【Ping! Exchange successful.】 【Universal Mall Assessment: Paladin Armor, one of the Administrator privileges, a semi-divine stage item. Assessment complete!】 【Exchanged Items: Paladin's Sword, Paladin's Shield, Origin of the Gale Wind.】 【You will gain the power of three privilege fragments, valid for two minutes. Countdown begins: 01:58:80.】 【Ping! Exchange complete!】 The golden armor on Zhai Cai's body disintegrates and dissipates. Immediately thereafter, a beam of light descends from an infinite height, carrying with it a heavy bronze shield, a simple cross-shaped straight sword, and a small, jade-green whirlwind. The bronze shield and the cross sword settle at Zhai Cai's side, while the miniature gale wind integrates into his body. In an instant, this near-dead body surges with an overwhelming power, radiating the strength of a resurrected deity or a awakened titan. The sheer pressure emanating from him causes the spectral wolf pack to vanish one by one, and the snowy landscape illusion trembles, as if flickering on a screen. Zhai Cai held his sword and shield. A sudden breeze lifted him from the ground, suspending him in the air. At this moment, he had completely shed his carefree, flamboyant demeanor, embodying the true spirit of a knight. With one hand raised, the sword planted in the void, he projected a resonant, commanding voice: "By the name of the knight, I hereby declare the rules of this battle: no illusions may be employed." The power borrowed from others is still borrowed—it cannot kill a true half-god. "Do you think simply by sacrificing your life you can achieve results? How foolish! Even if you break one of the six supporting arrays, five remain intact. The Sun Sovereign will surely perish. You will merely have sacrificed yourself in vain. You have only a few minutes left—can you truly kill me? Give up, then. As a half-god, I swear by my name: I will guide your companions onto the right path, making them devoted followers of the gods. They will survive. I admit you are strong now, so I am willing to compromise. That is the true meaning of your sacrifice." All chaotic emotions vanished, and his consciousness became clearer than ever before. With a solemn, majestic voice, Zhai Cai declared: "I, as a knight, hereby announce the rules of this battle: no use of the Visage State, no use of Shadow Roar, no Dream Jump, no emotional manipulation!" I don't know if my sacrifice has made any difference. I am not dying for my companions, nor for the Sun Sovereign—I am dying to protect! To protect order, to protect life, in the name of the knight... A sacred, golden bronze light surged, and the rules took form in the quiet depths of the realm. Then, Zhai Cai extended his hand, pointing steadily toward the Southern School's Phantom God, and raised it with force. "Whooosh—!" Turbulent gales erupted, carrying razor-sharp wind blades, like the most fearsome saws in existence. The entire arena was filled with these terrifying gusts. Faced with this storm, the Southern School's Phantom God, with no choice but to break the knight's rules, activated the "Void" technique, causing one by one, the gales to vanish into nothing. Zhai Cai had been waiting for this moment. With his knight's straight sword raised, he leapt high into the air, blazing a brilliant light in the sky. His solemn, commanding voice echoed throughout the instance: "Those who defy me—shall be beheaded!" He lifted the sword high and struck with full force! The bronze-hued swordlight surged like a tidal wave, like a cascading waterfall, crashing against the Southern School's Phantom God. The Southern School's Phantom God remained calm, gently drawing celestial bodies from the sky, releasing an endless flow of spiritual energy that poured into his body. His aura surged steadily. Mountains rose from the air, rivers appeared out of nowhere, and forests descended from the heavens, forming a vast, vibrant realm of illusion that absorbed the cascading swordlight. Yet, as he tried to influence Zhai Cai's emotions, he found that Zhai Cai's consciousness was as solid and unyielding as the hardest iron in the world. This was resolve—unshakable, fearless determination. With a thunderous roar, the swordlight tore through the illusionary realm, and both figures dissolved into nothingness. "Those who defy me—shall be beheaded!" The second blade of the single-legacy knight came swiftly—the first blade had severed the prohibition of "Void Manifestation," and the second had cut off the prohibition of "Realm of Illusion." The southern school's master of illusion drew upon his old technique, weaving a vibrant, living realm of illusion, aiming to engulf the swordlight. At that moment, the Three Mountain Lady surged upward, like golden meteors ascending against the sky. As these meteors struck the dark celestial bodies, they suddenly expanded, transforming into a blazing golden sun. The sun blocked the celestial bodies. Instantly, the spiritual energy permeating the realm dissipated completely, and the southern school's master of illusion seemed to have been severed—his vitality plummeted, his amplification effect lost. A cascading stream of bronze-colored swordlight pierced through the illusion, engulfing the southern master, and the frail illusionist vanished instantly, reduced to ash. When the swordlight subsided, the southern master stood unharmed in the air, though only in his spiritual form. Zhai Cai then issued