209: Chapter 208 The Flames of Chaos and the Fire of Destruction

Chapter 208: Chaos Flame and Flames of Destruction

At this moment, another highly mysterious family was also paying attention to Sun Po's battle footage.

One of the oldest families among the Five Surnames and Seven Clans—the Chi Family.

The Chi Family were descendants of Chiyou, the God of War from ancient times. The signature feature of their family's secret art was condensing their spirituality into weapons and armor.

Because of this, when Yuan Tiangang, the Li Family's retainers' guest elder, first saw Sun Po's [Black Rhino Armor], he had immediately assumed Sun Po was from the Chi Family and treated him with great courtesy.

One must know that even among the Five Surnames and Seven Clans, there were differences in strength. There had even been historical examples of old families of the Five Surnames and Seven Clans being replaced by new ones. For instance, the Li Family had replaced the Yang Family to join their ranks. Among the Five Surnames and Seven Clans, the Li Family was considered an outright newcomer, hardly comparable when facing the most ancient of the Five Surnames and Seven Clans like the Chi Family.

The exact time the title of Five Surnames and Seven Clans first appeared could no longer be traced, but ever since its inception, five families had firmly occupied their seats: the Xuanyuan Family, Jiang Family, Chi Family, Chao Family, and Si Family.

They were also the five oldest families in the Yanhuang Ancient Country, spanning from ancient times to the present, incomparably ancient and powerful.

These five families were also referred to as the Upper Five Surnames within the Five Surnames and Seven Clans, universally recognized as mysterious and powerful. There were even rumors that any single family among the Upper Five Surnames was enough to rival at least three families of the Lower Seven Clans.

Families like the Li Family, Yuan Family, and Qin Family possessed their own ancestral lands, usually radiating across one or two provinces. Although their ancestral mansions were independent within a secret realm, they were still located in the same provinces as the common people.

However, the five families—the Xuanyuan Family, Jiang Family, Chi Family, Chao Family, and Si Family—stood aloof from world affairs, no longer even living alongside ordinary citizens.

Although the Upper Five Surnames were immensely powerful, they lived almost completely secluded lives. Usually, only the younger generation and peripheral clan members helping with mundane affairs traveled in the outside world.

Among them, the most mysterious was the Chi Family. Located inside the [Ten Thousand Great Mountains] Secret Realm, the Chi Family possessed great influence within the military, but rarely meddled in worldly matters.

Even when members of the Chi Family ventured out, they were mostly younger generations traveling the world to temper themselves.

For within the circles of prominent clans, there was a rumor that the Chi Family had a family rule: the weak are not worthy of bearing the Chi surname.

Before passing the internal family trial, no young member of the Chi Family could refer to themselves as a member of the Chi Family.

Thus, throughout past history, there had been instances of Chi Family members entering the worldly realm to challenge formidable foes, temper themselves, and seek opportunities, which led to this family rule gradually leaking out.

Therefore, Yuan Tiangang had previously mistaken Sun Po for a Chi Family descendant who had yet to pass the internal family trial. Even when Sun Po insisted he was a commoner, Yuan Tiangang believed it was merely because Sun Po was bound by family rules and could not disclose his true identity.

After all, although Sun Po's [Black Rhino Armor] didn't quite resemble the Chi Family's secret art—which people remembered as condensing spirituality into ancient weapons and armor—to outsiders, it followed the same path. No one could say for sure whether the strange appearance of the [Black Rhino Armor] was caused by some unique, personal talent of a Chi Family descendant.

But the Chi Family themselves knew the truth clearly.

The Chi Family had always looked down upon competitions like the Gaokao. They were not like the Jiang Family, who were weak in direct combat and leaned toward medical support, so they didn't need to participate in the Gaokao like the young girl Jiang Cha. They were the descendants of the God of War, famous for battle.

In their eyes, the so-called Gaokao was merely child's play; their family's internal trial within the Ten Thousand Great Mountains was far more difficult than any Gaokao.

But the younger generation of the Chi Family discovered that this year's Gaokao seemed a bit different. Both the contestants and the difficulty of the secret realm were vastly different from previous years.

Especially with an additional contestant named Sun Po this year, whose techniques closely resembled the Chi Family's secret arts and whose strength appeared quite impressive.

Southern Region of Yanhuang Ancient Country, [Ten Thousand Great Mountains] Secret Realm.

A rugged, red-haired man with multicolored body paint painted on him was casually leaning against the chest of a winged tiger. Watching the broadcast, he laughed heartily: "Hahaha, [Qiongqi], this guy's armor is really interesting!! I like him!! Once the trial is over, let's go out and meet this guy!!"

The winged tiger lay on the ground, listless, as if it hadn't heard a word.

Suddenly, sensing an impending danger, it sat up in a fright and let out a howl in response.

"Smart move, hahahaha!"

