steel Phoenix Fire Feather!

Torrents of scalding, pale-white fiery ichor dripped from them, burning unrecognizable charred holes into the ground.

Zhou Chen clenched his red-hot, iron-cast fists. A majestic Power, more than ten times greater than before, now coursed ceaselessly through his body. His heart pounded like a war drum, as if it had transformed into a divine furnace, blazing intensely and releasing endless heat.

Condensing the Golden Soul and finding his true self amidst the confusion had allowed his Soul to undergo a complete metamorphosis and sublimation. This meant he had surpassed billions of humans and tens of thousands of Ascenders. He had left the masses behind, completing a leap in his level of existence to become truly Extraordinary. Not only would he be free from the many inherent limitations of a "human," but he would also gain a might that defied common sense.

In short—he was stronger than ever!

Amidst a high-pitched, engine-like roar, light, flame, and hurricane winds coalesced into a scorching torrent. Propelled by this terrifying force, Zhou Chen shot through the air, triggering a deep sonic boom and causing a spectacular white wave to erupt outwards.

Like a fiery meteor, he slammed straight into a legion of over two hundred Crystal monsters. A deafening roar erupted. An unknown number of monsters died instantly from his Rampage, sending Crystal shards flying everywhere.

Then, with a thought, Zhou Chen activated it—Burst!

BOOM!

A colossal amount of flame Energy exploded in all directions like a bursting dam. The searing, surging pale-white flames instantly devoured half a city block. The terrifying explosive force razed everything within range to the ground, including the hundred or so surviving Crystal monsters.

After his Advancement, the "Burst" Skill had become even more powerful.

Zhou Chen flapped his wings and flew into the sky. Two kilometers away, he saw a legion of over a thousand Crystal monsters, a sea of crimson and black, roaring as they charged toward the army’s position.

BOOM—A sonic boom spread out as a white shockwave surged across the sky.

Zhou Chen covered the two-kilometer distance in a near instant. His physical body, having been tempered by the Hammer of Forging, could withstand the impact of supersonic speeds and abrupt mid-air stops. And while his Body of Steel Melting was active, his physique would only become stronger.

Hovering above the Crystal legion, the Steel Phoenix Fire Feather on his back suddenly disintegrated, transforming into over a thousand steel flame feathers that shot downwards like a magnificent rain of purifying fire.

—Steel Phoenix Fire Feather: Myriad Feather Disintegration.

—Flame Burst.

—Fragilization.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Each Steel Phoenix Feather contained a terrifying concentration of heat, exploding violently on contact. For a moment, it was like a volley from ten thousand cannons as over a thousand dazzling, pale-white fireballs lit up the Crystal legion. Countless Crystal monsters died horribly, and their aggressive assault instantly collapsed.

Not only that, but the explosive flames coalesced into a raging inferno, incinerating the Crystal monsters. Under the effect of "Fragilization," the surviving Crystal monsters quickly fractured. A hot gust of wind was all it took for them to crumble into dust.

Behind Zhou Chen, steel proliferated inch by inch, forming a brand-new Steel Phoenix Fire Feather.

Seeing the Crystal legion below almost completely wiped out, he flapped his wings again and flew to another battlefield a kilometer away to continue testing his new Skills.

The temperature of his flames began to soar. The red glow of his Body of Steel Melting grew brighter and brighter until it became a blinding white light. At this point, Zhou Chen’s entire body was burning like a giant Fireball, hanging against the dim Abyss sky. Pale-white flames surged, making him resemble a cold, merciless sun.

—Light Burn.

—Destruction of All Things.

Tens of millions of intense light rays burst forth, briefly illuminating the heavens and earth in this area. Piercing shrieks rose and fell from the Crystal legion below as countless Crystal monsters were burned through by the seemingly gentle yet incredibly scorching light, wisps of green smoke rising from their bodies.

In just a few seconds, hundreds of Crystal monsters died under the high-temperature roasting of Light Burn, meeting a cruel end.

As Light Burn continued, even the High-Level Crystal monsters could no longer withstand it. Their Crystal shells cracked and shattered with a CRUNCH, forcing them to abandon their attack and flee to areas beyond the range of Light Burn’s damage.

Fifteen seconds later, the light emanating from Zhou Chen gradually faded. The large-scale Light Burn had consumed a significant amount of his Essence, but this could be restored by making a wish.

"Restore me to full strength."

[Wish Value -50]

His heavily depleted Essence was replenished once more.

Just then, a dangerous chill welled up from deep within Zhou Chen. His figure vanished, leaving behind only a wisp of pale-white flame. At almost the exact same instant, the air was sliced open by a sharp glint of light. The wisp of flame was cleanly severed and slowly extinguished.

More than three hundred meters away, Zhou Chen’s figure emerged from a ball of fire, his right arm completely gone. Even though he had used a Displacement Skill to dodge in time, his arm had still been severed by that sharp glint. The enemy was very strong.

Clearly, testing his moves so ostentatiously had attracted the attention of a powerful foe.

Zhou Chen felt stinging sensations all over his body; he had been locked on to by an intense killing intent. He traced the source of that killing intent and saw a Corrupter wielding a pair of giant scissors.

The man was dressed like a tailor. His large scissors were stained with mottled blood, a glaring crimson that emanated an ominous aura.

