Listen While Reading: 38. Successor of Niten Ichiryu

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I combined with Fang Shuan; his stats and skills became mine, temporarily. The strength of his metallic body, his mighty soul, his techniques, memories, experience, abilities, skills, everything. My body combined with his metallic alloy, becoming gold, glittering, and my hair turned into a long sea of blazing soul flames.

And his Skills, all of them were one with me, alongside his powerful soul, which had fully recovered once it fused with me thanks to all the Holy Nether within me, and even more, his own Martial Core, forged and crystalized out of his own Holy Nether Essence.

This energy, Holy Nether, is the unique essence of my specialization, an essence that combines both the power of Death and Holiness together, which once combined with my Hope Ki, my Cursed Ki, and my Myriad Martial Arts, can create a power that even the Heavenly Demon recognizes.

“You defeated me once?! This is the first time I’ve ever seen your face, girl!”

The Heavenly Demon rushed past the smoke, his hands materializing a gigantic hammer made out of black and red flames imbued with all his Cursed Ki into it.

“{Wrathful Hammer}”

Within a second after conjuring that giant hammer, he began hitting my body with tremendous intensity, so powerful that cracks and wounds spread through my armor and body.

BAAAM! BAAAM! BAAAM! BAAAM!

Cursed Flames of Wrath covered my body, trying to sap away my strength and drain my Ki and Life to redirect it to the Heavenly Demon; some of his abilities would obviously do this.

Yet… I wasn’t the same as before anymore.

I was better.

And stronger!

“{Myriad Self Arts}: {Hundredth Golden Dragons Armor}!”

FLUOSH!

My Aura, combining all the essences and elemental Ki energies I had harnessed, materialized a hundred Chinese dragons that covered my body and that of Zero One, reinforcing our defenses even further.

Not only that, but I even melded it with my equipment, my armor, my gauntlet, and all my other accessories; they all merged with this new Aura Armor; I could tell it was alive, a being of its own.

And Zero One too; she changed; the same thing happened, but because her entire body was “equipment,” the change was much more abrupt and incredible.

Her appearance definitely changed, as she became something else; her silver hair became rainbow, made of light; her skin looked crystalized, as if she had become diamonds; and her eyes were rainbow and crystalline, like pearls; her Electromagnetic Aura combined with my ability, which I lend to her, giving her majestic halos above her head.

“W-Wha…?! Anna! Did you do this?!” Zero One couldn’t believe what had just happened to her.

“Yeah! Now, use that power to fight; stand by my side and intercept blows as they come; whenever there’s an opening, take advantage of it!” I said.

“Roger!” she nodded without hesitation.

“Hahaha! I like your tricks… SHOW ME MORE!”

The Heavenly Demon went mad with his powers, his Cursed Seals covering his entire body, glowing brightly with demonic and dark rune-like formations.

“{Cursed Seal of Wrath: Unleashed}! {Cursed Seal of Envy: Unleashed}! {Cursed Seal of Gluttony: Unleashed}!”

He unleashed three cursed seals at the same time?!

RUMBLE!

The skies above us rumbled before his presence, becoming completely dark and then beginning to generate storms, storms that fused with his very aura, forming the image of a multi-armed, multi-headed chimeric asura demon.

With wings of a crow, the head of a bull, the arms of several animals, both feathered, furred, and scaled, and dozens of tails of many types as well.

This wasn’t a technique or anything; this was the Heavenly Demon’s own Martial Aura Manifestation, something every Cultivator could achieve after reaching a certain level of cultivation.

And the one of Venerables was so strong they could easily combine it with any martial art or technique they possessed, creating truly incredible visuals…

Which were not just illusions, but the real deal.

The gigantic arms of his Martial Aura Manifestation rushed down, clashing against my shield and my armor made of Aura. I quickly intercepted with several blows using the spear I materialized using Fang Shuan’s metal and my Aura and clashed against the giant hands, imbuing my abilities and his experiences into each move.

CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!

“You’re strong, but not enough!”

The Heavenly Demon laughed; his body had not moved; well, that changed. He rushed down, kicked my stomach, and sent me flying with immense force, enough to shatter the floating island below yet again.

BOOOM!

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RUMBLE!

The entire island was beginning to fall apart and collapse, and the heavens blackened, becoming worse, with dark lightning beginning to gather within the hands of the Heavenly Demon’s Martial Aura Manifestation.

“You beat that crane, didn’t you?” he smiled. “Well, I knew you would; she’s soft, too soft. She had many chances to kill me, yet that woman never took the chance at all! It makes me so angry… So furious that she would keep humiliating me!”

His eyes began releasing crimson lighting, his fury unparalleled, resembling a god from the black heavens- no, a demonic god.

“But I am not like her, not at all!” He smirked maliciously. “I don’t hold back… And I don’t have mercy either. You’re dead.”

TRUUUM!

Suddenly, the black heavens and the crimson lightning combined together into a titanic spear of pure crimson thunder and black clouds, spiraling together at once.

“{Black Heaven’s Crimson Thunder Spear: Vajra Ratana}”

He fired the spear directly towards me; it moved as quickly as thunder itself, and within a split second, it was already about to touch my head.

Hah, he’s really a monster, and much more brutal than before.

BOOOMMM!!!

“A-Anna!” Zero One cried.

I felt an immense amount of pain course through my body, almost as if I were being turned to ashes in that very moment. Yet at the same time, all the wounds rapidly regenerated, my Aura beginning to change as hydra-like heads surged from it. My Nameless Axe-Sword glowed with crimson and azure colors.

“{Second Labor: Hydra’s Regeneration}”

The power of the immortal hydra that Heracles faced was imbued into my body; any damage I take is instantly regenerated for 5 minutes. Oh, and these hydra heads also attack foes with a powerful venom that can even decrease regeneration speed.

The bad part is that I can only use it once a day, and once it’s over, it will take 99% of my health. So, I have to hurry, or we’re all dead.

The Heavenly Demon, however, did not notice my regeneration as he set his gaze upon Zero One, rushing to attack her. His Aura’s arms moved one after another as they conjured cursed weapons, which he used to attack her rapidly.

CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!

“Ugh…! Agh!”

Zero One was too nervous and panicked after seeing me being blown up to bits. Unable to fight back, she started to defend, even beginning to cry.

“A-Anna… You killed her!” She kept weeping. “She was my friend… She was… she was my first friend!”

“I don’t care if she was your friend, child!” laughed the Heavenly Demon. “I am impartial to all beings—children, elderly, women, men! I kill them all! I will slaughter the world and cover it with blood! This is my destiny! This is what I am destined to do! This is-”

“IT’S NOT!”

Zero One’s scream sent a shockwave of pure electricity mixed with my Aura Armor imbued into her, generating a rainbow shockwave that destroyed the Heavenly Demon’s weapons within seconds.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

“Wha…?!”

The Heavenly Demon’s red eyes opened wide as she saw the girl furious, her eyes glowing red.

“Why do you think you need to kill everyone?! It’s wrong! It’s not right! You’re crazy! This world is beautiful… I want to protect it, not destroy it…! Why would anybody want to destroy something so beautiful?”

“It’s clear you can’t see past the surface. This world is only beautiful to those who have not experienced its darkest side. Famine, adultery, thievery, homicides, suicides, discrimination, racism, poverty, starvation, cannibalism… I’ve seen it all—this world’s darkest forms, this world’s true darkness. And it resides within me; I am the vessel of all evil; I am the Curses that the people have created through their endless suffering and sinful lives. I am the Heavenly Demon, and my true and only purpose is to turn this horrendous world into a beautiful sea of crimson blood.”

“N-No… I won’t let you!”

