Aaron pointed his wand toward the sky.
Instantly, every crazy clone within the Akhan world flew toward him.
Ten, twenty, fifty, one hundred, three hundred.
Aaron had actually shaped over three hundred shells through his mad will. These shells belonged to transcendent beings of various races and professions.
Human mages, fallen ones from hell, dragons, elves, elemental spirits, transcendent beasts, and even slimes—every variety was represented.
He had been able to collect such a diverse array of crazy clones thanks to the space fragments that had fallen into the Akhan world long ago, bringing with them species from numerous other worlds.
A massive number of crazy clones flew in from all corners of the Akhan world, stacking themselves upon Aaron’s original body.
One atop another, layer upon layer.
Before long, a grotesque flesh ball appeared in the sky.
This bizarre mass of flesh stood over a hundred meters tall. Aaron’s head sat at the very top, his mad soul governing the entire collective.
Through soul vision, this grotesque flesh ball did not appear discordant at all. Hundreds of souls had fused together perfectly. The qualitative change brought about by such sheer quantity caused Aaron’s mental strength to skyrocket to an unbelievable level.
Blue Star special correspondent Chen Xu provided a timely commentary: “A mythic-tier soul triggering a qualitative change through quantity... he’s actually touching the threshold of the eternal-tier. This Aaron is truly something!”
“Come, my dear student! Show me your Path!”
Aaron manipulated the grotesque flesh ball, speaking through hundreds of shells simultaneously. His voice was saturated with madness.
If an ordinary mortal or a low-tier transcendent were to hear it, their soul would likely collapse on the spot, and they would be assimilated into a madman.
Zhang Jingping responded in kind.
His originally ordinary angel body underwent an instantaneous mutation. Two pairs of arms erupted from his armpits. One pair was thick with muscle and brimming with power.
The other pair was slender and long, covered in mysterious runes and overflowing with mana.
Two large eyes snapped open on his chest, their piercing gaze radiating an intense fighting spirit.
A massive mouth split open across his abdomen, filled with jagged teeth and hiding an intent to devour that felt somewhat like a Kunpeng.
From his tailbone, multiple tails evolved. A cat tail pulsed with vitality, a fox tail radiated charm, a scorpion tail was sharp and venomous, and a dragon tail lashed with arrogant abandon.
Two additional heads materialized above his shoulders.
One was sacred and aloof, carrying the aura of a deity from the Immortal Island world.
The other was that of an ancient man with white hair and a withered face, yet a red vertical mark was etched into his brow.
Aaron voiced his admiration at the sight.
“Hahaha! Soul evolution, turning the ethereal into the physical. Jingping, you truly haven't disappointed me.”
In the distance, Chen Xu was also full of praise. With a snap of his fingers, he plucked Flideng out of the Undead Dao Court.
Flideng had been soaking in the hot springs of the Lake of Holy Souls, enjoying a leisurely life. He had been using the characteristics of the Soul of Freedom to absorb the Holy Light and solar power from the lake, hoping to develop the first Holy Light or solar variant of a ghost.
Suddenly snatched away by Chen Xu, his face was a mask of confusion.
The master had something for him again, and he hadn't given any prior notice.
Without waiting for Flideng to ask, Chen Xu placed a large hand on the ghost's head, sharing his own vision directly.
“Watch closely and learn. He’s also a soul entity—and a human soul at that—yet he can perform so many tricks.
“As a reinforced special ghost, I don't expect you to surpass him, but you’d better manage to learn at least seventy or eighty percent of what he’s doing.”
Hearing his superior’s ‘encouragement,’ Flideng immediately adjusted his emotions and began observing the two figures in the sky, sensing the soul traces they left behind.
Zhang Jingping did not strike immediately. He attempted to persuade his teacher first. Unless absolutely necessary, he still held onto a sliver of hope, however ethereal it might be.
“Teacher, turn back. It is not too late to stop now.”
“Heh, Jingping. You know my character. If you want to convince me, you must defeat me first!”
Aaron took the initiative. His soul power erupted as he unleashed a Soul Scream through one of the banshee shells.
Instantly, every ordinary living creature within ten thousand miles collapsed. Their souls shattered, and their life force vanished.
Even ordinary mages struggled to endure, feeling as though their heads were splitting apart, unable to move.
Only the Archmages could somewhat resist the scream, casting spells to mitigate the impact on the other mages.
Zhang Jingping moved as well. His slender arms each held a wand; the left cast multiple buff spells on himself, while the right unleashed a barrage of offensive spells at Aaron.
Then, the eyes on his chest glared fiercely, igniting with fire. A surge of martial intent soared into the sky, empowering him.
His hands raised the angelic light sword high as the divine head opened its eyes, injecting divine power into the blade. The light sword, originally only two meters long, suddenly ballooned to a length of a hundred meters.
Zhang Jingping swung the giant light sword, hacking toward Aaron’s grotesque flesh ball.
