Solar Will

In the Gods dungeon, Sect Master Jiang flew off the arena stage, glaring furiously at the companions who had stabbed him in the back. "It's a one-to-one tie now! How are we going to fight after this? In any case, I can't take the stage anymore. Do whatever you want." "The evil faction submits their combatant first for the next round," Fu Qingxuan said, glancing across at the evil demigods opposite them. "They won't field Ling Tuo, because Void hasn't made his move yet. If Ling Tuo dares to take the stage, he will surely die. The evil faction will most likely send out the Lord of All Fiends, Gunther Raine. "For us, the surefire winning plan is to select a demigod who can defeat the Lord of All Fiends and win the second match. After that, we leave the third match to Void." She scanned the orthodox demigods and continued her analysis: "The Lord of All Fiends' abilities are well-balanced. His Ten Demon Forms each have their own strengths, with immense damage output, crowd control, and vitality. On top of that, he is at level 11. I feel that apart from Void, no one can defeat him. If we want a surefire plan, we could let the Goddess of Beauty try this round." In a languid, smiling voice, the Goddess of Beauty said, "At most, I can protect myself, but I cannot kill Gunther Raine. The moment I inflict damage upon him, he will definitely awaken from my charm. Of course, I could also have him commit suicide as the price collected after our pleasure. I don't mind enjoying pleasure under your watchful eyes, but the Demon Lord and I were pure love; I'd feel terribly guilty toward him." Her tone and expression were like potent aphrodisiacs, drawing repeated glances from the orthodox demigods, who found themselves captivated. Fu Qingxuan rolled her eyes as she listened. She conceded that the Goddess of Beauty had a point, but as a pinnacle Scout capable of discerning all things, Fu Qingxuan could clearly sense that the Goddess of Beauty was unwilling to charge into battle and risk her life for the Lord of the Stars. Team fights were fine, but she resisted gambling her life in a duel on the arena stage. Like Void, this woman was still thinking about Yuanshi Tianzun on the outside. On a personal level, Fu Qingxuan naturally favored Yuanshi Tianzun as well. She held quite a favorable impression of the kid, and he was her younger brother's close buddy. However, Scouts were rational. Once the Sun dungeon opened, Yuanshi Tianzun lost his qualification to compete for the Lord of the Sun. All that remained for her to do was one thing: crush the evil faction and help the Lord of the Stars claim the Solar Origin. President Void said nonchalantly, "Succubi are too weak; sending her up would just be feeding. You don't honestly think the evil faction hasn't prepared against that, do you? Only I can take this match. None of you can suppress the Lord of All Fiends' rank. And don't forget, the deity from the Covenant of Freedom shares the same profession as him and definitely left him trump cards. Aside from me, anyone who goes up will die." Even as they spoke, the evil faction indeed sent forward a middle-aged Caucasian man dressed in a black suit and white dress shirt—the Lord of All Fiends, Gunther Raine. The president of the Biological Alchemy Society's first action upon entering the arena was to strip off his suit jacket, dress shirt, leather boots, and trousers, leaving only a pair of black boxer briefs. This revealed a granite-like, muscular physique, every muscle dense and hard. He folded the suit, shirt, and pants into neat squares, then neatly arranged his shoes beside them. By the time he finished arranging his clothes and shoes, President Void was already standing ten meters away with his arms crossed over his chest, asking curiously, "Is this some special ritual to please supreme beings?" "No!" the Lord of All Fiends replied. His expressionless face carried a beast-like cold detachment, devoid of human emotion. "Then why do it?" the Void demigod asked in a conversational tone. "It can't be because they're expensive, can it?" The Lord of All Fiends stated blankly, "Clothing is a vital distinction between humans and beasts. No matter how powerful a beast is—even the scion of a demon god—it will never realize that it needs clothes. Yet no matter how weak a human is, they will always feel the need for garments. "Clothing symbolizes human shame. Shame is the manifestation of morality, and morality is the dawn of civilization. Therefore, clothing is the inception of civilization, and it is sacred." President Void clapped his hands with a pair of dry slaps. "I'm enlightened, truly enlightened. Every single one of you evil demigods is a talent, and your words carry such depth." The pupils of the Lord of All Fiends turned a stony, ashen gray, shooting out two pale beams of light. The petrification beams passed right through the Void demigod and splashed against the arena's restriction, creating sprawling patches of mottled gray like fine stone plating. No energy or matter in the world could harm a Void demigod, unless governed by rules of an even higher rank. Resembling a projection from another dimension, the Void demigod vanished without a sound and teleported right in front of the Lord of All Fiends, swinging his fists and raining basic attacks straight into his face. "Ora ora ora..." Wearing his silver mask, the President teleported