960 Crushed

Simba felt nauseous and could not help but feel restless with anxiety. But strangely, he did not sense any uneasiness from Wang Zhong's body. On the contrary…

There was indescribable confidence! This kind of confidence was not just on his face, but came from his heart. He was full of courage and confidence in himself! This even influenced Simba, who realized in shock that he had gradually grown calmer.

In the past, although he felt as if it had become increasingly hard to guide Lao Wang as he was climbing higher, at least Simba could determine how strong Lao Wang was. But now, he felt that he suddenly could not determine Wang Zhong's strength.

How tyrannical had the tempering effects of the Hellfire on Lao Wang's body been?

At that moment, 10 black shadows suddenly started to attack! The entire formation advanced perfectly. All of them were incredibly fast but seemed to maintain similar speeds. This tacit understanding allowed the power of the 10 people to completely connect with one another and unleash a fatal attack!

The Soul Power that had been perfectly accumulated formed a massive fist in the air.

The fist dazzled with a golden luster and activated the power of the 3rd Drive that Wang Zhong was all too familiar with. Furthermore, the moment it appeared, it instantly crossed a distance of several dozen meters, as if it was about to crash into him.

This perfect agreement and absolute synchronization allowed the integration of their power to form this fist. The 10 clones seemed to be similar to Wang Zhong's Nebula Sword Storm. However, they did not exhaust much spiritual energy in this world. Instead, they used a principle that shook the world and formed perfect clones with just one wave of power.

It looked like quantity was not the main factor in exhausting the spiritual influence in this space. The individual strength and level of his enemies would exhaust the spiritual influence… He was just afraid that he would have super powerful Heavenly Souls in the end.

Wang Zhong quickly pondered and felt that no matter whether it was in terms of his vision or comprehension, he had transformed after the Hellfire Calamity. There were no secrets about the shadows in front of him. Of course, this included the fist that seemed as powerful as a thunderbolt…

Boom!

At that moment, the shadow fist that traveled at the speed of light seemed like a snail that was moving slowly. It was the same as Wang Zhong's 3rd Drive, but it was displayed on a different level. There was a difference in quality.

Once he had conquered the Hellfire Calamity, in terms of pure combat strength, Wang Zhong had already stepped into the Heavenly Soul Stage.

Dust to dust, earth to earth. The space only remained peaceful for around three seconds. Then, a total of 20 black and white squares on the ground trembled slightly. Wang Zhong could clearly sense that the speed at which they appeared from underground was slightly slower. Of course, their aura was more powerful.

They were Heavenly Soul experts!

Twenty Heavenly Soul experts!

Their exterior appearances were no longer pitch black. Their bodies shined with a golden light from inside out. Their bodies were solid, and their powerful Heavenly Soul auras were not concealed at all. Their appearances, auras, and even breathing were completely the same. The entire space was affected and driven by their regular breathing and aura. As a result, the entire world started to pulse neatly and regularly like a massive heart. Wang Zhong could even clearly hear the heartbeat of this place!

Thud thud! Thud thud! Thud thud!

They were absolute Heavenly Soul experts who had achieved agreement with the heaven and the earth. Furthermore, when they were completely formed on the surface of the ground, they were all dazzling. They suddenly opened their eyes at the same time. In an instant, the golden light they emitted was blinding, and their murderous aura was extremely threatening, forming hurricanes that surged towards Wang Zhong like shock waves with earth-shattering power!

Zeng!

Behind Wang Zhong, Salamander and the rest had immediately sensed this absolute threat. It was completely instinctual for Soul Guards to protect their owner… The black iron chains extended endlessly and immediately surrounded Wang Zhong and the rest, forming the first layer of defense!

But Salamander was definitely the weakest among the three Soul Guards. Even though they had regained their initial strength once Wang Zhong had broken free of his restrictions, Salamander was still the weakest. He was simply close to reaching the Heavenly Soul Stage. Even in another world, Salamander would not be a particularly strong creature.

