Three seconds passed, and the Fire Dragon King's aura plummeted rapidly, falling from the realm of a Second-rank God to the level of an ordinary Titled Douluo. Its form was no longer crystalline as before, becoming extremely illusory; clearly, the cost of unleashing such a powerful attack was exorbitant.
It looked down at the still-burning Dragon Forged Lava Lake, carefully searching for Yun Ming, but found no trace. There was no aura, no body, and nothing to be gained. This put the Fire Dragon King at ease; after all, before an attack of this magnitude, a mere mortal could not possibly have any power to resist, and the final result could only be to be reduced to ashes.
Confirming the news of Yun Ming's death, the Fire Dragon King sighed. It was not a sigh of regret for Yun Ming's death, but rather a sigh that the scene it had created was too small.
It had been dead for too long, and its power had weakened too much; it had only managed to create a ten-mile lava lake before running out of steam. However, turning its head toward the direction of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, it felt a slight consolation in its heart. Forget it, so what if its power was weak! At the very least, the smaller firepower had accidentally preserved the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, protecting the last glimmer of hope for itself and the Ice Dragon King to return home.
Thinking of this, the Fire Dragon King stopped dwelling on it and soared through the clouds toward the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. It needed to place its own soul and that of the Ice Dragon King back into the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well to nourish them, in hopes of the last remaining chance to return to the clan in the future.
But not long after, just as it reached the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, a space portal suddenly appeared above the Fire Dragon King's head. A figure covered in blood, holding a divine spear, lunged out from the Void, aiming the spear directly at the dragon's head.
Feeling the familiar Spear Intent fluctuations on that divine spear, how could the Fire Dragon King not know who had come? It let out a shocked roar.
"How is this possible! A mere human!"
The person who arrived was none other than Yun Ming. As for why he was still alive, it had to start from before the 'Fire Dragon King's Sin' descended.
Yun Ming had used all his strength, the veins on his forehead bulging as he struggled to look up, discovering that the 'Fire Dragon King's Sin', which felt like heavenly fire descending upon the world, had already poured down. His heart hammered wildly. This intense sense of life-and-death crisis was even greater than the pressure Tang Chen had put on him when he died in his previous life.
It wasn't just Yun Ming; the five Soul Spirits within him were also extremely grave now. The power the Fire Dragon King had suddenly erupted with was too strong!
Tian Ling said in a heavy tone.
"Yun Ming, what do we do now?"
The other four spirits didn't speak either; time was of the essence, and they could only let Yun Ming make a swift decision.
Yun Ming's soul body appeared in the Spirit Space and said solemnly.
"Of course, we fight to the death!"
As he spoke, the Sun and Moon Light Shadow rose behind Yun Ming, blooming with endless brilliance, and the Yin Yang Dual Soul Core operated to its limit. The Atlas Divine Throne provided full support, but this was not enough; the next move was the key.
The five Soul Spirits understood Yun Ming's meaning. They looked at each other, ignited blood-red flames in unison, and turned into streams of light, merging into the Atlas Divine Spear!!
Soul Fusion Secret Method! A desperate counterattack method developed in later generations based on the study of Soul Spirits, merging all Soul Spirits into the martial soul to exchange for a short-term, super-limit burst. The advantage was clear: it would grant the user the power to turn the tables in a desperate situation. The disadvantage was that it required a very high level of durability for the martial soul itself; otherwise, the power would be too strong, the martial soul would not be able to bear it, and there would be a danger to life. Furthermore, it required all Soul Spirits to be present to activate. The reason Yun Ming couldn't use it in his last battle against Tang Chen was because the Evil King was not there.
"Hah--"
With the Soul Spirits entering the martial soul—four of which were close to being gods—Yun Ming's already formidable aura surged once again, and he couldn't help but let out a roar.
Quasi-Demigod. Demigod, Quasi-God, Peak Quasi-God. In no time at all, Yun Ming's power rose from his initial entry into the limit to the level of the human limit. This was roughly the limit of Yun Ming's hard power in his previous life!
With the secret method activated, the soul power flames on Yun Ming's body were now completely replaced by blood-red. Clad in crystalline Phoenix Armor, blood-red runes rapidly took shape, vaguely resembling an Asura demon, making Yun Ming look like a demon god.
But it still wasn't enough! Even at the peak of a Quasi-God, it was still useless in the face of the Fire Dragon King's dragon might!
