I Am Not Resigned

“He’s insane. He’s absolutely insane!”

Long Ao stared fixedly at the figure walking alone toward the phantom of the Demon God, feeling as though something in his mind had shattered.

His understanding of the world had shattered.

Could it be… he was going to do it again…?

He had clearly grown so much stronger. Why was he still so powerless?

No… I refuse to accept this…

Elsewhere, An Changqing’s mind raced, but every thought turned into pale, useless scraps of paper before the step Chen Guan took forward.

The phantom of the Demon God, formed from sheer will, truly wasn’t a threat in Chen Guan’s eyes.

“Kehehe, go on, kid.”

Baal’s voice rang out in his mind.

“I know. You don’t have to tell me.”

Chen Guan slowly raised his arm. His five fingers spread open as he aimed his palm at the enormous shadow blotting out the sky.

“Come on.”

His voice pierced through the mental storm and confronted the indescribable existence head-on.

In the next instant, the black mark on his arm exploded as though it were alive.

Countless ink-colored threads shot from his palm. Defying the terrifying pressure that threatened to tear souls apart, they formed a vast net that seemed capable of swallowing the heavens and lunged toward Astaroth’s phantom.

“What is he doing?!”

Qin Wu cried out in shock. He had never seen such a bizarre method of attack.

He was challenging the majesty of a Demon God with nothing but a human body!

The instant those ink-colored threads touched the phantom of the Demon God, they did not vanish as everyone expected.

Instead, they were like starving leeches, violently piercing through the immense body formed from spiritual energy.

“Seeking death!”

The phantom in the sky released a soundless roar that shook the soul, and the entire space trembled.

Ripples flashed wildly across the surface of the golden protective barrier, while Huo Qixing staggered on the verge of collapse.

He’s absorbing it?

Although Su Yuehe’s spiritual power was no longer sufficient to cast powerful word-spells, her eyesight remained sharp.

She could see that the lofty Demon God, Astaroth, was the one being challenged in front of Chen Guan!

Why wasn’t it fighting back?

Doubt rose in Su Yuehe’s heart.

However, she would never reveal what she had discovered.

Everyone had secrets. Chen Guan had kept hers, so she would keep his.

…

The Demon Realm, Angel City.

Astaroth sat upon a new throne.

As for why it was a new throne, the reason was simple: the old one had already been taken by Baal for recycling.

At that moment, the Demon God’s face was filled with fury at having been offended.

A spiritual torrent originating from that insignificant human world was surging through the fragment of spirit that had been severed from Him, washing over His true consciousness without the slightest trace of courtesy.

What He found even more intolerable was that the source devouring His power carried an aura that was both familiar and terrifying.

Fear.

For a Demon God such as Him, fear was an utterly unfamiliar emotion.

There was at least some justification for fearing Baal, but fearing a human?

What kind of joke was this?

“Baal.”

Astaroth’s voice echoed throughout His divine kingdom, powerful enough to shatter the souls of low-level demons.

“Must you go this far?”

A mocking laugh rang out from nowhere. It had no discernible source, yet echoed clearly through every corner of the divine kingdom, as though this domain ruled by Astaroth had long since been infiltrated and riddled with holes.

That irritating feeling again…

Astaroth narrowed His eyes in displeasure.

A blurry black shadow condensed into form not far beneath the throne. Today, Baal had once again taken on the appearance of a human youth.

Astaroth had long since grown accustomed to this appearance. Baal was free to change at will, and so were His faces.

“What did I do?”

Baal’s voice was casual. “I’m merely watching an interesting play. You’re the one who provided it, my dear Astaroth. Your little fragment seems rather restless, and it disturbed me.”

Astaroth’s six wings suddenly beat once, causing the entire divine kingdom to tremble.

“That is my power. He is desecrating a god, as are those damned human leaders.”

“Desecrating?” The black shadow swayed, and Baal’s laughter grew louder. “Don’t make it sound so serious. It’s called putting waste to use. Besides, it’s only a bit of dandruff you shed. What use could it possibly be to you?”

“You…”

A destructive force gathered in Astaroth’s hand. It was a sphere compressed to the extreme, powerful enough to erase any disrespectful being from existence.

“Do you want to try again?”

Baal’s tone remained relaxed. “You can choose to start a war with me right now and flip over the entire game table between us. Or you can sit quietly.”

He paused, then leaned forward with an almost human gesture.

“Seeing as you provided the venue and the actors, I’m inviting you to watch the show with me.”

Baal’s face plainly said: Don’t be so ungrateful.

The energy sphere in Astaroth’s hand ultimately remained unthrown beneath Baal’s gaze.

“That’s more like it.” Baal’s laughter returned to its cheerful tone. “Come on. Let’s see what that little human is trying to do.”

The two beings standing at the pinnacle of the world turned their gazes back toward the blood-red battlefield of illusions.

Astaroth’s eyes were filled with humiliation and resentment. He watched as the strange arm of Chen Guan continuously devoured His power, yet He was powerless to stop it.

At that moment, His gaze suddenly sharpened. He shifted it away from Chen Guan and toward another inconspicuous corner of the golden barrier.

There stood a human man whose entire body was engulfed in crimson flames.

An ancient aura, one originating from the depths of his bloodline and so old that even Astaroth felt His heart tremble, was quietly awakening within that mortal’s body.

“This aura is…” Astaroth’s immense divine form leaned forward slightly, and genuine astonishment appeared in His eyes for the first time.

“No. Impossible. How could His bloodline have appeared in a place like this?”

…

“Stay away from him.”

Long Ao’s roar, mingled with his surging life-force energy and burning will, transformed into a tangible shock wave that slammed violently into the Bone Throne.

The crimson flames around his body began to contract inward and condense. Countless intricate, ancient golden patterns were branded across his skin.

The patterns coiled and intertwined, ultimately outlining the vague phantom of a colossal bird spreading its wings behind him, poised to take flight.

His eyes transformed completely into molten gold. Pupils and whites vanished, leaving only an absolute will that seemed capable of burning all things to ash.

“Long Ao, you…”

Qin Wu never finished speaking, because a terrifying pressure far beyond his understanding erupted from Long Ao with a thunderous boom.

That power was domineering, savage, and utterly unreasonable, like the first spark of creation’s fire at the dawn of heaven and earth.

Even Chen Guan, far away, tore a sliver of his attention away from his gluttonous feast and looked back in surprise.

What the hell? You unlocked a cheat too?

Those molten-gold eyes of Long Ao contained nothing but the back of that solitary figure facing the phantom of the Demon God, seemingly about to be devoured in the next moment.

He understood nothing of rules or bloodlines.

He only knew that his friend was in danger.

That was enough.

He suddenly stepped forward. The ancient battlefield beneath his feet cracked apart with a thunderous sound, and his entire body shot out of Huo Qixing’s faltering golden barrier like a sun set ablaze.

A moment later, Long Ao appeared between Chen Guan and Astaroth’s phantom.

He raised his head and stared straight at the demon god that blotted out the sky, his eyes blazing with divine fire.