Chapter 306: Ultimate Secret Technique Completed! Qin Feng's Ferocious Name is Illustrious, Ten Thousand Races Will

Chapter 306: The Ultimate Secret Technique Achieved! Qin Feng’s Fearsome Reputation, the Universal Death Warrant!

Boom!

The giant claw collided with the diminutive figure, sending Qin Feng hurtling away like a meteor, his body twisting and deforming in mid-air, bones shattering into dust.

Yet, before the Golden-Armored Beast could launch a pursuit, his body instantly restored itself, thanks to the unreasonable and terrifying regenerative power of the [Primordial Singularity].

Once, twice, ten times, a hundred times...

The ensuing battle devolved into an inconceivable display of "taking a beating."

Every strike from the Golden-Armored Beast was heavy and potent, capable of annihilating all, while Qin Feng was blasted away time and again, only to instantly recover each time.

The Golden-Armored Beast grew increasingly alarmed; it had never encountered such an uncanny foe.

The opponent’s body seemed to be a bottomless pit; no matter how much psionic energy—enough to destroy a galaxy—it poured out, it could not inflict permanent damage.

It felt as though it were facing a monster that could never be killed.

As time passed, the beast’s vast psionic and mental reserves depleted rapidly; even the speed of its claw strikes began to wane, and its aura showed clear signs of decline.

Yet, the tiny figure that had been bombarded for so long remained as steady as ever, seemingly unscathed.

The opportunity had arrived.

The moment the Golden-Armored Beast’s next attack missed, Qin Feng launched his counter-assault.

He ceased his brute-force resistance, instead activating the [Black Sky Wings], transforming into a black line moving at high speed around the beast.

Abandoning wide-sweeping strikes, he condensed the power of [Inch Radiance] onto the tip of his Star-Swallowing Spear, leaving a deep, bone-reaching wound on the beast’s thick golden armor with every flicker.

These wounds were not fatal, but they accumulated.

Simultaneously, Qin Feng struck at its soul, his pure black mental energy relentlessly corroding the beast’s psyche.

The accumulated damage, the exhaustion of psionic energy, and the immense mental pressure finally crushed this arrogant beast of the starry sky.

With a cry of unwilling lament, the beast’s massive body collapsed with a thunderous crash, kicking up clouds of dust.

Qin Feng walked slowly toward the dying creature, and amidst its eyes, woven with resentment and terror, he calmly extended a hand; a complex [Slave Seal Secret Technique] rune slowly coalesced, finally sinking into the beast’s brow.

"Your flesh and genes are very useful for my research."

He stated the fact calmly.

...

Five hundred years of hunting and experimentation had pushed Qin Feng’s fearsome reputation to its zenith across the outer islands of the Dead Meteor Isle.

Nowadays, ordinary Domain Lords dared not venture out alone; any action required traveling in groups, and even a small squad felt no sense of security unless led by a Peak Domain Lord.

On this day, in a canyon shrouded in eternal shadow, Qin Feng sensed two powerful and obscure auras.

They were of the Shadow Race, and both were Peak Domain Lords.

The Shadow Race were natural assassins and infiltrators, thriving in an environment like the Dead Meteor Isle where mental detection was restricted.

Qin Feng was intrigued by their unique stealth methods and space-traversal abilities, preparing to make them his new test subjects.

However, a strange scene unfolded.

Just as Qin Feng suppressed his aura, preparing to close in, those two auras—which had been hidden perfectly—suddenly bristled like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.

They had no intention of engaging, not even the slightest courage to test the waters.

The moment they sensed Qin Feng’s intent, the pair of Shadow Race elites invoked their racial talent without hesitation.

Their bodies dissolved into two un-lockable shadows, merging into the canyon’s gloom in a way that defied the laws of space, their auras vanishing entirely as they fled into the distance.

Qin Feng halted, hovering above the canyon, a trace of surprise and a flicker of imperceptible regret crossing his eyes.

He attempted to pursue, but the Shadow Race’s innate talent for escape was truly peerless under the special rules of the Dead Meteor Isle; once they were committed to fleeing, even he found it difficult to catch them in a short time.

"Has my reputation grown that large?"

Qin Feng smiled.

It seemed the infamy of "Qin" had climbed to a brand-new peak.

His name had officially shifted from "a powerful enemy to be wary of" to "an unstoppable, mobile natural disaster."

