166: Who says heroes don’t cry?

Song Zhong's body was charred black, with white smoke still rising from many places.

"Heh heh! So this is what your sword tastes like?"

Song Zhong raised his hand and tore off the skin that had been ravaged by lightning, throwing piece after piece of charcoal-like skin into the sea.

Beneath the black charcoal was new, tender flesh.

At first glance, it looked pink and delicate, but coupled with Song Zhong's current state, most people would have peed their pants if they saw it.

Fortunately, Zhou Ping was not an ordinary person.

Zhou Ping returned to the battlefield and stared at Song Zhong for a long while, inevitably surprised, "I didn't expect your recovery ability to be so strong?"

Zhou Ping naturally knew exactly how powerful that previous strike was.

Anyone else who took that hit would at least lose half their life, if not die.

But Song Zhong's wounds had already healed completely; although he looked a bit disheveled, this situation greatly exceeded Zhou Ping's expectations.

"Heh heh, before you learn to fight, you always have to learn to take a beating, don't you?"

Song Zhong's mouth was already full of blood; he was very happy now, happy to fight an opponent of Zhou Ping's caliber.

He now had only one thought: to what extent could he go without using his Divine Personality?

After devouring Whisper's Soul, he had touched the edge of the human ceiling, gaining the capital to compete with these powerhouses.

However, there was still some gap in Realm.

Song Zhong opened his System panel and looked at the information on it.

[Host: Song Zhong]

[Realm: Klein]

[Abilities: Firefly, Transformation, Flare, Mirage

Exertion, Bathing in Blood

Soul Ferry, Afraid to leave, Soul Devour

Zombification, Puppet, Curse

Wind Control, Yin Wind, Wind Scythe

Pear Blossom Needles, Sweet Dew, Rain Realm Ripple

Flesh White Bone, Return Light, Meng Po Soup

Overturning Boat, Ice Condensation, Weak Water

Falling Star, Day Chasing, Drinking Poison]

[Invalid Ability: "Headless"]

[Sacrifice Value: 1576]

If he wanted to test his own limits, he would have to use the third ability, Drinking Poison, unlocked from Star God Kua Fu.

[Drinking Poison]: The user can raise their own Realm by one level, lasting 10 minutes. After the ability expires, the user will enter a weakened state for the next 24 hours. Host, please use with caution.

Song Zhong looked at the skill description; 10 minutes was enough.

"But you won't win against me like this!" Zhou Ping looked at Song Zhong, "I heard that when you were in Cangnan before, you could even kill a god, but judging by your performance just now, you're still far from killing a god."

Zhou Ping's tone carried a hint of doubt; he couldn't understand why Song Zhong had been able to do that back then.

"Heh heh, sometimes things are just that ironic; what you couldn't do, I did." Song Zhong smiled at Zhou Ping, "Actually, you have the ability to take that step, don't you?"

Zhou Ping's brows furrowed into a ' river' shape.

Indeed, it only took Zhou Ping ten years to go from an ordinary young man to the Realm of the human ceiling.

And a few years ago, he had already begun to consider how to Break through the limits of humanity and enter the God Realm.

In ancient myths, there were many examples of Mortals becoming gods, but without exception, they all obtained the Law of power and mastered part of this world's authority.

But in this world now shrouded in mist, authority has been completely divided up.

The so-called path to godhood has been completely sealed off.

This is why those outer gods disdain human powerhouses and regard Mortals as mere pawns.

Because no matter how gifted you are, without the Law of power, you can never Break through the boundary between the God Realm and Mortals.

As a result, even if a Mortal is strong, they do not have the ability to kill a god.

Therefore, gods have an overwhelming advantage when facing Mortals.

This was also Zhou Ping's dilemma; the higher he reached in Realm, the more he felt a sense of powerlessness.

But how did Song Zhong know this?

Did he also discover this when he killed the god back then?

"I'm curious about you now. How exactly did you kill a god?" Zhou Ping's expression finally lost its calmness; he suddenly had an indescribable feeling that this person might possess a key to unlock the shackles.

"Heh heh, I won't tell you, because next, I won't speak anymore!"

Song Zhong smiled, and the blood in his mouth seemed to turn into a vibrant flower.

Then, under Zhou Ping's astonished gaze, Song Zhong crushed his own tongue, and a large amount of fresh blood gushed out, instantly filling Song Zhong's mouth.

Song Zhong carefully chewed, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down as he swallowed the flesh bit by bit, as if afraid of wasting even a trace.

The activation of Drinking Poison required a condition: the user's own flesh and blood as a catalyst.

Beneath Song Zhong's feet, invisible Qi vortices suddenly appeared, rustling his clothes.

The sun was setting, and the sea breeze blew, creating an indescribable sense of ease.

Of course, neither Zhou Ping nor Song Zhong were in the mood to appreciate such a beautiful scene right now.

Perhaps it was a mutual appreciation between masters or a telepathic connection, but Zhou Ping roughly knew what Song Zhong was about to do.

"Since that's the case, I will only unleash one final sword strike. Regardless of whether you live or die from this strike, today's matters will end here."

As the human ceiling, Zhou Ping, although not interested in power balance, his words still carried a lot of weight.

This confidence came from his sword.

Song Zhong looked up and swallowed the last mouthful of flesh; the wound on his severed tongue had already begun to heal.

He spread his arms, responding to Zhou Ping; even if Zhou Ping hadn't said these things, Song Zhong would have found a way to leave here.

But he wasn't thinking about that now; Zhou Ping's next sword strike was what interested him most.

Zhou Ping closed his eyes and released his grip; the longsword seemed to break free from the shackles of gravity, floating in mid-air before Zhou Ping.

The sword's blade trembled slightly, like a teenager crying alone in a corner.

The gentle evening breeze swept over the longsword, and the sword itself emitted mournful wails, perhaps 'sobbing' would be a more fitting description.

Zhou Ping closed his eyes, and countless past memories flashed through his mind.

"Am I worthy?"

This was the question that lingered in Zhou Ping's heart, a question that had existed since he could remember.

Zhou Ping, possessing a pure and innocent heart, was a kind child.

But the world is sometimes cruel; others will not treat you kindly just because of your kindness.

Similar to Lin Qi Ye's experience, Zhou Ping's childhood was also spent enduring various forms of bullying.

However, Zhou Ping never complained about the world, not because he was weak, but because he saw further.

But not complaining did not mean he wasn't sad.

Zhou Ping had asked himself more than once, was he worthy? Did this world need him?

Even though he had grown to this point today, the pain and doubts hidden deep within his heart had not healed.

A tear rolled down Zhou Ping's cheek.

He was the undisputed hero of Great Xia, but who said a hero couldn't cry?