Chapter 38: Twin Heroes

"No way!" Zhang Tiangang shouted, his form turning into lightning, blocking the Spirit Lord.

The Spirit Lord's face was cold and twisted; although it looked identical to Zhang Yuyao, it radiated pure malice: "With these lingering fragments of consciousness, you dare to block me?"

In an instant the two had already exchanged dozens of rounds, the sound of bursting qi streams continuous, surrounding instruments spewed erratic electric arcs, some exploding outright.

Zhang Jun's yin‑yang eyes fixed on the Spirit Lord, his left eye a bottomless darkness, his right eye blazing with golden light. The yin‑yang energy within him surged endlessly, and he saw clearly—the Spirit Lord's body contained two light spheres violently colliding, and the tiny yet tenacious speck of light was unmistakably his mother's consciousness!

"Mom! Wake up quickly!" Zhang Jun croaked, every cell in his body shouting, the yin‑yang power gushing out like a broken dam.

The Spirit Lord's movement suddenly stalled, facial muscles twitching, two completely different voices alternated from the same mouth: "Get… get out of here!" "Son… hurry and stop it…"

Zhang Tiangang seized the moment, pressing his palm to the Spirit Lord's chest; the Spirit Lord was hurled backward, smashing a wall display screen, black blood spilling from his mouth.

The Spirit Lord staggered to his feet, purple energy raging through his body, broken bones cracking and re‑joining: "This body has long belonged to me; your efforts are futile!"

"Anyone can tell a tall tale," Zhang Tiangang said coldly, flashing a smile, pulling a pigeon‑egg‑sized metal sphere from his right hand and flicking it with a fingertip.

The metal sphere burst in midair, turning into countless silver needles that pierced the Spirit Lord's body en masse. The Spirit Lord emitted an ear‑piercing scream, convulsing, his purple aura flickering erratically.

"Nanorobots?" Zhang Jun suddenly recalled his father's notes that mentioned this anti‑enemy technology.

"A gift tailor‑made for you," Zhang Tiangang panted, veins bulging on his forehead, "this thing can temporarily suppress your energy, but not for long."

Zhang Jun lunged forward, both hands gripping the Spirit Lord's head tightly, pouring a steady stream of yin‑yang power into him.

"Mom, come home with me!"

In an instant, Zhang Jun's consciousness was pulled into another realm. Chaos surrounded him, and at the center of a twisted purple energy vortex a speck of faint light was firmly trapped.

"Mom!" Zhang Jun charged toward the light, but the purple energy formed a thick wall, blocking his path.

"Go quickly… this place is too dangerous…" his mother's weak voice came in broken fragments.

"I refuse to leave!" Zhang Jun gritted his teeth, unleashing the full force of his yin‑yang power, tearing through the energy barrier, rushing into the core of the light sphere to clutch his mother's consciousness, "Let's together drive this damned thing out!"

Gold‑blue interwoven light radiated from the mother‑son embrace, beginning to devour the surrounding purple energy.

In reality, the Spirit Lord trembled violently, his facial muscles contorting and deforming.

"Impossible… how dare you…" the Spirit Lord's voice shattered, unable to form a sentence.

The purple vortex above the city began to pulse violently, the Dimensional Gate flickering on and off.

"Close the spiritual bridge quickly!" Lin Yuehua's weak voice came from the console.

The Spirit Lord waved his hand, firing a purple beam straight at Lin Yuehua. Zhang Tiangang scrambled to block it, but it was already too late.

At the last possible moment, Lin Xue flashed before her mother, unleashing ice‑soul power, forming a massive ice shield. The purple beam struck the shield, cracking it all over, yet never penetrating.

"Xue'er!"

"It's fine, Mom." Lin Xue grasped Lin Yuehua's hand, "Together, we'll shut this broken gate!"

Mother and daughter worked the console together, attempting to cut off the energy supply. The Spirit Lord launched another assault, a deluge of purple beams sweeping down.

Runes on Zhang Jun's forearms suddenly flared, gold‑blue light weaving into a complex pattern. A flash of insight struck his mind, and he suddenly felt he could control everything around him.

With a slight shift of thought, the metal apparatuses in the lab twisted and reshaped, turning into blades that shot at the Spirit Lord. Caught off guard, the Spirit Lord was pierced in several places, emitting a mournful howl.

