Chapter 444: Two Top-Level Kings, That Monster Chen Chu from the Past

A storm pierced through the heavens and earth, alarming the Blue Giant Crab guarding the gates and Ghidorah, who was working tirelessly to maintain the durability runes.

Amid the storm, which destroyed everything in its path, a deep dragon roar echoed.

Roar! Roar! Roar! The great Saixitia declares: I am invincible!

The Silver Colossal Dragon, who was over a hundred forty meters long and had a wingspan of more than two hundred meters, burst out from the storm. With a deafening crash, it landed on the ice crystal square in front of the Dragon Palace’s main hall.

In an instant, the ground within several hundred meters shattered, sending countless shards of ice flying forward. The fragments bombarded the ocean’s surface like heavy artillery, causing huge splashes.

Upon reaching level 9, the Silver Colossal Dragon underwent a dramatic change in appearance. Its body was even more imposing now, with two rows of black, spine-like dorsal fins extending from the back of its neck to its tail.

The spiral dragon horns on its head, pointed diagonally toward the sky, had grown sharper and thicker. Moreover, they now had interwoven black and silver patterns.

Its thick, shimmering silver scales resembled translucent crystals, making it look even more elegant and majestic yet also exude a sense of unyielding durability.

Most importantly, the aura of the Silver Colossal Dragon became far more oppressive than that of the Nine-Headed Serpent, who was also at the beginning stage of level 9.

It had clearly become stronger than Ghidorah.

As the mighty Silver Colossal Dragon stood tall on the square, the sixty-meter-long Blue Giant Crab surfaced from the water, excitedly blowing bubbles.

Gurgle! Gurgle! Congratulations, Great King! You look even more imposing than before. The sheer strength you radiate has made my eight legs buckle with excitement! You are beyond amazing!

The Blue Giant Crab had carefully crafted its flattery after the Thunder Fiery Dragon Emperor had beaten it.

Fortunately, it satisfied the Silver Colossal Dragon. It raised its head slightly and let out a commanding roar.

Not bad. I also awakened another top-level ability, but it's still slightly inferior to Ao Tian.

Contrary to its words, its proudly raised tail revealed its inner delight.

Possessing two top-level abilities was rare even among mythical colossal beasts. This served as evidence that its bloodline was far more powerful than an average king-level lifeform’s. Naturally, its combat strength was also unmatched.

𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

In the distance, Ghidorah’s nine dragon heads swayed. It let out a chaotic, envious roar.

Incredible! Saixitia is taking off!

The Silver Colossal Dragon’s eyes gleamed with even more pride, and its raised tail swayed slightly.

Right after, however, Ghidorah let out a low growl.

But the ground... the palace... you fix it. Let me cultivate, Ao Ba. I’m busy.

The Silver Colossal Dragon’s triumphant expression stiffened. It looked at the Dragon Palace and the ice crystal ground, which had been half-destroyed by its explosive power, and instantly regretted unleashing its strength earlier.

I should’ve held back.

However, Ghidorah was also a dragon king, and their statuses were equal. Only Ao Tian had the authority to command it.

With this in mind, the Silver Colossal Dragon curiously glanced around the now-empty World of Water and Fire. It then growled.

Where’s Ao Tian and Big Horn?

The Blue Giant Crab waved its claws and blew bubbles.

Gurgle! As ordered by the Thunder Fiery King, Big Horn and Baxia went out to patrol the territory, collecting resources from areas controlled by the empire to strengthen their power.

Gurgle! Gurgle! General Horn Hime is leading the orca army, gathering Life Crystals for the Thunder Fiery King.

The Thunder Fiery King left a few days ago, saying he was going somewhere far away. When he returns, he’ll lead us to destroy that mythical colossal beast empire.

Not here?

The Silver Colossal Dragon suddenly felt a bit disinterested.

Roar! The great Saixitia will go back to sleep for a while. Call me when Ao Tian returns.

White frosty power exploded from it, repairing the ground and palace before going back to sleep.

On its way out earlier, it had found several Dragon Heavenly Fruits, a mythical resource. However, they could only be consumed after reaching level 9.

Eating them at level 8 would have wasted most of their energy, which Saixitia couldn’t bear. After all, the supplies it had secretly brought were already insufficient for its appetite.

While Saixitia slept, the Thunder Emperor was swiftly moving deep in the Arctic Ocean.

It had grown to a length of a hundred and ninety-five meters and was about to break through to the middle stage of level 9. Its massive size brought even greater power.

With just a bit more effort, it would be ready to go back and fight.

Thanks to the red colossal beast that acted as a guide, the Thunder Emperor experienced rapid growth.

As a top-level colossal beast in the Arctic Ocean, though the red beast rarely moved, it had a good sense of where the other colossal beasts resided within the sea.

Through its guidance, the Thunder Emperor defeated most of the level 8 colossal beasts and two level 9 colossal beasts in this relatively small part of the Arctic Ocean.

While killing a large number of colossal beasts, they also collected two level 7 Life Crystals and a level 8 Life Crystal—a fruitful harvest.

