Chapter 172

In the secret chamber of the Ba Wang Group.

Lu Fa,

This cosmic overlord, who once ruled the galaxy and made countless star systems tremble, after a seal lasting a thousand years, awakened in modern society.

The spectators of all realms held their breath, their scalps tingling.

A thousand years ago, in the Northern Song, the fatal strike that three Ares patrol warriors bought with their lives, and the three ordinary people of the Great Song who smashed the vajra pestle at the cost of their bodies—was that all just to buy a thousand‑year delay?

【A thousand years have passed, the seas have turned into mulberry fields.】

In the heavenly canopy,

The narrator's voice, carrying a sense of vicissitude that transcends history, slowly rose.

【As technology developed, the Earth's surface was covered by a jungle of steel. But the Demon‑Suppressing Tower that seals the wreckage of the Alfas and the Netherworld Legion still stands firm in the city's shadows.】

【The three sets of armor summoners left by Gorefa, after generations of secret transmission, finally ended up in the hands of three modern youths.】

【They are the second generation of armor summoners on Earth.】

【Within them flows the extremely rare 'Sun‑Moon‑Star' Triple‑Wonder gene.】

【Only this gene can resonate with the armor's core crystal, releasing mental power beyond that of mortals.】

The scene shifts.

Three vastly different youths appear one after another on the screen.

First to come into view is a striking red Ferrari sports car.

The car door pops open, and a youth dressed impeccably and wearing sunglasses steps out.

He looks haughty, casually tossing a wad of cash to the valet attendant, a hint of contemptuous smirk playing at the corner of his mouth.

The narrator's voice:

【Xu Tingfei, Flying Shadow Armor Summoner. Bears the 'Moon‑Wonder' gene.】

【Identity: rich second‑generation heir, young master, music fanatic.】

【Personality: proud and haughty, arrogant, extremely concerned with personal image and dignity, believing money and taste can solve most problems.】

Next, the scene switches to a dimly lit internet café private room.

A youth in a loose short‑sleeve shirt is frantically pounding the keyboard.

The screen shows the fighting game's 'K. O' characters. He jumps up excitedly, grabs the cola on the table and gulps it down, his movements wide and unrestrained.

【Wu Gang, Vajra Armor Summoner. Bears the 'Star‑Wonder' gene.】

【Identity: gaming otaku, science student with astonishing math talent.】

【Personality: hot‑blooded, impulsive, straightforward, single‑minded, hates being looked down on, acts without regard for consequences.】

Finally, the scene arrives at a warm but slightly run‑down photo studio.

A handsome‑looking youth with a gloomy expression is carefully developing photos in the darkroom.

Sunlight streams through the window onto his focused side‑face, revealing a sense of vicissitude and tranquility beyond his years.

He takes off his apron, then puts on a courier's uniform and pushes out an old electric scooter.

【Li Haotian, Xing Tian Armor Summoner. Bears the 'Sun‑Wonder' gene.】

【Identity: orphan, part‑time courier.】

【Personality: calm, introverted, gentle. At age ten he personally witnessed his parents' death at the hands of the netherworld demons, bearing an extremely heavy sense of fate, his thoughts meticulous; he is the sole clear‑minded one in the team.】

Seeing these three utterly mismatched modern people, the barrage of comments from all realms instantly boiled over.

Saibotan

The red spider widened its eyes, pointing at the screen in disbelief:

Just that? Just these three people? One is a playboy, one is a decadent otaku, only that Li Haotian is somewhat steady. They're supposed to deal with Lu Fa, that kind of cosmic killing god?!

Shrouding the Heavens Universe.

I, the Black Emperor, haven't looked wrong, have I? Lu Fa's imperial guard back then could single-handedly tear apart a starship warship. Relying on a rich second-generation and a gamer to save the world? This ball might as well just blow up.

Perfect World.

Shi Hao took a bite of a beast leg, mumbling his evaluation: "Xu Tingfei is too arrogant; with that personality in the Eight Domains, he won't last three days before someone clubs him and puts him in a sack."

The audience's doubts are not baseless.

Because the images played on the heavenly screen next directly confirmed their worst guess.

The city's abandoned industrial zone.

A greed-aligned netherworld demon with fangs and wielding a bone hammer is wantonly destroying things.

Wu Gang arrived just in time.

He activated the summoner, and in the dazzling yellow light he combined into the heavy-armor form of the Diamond Armor.

Watch me not smash you into a sizzling iron plate!

Wu Gang let out a loud shout, crossed his hands, and explosive gauntlets appeared.

Relying on the terrifying defensive power of the Diamond Armor, he stubbornly charged forward against the netherworld demon's bone hammer, and a heavy straight punch slammed hard into the demon's face.

Boom!

