Chapter 545: Heavenly King Battle

The seventh layer of the Tower of Heart.

"Three King-level heart beasts? You have reason to be proud—but it's not enough!"

The seventh-layer guardian did not notice the anomaly in Erha; the Lava Giant emitted a thunderous roar.

"Certainly not enough."

Fang Xing chuckled lightly and slapped his hand casually: "Come out!"

Whoosh!

His Sacred Scripture flipped to the final page, and a black radiance shot forth.

Within the black radiance stood a colossal, jet-black ant.

It was the size of a grinding stone, entirely black with golden patterns, its back bearing a pair of transparent, thin wings, and its mandibles looking terrifyingly sharp.

"Upper King-level—Titan Demon Ant?"

The seventh-layer guardian's voice grew grave.

Even among King-quality heart beasts, there are tiers.

The Titan Demon Ant, though an insect-type, ranks among King-quality due to its terrifying strength!

Moreover, compared to ordinary Titan Ants, this one has clearly undergone mutation!

In fact, its cultivation level seems to have reached ten thousand years!

This is a heart beast powerful enough to fight his Lava Giant!

"Four already!"

Outside, Nan Gong Qiushui clenched her tiny fists secretly: "If only one more King-level heart beast appears, it'll be evenly matched… Maybe he really can win the Heavenly King Battle!"

Fang Xing, the center of all eyes and laden with silent expectation, merely smiled lightly:

"Begin!"

"Begin… you only have four Kings?"

The seventh-layer guardian sighed slightly; this was a massive disadvantage from the start.

"What? Only four?"

The other drivers outside also felt regret, yet found it perfectly reasonable.

After all, for an ordinary driver, assembling four King-level heart beasts is already astonishing.

"No! All five of my heart beasts are on the field."

Fang Xing shook his head slightly.

Ever since deciding to challenge the Tower of Heart, he resolved to strictly follow the rules.

And the Tower of Heart permits only five-on-five battles!

In truth, his fifth heart beast rests upon the shadow of the Wind God Pterodactyl—it is Emperor-quality "Ghost Shadow!"

"This is a force suspected of possessing transcendence-level heritage… I must follow the rules. Otherwise, wouldn't I just be inviting trouble?"

"Even if the opposing driver hasn't noticed, who knows if the Heart Tower has a Tower Spirit or something similar? Cutting corners now would only lead to humiliation later—no fun at all."

Fang Xing's awareness remained crystal clear; even though his true self was a Fa-Zhu cultivator, he still had to show humility before a force with transcendence-level heritage!

This was also why he had previously offered gold to the Heart Sanctum several times.

"And… do I not wish to field all Emperor-level heart beasts? I simply can't find any…"

Mentioning this, Fang Xing internally sighed with frustration.

Over the years, he had traveled every corner of the world, braving every peril and dead zone… yet in this world, King-quality heart beasts were exceedingly rare. The Infernal Whipping Willow and the Titan Demon Ant were both hard-won finds—just barely compatible with his Destruction Domain and aligned with his Dao comprehension plan.

As for Emperor-quality heart beasts?

Aside from the "Ghost Shadow" his younger brother had revealed, he had never seen a second one.

"Looking at this… perhaps Fang Leng is truly the world's real 'protagonist'? At least, he's the current chosen one of fortune. Once 'Ghost Shadow' fully matures, he could easily sweep through the fifth layer of the Tower of Heart—perhaps even clear the eighth or ninth layers…"

As Fang Xing drifted into daydreams, the opposing Lava Giant began to move.

"Five heart beasts?"

"So there's a hidden King… but I've already fused with my core heart beast—no weaknesses left, no fear of assassination."

The seventh-layer guardian's voice carried no interest: "Attack!"

In the sky, a giant bird clashed fiercely with the Wind God Pterodactyl.

The two seemed evenly matched.

In the desert, the Flame Horse King, towering like a city wall, began to gallop, leaving fiery hoofprints across the sand.

Within those hoofprints, even the sand was burned into glass-like substances.

In the desert, countless man-eating flower offspring grew and spread, nearly forming a sea of man-eating flowers.

Their razor-sharp sepals bit furiously toward Fang Xing.

"The real attack is on the ground?"

Fang Xing leaned against the Infernal Whipping Willow and said calmly: "Root!"

The Infernal Whipping Willow's root system was extraordinarily developed, spreading beneath the ground like a net.

Boom!

The desert erupted as a colossal stone serpent, wrapped in countless roots, was flung into the air.

"Vine Whip!"

Crack! Crack!

The Willow's branches fell like steel whips, studded with countless sharp barbs, lashing the sea of man-eating flowers into a gruesome mess.

Only when facing the Flame Horse King's flames did the branches burn and snap.

Yet on the Infernal Whipping Willow, green rings appeared, absorbing blood while healing itself.

It looked as if Fang Xing, commanding just one King-level heart beast, was holding his own against the guardian's three King-level beasts, revealing astonishing control.

"Heavenly King-level!"

"His technique and awareness are unquestionably Heavenly King-level!"

