Volume 3, Chapter 93 – The Third Shackle

‘This, this… this is impossible…’

Sliding slowly down the wall and collapsing into a pool of blood, Xue Tian’ao was as shocked as if he had been struck by five bolts of lightning. His mind entered a state of semi-delirium as he stared incredulously at the bloodstains on the floor and the two divine artifacts lying nearby.

‘I… I was blown away?!

‘This, this is impossible?!’

Xue Tian’ao refused to believe the reality before him.

Now that he had released two shackles, his strength was close to the middle-rank of the eighth tier. He had even defeated Inferno, who was at the demon king tier, in this state. Even without the Divine Might Armor and a slight drop in combat power, he shouldn’t be this pathetic!

‘No… no… this… this shouldn’t be happening?! This is impossible?! How could I…’

Xue Tian’ao struggled to stand, only to find to his horror that he had lost all sensation in his lower body. At this moment, the agonizing pain that was enough to distort his features and his rapidly ebbing life force made him realize how dire the situation was with his abdomen.

His abdomen had been blown apart by a single magic cannon blast from Xiao, leaving his internal organs gone and his spine turned to ash. Although he possessed eighth tier strength through divine power, he was not a true eighth tier being; his physical body was still made of flesh and blood. Suffering such a heavy blow undoubtedly stripped Xue Tian’ao of all combat capability.

At the same time, this realization forced the Chosen Son to accept that everything before him was real.

He had been completely crushed…

‘Damn it!’

Lying on the ground like a dead dog, Xue Tian’ao couldn’t help but curse inwardly while forcing his head up to glare at the black-haired man with venomous eyes. In the next moment, his pupils shrank as his expression turned to one of pure panic.

Reflected in his azure eyes, a violent grey-white light swept through the palace. Guided by the magic spear, it surged toward him in a spiraling vortex! Feeling the destructive energy within the spear, a despair-inducing power like that of a soul-reaping reaper, Xue Tian’ao trembled uncontrollably.

Cold sweat poured down his forehead.

Clearly, that fellow Xiao intended to finish him off in one go!

If hit by this move now, he would surely die!

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‘No, I can’t! I can’t!’

He had worked so hard to get to this point; it couldn’t end like this! He was the protagonist of this world, the one destined to step into the legendary ninth tier!

He couldn’t, absolutely couldn’t! He could not die here so senselessly!! He definitely couldn’t die at the hands of the same person three times!

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!”

Driven by an intense will to survive and a thirst for revenge, Xue Tian’ao let out a startling roar.

Facing a life-or-death crisis, he had no choice but to release the third shackle of divine power within his body. At this moment, he didn’t care about the painful backlash he would face later; he had only one goal: to survive and defeat this enemy who had killed him multiple times!

Guided by his hysterical roar, the divine power within his body exploded further. A whistling pale-gold light enveloped his battered body. His various wounds and the bloody hole in his abdomen began to heal rapidly under the cluster of golden light. More importantly, his power began to climb steadily.

The golden light surged out of his body like a rampaging hurricane, violently clashing with the incoming black magic spear. The two forces, gold and grey-white, collided head-on.

The powers crashed against and devoured each other, erupting in a blinding light that symbolized ultimate destruction. The residual shockwaves spread rapidly, knocking the royal soldiers who were rushing to support him unconscious. The entire magnificent palace showed signs of collapse under the impact.

After a surge of intensity, the divine power finally suppressed the magic spear’s ferocity and shattered the endless grey mist. Deprived of its power boost, the magic spear flew back into Xiao’s hand.

Surrounded by golden divine power, Xue Tian’ao stood up once more. He tore away his ruined upper clothing, revealing his robust muscles. With the enhancement of divine power, golden patterns emerged on his skin, making his body even more powerful.

His hair and eyes emitted a faint golden glow.

A faint pressure on the soul caused the surrounding space to distort, and the ground trembled incessantly. In terms of aura, the current Xue Tian’ao was worlds apart from before. Gripping both divine artifacts, a terrifying pressure erupted from his eyes and locked onto Xiao.

“Hmm…”

Watching this grand scene and the mythological warrior-like Xue Tian’ao surrounded by golden light, Xiao’s eyes narrowed slightly.

For once, the Blackrose Duke wore a serious expression.

‘An explosion of divine power. Although it didn’t attack me directly, it heals all wounds just like the Chosen Maiden.’

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Judging from Xue Tian’ao’s now-intact abdomen, Xiao reached this conclusion.

Not only was he not dead, but he was also getting stronger?

From this perspective, this guy was quite similar to the ‘protagonist’ Yumo used to talk about—impossible to kill and growing stronger with every defeat.

To be honest, Xiao could easily crush the previous Xue Tian’ao, but now, this Chosen Son with surging divine power posed a slight threat, forcing Xiao to look at him with importance.