Even Peak elites as powerful as the Shadow Race, renowned for assassination and concealment, fled at the mere scent of him.

Qin Feng sighed, forced to depart.

...

Another thousand years passed in silence.

Qin Feng spent this millennium in constant hunting and research.

To the vast universe, a thousand years is but a fleeting moment, an insignificant flicker of starlight in a vacuum.

Yet, within the core of a dead star that had long extinguished all light and heat, time was imbued with ultimate meaning in a vastly different way.

This was Qin Feng’s final laboratory.

Gravity warped here, and the residual stellar energy formed devastating storms outside, capable of shredding any Peak Domain Lord who dared approach.

It was the universe’s most supreme natural barrier, isolating all possibility of prying eyes.

Inside the laboratory, however, there was a heart-stopping silence, the polar opposite of the violence outside.

At the center of the space floated the final test subject—the once-majestic Golden-Armored Beast, whose flesh could shatter stars.

A thousand years of time had worn away all its grandeur and pride.

Its massive body was now withered, the scales that once flowed with golden divine radiance turned dull, like rusted scrap metal.

Its flame of life was as faint as a candle in the wind, as if it would extinguish entirely in the next second.

Across its vast, emaciated body were countless, profoundly mysterious array patterns.

These were not mere brands, but were deeply fused with its flesh, tendons, bones, and even every cell in an inconceivable manner.

Some patterns had gone completely dark, signifying the total failure of a technical path; others still shimmered with faint light—the theoretical cornerstones verified after countless trials and errors.

Its very existence was a living martial arts compendium, written in blood and agony.

Surrounding this test subject were hundreds of millions of jade slips composed of high-density energy.

They were not piled haphazardly, but constrained by an invisible force field, categorized and constructed into a vast galaxy of data.

Every jade slip recorded the detailed data, failed lessons, and successful experiences of the countless experiments Qin Feng had conducted over the past fifteen hundred years on seventy or eighty test subjects from different powerful races.

The energy-based flesh structure analysis of the Crystal Race, the deconstruction of the Shadow Race’s void-traversal talent, the genetic mutation models of the Starry Sky Beasts, the energy circuit simulations of the Mechanical Race... this was a graveyard for the flesh and souls of the myriad races, and the foundation for a path to the limits of martial arts that no one had ever walked before.

Qin Feng stood quietly at the center of this data galaxy.

Dressed in black, his face serene, his pure black eyes no longer held their former sharpness and bloodlust; in their place was a depth and clarity that had pierced the fog and understood the essence of all things.

His gaze fell upon the Golden-Armored Beast, whose life was nearing its end.

This test subject, which had borne the weight of his thousand-year effort, had just provided the final set of critical data, completing the last insignificant piece of his entire theoretical puzzle.

In an instant, the accumulation of a millennium, the billions of deductions, and the countless failures and successes seemed to transform into a bolt of lightning piercing through space and time, exploding thunderously within his vast, universe-like sea of consciousness.

All the complex fragments of knowledge were, in this moment, completely melted and fused.

A path of martial arts, unprecedented and magnificent, unfurled with absolute clarity within his will.

He slowly closed his eyes, beginning to murmur in a tone that resonated with the very cadence of the Dao.

This was both a summation of the past and a proclamation of his future.

"The path of the limit..."

His voice echoed within the silent core of the star, every syllable seemingly imbued with a supreme law.

"Its core lies not in the mere accumulation of power, nor in the elevation of realms, but in... transforming oneself into the ultimate vessel of the 'Dao,' breaking free from the shackles of cosmic laws to achieve eternal evolution and the ability to shatter limits again and again."

"This ability is the most important!"

"This is a tyrannical path... with 'I' as the core, devouring all laws, merging all Daos, and ultimately transcending all Daos to become a singular entity."

Qin Feng’s will first focused on the most fundamental unit of life—the physical body.

"Regarding the flesh, after one thousand five hundred and ten years and the verification of seventy-eight powerful combat races, I have found the final path.

Predecessors who cultivated the body sought either invulnerability, infinite strength, or immunity to all arts, yet they always fixated on a single 'trait,' and thus all had their limits."

"My path, however, is to view the body itself as a supreme, embryonic secret treasure with infinite growth potential.

I do not pursue any single trait; I pursue... a perfect foundational template capable of bearing the very concept of the 'limit'."

