True Spirit Emperor: Mental Shock! Mist of Invincibility! Weakening Light!
Mirrored Spirit Emperors ×3: All reflected, all rebounded!
"Pfft..."
The Spirit Emperor spat blood, utterly miserable. This wasn't just an unbreakable move; these were three nigh-perfect copies of himself!
Seeing Mirror stand at Su Wen's side like a bodyguard, the Spirit Emperor grew ever more terrified.
Does this guy not have a bottom to his energy bar?!!
Anywhere else, using a powerful move would consume massive energy. But why could this guy keep going endlessly?
Even he was feeling drained.
"Vessel…"
The Spirit Emperor fell silent.
This man's strength far exceeded expectations.
He'd come to stop the Dragon God's revival—never expected the first roadblock would be a mysterious human, not the Dragon God itself.
In hindsight, the Holy Monarch must have planned all this.
Only if he came himself could he beat back this human.
As for a vessel…
If only this were the Abyss—he could call on the second-layer core and reach Third Divinity. But no...
"You guessed right."
The Holy Monarch's voice drifted in his mind.
"You're smart to have managed the Abyss so well in my absence."
"That is my duty," replied the Spirit Emperor tensely, shrouding himself in gold light under attack from his three "selves," barely maintaining communication.
"Heh..."
The Holy Monarch laughed lightly. "Still harboring hope?"
"No matter. I do intend to use your body to revive, even if just partially. The other abyssals are all too weak—only you can barely withstand a sliver of my power."
"..."
The Spirit Emperor clenched his fists.
Then slowly released them.
After his death, a new "Spirit Emperor" would arise from the Spirit Dragon clan—for the Holy Monarch, it didn't matter. Replaceable pieces.
The feeling of being used as a pawn was bitter, but he had no choice.
"Eh?"
Su Wen's eyes narrowed, focusing on the Spirit Emperor—whose gaze had dulled, his head and arms drooping lifelessly, puppet-like.
"Just as I thought…"
"Only now does he dare reveal his true form?"
Mirror sensed the danger, stepping in front of Su Wen. The three Spirit Emperor mirrors shifted into Spirit Dragon true forms, unleashing their full strength at the real Spirit Emperor.
Boom! Boom!
Fog enveloped the ocean.
Explosions slowly subsided, and an eerie quiet fell.
It seemed the Spirit Emperor had been killed—no motion within the fog.
But Mirror's breathing quickened.
Not dead...
That guy… still alive!!
Sure enough, the next second:
"Crack—"
A sharp sound—like glass, and then the lanky shatter of a mirror.
Mirror's aura plummeted.
"Hahahaha… Tang Hao really is devious." A bold voice came from the fog.
As the mists cleared—
The Spirit Emperor still stood, holding the neck of one mirrored version; it struggled, but couldn't break free.
The Spirit Emperor smirked, fingers tightening—
"Crack—"
With that same shattering sound, the mirror-duplicate dissolved into points of white light, drifting away.
"Didn't say there'd be such a powerhouse in the mainland..."
"Are you now the number one among human forces?"
With a sly look, the Spirit Emperor glanced at the distant sea—where Xiao Zi's purple lightning devoured waves of black-robed attackers, leaving only the Demon Empress holding on grimly.
"Suppose so." Su Wen smiled.
"With just two beasts, you bested Yun Ming..." Holy Monarch sighed.
"If we drag this out, you might really succeed."
The Holy Monarch's gaze shifted past Su Wen, to Dragon Valley.
The suction of Gu Yuena absorbing the Dragon God's Heart grew ever stronger; the rainbow glow surged, dragon roars shuddering all around.
"So, if the Dragon God revives, your Abyssal plan is over..." Su Wen replied.
"There's no such thing as if." The Holy Monarch was pleased with himself.
Though only borrowing the Spirit Emperor's body—
Not one-tenth of his true power.
But still far above any Limit Douluo, quasi-god, or the like.
That gap of one step—heaven and earth apart.
Even after centuries of humans striving to reach godhood from Limit Douluo, that little extra is impossible to cross.
"If you become a god, maybe I'd not be able to defeat you," Holy Monarch mused.
"But..."
"Godhood means a gap as wide as the heavens."
Boom!
Behind him, Dragon Valley glowed even more radiantly, as if the Dragon God would appear any moment.
Gu Yuena sensed Su Wen's danger—though the other was only at priest-level, "Gods are gods..."
"Is that so?"
Su Wen grew serious.
"Because, you see, I have a dozen more beasts just like this—want to fight?"
Roar!!!
Seas surged.
One after another, mighty beast forms loomed beside Su Wen.
All terrifying overlords.
Compared to the nearly-crippled Spirit Emperor, they were each remarkable.
The Spirit Emperor's smile stiffened, lips twitching.
"...…"
"Damn you, Tang Hao, holding out even on me?!!"
"Let me help you!!"
Arranging the front lines, En Ci personally led Monster Academy's top brass and the Star Luo elites, racing toward Dragon Valley.
Even from afar, the battle looked world-shattering.
He was about to join in—
But skidded to a halt in midair, startled.
The battle was fiercely deadlocked.
But the question was—
Where were the countless abyssal monsters?
Why was the Spirit Emperor so strong—wasn't he at divinity?!!