rapidly around the Lord of All Fiends, flashing left, right, front, and back. Every emergence was accompanied by a tsunami of fists, dishing out dozens of strikes a second. The blows thudded heavily against the Lord of All Fiends' body. The Void profession was by no means weak in close combat. Its core Saint-stage skills were 'Trade' and 'Brawler'. Naturally, a Void Brawler enjoyed no special effects; unlike swordsmen with sword qi or Bewitching Demons with bleed effects, it relied purely on raw strength. Thus, despite the Void demigod's ferocious flurry of moves, he had not actually broken through the enemy's defenses. Gunther Raine inhaled deeply and exhaled a thick, viscous purple smoke that expanded in all directions with a rush. The Void demigod immediately halted his punches and teleported far away. Level 11 toxic fumes might not necessarily kill him, but they would certainly leave him in a weakened state. The toxic smoke Gunther Raine spewed grew increasingly dense, thin pillars of purple vapor even jetting from his pores, continually churning and rolling outward in every direction. The Void demigod drew a grayish-green staff and gave it a gentle wave. "Gale!" With a howling wail, wild winds swept across the expansive arena, gathering up the toxic fumes and scattering them left, right, and skyward. Several minutes later, the gale pushed the toxic smoke to the edge of the arena. Instead of passing through the barrier alongside the airflow, the purple smoke was blocked and rebounded, billowing back in dense layers. From within the churning purple smoke came the voice of the Lord of All Fiends: "Haven't you noticed? The arena's restriction forbids any matter infused with spiritual energy from passing through. That is to prevent spectators from interfering in the match. "By the same token, space within the arena is locked down. No one can escape by any means. You cannot teleport away, nor can you teleport anything off the arena. "Void, you can only fight me enveloped in toxic fumes." President Void sighed. "As a freedom-loving profession, fighting inside a dog cage truly puts me at a disadvantage." He brought his hands together and began gently rubbing his palms. As he rubbed his hands, the space in front of him seemed to puncture, opening a hole into which currents of air rushed violently. The purple toxic smoke flowed swiftly toward the opening like water draining from a pool, thinning visibly across the arena. The purple mist suddenly surged as a towering demon figure burst from the thick fog, its leathery membranous wings whipping up gale-force winds. Pale light swirled in its eye sockets, and like Superman firing heat vision, it blasted two beams. The President, still rubbing the air, entered an ethereal state, ignoring the petrification beams as he continued rubbing until the purple mist on the arena cleared completely. In his hand, a purple orb so concentrated it seemed solid had formed. He stowed it away and said, "Thank you for the precious material." Above his head, a sapling sprouted and rapidly grew into a massive tree resembling a Christmas tree. Hanging from its tiered branches were countless items of dazzling brilliance and kaleidoscopic variety, as though one had walked into a department store. The Void demigod reached out his hand, and from near the tree's crest, a pitch-black zhanmadao fell, caught steadily in his grip. The next second, he appeared behind the Lord of All Fiends, sweeping the zhanmadao across. *Squelch!* The blade carved a deep gash into the lower back of the demon with pointed horns, cloven hooves, and leathery wings. Dark-red blood gushed out uncontrollably, like floodwaters breaching a dam. Teleporting into the distance, the Void demigod stood holding his blade and chuckled. "Chromie's abilities are far too balanced. It can take hits, deal damage, and cast spells, making it very effective against demigods who specialize in melee. But against me, it's just a sitting duck." Watching the battle, the evil demigods frowned inwardly. The leader of the Spirit Society's Western District branch, one of the two Torch Dragons, spoke slowly: "To kill Void, one must use spells; any close-quarters combat is completely useless. Among the Lord of All Fiends' Ten Demon Forms, the Chromie Demon, the Hell Dragon Colchis, the Nemean Sow, and the Giant Eagle Gaus are all useless. "This battle won't be easy. But if the Lord of All Fiends can pull off a win, the overall situation will be decided." His words still reflected considerable confidence in Gunther Raine. On the arena stage, a fierce glint flashed in the rectangular pupils of the Lord of All Fiends' Chromie form. Once again, surging purple smoke poured from his nostrils and mouth. The purple smoke did not disperse; instead, it banked in dense layers around him, completely enshrouding his figure into a defensive domain. His purpose in creating this defensive domain was to ensure he would not be ambushed by Void while switching forms. Not every form possessed formidable defense and regenerative power. With the purple smoke as protection, if Void dared to launch a close-quarters attack, he would welcome trading injury for injury—a Cerberus had three full lives, after all. Inside the churning purple smoke, the Chromie form transformed drastically. Its height grew from three meters to six meters, yet its figure became remarkably slender, with a narrow