Unlike the shock felt by Kong Deming and the others, Lu Jingming looked at the current Xu Tianran with a sense of understanding in his eyes.
"So, he actively threw himself into Destruction..."
He saw through Xu Tianran's current state at a glance.
Unlike Shangguan Wei'er and Di Tian, who fought desperately against the erosion of "Destruction," he, Xu Tianran, had actively abandoned resistance in these final moments. He had even opened his arms wide to embrace it.
He had offered his will, his soul, and his very existence as the final fuel, sacrificing everything to that power of Destruction originating from Phantylia.
In the universe where Phantylia resided, this act was known as "treading upon a Path."
He, with a mortal body, had actively stepped onto the Path of Destruction.
Of course, this world had no Paths; Xu Tianran had simply resonated with the power within him that came from Phantylia.
Having realized this, a faint, thin smile appeared on Lu Jingming's face instead.
"Heh, so this is the 'grand gift' you left for me?"
"I must say, it fits my stereotype of you perfectly. Even in death, you insist on tearing a bloody piece of meat off your enemy."
He could see that at the moment he threw himself into Destruction, the individual ego of the person known as "Xu Tianran" had died. The being before him now was merely a madman driven by the instinct of Destruction, knowing only how to ruin things.
It was an incarnation of Destruction, void of reason but brimming with power, birthed from Xu Tianran's ambition, hatred, and resentment coupled with Phantylia's destructive energy.
Lu Jingming shifted his gaze from the incarnation and turned toward Meng Hongchen and the others behind him.
"Meng, take your brother and your grandfather. Leave the palace immediately. Go as far as possible."
His tone was gentle as he gave his instructions.
"Sister Lexuan, protect them."
Having said that, his eyes inadvertently swept over Kong Deming, who stood not far away.
Kong Deming merely let out a sigh. He likewise used his Silver Moon Divine Light Shroud to perform a spatial transfer, departing from the palace.
Seeing this, Lu Jingming narrowed his eyes slightly and ignored him. Instead, he refocused his entire attention back onto Xu Tianran.
"ROAR—!!!"
As if sensing Lu Jingming's tangible battle intent, the incarnation of Destruction let out a roar that sounded nothing like a human. The purple lightning surrounding its body exploded violently, transforming into a streak of purple light that tore through space, charging straight at Lu Jingming.
"Good timing."
Lu Jingming whispered. Instead of retreating, he lunged forward, soaring into the sky. A surge of black-red electricity instantly enveloped his entire body.
BOOM!!!
Two streaks of lightning, distinct in color but both saturated with the aura of destruction, collided fiercely in mid-air.
However, in the next moment, a scene occurred that made Jing Hongchen and the others' eyes nearly pop out of their sockets.
The seemingly peerless and berserk purple lightning, upon contact with the black-red electricity, was like snow hitting a branding iron. It was easily, brutally, and irrationally pierced and torn asunder.
The black-red electricity met almost no resistance, reaching the front of the incarnation in an instant.
Lu Jingming's figure emerged from the light. His hand, wrapped in black-red bolts, moved so fast it left afterimages as it clamped down on Xu Tianran's head. Then, with an invincible, titanic force, he slammed him down from the sky toward the earth below.
"RUMBLE—!!!!!"
The entire imperial palace, along with the ground beneath it, let out a groan of over-exhaustion. A massive human-shaped crater appeared amidst the ruins of the main hall.
Centering on the crater, massive spiderweb-like fissures spread frantically in all directions. It felt as if the very foundations of New Radiant City were being completely shaken by this single strike.
In this world-ending scenario, Meng Hongchen did not hesitate.
"Grandpa, brother, let's go!"
She grabbed the dazed Jing Hongchen and Xiao Hongchen, turning to sprint toward the palace exit.
As he was pulled along, Xiao Hongchen cast one last complicated look back at the figure suspended in mid-air—the god-like silhouette wreathed in black-red electricity.
"Is this... his current strength..."
