"Hmph! You think King Peir is deposed just because you say so? Besides, once I obtain Earth's Core Crystal, cosmic law dictates I automatically become the King of the Milky Way. When that time comes, I won't need anyone's judgment—I will be justice!" Lufa retorted.
Ren Kurogane nodded slightly. Lufa's current mindset was perfect.
"Words are useless. Let's fight!"
The three launched their assault on Lufa simultaneously!
Xiao Fei spun his double-bladed weapon, cleaving downward at Lufa, but the old monster executed a quick backstep, effortlessly dodging the strike. At the same time, Lufa used his shoulder to ram Xiao Tian's sword aside while slipping past Ren's axe, making the heavy blade swing through empty air.
The next moment, Ren adjusted his stance fluidly, swinging the axe horizontally in a follow-up slash.
Sparks fly!
With a flash of friction, Lufa merely took a single step back, otherwise showing no significant reaction.
"What?!" Ren was shocked. Wasn't it said that without the Purest Qi, a user couldn't tap into the true power of the Shura Armor? Why did his attack hit Lufa but fail to cause any real damage?
"Shadow Cyclone Slash!"
Xiao Fei roared, twirling his massive blade with both hands and burying it straight into Lufa's chest!
SPARK—!!!
Another brilliant cascade of fire exploded from the impact, but Lufa didn't move an inch this time, taking Xiao Fei's attack squarely while remaining rooted to the spot.
"Hehe, are you just scratching an itch for me?" Lufa sneered disdainfully.
The Shura Armor granted him absolute, unshakeable confidence. Even facing three upgraded armors simultaneously, Lufa didn't care for them at all.
"Let me show you the true majesty of the Shura Armor! Shura Wind-Cleaving Claws!"
Lufa tapped the summoner twice, and two golden claws manifested over his right hand.
Seeing the Shura Armor summon its weaponry, Ren instantly grew tense. Swiping his belt, a card flew into his hand. He slotted it into the Thunder-Steel Explosive Axe, causing the weapon's energy signature to surge exponentially.
"Let's see what this ultimate armor can actually do! Diamond Bursting Slash!"
Ren bellowed, swinging the one-handed axe and unleashing a golden arc of destructive energy flying straight at Lufa!
"Hehe! Overestimating your weight!" Lufa mocked. Raising his arm clad in the Wind-Cleaving Claws, several purple energy lacerations shot forth, colliding with Ren's attack mid-air!
RUMBLE!!!
A violent explosion tore through the clearing, forcing both Ren and Lufa back two steps simultaneously!
"Ren! Are you okay?!" Xiao Tian called out with concern.
"I'm fine. A tiny bit of recoil like this isn't enough to scratch me," Ren replied.
Meanwhile, Lufa's face was filled with utter astonishment.
This kid can actually go toe-to-toe with the Shura Armor?! Lufa shouted internally, but he quickly re-calibrated his composure. No! I merely deployed a casual metric just now, whereas he had to use his absolute finisher. We are fundamentally not on the same level.
Steadying his mind, Lufa puffed out his chest arrogantly once more, pointing at Ren. "Brat, your raw power is commendable, but compared to the majesty of Shura, you remain completely insignificant!"
Ren didn't counter his words. The Shura Armor was undeniably terrifying; even in its baseline operating state, the three upgraded main armors couldn't lock it down effectively.
Furthermore, the Shura Armor itself possessed an evolutionary path! As for how massive that upgrade threshold was, Ren knew better than anyone.
Thinking up to this point, his resolve to seize the Shura Armor grew even firmer.
But why is this old fox holding back his absolute finishers? Bring out the ultimate weapons! Drain the Shura Armor's battery quickly so I can sweep in and clean up the pieces! Ren thought.
Lufa also felt that playing around with these minor suits was getting tiresome. "Whatever. I shall permit you to witness the true limit of Shura, so your final moments won't be entirely wasted!"
Pressing a sequence on his summoner, a massive blade manifested in Lufa's grip.
"Shura Purgatory Blade!"
"Come! Comprehend the absolute chasm of power that separates us!"
With those words, Lufa covered the distance in two giant strides, bringing the massive blade down toward Xiao Tian in a brutal vertical cleave!
Xiao Tian showed no fear, gripping his longsword with both hands and raising it horizontally to parry the strike!
BOOM!
A terrifying, suffocating kinetic force traveled down the sword, causing Xiao Tian's frame to tremble uncontrollably as the sheer weight forced him down onto one knee!
"Xiao Tian!"
Ren and Xiao Fei synchronized their assault, unleashing two heavy energy waves that slammed into Lufa, forcing him back two steps.
What is happening? How can they possibly bypass my defenses and hurt me? Lufa thought in sudden confusion.
But Ren and Xiao Fei's relentless combination attack was already upon him. Xiao Fei was aerodynamic and blisteringly fast, constantly shifting his position to rain strikes from every blind spot across his perimeter. Ren was as steady and unmoving as a mountain, deploying crushing, heavy strikes directly from the front, forcing Lufa to dedicate the vast majority of his tactical focus to parry him.
