"ROAAAAARRR!!!"
A roar—not of a dragon, but of a saber, of indomitable will, of an indignation suppressed to its absolute limit—reverberated across the volcanic rock field. The black dragon, forged from Primordial Chaos Qi and shimmering with arcs of golden heavenly lightning, plunged without a shred of hesitation straight into the Shadow Kill Array, which had fallen into a momentary disarray due to the destruction of the main Array Heart.
The ten Shadow Guards—mindless killing machines devoid of emotion—felt a sensation called "fear" for the very first time in their lives. They realized in horror that the aura connecting them to their Exalted Lord had been abruptly severed; the power of the island's grand array was no longer augmenting them. From predatory wolves, they had been reduced to lost lambs in the blink of an eye.
"Form the array! Defend!" Shadow Elder, the leader, let out one final roar. They desperately attempted to regroup, forming a frail shield of black qi.
But it was futile. Tran Kien's thunder dragon, carrying the tempering will to obliterate all evil demons, crashed down upon them.
"BOOOOOOMMMMM!!!"
An earth-shattering explosion erupted. Lightning and black qi collided, generating a storm of destructive energy. The black qi shield held for less than a single breath before shattering to pieces. The four Shadow Guards standing at the very front did not even have the chance to utter a cry before the lightning reduced them to ash. The remaining six were blasted away by the shockwave like puppets with broken strings, slamming violently against the cliff face, grievously wounded and falling unconscious. The Shadow Kill Array had been shattered with absolute, unprecedented finality.
"PUGH!"
Tran Kien, after unleashing that final, lethal strike, had also reached his absolute limit. He coughed up another mouthful of fresh blood, staggering as he dropped to one knee, driving the Lac Hong Saber into the earth to keep his body from collapsing. The Primordial Chaos Qi within his body had run completely dry.
"Excellent! Truly excellent!" The master of the Sacred City, recovering from his initial shock, regained total clarity. He was no longer furious; instead, he radiated an extreme, glacial coldness. He stared at Tran Kien, his fathomless black eyes glinting with unconcealed greed. "Not only the legacy, but such an indomitable battle-will as well. You... are truly the most perfect cauldron. Slaying you would be a profound waste. Obediently become my new bodily vessel."
He gave Tran Kien no opportunity to recover. His frame glided forward like a phantom. A gaunt hand, pitch-black like the claw of a devil, clawed straight down toward the crown of Tran Kien's head.
At that exact moment.
"Your opponents... are us!"
From the mountain peak, dozens of black silhouettes swooped down like hawks. Leading them were Uncle Sword, Ly Tin, and Thiet Phu. They had successfully destroyed the Array Heart and immediately returned as reinforcements! A streak of Sword Intent, ethereal as flowing water. A spear thrust, carrying the killing intent of a military general. A vicious saber strike from the Blood Fiend Guards. Three surges of power from three different directions simultaneously attacked the black-robed old man.
"A swarm of bugs!" The old man snorted coldly, forced to abandon his attack on Tran Kien and turn to defend himself. He flicked his sleeve, and a billowing wave of black qi poured out, transforming into a colossal python that effortlessly neutralized the three incoming strikes. But that very delay forged an opening for Tran Kien.
He did not retreat. He knew this was his final opportunity. He withdrew from his robes the sealed Demonic Core that belonged to the previous master of the Sacred City. Without a shred of hesitation, he hurled it toward the old man. Simultaneously, using the last dregs of his Divine Sense, he activated the sun mark upon his forehead. A minuscule yet incomparably pure beam of solar light shot forth—not aiming for the old man, but for the Demonic Core!
Seeing his comrade's Demonic Core flying toward him, the black-robed old man's heart stirred, and he instinctively reached out to catch it. But he had fallen into the trap. The instant the solar beam touched the Demonic Core, it ignited the volatile demonic qi lingering within.
"BOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!"
The self-detonation of a Golden Core! Its might was far more terrifying than any conventional attack!
A pitch-black mushroom cloud billowed upward, carrying an apocalyptic power that swallowed everything in its path. Tran Kien, just before the shockwave struck him, was caught by the rushing Uncle Sword, who grabbed him and soared away. When everything returned to silence, the volcanic rock field was gone, replaced by a gaping, pitch-black crater. The master of the Sacred City had vanished without a single trace.
They had won. But no one rejoiced. They all stood in silence, looking toward the island that had begun to quake violently. With the main Array Heart destroyed and its master fallen, this island was on the verge of total collapse. They rapidly regrouped, boarded the fleet, and used their maximum speed to withdraw from the Black Water Ghost Domain.
Just as they emerged from the veil of mist, a deafening "RUMBLE" echoed out. The entire island of the Sacred City—the lair that the Sacred Dynasty had occupied for a millennium—sank deep into the seabed, carrying its secrets and its sins, eternally returning to dust.
Tran Kien stood at the prow of the ship, observing the scene with an ashen face. He knew that although the Sacred City had sunk, the phantom of the Sacred Dynasty still remained, casting its dark shadow over the entire empire. The true game of chess had only just begun.