Chapter 303: Death and Dissolution of the Way! Inheritance and Growth! Encountering the Peak of Divine Restriction

Chapter 303: Life extinguished, path dissolved! Inheritance blossoms! Encountering a peak domain lord of the divine prohibition! The one entrusted by the Stone Buddha: Shi Lan!

Long Zhan sighed silently, his expression shifting into something complex.

Yun Zhou nodded slightly, closing his eyes once more, as if nothing had transpired.

"Tami, don't overthink it; we all believe in you."

Captain Long Zhan said.

Yet, for Tami, this was far from over.

Commander-in-Chief Cang Lang’s public roar was like a poisoned thorn, buried deep within his heart.

They believed in him—that was the affirmation of comrades who had walked through life and death together!

But what of the others?

What did the members of the other squads think?

Tami, however, seemed trapped in a quagmire from which he could not escape, incessantly and somewhat neurotically explaining himself to everyone.

"I really don't know, Captain, you have to believe me..."

"Brother Butcher, I swear, I never thought of being a deserter..."

"Yun Zhou, you should understand me, I..."

His explanations appeared pale and superfluous; everyone already believed him, yet no one interrupted.

The squad members simply listened in silence, allowing this overprotected genius of the Western Academy to vent the agony and torment within his soul.

Just then, a hand rested gently upon his trembling shoulder.

Tami’s words came to an abrupt halt. He turned back to see that plain, calm face that had barely changed in nine years.

It was "Qin."

Qin Feng had approached him at some unknown moment. He looked at Tami’s face, a tapestry of rage, shame, and grievance, and spoke slowly, his voice low yet clearly reaching every ear.

"Do not overthink it."

His tone was as flat as water, yet carried a strange, soothing power.

"Death is the ultimate philosophical question that every sentient being must face and overcome.

Some mortals can face it with equanimity in their twilight years, while some powerhouses who have cultivated for millions of years cannot see through it even at the moment of their demise."

Qin Feng’s words caused everyone present to pause.

They had not expected that at such a time, in such a setting, the perpetually reticent Qin would utter such profound words.

Tami looked up blankly, his eyes brimming with tears, and asked subconsciously: "Then... how can one see it clearly?"

How could one see through life and death?

How could one cast off this fear that seeped into the marrow of one's bones?

Qin Feng’s gaze became immeasurably deep at that moment.

In those pitch-black pupils, it was as if the surface of a calm lake had vanished, reflecting instead the terrifying visions of mountains of corpses, seas of blood, and the birth and destruction of universes.

An intangible, transcendent aura flickered from him and vanished.

He looked at the youth before him, a faint, yet slightly cruel smile curling the corners of his lips.

"Amidst blood and fire,"

His voice was soft, yet carried an unquestionable weight.

"Only by bathing in blood can one be reborn."

"Only by approaching death infinitely can one truly grasp the essence of death."

"We all believe in you, Tami. We have all seen your performance over these nine years."

As his words fell, Qin Feng patted Tami’s shoulder.

Silence returned to the camp.

But this time, the atmosphere was different.

Cang Lang’s fury, like a sudden storm, had completely shattered the last shred of romanticized fantasy Tami held regarding war, ruthlessly pushing him to the edge of a precipice, forcing him to confront his own identity—seemingly glorious, yet agonizingly awkward.

And those few understated words from Qin Feng were like a seed containing infinite magic, silently planted within the ruins of his near-collapsed heart.

Bathing in blood, to be reborn...

Approaching death infinitely, to see through death...

Tami chewed on these words repeatedly, his trembling body gradually calming.

The bewilderment and grievance in his eyes slowly faded, replaced by an unprecedented flame, a mixture of terror and resolve.

He raised his head, his gaze sweeping across the cold countdown on the tactical screen, then toward the eternal darkness outside the camp.

In truth, Qin Feng had utilized pure black mental energy to soothe Tami’s emotions.