Nan Gong Qiushui watched the projections, her expression excited: "Still a fight!"

…

"Blood absorption and recovery? A troublesome ability indeed…"

The seventh-layer guardian ordered: "Man-eating flowers—cease spreading the sea…" The man-eating flower sea was best for clearing weak foes and served as an excellent drain skill.

But against the Infernal Whipping Willow, it risked becoming a "blood bag"—he would not continue.

"Man-eating flowers—paralyzing powder!"

The seventh-layer guardian immediately changed tactics: "Earth Rock Serpent—Earth Spear Formation!"

Neigh!

The Flame Horse King roared, its entire body engulfed in flames, restraining the Willow ahead.

Then, the man-eating flowers bloomed, releasing clouds of powder.

The desert split open as countless giant earth spears thrust upward, clearly targeting the Infernal Whipping Willow's roots.

All were King-level heart beasts; holding off three at once was still a stretch.

"You still have the luxury to command?"

Fang Xing watched this scene and smiled faintly.

In one glance…

Zip!

As soon as he spoke, the Titan Demon Ant leapt—like a cannonball fired from its barrel!

It is well known that ants possess extraordinary strength, proportional to their body weight by hundreds of times.

Heart-beast ants are even more astonishing—potentially thousands or even tens of thousands of times!

This Titan Ant's body was already immeasurably heavier than steel.

The burst of power it unleashed was terrifying.

On the Heart Tower plaza, every driver witnessed an unbelievable sight.

The Titan Demon Ant leapt and struck the Lava Giant squarely on the chest.

Then… the Lava Giant was blasted backward, molten rock scattering through the air!

As if a man had been knocked down by a jumping ant!

What the Titan Demon Ant displayed was absolute power!

"Truly formidable strength… but still insufficient to defeat me."

Whoosh!

After landing, the Lava Giant was engulfed by surging desert sand; countless earth elements surged forth, rushing into its body.

The wound on its chest healed rapidly, and it rose again.

"It's 'Earth Recovery'! That's a divine technique of earth drivers!"

Nan Gong Qiushui felt despair rising: "Though the Titan Demon Ant holds the upper hand, it cannot defeat the Lava Giant in a short time… the Pterodactyl and Sky Sparrow are evenly matched—worse, the Infernal Whipping Willow will soon be breached; what use is the last King-level dog?"

"Why are you still holding back that dog? Release it and fight now!"

…

"Pathetic mutual brawling!"

Fang Xing tore his gaze from the two birds squabbling in the sky and turned back to the battlefield.

"Is the seventh layer of the Tower of Heart really this difficult? I've only used one-tenth of my strength—it's clearly not enough."

"Then I'll use half again as much power."

He came here with the intention of connecting all nine layers and uncovering the greatest secret of the Heart Tower.

The ones fighting now are merely three of his least favored laborer heart beasts.

"Erha, start the fight!"

Fang Xing gave the order.

"Aowu… Wangwang!"

Upon hearing this, Erha immediately stood up, its eyes visibly brightening.

It let out a howl, part wolf, part dog; a bluish-black radiance engulfed the entire desert, as if space itself had instantly changed.

——Domain of Destruction!

Beneath the Domain of Destruction, strange patterns surfaced on the Hell-Beating Willow's body, spontaneously igniting into roaring flames, granting it fire resistance.

Countless branches formed a vine net, not only resisting the Infernal Horse King's blazing flames but also wrapping back toward the Horse King.

The Titan Demon Ant's power surged instantly, piercing through the Lava Giant's heart!

In midair, the Wind God Pterodactyl received no boost from the Domain of Destruction, but the opposing Sky Sparrow was suppressed and weakened by the domain's force, immediately falling on the defensive.

The Wind God Pterodactyl opened its birdlike beak, countless serrated teeth locking tightly onto the Sky Sparrow's wings; both tumbled through the air in death spirals before crashing to the ground…

Boom!

Dust erupted, completely obscuring the view.

"Damn… I can't see anything."

"Damn it, if I were there in person… I could use my 'Thousand-Mile Mirror' heart beast to pierce through the fog, but this projection—what you can't see, you just can't see…"

"What just happened? That dog seemed to release a domain?"

"No, I thought I heard a wolf howl."

"No, it was a dog bark—a dog that looked just like a wolf!"

"No, it was a wolf that looked just like a dog!"

Nangong Qiushui was certain: he had been deceived by the appearance of that dog-beast—no, wolf-beast!

"I knew it… how could a King-level Master's core heart beast be weak? If it were too weak, it couldn't possibly control the Hell-Beating Willow or the Titan Ant…"

Nangong Qiushui's eyes burned with longing: "One day, I too will…"

At that moment, the Heart Tower roared again.

Streams of radiance flowed and exploded—brilliant as fireworks.

"Is this…?"

"Someone has passed the seventh layer of the Heart Tower! They've won the Heavenly King Battle!"

At that instant, countless people in the Heart Capital turned their gaze toward the Heart Tower: "A new Heavenly King… has been born!"

(End of Chapter)