His mind, like the most precise instrument, began to dissect every step of constructing this template.

"Step one: Casting the furnace."

"This is the foundation of foundations, the prerequisite for all subsequent evolution.

Its core is to use my own physical shell as a natural, supreme array plate, inscribing billions of basic arrays with diverse functions within my body."

Qin Feng’s consciousness sank into the microscopic world; he could "see" every cell and every meridian within him.

"These billions of arrays are not randomly piled.

They will form a vast, precise, and absolutely orderly system.

For instance, the most basic 'Spirit Gathering' array clusters will permeate every corner of my body, increasing the efficiency of my breathing in and out the galaxy by billions of times;

'Body Refining' array clusters will fuse perfectly with my bones and muscles, keeping them in a state of constant, high-efficiency tempering;

'Conversion' array clusters will be responsible for the most efficient decomposition and purification of any energy I devour—be it stellar power, flesh and blood essence, soul fragments, rare treasures, or even exotic alloys."

"Beyond these, there must be 'Five Elements Rotation' arrays to balance energy attributes; 'Yin-Yang Harmonization' arrays to stabilize the source of life; 'Space Stabilization' arrays to reinforce the body against the impact of extreme speed and power; 'Life Nourishment' arrays to repair wounds and enhance recovery..."

"By combining, linking, and nesting these billions of arrays—covering the domains of 'devouring,' 'decomposition,' 'purification,' 'conversion,' 'stabilization,' and 'nourishment'—into an unprecedentedly complex structure, I will ultimately construct within my body a unique, all-devouring, all-refining—'Primordial Furnace Grand Array'!"

This concept was nothing short of madness.

Any grandmaster of arrays would dismiss it as a fairy tale.

To construct and maintain the stable operation of billions of arrays within a finite fleshly body—the computational load and control difficulty alone would cause the soul of a King-level powerhouse to collapse instantly.

"Once this array is formed,"

Qin Feng’s voice remained steady, yet carried an unshakable confidence, "any resource I devour will be processed automatically and with maximum efficiency by this internal 'furnace,' transformed into the most primal, pure nourishment for my body.

From then on, I shall have no bottlenecks.

To me, the difference between a scrap of iron and a divine herb will merely be the speed at which the 'furnace' refines them."

This was the total transformation of himself into a mobile, highly intelligent biological alchemy factory.

"Step two: Inscribing the limit."

If the "Primordial Furnace Grand Array" solved the problem of "energy input," then this second step was the core of "performance enhancement."

"Using the purest primordial spiritual energy refined by the 'Furnace Array' as the 'chisel,' and my will as the 'nib,' I shall inscribe the true core—the 'Limit Array'—onto every cell, every inch of bone, and every meridian of my body!"

Within Qin Feng’s consciousness, countless profound and complex runes emerged.

These runes were the ultimate mysteries he had deduced after merging thirty billion body-refining techniques and combining a millennium of experimental data.

"This array is not a fixed formation, but a growth-oriented system that can be infinitely stacked and upgraded.

Its sole purpose is to continuously utilize the massive nourishment provided by the 'furnace' to temper and strengthen me in ways that transcend limits, without end."

"It will reinforce my cell walls, making their resilience surpass divine metal;

It will reconstruct my genetic chains, ensuring that every rupture and recombination evolves toward a more perfect life form;

It will compress my bone density, allowing it to possess supreme strength while maintaining perfect flexibility."

"This is the foundation of my future power growth!

Not relying on external objects, not relying on the eruption of secret arts, but the endless, essential elevation of my physical body!"

He seemed to see the future already: every breath, every heartbeat, driven by the "Limit Array," becoming stronger than the moment before. This growth would be continuous and irreversible.

"Step three: Connecting the cycle."

This was the key step to upgrading the entire system from "manual" to "fully automatic," the finishing touch.

"Deeply connecting the 'Furnace Array,' which manages 'energy,' with the 'Limit Array,' which manages 'enhancement,' to form a perfect, self-driving, self-regulating, and self-evolving closed-loop system."

"From now on, my body will possess all the capabilities of a top-tier pharmacist, a top-tier array master, and a top-tier artifact refiner, all running automatically, much like genetic coding."

"I call it the Limit Physique!"

A curve appeared at the corner of Qin Feng’s mouth.