His muscular pair of arms also joined the fray, unleashing a flurry of punches and palms in a savage assault.
The two clashed back and forth in a fierce exchange.
Below, the Archmages took advantage of the gap in the battle to rush back to their respective schools' mage towers, preparing a counter-offensive.
The profession of a mage was built on knowledge and truth.
A prepared mage and an unprepared mage were entirely different concepts.
Earlier, they had been caught off guard by Aaron and forced to fight a hasty battle using ordinary high and mid-tier spells, which failed to showcase their true strength.
Now that they had a moment to breathe, they could prepare more advanced magic specifically targeted at Aaron and hell.
In just a few seconds, the Archmages reached a consensus and divided into three groups.
One group performed a ritual cast to unleash a combined forbidden spell to destroy the massive ritual tracks in the sky.
Another group layered dispel spells to sabotage the incomplete blood-red hexagram.
The final group was responsible for sealing and banishing spells, intending to seal the madman Aaron before exiling him from the Akhan world.
While the Archmages acted and Aaron and Zhang Jingping fought intensely, Chen Xu remained focused on the battle.
As time passed, the intensity of the duel between Aaron and Zhang Jingping began to wane.
Though Zhang Jingping’s Evolution Method could use a mortal soul to manifest countless wonders to counter Aaron’s Thousand Souls, its weakness lay in quantity. Their soul capacities were on completely different levels.
Having fought this long with a mythic-tier soul, Zhang Jingping was nearing the point of exhaustion.
In contrast, Aaron’s massive soul was still abundant, allowing him to handle Zhang Jingping’s attacks with ease.
After another moment, Zhang Jingping delivered a slash. The light sword bit into the grotesque flesh ball but was firmly clamped by the mass of flesh. With a sharp crack, the light sword shattered.
Lacking soul power, Zhang Jingping had no energy left to restore the blade.
His three-headed, six-armed form reverted to two heads and four arms to conserve soul energy, losing the divine head and the muscular arms.
Aaron did not press his advantage after destroying the sword. Instead, he wore a satisfied expression as he looked at his student.
“The theory of evolution is indeed remarkable—to manifest ten thousand wonders within a single body. If our soul power were at the same level, you might have defeated me easily.
“Unfortunately, in this world, besides innate wonders, there is another crucial factor: realm.
“Even a phoenix capable of immortal nirvana will fall at the hands of an eternal, even if that eternal being is a common pig or a mere ant.”
Zhang Jingping did not reply. A hint of hesitation flickered in his eyes, as if he were making a difficult choice.
But before Zhang Jingping could make up his mind, the Archmages below launched their counterattack.
“Aaron, accept the judgment of the Mage Council!”
As the words fell, mage towers across the land lit up one after another. Mana cascaded and linked together as terrifying forbidden spells were unleashed.
Solar Flame Bursts, representing the ultimate power of fire, detonated repeatedly against the ritual tracks. In an instant, the tracks were blown to pieces and began falling from the sky.
Seeing the first part of the plan succeed, the Archmages immediately began the second phase.
Multiple dispel spells rained down upon the blood-red hexagram in the sky.
However, the expected interruption of the magic did not occur. The dispel spells failed to clear the blood-red hexagram; they couldn't even cause a ripple in its magical fluctuations.
“Hahaha!” Aaron erupted in a laugh of mocking disdain. He pointed one hand downward while looking at Zhang Jingping.
“Look at them. These people actually think they can use ordinary dispel spells to clear a formation from hell. Isn't it laughable?”
Then, without waiting for the Archmages to make their next move, Aaron used his soul to directly activate the blood-red hexagram above.
A crimson light bloomed, dyeing all of Akhan in the color of blood.
The hexagram pierced through the stabilized space. On the other side, a massive army of demons had long been lined up. The moment the space ruptured, they surged into the Akhan world.
Immediately following them, a colossal claw reached through the spatial gate. Carrying an aura of destruction, it slammed directly into the ground.
A violent shockwave instantly rippled outward. Countless citizens of Akhan and demons from hell were crushed to pieces by the impact. Even the mage towers that had been lying in wait were not spared.
Sensing this terrifying aura, Chen Xu narrowed his eyes and became serious.
He immediately ordered all the Black Knights to take control of the mage tower cores.
At the same time, he brought his perfect clone into the Akhan world, waiting for the descent of that Demon King of Destruction.
After the strike, the colossal claw withdrew and gripped the edges of the spatial rift. With a gentle tear, a massive hole was ripped into the world membrane of the Akhan world.
Karl, the Demon King of Destruction, descended through the tear, forcing his terrifying physical body into the Akhan world.
After entering Akhan, Karl first stretched his ten-thousand-meter-tall frame. Then, he looked down at Zhang Jingping, who was radiating the aura of Holy Light, and flashed a chilling smile.
“Ha. Holy Light. I didn't expect to find an unexpected harvest here.”
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