In the blink of an eye, the hen turned into a duck.
In a flash, the Construct of Ten Thousand Hands shifted once more... It was as if a boss who had just stepped onto the stage hadn't even uttered a single line before going straight into phase two!
Boundless bloody radiance swirled from the crystalline greatsword, lurid and ferocious, staining the entire world in scarlet.
Silver light and bloodlight intertwined, expanding outward!
It was as if gods and Buddhas were bathed in blood, as if the mortal realm were obliterated.
Under the wild slashes of countless blades, the colossal mass of flesh turned into a rain of blood, splashing in every direction. Yet the Hundred-Eyed Giant's furious roar did not cease. Innumerable severed remnants began squirming and regenerating rapidly before even hitting the ground. Millions of sinewy threads drifted down from midair, only to rise again.
Wherever the blood rained down, amid the swirling scarlet, eyes materialized out of thin air, locking onto the Construct of Ten Thousand Hands.
Their gazes even pierced through the barrier, falling directly upon Ji Jue.
Every single gaze seemed laden with bottomless hunger and venom, exerting an invisible pull. As hundreds of millions of eyes stared all at once, even the soul felt battered, dragged, and swayed by an invisible tide.
Caught in that pull, consciousness grew swiftly dim and dazed.
Had this been Ji Jue from before, his spiritus would have likely lost control and begun dissipating by now. Under such a siege, the slightest lapse in focus would have allowed the gravitational pull of those countless bloody eyes to tear his soul apart and devour it.
Unfortunately...
Besides Ji Jue, there was now another artisan inside the Construct of Ten Thousand Hands!
Lou Feng!
The spiritus within the construct surged and rippled for merely an instant before Lou Feng brought it firmly under control. Reining it back, he completely disregarded the blood-eyes' hungry pull, standing rock-solid and utterly unyielding!
Spiritus shaping, boy!
"What the hell are you staring at?!"
The ten thousand hands shifted, spreading open again as a furious rebuke echoed out: "Aren't you afraid of getting a sty?!"
Instantly, boundless scarlet crystalline swords surged forth again, ballooning like a porcupine's quills, thrusting out toward the sky full of crimson and countless eyes with meticulous, flawless precision!
Even if you don't get a sty, I can poke your eyes out for you!
The sound of shattering rang out incessantly. Under this relentless mauling, the giant's hundred eyes were pierced and crushed, and another shrill roar reverberated across the air.
This time, it wasn't as lucky as before.
Were it a fully formed Hundred-Eyed Giant, it naturally wouldn't fear such targeted strikes.
Unfortunately, let alone a complete version, the examinees here didn't even have artisan licenses yet. Being able to master the workshop's esoteric theories and piece together a youth's first Hundred-Eyed Giant was already quite a feat. The Impervious Armor, the Blade-Breaking Breath, the Blood of Oblivion... aside from the Soul-Devouring Eye, the giant's other three signature traits were mere hollow shells—a budget youth edition through and through.
At best, its vitality was terrifyingly resilient.
Unless every single inch of its flesh was completely obliterated in an instant, it could reconstitute and regenerate at any time.
Alas, even that proved useless.
Perhaps the giant had forgotten to check the almanac before heading out today.
It hadn't remembered that today was family reunion day!
Thus, the moment the front door was kicked wide open—countless Ex-Wives and Stepmothers came knocking!
Atop the crystalline swords, bloodlight surged, shifting abruptly once more!
Half flared violently like raging flames; half crept murkily like lurking shadows.
Then, as the ten thousand hands swung outward, a tempest swept over everything. The giant's wails echoed without end, and the sounds of shattering reverberated between heaven and earth.
It possessed no power to resist whatsoever!
When the output of the Construct of Ten Thousand Hands was paired with Lou Feng's spiritus supply, and then fitted with the components of Ex-Wife and Stepmother, the result was absolute suppression against any living creature.
Draw vitality to consecrate my edge; seize spiritus to offer to the deadly blade.
In the span of a breath, the ferocious storm of blades shredded the Hundred-Eyed Giant into nothingness. With power to spare, it slashed through every incoming assault around it, sweeping all opponents within its reach, squandering destruction and death with wild abandon!
Across the entirety of Luye Island, not a single patch of intact ground remained. The earth was upturned, the mountains cracked, and the dense forest was burnt to ash by scarlet flames.
The dark clouds collapsed, leaving the dim sun unable to shine through.
Only the thunderous screech of blades cleaving the air resonated over the sea, as bloodlight surged, blanketing the sky!
"Great job, Old Lou! You did fantastic!"
Ji Jue laughed wildly, relishing an abundance of power he had never experienced before, and praised him in excitement: "I told you, when brothers unite, their sharpness cuts through gold!!! Come on, show me your limit—we're going to be partners for life!"
"Partners my ass!"
Lou Feng roared in exasperation, "You bastard, keep your fucking filthy hands away from my family!"
"Hehehe, that all depends on your performance."
Through the crystalline wall, Ji Jue's laughter sounded even more shrill and bizarre: "Where's the spiritus shaping? Hurry up and get moving! You wouldn't want to lose here, would you?"
"You fucking Ji, you—"
Lou Feng's face flushed crimson, wishing he could just blow this bastard to bits.
Yet blowing him up wouldn't solve the problem. The artisan license was secondary; if this bastard Ji never gave up on his wicked designs and really went after his aunt... Even if intelligence described Ji Jue as a man of clean conduct, what if?!
Even if he couldn't beat this bastard, the worst case was retreating to Chaocheng and holing up for a lifetime just to avoid the jinx. But if Ji Jue clung to his family, and his aunt's mind got clouded... wouldn't he have to endure this wretched beast taking a dump on his neck for the rest of his life?!
