236: Respectfully bidding farewell to our predecessors

Its entire body burned with nearly white, scorching flames, its wings spread across the entire arena, its feathers interwoven with lava and golden flames, each one inscribed with the ultimate Dao Pattern of the Heaven Burning Art;

Its eyes were two constantly flickering remnants of Golden Core fire, carrying the ultimate hatred and destructive will of a dying struggle!

This was not a Divine Ability, it was a sacrifice!

Not an attack, but a mutual destruction!

This was his true ultimate trump card—

Using a shattered Golden Core as the lead, transforming his body into a Phoenix, completely elementalizing himself to form a truly physical "Fire Phoenix"!

Even if it only existed for ten breaths, it would be enough to burn mountains and boil seas, dragging enemies with it to turn into ashes!

"Lu Chen—!!"

Blazing Heaven Lord's final roar came from the true Phoenix's mouth,

"Come—be buried with me!!"

With a flap of its wings, heaven and earth became a furnace, and raging flames poured down like a celestial river, instantly transforming the entire arena into a purgatorial sea of fire!

Hui Ming was overjoyed: "This strike... even I, at the Late Golden Core Stage, would be severely injured if I took it head-on! Blazing Heaven Lord actually shattered his Golden Core to transform into a Phoenix, completely elementalizing himself into a body of true fire... This kind of self-destructive technique is almost a great Divine Ability!"

Flood Dragon Demon King Wan Yuan stared intently at the sky-obscuring Fire Phoenix, his hands tightly clenched, trembling—

Not out of fear, but excitement.

He silently prayed in his heart:

"Blazing Heaven Lord... you must achieve mutual destruction! You must kill Lu Chen! If this person lives, he will surely become the root of endless calamity for our Yao Race!"

However—

Lu Chen stood in the center of the sea of fire, facing the destructive strike of the Blazing Heaven True Phoenix, not retreating but advancing, his cold eyes like lightning.

With a thought, nine giant Dragons rapidly contracted, transforming into nine brilliant Dragon Pattern, branded onto his entire body's bones, muscles, and flesh!

Immediately after, he shouted loudly: "Iron Shirt Technique!"

Lu Chen's robes completely burst apart, revealing a body as robust as cast iron! His muscles were knotted, his bones like Dragons, and a metallic cold light shimmered on the surface of his skin!

Boom—!!!

Lu Chen did not take a single step back, using the nine Dragons to protect his body, he forcefully withstood the destructive strike of the Blazing Heaven True Phoenix!

His Physical Body violently shook, his Qi and blood surged, and he suddenly opened his mouth—

"Pfft!"

A mouthful of fresh blood spurted out, splashing onto the blood-colored arena, and upon touching the ground, wisps of black smoke actually rose!

The crowd below first fell silent, then—a burst of wild joy erupted!

"Hahaha! He's spitting blood! He can't hold on anymore!!"

"Blazing Heaven Lord is mighty! Even if he dies, he'll drag someone down with him!"

The Human Race camp cheered like a tide, and the Devil Kings also couldn't hide their excitement, Wan Yuan clenched his fists, and the fire of hope ignited in his eyes: Perhaps... they really can achieve mutual destruction!

Blazing Heaven Lord's remnant Divine Soul was entrenched in the core of the Fire Phoenix, feeling the blood Lu Chen spat out, he immediately let out a ferocious, wild laugh, his voice like raging flames burning bones:

"Hahaha... Lu Chen! You bleed too?! You fall too? What Nine Dragons protecting the body? What peerless Prodigy? Nothing more than this!!"

"It seems—you are not invincible at all! Receive my second strike!!"

Bang!

Another heavy blow from the Heaven Burning, Lu Chen's body shook, and he spat out a large mouthful of blood again!

Bang! Bang! Bang! ... The impact sounds were continuous, like war drums roaring!

The Fire Phoenix, guided by its Divine Soul fire, struck ten times in a row! Each time it poured out its remaining strength, as if to crush Lu Chen into a bloody mist!

And Lu Chen—

He was sent spitting blood with every strike!

But strangely—

He always stood firm, his spine like a Dragon, his eyes clear, not only showing no signs of worsening injuries, but his breathing became steadier, a Dragon-like hum faintly emanated from his bones and muscles, and his skin, beneath the bloodstains, actually revealed a jade-like luster!

