Chapter 861: Shatter

"You..."

Dazai felt a secret sense of emptiness in his heart; he felt the eyes of the person opposite him were so black they didn't look like human eyes, as if they were that Black Hole. He had clearly attained a status similar to that of a god or Buddha, possessing the majesty to look down upon all living things, yet he still felt hollowed out by this pair of eyes. It was as if a minor deity had encountered the Heavenly Dao.

But even if he were a minor deity, how could the other party possibly be the Heavenly Dao? They were nothing more than a charlatan playing at being a god!

"You are even more arrogant than I; I merely gather the incense of the Human World, yet you actually compare yourself to the Heavenly Dao?" Dazai did not Ask Tang Zhao what that Black Hole actually was; he had already decided on Tang Zhao's madness, then forced himself to calm down and shouted: "It is nothing but a petty path, a disguised Sword Technique! There is no Sword Technique in the world that cannot be broken; if it cannot be broken, it is because the power is not yet strong enough! Come, give me power!"

He pressed his palms together, and the shadows of ten thousand living beings behind him began to move; they bent down as if picking something up from the ground, then held it high.

It was fire!

Every tiny human shadow held a cluster of fire in its hand; the fire was at most the size of a grain of rice or a Lamp, seemingly difficult to see clearly, but there were countless such phantoms, and as each person raised a fire, the flames gathered from few to many. At a glance, it looked like the stars in the sky; apart from the firelight, there was only more firelight!

"Throw!"

Dazai let out a roar, and every shadow threw the fire in its hand. Clusters of flames were like individual lit matches, swaying in the air, seemingly extinguishable by a gust of wind. However, when one cluster of fire touched another, the two balls of fire became one, burning even more vigorously and intensely. When two fires, three fires... ten fires, a hundred fires... ten million fires collided together, they finally burned into a single raging inferno, the brightness of the flames comparable to the sun!

And those matches were far too dense, making it very easy for them to collide; this gathering speed was incredibly fast. Tang Zhao watched as the flames grew larger and brighter in an instant, surging upward, the brilliance shooting straight into the nine heavens, finally becoming so dazzling and bright that it could not be looked at directly.

As for fire, Tang Zhao's fire was actually brighter and more dazzling—that was the pure Sunlight—but the light and flames here were merely light and flames, looking dazzling, while what Dazai gathered through the power of the masses included not just firelight, but endless power.

This power seemed to have no limit; the huge fist from just before had already displayed an indestructible power, but the power of the gathered flames this time was even greater than that fist. Furthermore, behind them, the living beings continued to pick up firewood and throw torches; they seemed to be felling trees on an invisible green mountain, wanting to throw every piece of firewood they could get into the flames, and every piece of firewood was a measure of power.

Finally, the flames reached a point where merely burning quietly was already terrifying to the extreme, and Dazai could control this fire, seemingly able to throw it out at will. However, he did not throw it, but instead kept it burning above his head, as if it were his halo as a god or Buddha.

"You thought I would attack with fire? Releasing fire—wouldn't that just play right into your hands? You think I don't see it? As Sunlight, you can command all flames; even if this is the fire of the Human World, the fire of human hearts, it might be drawn into your rules and controlled. After all, your Sword Law is unreasonable," Dazai said, staring at Tang Zhao.

He rambled on, but Tang Zhao did not answer and kept talking incessantly. This was not because he had nothing to say or was addicted to talking, but because he was probing. He probed again and again, but Tang Zhao remained unmoved, so he knew where he stood.

Tang Zhao's current defense was extremely formidable and had an inexplicable rule-based bonus, appearing indestructible, but it was definitely not without limits. The obvious limit should be—he could not speak, nor could he move!

Isn't this strategy the same as a Turtle Shell?

Dazai had quite a bit of experience in dealing with such a Turtle Shell: if one could find a weak point to break through, that would naturally be best; if one could not find it, it didn't matter—use powerful force to break it!

It just so happened that the opponent was not flexible and seemed unable to even attack actively, so they were just taking a beating. This was perfect for using a powerful gathering technique. It didn't matter if it delayed time, because he was the one holding the initiative!

As long as enough power is accumulated, there is no defense in the world that cannot be broken. This young man might have confidence in his defense, but the experience of countless predecessors had long told people—offense is the best defense.

The halo behind him grew larger and larger, and at the same time, Dazai's own power was soaring; that was pure physical power. Behind him, a human figure was forming.

Although there were already hundreds and thousands of shadows behind him, those shadows were merely believers looking up at the feet of a god or Buddha. The figure now being generated was the same size as him, a presence capable of being an avatar. Seeing that figure becoming clearer and clearer, with distinct facial features, it was exactly the same as him.