Otherwise, mere words would never have been enough to calm him.

"The pure academic cultivation of the Holy Academy is... too hard to describe."

"But every martial artist must walk such a path, or they will never find their own way."

Qin Feng shook his head.

In this cruel universe, there might be giant infants at the black hole level, flowers of the greenhouse, but there would never be a domain lord who was a greenhouse flower.

Because to forge one’s own path, to be recognized by the will of the universe to become a domain lord, one must possess an unyielding spirit.

...

When the last ripple of spatial fluctuation from the outer universe finally subsided, the "Heavenly Gate" that connected this place to the human territories—the exit symbolizing the path home and the way to survive—finally closed without a sound.

The entire Island of Dead Meteors, at this moment, became a cage in the truest sense, a graveyard isolated by both time and space.

An intangible and heavy sense of despair, like the pressure of the deep sea, slowly enveloped the hearts of every human squad.

The communication channel was deathly silent; no one wailed, no one cursed, only a silence stretched to the breaking point.

For every warrior who chose to remain here had long foreseen the arrival of this day.

Inside Relay Station No. 78, the atmosphere was equally heavy as iron.

Tami sat quietly in a corner, wiping his ornate golden longsword. His movements were meticulous, his gaze focused and calm.

Ten years of time, coupled with the face-shattering roar of Commander-in-Chief Cang Lang, had long since pulverized the last shred of unrealistic fantasy in his heart.

He was no longer the Holy Academy student who would turn pale at a single word, nor the young nobleman dreaming of returning home in glory after a gilded tour.

He felt the increasingly solid black-hole-level power within his body, and an unprecedented resolve sprouted from the depths of his soul.

He was already dead.

The naive and cowardly boy named Tami had died the moment he stepped onto this island, the moment he learned of the cruel "thirty-thousand-year" deadline.

What lived now was an ordinary soldier of the 78th Squad, a man facing death with equanimity to fulfill his duty and to avoid bringing shame upon his father.

He no longer thought of leaving, for the path was severed.

All that remained was to fight to the death.

Yun Zhou sat cross-legged as he always did, eyes tightly shut, his body wreathed in a faint silver aura as if nothing in the outside world could disturb his composure.

As the scion of the Nine Spirits King, he understood the cold logic and heavy burden behind high-level decisions better than anyone.

To him, this was merely the opening of a chess match, and they were but pieces cast upon the board, destined to fulfill their purpose until the board itself consumed them.

The veterans, led by Butcher, were even more composed; they even found the mood to gather and gamble in the coarsest of tongues, wagering on how long they would survive in this hellhole and how many aliens they could drag down with them.

For them, war was life, and death was a long-settled destination.

Whether the Heavenly Gate closed or not made no difference to them, save for the shift from "possible death" to "certain death."

Qin Feng—or simply "Qin"—remained the most inconspicuous presence of all.

He leaned against the cold metal wall, eyes half-closed in a feigned slumber, while his consciousness had long since plunged into the vast "Primordial Singularity" within his own body.

"Babel, has the final calibration of the environmental data been completed?"

His consciousness asked in a low, steady tone.

A virtual intelligence, constructed entirely of spiritual energy, shimmered into existence within his mind.

It was a complex, shifting data cluster—the auxiliary intelligence Qin Feng had spent years cultivating by using his own "pure black" quality spiritual energy as a core, constantly absorbing and parsing the chaotic field data from the outer reaches of the Dead Meteor Island.

"Master, the calibration was completed three hundred and seventy-two standard Imperial seconds ago.

Over one hundred and seventy million environmental parameters, including spatial fields, spiritual tides, and law turbulence, have been synthesized into a final model.

According to the projections, once the Heavenly Gate closes completely, this region will enter a ten-thousand-year 'stable decay period,' and the range of spiritual detection will be further compressed to 73.4% of its current capacity," Babel reported, its voice devoid of emotion.