However, there were 20 genuine Heavenly Soul experts in front of them. The only cause for celebration was that this world did not have unlimited power for them to use. But they were still 20 Heavenly Souls with extraordinary auras. At that moment, the hurricane that was formed when their aura filled the air was enough to easily break through the defense put up by the black iron chains.

Closely after, 20 shadows traveled at the speed of light!

Shadow Dance! This was the limit of their speed. When it was combined with the strength of these Heavenly Soul experts, their speeds were beyond imagination. Salamander did not even have the chance to react. It just sensed that these 20 shadows had the ability to destroy this world several times over. In a flash, they had arrived in front of Salamander and the rest!

3rd Drive, Phoenix Rises to Ninth Heaven, Heroic Crosswheel Slash… Heavenly Souls that focused on their realm and path still used Casted Soul techniques. It seemed slightly awkward, but the Tempering Soul Calamity was supposed to be a reflection of your state of mind. Thus, the enemies that appeared in the Tempering Soul Calamity could do everything you could.

Wang Zhong was not in a hurry to attack. The 20 clones were very powerful, but he was unusually calm. This was the confidence he had obtained from the increase in power. His Soul Guards were also conquering the Heavenly Calamity with him!

The attacks from the Heavenly Souls were just in front of his eyes. It was simply a Casted Soul technique, but it activated the rules of the heaven and the earth. It seemed like even a casual punch or kick could provoke the heaven and the earth. These attacks could even destroy this world!

However, Wang Zhong knew that this was just an illusion that had been formed when the shadows used the spiritual influence in the heaven and the earth. This was worlds apart from how he had used imitation to activate these techniques while attempting to comprehend Sword Two, let alone be anywhere near the actual technique.

Their use of power was too superficial… The corners of Wang Zhong's mouth curled into a smile. When he used his outlook as a Heavenly Soul to look at his Casted Soul techniques, it was like looking at his palm through a microscope. He could see through all these techniques. Furthermore, and most importantly, these clones could not replicate his divine cells, let alone the Fate Stone. He had seen through them. The high-leveled power they displayed was just an exaggeration of their low-leveled power.

Although the attacks seemed lightning fast to observers, Wang Zhong had seen through all of his enemies in his mind and made extremely accurate judgments. Although these 20 enemies were Heavenly Souls, they were not considered strong. If he were to measure their strength, they were similar to the Heavenly Soul wanderer from the Empire he had killed back then.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Wang Zhong did not move; he did not even blink. However, a clear and crystalline wall of ice immediately appeared in front of everyone. Not only did it withstand the storm-like wave of aura, it also absorbed the attacks from the 20 Heavenly Souls. It was as if the wall of ice had divided the entire world, stopping all their enemies outside the world!

Alice!

She had regained the initial strength she possessed when Wang Zhong first met her in the fairytale secret realm. The defensive rules of this wall of ice were extremely powerful.

In the past, Wang Zhong did not understand how these judgment rules came about. But now that he had understood the Fate Roulette and mastered Sword Two, although he did not dare to say that he truly understood all the rules, he could determine a few hints from rules that were not too obscure. The overall wall of ice was not the main focus of this defensive technique. It was simply its external appearance. This technique was truly amazing as every single piece of ice that formed this wall of ice was complete and independent, but they were densely packed together. Thus, the wall of ice possessed powerful defense capabilities due to its density. It was also a demonstration of fanning out from a point to an area.

However, these were still 20 Heavenly Souls. They emitted terrifying Soul Power from their bodies, causing the spiritual influence in the heaven and the earth to wildly flow through their bodies before being released once again. They attacked with force!

Crack crack crack…

Cracks immediately appeared on the clear and crystalline wall of ice. However, before they could completely break the wall, a black shadow had appeared beside the enemies.

Return ~~ my ~~ head!!