Yun Ming mobilized all his strength to struggle, but he could still only make small movements like twitching his fingers; he was still unable to move freely.
Normally, a standard Second-rank God would not be able to suppress Yun Ming in this state to the point of immobility, but the Fire Dragon King was not normal! In its prime, its cultivation was close to that of a God King; its dragon might could not be mentioned in the same breath as that of a regular god.
A flash of determination crossed Yun Ming's eyes. Since it still wasn't enough, he would add more! Wasn't it just gambling with fate one more time? He would bet!
His nine Soul Rings were no longer hidden and were revealed one by one. Seven of them appeared dull and lacked texture due to the Soul Spirits entering the soul, but the two black Soul Rings remained completely unchanged.
'Shatter!!'
Crack, crack--
Accompanied by a roar in Yun Ming's heart, the two conventional Soul Rings trembled violently before shattering into pieces, turning into streams of blood-red energy that merged into Yun Ming's body.
Great Sumeru Mystery · Modified · Permanent Ring Detonation!
Boom--
The ring detonation was complete, and the energy of the Soul Rings entered his body. Yun Ming was immediately enveloped in a blood mist. Of course, he had no time to worry about such trivial matters now; he only felt that his entire body's pain sensors had been fully activated. He was nearly swallowed by this intense pain and on the verge of fainting on the spot.
However, Yun Ming was clearly not someone with such limited capacity. The pain, comparable to having his heart pierced ten thousand times, could not consume Yun Ming's resolute heart. Enduring it meant he had grasped that sliver of survival.
The massive energy of the final two fifty-thousand-year Soul Rings helped Yun Ming, who was already close to the human limit, complete the ultimate leap. He sublimated to the extreme, stepping once again into the realm of the gods he had occupied before his death in his previous life!
Fortunately, the main pressure of this secret method was on the Atlas Divine Spear. With the joint coordination of the two Soul Cores, the pressure on Yun Ming's body was not that great in terms of soul power; otherwise, even if Yun Ming's will could withstand the added soul power, his physical body would not have been able to hold up.
Stepping back into the God Realm allowed Yun Ming to finally shake off the suppression of the dragon might and gain the capital to fight back. Looking at the terrifying dragon flames less than a meter away, even with the isolation of divine power, Yun Ming felt as if he were about to be ignited. Fortunately, he was one step faster.
White flames of Space Prohibition ignited in Yun Ming's eyes. Above his head, space instantly solidified, its hardness comparable to Ten Thousand Year Profound Ice. Although it could only buy Yun Ming a moment of breathing room in front of the 'Fire Dragon King's Sin', it was enough.
Taking advantage of this final time, a black gate appeared at Yun Ming's feet. Yun Ming escaped into the Void and disappeared.
When the Space Gate vanished and the space prohibition barrier Yun Ming had set up was shattered, the heavenly fire descended, returning all directions to nothingness and turning the area into a sea of fire.
Facing the Fire Dragon King's chattering, Yun Ming replied in a hoarse voice.
"I survived, which means it's possible! So, you can go to hell."
As he spoke, the 'Atlas, Royal Power', carrying Yun Ming's final strength, thrust forward violently. The Fire Dragon King wanted to dodge, but it was too close; it couldn't avoid it at all. Under its gaze, the Atlas Divine Spear pierced directly into the dragon's head, causing it to follow in the footsteps of its old friend.
The Fire Dragon King let out a mournful cry. Its dragon soul was lost, and its dragon body turned into rain of light, dissipating piece by piece.
As its consciousness was about to extinguish, the Fire Dragon King realized the reason. Looking at Yun Ming, it murmured.
"I truly miscalculated."
With those words, the Fire Dragon King completely disintegrated, leaving only a shattered red Dragon Pearl in the air.
The cost of using the secret method and ring detonation was also expensive. The origins of the five Soul Spirits were severely damaged, and they all fell into a deep slumber. Because he had carried divine power, even with the assistance of the Battle Armor and Soul Cores, his physical injuries were still not light. At the very least, he had no possibility of moving for the next half an hour.
With the Fire Dragon King dead, the final breath of tension in Yun Ming's heart was released. His martial soul returned automatically, his body lost control, and he fell from the sky.
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Translated by: randomtranslator.com
Proofread by: DaoistReader