waist, long legs, rounded shoulders, and a carapace covering the body like feminine armor. Over the face was a bone visor, beneath which gleamed a pair of blazing golden eyes. She let out a soprano-like call: "Wandering Singer!" President Void, holding the zhanmadao, instantly mutated. His spine lengthened, his body crouched low to the ground, his legs morphed into hind limbs, scales sprouted across his skin, horns thrust out from his head, and his eyes turned into amber vertical slits. Under the suppression of rank, he mutated directly into an incomprehensible, hideous monster. ... A sun mark resembling gold lacquer surfaced on Zhang Yuanqing's forehead, searing and painful. Scorching, domineering solar divine power surged into his body through the character card. His cells greedily absorbed the pure power, and his Yang Soul absorbed the solar divine power as well, making his body and soul feel warm and comfortable, as if soaking in a hot spring. Compared to the last time on Paphos Island, this infusion was gentle; his cells did not disintegrate, nor did his soul undergo reconstruction. After all, this was merely an increase in experience points, not a level-up. "A reward of 12% EXP, which is lower than Paphos Island. Well, the Mount Shu dungeon was relatively straightforward; the difficulty lay entirely in the boss and elite monsters, and for me, none of it was too arduous... I hope the two Three Powers Pills can help me break through to level 9..." Zhang Yuanqing opened his inventory and took out two pigeon-egg-sized gold-and-red pills. Before the infusion of solar divine power ended, he swallowed them in a single gulp. Instantly, the two pills dissolved in his stomach into pure Lunar, Astral, and Solar divine power. The six currents of power sank aggressively into his dantian, and from the dantian, they surged into the meridians throughout his body and all four limbs and bones. Zhang Yuanqing's vision went dark. He felt two magma-like torrents of heat incinerating his flesh, destroying cells in rapid succession, while two icy torrents surged through him, freezing his internal organs and extinguishing his life force. His soul endured the torment of ice and fire alike, giving him the foreboding sense that his body and soul would be obliterated in the very next second. At that moment, the two currents of soft, dazzling starlight came into play. They began harmonizing the turbulent Lunar and Solar powers, soothing their violent fury and icy chill, and guiding the flow of both forces. Where the Solar power scorched meridians and cells, the Lunar power cooled and repaired them. Where the Lunar power froze internal organs and muscle, the Solar power thawed and nourished them. The Astral power acted like the dividing curve within the taiji diagram, guiding the Lunar and Solar energies to circulate in orderly harmony. Zhang Yuanqing's agony gradually subsided. His soul and physical body greedily absorbed the spiritual energy until the Spirit Realm prompt chimed in his ear: [Congratulations on advancing to level 9!] The sun mark representing the character card blazed brilliantly, plunging like a branding iron from his forehead into his sea of consciousness, appearing within the golden expanse. This golden sun rose higher and higher in the realm of his consciousness before finally settling in place, turning into a steady, warm golden sun that radiated soft golden light continuously and stably. Zhang Yuanqing naturally grasped the skill of a level 9 Day Wanderer: —Solar Will! The authority of Solar Will lay in infusing one's own will into solar divine power. Solar divine power was no longer mere spiritual energy or power; it would carry the master's will. The stronger the master's will, the greater the might of the solar divine power. Concrete manifestations included: when Zhang Yuanqing fired a golden arrow, the arrow imbued with his will would persistently track an enemy until it struck or the will within it was exhausted. Or for instance, he could burn an enemy with golden flames; as long as the will within the flames remained unextinguished, they would continue to burn relentlessly. Given the strength of a Day Wanderer's Primordial Spirit, only Illusionists among all the professions could rival it. Golden flames infused with a Day Wanderer's will were virtually impossible to dispel or extinguish. Furthermore, the combination of Solar Will and Sunrise formed a rule-based skill: Sunlight! The rule of Sunlight was: As the sunlight shines, all things flourish, and all things perish. "All things flourish" represented the burst of vitality. It could be viewed as a healing art, but it could not be cast upon oneself, because the essence of "all things flourish" was lending one's own vitality to others. Shining upon others worked; shining upon oneself did not. "All things perish," on the other hand, was an advanced, enhanced version of the Sunrise ability, endowing it with the rule of inevitable demise. "I now wield rule power!" Zhang Yuanqing glanced at the charred skeleton left behind by Ba, his gaze clear and free of any emotion. After ascending to level 9, the divine power of the Arrow of Desire was purified, along with all stray thoughts. His mind was clearer than ever before, his emotions barely stirring, leaving him calm and detached, even indifferent. Soon, the countdown ended, and Zhang Yuanqing vanished from the Mount Shu dungeon.