Qin Feng nodded slightly.

This meant the war on Dead Meteor Island would fully regress to the most primitive and brutal mode of "seek, encounter, and slaughter."

With spiritual detection crippled, individual raw power and squad coordination would become the only metrics of survival.

As for Babel, it was thriving; Qin Feng estimated that in another decade of training, he would be able to consume it to elevate the quality of his own spiritual essence.

Simultaneously, another fragment of Qin Feng’s mind remained linked to the God-Forbidden mechanized avatar codenamed "Thunderbolt."

After more than a decade of stealth and reconnaissance, "Thunderbolt" had traversed most of the outer island, mapping it with a level of detail and precision that likely surpassed even the official version held by the Supreme Commander, Cang Lang.

The movement patterns of all elite alien squads, the distribution of resources, and the treacherous terrain suitable for ambush were all clearly marked on his star map.

Most importantly, by this point, Qin Feng’s mastery of his ultimate secret technique had reached one percent!

This was the true foundation of his confidence in plotting a way out of this desperate trap.

His strength was still growing.

...

Time drifted on in this oppressive, quiet atmosphere for several more months.

One day, everyone in the relay station was jolted awake by a sharp, urgent alarm.

On the tactical light screen hanging in the center, the communication jade of the squad leader, Long Zhan, suddenly ignited with a crimson glow, signaling the highest priority.

Long Zhan stepped forward and pressed his palm against the jade.

A brief, encrypted stream of orders flooded his mind.

His face turned grave in an instant, his eyes sharp as blades.

"Coordinates: 72 Outer Island, Sector 273, the Asteroid Sea."

"The Sixteenth Squad has been ambushed by the main elite force of the Stone Clan; casualties sustained. Requesting immediate support."

"Supreme Command Order: Seventy-Eighth Squad, depart immediately. Primary objective: cover the retreat of the Sixteenth Squad.

Reiterating: preserve combat strength at all costs. Disengage immediately upon completion of the cover mission. No lingering in battle!"

The order was brief and frigid, every word dripping with the blood and urgency of the front lines.

Long Zhan did not hesitate for a second. He spun around to face the nine members who had already assembled, barking a short, powerful command:

"All units, move out!"

"Yes!"

Nine figures, including Tami, who already had his longsword in hand, responded in unison.

No one questioned, and no one showed a hint of fear.

They were like a blade long since honed, unsheathed in a flash the moment the order was given.

Boom!

A hidden exit in the asteroid-converted relay station opened, and ten figures transformed into ten streaks of light. Like a pack of agile hawks, they merged silently into the cold, dead void of space, hurtling toward the designated coordinates like arrows released from a bow.

Tami followed closely on the flank, his eyes cold and steady.

...

72 Outer Island, Sector 273, the Asteroid Sea.

This was a vast expanse of space where hundreds of millions of shattered asteroids and planetary debris drifted aimlessly, forming a natural, complex battlefield.

The chaotic gravitational fields and energy turbulence made this an ideal place for ambushes and concealment.

Yet, at this moment, the silent asteroid belt had become a bloody slaughterhouse.

Blinding beams of spiritual energy raged like a torrential storm, and chains of laws, heavy with destructive power, crisscrossed and collided in the void, pulverizing nearby asteroids into cosmic dust.

In the center of the fray, a dozen human warriors in standard silver power armor formed a precarious defensive formation, struggling against attacks from all sides.

They were members of the Sixteenth Squad. Every one of them was wounded, their spiritual shields dimmed to the point of collapse, and several suits of armor bore hideous, jagged cracks.

Outside their formation, three cold corpses drifted in the void—their fallen comrades.

Their eyes remained wide open, their faces frozen in the rage and resentment of their final moments.

Surrounding them were dozens of exceptionally tall alien warriors.

These warriors were composed entirely of solid rock, covered in thick, grotesque stone armor that seemed fused to their bodies, radiating an aura of primal brutality.

