The Madakaros leader stared, its three eyes wide with a mixture of disbelief and primal fear. The data they had on humanity mentioned nothing of this.
Awakened were aberrations, minor annoyances.
This... this was a god. A being from Earth's own mythology, clad in legend and radiating a power that made its own cultivation feel crude and barbaric.
"IMPOSSIBLE!" the leader shrieked, pouring more of its own energy into the siphoning beam, trying desperately to overpower Thuan Thien and complete its ritual.
But it was too late. The balance of power had irrevocably shifted.
Clad in the [Dragon's Blood Armor], Lin Ming felt a surge of limitless strength. The armor wasn't just a defensive shell; it was a power amplifier.
His Fairy Qi flowed through the draconic circuits of the armor, boosting its potency, while the armor's innate draconic might reinforced his body. It was a perfect symbiotic loop.
With a powerful roar that was part human, part dragon, Lin Ming wrenched Thuan Thien free from the energy siphon. The dark beam snapped, fizzling out into nothingness.
"Now it's my turn," Lin Ming's amplified voice boomed.
He ignored the leader for a moment and turned his attention to the immediate threat. Pham Tuan was still locked in a stalemate with his opponent.
The Madakaros was strong, but Pham Tuan's defensive ability was formidable. It was a war of attrition.
"Juggernaut! Fall back!" Lin Ming commanded.
Pham Tuan didn't hesitate. He took a heavy punch from the alien, stumbled back, but used the momentum to create distance.
The Madakaros warrior, seeing its chance, lunged after Pham Tuan to finish him.
It never reached him.
Lin Ming moved. Even encased in what should have been heavy armor, he was a streak of crimson and gold light. He appeared at the alien's side, his movements precise and devastating. He didn't use Thuan Thien's blade. He used its hilt.
A single, powerful strike from the dragon-head pommel, empowered by his Foundation Establishment Qi and the armor's might, slammed into the side of the alien's head. The sound was like a sledgehammer hitting concrete. The warrior dropped like a stone, unconscious.
Two down. Two to go.
He turned to face the final guard, the one whose knee he had shattered. The alien, seeing its two comrades fall and its leader's plan crumble, let out a desperate cry and tried to crawl away. Lin Ming was upon it in an instant, a swift chop to the neck ending its struggle.
Three down.
The chamber fell deadly silent, save for the heavy breathing of the Madakaros leader. It now stood alone, facing a being that had dismantled its elite guard in seconds. Its arrogant plan had turned into a nightmare.
"You... what ARE you?" the leader stammered, its translator glitching.
"I am this world's answer to you," Lin Ming said, advancing slowly, each footstep a resonant boom that seemed to shake the leader's very soul. "You come to our home, you steal our resources, you torture our people, and you try to use our own heritage to destroy us. The time for talk is over."
The leader, driven by a cornered animal's desperation, let out a final war cry and charged, its own energy blade glowing with all the power its late-stage Foundation Establishment body could muster.
Lin Ming met the charge. He didn't sidestep. He didn't parry. He stood his ground, a crimson and gold bastion of absolute defense.
The alien's blade struck his chestplate. There was a screech of tortured energy, and the blade, a product of advanced alien metallurgy, shattered into a thousand glittering pieces against the [Dragon's Blood Armor], which didn't even have a scratch.
The leader stared at its now-empty hilt, its final hope extinguished.
Lin Ming raised Thuan Thien. The sword's blade began to glow with a brilliant, pure light, energized by the Fairy Qi flowing through the Dragon Armor. It was the combined power of his entire heritage. "For my city."
He swung.
It was a simple, clean, horizontal slash. It carried the will of a nation, the fury of a dragon, and the silent, deadly grace of a true hero. The sword passed through the Madakaros leader's neck so quickly, so cleanly, that for a moment, nothing happened.
The leader froze, a look of profound confusion on its three-eyed face. It tried to speak, but no sound came out. Then, its head slid cleanly from its shoulders, and its body collapsed. The reign of terror in the Hall of Four Books was over.
[Elite Madakaros Leader (Late-Stage Foundation Establishment) Eliminated!]
[A Decisive Victory against a Superior Foe!]
[Massive Battle Will Bonus Awarded: +7000!]
[Title 'Face-Slapping Expert' has been upgraded to 'Legend Humiliator'.]
[Current Battle Will Points: 9110 / 20,000 to advance.]
As the last enemy fell, the intense, battle-fueled energy receded. The magnificent Dragon's Blood Armor dissolved back into light, flowing back into the Dragon's Seed in his dantian. He stood once more in his simple jumpsuit, Thuan Thien in hand, breathing heavily. The transformation had consumed a vast amount of his energy.
Pham Tuan walked over, his face a mask of utter awe. He looked at the defeated enemies, at the ancient chamber, and then at the seemingly ordinary boy standing before him.
"You... you're a monster," Pham Tuan breathed. But there was no insult in his tone, only reverence. "A guardian monster."
Lin Ming gave a weary smile. "Let's just say I have a good family history."
He turned his attention to the four pedestals. The crisis was averted, but the mystery remained. What was this place? And why did the Madakaros know about it?
Just as he was about to inspect the book of Earth, a section of the far wall began to glow. A swirling vortex of blue light appeared—a Madakaros emergency extraction portal. The aliens had a backup plan.
From the portal stepped two new figures. These were not warriors. They were tall, clad in ornate silver robes, and their three eyes glowed with an unnerving, cold intelligence. Their cultivation level was... unreadable. It was so far beyond his own that his senses couldn't even grasp it. It was like a gnat trying to measure a star. They were at least Golden Core, perhaps even Nascent Soul realm.
They were investigators, high-level operatives sent to see why their elite team had suddenly gone silent.
One of them surveyed the scene—the four dead bodies, the activated pedestals, and the two young human boys. Its cold gaze settled on Thuan Thien in Lin Ming's hand.
"How interesting," its voice echoed in their minds, not through a translator, but through a direct telepathic link. It was a power far beyond Foundation Establishment. "A primitive race with a Legendary-class artifact. The offering will be even more valuable than we thought."
It raised a hand, and a terrifying pressure descended upon the room, pinning Lin Ming and Pham Tuan in place. They were completely and utterly outmatched. Their hard-won victory had just led them into the jaws of an even greater beast.
[WARNING! WARNING! NASCENT SOUL REALM ENTITIES DETECTED!]
[HOST'S CHANCE OF SURVIVAL: 0.01%]
[SYSTEM RECOMMENDS... PRAYING? MAYBE TRY CRYING? THE SITUATION APPEARS SUB-OPTIMAL.]