Besides the Chi Family, who were experts in armor, the person who knew quality best was Professor Zhou Gongdan of the [Central Laboratory].

If Professor Zhou Gongdan hadn't been concerned about the person behind Sun Po, he would have loved nothing more than to snatch Sun Po away right now.

Because in Zhou Gongdan's eyes, Sun Po was full of pleasant surprises everywhere.

This pleasant surprise wasn't just that Sun Po, as a high school student, broke the record for the domain limit. While such immense potential was indeed gratifying, adding or lacking one powerhouse would not bring an immediate, dramatic boost to the overall strength of the Yanhuang Ancient Country's army.

In Zhou Gongdan's eyes, Sun Po's most valuable trait was that he was an ordinary civilian Card Maker starting from absolute zero background.

Indeed, the moment Zhou Gongdan saw Sun Po pull out the [tianhe exclusive spirit-replenishing pill], his interest in Sun Po shot up dramatically.

Although this person of blank destiny could not be divined, some things could be investigated clearly without divination.

He had investigated Sun Po's past life and knew very well that six months ago, Sun Po was just an ordinary [Apprentice Card Maker] who suddenly rose to prominence in recent months.

Zhou Gongdan knew full well what terrifying power lay hidden behind that red armor's seemingly miserable state. Looking at Sun Po's screen, he murmured to himself, "[Spirit Monkey], [Warrior], [Wrongfully Deceased Scholar]... armor that allows an ordinary person to match Orange or even Gold monsters once equipped. Even if it's a unique talent, can the principles behind this talent's power be deconstructed? Could we use Sun Po's unique talent as a blueprint—"

However, a title suddenly flashed through his mind. Unwillingness filled his face, and a bitter smile tugged at the corner of his lips.

But the more he watched, the more his mouth watered. In his heart, Zhou Gongdan had already made up his mind. Meanwhile, in the Northern Ice Bear Kingdom, at [Chernobyl Laboratory]...

Looking at the giant flame behemoth, Durin Fjör mumbled to himself, "[Surtur] has actually weakened to this extent? I'm afraid the situation in the Endless Battlefield isn't looking good either. This kid is really a freak. How could someone at his level possess Chaos Flame?"

—

"Though this wispy Chaos Flame is just a tiny spark, it counters [Surtur]'s Flames of Destruction to death. This kid's luck is truly absurd."

Of course, where there are those who recognize true value, there are those who don't—or rather, the miserable appearance of the [flame dragon armor] made it difficult for anyone to realize its worth.

The audience was already laughing hysterically, and Sun Po's popularity shot up drastically once again.

"Someone already turned the footage of Master Sun's armor card getting beaten up into memes! The more I look at it, the funnier it gets."

"How does Master Sun manage to be so strong yet produce so much entertainment? I thought Master Sun was already leaps and bounds ahead of everyone and guaranteed to win, even going out of his way to find the secret realm where his teammate was to rescue them. Who knew this mascot summoned by Master Sun would feed right off the bat, hahahaha!"

"Stop your noisy clatter! My Master Sun still has two Gold cards! With such a wealthy hand, what's wrong with forfeiting one?"

"I feel like that armor card's intelligence is worse than those wild boars. At least wild boars know how to charge people! That armor card looked like it ran straight into the flame giant's weapon—it looks way too much like an insurance scam, hahahaha!"

Of course, besides those who thought the [flame dragon armor] was stupid, there were also people who believed Sun Po was genuinely powerful.

"Master Sun's match experience is seriously satisfying. Other contestants haven't even pulled out a single Gold card yet, and Master Sun is already sacrificing them like cheap cabbages."

"I still feel like Master Sun is so strong it's almost like he's cheating—"

"To be fair, although Master Sun's combat command isn't great, his card quality is insanely high. That card that got smashed by a pillar just now was probably at least Orange quality."

"Who would've thought that the biggest stat monster among all contestants this time wouldn't be a descendant from a prominent family or an elite foreign contestant, but a commoner Card Maker? All I can say is Master Sun is awesome!"

"Don't be in such a hurry to laugh. Has there ever been a time when those who laughed at Master Sun didn't get slapped in the face afterwards?"

"If nothing else, when Master Sun's card got instantly killed like that, Master Sun still looked perfectly fine. For anyone else, passing out would be considered normal! That point alone shows Master Sun's strength is far beyond our imagination."

"Wait, who told you Master Sun's card got instantly killed? Look at the screen!"

The audience once again focused their gaze on Sun Po's battle footage. Out from the lava and black smoke, a figure emitting five-colored luminous flames flew out once more.

In front of the massive form of the flame giant [Surtur], this figure was as tiny as a flying insect, yet extraordinarily eye-catching. The five-colored flames drifting across its surface were far more dazzling than before.