They were the Stone Clan, renowned throughout the universe for their defense and raw strength.

The Stone Clan warriors let out dull roars, swinging massive stone axes and hammers. Every strike was heavy and laden with crushing force, battering the human squad's crumbling defense.

"Captain! We can't hold! They're too strong!"

A human warrior spat blood, roaring in desperation.

"Where are the reinforcements! Where are they!"

"Hold on! Supreme Command has sent the Seventy-Eighth Squad! Just one more quarter-hour!"

The captain of the Sixteenth Squad, a severely wounded high-level Domain Lord, roared with bloodshot eyes, his combat blade already chipped and notched.

Despair flooded them like a tide.

The enemy's numbers and strength far exceeded their own; their leader hadn't even deigned to strike yet!

This was a one-sided massacre.

Just then, ten swift streaks of light tore through the depths of the Asteroid Sea, and Long Zhan’s booming voice thundered across the battlefield like a lightning strike: "Sixteenth Squad! Seventy-Eighth Squad is here to support! Prepare for a rotating cover maneuver, prepare to retreat!"

The arrival of the Seventy-Eighth Squad was like a sliver of dawn piercing the dark abyss.

Yet, in the rear of the formation, Qin Feng, trailing as a common soldier, did not cast his gaze upon the ordinary Stone-kin warriors.

His eyes, sharp as the most precise radar, cut through the chaotic battlefield and locked firmly onto the commander of the Stone-kin squad.

This was a being entirely distinct from the others.

His stature was far more imposing than his kin, standing nearly a hundred meters tall, his body not the color of common stone, but a dull, heavy dark gold, as if forged from the hardest divine metal in the cosmos.

Across his rocky frame flowed arcane golden veins that pulsed with light, radiating an aura that was at once sacred and overbearing, heavy and violent.

He hovered silently behind the fray, arms crossed, not even deigning to strike, yet his presence—a mountain looming over a deep pool—weighed upon the battlefield like a physical force, chilling the hearts of all who felt it.

The moment Qin Feng caught sight of his face, even with his tempered state of mind, his pupils contracted sharply; an indescribable shock and murderous intent surged from the depths of his soul!

"Shi Lan!"

The name was branded into the deepest recesses of his memory.

Indeed, this Stone-kin commander exuding such terrifying power was none other than the prodigy that the Stone Buddha—the peerless talent of the Divine Prohibition—had implored him to slay at any cost within the Blood Forbidden Zone: the chief disciple under the Grand Elder of the Esoteric Sect, Shi Lan!

The intelligence provided by the Stone Buddha had clearly stated that Shi Lan was at the "Domain Lord level, half-step Divine Prohibition," a dangerous but still fathomable enemy.

But the Shi Lan before him now radiated an aura that far transcended the "half-step Divine Prohibition" threshold!

This was a genuine peak Domain Lord!

Moreover, he had clearly gained something in the Outer Islands, stepping into the legendary realm of "Divine Prohibition"!

Divine Prohibition!

These two words represented invincibility among peers, a supreme combat power capable of challenging those of higher ranks!

A peak Domain Lord who had stepped into the Divine Prohibition could, in his terrifying strength, stand toe-to-toe with, or even suppress, the most ordinary, entry-level Marquis-ranked powerhouses!

The alarm bells in Qin Feng’s heart rang frantically.

A mission that began as a routine support operation had, with the appearance of Shi Lan, instantly transformed into a desperate struggle with a mortality rate exceeding ninety percent!

He quickly weighed the strength disparity in his mind. His resilience and survival instincts had reached a monstrous level.

An ordinary peak Domain Lord, even armed with heavy treasures, could never kill him in a short time; they could only hope to trap him temporarily with top-tier containment arrays.

But Shi Lan was no ordinary peak Domain Lord!

He was Divine Prohibition!

Facing a monster of Shi Lan’s caliber, Qin Feng had no confidence.

