Chapter 200: PART II: THE STRIKE

Chapter 200 — NINEFOLD SOVEREIGN ARRAY (PART II: THE STRIKE)

The air itself had changed.

Where moments earlier the battlefield had been chaos—scattered explosions, desperate counters, collapsing terrain—now something else existed in its place.

Order.

Nine points of power formed a vast circle across the shattered plain.

Energy spiraled between them like converging rivers.

The Ninefold Sovereign Array had awakened.

At the center of it all stood Dean Xu Canglong, sword raised toward the emerald sky.

The blade was no longer simply glowing.

It had become a pillar of light.

Azure energy surged upward from the ground beneath him, fed by the gravitational stability of Grandmaster Tenzin Dorje and the kinetic anchor of General Han Dae-Woo.

Above them, solar brilliance gathered around Headmaster Suryavansh Rao.

Flames roared around Dean Feng Yanrui.

Water spiraled through the sky around Commander Rafael Ibarra.

Dark chains circled the formation from Kaito Veyron.

Dimensional fractures held open by Astra Nyx focused the converging streams.

And across the battlefield, injured but relentless, Dr. Elena Kovács guided the harmonic balance through her surviving drones.

Nine powers.

Nine functions.

One blade.

Above them—

The Jade Dragon finally moved.

Not with curiosity anymore.

With hostility.

Its emerald eyes burned brighter as it sensed the structure forming beneath it.

“You gather strength.”

Its voice rolled across the battlefield.

“But structure cannot overcome foundation.”

The dragon’s wings spread wider.

The sky trembled.

A colossal claw descended toward the formation.

The air collapsed under its weight.

But before the claw could strike—

Dorje’s voice echoed calmly.

“Mountain Suppression — Absolute Weight.

”

Gravity intensified.

The dragon’s claw slowed.

Han roared beside Canglong.

“Titan Core Anchor!”

He slammed both fists into the ground.

A massive shockwave surged outward, stabilizing the entire formation circle.

The dragon’s claw struck the invisible barrier created by the array.

The impact detonated across the battlefield.

Mountains shattered.

Emerald crystal veins cracked.

But the formation held.

The Jade Dragon’s claw stopped inches above Canglong’s blade.

For the first time since the battle began—

The dragon’s eyes widened.

“Interesting.”

Canglong did not look up.

He focused only on the sword in his hands.

Energy continued flowing toward the blade.

Ibarra’s water currents spiraled inward like pressure tunnels.

“Leviathan Channel — Full Flow.”

Massive streams of compressed water surged into the center of the formation.

Feng Yanrui raised both arms.

“Phoenix Ignition — Crown Ascendant!”

Crimson fire spiraled upward around the blade.

Solar light descended from above.

“Solar Amplification — Maximum.”

Suryavansh Rao’s miniature sun poured golden energy into the formation.

Astra Nyx widened the dimensional aperture.

“Void Aperture — Stabilized.”

The blade now existed partly in another plane.

Kaito’s chains tightened around the formation perimeter.

“Abyssal Binding Ring.”

The energy was contained.

Perfectly.

Kovács’ voice echoed through the comm channel.

“Resonance stable!”

The Ninefold Sovereign Array had reached full synchronization.

Canglong lifted the blade higher.

Azure light erupted into the sky.

The Jade Dragon sensed the change immediately.

Its emerald aura surged outward.

The dragon pulled its claw back.

Then lunged forward.

Its jaws opened.

Emerald energy condensed inside its throat.

But this time—

Canglong moved first.

He stepped forward.

Just one step.

But the energy behind that movement was enough to shake the battlefield.

He spoke quietly.

“Ninefold Sovereign Array — Execution Strike.”

The blade descended.

The Attack

The strike was not a beam.

Not an explosion.

It was a line.

A single line of absolute azure brilliance carved upward from Canglong’s sword and sliced across the sky like a crack forming in reality itself.

The blade passed through Astra Nyx’s dimensional aperture.

Space folded around the strike.

The attack expanded instantly into a massive arc of energy that cut directly toward the Jade Dragon’s chest.

The dragon reacted instantly.

Its wings surged forward.

Emerald armor hardened.

The dragon roared—

But the strike landed.

The blade of azure energy carved across the dragon’s torso.

A massive explosion of jade fragments erupted into the sky.

The sound was like a mountain splitting apart.

The dragon’s chest armor cracked.

Scales shattered.

Emerald crystal blood sprayed across the battlefield like falling meteors.

The Nine felt it through the formation.

The dragon had been wounded.

Badly.

For the first time since its appearance—

The Jade Dragon screamed.

Not a roar.

A scream.

The enormous creature was driven backward through the air.

Three kilometers.

Four.

Five.

Its massive body slammed into a distant mountain range.

The mountains collapsed instantly under the impact.

The shockwave rolled across the battlefield like a hurricane.

The Nine held the formation.

Barely.

Canglong kept his blade pointed forward.

Azure energy slowly faded from the sword.

The strike had ended.

For a moment—

Silence.

Smoke rose from the destroyed mountains in the distance.

Chunks of jade armor rained from the sky.

The dragon had disappeared beneath the collapsing ridge.

General Han breathed heavily.

“Did we…?”

Feng Yanrui narrowed his eyes.

“Wait.”

The mountain range continued collapsing.

Then—

The rubble exploded outward.

The Jade Dragon rose from the wreckage.

Its chest was damaged.

Several scales had been shattered entirely.

A massive glowing wound ran across its torso where the blade had struck.

Emerald blood poured down its body.

But the dragon still flew.

Its wings spread slowly again.

Its eyes burned brighter than before.

Not with curiosity.

Not with irritation.

With fury.

“You… wounded me.”

The dragon’s voice shook the battlefield.

The emerald veins across its body ignited violently.

The wounded scales began glowing.

Not healing.

Transforming.

Dr. Kovács’ voice trembled through the comm channel.

“Energy spike!”

The dragon inhaled.

But this time—

The energy did not gather in its throat.

It spread across its entire body.

The emerald glow intensified until the dragon looked like a living sun.

Grandmaster Dorje whispered quietly.

“It evolves again.”

The Jade Dragon spread its wings.

The sky cracked with emerald lightning.

“You forced the second awakening.”

Its voice rolled like thunder across the heavens.

“Now witness the third.”

The Nine held formation.

But every one of them felt the same truth.

Their strongest attack had worked.

They had hurt the dragon.

But now—

They had made it angry.

And the Jade Dragon began changing again.

[Chapter ENDS]

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