The Thunder God’s Spear came to an abrupt halt in midair.
The spear tip and the scale shield clashed, emitting a piercing hum.
Everyone instinctively held their breath.
It was simply too intense.
Countless bolts of wild lightning danced frenziedly along the spear, desperate to break through the defense, yet still—
They didn’t advance an inch.
Su Fu felt her heart was about to leap out of her chest.
She could clearly sense the divine spear’s oppressive force, a power strong enough to pierce two bodies with ease, but thankfully, it was stopped dead.
Just a hair’s breadth away.
She felt a little dazed; the crackling from the divine spear, the exclamations and screams around her—all seemed to fade away in an instant.
What echoed in her mind was the response from the Divine Scale.
Su Fu was still a bit lost.
The Divine Scale… responded to her?
Yes, if the Divine Scale hadn’t answered her call at the crucial moment, even a second’s delay, Tang Yu and she both would have been impaled by the Thunder God’s Spear.
She saw Teacher Tang Yu half-kneeling on the ground, chest heaving as she gasped for breath.
“What… is this thing?”
Tang Yu stared in disbelief at the black shield with golden veins before her. In the nick of time, it had blocked her from harm.
Brilliant gold flowed, but that inky blackness—
So familiar.
Where had she seen it before?
Before she could recover, Su Fu had already grabbed her arm.
“Teacher Tang, get behind me!”
Tang Yu was pulled to Su Fu’s rear in an instant.
Suddenly it dawned on her, so this shield was Su Fu’s artifact?
To the onlookers, all they saw was a patch of black colliding with the divine spear, erupting into dazzling light, sparks flying in all directions, beautiful and radiant.
The shrill sound made them cover their ears, yet their eyes could not believe what they saw.
“It… blocked it?”
“What is that thing? It blocked the Central Inspectorate’s full-powered attack?”
“That’s an S-rank Divine Executor’s artifact! And it blocked it just like that?”
While everyone was in shock, behind the scale shield, a massive phantom slowly began to emerge.
It was a giant dragon, jet-black all over, with twin wings on its back, golden horns on its head, and eyes shining like stars.
“Wh-what is that?” someone asked with a trembling voice.
“A dragon? A China… dragon?”
It was the phantom of Ying Long.
Ying Long let out a long roar, a sound as if it pierced through the ages, carrying boundless majesty and wrath.
“ROARRR— —! “
Almost at the same time, the black shield suddenly changed, the flowing darkness coming alive, rapidly recombining itself into a long spear of the same inky hue.
Then, the black spear moved.
It shot forward as if possessed by consciousness, ramming directly into the Thunder God’s Spear.
A sudden crash resounded, shaking everyone to the point they clamped their ears.
Then they saw that the Thunder God’s Spear was actually forced to retreat repeatedly!
“Boom!”
“Boom!”
“Boom!”
Three loud crashes, and the Thunder God’s Spear was blasted back over a dozen yards.
Not only that, the black spear seized the initiative, relentlessly pursuing the Thunder God’s Spear, shooting towards the distant mountains.
“Whoosh!”
The two spears raced across the air with unstoppable momentum, finally plunging into the far-off mountain range, unleashing a deafening explosion!
“Boom!”
The mountain trembled, dust and debris rising everywhere.
Everyone stared at the spectacle in utter disbelief.
Heavens!
What on earth was this thing, to have such terrifying offensive power?
But the next second, they realized—the Thunder God’s Spear had failed.
The Olympus Family’s artifact had failed.
Not only did it fail to eliminate Su Fu, it was even taken away in one go by her.
They turned, and only now did they realize that at some point, Su Fu was already standing in front of Teacher Tang.
Behind her, the dragon phantom coiled, its head held high, golden dragon eyes fixed fiercely on Patriarch Karisto, brimming with icy killing intent.
Pupils shrank all around—what did this mean?
Was Su Fu going to strike back against the Central Inspectorate?
As expected, in the next second, Su Fu gently raised her hand, and the dragon phantom dove down, swooping straight for Karisto!
Karisto’s expression finally changed.
The arrogance on his face instantly morphed into terror: “W-what is this?!”
He tried to retreat, but his body felt nailed to the spot, unable to move.
‘What’s happening? Damn legs, move!’
He realized this sensation didn’t come from physical restraint, but from a primal, instinctive fear.
The kind of fear lowly creatures felt in the presence of a true higher being.
A higher being?
A god.
“No… Impossible, how can I sense a god’s presence?!” Karisto’s voice trembled, refusing to believe this was possible, certain it was only his hallucination.
But as the colossal dragon phantom lunged closer, gaping jaws and sharp teeth within arm’s reach, Karisto finally lost it, letting out a sharp scream and squeezing his eyes shut.
“Ah!”
A breeze swept by.
Nothing happened.
Karisto opened his eyes, shaking, drenched in cold sweat, only to realize the dragon was just a phantom, not a physical entity.
It had passed right through him, then dissipated into thin air.
“Just… a phantom?” In an instant, Karisto understood—he’d been tricked.
That dragon phantom couldn’t harm him at all.
The scale shield that could defend had already been spent.
Which meant Su Fu was just bluffing.
Rage surged in an instant.
He, a dignified Central Inspector, had been toyed with by a mere student—this was the utmost humiliation!
But at that moment—
“So, you’re afraid to die too.” Su Fu’s voice rang out, tinged with mocking laughter.
Karisto felt his head buzz, blood rushing to his skull.
This wretch Su Fu… was she looking down on him?!
He roared with fury: “How dare you look at me like that?!”