The Headless Knight flashed past them like a black bolt of lightning. At that moment, his strength was finally on par with his aura. He had the demeanor of when he was in the Headless Canyon. If he was able to conquer the Heavenly Calamity, he could probably regain his initial level. However, there was something that would not change: he was not afraid of death!

One of the Heavenly Soul enemies was caught unaware and was simply slashed apart by the Headless Knight. Its body turned into a cloud of fog and dispersed. Meanwhile, the remaining Heavenly Souls immediately gave up on attacking the wall of ice and turned to attack the Headless Knight.

It could be seen that the Headless Knight had powerful defensive capabilities. The shadows unleashed the Phoenix Rises to Ninth Heaven and Heroic Crosswheel Slash techniques, which flew in the air and landed on his body like rain. He was completely able to withstand these attacks for a period of time. Furthermore, he had defensive support from Alice's ice walls. As the Headless Knight attacked and Alice defended, Salamander's black iron chains also came into play. The Soul Guards were able to sustain for a period of time.

Murderous aura filled the air, while walls of ice and chains of fire swept past this space. Auras of Heavenly Soul experts continued to clash in here, as if hurricanes were forming and threatening to destroy the world…

Perhaps his expectations had been too high, or perhaps his strength had increased in a terrifying manner after experiencing the Hellfire Calamity. No matter whether it was the Heavenly Soul enemies or the fierce-looking Headless Knight and Alice, to Wang Zhong, their battle seemed rather… childish! It was like using his outlook as a Heavenly Soul to look at his Casted Soul techniques. They seemed intense, but there was nothing special about them.

Uncle Zhang was right. There was nothing much to the Soul Guards, and he should not have high expectations of them. Although the Golden Stone Slab contained shocking secrets and had parts that even the Holy Saint Teacher regarded as important, these did not refer to the Soul Guards that had been produced. Soul Guards were the wrong way of unlocking power that humans had invented. If one wanted to become truly strong, one would have to rely on oneself. Those who thought about borrowing the strength of external powers were not true experts.

It looked like he would have to continue the journey alone.

A wave of Soul Power rippled from Wang Zhong's body. The veins and meridians within his crystalline body grew extremely clear and shone brightly. This was not the Soul Power Circuit, a technique that he had used to seize every opportunity during the Heroic Soul Stage. Now that he had stepped into the Heavenly Soul Stage, he could do anything he wanted!

Wang Zhong casually took a step forward. Powerful Soul Power was activated and triggered the spiritual influence in the heaven and the earth. Then, the two powers fused together. At that moment, it felt as if the world was shrinking underneath his feet. This feeling was amazing. He had instantly crossed a distance of several hundred meters and appeared beside a black Heavenly Soul shadow. The shadow had not sensed anything and was preparing its 3rd Drive.

Whoosh…

A hand sliced past the shadow's neck. The Soul Power that had gathered at the side of the hand was as sharp as a blade!

Wang Zhong did not stop. When he took his second step, he was beside the second black shadow.

Less than three seconds later.

The crystalline body was too fast, so fast that he appeared in many locations at the same time, leaving behind shadows that were several hundred meters apart. The Headless Knight and the other Soul Guards were involved in a difficult battle but suddenly felt that the pressure in their surroundings had been lifted. When they looked up, the black Heavenly Soul guards that had been very lively seemed to have frozen at the same time. The murderous aura from the Heavenly Souls that filled the air also ceased.

Closely after, countless human heads were sent flying. All the black Heavenly Soul shadows instantly died and turned into a fog that disappeared into the void.

Wang Zhong waved and asked his Soul Guards to retreat as he took off the mask. Pride surged from his heart. A truly brave warrior was not afraid of anything. He would face this Heavenly Calamity alone and see what variations could appear from this orderly power!

As the black Heavenly Soul shadows dispersed, the black and white chessboard in front of him started to move again. Incredibly massive energy started to gather. It was much more powerful than when the black Heavenly Soul shadows had appeared.