This was the "Self Image" within the Spirit Image! Only the most direct-line Spirit Official of the Great Wei could cultivate the Self Image. The Spirit Images of other Spirit Officials were the opposite of themselves, while this Self Image was identical to the Spirit Official and even more powerful. Dazai's Self Image looked exactly like him in age and appearance, but his attire was different; he did not wear the luxurious crown and robes representing the status of Dazai, but wore the armor of a military general. His temperament also completely lacked the scholarly air of Dazai; he was imposing and fierce, clearly a valiant warrior.

This was Dazai, yet not Dazai, or perhaps it was Dazai who had walked down another fork in the road.

Now, this valiant general was condensed with all the power gathered by everyone picking up firewood. The flames were Dazai's halo, but they were this great general's courage.

"Hah—"

With a loud roar, the great general soared into the air and threw a punch at Tang Zhao!

This was an earth-shattering punch; when he threw the punch, heaven and earth shook, all things trembled because of it, and that endless power blew the Sunlight so that it swayed like a flag!

How could light sway? Yet it was indeed moving; that was because space was shaken by the power, as if it were trembling, and even light had to sway along with it!

Dazai saw it; that patch of Black Hole was also shaking.

You can contain space, then I will shatter space along with it!

This time, it was still a fist!

But it was not the phantom fist of gathered power, but the clenched fist of the Spirit Image general; it was transformed by Spirit, yet no different from a real physical body. The Spirit Image is the person himself; that was Dazai's fist!

This punch will make you turn to dust!

This punch of his had no tricks; it rushed straight toward that Black Hole, which was the place with the strongest defense before.

A head-on confrontation, using strength to break strength!

If it were Dazai himself, he might choose a roundabout way to attack the weak point, but this was his Martial Spirit Image, which adopted this style of moving forward without hesitation and never taking detours.

Perhaps this made his path more difficult, but such boldness and courage allowed him to exert extraordinary power; when two armies meet, the brave one wins!

This punch slammed into it solidly!

In the process, it grazed the previous Sunlight cluster; it was slightly misaligned, so it hit a portion of the good Sunlight balls.

However, it did not receive any obstruction. Just now, that Sunlight was hit by the fist, shattering, sticking, and being flattened, engaging in a tug-of-war with the incoming power, yet this time it failed to exert any effect.

The Martial Spirit Image's punch was like piercing through a layer of window paper; there was not even any feeling, just like a wheel rolling over fallen leaves. The gap in power had reached this point; calling it a mantis trying to stop a chariot would be no problem at all.

Then, it was the Black Hole!

The Black Hole blocked the way; ahead was a bottomless abyss that seemed impossible to fill no matter what.

Until that punch arrived!

Boom!

The fist hit the Black Hole!

In an instant, the outline of the fist disappeared, as if it had hit the open mouth of a sack and was swallowed whole. It seemed that this real fist was also going to follow in the footsteps of the previous fist.

However, the next moment, the Black Hole began to shake!

The Black Hole, which had been deep and calm, as if it had never changed since ancient times, began to sway just like that cluster of Sunlight from before.

Sure enough, whether it was light or celestial phenomena, in the face of absolute power, there was no absolute immunity!

The Black Hole was shaking, but it still firmly locked onto the fist that had reached inside. This seemed to be a contest between the two sides—either one side swallowed all the power, or the other side punched through space and came out the other side of the pocket!

However, at this moment, the Martial Spirit Image that threw the punch moved; it made a choice different from that previous fist—

It raised its other fist!

"Take another punch from me!"

Its other fist hooked from another direction and smashed into the Black Hole.

The power of this punch was in no way inferior to the previous one, because the power it had gained was an enhancement to itself, not just a mere fist.

Whoosh—

This punch was not earth-shattering like the previous one; instead, it was silent.

Because the disintegration of the Black Hole was, in itself, silent.

Dazai saw that the Black Hole, which had seemed eternal, began to bend under the impact of the force, and it shattered after barely lasting the blink of an eye. The shattered Fragments did not explode, but instead annihilated in the air like bubbles.

Just as that fist had been annihilated by the Black Hole before, now the Black Hole itself was annihilated in the same way, leaving no trace in the Human World.

Victory!

Dazai was very pleased with himself; he wanted to grin, but the next moment he fell into a stupor.

A silent, soundless force, originating from nowhere, swept over and tore him toward the surroundings.

It was as if several wheels as large as high mountains had suddenly come from all directions and rolled over him; the turning of the wheels made no sound, and this sudden, destructive force was about to crush him easily in a mere instant.

"Save me!"

He roared in his heart, and with a single thought, those myriad living beings rushed up, using their bodies to bear the twisting force from all directions for him.

Those human shadows shattered layer by layer, and Dazai fell to the ground, shivering and huddled within a protective shell that was constantly being reinforced and constantly being annihilated, with nothing left but endless despair and a sliver of lucky hope.

Tang Zhao stood where he was, calmly watching the immense gravity tear apart and sweep through everything within his Look, thinking to himself:

So this is what it looks like after a Black Hole shatters?