275: Overlord's Elegy, the Last Burning

The icy Universal Astral Wind howled in through the hole in the Blood Raven's bridge.

The aftermath of the explosion failed to stir even a single ripple in the dead vacuum.

Lin Fan stood motionless where he was, his clothes not stirring in the slightest.

He looked at the Information Crystal left behind after the Blood Raven's self-destruction, sensed the speculation and research regarding his “Immortality” characteristic contained within, and a playful smile curled at the corner of his mouth.

A clever, yet pitiful Soul.

Having finished all this, his gaze finally pierced through the broken asteroid belt, landing upon the true battlefield graveyard.

There, there was one last actor.

And the other protagonist of this grand drama.

That terrifying Skull Flagship, the Black Skull, which had remained like an isolated island, silently suspended in the center of the Star Sea from beginning to end.

As if sensing his gaze.

The Black Skull moved.

It neither turned its cannons nor started its engines to flee.

Instead, it slowly retreated toward its own pile of wreckage, that Steel Graveyard composed of the starship fragments of countless former brothers.

Like a wounded lone wolf retreating to its lair... The bridge of the Black Skull was already empty.

Only that mountain-like, burly figure remained, sitting solitary upon the terrifying throne forged from the skeletons of countless giant beasts.

Black Skull.

He did not look at the scene of the Blood Raven's warship's final destruction on the light screen.

His eyes were hollow, as if they pierced through Time and Space, seeing the distant past.

He saw the youthful spirit when he first set sail, leading a group of brothers to seize their first merchant ship.

He saw his arrogance when he founded Black Sail, traversed the Star Sea, and struck fear into countless forces.

He saw himself drinking heavily and eating meat in large chunks with Kuang Dao, the Blood Raven, and countless brothers, dreaming of establishing a free kingdom belonging to pirates.

Then, the scene shattered.

Only the devastation before his eyes remained.

The corpses and bones of his brothers still drifted in the cold Universe outside the window.

His life's work, his proud Fleet, had all turned to dust in an absurd internal struggle.

And the originator of all this, that monster, hadn't even suffered a scratch.

"Heh heh..."

"Heh heh heh heh..."

Black Skull's chest heaved violently, and a low, hoarse laugh escaped his throat.

The laughter grew louder and more frantic, filled with endless sorrow and self-mockery.

He, the leader of the Black Sail Pirate Crew, the hegemon who had dominated the Star Sea for hundreds of years.

Throughout his life, he had schemed against others and guarded against them.

In the end, he became a puppet, manipulated in the palm of someone's hand, performing the most ridiculous and bloody monkey show.

He lost.

He lost completely.

He lost everything.

The laughter stopped abruptly.

Black Skull slowly stood up.

In his cloudy eyes, all confusion and regret had faded, leaving only the fierce madness and determination of a dying Warlord, burning to the extreme!

He could die.

But he absolutely could not die humiliatingly, like a stray dog that had been played with enough!

He stretched out his calloused right hand and pressed heavily onto the Skeleton Throne behind him!

"In my name, Master of Black Sail!"

"Burn my Throne, sacrifice my Flagship!"

Buzz—

The entire massive and terrifying Black Skull emitted its final mournful cry at this moment.

Every piece of alloy and every array pattern forming its hull instantly lit up with dazzling crimson light.

It did not explode; instead, it was decomposing!

This Flagship, which carried all the glory and sin of Black Sail, was irreversibly transforming everything about itself—including the accumulated slaughter and resentment of countless years contained within its wreckage—into the purest energy, pouring it back onto the throne!

Immediately after.

A skull seal, entirely pitch black, seemingly condensed from ten thousand Souls, slowly emerged from Black Skull's glabella.

His Lifebound Treasure, the Ten Thousand Souls Seal!

Black Skull looked at this Magic Treasure that had accompanied him his entire life, without the slightest attachment in his eyes.

He stretched out his other hand and fiercely crushed it!

Crack!

The instant the Magic Treasure shattered, a stream of pure Soul Power, a hundred times more magnificent than the sacrifice of the Flagship moments before, surged wildly into his body like a landslide and a tsunami!

