Withstanding the Nuclear Blast, the Strongest Human? Slaying the Holy Angel!

"So their goal was to kill King Lu all along." "They actually deployed a thermonuclear weapon. What sinister intentions!" "I knew we couldn't trust these Westerners. Everything was orchestrated by the Divine Knight!" "Damn them, damn them to hell! They don't dare face him in a fair fight, so they resort to underhanded conspiracies behind his back!" Everyone watching the livestream realized what was happening the moment they saw the nuclear weapon take to the sky. Instantly, curses erupted from all across the viewers. They had initially thought the Western factions were acting in good faith, inviting King Lu to Mount Olympus to negotiate the establishment of the Human Alliance. Who could have guessed that from start to finish, it was an elaborate trap aimed entirely at King Lu? First came intercontinental missiles. Now, they had unleashed their ultimate weapon of slaughter. Fury swept through everyone, and they openly denounced the scheme. Yet aside from venting their rage, they had no power to change anything. At this moment, Elder Ji, Zhu Qingyu, and the others could only watch helplessly as the nuclear weapon ascended and began its downward descent. Meanwhile, in the Holy City beneath Mount Olympus. Lu Yuan looked up at the nuclear missile descending overhead. His expression remained utterly unperturbed, watching it in silence. The next instant, golden aura surged from his entire frame, and an eleven-tiered Blood-Qi Pagoda manifested. With just a slight lift of his foot, an immense surge of power erupted. In a flash, the pentagram array formed by the Five Ancient Sacred Relics shattered completely. With a sweep of his right hand, Lu Yuan gathered all the ancient sacred relics into his grasp. After all, these were prime materials for evolving the Daluo sword core. "He broke free?" Atop Mount Olympus, the Holy Angel and Divine Knight looked down upon the scene, hearts jolting in horror. The Five Ancient Sacred Relics had been fully activated, yet they couldn't bind Lu Yuan? Didn't that mean their plan was going to fail? Seeing this on the livestream, citizens across the country felt a surge of exhilaration, immediately crying out for him to flee. They knew that with Lu Yuan's strength, escaping would be easy, and even a nuclear explosion would not threaten his life once he left. Yet the next moment, everyone froze in disbelief. Lu Yuan slowly raised his head. He gazed at the descending nuclear weapon with calm eyes. Without the slightest hesitation, he bent his knees. Circulating the Ancestral Dragon Breathing Method, nine grotto-heavens appeared, granting him a ninefold boost in combat prowess. Leaping into the air, he shot hundreds of meters into the sky, confronting the thermonuclear weapon by channeling his ultimate strength and throwing a single punch. He was going to take on the nuclear blast head-on? That was the final thought flashing through everyone's mind. Rumble! The next moment, a cataclysmic boom resonated across the world. A mushroom cloud erupted directly over the Holy City. Amidst the colossal explosion, flames shot straight into the sky, utterly engulfing Lu Yuan's figure. Below, the buildings of the Holy City collapsed in vast swathes before disintegrating into fine ash. Beneath the thermonuclear strike, everything seemed to vanish from existence. No physical form could withstand it. Everything was effortlessly torn to shreds. All the viewers could see was a blinding flash of incandescent light, followed by utter emptiness. Silence! Absolute silence. Because the last frame they had witnessed was Lu Yuan, after breaking free from the constraints of the Vatican Church's Five Ancient Sacred Relics, choosing not to flee, but instead leaping into midair to confront the thermonuclear strike with his bare fist. This... No one knew what to say. That was a nuclear weapon. Anyone in their right mind would run for their life, knowing that no matter how powerful an Awakened might be, it was impossible to take such a blast head-on. Yet against all reason, Lu Yuan had done precisely that. Elder Ji and the others were dumbfounded, frozen where they stood, completely struck dumb. The Holy Angel and Divine Knight, however, did not share that sorrow. From their initial panic when Lu Yuan broke the seal, their eyes now gleamed with triumphant amusement. In their eyes, he had been far too arrogant, believing his immense strength gave him license to pit himself against humanity's deadliest weapon. Did Lu Yuan truly fancy himself a god? After a brief pause, the Holy Angel stepped forward into the livestream's view and spoke slowly. "The Eastern King, Lu Yuan, showed contempt for the divine and slaughtered twelve of my apostles. He was Satan; he was a heretic. The thermonuclear weapon was his final judgment. Lu Yuan is dead! "Now that he is dead, the so-called Human Alliance is out of the question. Even if one were ever to form, it would be led by the Church and Mount Olympus." With his golden hair, typical Caucasian