As the exchange dragged on, Ren realized that Lufa's kinetic output was rapidly degrading. By now, the monster's raw physical strength had fallen below his own!
A surge of triumph washed over Ren as he thought: The battery is finally running dry! It paid off to pressure his morals earlier!
"I'll back you up!" Xiao Tian roared, leaping high into the air and burying his longsword into Lufa's armor, releasing a brilliant cascade of sparks!
"AAAAHHH!!!" Lufa shrieked. His dark energy flared in a desperate, volatile explosion, unleashing a terrifying purple shockwave that hurled all three heroes across the plaza!
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
A sequence of explosions tore up the concrete. Ren locked his optics onto Lufa, shouting through the comms to his comrades: "The old monster is running on empty! Initiate finishers simultaneously to end him!"
"Understood!"
The two agreed instantly, drawing their absolute finality cards!
"Solar Heavenly Execution Slash!"
"Cyclone Lightning Slash!"
"Diamond Thunder Strike!"
The three unleashed their total power in unison, three devastating streaks of energy slicing clean through Lufa's body!
BZZZ-ZT—
Violent arcs of electrical failure crackled across Lufa's frame. The next instant, the Shura Armor forcibly desynchronized and deactivated, falling to the concrete and revealing Lufa's true, raw form!
"AAAAAAAH! Impossible! You three wet-behind-the-ears brats... how could you possibly best a General?!" Lufa shrieked in absolute fury. He lunged forward, scrambling to reclaim the Shura Armor summoner lying on the concrete, but Ren was a fraction of a heartbeat faster!
"Earth-Cleaving Slash!"
A golden energy arc tore through Lufa, setting his form ablaze with searing golden fire!
"Lufa, the Shura Armor is better left in my custody. You... no longer possess the qualities to wield it," Ren said fluidly.
He walked over to Lufa, and under the monster's wide, bloodshot glare, he calmly picked up the Shura Armor summoner from the concrete. The ultimate armor of the Milky Way was finally in his hands!
The sheer joy in Ren's heart was beyond description; he wanted nothing more than to activate it immediately to test its apex parameters. However, his remaining discipline reminded him that it wasn't time to celebrate yet—finishing Lufa for good was the priority.
Tucking the summoner away, Ren raised his axe and delivered a decisive downward cleave without a second's hesitation!
"Perish!"
BOOM!!!
Following a violent explosion, General Lufa—who had terrorized and conquered sectors across the galaxy for tens of thousands of years—was completely blasted into a floating QR code matrix. Ren waved his hand, sealing Lufa's code into his database, and deactivated his armor.
"Phew! It's finally settled!" Ren smiled with intense satisfaction, the Shura summoner burning a hole in his pocket.
"Ren, why did Lufa's energy output suddenly collapse toward the end?" Xiao Tian asked, wiping his visor line.
"Well, that's a long story!" Ren laughed.
"Cut the crap! Tell us!" Xiao Fei urged.
Ren was in a fantastic mood, so he didn't care about the rich kid's tone. He explained, "Because to truly sustain and drive the Shura Armor, one must possess the Purest Qi. Without it, Shura behaves like a standard heavy suit and suffers from constant energy depletion. Lufa's physical output degraded because his intent was compromised; he lacked the Purest Qi, so the armor ran out of battery as the fight dragged on. Naturally, its universal parameters collapsed!"
Xiao Tian and Xiao Fei grew thoughtful. The concept of the Purest Qi was highly abstract, and neither knew if they possessed it.
They deactivated their suits as well. Xiao Tian smiled. "Now that Lufa is eliminated, all we need to do is recover the Gengnu Diamond Scepter, and the saga of the Nether-Demons can finally be brought to a permanent close!"
"Yeah, let's get the scepter!"
Ren pressed the activation sequence on the Shura Armor summoner. The next instant, a majestic, silver-and-violet armor draped over his form.
"You guys wait here. I'll go handle the remaining small fry and bring back the Gengnu Diamond Scepter."
Leaving them with those words, Ren executed a high-tier Spatial Shift, vanishing from their sight instantly.
"This..."
Xiao Tian and Xiao Fei were left staring at each other, completely dumbfounded.
The moment Ren integrated with the Shura Armor, he fully comprehended the true definition of an ultimate suit. Even in its standard configuration, Shura's structural enhancement parameters vastly exceeded the advanced upgrade form of the Diamond Armor, boosting his Extra-Dimensional energy output by a massive tier! Furthermore, the system parameters allowed him to execute the tactical configurations of Punishment Heaven and Flying Shadow flawlessly—even the advanced combat matrix of the Five Elements Armor was accessible.
The Shura Armor is undeniably the absolute apex suit right beneath the Emperor Armor!
Locking onto the energetic signatures of the remaining Nether-Demons he had perceived, Ren shifted directly into a deep cavern on the outskirts.
In the dim light of the cave, Kula and the few remaining infiltrators stood guard around the Gengnu Diamond Scepter. Sensing a spatial distortion, they spun around. Seeing the majestic violet suit, they immediately dropped to one knee. "We welcome the General's triumphant return!"
Ren nodded, stepping past them to claim the Gengnu Diamond Scepter. Once it was in his hand, he spoke smoothly: "I am not your General. But I can gladly send you to join him!"
