Chapter 16: Demon Lord Candle Dragon!

The universe is filled with cold and loneliness.

At the edge of the galaxy, a massive formation spanning hundreds of thousands of light‑years shrouds the void, slowly turning.

Lu Chen materializes a body and stands alone atop the ruins, gazing into the depths of the starry sky.

On the undulating Heavenly Realm Great Wall, countless Immortal Qin clay soldiers are arrayed in utter, deafening silence.

This marks the second month of the human race repelling the demons.

Lu Chen can feel himself growing ever stronger, and the Zhou Tian Star Array likewise becomes increasingly stable.

The once‑dried divine power is now steadily beginning to recover.

Only, the Immortal Qin are gone; on this galactic border and the Heavenly Realm ruins, he is once again alone.

These days, Lu Chen has been trying to teach the Great Summer humans ever more powerful celestial arts.

He knows the demons have merely retreated, not perished, and could return at any moment.

With the Immortal Qin army gone, he must select a Heavenly Champion among the billions of humans to confront the endless tide of demons.

"Now, I am merged with the Zhou Tian Star Array, seemingly evolving toward the galactic Dao."

"The celestial essence accumulated by a million heavenly soldiers over tens of thousands of years flows into my body like a stream entering a dried riverbed, not even filling a ten‑thousandth."

"Yet with my current strength I can compare to a Primordial Demon God; if the celestial essence were sufficient, could I not transcend the Dao and command all heavens and realms?"

Lu Chen feels his own transformation and is secretly alarmed.

By sacrificing himself to mend the heavens, he seems to have embarked on a terrifying path that the gods desire yet dare not tread.

As long as he grows silently, he will be invincible! Yet he also knows that the three thousand Primordial Demon Gods will not grant him so much time! The myriad deities have paid a grievous price, grievously wounding three thousand demon gods, all to gamble for this slender chance! This is a battle of life and death, a struggle for the Dao's destiny! Months of calm foretell an even more dreadful calamity!

Lu Chen's gaze deepens, as if to pierce the universe's darkness.

Suddenly, a dread aura revives on the far side of the starry sky!

At this moment, countless beings across the universe shiver! Even the galactic border and the Zhou Tian Star Array ripple with waves.

Stars dim one by one, and as a pair of crimson eyes open in the darkness, billions of suns finally blaze forth.

Lu Chen's pupils contract sharply as the demon god on the far side of the starry sky looks directly at him!

The overwhelming aura makes Lu Chen's heart race! This is the first awakened demon god in a hundred thousand years—can the Zhou Tian Star Array hold him? Simultaneously, the entire Blue Star feels this terrifying presence.

It contains destruction yet boundless vitality, like countless shifting forms, elusive and heart‑pounding.

Within Great Summer, the pillars of light that embody each deity extinguish at this moment!

"What a dreadful aura—could a calamity be descending again?"

"What monster has awakened in the universe to be so terrifying?"

"Too slow, still too slow—our ancestors' celestial arts are beyond our current strength, which is not even equal to heavenly soldiers; we cannot relieve the ancestors' burdens!"

"Countless divine lights have gone out; that existence has severed the link between the ancestors and the deities!"

"What kind of existence can cross the galactic border and affect the Blue Star's ancestral lands?"

Many Great Summer folk felt their scalp tingle, their limbs turn cold from the aura, as if the end times had arrived and all hope was shrouded! At this moment, on the Blue Star, the twelve Demon‑Subduing Golden Statues begin to crack.

From the void, monster after monster—beast‑faced, human‑bodied—emerge wielding weapons.

Millions of Westerners crawl in worship at this moment. "This… this is a miracle!"

"Our deity has not abandoned us; the evil golden statues of the East have shattered, and they can no longer bind our freedom!"

"God, grant us divine power so we may annihilate those foolish Easterners!"

Countless Westerners weep, terrified during the days the Demon‑Subduing Golden Statues have suppressed them! They fear the Easterners who wield celestial arts might suddenly slaughter them! All deities before the golden statue appear dreadfully fearful, driving the Westerners into despair and rage.

Even they cannot leave the land guarded by the golden statues.

Such overwhelming power has terrified them to the utmost! After centuries of battling Great Summer, this is something they cannot endure.

"Lord Demon Lord, grant us divine grace to release your shackles!"

"Those among you with talent and great strength may receive the Demon Lord's blessing, step into the void, and fight for the deities!"

One demon after another, human‑bodied with beast faces, hovers aloft as if reciting divine scriptures.

The towering massive golden statues begin to collapse slowly.

The seal that suppressed the Westerners finally shatters! Before the overwhelming divine power, the Westerners erupt in ecstatic cheers, then tremble and kneel, begging the demons for divine power.

Countless Westerners are drawn into the void by the demons, disappearing one after another across the Blue Star.

Heavenly Realm, Galaxy.

Lu Chen looks solemnly into the void, feeling a world‑shattering energy rapidly approaching.

Suddenly, space beyond the galaxy is torn asunder!

A massive claw erupts from the center! The demon's body glows like molten iron, its size comparable to a huge star, black dragon horns crown its head, scales cover its form, crimson eyes fix rigidly on Lu Chen.

"Lu Chen, long time no see!"

"Back then the gods gave their lives to create us; you alone guarded this galactic pass and blocked three thousand Demon Lords—truly dazzling."

"But now that we have awakened, our strength has risen; do you still dare to resist?"

The demon god's voice is icy; the overwhelming aura strains the surrounding space.

Lu Chen feels an invisible pressure bearing down on the Zhou Tian Star Array; at this moment countless stars burst forth billions of divine light, just enough to fend off the onslaught! The entire universe seems to tremble at this instant!

"Demon Lord Tianyan!"

Lu Chen's gaze heavy, he speaks coldly.

There are three thousand Primordial Demon Gods, each wielding a powerful law.

The one before him, the Tianyan Demon Lord, can transform all things; the myriad demons were created and controlled by him! His strength ranks among the top of all demon lords.

If the name Tianxing is unfamiliar, he also bears a name known to the gods—Candle Dragon! On the Zhou Tian Star Array, several ripples arise, and the terrifying pressure from Candle Dragon suddenly dissipates.

"You truly have taken this path, sacrificing yourself to mend the heavens, becoming the galactic Dao!"

"But the gods have perished; do you truly intend to face us alone to the end?"

The Candle Dragon sighed, a hint of resentment in its breath! Suddenly, it erupted again!

A gigantic dragon claw, destroying countless stars, reached into the Milky Way!

(End of chapter)