Xiao Hongchen's heart was a whirlpool of emotions. He remembered the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Duel Tournament years ago. Back then, though he had lost, he could at least see Lu Jingming's back. He could still treat him as a goal to chase, holding onto a sliver of pride that a future battle might not be impossible.
But now...
He no longer even had the qualification to look up at the other's shadow. That was no longer a realm mortals could touch. That was... a God.
A deep sense of powerlessness welled up in his heart. But immediately after, that powerlessness was replaced by a strange, light sensation.
"Forget it... what is there left to chase?"
Xiao Hongchen gave a self-deprecating smile.
"I can't catch up. I won't catch up in this lifetime. But..."
Lu Jingming's face, always wearing that slight smile, appeared in his mind.
"No matter how strong he gets, even if he becomes a God, isn't he still my sister's man? When we meet, won't he still have to honestly call me 'Brother'?"
The moment this thought took hold, the obsession born from the disparity in strength—that pride and resentment belonging to a genius—seemed to be completely let go. His entire being felt an unprecedented sense of ease and clarity. The bottleneck that had long constrained his cultivation actually showed signs of loosening amidst this realization.
Zhang Lexuan's figure appeared beside the three members of the Hall of Virtue like a teleportation. A layer of soft moonlight enveloped them, isolating them from the violent energy aftershocks of the outside world.
"Let's go."
Her voice was cool, but her eyes remained fixed on the bottomless pit below, filled with vigilance. She led the three away from the palace, this center of chaos, with haste.
"Strange?"
As the Moon Goddess, her divine sense could clearly perceive the level of energy. The power Xu Tianran had erupted with just now, though violent, had essentially only reached the threshold of a Demi-God; it was still a vast distance away from a true deity.
"With Jingming's strength, that strike just now should have been enough to blast any Demi-God into dust. Why... did he specifically tell us to leave?"
A trace of doubt flashed through Zhang Lexuan's mind. But she didn't ask. Her near-blind trust allowed her to believe in Lu Jingming's judgment without hesitation. If he told her to leave, it meant the coming battle was no longer something they could interfere with.
And the reality was exactly as she expected.
"BOOM—!!!"
Xu Tianran, who had been smashed into the depths of the earth by Lu Jingming, did not die as expected. From within that deep pit, not only was there no sign of life fading, but instead, an even more violent, boiling life force—like a volcano about to erupt—was climbing at a terrifying speed.
"ROAR—!!!!"
A sound that was less like a dragon's cry and more like the roar of an ancient behemoth awakening echoed from deep underground. The entire palace, and even the entire New Radiant City, began to vibrate violently.
Crack... crack crack...
On the surface, the massive fissures expanded further. Beams of blinding, ominous purple lightning shot out from the depths of the cracks, illuminating the subterranean world with an eerie glow.
In the next moment.
A gargantuan dragon claw, covered in hideous purple-black scales, suddenly burst through the soil at the center of the palace ruins. That claw alone was larger than the original main hall of the palace. It gripped the ground fiercely. Accompanied by the ear-grating sound of crushing rock, an even larger, unimaginable head slowly rose from the depths.
It tilted its head back, opening a maw large enough to swallow a mountain peak, and let out a heaven-shaking roar toward the sky to announce its existence.
"AOOO—!!!!!"
With this roar, a purple-black dragon standing hundreds of meters tall with a wingspan that blotted out the sun slowly rose from the ruins.
Its form was seventy percent similar to Xu Tianran's martial soul, the Purple Brilliant Heaven Destroying Dragon, but there was a fundamental difference. Its scales were no longer pure purple, but a deep purple-black that seemed to absorb all light. Its horns were more grotesque, resembling twisted lightning of destruction. There was not a shred of life force on its body, only a pure, cold will of Destruction seeking to drag all things into the end.
As it appeared, the entire sky was instantly dyed an unlucky purple-black. Thick, ink-like clouds gathered from all directions, forming a massive, slowly rotating vortex above its head. Bolts of destructive purple lightning exploded and snaked through the clouds like the arrival of the apocalypse.