All his attacks might fail to truly pierce the rocky divine body reinforced by the Divine Prohibition domain.

The conclusion was reached in an instant: if he went all out, exhausting every hidden card, he might barely manage to survive, perhaps even escaping after paying a grievous price.

But to defeat, let alone kill him? That was a fantasy!

And his own squad?

The strongest, Captain Long Zhan, was merely a high-level Domain Lord.

Yun Zhou was an entry-level Domain Lord.

The other members were mostly at the Black Hole limit.

Against Shi Lan, such a squad was no different from ants!

Almost at the same moment Qin Feng reached his judgment, Captain Long Zhan also felt that suffocating, terrifying pressure.

His face turned grave, fine beads of cold sweat breaking out on his forehead.

As a veteran of the Fire Dragon Regiment, he realized instantly that they had kicked an iron plate capable of grinding their entire squad into dust!

But military orders were absolute, and the Sixteenth Squad was in mortal danger; he had no room to retreat.

"Form the Nine-Palace Array!"

Long Zhan let out a thunderous roar, his voice laced with resolve. "Focus on interference, hold them back! Everyone, follow my command: strike and withdraw immediately to buy time for the Sixteenth Squad to retreat! Move!"

His decision was decisive.

Facing an insurmountable foe, he chose not to fight to the death, but to use the array—even if it could trap the enemy for a mere heartbeat, it might turn the tide.

"Understood!"

The members of the Seventy-Eighth Squad displayed high tactical discipline.

They no longer hid their auras, charging into the chaotic battlefield like tigers descending from the mountains.

Except for Qin Feng, the "new recruit" whom Long Zhan had implicitly excluded from the core of the formation, the other nine members shifted their positions with arcane precision as they surged forward.

Hum—!

The spiritual energy within the nine members erupted in unison, streams of multicolored energy rising to the sky, weaving and linking in the void. In the blink of an eye, they formed a massive array covering a vast area, composed of countless intricate runes—the Nine-Palace Array!

The moment the array took form, a powerful force of restraint and suppression manifested, like an invisible mire, instantly enveloping all the Stone-kin warriors, including Shi Lan.

The Sixteenth Squad, struggling to hold on, erupted in thunderous cheers at the sight.

"It’s the Nine-Palace Array!"

"Coordinate well, let's pull back!"

"Brothers, seize the chance!"

They grasped the precious second bought by the array, stopped fighting, burned their spiritual energy, and transformed into streaks of light, fleeing desperately toward the rear of the battlefield.

One member shouted a warning: "The force field here is chaotic, spiritual perception is limited to a million kilometers! Once we break contact, they won't be able to catch us!"

A brief flicker of hope ignited in their hearts.

Yet, this light of hope lasted less than a second.

Shi Lan, shrouded within the Nine-Palace Array, wore a look of utter disdain on his dark-gold rocky face.

He did not use any complex secret arts, nor did he summon any weapons; he simply, casually, threw a punch at the seemingly indestructible light curtain of the array!

That punch was plain and unadorned, yet it seemed to carry the weight of the entire cosmic sea.

"Boom—!"

A roar beyond description erupted in the vacuum of space, manifesting as a violent surge of laws!

The entire Nine-Palace Array, built by the combined effort of nine Domain Lords and Black Hole limit powerhouses, shattered like bubbles under the sun, like paper windows, unable to offer even the slightest resistance!

Countless energy fragments scattered in all directions, forming a brilliant and lethal energy storm.

"Pfft—!"

The nine members of the Seventy-Eighth Squad who had formed the array were struck as if by lightning the moment it broke. Their bodies shuddered violently, and they all spat out mouthfuls of blood, their faces turning paper-white in an instant.

The backlash of the broken array had left them all severely wounded!

Though the array held for only a fleeting moment, that single second had bought the Sixteenth Squad the precious time they needed to escape.