Sparks flew everywhere. The netherworld demon was beaten back repeatedly, its protective aura on the verge of shattering.

Wu Gang excitedly turned the belt's dial, preparing to gather power and unleash a finishing move to seal it.

Just then!

A blue-and-white afterimage descended from the sky.

Xu Tingfei's summoned Shadowblade Armor suddenly intervened on the battlefield.

He completely ignored Wu Gang's attack rhythm, launched a flying kick from midair, and the blue light blade struck directly at the netherworld demon's chest.

The tremendous kinetic energy kicked the netherworld demon flying away.

Xu Tingfei landed steadily, then summoned the Absolute Shadow Whirlwind Blade, his movements flashy as if dancing.

Swish, swish—two blades!

Light blades crossed in an X, instantly shredding the Netherworld Demon's final defense.

"Flying Shadow Leg!"

A flowing combo, the Netherworld Demon screamed, turned into a Gene 3D Magic Cube, which Xu Tingfei grabbed and shoved into the Summoner's seal slot.

Monster snag succeeded.

The battlefield fell silent.

Wu Gang removed his armor, face turning livid, pointing at Xu Tingfei and shouting:

"What are you doing? Didn't see I was about to seal it? What gives you the right to steal my prey?"

Xu Tingfei also removed his armor.

He leisurely tidied his clothes, flicking at nonexistent dust on his cuffs.

"Prey? Does it have your name written on it?"

Xu Tingfei glanced down at Wu Gang and sneered:

"Your moves are as slow as a bear's, you can't pull off a finisher all day. I'm just helping you boost efficiency, got it, pauper?"

"Bullshit! My Diamond Armor will take him out any second!"

Wu Gang, furious, waved his fists.

"Say what you will. Anyway, in this young master's view, your combat lacks any beauty—it's practically an insult to this armor."

"Such fine armor ending up in the hands of someone like you!"

Xu Tingfei snorted, turned, and got into the red sports car.

The engine roared, the car sped away, kicking exhaust in Wu Gang's face.

Wu Gang stood there, eyes blazing, fists cracking: "Xu, I'm not done with you!"

An uproar spread across the myriad worlds.

Armored Warrior First Part World.

Dong Shan frowned: "What's going on? With a major enemy at hand, they're actually jealous over who gets to seal it?"

Xin Nan sighed: "They treat this power as mere capital for showing off. Having never faced true life-and-death, they don't grasp the weight behind the armor."

Besides,

Bei Miao, meanwhile, said with interest:

"I admire Xu Tingfei."

Battle Through the Heavens World.

Xiao Yan snorted: "What a high-and-mighty young master. If Xu Tingfei ever came to the Dou Qi Continent, I'd make him learn what 'pauper's backbone' means with my Profound Heavy Ruler. Stealing kills and acting so self-righteous—he's begging for a beating."

However, this was only the beginning of the conflict.

Lu Fa, sleeping deep underground, watched all this through the monitor.

Beneath his hood, Lu Fa let out an extremely cold, low chuckle.

"The human heart is forever the easiest fortress to breach. A thousand years ago, Ge'erfa had no selfish motives, but these people today…… are riddled with flaws."

Lu Fa issued the order.

The scheme began to unfold.

A few days later, at dusk.

Xu Tingfei walked down the street, in good spirits.

He headed for the underground garage, ready to drive off.

The garage lights flickered, empty of anyone.

Suddenly, heavy footsteps came from behind.

Xu Tingfei turned alertly, seeing a "Wu Gang" in sportswear lower his head and emerge from the shadows.

"What are you doing here, country bumpkin? Following me?" Xu Tingfei frowned in disgust.

"Wu Gang" said nothing, merely lifting his head slowly, eyes empty, a strange evil grin tugging at his lips.

"What are you laughing at? Have you lost your mind……"

Xu Tingfei hadn't finished speaking.

"Wu Gang" shot forward, moving so fast it wasn't human.

He clenched his five fingers into a fist, producing a sharp tearing sound, and slammed it without warning into Xu Tingfei's unguarded abdomen!

Boom!

This punch contained terrifying Netherworld Mind Energy.

Xu Tingfei's eyes bulged, and the acid in his stomach mixed with blood and sprayed out.

He didn't even get a chance to summon his armor, crashing onto the car's hood like a torn sack and instantly passing out.

Seeing Xu Tingfei sprawled on the ground, "Wu Gang" snorted, his form twisting, turning into a purple Demonic Netherworld Demon.

It melted into the darkness, hiding its merit and fame.

Half an hour later, Xu Tingfei woke up in a hospital bed.

Intense pain made his whole body spasm. His eyes blazed with uncontrollable fury.

"Wu Gang…… you despicable coward! You can't beat me fair and square, so you sneak attack from behind!"