features, three pairs of light wings sprouting from his back, and a gaze dripping with haughty arrogance, the Holy Angel stood near enough that his voice came through clearly. Almost everyone watching the stream understood his meaning. Lu Yuan was dead, the Human Alliance would not be formed, and this was an ultimatum served directly to the East. "He was an honored guest, after all. Dying like this is a bit unfortunate." The Divine Knight stepped forward with a smile, continuing, "However, our Eastern friends need not worry. Once the fallout settles completely, I will personally collect his remains and return them." Pausing, he added with a sneer, "Assuming, of course, that any remains are left." Beside him, the Holy Angel could not suppress a chuckle. With Lu Yuan dead, a great thorn in their side was eliminated. After all, his very existence disrupted the balance between East and West, which was unacceptable. "Utterly despicable! Utterly abominable! To use such dirty schemes and still have the nerve to boast like that!" "Damn it, I can't take this anymore! I'm going to Mount Olympus! Even if I have to throw my life away, I'll make them pay the price!" "Count me in! Even if the authorities don't act, I will! King Lu repelled two beast tides in a row—he is a savior to us all! He cannot die in vain!" Across the nation, viewers were driven to frenzy, their outrage reaching a boiling point. Believing Lu Yuan had perished in the nuclear detonation, coupled with the Divine Knight's gloating expression, their fury boiled over, and countless people called for storming Mount Olympus. At the same time, Elder Ji and Elder Yun exchanged glances, cold fury blazing in their eyes. Both knew full well the monumental contributions Lu Yuan had made to the nation. Take the incident at Mount Tai, for example. Because of him, beast tides no longer threatened the country, saving countless civilian lives. A chilling murderous intent welled in their eyes. The Church and Mount Olympus would be made to pay, no matter the consequences. Beside them, Zhu Qingyu had gone deathly pale, her eyes glued to the livestream. She simply refused to believe Lu Yuan could die like this. Right at that moment, her expression shifted slightly. "Elder Ji, Elder Yun, Dean Zheng... look!" As her words fell, everyone turned toward the screen, their eyes widening in shock. They saw it. As the nuclear explosion began to subside, the smoke and dust cleared away. From high in the sky, a figure descended. He was enveloped in golden blood-qi, an eleven-tiered pagoda hovering around him. Nine grotto-heavens slowly revolved, radiating blazing brilliance as he descended into the ruins of the Holy City like a celestial god descending to the mortal realm. At the same moment, the enraged domestic audience witnessed the scene, and every single one of them froze. King Lu wasn't dead. What was more, he didn't even appear to be injured. "Is that really King Lu? He survived a nuclear explosion?" "It's him! That signature golden blood-qi... King Lu really didn't die! And he looks completely unhurt!" "Good heavens, how is this possible? A human... a human can actually withstand a nuclear bomb at point-blank range and survive?" "Too strong, he's just too strong! King Lu is without question the strongest human alive today—a true king in every sense!" After a brief wave of shock, the audience erupted in wild celebration. Everyone had assumed that under the nuclear blast, Lu Yuan had been wiped from existence, fallen to the Divine Knight's sinister plot. Yet here he was, still alive, landing firmly on the ground. Just as he had done against the intercontinental missiles on Jade Emperor Peak. A miracle—an absolute miracle. Atop Mount Olympus, the Divine Knight, the Holy Angel, and their entourage saw it too. The smiles on their faces instantly froze, rendering them entirely speechless. A thermonuclear weapon... It hadn't killed Lu Yuan? Just... how terrifyingly powerful was he? Shock soon gave way to fear—a terror unlike anything they had ever experienced. If Lu Yuan was not dead, it meant he would inevitably march up Mount Olympus. And everyone present, including themselves, would be slaughtered. In an instant, an icy chill shot straight to their spines! Down in the ruins of the Holy City, Lu Yuan stood tall and straight, his clothes pristine without a speck of dust. Surging golden blood-qi churned like ocean waves, radiating terrifying might. *A nuclear weapon lives up to its name. Even with my current strength, I had to bring out my strongest means to emerge completely unscathed. It seems taking a nuclear bomb head-on isn't something to do often, at least not at this stage.