Volume 4: Super-Tier Awakening & The Ancient Capital Calamity
Chapter 359
Lin Feng Obliterates the Red Cardinal
The dense, pitch-green venomous mist rolled across the Imperial Mausoleum plaza like a tidal wave, reeking of decay and accompanied by the shrill, ear-piercing shrieks of countless writhing curse-insects. Standing tall amidst the sea of toxic miasma, Xiezhaoyuan twisted his mouth into a cruel, sadistic grin. His eyes flashed with the absolute arrogance of someone holding all the winning cards, channeling every ounce of his dark magic to engulf Lin Feng and reduce him to a pool of corrupted gore in the blink of an eye.
Yet the instant that toxic fog—teeming with legions of parasitic horrors—reached within half an inch of Lin Feng’s outstretched hand, every sound abruptly died.
An invisible barrier of raw will and peerless magic power stood immovable like an ancient mountain carved of primordial rock. The moment the venomous mist crashed against it, it erupted with crackling, high-pitched detonations, resembling freezing water flung into a boiling cauldron of oil. There was no flesh-melting horror or spurting geyser of blood as Xiezhaoyuan had anticipated. Instead, the swirling dark currents ground to a halt, twisted wildly in place, and dissolved into nothingness.
“Before my Sacred Light, your filthy parlor tricks are nothing more than a pathetic joke!”
Lin Feng spoke in a low, resonant voice that echoed like a bronze bell across the silent, ancient expanse of the Imperial Mausoleum. The eighth element’s Star Sea within his dantian blazed into sudden, blinding brilliance, eclipsing the very moonlight overhead. Countless threads of pure magic power surged at terrifying speeds, weaving massive vortexes of energy that spun gracefully around his frame.
From his palm, a stream of golden, divine radiance erupted—as dazzling and majestic as the midday sun bursting through an underworld shrouded in perpetual gloom. This brilliance was not mere illumination; it was the absolute purification of heaven and earth, bearing the supreme truth of the primordial Light Element.
HISSSSS—!
A soul-splitting sizzle tore through the air. The entire dense layer of venomous mist and the tens of thousands of curse-insects evaporated instantly upon touching the golden light. They disintegrated into wisps of thin white smoke, vanishing into the void so rapidly that even their shadows left no trace. The dark power that Xiezhaoyuan had spent years cultivating, refined through blood and malice, was as fragile as deep snow meeting a surging torrent of molten lava.
“Impossible...! What kind of power is this?!”
Xiezhaoyuan’s eyes bulged, his pupils contracting to pinpricks. He stumbled back half a step as his primal survival instincts shrieked in terror under the onslaught of that terrifying light. The golden radiance pierced right through his protective dark armor, searing his flesh down to the bone. The excruciating pain wracking his marrow wrenched a blood-curdling shriek from the dark deacon:
“Aargh... The Light Element! You... you actually command the holy Light Element, which completely counters my dark arts from their very root?! You’ve been hiding your true strength this entire journey!”
Staggering backward, Xiezhaoyuan clutched his smoking chest. Blood welled from the corners of his lips, only to be instantly baked dry by the searing heat. Terror gripped his soul as he realized this was far beyond mere elemental suppression; the sheer dominance of this magic bore a crushing hierarchical pressure that threatened to shatter his very spiritual seed.
“It’s not just the Light Element. You haven’t even experienced the rest of it yet, Xiezhaoyuan.”
Lin Feng smirked coldly, his gaze as sharp as a drawn blade reflecting the enemy’s utter panic.
Before the echo of his voice faded, his figure blurred and vanished entirely from his spot. Teleportation! One of the ultimate spatial techniques, executed to absolute perfection. Even within the dark array sealing the area, Lin Feng moved through the stacked barriers with the effortless grace of walking through an empty courtyard.
In a fraction of a blink, the white-robed figure materialized directly in front of Xiezhaoyuan—so close that the traitor could smell the chilling aura of death radiating from him. Panicking, Xiezhaoyuan hoisted his skull-topped staff, frantically channeling magic to counterattack, but he was far too late.
“First strike: Thunder Bone-Crusher!”
A sharp, thunderous roar split the sky. From Lin Feng’s right palm, a surge of pure purple-black lightning detonated with cataclysmic fury, carrying destructive might straight down toward his opponent’s head.
BOOOM—!
The purple-black bolt met zero resistance. The skull-topped staff—a vicious magical artifact forged from the bones of thousands of master mages that Xiezhaoyuan prized above all else—shattered into a hundred fragments upon contact with the lightning, exploding into a cloud of drifting dust. The leftover momentum of the Thunder Bone-Crusher swept across Xiezhaoyuan’s arms, crushing every bone from his shoulders down to his fingertips and leaving his limbs hanging uselessly like bloody logs.
“Ugh... Argh...!”