"It will automatically devour free energy from the outside; it will automatically screen and refine the resources I store within my body; it will automatically deliver spiritual energy of different attributes to the corresponding array nodes based on the wear and needs of different parts of my body."

"Even..."

A light of wisdom flickered in his eyes, "in battle, this system can instantly condense defensive or auxiliary arrays with different functions on my skin based on the threats I face. Facing physical attacks, it will automatically generate the 'Indestructible Diamond Array'; facing energy impacts, it will automatically generate the 'Void Shift Array'; when extreme speed is needed, it will automatically generate the 'Swift Wind God-Walk Array'..."

"This is... a perfect foundational template capable of endless self-improvement!"

"In the future, I only need to do two things.

First, constantly seek more resources to feed into the 'furnace' to provide fuel for the entire system's operation.

Second, constantly learn and comprehend stronger arrays and deeper knowledge, because the greater my attainments in arrays and the more knowledge I store, the more and higher-grade arrays I can inscribe into my body, and my body will consequently gain the potential to become infinitely stronger!"

With this, the theoretical framework for the "Limit Path" of the physical body was complete.

Subsequently, his will turned to another level, a realm more profound and dangerous than the body—the soul.

"As for the soul, it is even more demanding and perilous."

Qin Feng’s expression turned incomparably solemn.

"For the transformation of the body, there are countless racial templates to refer to. But the evolution of the soul is a true forbidden zone; one wrong step, and there is no turning back."

"The only reference is the Mechanical Race."

Deep within his sea of consciousness, the profound understanding of the Mechanical Race’s essence, brought by the [Twin Mask], transformed into endless inspiration.

"The Mechanical Race uses data as the soul and the shell as the carrier, achieving an alternative immortality and evolution by constantly upgrading hardware and optimizing algorithms.

This path, while not the orthodox one, contains some of the ultimate truths of soul evolution."

"My 'Pure Black Quality' spiritual power is the highest-grade 'hardware.' And the evolution of the soul must borrow from the talents of the Mechanical Race, embarking on a path of 'self-cultivation'."

"I must constantly cultivate auxiliary intelligence."

Just as I devoured the Babel Tower, I must, in the future, create and consume even more powerful auxiliary intelligences.

Each act of consumption is an expansion and optimization of my own soul data, allowing my cognitive processing and multi-threaded capabilities to grow exponentially.

These intelligences will serve to help me analyze the grand array of my physical form.

The soul shall become the pilot of this ultimate vessel. The stronger the body, the more demanding the requirements for the pilot. Only the most formidable soul can perfectly command this eternal, evolving fortress of war.

The long monologue finally drew to a close.

Qin Feng opened his eyes, and within them, the vast cosmos seemed to have undergone a primordial evolution, settling at last into absolute stillness.

This path is destined for me alone.

He spoke not out of arrogance, but to state a cold, irrefutable fact. Because I alone possess the Primordial Singularity, a supreme foundation capable of bearing the concept of infinity—the perfect bedrock upon which to build this entire system.

I alone possess the pure black quality of spiritual power, the only authority and computational capacity required to perform unimaginably complex calculations and engrave billions of arrays.

And I alone, through the Twin Masks, have gained a profound understanding of the mechanical race’s soul mysteries, providing the only reliable blueprint for my soul’s evolution.

The three are one, and none can be spared.

With this, the core theoretical framework of Qin Feng’s ultimate secret art was finally perfected.

By his own estimation, the progress of the art’s creation had leaped from one percent to twenty.

Do not underestimate this nineteen-percent gain.

It is a qualitative transformation from nothingness to existence, a pioneering feat that has carved a clear, heaven-reaching path out of chaos.

The most arduous phase, which required endless effort to explore and endure trial and error, has been safely navigated.

The remaining eighty percent is no longer creation, but fulfillment.

It is a matter of following this perfect design, step by step, filling the established template with more knowledge, stronger arrays, and more profound realms.

It is a project that, while still vast, is no longer clouded by uncertainty.

Qin Feng exhaled a long, stale breath, as if purging a millennium of exhaustion and seeking.

He glanced at the golden-armored beast, its life fire extinguished and its research value long since spent.

Qin Feng did not destroy the carcass; instead, he solemnly sealed it and stored it within his subspace unit.

It was an indelible milestone on his martial path.