For his family, and for his own life, no matter how furious and resistant Lou Feng felt, he had no choice but to grit his teeth through the humiliation and yield to Ji Jue's demands and abuse.
Besides... besides...
If he took second place, he'd still come away with something, right?
Mutual benefit, mutual benefit! Steady, Lou Feng, keep it together! You're only being coerced by him, this doesn't count—your heart is totally unwilling!
Yet no matter how unwilling he was, Lou Feng still gritted his teeth and took action on his own...
Boom!
At the core of the Construct of Ten Thousand Hands, the colossal crystal spire shifted once more under Lou Feng's control. It contracted, forming a layer of armor over the swirling silver light.
Vast amounts of spiritus crystals rose under the guidance of flowing light, congregating outside the vortex to form another magnificent, sweeping halo.
Pouring in all spiritus, driving it to the absolute limit!
A furious assault launched toward all opponents once more!
At that moment, inside Dragon Heart Workshop, Lin Ke's eyelid twitched violently, on the verge of a cerebral hemorrhage.
Now that the Construct of Ten Thousand Hands had patched its final weakness, it was entirely beyond his ability to handle. Aside from sheer fury, only curses remained.
【Andrei, why the fuck didn't you say so earlier?! Quit playing the goddamn Riddler!】
In response, amid the resonant tolling of the bell, only a brief message came back.
It sounded somewhat puzzled.
【If I had told you, would you have gone?】
For a moment, Lin Ke fell silent, completely speechless.
Even he had to admit—after realizing Andrei had duped him into acting as a shield—that at the time, it really had been the best solution.
From beginning to end, Ji Jue had never even approached the perimeter of Clock Tower Workshop.
Under the tolling of the bell, all change ground to a halt; matter returned to matter, and spirit to spirit. Even now, it remained the greatest threat to Ji Jue.
Even if Andrei wanted to target him, separated by so many workshops, he couldn't reach him at all.
How could he convince everyone to lift their workshops' restrictions and let him do as he pleased?
In their dreams!
The only thing Andrei could have done was offer terms to push Lin Ke to the front line.
Yet would Lin Ke have charged in if he had known Ji Jue was nearly out of juice?
As if!
He would have retreated even faster!
Even if Ji Jue were intercepted and blocked from plugging into a charger, he could easily take someone down with a dying curse before he died. At that point, the one pushed over the cliff would have been Lin Ke.
Was he supposed to risk his own life on the gamble that Andrei would keep his word and lend a hand? Even if Andrei swore oaths and beat his chest, would Lin Ke dare believe him?
From the start, they were never teammates, let alone allies.
They had merely happened to run into the same enemy.
Nothing more.
【Do you want to win?】
In that instant, Andrei said: 【There's still a chance.】
"What are you planning to do?" Lin Ke asked with suspicion.
【Open your workshops. I will coordinate and direct everything. The terms remain the same for everyone, but there will be no spiritus compensation. Before Chaosheng is eliminated, I will not make a move against any of you.】
You fucking—
Are you crazy, or am I?!
Lin Ke let out a bitter laugh, yet at this stage, did he have any other choice?
No matter how arrogant, extreme, fanatical, or cold they were, the artisans still possessed reason—losing one's reason was no different from losing one's life. Sometimes, it was even more terrifying.
He had no other choice.
Or rather, even if there was one, Andrei wouldn't grant it.
"Can you win?"
At the final moment before unlocking his workshop's restrictions, Lin Ke asked.
This time, however, Andrei offered no immediate, decisive reply.
Only silence.
In less than half a minute, all the surviving workshops reached a wartime agreement.
Except Nine Seals.
Nine Seals had already been casually chopped to pieces by Ji Jue, and Lou Feng had recycled its spiritus tree for reuse—it was wiped out completely!
As for the remaining survivors, none hesitated any longer, uniting as one.
In an instant, explosive sounds rang out relentlessly from above, from beneath, and from every corner of the void.
Five Flowers and Five Leaves' Earth Axis Armillary restarted, working in concert with Tongxie's Kunwu Lock as it contracted inward.
The boiling earth seemed to surge violently upward while the invisible heavens plummeted, sealing heaven and earth together. Invisible iron walls erected from all sides, pressing inward inch by inch.
On the other side, the sound of countless knots snapping reverberated.
Inside Dragon Heart Workshop, Lin Ke drew his sword and cleaved right through the center of countless entwined cords, releasing the bindings of all the knots at once.
Ominous curses and malice overflowed from the shadows, surging upward, weaving together in the void into a hazy, furiously thumping heart.
Every disaster and misery of the mortal realm was nurtured from within this heart!
Amid the spreading heartbeat, all things withered, collapsed, and rapidly decayed.
The Shadow of the Throne materialized once more, its colossal silhouette filling heaven and earth. As its eyes looked down, a violent gravitational vortex formed around the Construct of Ten Thousand Hands, collapsing inward to crush it!
As workshop after workshop lifted their locks and linked together, the tolling of the bell resonated far and wide. Wherever it passed, matter and spirit separated, and all things revealed their true forms, drawing close to eternity.
The operation of Fluid Alchemy abruptly stuttered and slowed. Under the heavy pressure, decay, and interference, it could hardly even maintain its own structure...
On the periphery, the Kunwu Lock channeled the weight of the firmament while the Earth Axis Armillary stirred the impurities of the deep earth, the two colliding together.
At this moment, heaven and earth merged!
Only to discover—they could not close!
Between the falling heavens and the rising earth, it was as if a massive stone had wedged itself in, refusing to let them meet.
Amid the dead silence, only a faint sigh lingered.
Filled with such pity.
To be able to unite now was indeed terrifying.
Unfortunately—
Ji Jue said, "It's too late."
Chapter 288