He, Karisto, was a Central Inspector, an S-rank Divine Executor, and Su Fu, a lowly commoner—how dare she gaze down on him with such pitying eyes?
How dare she?!
Unforgivable, absolutely unforgivable!
The thought was a raging fire, burning away the last of his reasons.
“I’ll kill you!”
In an instant, a massive dharma manifestation rose behind him—a giant over a hundred meters tall, clad in blood-red armor, wielding an enormous double-bladed battle axe.
God of War Ares.
The moment the manifestation appeared, a ferocious, bloodthirsty aura exploded forth, murderous intent so thick it dropped the temperature around them.
“It’s—It’s the God of War Ares!”
“S-rank divine manifestation!”
“It’s over, Su Fu is finished!”
Karisto made no effort to rein in his aura.
On the contrary, he ramped it up even more arrogantly, forcing all the examinees in the plaza to their knees, trembling, barely able to breathe.
Standing at the feet of Ares’s manifestation, Karisto seemed tiny, yet more deranged than ever.
A Divine Executor, inheriting the will of the gods—his eyes were now filled with nothing but madness and killing intent.
He raised the axe high, and Ares’s manifestation mirrored him, the axe’s crimson glow growing ever more blinding, even erupting into blood-red flames.
Karisto’s eyes glinted with cruel delight.
He was about to crush this arrogant wretch into pulp before all their eyes!
The axe came down with a thunderous crash!
But Karisto suddenly noticed—Su Fu hadn’t retreated even half a step.
She stood there unmoving.
What was she pretending for?
Without the Divine Scale, what could she possibly use to block him?
Did she really think he was so stupid as to fall for her bluff a second time?
Foolish thing, doomed and still oblivious!
Karisto sneered: “Die!”
Ares’s battle axe swept down with a howling roar, rending the air itself with a shrill wail.
At the instant it was about to strike Su Fu, Karisto suddenly sensed an overwhelmingly terrifying presence.
An icy chill shot up his spine, straight to the crown of his head.
His hair stood on end.
Almost at the same moment, he saw Tang Yu glance sideways, her face showing utter shock, as if she’d seen something truly horrifying.
‘Not good!’ Karisto’s mind screamed with alarm.
He swung his axe sideways in a desperate attempt to defend, but—
Too late.
A dragon’s roar, far more terrifying than before, reverberated across the plaza.
Karisto didn’t even have time to turn before a massive force slammed into him head-on.
“Bang!”
He felt himself flying, the force like a meteor strike—no, like a planet colliding—every ounce of weight focused on a single point of impact.
Ares’s battle axe shattered instantly, unable to withstand even a second.
Next, the force slammed into Ares’s manifestation itself.
The towering god vanished on the spot.
Karisto was hurled through the air, spinning over a dozen times before crashing heavily into the ground, gouging a massive pit.
Pain wracked his body and Karisto felt as if every bone had shattered, his organs thrown out of place.
‘Heavens! What the hell was that thing?!’
Karisto was completely stunned, his divine power instinctively repairing his body, healing artifacts desperately keeping him alive, yet the pain was so excruciating he nearly passed out.
He struggled to lift his head, forcing his eyes open, desperate to see what had happened—
As the dust cleared, a figure slowly appeared.
It was a woman in dark robes, her long hair cascading like a waterfall, billowing in the wind.
She fixed her gaze on him, golden slit-pupiled eyes cold and full of murderous intent.
Karisto’s pupils shrank to pinpoints, his blood turning to ice.
“Tai… Tai Xuanzi!”
He trembled all over, not just from pain, but from sheer terror.
His mind went blank, leaving only one thought: ‘How could she be here?! Wasn’t she supposed to be away on a mission?!’
Just then, he heard her speak slowly: “How bold. You dare lay a hand on my disciple?”
Karisto’s scalp tingled, a single thought flashing through his mind— ‘I’m dead.’
If he didn’t run, he’d die for sure!
He tried to scramble away, but his body was so battered, even his divine power could barely keep up with the damage.
“Must escape! Or I’ll definitely be killed! Hurry! Hurry! Hurry!”
Three seconds, he had to get away in three seconds, or it was certain death!
But just then, he heard a voice, almost crying out: “Master! You’re finally here!”
“They were going to kill me!”
It was Su Fu’s voice.
Karisto froze, his mind roaring, ‘No—Su Fu did it on purpose!’
Tai Xuanzi was famous for doting on her disciples, and notorious for her violent temper.
If she hadn’t meant to kill him before, after hearing this complaint, she might just lose all reason and kill him outright!
‘That wretch! Su Fu, that wretch!’
Karisto instinctively looked at Tai Xuanzi.
Sure enough, she was rushing over!
‘Aaaahhhh! Don’t come any closer!’
He scrambled backward, but his injuries were too severe—there was no way he could outpace the furious Tai Xuanzi.
“You can’t kill me!” he screamed hoarsely, “I’m an S-rank Inspector!”
“You’re just A-rank, you have no authority!”
The only response was Tai Xuanzi’s emotionless face—and a fist, inches from his face—
“Bang!”
A heavy blow, direct to his face. Karisto’s vision turned blood red.
“You can’t kill me! You can’t!” His voice was raspy, almost a terrified whimper.
“If I die, you’ll be held responsible! I am… I am from the Olympus Family…”
Death’s shadow loomed over him, but the next punch… never came?
Hope flared in Karisto’s eyes.
He summoned all his divine power and tried to turn and escape but then Tai Xuanzi’s voice drifted from behind: “Was it this hand?”