“You—” Lan Ge nearly swore out loud. The fighting will he had just gathered almost collapsed on the spot. Ever since the day he and Fa Hua had pulled off that iron bridge maneuver, he’d been stuck with that infuriating nickname—and Fa Hua never missed a chance to rub salt in the wound.
The instant Lan Ge’s momentum wavered under Fa Hua’s words, the Ruby Queen moved.
Two red lights met in midair and crossed, forming a blazing crimson cross that arrived before them in the blink of an eye.
Lan Ge shoved Fa Hua and flashed behind him. After fighting the Ruby Queen so many times, neither of them showed even a trace of the panic they’d felt during their first encounter.
Fa Hua condensed the Wisdom Sword and thrust forward. The sword light solidified, stabbing straight toward the exact point where the cross intersected.
That was the strongest point—and the key. Break that single point, and the cross strike would collapse on its own.
Lan Ge slapped a palm against Fa Hua’s back, reinforcing the flow of energy between them. At the same time, a Water Spear shot out, arcing from their left and streaking straight toward the Ruby Queen.
Clang!
The cross strike shattered. Supported by Lan Ge’s energy, Fa Hua only staggered back two steps, completely dispersing the remaining force.
The Ruby Queen’s figure blurred. In the next instant, red light threads once again filled the space. She flickered and slipped out from between another pair of threads, effortlessly avoiding Lan Ge’s Water Spear.
The spear slammed into the ground, holding its form without dispersing.
Lan Ge’s right hand snapped forward again and again. One Water Spear after another hurled toward the Ruby Queen. Yet she dodged each one with ease. By the time Lan Ge released the fourth spear, she was already right in front of them.
Two crimson afterimages swept through the air, layering into overlapping waves of red brilliance that crashed down like a curtain.
This time, something felt different.
Today’s Ruby Queen radiated an oppressive presence and an energy intensity unlike anything Fa Hua and Lan Ge had faced before.
The Wisdom Shield shattered almost instantly. The sword light split from the Wisdom Sword was sliced apart as well.
Fa Hua was about to be swallowed by the blade radiance.
Yet there was no panic in him at all.
His figure flickered. In an instant, four Fa Huas appeared, each flying outward in a different direction, exposing Lan Ge behind them.
Lan Ge grinned fiercely. He brought the bases of his palms together and thrust them forward. A burst of blazing firelight erupted like a small sun, smashing head-on into the Ruby Queen’s attack.
After days of relentless combat, Lan Ge had come to understand something clearly. Combined elemental techniques were powerful—but as an Eighth-Rank, had he truly mastered every property of even a single element?
So over the past year, he had devoted immense effort to one thing alone. Deepening his understanding of individual elements. Refining his perception. Sharpening his control.
An Elemental Body was only the beginning. To possess an Elemental Heart—that was true unity with an element.
And to one day break into the God Realm, comprehending the Elemental Heart was paramount.
That was why, in his later battles against the Ruby Queen, he increasingly relied on single-element techniques instead of combinations. Without realizing it, he had been undergoing a profound transformation.
The torrent of flame was ultimately extinguished by the blade light, but it bought Fa Hua precious time. With the blade radiance dispersed, two of the charging figures broke free.
A flash of light, and Lan Ge reappeared beside one of them.
At that moment, the red light threads hanging in the air suddenly solidified.
The Ruby Queen slowly raised her twin blades and slashed.
A horrifying scene unfolded.
Every single red light thread condensed into the shape of a long blade. In an instant, a dense blade formation covered the entire space, raining down toward Fa Hua and Lan Ge.
They had never faced anything like this before. Shock flashed through them, but their minds were already racing.
A full year of high-intensity combat had taught them one thing above all else. No matter the situation, stay calm.
The moment the blade formation appeared, the Ruby Queen vanished. It was as if she had completely merged into the countless blades—present everywhere, yet impossible to pinpoint.
Fa Hua drew in a deep breath.
He abandoned the Wisdom Shield. He even abandoned Holy Spirit Body. Standing there in his barest state, he gripped the Wisdom Sword with both hands and closed his eyes.
In that instant, he entered a profound state of stillness, as if merging with the surrounding space itself.
To Lan Ge’s eyes, Fa Hua seemed to disappear entirely.
All that remained was an invisible, formless sword intent—one that felt as though it could shake heaven and earth at any moment.
Fa Hua stepped forward and lifted his sword.
Clang!
The first long blade was knocked aside.