"Now!" Zhang Jun roared, pouring all his yin‑yang power into his mother's consciousness.

Inside the Spirit Lord, gold‑blue light surged, completely devouring the purple energy.

"No—" the Spirit Lord wailed in despair, his body disintegrating into specks of purple light that drifted into the air.

Above the city, the purple vortex collapsed instantly, the Dimensional Gate's light vanishing without a trace.

Zhang Jun slowly opened his eyes, feeling a metamorphosis within his body. Everything around him became clear to his mind; each person's energy fluctuations, even their fate trajectories, were vividly visible.

He turned his head toward Lin Xue; she had also changed, her aura purer and far stronger.

"Did we succeed?" Lin Xue's voice trembled.

Zhang Jun nodded, smiling: "We succeeded."

He walked to his mother's side, helping her up: "Mom, are you okay now?"

Zhang Yuyao opened her eyes: "Son, I'm back."

Mother and son embraced, and Lin Yuehua also clung tightly to Lin Xue. On everyone's faces appeared the expression of survivors after a calamity.

Only Zhang Tiangang wore a solemn expression.

He walked to Zhang Jun's side: "Son, the real battle is just beginning."

"What do you mean?"

Zhang Tiangang pointed at the console screen, where a red countdown was ticking continuously.

"What is this?"

"Although the Dimensional Gate is closed, the outer‑world spiritual entities have locked onto Earth's coordinates," Zhang Tiangang said gravely, "they will inevitably return."

"Then what should we do?" Lin Xue asked.

Zhang Tiangang looked at the two: "You are the last hope."

"Us?"

"Exactly. Your bloodlines contain the ultimate power to oppose the outer‑world spiritual entities."

"Only you can end this war."

"Only you can protect this world."

Zhang Jun and Lin Xue felt a shock in their hearts, realizing their destinies were now tightly bound to the world.

Zhang Jun exhaled: "Then let's do it, who said we have good luck?"

Lin Xue rolled her eyes: "Good luck? You call that good luck?"

"Close the spiritual bridge… quickly…"

Lin Yuehua gasped, her fingertips darting across the console, pressing the complex light‑key combinations one by one. Cold sweat slid from the corner of her forehead, smearing her eye makeup into a gray streak.

The Spirit Lord would not relent. That stolen face—Zhang Yuyao's face—twisted into a snarling mask. Purple light spewed from its fingertips, instantly forming a death net that enveloped Lin Yuehua.

Zhang Tiangang struggled desperately, but another force from the Spirit Lord restrained him, as if bound by an invisible chain, rendering him immobile.

"Mom!"

Lin Xue suddenly surged out from the side, without any warning, and blocked her mother. She pushed outward with both hands, unleashing a torrent of icy soul force that exploded and solidified into a massive ice wall.

The purple energy slammed into the ice wall, emitting a screech that made one's teeth ache.

The ice wall quickly became riddled with spider‑web‑like cracks.

"You…" Lin Yuehua's eyes were filled with anguish, yet a hint of unprecedented pride also surfaced.

"Shut up, save your strength and close this broken door." Lin Xue gripped her mother's hand, and icy blue light spread from where they clasped, "What's this little purple light, can the two of us, mother and I, still subdue it?"

The mother and daughter's four hands danced over the console, cooperating in perfect sync as they entered a string of complex commands.

The Spirit Lord erupted in fury, launching three consecutive attacks, each fiercer than the last. Purple energy surged from all directions, forming a tightening encirclement.

Zhang Tiangang's face turned ashen, helplessly watching the lethal energy draw near the two women.

"Fuck!"

Zhang Jun's eyes bloodshot, he let out a curse. He felt every cell in his body burning, an unfamiliar power coursing through his veins, boiling like molten lava.

On his arm, the mysterious runes ignited. Golden and blue lights intertwined, flowing like a living thing, eventually forming a pattern he had never seen yet felt oddly familiar.

What is this?

A voice in his mind told him: this is the key that controls all things.

He hesitated for a second, then decided to give it a try.

His thoughts flickered, and every metallic object in the laboratory began to tremble, warp, reshape, and recombine—then transformed into countless blades that flew toward the Spirit Lord.

The Spirit Lord was caught off guard by the sudden metallic storm, his body pierced in several places, and the sound he emitted was neither human nor any earthly creature's—sharp and grating, like two metal plates scraping against each other.