Chapter 804: Seizing the Fu Kong Cheng

Time Stop ended, as if the pause button had been cancelled.

The scenes inside and outside the control room shifted from stillness to motion; voices, gunfire and explosions, all the sounds instantly rang out again, the Wizards kept a terrified expression for six seconds, then finally moved again.

"Stop it quickly!"

"GrandSpeaker..."

Each shout was filled with panic and anxiety, then suddenly turned into astonishment and stupefaction.

In everyone else's eyes, Korstted vanished instantly, replaced by Lei En standing there, the war hammer in his hand crackling with electric light, as if it had just smashed something, a cloud of ash scattering down.

Anxiwodasi's Soul Box in his hand was also gone.

"What happened?"

"What is this situation?"

The Wizards looked at each other, finding bewilderment in everyone's eyes.

Ordinary people, even legendary Wizards, find it hard to perceive the existence of Time Stop; from their perception, those six seconds simply vanished.

There was no buffering in the process.

There was no transition either; the effect was like a cut, jumping to the next frame without warning.

Only a few powerful legendary Wizards vaguely sensed something, including three Speakers and Ao Xiliya, who also possessed a Key of Doors. Her Key of Doors was stuck in the Six Rings, unable to resist the Time Stop effect, but perceptually it seemed to daze her, knowing that something definitely happened.

Speaker Ronnie's confusion was the greatest.

Because he had shouted loudly before Time Stop, he suddenly stopped for no reason, as if the transmission had cut off before he finished.

Moreover, he and a few of the fastest-reacting Wizards cast spells immediately, trying to stop Korstted, but everyone's casting was interrupted.

"GrandSpeaker?"

Kelaoaosi's gaze swept around, and with a cautious face asked, "Where did it go?"

"Korstted is already dead."

Anxiwodasi, as if just regaining his senses, gave Lei En a deep look, turned to face the Wizards outside the control room doors, and loudly proclaimed, "Everyone, the mastermind who four years ago murdered Weizelan Wizards and residents, the disgraceful traitor who betrayed Weizelan, Korstted, its Soul Box and soul have both been eradicated, finally paying the deserved price, we have completed the revenge!"

The Wizards trusted the GrandSpeaker without doubt, and instantly breathed a sigh of relief.

Then they were uplifted.

Successful revenge means Weizelan has achieved victory, and we have survived!

Seeing the Wizards appear a bit lax, Anxiwodasi immediately added, "The battle hasn't stopped; we are only one step away from perfect victory."

Bang bang bang…

Outside the control room doors, Extreme Warrior's Bolt Gun kept firing, the gunfire relentless, eliminating the residual undead that Korstted had teleported up before dying.

Yet amid the deafening gunfire, the Wizards protected behind the defensive line were suffused with a silent atmosphere.

Everyone looked toward the Iola Core in the control room.

It is the final step.

Korstted is dead; its soul binding with the Iola Core has automatically been released. At this moment, the Iola Core is ownerless; whoever can control it can obtain a Fu Kong Cheng!

It is not only Holy Soul Wizards who can control a Fu Kong Cheng.

A legendary Wizard is enough.

Not even a legendary Wizard is needed; any spellcaster can become the owner of a Fu Kong Cheng.

The world's most powerful magical artifact, its might comparable to a divine relic, the Fu Kong Cheng valued at least hundreds of millions of Gold Shields, the ultimate dream of all spellcasters is right before them—who could remain unmoved?

Even knowing they have no chance, the Wizards' gazes still changed.

Several Weizelan Speakers also fell silent.

To outsiders, they all seemed to have a chance, but in truth they knew well that this Fu Kong Cheng belonged to Lei En.

In earlier war councils, Anxiwodasi repeatedly emphasized this point; the whole plan was proposed by Lei En, who also recruited five Saint Rank elites, dispatched Extreme Warriors and Thundercast Celestial Soldiers, supplied massive combat resources, and even provided the location of the Fu Kong Cheng.

Without Lei En, invading the Fu Kong Cheng and killing Korstted would have been impossible.

At least seventy percent of this victory is Lei En's credit.

Yet a Fu Kong Cheng lies within easy reach ahead; such an opportunity comes only once in a lifetime—miss it and it will never return.