They had successfully broken through the encirclement and were fleeing frantically into the distance.

"Divine Prohibition... it's Divine Prohibition! Run!"

Captain Long Zhan’s eyes were bloodshot, blood streaming from the corners of his mouth.

With every ounce of strength remaining, he unleashed the most harrowing and desperate roar of his military career, issuing the final order of retreat to his entire squad.

But it was already too late.

Shi Lan, who had shattered their formation with a single blow, moved with the suddenness of a teleportation, closing the distance in an instant; his cold, emotionless golden eyes were locked firmly onto the grievously wounded Long Zhan.

At the same time, the remaining Stone Tribe warriors grinned hideously, like sharks scenting blood, lunging from all directions toward the members of the 78th Squad.

The shadow of death, in this moment, completely enveloped them all.

Just as this razor-thin, life-or-death instant hung in the balance, a voice, unnervingly calm, rang out with crystalline clarity in the ears of every member of the 78th Squad.

"Captain, I will hold off this God-Forbidden entity; take the others and retreat!"

Before the words had even faded, the first manifestation of divine power erupted!

The "new recruit Qin," who had always been silent and unremarkable within the ranks, finally ceased all concealment!

BOOM!

A pair of massive, magnificent black wings, radiating an aura of death and annihilation, burst forth from his back! It was the top-tier flight relic—the [Black Sky Wings]!

Simultaneously, a set of black power armor, blending sci-fi aesthetics with a savage, murderous intent, encased his entire body amidst a teeth-grinding screech of metal!

Every component of the armor pulsed with a supreme aura, and the energy core at its chest emitted fluctuations terrifying enough to crush a neutron star.

It was the top-tier Domain Lord-level [Heavenly Evolution Armor], upgraded personally by the Lord of Extremes!

A long spear, black as ink yet tipped with a point that flickered with the light of all-consuming void—the [Star-Swallowing Spear]—appeared in his grasp!

In this moment, Qin Feng’s image was utterly transformed!

He was no longer the restrained Black Hole-level recruit, but a peerless god of slaughter, wielding divine weapons and clad in divine armor, stepped forth from the depths of the Nine Nether Hells!

He became a streak of ultimate, space-tearing black light, refusing to retreat, like a comet hurtling against the sun, meeting the demon-like Shi Lan head-on with an indomitable, death-defying resolve!

CRASH!

A thunderous, earth-shattering roar exploded at the point where they collided!

The terrifying energy shockwave formed a visible ring of light, spreading wildly and grinding every meteorite within a radius of thousands of meters into fine dust!

In this shocking collision, both Qin Feng and Shi Lan were sent reeling back over ten thousand meters by the sheer force of the recoil!

A stalemate!

The sight left everyone stunned.

Captain Long Zhan was beyond shock.

He could never have dreamed that this ordinary recruit, whom he had assumed was merely here for training, possessed such terrifying strength!

To go toe-to-toe with a God-Forbidden monster without losing ground—what kind of monstrous combat power was this?!

But as a veteran of countless battles, he reacted instantly.

He knew this was the only chance for survival that Qin Feng had bought them with his life!

"Go!"

Long Zhan’s eyes split with agony as he roared the command to retreat with all his might.

But Shi Lan, while engaged with Qin Feng, merely flickered a thought and waved his hand, dropping a formation that trapped Long Zhan and the others.

"We can't leave! Form up, kill these bastards, and take the pressure off Brother Qin!"

Seeing the formation fall, the Butcher roared.

Enduring his wounds, he turned back with a slash, joining the few remaining capable squad members to meet the oncoming Stone Tribe warriors, attempting to buy Qin Feng a chance to focus on his foe.

But the enemy was equally formidable; hidden among the common Stone Tribe warriors were three powerful high-level Domain Lords!

On the 78th Squad's side, beyond Qin Feng’s duel with Shi Lan, there was only one low-level Domain Lord and one high-level Domain Lord, yet they faced three high-level Domain Lords and several extreme Black Hole-level Stone men!