This terrifying, calamity-like phenomenon centered on New Radiant City and rapidly spread across the entire continent. Whether it was the borders of the Star Luo Empire, the ice fields of the Far North, or the Star Duo Great Forest—at this moment, every living creature on the Douluo Continent instinctively raised their heads to look at the sky. They could all clearly perceive a shudder and unease from the depths of their souls, as if the end of the world was at hand.
Lu Jingming floated in mid-air, facing the towering purple-black dragon from a distance. Looking at this living "Purple Brilliant Heaven Destroying Dragon" composed of destructive power, his face showed no gravity. Instead, the corner of his mouth quirked into a cold, "I knew it" sneer.
"As expected, I knew a woman like Phantylia wouldn't be so honest."
He muttered to himself.
Based on his understanding of Phantylia, although they had reached a tacit agreement in their previous confrontation—where Phantylia and Celenova chose to look the other way regarding him using them—it would be too naive to expect a Lord Ravager and a cosmic calamity treading the Path of Destruction to truly cooperate honestly and without reservation.
"I see... so this is the surprise you gave me, Phantylia?"
A flash of realization crossed Lu Jingming's eyes.
Phantylia had planted a seed of pure Destruction within Xu Tianran long ago. Everything Xu Tianran had done over the years—his ambition, his slaughter, his madness—had become the best nutrients to grow that seed. And in this final moment, when Xu Tianran actively sacrificed himself, the seed had completely erupted.
It had not only swallowed Xu Tianran's will but had also triggered the ancient lineage of the Purple Brilliant Heaven Destroying Dragon within him, using the power of Destruction as a core to force a "throwback" to his ancestors. It turned Xu Tianran from a human with dragon blood into the true source of that bloodline—a living Purple Brilliant Heaven Destroying Dragon composed of pure Destruction.
Floating above the leveled imperial palace, Lu Jingming's gaze calmly fixed upon the purple-black dragon that had crawled out of the earth, looking as if it had the entire sky beneath its feet.
The Purple Brilliant Heaven Destroying Dragon...
This name, which existed only in the most ancient and secret records, surfaced in his mind. Legend had it that this being was born alongside the Dragon God, a manifestation of the concept of Destruction. It was the ancestor of all sub-dragons, naturally wielding the purest power of Destruction and Lightning. Its very existence was meant to lead all things to their end.
Its destructiveness and desire for ruin were so pure and powerful that they even caused the Dragon God, who founded the Dragon God Realm, to feel deep trepidation. Eventually, to protect the newly created Divine Realm full of life, the Dragon God had to personally intervene to completely erase this twin ancestor of sub-dragons, along with its terrifying clan, from the river of time.
In the entire Mythical Era, this was the only dragon clan that could make the Dragon God feel wary enough to personally act for their extermination. One could imagine just how powerful a true Purple Brilliant Heaven Destroying Dragon was.
And now, upon the ruins of New Radiant City, what appeared was a pure-blood Purple Brilliant Heaven Destroying Dragon forcibly birthed by Phantylia at the cost of Xu Tianran's ambition, hatred, life, and bloodline.
Lu Jingming could clearly perceive that the life level of the behemoth before him had far exceeded the limits of mortals and reached the realm of Gods. No, it wasn't just a simple God...
His divine sense lightly touched the nearly physical Domain of Destruction surrounding the dragon. In just a split second of contact, his divine sense felt a needle-like sting, as if it were about to be assimilated and decomposed by that pure will of destruction.
This aura... was several times stronger than the martial soul fusion skill "Netherworld White Tiger" performed by Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing back then. That Netherworld White Tiger already possessed the combat power of a true First-Class God. But this Purple Brilliant Heaven Destroying Dragon felt even more unfathomable and dangerous.
This was a genuine Divine Beast. Furthermore, it was a First-Class Divine Beast standing at the apex of the pyramid.
That woman Phantylia... she really invested heavily in Xu Tianran just to bury this surprise for me.
Lu Jingming sneered in his heart.