The Speakers couldn't help their minds wandering.

Their gazes swung between the Iola Core and Lei En, flashing complex light in their eyes, but ultimately they remained silent.

"Lei En."

Anxiwodasi, however, showed no hesitation, calmly saying, "You go, seize control of the Iola Core, and claim the Fu Kong Cheng that belongs to you."

At those words, most Wizards' faces showed disappointment.

Even though they knew the Fu Kong Cheng's ownership had long been decided, hearing the GrandSpeaker speak it, the boot hitting the ground, shattered that faint hope, leaving the Wizards' hearts hollow, as if they missed a hundred million.

A few Wizards couldn't help but speak up.

Anxiwodasi immediately cast a fierce gaze; the Holy Soul Wizard's intimidating stare made their souls tremble, and not a single word could be uttered.

Lei En completely ignored the Wizards' reaction.

The Fu Kong Cheng is rightfully mine; anyone who doesn't know better and still jumps out now to snatch it from me, don't blame me for tearing off my mask.

His spirit leapt to the side of the Iola Core, hovering mid‑air to observe it.

Although it wasn't his first time seeing the Iola Core, this was his first close‑up observation. The Iola Core appears as a massive crystal sphere, about two meters in diameter, flawless, continuously emitting a faint violet glow outward.

It is like a sun that never extinguishes, its energy endless.

This energy is not generated in a void, but drawn from the omnipresent Abyss; the Iola Core is essentially an energy transmission device, siphoning chaotic Abyssal energy, taming it, and converting it into a milder, usable form.

The Abyss has no end, infinitely vast.

The Prime Material Plane, planes, sub‑planes, star realms, heavens, and Abyss coexist with the Abyss; it is the substrate of all spatial forms, containing energy of all properties.

And the Iola Core is like a valve installed in the Abyss, continuously drawing energy, which flows out from the valve.

As long as the Abyss endures, the energy is inexhaustible!

The Iola Core's energy output has an upper limit; within the allowed range, the amount of energy can be controlled arbitrarily, gradually increased or decreased. Moreover, it has a safety mechanism that automatically reduces the output to the minimum in an emergency, thus ensuring safety.

At this moment the Iola Core's energy output is at its lowest point, almost stagnant.

Lei En is so close to it that he only feels a faint energy fluctuation; the emitted light is not dazzling, and the temperature is not high.

The All-Seeing Eye pierces the crystal shell.

At once, layer upon layer of complex interior structures unfold before his eyes, like a peculiar artificial onion with hundreds of layers from outside in, resembling the most precise instrument, reminding him of the fusion device from his past life, though the principles are entirely different.

These multilayered structures are forged from expensive, rare alchemical materials, etched with countless dense runes, forming a profound rune array.

The massive energy flows through the rune array, glittering, making its interior bright and translucent, as if formed from condensed energy.

Deep within the core of the crystal sphere lies a ball of fire.

The fire's color is indescribable; at first it appears silver, then instantly shifts to violet, randomly changing like a rainbow, its shape ever‑changing, each flicker of flame accompanied by extremely fine runes flashing—utterly mysterious.

The energy streams out from this strange fire, beginning to be tamed and transformed.

Lei En stared in awe for a few seconds.

The world's first Iola Core was invented by Augulevi Master.

However, rumors say Augulevi Master created the Iola Core only under the revelation and aid of the God of Magic, the one in the Naiser Fu Kong Cheng.

Subsequent Iola Cores all require another Iola Core to activate before they can be used.

This mysterious flame should be the key to activating the Iola Core, and the entire interior structure operates around it.

Lei En sensed a familiar aura within it.

God of Magic!

He has received the deity's response many times when praying to the goddess, witnessed its oracle and blessings in major rites, even seen its saintly incarnation, and will never forget this divine power unique to the God of Magic.

So the rumors were true; the birth of the Iola Core is closely tied to the God of Magic.

"First get it in hand, then study it."

Lei En inhaled deeply, pressed his hand onto the Iola Core's surface; it felt extremely hard, slightly warm, but caused no discomfort.

