Lord of Prayer

Yan Wu closed in, roaring with rage as his body shot up in height. The already hulking brute instantly transformed into a giant with bulging muscles.

—Extraordinary Ability: War Zeal.

Passive Ability: Enhanced Physique.

Active Ability: Enter a War State, boosting all Attributes by 20%.

Although the match Rules had cut his Power by 50%, after activating his Ability, Yan Wu’s overall Attributes were boosted by 20%. In other words, he now possessed seventy percent of his total Power.

CRACK! A black bead on Yan Wu’s necklace shattered, and his aura surged once more.

—One-time-use Alchemy Tool: Power Amplification Pearl.

Artifact Ability: Boosts Power by 10%. Shatters after use.

In terms of Power alone, Yan Wu had now recovered to eighty percent. He was a Strength Type Ascender through and through, and eighty percent of his Power was enough to overwhelm and kill any non-Strength Type Ascender in a head-on clash!

Liu Ling activated his Ability as well, covering his entire body in a layer of solid, wooden armor.

—Extraordinary Ability: Demon Wood Armor.

Active Ability: Forms a suit of wooden armor as durable as steel.

Liu Ling had no combat-enhancing Artifacts, so his goal was to pin down Zhou Chen and create an opening for Yan Wu.

The Great Halberd swept out, flashing with dark lightning as it slashed toward Zhou Chen from the left, cutting off his retreat.

“Twenty Times Gravity!”

Han Danqing gritted his teeth, pushing himself to the limit to increase the Gravity to twenty times, aiming for a decisive blow.

In the air, twenty-four Cyber Flying Swords shot forward in formation, leaving twenty-four long trails in their wake.

Yan Wu seized the opportunity, gripping his Warhammer and smashing it with all his might toward Zhou Chen’s ribs. Its immense weight compressed the air, setting off a series of sonic booms.

CLANG!!!!

The deafening ring of metal striking metal erupted as a shockwave spread out, surging violently. The ground beneath them cracked under the shockwaves from the fierce collision between the Warhammer and the Great Halberd… That’s right—the Warhammer and the Great Halberd!

Under the pressure of twenty times Gravity and the Curses from five Second-level Talismans, Zhou Chen had vanished!

All that remained in his place were flames, scattered by the Essence Fluctuation.

The two men whipped their heads around, sensing Zhou Chen’s aura… a hundred meters away!

’Since when could his Flame Jump cover a hundred meters?’

Liu Ling and Yan Wu’s eyes went wide as an ominous premonition rose within them.

’Even for them, it would take several seconds to cross a hundred meters.’

That sliver of time was more than enough for Zhou Chen to finish off the defenseless Han Danqing.

Everyone knew the range of Zhou Chen’s Flame Jump was sixty meters. Their three-way battle had just taken them far beyond that distance, so Han Danqing had his guard completely down, focusing all his energy on controlling the Bronze Cauldron and the Cyber Flying Swords.

But little did they know, it was all part of Zhou Chen’s plan.

Zhou Chen had deliberately lured Liu Ling and Yan Wu a hundred meters away, goading them into using their killing blows, only to use that opening to launch a surprise counter-attack.

He had endured the twenty times Gravity with sheer physical fortitude.

As for the Curses from the five Talismans, Chaotic Thoughts and Thought Deprivation had only lasted a second. Heart Stop and Weak and Powerless were still in effect. As for Essence Seal, he had incinerated it with his Cyan Flame the moment it touched him.

Looking at the weakened Han Danqing before him, Zhou Chen raised his fist. He poured Essence into it, and pale, fierce flames erupted around it. His aura became both contained and violent, like a volcano on the verge of eruption.

As he threw the punch, a peal of thunder erupted!

BOOM!

A savage wave of fire exploded outward. A suit of steel Armor materialized around Han Danqing, but it instantly began to crack and splinter. The fissures spread and grew, finally covering his entire body before the Armor exploded into countless steel fragments.

The moment his fist shattered the defense and made contact with Han Danqing’s body, Zhou Chen made a wish in his heart. ’I wish for Han Danqing to return to normal!’

’He needed a teammate!’

A hundred star-motes burned into starlight, flowing along the torrent of Cyan Flame and into Han Danqing’s body. His sanity rapidly returned, and clarity dawned in his eyes.

The terrifying Fist Force also sent him flying backward.

After tracing an arc through the air, he landed heavily. Han Danqing scrambled up from the ground, a wretched sight. He looked down to see a large hole blasted through his clothes. A deep, fist-shaped indentation was visible on his chest, and his ribs were utterly shattered.

’That bastard really doesn’t pull his punches…’ Han Danqing’s lip twitched in agony.

Yano rushed over, took out a vial of an Alchemy Potion, and poured it over Han Danqing to help him recover.