* Lu Yuan assessed his condition. Withstanding the nuclear detonation had drained more than half of his strength. The Blood-Qi Pagoda had endured immense pressure, and he had even needed to employ the Innate Qi Robe. This was unprecedented—the pinnacle of human technological achievement truly was formidable. After all, he was only at the Shackle Realm right now. Still, at the very least, he had used the nuclear strike to test the limits of his own strength. As things stood, the only thing that could pose even a slight threat to him was a thermonuclear weapon. And even that was not enough to kill him. As for the radiation that others feared, Lu Yuan's physique and internal organs had been reinforced by all manner of divine treasures, leaving him completely immune. His only concern had been the concussive explosion itself. Ironically, the greatest lethality of a nuclear weapon stemmed from its radiation. *My strength is tested, and my objective is achieved...* Halting his thoughts, Lu Yuan looked up toward Mount Olympus. "Now, it's time to kill!" With that, he circulated the power within him and leaped upward. Below him, the ground fractured layer by layer, forming a crater a hundred meters wide. Lu Yuan shot into the sky like an arrow, triggering a sonic boom as he instantly closed the distance to Mount Olympus. Striding forward at extreme speed, he scaled the slopes, opening his Martial Dao Heavenly Eye to locate the Divine Knight and the Holy Angel. All of this was broadcast live through the stream. The audience's jaws dropped once again. He was truly invincible. How was this a human? He was practically a true dragon! "Run, run! All of you, hold Lu Yuan back!" shouted the Divine Knight, abandoning all composure. He summoned his Flame Steed and charged toward the ancient castle above. That was a historic ruin left behind by the Olympian gods of legend, protected by powerful warding arrays. He hoped it would stop Lu Yuan. The Holy Angel's eyes were filled with dread as well. Flapping his light wings, he soared into midair, following closely behind. Both knew Lu Yuan was coming up to kill. Fear consumed their hearts; their only thought was escape. As for the reporters and subordinates beside them, neither leader spared them a glance. The Divine Knight even commanded his men to delay Lu Yuan, even if only for a second. Hearing the order, the Awakened of Mount Olympus froze. How could they possibly stop him? Yet gritting their teeth, they remained in place, prepared to obey. The reporters panicked, utterly at a loss. Most were ordinary mortals—where could they even run? Before long, Lu Yuan arrived, surrounded by golden blood-qi, his expression cold. Facing the Awakened, he spoke no words. With a single stride, his heart thumped lightly, his power carefully restrained, bursting them into clouds of blood mist. He spared the news reporters, however, as they would be needed later. After instructing them to stay put and keep broadcasting, Lu Yuan continued his ascent up Mount Olympus. He charged toward this domain hailed by the West as the cradle of myth and the dwelling of the gods. At this moment, he resembled an indomitable demon lord, his overwhelming presence striking terror into all as he reached the mountain summit. Not far off stood a towering ancient castle, steeped in the aura of ages past, having endured for eons. A peculiar aura emanated from within. It was potent, commanding wariness. Yet Lu Yuan paid it no heed, pressing forward step by step, his aura growing more formidable with every pace. "Eastern King, if you strike, it is an act of war! Halt your steps!" "This is the dwelling of the gods, blessed by divine protection. You cannot breach it!" Ahead, beneath the ancient castle, the Divine Knight reappeared. Knowing that running was futile, he sought to leverage the castle's might to negotiate. So long as he could survive, he was willing to make concessions. There was no helping it; this man was simply too terrifying. Lu Yuan made no reply, continuing his advance. "Lu Yuan, you killed twelve of my apostles, but I can overlook it! Let us end this war here, what say you?" the Holy Angel shouted from the side. "The Human Alliance you spoke of—I will certainly consider it. Return home, and God will forgive you!" Though terror gripped his heart, he still could not shed his arrogant posture, speaking as though bestowing a favor, confident in the strength of the castle's warding barriers. Boom! The next instant, Lu Yuan made his move. Stepping forward, he breached the castle's perimeter. Beams of murderous light surged from all directions, striking toward him. Yet the moment they made contact with his golden blood-qi, they were blasted to pieces, posing no threat whatsoever. After all, if even a thermonuclear weapon could not harm him, what were a few barrier strikes to him? Lu Yuan closed the distance in a flash, appearing before the Holy Angel and stomping a foot down onto his chest. Boom! The speed was terrifying. The Holy Angel could not react in time, coughing up a mouthful of blood. Crack! Crack! Lu Yuan's foot bore the weight of a mountain. Bones throughout the angel's body fractured, and blood seeped through his skin. The disparity between them was simply too vast. "Does your god know you are about to die?" Lu Yuan's voice sounded coolly, like a decree of death. The next instant, he applied greater force, preparing to slaughter this Holy Angel worshipped by countless Westerners!