Xiezhaoyuan spewed a massive mouthful of blood mixed with shattered internal organs, his towering frame staggering backward half a dozen steps before collapsing onto the stone plaza. The haughtiness of a Dark Church Cardinal was crushed beneath Lin Feng’s heel, stripped of every shred of dignity.
Yet Lin Feng did not grant him even a single second to draw breath or recover.
“Second strike: Primordial Absolute Frost Slash!”
With a flick of his left hand, a crystalline ice sword condensed from the absolute zero of a millennia-old glacier materialized in an instant. The surrounding temperature plummeted below freezing, sending jagged, razor-sharp ice crystals erupting in all directions.
A razor-thin blade arc, transparent yet carrying bone-chilling killing intent, swept horizontally across the night sky. The strike painted a breathtaking yet deadly crescent of frost.
SHLICK—!
The sharp sound was soft yet merciless. Xiezhaoyuan’s venomous arms, still reeking of dark miasma, were severed cleanly from his body, spinning away into a pool of black gore below. The cut was so smooth that the blood froze into grotesque, dark crimson ice-blooms before it could even spray.
“You... what kind of monster are you?! Why are you proficient in so many high-tier magic systems... Lightning, Ice, Light... You’re not human! You’re a nightmare!”
Xiezhaoyuan tilted his head toward the heavens, roaring in absolute despair. He had faced countless renowned powerhouses across the continent, yet he had never encountered anyone capable of shifting between diverse elemental systems with such fluid mastery and devastating destructive power. Every single move was a fatal strike, leaving no hope of survival.
“Since you are an enemy who dared to raid the Imperial Mausoleum, you don’t need to know that much. Go down there and ask the King of Hell yourself.”
Lin Feng spoke indifferently, his eyes devoid of the faintest trace of pity. He stepped forward, closing the distance to Xiezhaoyuan’s trembling, broken form. The star sea within his body roared once more as the thermal energy of heaven and earth converged upon a single point.
“Third strike: Nine-Dragon Golden Flames!”
ROAR! ROAR! ROAR—!
Behind Lin Feng, nine dazzling golden fire dragons materialized amidst earth-shaking roars. Measuring dozens of yards long, their majestic scales gleamed like pure refined gold. The nine dragons coiled together into a colossal vortex of fire, enveloping Xiezhaoyuan at its center.
The dragon flames blazed with a temperature so intense that the surrounding space warped and completely distorted. Xiezhaoyuan didn’t even have time to utter another scream; his entire sinful vessel was swallowed whole by the golden fire.
In three brief seconds, everything—from Xiezhaoyuan’s physical flesh and bones to his wretched soul—was thoroughly incinerated, leaving behind not even a speck of dust or ash. A notorious Red Cardinal who had orchestrated countless bloody massacres was thus completely and agonizingly erased from the world.
Simultaneously, outside the plaza, the entire ambushing dark legion—suicide squads, dark mages, and demonic beast warriors under Xiezhaoyuan’s command—was swept away by the nine fire dragons and the shockwaves of Lin Feng’s attacks, wiped out to the last man. Hundreds of corpses littered the ground, fresh blood staining the vast courtyard of the Imperial Mausoleum as a choking stench rose into the night wind.
The battle concluded far faster than anticipated. The plaza quieted down, leaving only the crackle of dying flames and lingering frost upon the ancient stone slabs.
Lin Feng straightened his posture, recalling his magic power as he took a deep breath to steady his internal rhythm. He cast a sharp gaze forward, where the sturdy walls of the Imperial Mausoleum’s Main Hall stood in solemn majesty beneath the moonlight. There stood the massive, thousand-year-old bronze gate, etched with countless ancient sealing runes guarding the dynasty’s deepest secret.
Yet just as that brief tranquility settled over the area...
RUMBLE—!
The colossal, tens-of-tons bronze gate suddenly quaked violently, sending sprawling cracks spiderwebbing across the surrounding stone walls. Dust billowed thickly as the sealing runes etched upon the doors flickered weakly before shattering into glittering shards like crushed glass.
CRASH—!
A deafening cataclysmic explosion rocked the entire mountain range. The millennia-old bronze gate buckled under an overwhelming force from within, blowing outward in all directions as massive chunks of metal hurtled through the air like artillery shells, embedding deep into the surrounding cliffs.
From the churning billows of dense mist and torrential black miasma pouring out like a waterfall, a massive, blood-red shadowed beast emerged.
It was a grotesque monstrosity towering dozens of yards high, its entire body covered in blood-hued scale armor as hard as diamond, with giant eyes glowing like twin crimson moons in the dark. Every step it took caused the earth to shudder, and magma bubbled up from the fissures opening beneath its paws.
The terrifying pressure of an Upper-Tier Monarch exploded outward, crushing the space and pressing heavily upon the chest until breathing became a luxury.
The evil behemoth, awakened from a millennia-long slumber, stepped forth into the outside world carrying the primordial wrath of the abyss!