Having done this, Qin Feng’s gaze pierced the core of the dead star, cut through the thick mists of the Dead Meteor Island, and looked out into the endless starry sky.

He knew that the day of his promotion to Domain Lord was not far off.

And that day would mark the beginning of the price the Dead Meteor Island and the entire Alliance of Ten Thousand Races would have to pay.

...

Since Qin Feng first set foot on this forgotten land as a mere recruit, one thousand five hundred and ten years had quietly passed.

In fifteen centuries, everything seemed constant.

But this was merely a facade.

Beneath that eternal silence, a fear born of the most primitive instinct was quietly spreading and fermenting in the hearts of every soldier in the Allied Forces, eventually coalescing into an inescapable nightmare.

This nightmare had but one name.

Qin.

Initially, it was just a code name whispered among low-ranking soldiers, representing a ghostly human figure that appeared and vanished at will.

Later, as elite squads lost contact, the name began appearing in the reports of mid-level officers, tightly linked with words like "high-risk," "evade," and "invincible."

Then, when the Crystal race’s peak Domain Lord, Lattice, was found with his prideful crystal core pierced by a single strike, and when the elite Golden Armor of the Star Beast race—a creature whose massive body could withstand starships—was captured alive.

When the Shadow race’s twins, renowned for their cunning, lost the courage to even engage and fled at the mere mention of him, the name "Qin" finally shed all prefixes and modifiers, becoming a pure symbol of ultimate terror.

He never engaged in large-scale destruction, nor did he linger in battle.

His appearances were solely for hunting and capture.

He was like the coldest of collectors, precisely selecting his "curiosities," from powerful physical forms to bizarre talents, from unique energy structures to rare soul traits—all were within his hunting range.

No one knew what he intended to do, and this uncertainty was far more chilling than mere slaughter.

Rumors claimed he had built a mobile flesh-and-blood laboratory, and that all the powerful beings he captured faced a fate far worse than death—

To become experimental materials for his martial arts, wailing as they were dismantled through endless torture and modification.

Thus, over these long fifteen hundred years, the nature of war on the outer reaches of Dead Meteor Island underwent a strange distortion.

The Allied Forces’ clearing units, once arrogant and aggressive, began to shrink away.

Domain Lords dared not act alone, and even teams of peak Domain Lords would subconsciously scan their surroundings when leaving their defensive zones, terrified of seeing that figure of despair emerge from the shadows.

The existence of one man had forcibly altered the ecology of a massive battlefield.

This thousand-year accumulation of blood loss and fear finally reached a critical point, forcing the high-ranking leaders of the Ten Thousand Races, who looked down upon all living things, to confront the "monster" that had completely spiraled out of their control.

...

At the core of Dead Meteor Island, the Allied Forces’ General Command—the Blood Abyss.

The geography of Dead Meteor Island was peculiar; it was not a regular sphere, but an irregular, super-massive continental ruin that seemed to have been torn apart by immense force.

Across its heart lay a massive rift that defied conventional logic: the Blood Abyss.

It was bottomless, appearing as a dark maw leading to an unknown dimension.

Within the rift, there was no magma or gale, but a viscous, dark-red energy resembling blood.

This energy writhed slowly, exuding an ancient, malevolent, and heart-stopping aura.

In the past, the Allied Forces established their command here, drawn by the Blood Abyss’s natural defenses and its powerful suppression of divine sense.

Now, it had become their final and only fortress.

Along the banks of the bottomless rift, tens of thousands of war fortresses and metal camps were built in layers, following the terrain.

From a distance, the entire Blood Abyss looked like a steel beast lurking in the darkness; its countless flashing warning turrets were its sharp fangs, and the viscous red energy was its gasping, blood-filled mouth.

A million-strong army had now retreated entirely within.

Countless powerful auras of Domain Lord and even peak Domain Lord levels intertwined and collided here, creating a field of pressure that threatened to solidify space itself.

Any non-allied life form that dared to intrude would likely be ground into powder by this massive collective will in an instant.

Yet, this impregnable defense and suffocating pressure could not mask the faint scent of... shame and stifled rage lingering in the air.

Deep within the Blood Abyss, inside a command hall carved from a single block of Soul-Suppressing Black Crystal, the atmosphere was as heavy as solidified mercury.

The hall was vast, minimalist, and grim, containing nothing but a massive sand table in the center and light screens flowing with data along the walls.