her command with solemn authority: "I, as knight, hereby declare: In this battle, the prohibition of appearing in spiritual form shall be The bronze light spread out, and subtly, the laws took form. The southern school's phantom deity rose in阵阵 black smoke, as though constrained by the laws, his spirit struck and nearly disintegrated. First scorched by the flames of the Red Sun Official, then pierced twice by the magic mallet, his condition was already fragile. Without the array's support, his spirit now grew increasingly weak. Fortunately, this force ultimately failed to kill him, settling down gradually. Yet, with this strength, Zhai Cai gained an augmentation from the laws, his vital energy surging. Taking a single step, he launched his judgment: "Violators, be severed!" A sword descended, its brilliant light pressing down with an unyielding force, cleaving through the phantom deity's spirit. This differed from the earlier attacks targeting his physical form—this one struck at his soul. For the knight, "judgment" was the law. If the opponent were a physical form, the sword would target that form. If the opponent were a soul, then the sword would extinguish that soul. Judgment would inevitably come, regardless of form. The immortal spirit of the Southern School of Illusory Divinity dissolved within the bronze-hued blade light. This master who had dominated the realm for six decades, the pinnacle of the Illusionist profession, finally lost control, howling with a piercing, resolute cry of anguish. A black crystal plummeted from the sky, continuously releasing grayish energy that drifted through the air, weaving scenes—deserts, snowy plains, forests, mountain ranges, steel cities—into vivid illusions. This was a semi-divine artifact. An Illusory Divinity had perished completely. Three mountain goddesses detached themselves from the dim star body, their serene faces now radiating ease. They turned their gaze toward the solitary knight standing in the air. Jiang Yu E and Xia Hou Ao Tian likewise watched the knight silently, their eyes filled with a quiet sorrow, as though awaiting a moment long anticipated. Zhai Cai exhaled deeply, as though a traveler at last had reached their destination. Then, he looked down at Xia Hou Ao Tian and offered his signature, slightly dismissive, smirking smile: "There it is—this is the true protagonist!" Xiahou Aotian’s eyes welled up. As he was about to speak, he saw Zhai Cai’s body disintegrate, turning into scattered ashes. …… The Yingle Array. At the very moment his head separated from his neck, the Flame-Eyed King, whose body was blazing with fire, suddenly surged toward the King of Fear. A final counterattack! The King of Fear calmly retreated and offered his flaming sword. “Pffft!” The sword, blazing with fire, pierced through the Flame-Eyed King’s body—exactly what he had hoped for. The Flame-Eyed King’s remaining four arms extended, tightly grasping the Two-Polarity Magic Blade and the Xuanshui Fenglei Sword, his half-carbonized arm muscles swelling. With a crisp “crack,” both the Two-Polarity Magic Blade and the Xuanshui Fenglei Sword snapped simultaneously. The King of Fear then kicked out with a powerful stride, sending the Flame-Eyed King’s body flying, which faded into a dark silhouette at the horizon. The body, already riddled with wounds, crashed heavily to the distant ground and never rose again. The head of the Mago Eye, held by the King of Fear, opened its mouth and emitted a hoarse, deep voice: "My mission is complete!" Then, cell by cell, the head began to disintegrate, dissolving into a black, foul-smelling substance. The divine will of the Mago Eye had expired! The cost of wielding this power was eternity! What is eternity? Death is eternity. In a daze, the Mago Eye King found himself back at the orphanage in the north, children rushing toward him, their laughter surrounding him. Outside the crowd, he saw the Prime Sovereign. With a somber expression, he said, "I'm sorry, I've done my best..." The Prime Sovereign smiled warmly, "You've done wonderfully. The task of purifying the world shall now rest with me—this is our faith. Mago Eye, it's time for you to return home." Home? The Mago Eye King turned and looked around, seeing the solitary tower standing amidst the ruins, and outside, a young couple standing there, smiling—just as they had when he first saw them at the orphanage. The King of Mysterious Eyes gazed around in astonishment, only to find himself once again the somewhat reserved child. "Back again?" the woman smiled warmly. At that moment, his chest felt as though it had been filled with something solid, and tears spilled over. The King of Mysterious Eyes rushed toward them, running across the ruins before the gate—just as though he had traversed a long stretch of time. He embraced his mother. "Mom, Dad—I'm home..." The King of Mysterious Eyes' head completely dissolved. "...And my mission has only just begun!" A surge of swordlight erupted across the heavens and earth! The King of Fear felt his hair stand on end, overwhelmed by a profound sense of crisis. Without hesitation, he instinctively reached for the Two-Principles Magic Blades and the Xuan-Shui Wind-Thunder Sword—only to realize both swords had already been broken by the King of Mysterious Eyes. The King of Mysterious Eyes' final counterattack had actually been setting the stage for Fu Qingyang. With Fu Qingyang's status, he could