Then the Wisdom Sword began to move in a tight, controlled rhythm. Behind Fa Hua, the faint image of the Divine Statue shimmered into existence. The ninth-stage Divine Statue poured forth an unending stream of holy power, saturated with sacred aura.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
A rapid series of crisp chimes rang out.
The Wisdom Sword became a barrier, batting aside the incoming blades one after another. No matter the angle of attack, no blade escaped the reach of its coverage. The sword intent seemed confined to a small space, yet it continuously deflected each blade with precise, unerring force.
This was a direct clash—sword intent against blade intent.
One was infinite in number. The other merged as one.
This was Fa Hua alone against the Ruby Queen. Even Lan Ge, standing at his side, could not help him directly.
Then—
Bang!
A thunderous impact sent Fa Hua flying. Both he and Lan Ge spat blood at the same time.
A dazzling longblade materialized—it was the Ruby Queen herself. After forcing Fa Hua back with a single strike, she dissolved once more into the blade formation and vanished.
At that moment, a surge of gree blade light erupted from Lan Ge. He pressed both palms against Fa Hua’s back and closed his eyes as well.
He no longer relied on sight.
Guided by the heart-eye born of Fa Hua’s Wisdom Sword, he used solidified Wind Blades to counter the crimson longblades.
Forty-nine Wind Blades formed, encircling and protecting both of them.
Two as one.
At this moment, they fought as if they were a single being.
Crushing pressure came from all directions. The Ruby Queen appeared again and again. Though she couldn’t kill them outright, she always found the perfect moment to wound them.
Had either of them been alone, they would have fallen long ago. But the Peerless Come In Pairs effect still held. They shared damage, their energies flowed freely between them, and through mutual support they managed to survive within the Ruby blade formation.
Energy continued to drain. Even with their astonishing recovery rate while linked, the pressure of the blade formation was overwhelming.
They had never believed they could win a battle of attrition against the Ruby Queen. With her Eleventh-Rank foundation, that was impossible.
But in their current situation, there was no alternative.
What now?
The same question rose in both their minds.
If this continued, under such pressure, defeat was inevitable.
The strain felt like it might tear them apart. One slip—just one—and everything would collapse, leaving them annihilated within the blade formation.
We cannot die, Lan Ge said fiercely to himself.
He could not die. He still had to return to Thunder City—for his father, for Thunder City itself. He still had the Devil Race to face, and his parents’ blood to avenge.
“Hold steady. We can win!” Fa Hua said, rarely using more words than Lan Ge himself.
Yes. They had to win.
They could not die here in silence. They were the inheritors of the Peerless Pearl. They were humanity’s hope, the chance the Seven Holy Ancestors had purchased with their lives.
In that instant, there was no longer any distinction between them. They fought for a single purpose. Their minds held only one thought.
Survive—no matter what.
“Cover me!” Lan Ge drew in a deep breath and resolutely sat down cross-legged. His hands settled before him, and he severed the active connection with Fa Hua.
His body turned fully green as gentle winds gathered around him.
The moment Lan Ge’s support vanished, the pressure on Fa Hua skyrocketed. His figure flickered, and four clones took position around Lan Ge—human and sword as one. The Wisdom Sword became a bulwark, holding back wave after wave of blades.
Without Lan Ge, Fa Hua was only Eighth-Rank. Even at peak Eighth-Rank, he was still only Eighth-Rank.
But they understood each other perfectly.
To seize life from the jaws of death, there was only one path left—bet everything.
The Divine Codex flipped open to its first page, to the Divine Statue. Fa Hua inhaled deeply. From the nine halos circling the statue, a single cloud of light drifted free.
The moment it emerged, it ignited.
The holy power surrounding Fa Hua turned brilliant gold, and his aura surged violently upward.
How difficult was it to advance the Divine Statue in its later stages? Only light clouds of Seventh-Rank or higher could even be ignited—and once ignited, the process was irreversible. The cloud would burn until nothing remained.
That meant when it was over, Fa Hua’s cultivation might fall from Eighth-Rank back to Seventh-Rank.
But he could no longer afford to care.
He needed to buy Lan Ge time. His original strength was not enough to withstand this onslaught.
Only by staking everything was there a chance—however small.
The golden Wisdom Sword glowed with restrained power. Wherever it passed, the blade formation was forced aside. Even when the Ruby Queen herself appeared to strike, Fa Hua barely managed to block her.
His body shook violently, but he did not retreat a single step.
Behind every clone stood Lan Ge.
He could not fall back.
For his brother, and for that final sliver of hope, he had to endure.