At this moment, above the hall, a dozen towering light screens radiated a majestic glow.

Within each screen sat a blurred, terrifying figure whose presence caused the laws of the universe to retreat.

They were of various forms: some surrounded by prismatic halos, others appearing as black holes consuming all things, and some as geometric bodies composed of endless data streams...

They were the true power-wielders of the Alliance of Ten Thousand Races—the supreme existences of the Sovereign rank.

This was a remote conference spanning endless star systems, and the theme of the meeting was singular.

"Report."

A voice, cold and refracted as if through countless facets of crystal, echoed without a trace of emotion.

It was the supreme leader of the Crystal race, Emperor Prism.

In the center of the grand hall, a Domain Lord of the Machine race, his body composed of liquid metal and conforming perfectly to the golden ratio, stepped forward.

His optical sensors flickered with red light, and his cold, synthesized electronic voice reverberated through the chamber; each syllable struck the hearts of all present like a heavy hammer.

"As you command. I report to the esteemed lords: since the inception of the 'Purge Plan,' one thousand five hundred and ten years have passed as of today."

"During this period, our military's campaign to eradicate the remnants of the Human race in the Outer Islands can be declared... a total failure."

The word "failure," uttered in his monotone, sounded jarringly harsh.

"According to the combat loss database, our forces have lost twelve Peak Domain Lords, seventy-three Advanced Domain Lords, and three hundred and fourteen ordinary Domain Lords."

"Furthermore, over five hundred Domain Lord-level units have lost contact. Based on the energy analysis of the regions where their life beacons last flickered, the probability of survival is zero."

On the light screen covering the wall, the data stream representing the casualty list scrolled frantically, as the names of powerhouses, once renowned within their respective races, turned into cold, lifeless gray.

The Machine race Domain Lord paused for a moment, as if allowing the high-ranking emperors time to digest these figures.

He then continued: "Compared to our heavy losses, the whereabouts of the human remnants remain impossible to lock down with precision."

"The seven large-scale encirclement operations we organized all missed their mark, as the targets relocated in advance."

"According to the latest intelligence assessment, the survival status of the human remnants in the Outer Islands is... excellent."

"The most critical point,"

His voice rose by a fraction of a decibel to emphasize, "based on the descriptions of all combat survivors, reverse analysis of residual battlefield energy, and comprehensive data modeling of the target's behavioral patterns... over ninety-nine percent of all these losses point directly or indirectly to one individual."

He raised his head, his liquid-metal face turning precisely toward Emperor Prism's light screen, and enunciated the name syllable by syllable.

"The human prodigy—Qin Feng."

The moment the words fell, the entire command hall plunged into a deathly silence.

Silence, the harbinger of the coming storm.

The dozen light screens representing the highest authorities in the universe, though blurred, radiated a terrifying, galaxy-tearing rage that everyone could feel brewing within.

"Disgrace!"

Emperor Prism's cold voice was finally ignited by fury, becoming sharp and filled with the scent of slaughter.

The light screen fluctuated violently, as if a supreme entity were about to transcend space and descend in person.

"Fifteen hundred years! An elite army of a million Domain Lords! To be played like fools on our own turf by a human brat, a Black Hole-level whelp who isn't even a Domain Lord!"

His voice stirred ripples of energy throughout the hall, causing the liquid form of the Machine race intelligence officer to ripple with fine waves.

"Twelve Peak Domain Lords! Seventy-three Advanced Domain Lords! Over three hundred ordinary Domain Lords!"

"This force is enough to conquer the home planet of a weak race on the front lines!"

"Yet here, on the Island of Dead Meteors, they died so ignobly, so utterly without value!"

"Can any of you tell me how this happened? Are the elites of our myriad races nothing but trash who cannot even find their enemy?!"

Emperor Prism's rage was expected by everyone present.

The Crystal race had suffered particularly heavy losses, and Qin Feng seemed to have a penchant for targeting them.

With several Peak Domain Lord elders of his race fallen, this was an intolerable, humiliating stain.

Amidst the dead silence, another voice, relatively calm yet equally imbued with supreme majesty, slowly resonated.

This voice seemed to be the convergence of countless individual wills—ethereal and grand. It was the supreme sovereign of the Machine race, Emperor Zero.

"Prism, anger does not solve problems."

Emperor Zero's light screen remained steady, like a deep vortex absorbing the entirety of Emperor Prism's fury.

"Now is not the time to assign blame. The responsibility is clear: it lies not with the front lines, but with the strategy we initially formulated."

His words caused Emperor Prism's rage to falter.

Emperor Zero continued: "Facts have proven that in the unique environment of the Island of Dead Meteors, where mental detection is restricted and spatial laws are chaotic, our habitual large-scale, carpet-bombing tactics are entirely wrong."

"Such tactics might be effective against organized human legions."

"But for a 'super-individual' like Qin Feng, whose personal strength transcends conventional categories and who possesses both high intelligence and the ability to remain hidden, they are utterly ineffective."

"He is like a slippery fish swimming in the vast deep sea."

"And our million-strong army is like a fishing net—vast, yet with meshes far too coarse."

"Every time we cast our grand net, he slips through the gaps with ease, and may even turn back to bite the fisherman hard while we are hauling it in."

Though the metaphor was unpleasant, it was exceptionally precise.

The atmosphere in the hall shifted from anger and repression toward cold, analytical thought.

A sovereign powerhouse wreathed in holy light spoke, his voice solemn and resonant: "Emperor Zero is right. We must admit that we severely underestimated the 'variable' that is Qin Feng."

"According to intelligence, he not only possesses God-Forbidden level defensive capabilities, but his speed has reached a thousand times the speed of light. Coupled with his endless bag of tricks and his extraordinary caution, trying to kill him through army encirclement in the vast region of the Outer Islands is akin to looking for a needle in an ocean."

"What is more fatal is that we cannot predict his next move. He seems to know our troop deployments like the back of his hand, avoiding our main forces with precision and attacking our weakest links every time."

"I suspect the humans have some form of intelligence transmission we have yet to detect, or perhaps... Qin Feng himself can bypass the mental restrictions of the Island of Dead Meteors because he possesses a cosmic artifact."

These words caused the emperors present to fall silent once more.

They were forced to face a cruel reality: continuing with the old strategy would only lead to endless losses, turning this "Purge Plan" into a "bloodletting operation" against the allied forces of the myriad races.

Finally, Emperor Prism broke the silence.

His voice remained cold, but the previous rage was gone, replaced by a more chilling resolve.

"Since the old strategy is wrong, then abolish it."

He surveyed all the light screens and said, word for word: "Pass my order: from this moment on, all units of the allied forces are to cease all forms of active clearing operations."

"Retract all forces, retreat to the Blood Abyss, and shift to the highest level of strategic defense."

"From now on, our core strategy is one word—stall!"

Emperor Zero added: "This decision is correct. The true turning point of the Island of Dead Meteors has always been the Marquis-level battlefield on the Inner Island."

"As long as our Marquis-level powerhouses can annihilate the human Marquises and sever their last hope, these human remnants in the Outer Islands, including Qin Feng, will become turtles in a jar, unable to escape."

"What we must do now is use absolute defense to hold the Blood Abyss, and use time to wear them to death!"

"But..."

A sovereign raised a question, "Are we just going to let Qin Feng continue to operate in the Outer Islands? He is like a poisonous thorn stuck in our flesh; though not immediately fatal, he is a grave threat."

"Of course not."

The corner of Emperor Prism's mouth seemed to curl into a cruel arc. "The best way to deal with a fish that evades the net is not to use a larger net, but a more professional harpoon."

"I propose the formation of a 'Hunter' squad."

"This squad does not need to be large, but every member must be the absolute pinnacle among Domain Lords."

"They must be of the God-Forbidden realm."

Their sole mandate was to scour the outer islands, tracking and ultimately executing Qin Feng at any cost.

Only a peerless prodigy, a spear of unparalleled sharpness, could hope to impale that most elusive of fish.

This proposal met with the immediate and unanimous consent of all the Sovereign Lords.

To pit the most elite forces against the most formidable of foes was the only logical and efficient course of action.

The order was issued without delay.

As the will of the Sovereigns rippled across the Blood Abyss, the dormant war machine roared back into motion.

Yet this time, it did not expand outward; instead, it drew inward, constricting.

Countless legions began an orderly withdrawal from the perimeter defenses, and vast energy shields were pushed to their absolute limits, transforming the entire Blood Abyss into a true and impenetrable fortress of doom.

(End of chapter)