Wang Zhong simply closed his eyes and took a rest. He was still recalling the feeling of killing over ten Heavenly Soul Stage soldiers at the same time. The Holy City encouraged Heroic Soul soldiers to attempt to understand their realm instead of doing research on their Casted Soul techniques. Not only was it difficult, but there was a reason behind this.

He would only be able to understand how unnecessary those combat techniques had been when he reached this stage. Take, for example, the 3rd Drive, which allowed him to form layers of power within his body. However, he could now communicate with the heaven and the earth, and spiritual energy would naturally build up in the world. He could achieve this in just a moment. If he could activate this quickly enough, he could form four or five layers of power. Would he still need to use techniques by force? Another example would be the Soul Power Circuit, which increased the speed at which Soul Power activated in his body. But now that he had advanced to the Heavenly Soul Stage, he had been reborn and was no longer restricted by his former body. Even the increments from the Soul Power Circuit seemed practically meaningless.

It was no wonder that although the higher-ups in the Holy City encouraged Heroic Souls to cultivate the Soul Power Circuit, they did not ask any Great Teachers to do research on it. This technique was useless to Heavenly Souls. Back then, Sophia had allowed Wang Zhong to report this to the higher-ups and did not embezzle this technique for herself. Besides the fact that he was Scarlet's boyfriend, it was also because this technique did not have much meaning to her. She did not need the prestige to build up power either…

Various conclusions and summaries of experiences continued to surge in Wang Zhong's mind. It was as if he was discarding useless memories and further refining himself. Every single comprehension was part of the process of tempering himself. This allowed him to better understand and get used to the Heavenly Soul Stage.

He opened his eyes.

In front of him, spiritual energy had finally finished accumulating. To no one's surprise, the number of enemies had doubled. Forty enemies appeared on forty different squares!

This time, they were no longer black shadows. Instead, they were clearly enemies. Their physiques were exactly the same as Wang Zhong's, but their clothes were different. Even their appearances were different.

They were handsome men, and their elegant appearances were the model of perfection. However, unlike ordinary pretty men, there was extreme tyranny in their eyes. It felt as if they looked scornfully at the world and despised the masses!

The moment they appeared, they clenched their fists tightly.

Pa!

A vast power seemed to have exploded from their fists, causing the entire world to tremble and this space to shake. It was as if they were the rulers of the heaven and the earth!

This was only the third stage!

Simba could not help but swear wildly in his heart. Wang Zhong was supposed to face himself during the Tempering Soul Calamity, right? It was a trial for you to surpass the limits of your body, just like how Grai had seen himself as his enemy in the Tempering Soul Calamity. However, this wave of enemies right in front of them looked different from Lao Wang! This was crazy, crazy! This Tempering Soul Calamity was crazy!

With his powerful sixth sense, Simba could completely sense that this was not a Tempering Soul Calamity. This was a Death Calamity! This world had gone crazy and violated the normal rules. They wanted Wang Zhong to die!

Simba was worried that he was about to die, but a smile appeared on Wang Zhong's face. It looked like the effects of the Hellfire Calamity were far too good. It was only at this moment that he felt a hint of threat!

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Soul Power surged from the bodies of the peak Heavenly Souls in front of them. Terrifying pressure filled the world in a regular rhythm, as if the world was breathing as it expanded and contracted under the powerful pressure that engulfed the world. Every time the space expanded and contracted, all the creatures in this space felt as if giant mountains were crashing and soaring in their hearts.

The three great Soul Guards standing behind Wang Zhong immediately faced the same fate as Big White. Not only were they firmly pressed to the ground by this aura, their faces even started to twitch, while their heartbeat, breathing rate, and pulse involuntarily followed the rhythm of the frightening pressure. They felt as if they would crash and explode into pieces from this terrifying pressure in the blink of an eye. Thus, they were stricken with terror.

On the other hand, Wang Zhong did not seem to be affected by this rhythm. He stretched out his palm into the air, and the Nebula Sword appeared in his hand out of thin air. At the same time, his eyes flashed with radiance.