“Try as you may; everyone can come and try to stop me; you’re all free to do so! Let’s see if your strength prevails above mine, girl! Let’s see what this world will become after the outcome of this battle! Will my dream come true? Or will yours come true? This is the excitement of fighting; you never truly know the outcome! I put my life on the line every time because I know I could die at any moment… Now tell me, DO YOU DO THE SAME?!”

“RAAAAAH!”

Zero One grew truly furious, her entire Aura shaking as her halos glowed brightly, her hands suddenly shapeshifting into gigantic cannons, firing beams of rainbow light at lightning speed towards the Heavenly Demon.

The Heavenly Demon tried creating barriers and shields made of curses; all of them were disintegrated. His Martial Aura Manifestation moved forward, trying to stop the two beams, yet it was blown up and dissipated.

“You…!”

BOOOM!

Both beams hit the Heavenly Demon at the same time, with tremendous force; his feathers, skin, and scales burned, yet he laughed like a maniac.

“Ahah… AHAHAHA! YOU’RE STRONG!”

With a mad laughter, he swung his hands downward, unleashing a gigantic spear of crimson lightning, a small version of the one he used against me; it pierced through Zero One’s dual beams and reached her body, hitting her armor with immense force, engulfing her in an explosion.

BOOOM!

“H-Huh? Anna!”

Zero One’s eyes widened as she saw me right in front of her. I endured the hit with my super regeneration. At this moment, I wasn’t completely invulnerable; it didn’t affect my soul, but my body… It was almost invincible.

“The only way to defeat these ridiculous monsters is to use equally ridiculous abilities,” I said. “The very reason I’ve been gathering all these powers, all this equipment, all these items, is because I knew from the very beginning that I would fight against monsters like him… Because I want to protect my world, my house, my family, and my friends.”

“Anna…”

“Do you understand now, Zero One?” I asked her. “Why do I do these things? Why do I strive so hard? And why do I have these powers? You have not talked about this with me… But I know you think that it’s very clear.”

She remained in silence but nodded. “I understand now… You’re so strong… I wish I could be like you, Anna… I also want to be strong! I want to be strong so I can protect what I love, this world… and also my family. To achieve the peace I desire… I’ve finally understood that I need strength.”

“Well said,” I smiled. “He’s here. Did you read his movements now?”

“Yes, all recorded,” she said.

“Then let’s end this once and for all,” I said.

“Truly a heartwarming conversation,” he spoke above the skies, the black clouds gathering around his body. “Don’t worry, I will end your suffering so fast you’ll be able to continue your talk in the afterlife.”

Two—no, three of those spears he used against me materialized again, aiming them at us.

And then he fired them without hesitation.

They pierced the skies and space itself, moving quicker than anything ever.

I concentrated, holding a giant spear made out of my aura with one of my many arms and all my other weapons with the others.

Two… no, three techniques at once.

To push myself beyond my limits…

I must; I have to.

“{Thousand Blades}! {Myriad Self Arts}! {Golden Dragon Spear Techniques}!”

I condensed their power into one, and then, imbued into the powers of my equipment, their buffs, especially the abilities of the [Heavenly Demon’s Black Heaven Earrings], [Heavenly Demon’s Wrath], and [Black Heaven’s Protection]!

My aura changed, becoming pitch black.

From within, hundreds of black and red dragons appeared, fusing together into a gigantic…

Blade.

It merged together with my weapons, becoming as long as twenty meters.

“{Heaven-Swallowing Black Dragon Sword: Nidhogg}”

SLAAASH!

I swung the titanic sword, as one of the Heavenly Demon’s spears was split apart and exploded in midair, yet the other two rushed from the left and right.

However, an “echo” was produced, as the gigantic black blade’s first attack was reproduced twelve more times, not coming from the blade’s attack direction but from my Aura.

Yes, this was a new trick I created.

To manipulate the multiplying effect of Thousand Blades and decide where they would appear, creating a pseudo-permanent Sword Domain around my own Aura.

SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!

Both spears were quickly cut to pieces, exploding before being able to deal any damage.

BOOOM!

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Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep