Chapter 439 - 20: The Long Road

Long before he even opened his mouth to retort to the Water God, Su Zhou had already begun stockpiling the energy required for his Breath.

It was called a Breath, but in truth, it was an energy attack that condensed his Thunder Technique, Gale Seed, and the principles of the Sacred Geometry: Pentagram—an attack representing the pinnacle of his power.

And at the same time, not caring whether Yara would reply, he spoke to himself in his heart, ’Yara, I get it now.’

’The so-called True Body... it’s the ultimate weapon a Transcendent forges from their own flesh, shaped by Extraordinary Power.’

’Ordinary Magical Treasures and Magic Equipment are forged from Treasures of Heaven and Earth or materials from Magical Beasts. But at the end of the day, isn’t the flesh and blood that forms a True Body just another type of Extraordinary Material? So in essence, does the actual shape of a True Body really matter at all?’

’While it has strong life-preserving abilities, it’s not unreasonable to view it as a Defensive Magical Treasure. And when it comes to attacking, it’s even simpler: an attack from a True Body is equivalent to the user and a Magical Treasure of equal strength attacking as one. With such might, how could it not be powerful?’

"Su Zhou, what in the world are you trying to say?!" Even Yara couldn’t figure out what Su Zhou was thinking at that moment and instinctively blurted out the question.

’A True Body is a cannon!’

He replied decisively in his heart, and in that very instant, the vertical slits of his pupils were consumed by an ever-brighter Spiritual Light. The flame-like, bluish-purple Spiritual Power around him was in constant flux, one moment shifting into a Thunderbolt, the next into Flame, and then transforming into a gale. The Celestial Human Cycle spun furiously, frantically connecting to the great surrounding source of Spiritual Power.

In the short time he had been conversing with the Water God, Su Zhou had already stabilized the energy cycle within his body. The True Body, built from the flesh and blood of a Divine Being, became the cornerstone for him to break through his own limits.

Meanwhile, his voice continued to echo in his Soul Space: ’A dragon shape? As long as it’s long, that’s good enough, right? By that logic, can’t a cannon barrel be a dragon? Come to think of it, the whole concept of a "dragon" is a matter of personal conviction. If I think it’s a dragon, then it’s a dragon!’

The moment those words were spoken, the power gathering around Su Zhou began to condense. The vast, vortex-like Spiritual Power rapidly contracted, then poured into his spine—which was, after this True Body transformation, the most completely spiritualized organ in his entire body!

This spine was covered with dense, fleshy Runes. It was like a cannon barrel, a ’Magical Treasure’ for channeling Su Zhou’s immense Spiritual Power—gathering, compressing, and then conducting and firing it!

At this very moment—Su Zhou broke through to the Commander Tier!

Su Zhou had long since possessed all the necessary elements for the Commander Tier; he was even exceedingly proficient in using his Lifebound Divine Techniques. When he used the Water God’s Divine Blood and flesh to shatter the barrier between heaven and earth and began to resonate with the surrounding Spiritual Power, his advancement to Commander was a natural, inevitable conclusion.

This was not an advancement to the Commander Tier via the Dao of Sacred Geometry, but one achieved through the Mingxun Dragon Transformation Technique. After successfully undergoing the True Dragon Transformation, one would typically be at the Extraordinary High-tier or its peak; only after Awakening their Lifebound Divine Techniques could they become a Commander. Yet Su Zhou, who already possessed Divine Techniques, reached the Commander Tier with an incomplete True Body. This was proof of his incredibly profound foundation, and it also meant that the power of his draconic True Body far surpassed that of an ordinary True Dragon, even rivaling a complete Celestial Dragon and Divine Dragon!

At the same time, the Water God sensed that something was wrong. It discovered that Su Zhou’s aura was skyrocketing, his Spiritual Power multiplying more than tenfold in an instant. Finally, he even opened his great mouth—an unnatural, nova-like light was gestating within, a Spiritual Light like both blazing Flame and crashing Thunderbolt, so brilliant it completely obscured his face.

A bluish-purple Spiritual Light could be seen igniting at the tip of Su Zhou’s massive, transformed tail, flashing along the thorny tail fins. It then surged up his spinal column, shifting through hues of purple, cyan, and blue. Finally, when the light reached his mouth, three hundred and sixty Great Circulation Mist Seeds converged into one. With the Blade of Annihilation—that Divine Blade—as its core, they condensed into a searing white Divine Light.

Then, the nova bloomed!

The instant Su Zhou, now a Commander, turned his Divine Blade into a cannonball and fired it with his strongest Breath—an attack condensing all his power—the world did not even have time to roar. All the air before him was blasted away by the immense power, creating a vacuum through which no sound could travel.

The searing white Torrent of energy surged forth like a tsunami. It grazed the lake, and the water exploded into vapor. It grazed the hills, and they crumbled to ash. The shattered atmosphere let out a distorted groan. Dust in the air burned into sparks that scattered like rain, and molten rock splashed through the sky.

The Water God also let out a roar of fury. Even with Su Zhou’s breakthrough to the Commander Tier, there was still a fundamental gap in their total Spiritual Power. But the God had been grievously wounded from the very beginning. Su Zhou had even invaded its body and nearly destroyed its Magic Furnace Core, leaving it in a perpetually weakened state.

Now, facing Su Zhou’s long-awaited pinnacle strike, it too unleashed its full power. The Whale God opened its abyssal maw, the Crown Crystal Stone on its head flashing as it began to inhale. Surging currents of water converged in its mouth at ultra-high speeds, the violent flow vibrating the transparent air into white clouds of mist. Water currents, Magic Power, the torrential rain, and the ambient Spiritual Light—the Water God drew all of it into its mouth.