The battle instantly descended into the most cruel and bloody stage of attrition.

The entire Sea of Scattered Stars had turned into a vortex of death.

...

In the void, two battlefields stood distinct, yet both were stained with the same desperate hue of blood.

One was a place where rules and laws collapsed.

The clash between Qin Feng and Shi Lan had transcended the conventional scope of Domain Lord-level combat, entering the exclusive arena of the God-Forbidden realm.

Every attack from Shi Lan seemed to draw upon the heavy, majestic power of a world.

When he punched, earth-yellow divine light, condensed to the extreme, tore through space, manifesting as falling meteors, each capable of easily crushing an ordinary high-level Domain Lord;

When he stomped, invisible earthen chains emerged from the void, clinging like bone-deep rot, attempting to lock Qin Feng’s limbs and bind him in place to endure the most primal, crushing pressure.

The aura of the God-Forbidden realm was like a boundless quagmire, turning millions of kilometers of surrounding space into his home turf.

Within this domain, his strength, speed, and defense were terrifyingly amplified; every move was an act of divine wrath.

Yet, Qin Feng stood like the most stubborn reef in that swamp.

His [Heavenly Evolution Armor] was already covered in spiderweb cracks and terrifying fist-shaped indentations, and the shaft of the Star-Swallowing Spear hummed in agony with every hard impact.

Shi Lan’s strength was too brutal; every collision sent a force through Qin Feng capable of tearing his soul apart, shattering his internal organs and making his bones groan.

"BOOM!"

Seizing a split second where Qin Feng’s old force had faded and the new had yet to rise, Shi Lan’s domain suddenly contracted, forming a giant rock hand that slammed Qin Feng away.

Qin Feng’s body shattered several floating meteorites like a cannonball; the armor on his chest disintegrated completely, revealing a bloodied torso with a ghastly, bone-deep wound.

"Die!"

A flash of cruelty crossed Shi Lan’s eyes; he was certain this blow would cripple any peak Domain Lord, rendering them unable to fight.

But the next instant, the sneer on his face froze.

Within Qin Feng’s body, a faint spark, containing the infinite vitality of the universe’s birth, flickered and vanished.

The power of the [Primordial Singularity], amplified by the incomprehensible power of the [Twin Masks], surged as a torrent of life, instantly washing over Qin Feng’s body.

The horrific wound writhed and healed at a visible rate, and in less than a second, it was as good as new, without even a scar remaining.

"This... this is impossible!"

Shi Lan’s mind was dealt a massive blow; he had seen those with strong bodies and those with abnormal recovery, but never such an unreasonable existence.

This was no longer a matter of recovery; this was simply... immortality!

The longer they fought, the deeper his horror grew.

He could clearly feel that every heavy blow landed true, even annihilating parts of his opponent’s life essence.

But no matter how heavy the injury, the opponent recovered in the next second, as if he were not facing a living being, but an absolute concept that could never be worn down or destroyed.

He racked his brain, unleashing his hidden techniques, attempting to use domain lockdowns, soul shocks, and pure, raw power to crush him completely.

Yet Qin Feng was like a slippery, stubborn stone, relying on combat knowledge so profound it defied logic, always managing to deflect part of the damage at the critical moment.

And the damage that could not be avoided was simply erased by that monstrous "undying body."

For the first time, Shi Lan felt a sense of powerlessness.

He could batter Qin Feng to the brink of death time and again, yet he could never quite strike that final, fatal chord of silence.

On another front, the battle unfolded in a lopsided, heartbreaking display of desperation.

The members of the 78th Squad, besieged by three high-level Domain Lords and dozens of elite Stone-kin, were already stretched to their breaking point, teetering on the edge of annihilation.

Though Captain Long Zhan fought with ferocious valor, he could barely hold one high-level Domain Lord at bay; the remaining two were an insurmountable chasm for the rest of his team.