However, as the two colossal beasts swam, the three-hundred-meter-long red colossal beast suddenly slowed down, coming to an abrupt stop as if it had shut down.

Shit. Not again.

The Thunder Emperor was speechless. With a practiced motion, it swung its claws, causing an explosion in the deep sea. Shockwaves rippled as the attack landed on the red beast’s head.

Boom!

The powerful strike blasted the mountain-like red beast into the seabed. The ground trembled, mixing mud and violent waves together across a thousand meters.

After about two minutes, the red beast slowly emerged from the murky waters and growled.

King, why... did... you... hit me?

The Thunder Emperor let out a deep, rumbling roar.

No reason; I ust thought you were daydreaming, so I wanted to wake you up.

After about a minute, the red colossal beast finally responded,

Oh.

There wasn’t much the Thunder Fiery Dragon Emperor could do about the red colossal beast’s sluggishness when it wasn’t in battle. Perhaps this was the price for touching upon the power of time before becoming mythical.

Unlike the deep-sea pythons that they had encountered before, who “slowed down time” by disrupting sensory organs with their toxin energy, the red colossal beast Zhulong possessed a true power of temporal slowness.

Its ability affected even the Thunder Emperor’s breath, which was comparable to the power of laws.

***

Nightfall.

Having stacked 16,000 layers of passive energy, Chen Chu burst out of the ruins under the cover of darkness only to find two women fighting.

No, the fight was already over; they were now in a standoff.

What had once been a flat grassland had turned into a wasteland. The ground was crisscrossed with trenches carved by energy beams and littered with craters left by missile explosions, some still smoldering with black smoke.

At the center of the ruins stood a black-and-white mech over forty meters tall. Its chest’s energy furnace emitted a scorching red glow. In its hand was a gigantic battle sword over several dozen meters long.

Surrounding the mech were three heavy triangular shields, each fifteen meters tall and eight meters wide. Runes flickered across the shields as they hovered in a protective formation, creating an impenetrable wall of defense.

However, the shields had all sustained several deep gashes, each one over ten meters long and half a meter deep.

The missile launchers on its broad shoulders were empty, and the laser cannon on its back was still glowing red hot. Moreover, the massive machine gun mounted on its left shoulder, which had a barrel half a meter in diameter, had run out of ammo. Its black muzzle was aimed at a black-haired girl standing more than a hundred meters away.

Surrounding An Fuqing were four battle swords, each two meters long. They floated around her, radiating different auras—pink and dreamy, black and destructive, green and whirlwind-like, and gray and dim—all infused with her nearly advanced sword will.

Chen Chu paused. “Did you two have a fight?"

An Fuqing shook her head calmly. "Earlier, when I used the power of my sword array to break through to the middle stage of the Sixth Heavenly Realm, Gabriella suggested we spar."

"That explains it. Who won?” Chen Chu asked out of curiosity.

An Fuqing thought about it for a moment. "Gabriella is stronger. Although I’ve mastered the sword array, the gap in our realms is not something a single factor can bridge."

One of them was in the middle stage of the Sixth Heavenly Realm, and the other was in the beginning stage of the Seventh Heavenly Realm. Both were top-level prodigies, with combat strength capable of crossing several minor realms.

In this situation, the suppression caused by the difference in levels was even more apparent, making it natural that An Fuqing wasn’t a match for Gabriella.

Of course, this could also be attributed to her four sword wills having yet to fully advance. Otherwise, with the four sword wills combined and the amplification from the ancient sword array, the outcome could have been different.

At this moment, the mech in the distance approached with heavy steps. From a point just above the power reactor on the mech’s chest, a two-meter-tall diamond-shaped crystal shot a beam of light onto the ground.

Gabriella, clad in a red skintight combat suit, emerged from the light and descended along the beam to the ground.

The sight briefly stunned Chen Chu. "Gabriella, don’t you usually climb out from the back of your mech’s neck?"

The blonde girl casually flipped her long hair.

"This is one of the array abilities I designed. It comes from a Spatial Short-Transportation Crystal of a level 8 colossal beast,” she proudly replied. “By locking onto that crystal, as long as I’m within a hundred meters of the Black Demon White King Mech, I can fly into the mech via a gravity beam. It’s really convenient."

"Impressive," Chen Chu praised.

For true martial art cultivators and mech cultivators alike, breaking through to the Seventh Heavenly Realm always brought about a qualitative transformation.

The move felt oddly familiar to him, though. It was as if an image of a young boy shouting "Ryujinmaru" had flashed through his mind.[1]

At that moment, An Fuqing's eyes gleamed with curiosity. "Chen Chu, did your battle will break through?"

When he left in the morning, Chen Chu resembled a war god and was surrounded by Purple Spirit. He also exuded monstrous killing intent. Now, he seemed calm.

Chen Chu nodded slightly. "Yes, my battle will has reached the advanced stage."

An Fuqing and Gabriella were momentarily stunned. Although they had expected this, they still found themselves at a loss for words.