Having read the files on known members of Fallen Paradise, Zhou Chen immediately recognized him. That was Fallen Paradise’s "Tailor"!

’Another one from Fallen Paradise. These bastards really are here for a company outing. But they’ve suffered heavy losses this time. "Merchant," "World," and "Painter" are all dead...’ Zhou Chen’s thoughts raced. A cold glint flashed in his eyes as he launched an attack from a distance.

—Spiritual Death Light!

Just as the "Tailor" was about to move, his body suddenly stiffened. His vision went black, and his mind rang as if it had been struck by a sledgehammer. Blood began to pour from his eyes, nose, mouth, and ears. A gentle, jade-like halo of light then bloomed on his chest, quickly dispelling the dizziness and pain and allowing him to regain his senses.

But that brief moment was more than enough time for Zhou Chen to close in.

The fantastical and magnificent Crystal Spear Gun swept out. Cyan Flame surged, and with a piercing whistle, it effortlessly decapitated the "Tailor," sending a torrent of blood spewing forth.

The giant scissors suddenly transformed into a streak of light, tearing through space as they fled.

Clearly, this was also an incredibly precious Extraordinary Artifact.

Zhou Chen paid it no mind. He used Flame Jump to arrive at a street that had not yet been tainted by Abyssal Power. With a heavy stomp, a Cyan Flame swept out, its terrifying heat melting all the parked cars on the street into red-hot molten iron.

The scalding molten iron flowed toward him and was completely absorbed. His severed arm regrew at a speed visible to the naked eye, returning to its original state. While in the Body of Steel Melting state, as long as there was enough iron and metal nearby, Zhou Chen could repair himself indefinitely. Not only that, he could also forge the steel into armor to protect himself and enhance his combat strength.

After recovering, Zhou Chen’s gaze sharpened. He suddenly spotted Li Xiye in the distance, along with an ugly and grotesque woman.

Before he had time to think, he saw Li Xiye slap the woman into a bloody mist. A snarky thought had just begun to form in his mind when, in the next second, he witnessed something unbelievable, his eyes widening in shock—countless crimson, translucent Crystal threads extended through the air, linking together and reassembling the pulverized dust back into a body. The woman had been resurrected!

He had seen this before. It was an Ability only an "Apostle" possessed!

Another Apostle!

Zhou Chen’s expression changed slightly. He had fought an Apostle before and knew how difficult they were to kill. If he hadn’t used a "wish" to erase the Apostle’s origin, that battle likely wouldn’t have ended so quickly.

He hurriedly sent a thought to Li Xiye through the Bonds Ring: "Xiye, use your will to negate her existence! She will only die if you erase her at the origin!"

"I’ve tried, but she keeps resurrecting. She has already fused with this Crystal Abyss. As long as the Abyss doesn’t perish, she will not die," Li Xiye replied in a low voice.

"Then try to sever... Holy shit!"

Before Zhou Chen could finish his sentence, he was startled with horror and hastily used Flame Jump to vanish. A massive, bloody behemoth then smashed through a skyscraper and charged forward, plowing a path of destruction for nearly a kilometer.

It was a severed section of a snake’s body, over thirty meters wide, covered in filth and blood, and riddled with mutated limbs. It was unclear from where it had been sent flying, but it clearly radiated the dark fluctuations of a Tier Four Abyssal Demon. A series of deafening explosions followed in its wake, and everything in its path was instantly flattened.

Zhou Chen broke out in a cold sweat just watching. Except, in his Body of Steel Melting state, he didn’t have pores to sweat from, so what seeped out was scalding fiery ichor. If he hadn’t dodged just now, he probably would have been killed on impact.

’Can’t be reckless anymore. Can’t be reckless. I got a little arrogant after my Advancement, I need to calm down. There are quite a few Tier Four beings here. If I get caught in the crossfire, I’m dead...’ Zhou Chen took a deep breath, exhaling a plume of hot steam, and looked toward Li Xiye again.

The ugly woman with the demonized arms had regenerated again and was attacking Li Xiye, laughing maniacally. "You can’t kill me! Now let’s see who’s the real defeated foe!"

The words had barely left her mouth before Li Xiye pulverized her with a single punch. But she immediately re-formed again.

"HAHAHAHAHA..."

POW!

"I have stepped into..."

POW!

"The eternal Celestial Kingdom that bids farewell to death..."

POW!

"You are..."

POW!

"Unable to kill me!"

POW!

The woman exploded again amidst her laughter. Li Xiye looked down on her, a hint of pity in her cold eyes. "Look at you. Not only have you become so ugly, but you’ve also become so pathetic. You haven’t even managed to scratch a single hair on my head, yet you still have the gall to say ’let’s see who’s the real defeated foe.’ Have you spent all these years just practicing how to be more thick-skinned? Then again, with a face like that, you old bitch, even a dog would find it disgusting. If your skin weren’t so thick, you probably wouldn’t even dare to leave your house, right?"

"You!" The ugly woman erupted in fury. The hint of pity she saw in Li Xiye’s eyes, in particular, ignited a fire of rage in her heart.

POW!

"Don’t scream."

Li Xiye casually smashed her into dust again, then turned her head to look at Zhou Chen, who had just arrived.

"Do you have any ideas?"