‘Sigh, whatever.’

‘I didn’t want to use it… But now, there’s no point worrying about side effects…’

Shaking his head helplessly, Xiao gripped the black magic spear. His eyes flashed with black light as thick magic power leaked from the spear and flowed through his right arm into his body. His pitch-black pupils gradually turned a cold, pale blue as the energy flooded in.

In turn, Xiao poured his own magic power back into the spear.

The magic spear began to tremble.

The consciousness within it began to awaken.

“I say, have you slept enough? Puls?”

As Xiao transmitted his thought, a deep and steady male voice resonated in his mind.

“Is it mealtime, Master?”

“Yes, it’s mealtime.”

…

‘Is this the feeling of the third shackle being released? This power?! It’s so powerful, so wonderful! This feeling is simply beyond words!’

“Ha~”

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“Haha~”

“Hahahahaha!!”

On the other side, feeling the abundant and terrifyingly powerful energy within him, Xue Tian’ao’s confidence inflated rapidly, reaching an unprecedented height. He burst into a fit of ecstatic laughter. Having released three shackles, his strength was now approaching the high-rank of the eighth tier.

With high-rank strength coupled with the powerful traits of divine power, even a peak eighth tier expert likely couldn’t defeat him! He was invincible!

Although using this power would result in a severe backlash, he didn’t care about the future right now. He had only one goal: to tear his enemy into ten thousand pieces and make him understand the consequences of opposing him! As the saying goes, thirty years in the east of the river, thirty years in the west of the river ¹ 三十年河东，三十年河西 (sānshí nián hé dōng, sānshí nián gé xī), roughly means fortune, power, and circumstances constantly change over time —now was the time for his revenge!

“I’ll give you one chance to surrender. If you do, I might even show mercy and grant you a painless death.”

Facing his words, however, Xiao remained silent. He showed no interest in responding, simply holding his magic spear and watching the divine power-raging Xue Tian’ao in the sky.

Seeing his words ignored again, Xue Tian’ao smiled coldly.

“Heh, you didn’t accept my proposal? No matter, you’ll regret it soon enough.”

‘Now, I’ll make you experience the pain I felt before!’

Extreme rage and violent divine power surged from his eyes. Enveloped in golden light, his aura climbed further, causing the space around him to twist and fracture! Under his control, endless golden light gathered upon the two divine artifacts.

In an instant, the two already terrifying weapons emitted a shocking energy fluctuation capable of destroying all things.

‘Wrathful Samsara – Heaven Sunder!’

His pupils shrank as he roared the name of his powerful technique in his heart.

Knowing his opponent’s strength, Xue Tian’ao didn’t intend to hold back just because his own power had increased. He intended to directly cripple the fighting capability of this bastard who had killed him twice and now tried to destroy everything he had! Then, he would torture him to death as he pleased!

As golden light rippled, Xue Tian’ao turned into a golden meteor. He tore through space, appearing before Xiao in an instant at an inconceivable speed. The vast golden curtain of divine power abruptly obliterated Xiao’s grey-white aura.

The Divine Sword and divine axe struck simultaneously, whipping up a torrential golden light. With the force of a mountain-collapsing wave that could drown all things, they slashed toward Xiao’s body.

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“Die!!”

Xue Tian’ao roared with a thunderous voice.

At this moment, Xiao did not sit idly by. Surrounded by a thick mist, he raised the magic spear in his hand, seemingly trying to block the attack.

‘Tch~’

Seeing this, Xue Tian’ao was filled with disdain.

Wrathful Samsara – Heaven Sunder was a secret technique he had practiced for a long time, requiring two divine artifacts to perform. The power of this move was too staggering for ordinary weapons to bear.

The explosive power and penetration of such an attack were unprecedented! If directed at a city, it could split the entire Sky Dome in two with a single blow! If directed at a person, even a magic god existence would be sliced in half.

‘You want to block my attack with that slender, broken spear? You’re dreaming! Pay for your stupidity!’

Under his frenzied gaze, the two divine artifacts collided violently with the magic spear in Xiao’s hand. The gold and grey light fused, devouring and grinding against each other.

Waves of world-destroying energy erupted, annihilating everything nearby with overwhelming force! The Grand Arsenal Hall, including the countless weapons stored beneath it, vanished in an instant…

Clearly, compared to protecting rare weapons and materials, eliminating a terrifying enemy like Xiao was far more critical.

However, after paying such a heavy price, the scene Xue Tian’ao imagined of the black-haired man being heavily wounded and unable to rise did not happen. Instead, the opponent had blocked his attack head-on.

He even remained standing in place, motionless.

In that instant, Xue Tian’ao’s pupils shrank violently as a look of pure horror, as if he had seen a ghost, surged into the Chosen Son’s heart.

?!!!

“This, this?! This! This… what kind of joke is this!!”