Chapter 463 - 226: As Everyone Knows, a Life-and-Death Battle Only Takes 1 -

Whether it was the people in Naisel City, who raised their heads in astonishment and pointed at the clouds, or the potential survivors in the distance, clinging desperately to life as they waited, they all witnessed this scene.

Perhaps the entire dark world saw that single ray of light from Su Zhou.

At this very moment, Su Zhou and the Wind God were still locked in a life-or-death struggle. Even though one had lost his lower body and the other its head and eyes, they fought on. Insects, after all, don’t necessarily need a head; there are frequent reports of cockroaches surviving decapitation. The Wind God’s Life Force was even more tenacious. The consciousness of the Wind People stemmed from their Souls; even if its body were destroyed, its Soul could still manipulate energy to exist.

As for Su Zhou... although the Wind God’s Gale had sliced his body in half, he was currently in the form of a Wingless Great Dragon, which, to be frank, resembled a lizard. And since a lizard can shed its tail, for Su Zhou—a Dragon far superior to a mere lizard—losing his lower body was clearly manageable. Thus, as the headless Wind God continued to control the Gale and assault Su Zhou, Su Zhou likewise continued to land powerful, explosive punches.

BOOM! With a single punch, he gathered Flame and Thunder Light, unleashing a Thunder Flash that seemed capable of incinerating all existence. It generated cascading Supersonic shockwaves that radiated in every direction.

One could see Su Zhou’s flesh being sliced away layer by layer by the Wind God’s power, a Tearing like death by a thousand cuts. Even his bones were ground to dust amidst showers of sparks. In return, the Wind God’s carapace caved in and shattered under Su Zhou’s heavy blows. Massive fissures spiderwebbed across it with a series of sharp CRACKS. The instant its thick exoskeleton was stripped away by Su Zhou’s brute force, the Blade of Annihilation—guided by the Celestial Thunder Sword Control Technique—once again plunged into the Wind God’s body, cloaked in shimmering Thunder Light and flames.

It all happened within the span of a few short breaths. And as the two Monsters tore each other apart, their bodies were already plummeting to the earth.

BOOM! The ground caved in violently. Earth and rock roiled like ocean waves as the land around the Maze collapsed. The battle between Su Zhou and the Wind God had blasted the entrance to this Netherworld wide open. In the future, a colossal entrance to the Maze, several kilometers wide, would likely remain here.

Amidst the violent impact, darkness claimed both Su Zhou and the Wind God as they lost consciousness.

By the time the Wind God regained consciousness, its head had already regenerated. Su Zhou, who had awoken long before, had also retrieved his severed lower half and reattached it.

"You got to keep your life."

The calm Great Dragon said as he frowned, picking pieces of his own charred flesh from the gaps between his scales. Plucking out a bone fragment, Su Zhou turned to the silent Wind God and said lightly, "So, how about it? Will you do as I say? It’s no loss to you, anyway."

"...Hah."

Via Soul Communication, the Wind God let out an emotionless laugh. It knew that if this was truly a fight to the death, there had been no clear winner.

Even though Su Zhou woke first, the slightest hint of killing intent would have roused it from unconsciousness to continue the battle. At most, Su Zhou would have only seized the initiative for round two. And in round two, without the Blade of Annihilation for a surprise attack, he would definitely have been at a disadvantage.

But it hadn’t been stimulated, only waking slowly after its head had regenerated. This was proof enough that Su Zhou hadn’t done so. Indeed, there had not been the slightest hint of killing intent.

To fight an opponent with no killing intent, yet still end up in its current state... this thought left it utterly dispirited.

"And what would be the point of doing as you say?"

The great Bee God rose, manipulating the Gale to slowly levitate into the air. It had no intention of fighting, only a sense of helplessness in its voice as it spoke, "The Reincarnation of all things, the Reincarnation of heaven and earth—this is the law of nature. What solution could you, a visitor from an Otherworld, possibly find for it?"

"Just as humans have life and death, Gods have birth and extinction, civilizations have collapse and revival, and worlds have decline and rebirth. All things are subject to Reincarnation. While I certainly find this sad, I don’t believe it’s something that can be changed."

Su Zhou also stood up and met the Wind God’s gaze. In his violet-green Dragon Pupils, a Spiritual Light that had never once dimmed still shone.

"You say it can’t be changed? You couldn’t be more wrong!"

He declared with stubborn conviction, "Humans gather to form civilizations, their wisdom passed down through generations, thereby transcending the Reincarnation of life and death. Divine Beings are born from civilizations and can last for millions of years, Immortal; this transcends the Reincarnation of a civilization’s collapse and revival! If Gods were to transcend again, to become even stronger, they could absolutely overcome the cycle of a world’s decline and rebirth—this Era-bound Reincarnation that has your Tartadis World locked in its grip!"

"Of course, this is very difficult. Or rather, I’ll admit that for you all, it doesn’t seem like a path that leads to success. But even if success seems unlikely, it is still a path! No matter how treacherous, it is a path nonetheless!"

"And if one path is possible, why can’t there be others? Even if Perfection can’t be achieved in a single Era, why not preserve your information and pass it to the civilization of the next Era to improve upon? Since the Water People could survive the transition from the Era of Water to the Era of Earth, then surely a box full of research data could do the same, right?"