The crowd below gradually turned from wild joy to astonishment:

"How is he... still alive?!"

"He's spat blood ten times, how is he completely fine?!"

Until Bai Qi's pupils suddenly contracted, a flash of insight exploded in his mind, and he exclaimed in surprise:

"It's the Iron Shirt Technique! The most basic entry-level Body Tempering Cultivation Technique of the Metal element!! He's not spitting true blood, but the accumulated Impurities and turbid Qi in his body over the years! This kid... he's actually treating Blazing Heaven Lord's Golden Core shattering strike as a Body Tempering furnace fire? He's not taking a beating... he's using the enemy's strength to temper his Physical Body and Breakthrough his Bottleneck!!"

As soon as these words came out, the entire place fell silent!

Hui Ming's eyes went dark, his whole body felt as if it had fallen into an ice cave, only one thought remained in his mind:

"What kind of monster... has the Cihang Sect provoked?!"

He regretted it so much he almost spat blood—if he had known Lu Chen was such a Prodigy, he would rather endure humiliation and survive than to have specifically targeted him in the first trial!

This was not an enemy... this was a harbinger of disaster! It was the calamity of the Cihang Sect!

Madam Shuang, who was always stern, now had trembling pupils and murmured: "Life-and-death struggle... he's actually... Cultivating?"

Old Monster Mo felt a chill run through his body, his voice trembling: "This is no longer a Genius... this is a madman! A madman who treats his life as Cultivation Materials!!"

And on the arena—

Lu Chen wiped the blood from his lips, not only not angry but instead stretching his muscles and bones, sighing softly towards the sky: "Refreshing... again!"

Blazing Heaven Lord collapsed, his life-sacrificing attack actually became an assistant for someone else's Cultivation, he was unconvinced, he didn't believe there was such an incredible person in this world!!

Die for me!!

He used his last trace of Divine Thought to control the true Phoenix to continue crashing!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The eleventh strike! The twelfth strike! The thirteenth strike!

Until the twentieth strike landed, the fire had weakened, and the impact force sharply decreased.

Lu Chen wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, frowning in dissatisfaction: "Why is the force getting weaker?! Come on again! Put some effort into it!!"

The entire place—dead silent.

The wind suddenly quieted.

Lu Chen stood amidst the lingering flames, blood mist steaming from his body, his skin transforming from a metallic cold light to a jade-like transparency, his bones and muscles resonating, like Dragon roars in nine turns!

Within his body, the Nine Heavens Dragon Vein violently vibrated, the nine great islands rose simultaneously, and the power of the Dragon Vein permeated all his Meridia—

Boom!!!

A terrifying aura, far surpassing Foundation Establishment, shot up into the sky!

A Golden Core phantom condensed in his Sea of Consciousness, Spiritual Qi poured in like a river, his Meridians were reshaped, and his flesh and blood sublimated!

Nine Heavens Dragon Vein Art—Breakthrough to the one hundredth layer!

Lu Chen—entered the Middle Golden Core Stage!!

That's right, the one hundredth layer, this was custom-made for Lu Chen by mechanical girl zero.

Unlike traditional Cultivation Techniques, which generally only have nine layers and are very difficult to Cultivate at each layer.

But the Nine Heavens Dragon Vein Art is different!! It has one hundred million layers!!

No mistake! It's one hundred million layers!

This was still because the computing power was insufficient, so only one hundred million layers were designed, otherwise, according to mechanical girl zero's idea, at least billions of layers would have been designed!

This way, even the most ordinary activities like walking, eating, and sleeping could easily Breakthrough layer by layer!!

According to mechanical girl zero's simulation and deduction, as long as Lu Chen Cultivates to one million layers, he can reach the God-Man Realm! Although she doesn't know what Realms come after that, Lu Chen can continue to Cultivate!! It's equivalent to mechanical girl zero deducing the Realm data for later stages, a Cultivation Technique created in the cloud!

Lu Chen slowly raised his head, his gaze sweeping over the terrified crowd below, and softly said: "Thank you, Senior Blazing Heaven Lord, I respectfully send Senior off to heaven!!"

The Fire Phoenix's light extinguished, and the flame particles forming its body scattered, transforming into countless sparks falling.

Blazing Heaven Lord's remnant Divine Soul let out a final, unwilling roar of anger:

"I... die with unclosed eyes—!!!"

Boom, his Divine Soul completely perished.