Xu Tingfei was completely blinded by rage.

He didn't check the surveillance, didn't ponder why Wu Gang had such speed and strength; his sole thought was to wipe away this humiliation.

The next morning.

The abandoned quarry in the suburbs.

The wind howled, the rain poured down.

Raindrops the size of soybeans splattered onto the muddy ground, kicking up murky water.

Xu Tingfei arrived on the scene, and Wu Gang, who had received the challenge letter, also rushed through the rain.

"Xu Tingfei, what the hell are you up to? Why did you drag me out here?"

Wu Gang wiped rain from his face and shouted his question.

"You're pretending? You're still putting on an act!"

Xu Tingfei's eyes were red as he pulled out his summoner and pressed it to his belt:

"You sneak‑attacked me in the garage last night—what kind of man are you? Today I won't call myself Xu Tingfei unless I beat you black and blue!"

"Flying Shadow Armor, unite!"

Blue‑white interwoven armor instantly covered his body. The Flying Shadow Armor exuded a cold killing intent in the rain.

Wu Gang was bewildered, but he was also furious:

"You're spitting blood! I've been at the internet café all day playing matches—I had no time to sneak‑attack you. You want a fight? Fine, I'll go all the way!"

"Diamond Armor, unite!"

The heavy yellow‑white‑black armor hit the ground, sending mud and water flying.

There were no external enemies, no anomalies.

Earth's two strongest battle weapons, due to a clumsy ploy to sow discord, drew their blades against each other in the rainy night.

Clang!

The Absolute Shadow Whirlwind Blade and the Explosive Gauntlets slammed together.

A high‑intensity clash of will‑energy exploded in the rain as a visible white shockwave.

"You sneaky bastard!"

The Flying Shadow Armor, relying on extreme speed, turned into a blur of afterimages in the mire.

Repeated low sweeps forced the Diamond Armor to keep retreating; the blade's light scraped sparks across its heavy plating.

"I swear I didn't do it! You mad dog!"

The Diamond Armor roared, gritting its teeth to block two slashes, then a charged heavy punch smashed solidly into the Flying Shadow's chest plate.

Bang!

The Flying Shadow Armor was blown away, smashing into a huge rock.

Both fought with true fury, every move lethal, showing no mercy.

They had completely forgotten the original purpose of summoning the armor, merely venting personal grudges.

The myriad‑worlds audience watched, their anger surging straight to their heads.

All-Pro Expert World.

Ye Xiu held an unlit cigarette, shook his head and sighed: "Too green, too rough. They lack even basic judgment—any feint from the opponent makes their own team collapse. Such a squad wouldn't last three minutes on the pro stage."

Armor World.

Duanmu Yan stared fixedly at the sky, fists clenched tight, then slammed her palm on the table.

Noodle soup splashed everywhere!

"These two idiots! Morons! Okse is right there watching, and they're fighting each other instead of the enemy?!"

Duanmu Yan's chest heaved with anger: "Such undisciplined lot don't deserve to summon armor! If they were natural elemental armor born of Earth, their qualifications would have been revoked long ago."

"If I were there, I'd not only slap each of them awake with a big ear‑scrape, I'd also take care of the Netherworld Demon lurking in the shadows."

"What's so hard about one versus four? I'll beat up teammates and opponents alike!"

The battle had already entered a white‑hot phase.

After prolonged full‑output, combined with the high‑intensity impacts in the rain, both combatants' will‑energy was drained to the limit.

"Boom!"

After the final violent energy clash,

Flying Shadow and Diamond Armor were both blown backward, crashing into the mire.

The armor's energy lights flashed wildly, sounding alarms, until finally, with a long "di——di——" tone, they were forcibly dismantled.

Xu Tingfei and Wu Gang lay on the ground, faces smeared with mud, bruised and swollen, gasping for breath, unable to move a finger.

Both sides suffered mutual devastation.

Just then, a piercing, eerie laugh came from the shadows around the quarry.

In the rain, three hideous Netherworld Demons slowly emerged.

The leader was precisely the Demonslaying‑type Netherworld Demon that had disguised itself as Wu Gang earlier that day.

It tossed a sharp demon blade in its hand, eyeing the two on the ground as if they were lambs awaiting slaughter.

"Idiots. A little provocation and you'll be fighting to the death."

The Netherworld Demon stepped forward and planted a foot on Xu Tingfei's chest:

"The General is right—humanity's flaws can't be erased. I'll take your summoners for the General, and your lives… as well."

The Netherworld Demon raised its demon blade, aiming at Xu Tingfei's neck.

Xu Tingfei's pupils contracted sharply; a flicker of despair crossed his eyes. Only then did he realize he'd been played.

Wu Gang also tried to struggle to his feet, but it was in vain.

……