Chen Chu was already incredibly powerful, yet now his previously weaker battle will had also reached the advanced stage, making him a well-rounded powerhouse—he had become more of a monster than an actual monster.

This must be what the dean meant by "there’s always someone stronger."

The blonde girl sighed inwardly. "Chen Chu, how much Purple Spirit have you accumulated?"

After today’s announcement about the path to divinity’s descent, Xie Chen had shut down the sub-eye channel, so no one but the individuals themselves knew the details of their progress.

"Over seven hundred twenty-five thousand," Chen Chu admitted. He saw no reason to hide the value anyway.

Of the past ten days, he had grown the fastest during the two days that followed the retreat from the thousand-kilometer radius. In that period, he slew mostly high-level monsters, though his pace had gradually slowed since.

"Seven hundred twenty-five thousand... I wonder if you’ll immediately earn ten origin rewards when you step onto the path to divinity tomorrow."

Considering she only had ten thousand points and the likes of Bardas had forty thousand to fifty thousand points, the gap between Chen Chu and the others was vast.

Chen Chu shook his head. "It shouldn’t be that simple."

"The trials on the path to divinity will likely focus on comprehension and combat power early on. I believe the core of earning origin rewards will be tied to the trials, and there may be a limit to how many origins one can get from Purple Spirit points alone."

"I wonder what the trials are."

"I’ve heard that once each person enters the inheritance space, what appears on the path is merely a projection, while their true body is in a separate subspace..."

As they conversed, the three returned to the hillside.

Since they were leaving tomorrow, Gabriella didn’t practice her grilling that night. After a simple meal, the three went off to cultivate quietly like everyone else.

Soon, the sky over the relic gradually brightened.

At the same time, the Milky Way came into full view. It looked like a winding road above the Oasis.

Whoosh!

Chen Chu slowly opened his eyes, and the Tianyuan Stones in his hands turned to dust and scattered away.

The materialization of his battle phantom had now reached 45%. In another ten days or so, it would reach 80%, which would correspond to the late stage of the Seventh Heavenly Realm.

With the Double Void Pupils, advanced battle will, demonization form, Battle Dragon Emperor form, Battle Demon God form, and four fragments of the thunderbolt law at his disposal, he had a plethora of trump cards.

Additionally, he could burn a thousand attribute points at any time to reach an epiphany.

With so many aces up his sleeve, he wondered just how far he could go today.

The thought brought a gleam of anticipation to his eyes.

In the distance, An Fuqing called, "Chen Chu, it’s time to go."

"Coming." Chen Chu stood up.

Gabriella was already dressed in her red skintight combat suit and standing beneath her mech. She had tied her blonde hair up in a high ponytail like An Fuqing’s, making her look valiant.

As the two approached, the blonde girl waved at them, then flew into the mech using the beam of light. The eyes of the black-and-white mech lit up soon after.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Chen Chu and An Fuqing hopped onto its shoulders.

"Greetings, esteemed passengers! The Black Demon White King Mech is about to depart, destination: Wangtian Peak. Please be seated and hold on tight,” Gabriella playfully announced.

The mech's arms unfolded like wings, and the two engines beneath it, along with the four on its back and two at its feet, unleashed a burst of flames.

Boom!

With a powerful thrust, the mech, weighing over two thousand tons, shot forward and rapidly accelerated to supersonic speed. It left thunderous booms and intense shockwaves in its wake.

***

Xia Youhui stood on the massive dragon head of a stone statue, watching Chen Chu show off.

"Time to set off," he said excitedly.

"Sis, hurry up! If we’re late, we’ll miss all the action."

"

Hahaha...

Today, I, Li Daoyi, will crush all the geniuses! Ji Wuji, Bardas—none of them will be able to withstand a single blow of the Thunder Prison’s true form."

Hundreds of kilometers deep within the ruins, a figure shot out from a micro-world amid booming thunderbolts. It then transformed into a streak of lightning and sped off at several times the speed of sound.

From a bird’s-eye view, one could see countless figures departing from all directions of the Oasis, converging toward the towering mountain peak that soared ten thousand meters high in the center.

Among them, only about two hundred had earned the one thousand Purple Spirit points required to enter. The others were going to the area to witness the spectacle. After all, the path to divinity only opened once every few decades.

Even if they weren’t qualified to enter, witnessing it firsthand would still be worthwhile. They could also gain bragging rights from it.

They could even brag that they had met Overlord Chu—one of the human heavenly kings—and tell everyone that he was a monster who was enveloped in a murderous aura so thick that it almost blotted out the sky. With his domineering halberd, he single-handedly slaughtered more than half of the contaminated monsters in the ruins. None of his peers could withstand his attacks. In fact, he obliterated even contaminated colossal beasts that were a major realm higher in a single blow.

Having witnessed Chen Chu’s unstoppable, fearsome strength and cultivation to the Seventh Heavenly Realm in less than a year as a freshman, everyone shared the same thought.

Unless he dies, he will certainly become a heavenly king within ten years.

1. This is a reference to the anime

Mashin Hero Wataru

franchise. ☜