"Lord Goku! Please—stop it, I beg you! If this continues, my people will be in grave danger!"
Pressed beneath Goku's arm, the High Priestess forgot all shyness as she watched her clansfolk flee through the shower of stone. Her heart twisted with pain; she looked up at Goku, pleading.
Setting Xiao Li and the others down, Goku nodded and turned to Gai Nie and the rest. "Save Loulan's people. I'll go see what this so-called Bing Mo Shen can do."
With that, his figure blurred and he tore into the sky.
Flames roared from the giant—heat so fierce that even rock blasted apart and then burst into fire. A sea of flames rolled out, swallowing the land.
The bronze colossus strode like a demon titan. Each step shattered cliffs and shook the mountains. Its power was, indeed, terrifying.
---
The towering bronze giant loomed almost as high as the mountain itself. One colossal foot struck the ground, and the very land seemed to cave. In an instant, a vast swath lay in ruins; stones shrieked through the air like falling meteors, turning the landscape into a disaster field.
Thankfully, Gai Nie and the others rushed to the rescue in time, preventing heavy casualties.
But human strength has limits. There were hundreds here—how could they be saved all at once?
Under Gongshu Chou's control, the Bing Mo Shen swung a palm wide enough to blot the sky. The gale of its strike howled.
A child of about five stumbled and fell during the flight. His mother, eyes wide with horror, threw herself over him, desperate to shield him with her own small body from the descending hand.
As the sky-darkening palm closed in, terror filled her gaze—mother and child about to be crushed into a smear of blood—
A figure flashed into the air and hovered, looking down upon them. He calmly extended his right hand—and before countless stunned eyes, caught the colossal palm with effortless ease.
For a moment, everyone forgot to run. They stood rooted, staring at the impossible scene.
A single, slender figure against a world-high giant—like an ant facing an elephant. And yet the "ant," with one hand, stopped the bronze titan's palm cold. Metal screeched; sparks spat from the giant's overstrained joints as it tried to force downward—
but the small figure did not budge an inch, his expression serene.
"Th-that's… that's insane— Is he even human?!" Tianming gaped, shouting in disbelief.
"This… this is beyond what a human can do," Shaoyu whispered, eyes wide. He had always believed his own natural strength rare in this world—but compared to Goku, it wasn't worth mentioning.
"I did not expect such a man to exist… It seems I have been far too ignorant," Gai Nie admitted, shock finally breaking through his composure.
Chi Lian had long since forgotten to close her mouth.
"N-no… impossible… How can anyone like this exist… it can't be…"
Gongshu Chou nearly collapsed. No human strength should reach such heights—even "natural divine strength" should not be this.
Fear flooded him. He could not lose; losing meant death. He had used the Bing Mo Shen to wreak havoc; the people of Loulan would never forgive him.
Driven mad by panic, Gongshu Chou slammed every control inside the giant's body. "The Bing Mo Shen is supreme… No human can withstand a full-power strike!"
The wind shrieked. The giant's other arm swung in a crushing arc toward Goku.
Goku simply raised his left hand—and, to the crowd's utter disbelief, caught that palm too. The blast wave sent stones careening in all directions.
The colossus's arms and chassis groaned under the strain, sparks bursting along its joints. It had reached its limit—yet it still could not move Goku at all.
Now Gongshu Chou truly understood fear. The very machine he relied on to live—seen as a toy in the other's hands. The pinnacle of his mechanism arts—reduced to a child's game. His strength fled him; he sagged to the ground, face ashen, despair hollowing his eyes. This man cannot be opposed.
After Wei Zhuang, it was Gongshu Chou's turn to have his faith shattered. He could no longer fight; his spirit was broken.
"Heh. Given up? A wise choice."
Goku smiled faintly. Breaking an enemy from the inside out did feel satisfying.
Then he did something that made every jaw drop.
"Rise."
Muscles along his arms stood out and locked. And then—before the world's disbelieving eyes—the sky-tall Bing Mo Shen lifted free of the earth, heaved upward by Goku alone.
It was like watching an ant hoist an elephant—only more shocking still.
In that instant, Goku ceased to be "human" to the onlookers. He became a god—a being beyond reach. The image of that invincible figure, towering pride incarnate, would be etched in their hearts forever.
"From this day, there will be no more Bing Mo Shen. The mission of Loulan ends now."
His voice rolled across the city like a divine edict.
Blood stirred; hearts soared. Many wanted to throw back their heads and roar.
Goku hurled the giant upward. Before the crowd's astounded eyes, the colossus arced high—then plummeted.
Goku drove a fist into the sky.
With an earth-splitting boom, the sky seemed to tremble. The Bing Mo Shen shattered in a storm of bronze. Inside, Gongshu Chou gave a single, strangled scream—then turned to red mist. Shards rained down like a deadly storm.
One strike. World-shaking. The man standing alone beneath the sky looked every inch an undefeated war god; even stillness radiated boundless majesty.
After a stunned silence, the people of Loulan fell to their knees, gazing up with reverence that burned like faith.
Cheers and tears rose together, echoing to the clouds.
---
Stars fall, the land goes dark.
The goddess weeps; the dragon ascends.
From flame we draw power, the sword points at the tyrant.
With one decisive blow, our nation is saved.
This ancient verse had passed through Loulan for generations—a warning left by the goddess. But with Goku's arrival, fate itself was broken. With absolute strength, he ended everything here—sweeping the board clean.
"Loulan is saved," the High Priestess said, watching the rain of bronze, joy bright in her eyes.
With the Bing Mo Shen's end, the mission the goddess left them also reached its close.
Chi Lian and Bai Feng departed Loulan, carrying Wei Zhuang away.
Peace returned to Loulan as the battles faded into memory.
At sunset, before the broad pavilion, the perfect relief of the goddess gleamed upon a white wall—hands over her heart, tears at the corners of her eyes.
Xiao Li stood before the statue, gaze calm, lost in thought.
Footsteps approached—Tianming and the others. Seeing Xiao Li, they exhaled in relief.
"Xiao Li, why'd you run off without a word? We've been searching everywhere!"
Tianming's tone held a touch of complaint, but the worry inside was plain.
"You seem troubled," Shaoyu observed, brows knitting as he studied her.
"Where's Goku?" Xiao Li looked past them. Only Tianming, Shaoyu, and Gai Nie were present; she did not see Goku. Her eyes showed a hint of confusion.
"There were many injured," Shaoyu explained. "Brother Goku knows some healing arts—he's treating them now. I think… he'll be here soon."
Even as he spoke, Goku approached with the High Priestess at his side.
"Yo, Xiao Li—miss me already after just a moment?"
Xiao Li ignored the teasing. She opened her arms and Xiao Pixiu bounded into them. Stroking its head, she looked at Goku and said softly, "I'm leaving. I came to say goodbye."
In her embrace, Xiao Pixiu gazed at Goku, eyes full of reluctant sorrow.
"You're leaving? Why?" Tianming blurted, startled and anxious.
Before he could finish, golden light blossomed around Xiao Li, streaming toward the goddess relief—
and both her body and Xiao Pixiu's began to dim, growing fainter and fainter…