’Damn it, what the hell was wrong with me? Getting controlled just like that… Now my Power is cut by fifty percent because of this infighting, and I can’t get it back unless I take out Zhou Chen… Tsk, and after going all-out just now, I’m down to fifteen percent of my Power. Even if I killed Zhou Chen and recovered my strength, it would still be tough to handle this group of brainwashed goons all by myself…’

In a flash of thought, Han Danqing had his answer.

In that instant, Han Danqing erupted into action. A deadly glint of light stabbed toward Yano’s heart.

Caught completely off guard, Yano was run through. He stared at Han Danqing in utter disbelief, then lowered his gaze to the dagger that had somehow appeared in his attacker’s hand. Yano’s mouth opened, but no words came out.

“Sorry, a one-for-one trade is the best I can do.”

Han Danqing gave a wry smile. “That son of a bitch hits way too hard. I need to head back and rest up. I’ll just leave this whole mess for him to clean up.”

His heart pierced, Yano’s figure vanished on the spot, becoming the first contestant eliminated from the grand finals.

“Zhou Chen, consider this my thank you for snapping me out of it. But I’m sorry, I can’t stick around to help you.”

Han Danqing took out Thunder Strike and a few other Artifacts from his leather pouch and threw them toward Zhou Chen with all his might. “Here! You’d better watch yourself.”

With that, he vanished on the spot, voluntarily withdrawing from the match.

He was out.

’You! Don’t you fucking run! I didn’t go through all that trouble to save you just so you could give up…’ Zhou Chen gritted his teeth, cursing inwardly. ’How could Han Danqing be so detached after regaining his sanity? Quitting just like that.’

’Where’s your youthful passion? Where’s your drive? Use it!’

He flickered through the air, catching Thunder Strike and the other items. They were all one-time-use Enhancing Artifacts, Han Danqing’s final gift.

As for the Bronze Cauldron, now that it had lost its master’s control, the pressure weighing down on him vanished without a trace. The Barrier that had enveloped the area disappeared along with it.

“Yao Hu, hold on! We agreed we’d find a time for a one-on-one duel. A strong man keeps his word. You’re not going to break your promise, are you?” Zhou Chen quickly stopped Yao Hu, who had been about to make a move.

“Don’t listen to him, Yao Hu! Hurry up and take him out!” Liu Ling roared, charging forward.

Yao Hu shot him a cold look.

“Whoa, Yao Hu, he’s ordering you around. You’re just going to take that?” Zhou Chen said in a taunting, sing-song voice. “If you can stomach that, then you’re not worthy of being called one of the strong. How can the strong be ordered around? You should be the one giving them orders… You’re not going to tolerate someone challenging your authority, are you? You wouldn’t do that, would you? *Would you?*”

“And you, Yan Wu, you’re pathetic. You had such a golden opportunity and still couldn’t take me down. Tsk, tsk… And you even sacrificed two teammates for nothing…”

“Yao Hu, what the fuck are you waiting for? Why aren’t you attacking?”

Yan Wu, seething from Zhou Chen’s mockery, erupted in a furious tirade.

“You brat, I’m going to kill you!”

He charged, swinging his Warhammer like an enraged bull. However, all of his and Liu Ling’s attacks were easily dodged by Zhou Chen’s Instant Teleportation. They couldn’t even graze the hem of his clothes. This drove Yan Wu into an even greater frenzy, and he began swinging his Warhammer about in impotent rage, smashing everything in sight.

Just then, Yan Wu caught Yao Hu’s gaze.

It was a look of indifference, disdain, contempt, and arrogance. The look of a superior being…

…as if he were looking at a pathetic, dancing clown.

Already agitated, Yan Wu felt an inexplicable rage surge within him. Veins bulged on his forehead as he roared, his anger uncontrollable, “Yao Hu, are you looking down on me?”

“Hm?”

Yao Hu, who had been watching with his arms crossed, frowned slightly. His tone was displeased. “Yan Wu, show some respect.”

“Fuck your respect! How fucking long are you going to just stand there? What good are you?!” Yan Wu roared.

“You’re provoking me.” A savage aura radiated from Yao Hu. “You have three seconds to apologize.”

Seeing this, Yan Wu’s rage only intensified. “Son of a bitch! Who the hell do you think you are, acting all high and mighty? I’ve been sick of your shit for a long time!”

As he spoke, he snatched up his Warhammer and charged at Yao Hu in a rage. Yao Hu wasn’t about to put up with it. His Magnetic Gloves condensed Thunder Magnetism, and with a wave of his hand, he unleashed a slash of Thunder Magnetic Blade Qi several meters long.

A fight broke out.

On a rooftop, Zhou Chen stepped out from a swirl of flames, a cunning smile spreading across his face.