The Iola Core's shell is exceptionally sturdy and has energy protection; even the Nine-ring Technique cannot break it. Any spell energy attacking it is devoured, transformed into new energy and emitted, its effect similar to a legendary Element Energy Furnace, but stronger.

A stream of information flows into Lei En's mind, detailing how to master this Iola Core.

It's simple, much like the mastery of many magical items; one only needs to leave one's own soul imprint.

However, the Iola Core works the opposite way.

When it is ownerless and someone touches it, the Iola Core actively transmits a series of complex rune imprints, requesting to merge with a soul and establish a link.

Responding to this request causes the Iola Core to become soul‑bound.

Unless the owner's soul dissipates or they voluntarily release the soul‑binding, no one can seize this control.

"It's quite intelligent."

Lei En mentally evaluated it and immediately agreed.

At once, the rune array that entered his mind altered; in the soul space, directly above the World Tree a miniature crystal sphere, identical in appearance to the Iola Core, appeared, radiating light like a sun illuminating the entire soul space.

The soul‑binding completed in less than a minute.

Lei En released his hand.

In his vision, a projection of an Iola Core materialized, slowly rotating; only he could see it, and it resembled a smartphone interface.

After mastering the Iola Core, all permissions of Fu Kong Cheng opened to him.

Lei En's thoughts shifted.

In his vision, around the Iola Core projection a phantom pyramid appeared—that is Fu Kong Cheng—able to zoom like a camera, enlarging the view to see every floor, room, and corner of Fu Kong Cheng in real time.

Simultaneously, a massive influx of information streamed into his brain.

These data include dozens of rune formations arranged within Fu Kong Cheng; four are the largest and most crucial: the Nether Barrier defending against enemies, the Ten-ring Spell Death Punishment, the gravity‑reversal technique that sustains levitation, and the Leap!

The other rune formations each have different functions.

Energy transmission regulation, flight, cruise stabilizer, teleportation, intrusion pre‑warning, area detection, portal switching, entrances and exits, internal structural protection, spell attacks, self‑repair, and so on.

This is a massive magical machine.

Every second, a huge amount of information must be processed; even a Saint Rank caster needs a long time at first to adapt, learning to filter out useless data and handle only the important parts.

Lei En closed his eyes and activated the multi‑core crystal.

It took only a few seconds.

He fully grasped Fu Kong Cheng's status, reviewing all data. Fu Kong Cheng's condition is dire: four energy nodes were destroyed during the Leap, the Leap was forcibly aborted, the massive energy recoil damaged nearly a third of the rune formations.

The Iola Core stores Fu Kong Cheng's operation log.

Lei En has already finished reading it.

After the Leap was interrupted, Korstted immediately poured backup energy into repairing the Leap formation, restoring part of it, but it is still far from usable.

The crucial point is that the four energy nodes exploded; alchemical materials must be invested to repair them.

Lei En opened his eyes.

"How's it going?" Anxiwodasi asked hurriedly.

Lei En nodded, "Master, I have already mastered this Fu Kong Cheng."

As he spoke, he glanced at the Iola Core beside him; in the control room he can draw its energy without limit for casting, but to cast on targets outside the control room he can only use the limited backup energy.

Lei En casually lowered his hand.

The four squads scattered across Fu Kong Cheng's layers were battling within the Undead Army when, suddenly, the undead before them were teleported away.

They froze, seeing the Thundercast Celestial Soldier, who had been brandishing a mithril staff, dispel the temporal‑spatial disturbance.

The next second, everyone was teleported to the upper level, appearing in the great hall outside the control room, while the remaining undead were sent back to the lower‑level barracks.

In the unseen lower level, the passages to the middle and upper levels were sealed.

The Undead Army was divided into separate barracks; the rune formations activated, turning into cages that trapped them, making it hard for them to even breach the walls.

In the blink of an eye, the Fu Kong Cheng fell quiet.

The Transcendent Army led by four Saint Rank strongmen saw the Extreme Warriors forming a human wall beside them, the broken control room doors, and a group of Weizelan Wizards; their gazes turned into the control room and at a glance they saw Lei En hovering next to the Iola Core.

It was only then that they understood what had happened.

"We won!"

(End of Chapter)