What was even stranger was that this figure was currently clinging tightly to that giant magma stone pillar, getting lifted into the air along with it and coming into everyone's view.

Sun Po and Li Tiance naturally saw it too. Sun Po had been able to feel the emotional fluctuations of the [flame dragon armor] all along, so he naturally knew it was fine from the start.

As for why the [flame dragon armor], which wasn't even a defensive armor, could take a magma stone pillar straight to the face and emerge completely unscathed, Sun Po didn't understand, but he respected it.

Could it be that although this child was silly, its stats and mechanics were overwhelming? Sun Po felt stats were unlikely; nine times out of ten, it was a mechanics issue.

The emotions conveyed from the [flame dragon armor] to Sun Po became increasingly joyful, like an infant finding milk. If it could speak, it probably would have laughed out loud already.

Not only that, the [flame dragon armor] clung to the surface of that magma stone pillar, refusing to let go.

In just a few seconds, the magma stone pillar seemed to grow slightly dimmer, while the five-colored flames floating around the [flame dragon armor] grew brighter and brighter.

The giant flame behemoth seemed to sense that something was wrong. It threw its head back and let out a earth-shattering roar, flinging away the magma stone pillar as if it were burning hot, stirring up another sky full of lava and black smoke.

At this point, how could Sun Po not understand why [Wuzhiqi] had been so full of confidence in the [flame dragon armor]? This guy was practically the hard counter to this flame giant!

[Wuzhiqi] dealing with [Surtur] would still require clashing head-on with [Ren Water Divine Power], which would undoubtedly demand immense effort.

But the [flame dragon armor]? It didn't need to at all. It was even domineering enough to directly absorb [Surtur]'s attacks forcibly.

Sun Po knew the [flame dragon armor] possessed the [Red Armor Absorbs Ten Thousand Fires] trait, but he hadn't known it worked in *this* manner.

In Sun Po's imagination, shouldn't the [Red Armor Absorbs Ten Thousand Fires] trait of the [flame dragon armor] be the kind that absorbs mild fire seeds to refine for its own use?

Wasn't this supposed to be a growth-type trait? How on earth did it escalate to tanking attacks from the flame giant [Surtur] head-on?

Especially considering the magma stone pillar carried immense kinetic force—even if the flames weren't enough to hurt the [flame dragon armor], the sheer weight of that mountain-like magma stone pillar shouldn't have been something the [flame dragon armor] could withstand.

But Sun Po had actually forgotten one thing: when [Vermilion Bird] Jiang Yan gave Sun Po this chaos fire seed, she had said, "You can use it to borrow my strength."

Indeed, behind the [flame dragon armor] was not just Sun Po, its cheap father, but also a [Titled Card Maker] mother who could transfer her power.

In terms of talent, [Hundred Flames: Chaos Flame] was the progenitor of all flames. Although the Flames of Destruction carried by the flame giant [Surtur] before them were quite extraordinary and contained a trace of true intent of destruction, its tier fell short of Chaos Flame, the ancestor of all fires. Destruction was terrifying indeed, but destruction was inherently the soil of chaos, and from chaos sprang new life.

Perhaps when facing other flames, the Flames of Destruction could use their violent true intent of destruction to destroy and extinguish them, but when facing Chaos Flame, they could only become its fuel.

The fiercer the Flames of Destruction burned, the stronger the Chaos Flame grew, while the new life within chaos guaranteed that the [flame dragon armor] would not die.

What's more, [Vermilion Bird] Jiang Yan was watching the livestream the entire time. The moment that giant magma stone pillar slammed down, just as it was about to strike the [flame dragon armor], she transferred enough power to help the [flame dragon armor] block that powerful kinetic force—a true motherly protection.

Thus, although the [flame dragon armor] seemed to be merely [Orange 9-Star], it could borrow the power of a [Titled Card Maker]. Although it couldn't borrow too much due to its insufficient foundation, the BUG-like counter that its own Chaos Flame possessed against the Flames of Destruction meant it didn't need to borrow much power at all.

In the eyes of the [flame dragon armor], the magma stone pillar right now was like a delicious lollipop, while the flame giant [Surtur] was a giant, mouthwatering dessert.

It was also because of this that [Surtur] instinctively felt something was wrong. It saw that ant-like creature rapidly absorbing the Flames of Destruction from the surface of the magma stone pillar, after which the ant's aura noticeably grew stronger. It wasn't a stupid pig like [Sæhrímnir], so it immediately judged that this seemingly weak ant was likely the true natural enemy of the Flames of Destruction—

Or rather, its own true natural enemy. So [Surtur] hurriedly flung the magma stone pillar away to prevent itself from being devoured clean by this terrifying ant. However, in just a brief moment, that giant magma stone pillar was completely extinguished, crumbling directly into fragile ashes. [Surtur] clearly saw that terrifying ant turn its head toward its direction...