Hearing the wrong vocal processor signature, Kula and her lackeys gasped in pure terror!
"Who are you?!"
"Can't even recognize my signature anymore? How disappointing." Ren sighed. He summoned the Shura Purgatory Blade, initiating a total purge of the final remnants.
"Shura Annihilation Slash!"
Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!
A series of violet energy arcs tore through the darkness. Kula and her lackeys didn't even possess the reaction time to mount a defense, cleaved into QR codes instantly. Then, Ren delivered a follow-up wave, completely disintegrating the floating gene matrices into nothingness!
"Shura makes things incredibly convenient—it can destroy gene codes directly with raw energy. The main three armors have to seal them first, and only Punishment Heaven holds the system parameters to purge a code permanently."
Muttering to himself, Ren shifted back to the industrial plaza, appearing directly before his comrades. The two had waited less than ten seconds before Ren manifested with the scepter, their understanding of Shura's power resetting completely.
"Let's go. The Nether-Demons are completely wiped out. Let's bring the good news back to Welcome!" Ren smiled.
"Excellent!"
Ren utilized Spatial Displacement to transport the trio instantly back to the teppanyaki shop.
The sudden materialization startled Welcome, who flinched back warily, her eyes locked on Ren's armored form.
"What, don't even recognize your boyfriend anymore?" Ren laughed, deactivating the suit.
Seeing it was Ren, Welcome let out a massive sigh of relief. The brief moment she hadn't seen his face had left her heart hammering with anxiety!
Ren detailed the complete annihilation of the Nether-Legion, and Welcome instantly cheered, jumping with joy. "Fantastic! Pack your bags; we're traveling the world tomorrow!"
"Deal!"
Xiao Tian smiled, joining the conversation. "My livestreams have picked up real momentum lately, and I've saved a decent chunk of capital. I'm planning to establish a logistics and courier corporation. Are either of you interested in investing?"
Xiao Fei shook his head. "My parents recently froze my allowance and lines of credit; I don't have the liquidity to invest right now~"
"I've got plenty of liquidity. Let me throw in five million to start!" Ren laughed. He knew Xiao Tian's business model would scale massively, so he didn't mind the cash injection at all. Besides, with the Shura Armor secured and the Gengnu Diamond Scepter in hand, standard currency on Earth meant nothing to him anymore. His sights were set on the sea of stars!
Once the group separated, Welcome began packing her things while happily humming a tune. Ren went to track down Qing Zizai, stating he needed the Magnetic Core Sphere in his possession. The artifact held a massive pocket of energy—one Core Sphere alone contained enough fuel to power the Afras flagship across fifty thousand light-years of deep space! Three spheres meant one hundred and fifty thousand light-years, if not more! Given that the diameter of the Milky Way galaxy was roughly one hundred thousand light-years, a single sphere held more than enough energy for Ren to tour the entire galaxy at leisure!
"You're saying... this string of heirloom beads on my wrist is actually a Magnetic Core Sphere?" Qing Zizai blinked in absolute bewilderment. Even he was blind to this fact; he couldn't comprehend how Ren had accessed this data.
Ren nodded. "Exactly. To fire up the engines of the Afras, the Core Spheres are an absolute mechanical requirement!"
Qing Zizai chuckled, slipping the beads off his wrist and handing them to Ren. "Fine. It's not doing any work sitting with me anyway; consider it a gift. I hope to receive a cosmic transmission from you across the stars someday!"
"Thanks, brother!" Ren smiled. "Honestly, if you ever get bored of life on Earth, you can always join me to explore deep space! The flagship is massive; it can comfortably host thousands of people!"
Qing Zizai considered it for a moment but shook his head. "Thanks, but I prefer living my life right here on Earth."
"Fair enough. I'll come back to visit when the vector aligns!" Ren said.
Qing Zizai merely smiled, treating it as a polite formality. After all, once Ren set sail into the cosmos, his return vector might line up hundreds of years later. By that time, his own descendants would have already returned to the earth.
Having secured the Magnetic Core Sphere from Qing Zizai, Ren walked back to the apartment. Looking down at the Gengnu Diamond Scepter sitting on the table, he suddenly smacked his forehead. How the hell did I overlook that?!
Xiao Tian returned to his apartment and searched every room, but Youzi was nowhere to be found, causing his anxiety to spike. He dialed her number repeatedly, but the line remained dead. Cornered by worry, he called Ren.
"Ren! Have you seen Youzi?!"
"I was just about to go locate her!" Ren replied. "Kula was embedded in her physical matrix, but when I purged the demon, Youzi's consciousness wasn't present in the cave. Kula must have secured her host in a safe zone beforehand. Join me right now; we'll track her down in the perimeter hills."
Hearing Ren's explanation, Xiao Tian's heart eased slightly. As long as they had a verified operational vector, his Punishment Shifting arrays could pinpoint her coordinates in no time!
The two executed a synchronized Shift, manifesting deep inside the cavern where Kula had established her base. After a thorough search of the perimeter, they found Youzi sitting quietly on a boulder right outside the cave entrance, staring blankly into the distance.