"Aaaahhhh—!!!"

Black Skull let out a painful roar that sounded inhuman.

His body was like a bottle being forcefully filled with river water, his skin cracking inch by inch, and crimson energy flames burst out from the fissures.

Yet, his aura was climbing frantically in an unreasonable manner!

Soul Transformation Initial Stage!

Soul Transformation Middle Stage!

Soul Transformation Perfection!

Boom!!!

An invisible barrier was violently smashed through by him in the most savage way!

A terrifying aura, far surpassing the Soul Transformation Realm and carrying a trace of the pressure of the Laws of Heaven and Earth, suddenly swept across the entire Star Domain!

Void Refining Realm!

At the cost of sacrificing his Flagship, sacrificing his Lifebound Treasure, and sacrificing all his vitality, he forcibly boosted his Cultivation to this legendary Realm temporarily!

At this moment, he was a burning sun, brilliant, yet destined for destruction in the next moment.

Black Skull felt the unprecedented, powerful force within him, capable of controlling everything, yet a tragic smile appeared on his face.

He raised his head, his gaze like lightning, locking firmly onto the small figure approaching him in the distance.

"Come!"

"Let me show you, a hegemon's final..."

"Fury!"

As his voice fell, he formed hand seals, using his burning life to unleash his ultimate, hidden Forbidden Technique, which could only be used once in a lifetime!

"Forbidden Technique—Myriad Souls Return to Emptiness!!!"

In an instant.

Centered on Black Skull, all the fragments of the Steel Graveyard formed by countless warship remnants beneath his feet instantly turned into dust.

Replacing them was a rapidly expanding, pure... Black Domain!

That was not the darkness of swallowed light.

Rather, it was a "Nothingness" composed of Law, representing finality and death.

Countless mournful Soul shadows floated along the edge of the Domain, letting out silent wails. These were the wronged Souls imprisoned within the Ten Thousand Souls Seal, all those who had died at the hands of the Black Sail Pirate Crew over hundreds of years.

Wherever this Domain passed, Space twisted and Law collapsed.

A massive meteorite blocking the Domain's path failed to last even a single breath before silently dissolving, decomposing, and turning into the most fundamental particles, like ice thrown into a raging fire.

This was the true Domain of Death!

Any living being that stepped into it, whether Physical Body or Divine Soul, would be instantly stripped away and returned to Nothingness!

...In the Void Realm.

Lin Fan stopped his steps.

Looking at the pure Domain of Death rapidly spreading toward him, he felt a genuine threat for the first time.

Not a threat targeting the Physical Body.

But a higher-level, Law-based threat, a Great Terror capable of erasing him along with the very concept of "Immortality."

The Overlord Saint Body could withstand the impact of Energy and Physics.

But facing this pure Law annihilation, it likely wouldn't be spared.

He would die.

This time, he would truly die.

Within Lin Fan's consciousness, "Heavenly Mystery Calculation" operated frantically at an unprecedented speed, deducing various countermeasures.

Retreat?

Too late, the Domain's expansion speed had already surpassed the limit of Space Jumping.

Defend?

Any Magic Treasure, any Divine Ability, seemed meaningless before this pure Law annihilation.

It seemed he had fallen into a desperate situation.

However, instead of panic, a hint of an expectant smile appeared on Lin Fan's face.

"Finally... something decent has arrived."

If he died from an attack of this level, what kind of reward would the System give?

Would it be a complete Law Fragment?

Or some kind of more Advanced Special Physique that grants immunity to Law attacks?

He was already impatient.

Of course, before that, he also wanted to try.

He wanted to see just how far his fists could go when facing the so-called "Law"!

"Perfect timing!"

Lin Fan let out a hearty laugh.

Instead of retreating, he charged head-on toward the sweeping Domain of Death!

The dark golden luster on his body reached its absolute peak brilliance at this moment!

All his strength and all his vital Qi and Blood gathered without reservation onto his right fist!

He intended to use the purest, most savage, and most unreasonable method to deliver the final... funeral for this hegemon of the old era!

Boom!!!

Facing the Black Domain capable of annihilating everything, Lin Fan neither dodged nor avoided it!

He punched out!