And Su Wen's monsters...
None hid their strength; all-out war now.
Just a single stray shot on En Ci would wound him.
How was this even fair?!!
En Ci quietly snapped a photo on his comm.
"Dean?" A Monster Academy higher-up gaped. "Should we still go in?"
"Go my ass! Stay put and recover." En Ci growled.
Want to die that badly?
"At this level, barging in does nothing but make things worse."
That high-up winced. As a 96th-rank Tri-word Battle Armor Douluo, he was called one of Star Luo's best.
Yet now… he couldn't even enter the battlefield?!!
"Stay ready. If we need to finish someone off, don't chicken out." En Ci narrowed his eyes, sticking close to the fight.
Everyone: "..."
"You're the man, boss!" A senior gave a thumbs-up.
En Ci ignored them, popping into the group chat, tagging @everyone.
En Ci: [Photo] Tang Sect's in luck. Once the abyssal monsters are cleared, they'll be next in line!
Qiangu Dongfeng: Well done! [emote]
Zhang Huanyun: Thumbs up [emote]
Chen Nian: Old En, are these beasts different from what I saw last time? Can they still evolve?
Yun Ming: @Chen Nian yes, his beasts have second forms. I can't even beat the first…
En Ci: The Spirit Emperor feels wrong—at least god-level. Like a possession; the Holy Monarch himself is here...
Chen Xinjie: GOD-level?! He can draw with a god?!!
En Ci: I can't insert myself—any one of them could kill me if I'm not careful. So, Tang Sect, pray they don't come for your headquarters, kicking Zang Xin's head like a soccer ball! @Zang Xin @Cao Dezhi @Hu Jie...
Su Wen: Relax, I'm a gentle person.
The group chat fell silent for a full minute.
En Ci looked up, still dumbstruck at the battlefield, at Su Wen at its center—surrounded by his monsters, communicator in hand.
Watching the chat.
After a long while, someone spoke—
Leng Yaozhu: Is the fight over?
En Ci: No...
Once again—silence.
"This is getting ridiculous!!"
The Holy Monarch was losing it.
The monsters were powerful, yes—but he could have suppressed them by force. He was truly a god.
But—
Every time he nearly killed one, it was healed by the golden vine or the phoenix-type beast.
He even nearly managed to kill one—
But it just locked its own blood and wouldn't die!!!
And not just once!
Two healers constantly healing and reviving—
"How do you play against this?!"
The Holy Monarch seemed about to crack.
How many secrets did Tang Hao still hide?
What was the true nature of this Dragon God?
"I can't delay any longer!"
The aura from Dragon Valley hit its peak.
The Holy Monarch gritted his teeth, exhaling bitterly, power surging again—but his borrowed body also began to crack, clearly unable to handle his energy.
"Close to collapse… but this is enough." He smiled grimly as his pressure hit the ceiling.
Black clouds swept overhead.
"Click…"
Su Wen finally put away his comm, his gaze sharp. "Is it time to get serious?"
"Be devoured by me!"
The Holy Monarch's voice rolled overhead.
Black mist, swirling doom.
He cast it toward the monsters—
"Can't withstand it, lord!" Xuan Ji cried. "Now he's at god-priest level or stronger. That black mist devours life—if we enter, we'll die rapidly, not even Azure Luan can save us."
"It's fine, you all did your best. Return!" Su Wen nodded.
And withdrew all beasts into their Pokéballs.
"Giving up?" The Holy Monarch laughed, glaring in admiration. "You're strong—will you yield to me?"
"I…" Su Wen smacked his lips.
"Have you heard the saying—villains die from talking too much?"
The Holy Monarch froze.
"What does that mean?"
But the next instant, his heart pounded, ready to burst—the air behind Su Wen filled with a horrifying force.
"ROAR!!!"
The Dragon God's cry shook the heavens.
The half-torn entrance to Dragon Valley split wider, two giant claws prying open the rift.
A rainbow vertical pupil looked out at the world.
Just a mere glimpse revealed a head hundreds of meters long, a barely-visible body stretching a kilometer.
Only its head was visible, the rest in cloud and fog—but the tail could be seen in the far distance…
"The Dragon God?!!"
The Holy Monarch staggered, staring blankly.
He was ready to flee.
With the Dragon God's arrival, neither he nor his body in the Abyss could win.
On Star Luo's side—
Everyone was dumbstruck.
No wonder that man's stance toward soul beasts had always been so ambiguous—the reason was this...
That white-haired girl earlier—she must have been the Dragon God. Were it not for him mediating between humans and beasts, humans would be doomed by the Dragon God's return.
After all, at heart, the Dragon God favored beasts.
No need to guess how hard humans had oppressed them.
Just look at Di Tian—
Not far away:
Di Tian wept, kneeling in the air, wiping his tears, pounding the earth, a crowd of arriving Star Dou Forest beasts joining him in tears.
All their years of suffering and humiliation poured out in sobs.
Soul beasts had it so rough.
En Ci rubbed his face—our Star Luo Empire didn't mess with you, ok? We canceled the Spirit Pagoda the fastest—if you want trouble, find Shrek or the Pagoda HQ.
Need directions? I can give you a map.
As for Tang Sect—
Tsk tsk.
He says he's not vengeful, but…
Better mourn for Tang Sect now.