"Squelch!"

A veteran from the "Flesh-Carver Regiment," while locked in a struggle with a mid-level Stone-kin Domain Lord, was caught off guard by a high-level foe, a colossal stone warhammer descending from behind with the crushing force of a collapsing mountain.

He had no time to even scream; his upper torso, armor, and soul were pulverized into a mist of blood in an instant, and he fell on the spot.

The sight of blood and death frayed the nerves of every survivor.

Tami huddled in the center of the formation, his face as pale as parchment.

In that moment of faltering resolve, a grinning mid-level Stone-kin Domain Lord broke through the line, his massive fist wreathed in dense, earth-yellow energy, hurtling like a screaming meteor straight toward Tami’s face.

It’s over.

Only these two words remained in Tami’s mind; his body felt frozen, his thoughts turned to a void, and all he could see was that expanding fist, certain to erase him from existence.

He could even smell the cold, metallic scent of death itself.

Just at this precipice of doom, a figure—not particularly tall, yet unshakeably solid—stood like a shield, resolutely planting itself before him.

It was the veteran from the "Flesh-Carver Regiment," the one who was always grinning, revealing his stark white teeth—the Butcher.

"Pfft—"

A dull sound of flesh being pierced echoed as the Stone-kin’s fist punched through the Butcher’s chest without resistance, emerging from his back and spraying a fountain of scalding blood across Tami’s face.

The warmth of the liquid jolted Tami from his paralyzing terror.

He stared blankly at the back before him, at the chest run through, and at that hideous arm protruding from the man’s body.

Yet, the Butcher did not fall.

His mangled frame erupted with startling strength; his arms clamped like iron vises onto the Stone-kin’s limb, and he activated a secret artifact to bind the Domain Lord fast.

He turned his head slowly, laboriously, and on his blood-drenched face, that signature, bone-white grin remained.

"Go,"

His voice was raspy from his shattered lungs, yet carried an unquestionable finality, "I’m going to detonate!"

"No!"

Tami’s heart felt as if it were being crushed by an invisible hand, a surge of unprecedented agony and panic sweeping through him.

He roared instinctively: "If you detonate, your soul won't return to the Golden Throne! Why?!"

He could not understand, nor could he accept it.

To have one's soul return to the Golden Throne was the highest honor for a fallen human warrior, the final sanctuary of their spirit.

But to detonate—especially to burn one's soul—meant total annihilation, a complete erasure from the universe, leaving not even a trace behind.

"Why?..."

The Butcher coughed up a mouthful of blood mixed with visceral fragments, his smile growing only more radiant. "Because you... you are a prodigy of the Western Academy... your future... is far more useful than mine..."

His eyes were clear and serene, devoid of resentment, filled only with the expectations of an elder for the young.

"Go! ...Tell those who come after that I... did not bring shame to the 'Flesh-Carvers'!"

"No!!! It shouldn't be like this!!"

Tami let out a heart-rending cry, tears streaming down his face to mingle with the blood, "I should be the one to die!"

Shame, regret, fury, despair—these emotions swirled within him like the most potent poison.

Tami remembered the roar of Commander Cang Lang, the arrangements made by his mother, and his own years of wandering and struggle.

The death he had always feared was something others could embrace with such calm resolve.

The Butcher did not answer him again. With his final strength, he fumbled for an object from his breast—an ancient formation disk, already webbed with cracks and appearing ready to shatter at any moment.

It was a trump card he had chanced upon during an early mission, a powerful, single-use offensive artifact, and the greatest legacy he had intended for his descendants.

But now, he had a better use for it.

A brilliant, resolute light flashed in his eyes as he poured every scrap of his remaining energy—even his burning soul essence—into the disk, without cost or hesitation!

"For humanity!"

He abandoned his final chance to return to the Golden Throne, choosing the most absolute sacrifice—total extinction!