not avoid or deflect the power of these two rule-based artifacts. As long as the swords remained in his In a rush, the King of Fear twisted his weary body, channeling the power of his eight weapons and striking them all simultaneously backward! "Clang!" The sharp metallic clash tore through his ears—the weapons struck not the weapons themselves, but the sword-point of his finger. Fu Qingyang had appeared behind him without Fu Qingyang knowing, using his fingertip as a sword to launch a surprise attack from behind. The sword qi radiating from the fingertip met the power of the eight weapons, forming two curved zones of energy. At the point of contact, the light and waves surged, boiling and flashing intensely. After successfully deflecting Fu Qingyang's surprise assault, the King of Fear felt a slight relief. His navel rose and fell, and he spoke softly, smiling: "Ah, so you're thinking of being the fisherman in the story of two cranes struggling to hold each other? Even though I'm now so weak, I remain half-divine." As he spoke, a moment of surprise crossed his mind—he realized through direct contact that Fu Qingyang's sword-point wasn't as powerful as he had expected. It should have sent his hairs standing on end. "Just the opening move!" Fu Qingyang remained expressionless; the fierce wind lifted his hair, scattering his short braid into a wild, turbulent tangle. Individual strands of his hair turned silver, and in the blink of an eye, he was now completely white-haired. The sword energy emanating from his fingertips surged several times stronger, the light and gusts growing even more intense. Advancing the sword by an inch, it forcefully pierced the Fear Emperor’s chest by three inches, despite the combined assault of the eight weapons. "This strike—neither too early nor too late—it lands precisely on you!" Fu Qingyang had been waiting for this moment. The sword technique drawn from his life force had proven insufficient to defeat the Fear Emperor if used too early, and if delayed, it would only allow him to recover from his wounds, rendering the attack ineffective. The Fear Emperor emitted a piercing, agonized cry, as if the sword energy were laced with poison, his soul suffering the pain of a single wound—far exceeding the physical sensation. With both feet sinking into the sand and his knees slightly bent, his body leaning forward in a powerful, angled stance, he managed to withstand the overwhelming force of the sword energy, barely preventing the eight weapons from being shattered. It is precisely because Fu Qingyang's sword appears still that it is actually moving with unparalleled speed—once he relinquishes the struggle, he will be pierced instantly. At this moment, the Fearful King has no further strength to employ his technique of "lifting a feather to move a thousand pounds"; he has summoned every ounce of power, and can only勉强 resist. In this instant, a quiet sense of fear begins to take root within him, as he senses a profound threat emanating from Fu Qingyang's sword prowess. "I am burning through my lifespan," the Fearful King says, struggling to crack a smile at Fu Qingyang's now white-haired figure. "Fu Qingyang, you're such a rigid, inflexible man—both in personal conduct and in sword practice. Only you would dedicate yourself to such a desperate, unconventional method of combat!" His muscles bulge, veins standing out like earthworms, as his eight-armed weapon partially intercepts and partially pushes against Fu Qingyang's sword energy, gradually deflecting it outward. Fu Qingyang remains cold: "People like you and Fu Qingxuan, with such exceptional talents, have countless ways to strengthen themselves. To me, however, only through total, all-or-nothing commitment can "I simply chose the path you all regard as the most clumsy and unrefined." At that moment, his full, vibrant skin instantly relaxed, creasing and dotted with age spots. His body rapidly withered, transforming into that of an elderly man nearing the end of his days. A brilliant surge of swordlight erupted from his fingertips, the sword energy flowing like a high-pressure water jet, piercing through the Fear Sovereign's chest in an instant and spreading out over thirty miles behind him. This nobleman from a renowned family had burned through both his pride and his life, reduced to a single, world-class, sharp stroke of sword. The Fear Sovereign's chest bore large, translucent holes from front to back, and most critically, his soul—destroyed by the sword energy infused with the power of shock and calamity. The Fear Sovereign roared in a piercing cry, his soul swiftly dissolving within him. Meanwhile, Fu Qingyang's life had already reached its final stage. He lowered his gaze, deeply observing the fading traces left behind by the Magi Sovereign, and a touch of sorrow flickered in his eyes. He lifted his gradually dimming gaze toward the blood-red sky, his eyes seeming to pierce through the void and reach some distant place. His tightly clenched left hand loosened, and a yellow scroll drifted down, bearing the words: "Beyond your body, three feet of snow—who in the world could match your white robe?" Throughout his life, from lowly beginnings to supreme heights, from extraordinary to sovereign mastery, through every peak and valley of glory and adversity, he had never wavered! Fu Qingyang calmly closed his eyes. The sun above Zhang Yuanqing radiated a powerful golden light.