"Everyone, join forces and strangle this demon—do not let him escape!" The Fuji Evil-God shouted, instantly taking charge as the new leader of the evil gods after Zach Zasu’s death.
"You? Die!" Having already killed one, Ryan Ling wasn’t about to hesitate. At this moment, only one thought filled his mind: wipe out every last evil god, leave none standing.
Now that he’d perfectly fused the Primeval Heavenwood from the shrine, his next step was to gather all Heavenwood power and break through the final Golden Core barrier: Transcending Core.
The three stages—Core Formation, Nourishing Core, Transforming Core—are all centered around the Golden Core. Even reaching Transforming Core means the Golden Core’s power has peaked, but you haven’t truly broken through yet. Only by shattering the barrier and reaching Transcending Core does the Golden Core undergo a real transformation.
But whether any of this will actually work—it’s still anyone’s guess!
Ryan could feel that his recent breakthroughs had come way too fast. Sure, he could level up in a flash, but pushing so hard now would just make it harder to break through Golden Core and reach Nascent Soul later on!
Yeah, Golden Core is a step above Foundation-Building, but honestly, it’s just laying groundwork for his future path as a cultivator. The foundation has to be solid—otherwise, even if you can brute-force a breakthrough, you’ll find your road gets narrower and narrower the further you go!
Of course, that’s all stuff for later. Right now, he didn’t hesitate at all—one savage punch swung out, and the Fuji Evil-God’s neck was punched clean through, blood spraying everywhere.
"I—I..." The Fuji Evil-God was scared shitless. He could still think, but as blood gushed crazily from his neck, his whole body started shaking uncontrollably. He tried to speak, but only managed broken fragments—he couldn’t get out a full sentence.
"Shut up—enough with the 'I' crap. Go join Zach in Hell!" Ryan sneered at his pathetic state, then grabbed the Fuji Evil-God’s head and stuffed both his and Zach’s bodies straight into the Hell Furnace.
You have to realize, these evil gods are all Great Saint-level monsters—and their bodies are way more precious than your average Great Saint. Absorbing their essence is a massive boon for Ryan or anyone on his side.
"Attack together! Mad God One Slash!" Seeing two top-ranked evil gods get instantly wrecked, the rest were scared out of their minds. Huddling together, they pooled their power and unleashed another Mad God One Slash.
"That slash is insanely strong—can Master really block it?" Chiharu Mitsui’s heart clenched as she watched the evil gods join forces again. She knew exactly how terrifying Mad God One Slash was; last time she faced it, she couldn’t even lift a finger to fight back.
"Relax—Ryan can handle it. His strength is way beyond anything you can imagine!" The Ghost Elder smiled, totally confident in Ryan.
"Really?" Zoe Zhong blinked her big eyes, watching Ryan slice down two Great Saint evil gods in a row and still look totally unfazed facing the whole evil-god mob. She was seriously starting to get curious about him.
When she first got this assignment, Zoe was super resistant—not only did she have to protect some 'mortal,' she was supposed to marry him, too? No way! If Lord Yama hadn’t ordered it personally, she’d have flipped out and fought with her brother Marshal Zhong Kui ages ago.
But now, watching Ryan, her old doubts were fading fast. Especially after he stomped Zach Zasu to avenge her—even if she didn’t say it out loud, she was secretly delighted. For the first time ever, besides her brother Marshal Zhong Kui, a guy had actually stood up for her.
"Mad God One Slash—die, demon!" Over a hundred evil gods roared as they swung a monstrous blade attack at Ryan. The move was so overpowered, the whole Chiba Peak split in two before the blade even touched him.
For a second, Zoe Zhong’s eyes went wide—she was seriously worried about Ryan now, and the way she looked at him had totally changed.
"Don’t worry—he’ll be fine!" The Ghost Elder reassured her again.
"Mm!" Zoe Zhong nodded, her little hand trembling uncontrollably.
Right at that moment, the monstrous blade finally touched Ryan. But he didn’t flinch—his fingers turned into a blade and caught it head-on.
"No way!" Zoe couldn’t help but cry out in shock at the sight.
And it wasn’t just her—the evil gods looked totally stunned. The power Ryan was showing off was way beyond anything they’d imagined.
"Shatter!" Ryan shouted, his voice booming like thunder. That supposedly unbeatable Mad God One Slash vanished instantly, and all the evil gods around him were blasted away by his overwhelming aura.
"Holy crap!" Zoe was completely dumbfounded—this kind of power was enough to make her bow down.
"See? Didn’t I tell you he’s husband material?" The Ghost Elder teased, seeing Zoe’s shocked face.
"Ghost Elder, you’re such a pain!" Zoe blushed, turning away—and then she reached out and pinched the Ghost Elder’s thigh, hard.
"Look! Ryan’s getting ambushed—he’s losing ground!" The Ghost Elder yelped, then cried out in alarm.
"What? Where? Ryan absolutely can’t go down!" Zoe panicked, nearly jumping to her feet.
"So nervous—still claiming you don’t care about our Ryan? No ghost would buy that now!" The Ghost Elder shook his head again and again.
"Ghost Elder, I’m not done with you yet!" Zoe snapped, swinging a fist at him. Poor Ghost Elder, already frail, got pummeled so hard he spat blood—half his life nearly knocked out by a joke.
Meanwhile, Ryan was just confused—he had no idea what those two were even fighting about!
But right now, Ryan’s eyes locked onto the evil gods—they were all treasures, and there was no way he’d let them go. He charged in, fists flying, and the arrogant evil gods exploded one after another, the sound crisp and satisfying.
Seeing this, the onmyōji from Chiba Shrine were totally stunned. Their shrine had become a slaughterhouse—Ryan was like a bloodthirsty demon, the ultimate nemesis of Great Saints!
"Is heaven trying to wipe out Chiba Shrine?" an old onmyōji shouted. Chiba Shrine had stood for a thousand years in Japan—this was the first time it had ever suffered such devastating destruction!
None of the onmyōji could accept it. Linking hands, they shouted to the sky: "Tojo War-God, Chiba Shrine is about to fall—please appear and take command! Tojo War-God..."
Clearly, the onmyōji were summoning a giant boss—the so-called Tojo War-God, Chiba Shrine’s ultimate guardian deity. Normally, he’d never show up, but with the shrine facing its worst disaster in a thousand years, and even a hundred evil gods unable to stop Ryan, they had no choice but to call in the big guns!
As the chanting continued, a cold, middle-aged man in WWII Japanese uniform stepped out of the darkness, gripping a samurai sword. His killing intent was so intense it felt like he could wipe out billions with a single gesture—and his power was off the charts, like he could massacre everyone in an instant.
"Wait, isn’t that Hiroshi Tojo, Japan’s top right-wing field marshal? No one knows how many Chinese lives he’s taken—at least tens of millions! I can hear the wailing souls of the dead behind him!" The Ghost Elder, who’d been joking around, now struggled to his feet, teeth clenched. He knew this monster all too well: not only was Hiroshi Tojo’s spirit still lingering, but he’d become Chiba Shrine’s core guardian deity. It was a fresh insult to every Chinese victim.
"Ryan, this bastard has to die—cut him down or heaven itself won’t forgive it!" The Ghost Elder screamed, overcome with emotion.
Ryan clenched his teeth. He could feel the blood of countless Chinese victims on this butcher—and right now, he wanted to destroy him more than anyone.
Just then, Hiroshi Tojo let out a crazed roar—the force of it went beyond Great Saint, reaching the terrifying level of Sub-Saint...