In that instant, there was a thunderous bang—Zoe Zhong's Zhong Kui war-form armor exploded. That was her final trump card; now that it was shattered, she was blasted clear across the battlefield.
The red-clad ghost queen look vanished, leaving just a beautiful, agonized face. At the end of the day, Zoe was still a girl—even if she acted tough, she couldn't hide the vulnerable side buried inside.
"I'm gonna stomp you to death!" Zach Zasu, the Evil-God, didn't hesitate for a second. He kicked out viciously, and with a bone-crunching crash, Zoe was stomped right into the ground.
"Nice chest. Feels great to stomp on—hahaha!" Zach sneered, pressing down even harder. If he kept this up, Zoe would be torn apart, her soul scattered for good.
"You damn Japanese mutt, I'll fight you to the end!" The Ghost Elder saw this and didn't hesitate—he hurled himself forward with everything he had.
"Where'd this old geezer come from? You think you can take us on with those weak skills? Bomb, bomb, bomb!" Zach Zasu snorted. Before the Ghost Elder could even get close, his whole body exploded.
Boom, boom, boom! The Ghost Elder's body kept detonating—he was no match for Zach Zasu.
"Melt them all, then go grab that kid—alive! I want to see what he's really made of!" Zach snarled, voice cracking with rage. He was furious he'd let Ryan Ling and Chiba Wako slip inside because he'd been careless.
In a flash, he was the first to charge the main hall, his hand blotting out the sky—he nearly blew the whole building apart!
"Ryan, aren't you done yet?" The Ghost Elder spat blood, clenching his fists so tight they shook. He knew his own destruction didn't matter, but Zoe was still young, with endless potential on the ghost path. Losing her here would be a tragedy.
Gritting his teeth, the Ghost Elder charged straight toward Zoe, clearly trying to shield her. But before he could reach her, one of the evil gods lashed out with a vicious kick—he coughed up blood again and was sent flying hundreds of meters, his soul nearly coming apart.
"Old man, are you crazy? You planning to just ditch me now?" Granny Soul struggled out and threw herself in front of the Ghost Elder.
"Two old fossils—let's have some fun with this chick first!" one of the evil gods sneered, eyeing Zoe. At least a dozen evil gods were lining up, while Zach Zasu was busy melting down the entire main hall.
Inside the hall, the weaker Wendy 'Wako' Chiba let out a terrified scream—she couldn't withstand Zach Zasu's relentless crushing at all.
"Ryan!" the Ghost Elder roared again. If Ryan didn't fuse with the Primeval Heavenwood core soon, they'd all be wiped out!
"Die, die, die!" And then came the moment of total despair—Zach Zasu let out a wild, ear-splitting roar, and the entire main hall exploded. Rubble and walls blew apart like a heavy nuke had just hit.
With a deafening boom, a massive fissure split right through Chiba Mountain—it was like the whole mountain had been blown apart.
"Did...did we lose?" The Ghost Elder stared in disbelief, totally shell-shocked.
"Nice work, Zach. Trash like that deserves to be sacrificed!"
"Serves him right—break into Chiba Shrine's forbidden zone and you're dead meat! Damn, letting him die so fast is too easy. Should've skinned him alive, cut the meat off piece by piece!"
"Forget it, just kill maniacs like that on the spot. Now go wipe out all the Chinese ghosts, exterminate the Mitsui and Chiba clans, and contact the Imperial family and ninja villages—time to show China a crazy counterattack! If I don't kill tens of thousands of those Chinese bastards, I won't be satisfied!"
......
"Master, is Master dead?" Zoe Zhong croaked out, barely conscious.
"No way—absolutely not!" The Ghost Elder's eyes were already bloodshot.
"Burn out every last ghost!" Zach Zasu snarled, unleashing endless waves of fire. In an instant, Zoe and the Ghost Elder were swallowed up by the flames!
"Hahaha, Chinese trash deserve to die—and their ghosts deserve total annihilation! Die, die, die, all of you!" Zach roared, his hatred for Ryan was off the charts.
But right at that critical moment, a flash of light shot out from the sea of fire and landed in front of the Ghost Elder and Zoe like a pillar, blocking the flames.
"Ryan?" The Ghost Elder and Zoe jolted, then both collapsed to the ground—they couldn't hold out any longer.
"It's fine. From now on, I'll protect you." Ryan glanced at the Ghost Elder, then looked deeply at Zoe. She nodded slightly—now, all hope rested on Ryan alone.
"You little bastard, you're still alive? Interesting!" Zach Zasu couldn't believe it, his eyes full of killing intent—clearly, his pride had just taken a hit.
But Zach Zasu was no fool. His eyes gleamed. "Fine, I'll make up for earlier—I'll cut the flesh off you piece by piece and offer it to the souls of the shrine's dead."
With that, Zach Zasu lunged straight at Ryan. This time, he knew he couldn't afford another failure—he had to finish Ryan off once and for all. As the top-ranked evil god and heir to the new generation's throne, his pride was on the line.
He could fail once, but there was no way he'd allow himself to lose a second time!
But Ryan wasn't scared at all. Even without the perfect fusion with Japan's Primeval Heavenwood, his old Golden Core–Transforming Core power was more than enough to crush Zach Zasu.
(Chapter not finished yet~.~ Please click next page for more!)
Boom! Zach Zasu fired off a monster punch at Ryan—fast and brutal, aimed to totally obliterate him!
Watching Zach unleash his full destructive power, the surrounding evil gods were ready to start sucking up to him.
But before they could even start, something jaw-dropping happened right in front of their eyes.
Zach Zasu's strongest punch didn't do a thing to Ryan.
"How...how is that possible?" Zach Zasu was totally stunned.
"Bastard, your time's up!" Seeing Zach Zasu stunned, Ryan didn't hesitate—he lashed out with a palm strike, smashing into Zach's body.
With a thunderous crash, every one of Zach Zasu's defenses shattered. His limbs were pulverized instantly, and Ryan stomped him into the ground.
"You stomped my people earlier—now I'm stomping you to death!" Ryan didn't pause; with a brutal kick, Zach Zasu's body exploded, blood and flesh splattering everywhere—even onto the faces of the other evil gods.
"Nice! That's how it's done!" Zoe Zhong, barely alive, perked up and shouted with excitement.
"See, Zoe? Ryan's got your back—he avenged you first! I've been following him forever and he never thought of me!" The Ghost Elder grumbled, then added, "Honestly, Lord Yama put you by Ryan's side to marry him. You shouldn't hesitate—where else will you find a guy like this? If you keep refusing, you'll really end up a ghost spinster!"
"Ghost Elder, what nonsense are you spouting? I swore I'd never marry!" Zoe bit her lip, blushing.
"Alright, you stubborn girl—let's see how long you can hold out!" The Ghost Elder winked, then leaned closer to Zoe. "Oh, and by the way, our Ryan isn't just unbeatable in a fight—he's unbeatable in bed too. Every woman loves him!"
"You dirty old man! I'll smash you!" Zoe snapped, swinging her little fists at him.
The Ghost Elder was no match for Zoe—he coughed up ghost blood on the spot.
Meanwhile, with Zach Zasu dead, all the other evil gods turned and surrounded Ryan.
"You dare surround me? Today I'll flatten Chiba Shrine and kill everyone here!" Ryan shouted, now fully fused with the Primeval Heavenwood—he had nothing left to fear.