Have a taste of my sword!

He raised his arm and positioned the Nebula Sword in front of his chest as Soul Power surged into the sword. When he released the sword power, Wang Zhong faintly felt as if he was pulling on the heaven and the earth. He was integrating into his role as a Heavenly Soul. The power that he released was much more powerful than when he had just learned this technique.

Sword One!

Bang, bang, bang, bang…

With Wang Zhong at the center, the boundless sword power was released into the surroundings, confronting the 40 Heavenly Soul puppets that had formed. However, they were not inferior either!

The puppets that had been restricted could no longer control themselves and exploded with power. Golden weapons shone in their hands. Furthermore, these weapons all took on different shapes. There were swords, guns, knives, and rods. When they attacked, the power they displayed was also completely different.

Some were tender, some were ferocious, some were speedy, and some were powerful. Various ways of using Soul Power seemed to have disrupted the rhythm of this world, and it forcefully dispersed Wang Zhong's powerful sword power. It was as if a hole had been ripped open in the world of the Tempering Soul Calamity. The red cloud in the sky faded and seemed transparent. One could even faintly see the existence of the fragment world outside through the transparent sky!

Outside, Grai was extremely shocked. The Hellfire Calamity earlier was enough to shock him, but what did he see at this moment? He saw the Tempering Soul Calamity appearing in real life!

"Appearing" might have been an exaggeration, but this was like a projection. He saw several dozen full Heavenly Soul experts. The strength that each of them exuded was shockingly powerful, even more powerful than the strongest Great Teachers he had seen in the north base. These enemies were scary enough to crush most Heavenly Souls, but several dozen of them had appeared…

Senior, were you really fighting several dozen of such terrifying experts? No matter how strong Senior was, he still had not crossed the barrier to become a Heavenly Soul. How would he fight them?! It was simply unbelievable!

Putting fighting aside, the Tempering Soul Calamity was born in one's Soul Sea. It lay between illusion and reality, and outsiders were not able to observe it. But now, the attacks from the peak Heavenly Souls faintly seemed as if they were about to break through the illusory world! If the Tempering Soul Calamity world was truly broken by these clones, Grai did not even dare to imagine what the consequences would be.

Would his Soul Sea explode? Would he lose his mind? Would he fail to conquer the Heavenly Calamity?

How would he break through?!

The attacks that filled the sky were extremely destructive. One would be able to defend themselves from one attack, but not the other. The surrounding space was about to collapse from the power of the messy attacks.

Wang Zhong no longer hesitated. He waved the Nebula Sword in his hands and drew a circle in the air.

He seemed to be doing this very slowly. The Nebula Sword in his hands, which seemed to be very light, seemed to have become extremely heavy at this moment. However, this slow and heavy sensation made it seem as if time had frozen.

When he finished drawing the circle, the Tempering Soul world that was on the verge of collapse by the attacks from the 40 Heavenly Souls achieved temporary stability, as if it had solidified. Meanwhile, the 40 Heavenly Souls were all frozen in the sky.

Wang Zhong lightly pushed out his attack.

"Sword Two!"

Boom!

The world was distorted, and the space rotated as everything lost color. It felt as if their souls were about to solidify. Even the three great Soul Guards that were being protected Wang Zhong felt very dizzy from seeing the world rotate violently. They felt nauseous and wanted to vomit. As for the peak Heavenly Souls who confronted this power head-on, the attacks they had unleashed were like an ant trying to topple a large tree. Even their bodies crashed and exploded into pieces in midair!

Outside, Grai seemed to have seen this scene from a projection of this illusory world. He was typically not shocked by anything, but this time, he was so dumbfounded that his mouth was wide open and his mind was blank.

He had killed 40 Heavenly Souls in one strike!

This was frightening power that ordinary people could not even imagine. Even the attacks of Sacred Teachers could not surpass this might.