# American Comics: Tales of a Cultivator
## Chapter 285: Black Phoenix, The Death of Michael, The Demise of Professor Charles
Just like when he had calmed the out-of-control Black Phoenix.
A soothing Psychic Ability, full of affection and persuasion, like hypnosis, invaded Michael's body, slightly easing the pain of his soul being torn apart.
The vast Psionic Energy even made the consciousness of Michael, the Heavenly Kingdom Vice-Regent, feel somewhat hazy, as if bathing in the Lord's Holy Light.
Just as Professor Charles slightly relaxed.
A horn suddenly sounded before the Gate of Heaven. The sound of the Horn of the Apocalypse was like a sharp spike piercing Michael's mind, instantly making Him clear-headed.
Michael looked back at Gabriel, who was slowly lowering the Horn of the Apocalypse. Although Gabriel's face showed no mocking expression, the proud Michael still felt the humiliation of being toyed with.
"Mortal!"
Looking at the mortal before him who dared to mock Him so boldly, Michael could no longer suppress His furious emotions.
As for whether this mortal was the angel Gabriel intended to escort, He didn't care at all.
With a swing of the longsword in His hand, the Sacred Flame that surged in the sky condensed into a towering Light Beam, sweeping towards the Angelic Legion blocking His path.
Hundreds of thousands of angels controlled by Professor Charles were instantly swept away like fallen leaves in the autumn wind. They were either swallowed by the Sacred Flame or sent flying far away like golf balls by the Sword Light.
Gabriel, standing beside the Gate of Heaven, saw this scene and simply put away the Horn of the Apocalypse, returning to Paradise Mountain.
With His descending Sacred Soul extinguished, even an Archangel like Michael would need at least several hundred years of recuperation to recover. At a time like this, even Gabriel didn't want to touch Michael's bad luck.
A powerful soul, and a brother He had been with for hundreds of thousands of years – He could still distinguish between what was important.
The Sword Light Michael swung with His full power swept away thousands of angels. The Sacred Flame within the Sword Light swept over Professor Charles, and under the burning of the Sacred Flame, Professor Charles's originally dim body instantly became even more transparent.
"Hmph!" Looking at the soul form being burned by the Sacred Flame before Him, Michael let out a cold snort of satisfaction. He was just about to end Professor Charles with a single sword strike.
Suddenly, His figure paused. He sensed a powerful aura coming from behind Charles, from behind the Psychic Portal where His Split Soul had descended.
Michael tightened His grip on His sword. Without a word, a streak of Sword Light slashed towards that slightly ajar Psychic Portal.
A fair arm reached out from within the Psychic Portal. The pale hand gently clenched, and the Sword Light slashing towards the Space Gate instantly vanished into nothingness.
As the palm opened, Michael's eyes narrowed. The Sword Light, composed of pure white Sacred Flame, was actually kneaded into countless black dust particles in this palm and scattered onto the clouds.
The slightly ajar portal was pushed open, and a woman in a black battle suit with flowing red hair walked out from within. Her entire body seemed to be enveloped in energy fluctuations like Crimson Flames.
However, this energy was a thousand, ten thousand times higher in level than ordinary flames.
"Phoenix Force!? You are the Host of the Phoenix Force!" Michael recognized the power swirling around the woman's body. It was the legendary Phoenix Force.
The Phoenix Force is a Cosmic Energy, one of the most powerful entities in the Universe, but not the only one. The Phoenix Force can exist independently or possess a Host.
According to Michael's understanding, the essence of the complete Phoenix Force is even more powerful than the Lord, but the Hosts of the Phoenix Force vary in Strength.
He just didn't know the Strength of the Host before Him. Jean Grey, or rather, Black Phoenix, looked at Professor Charles, who was being burned by the Sacred Flame, with disgust. Impatiently, she reached out and clenched her hand, and the Sacred Flame burning on Professor Charles immediately extinguished.
Black Phoenix raised her head and stared at Michael haughtily, her gaze as if looking at an insect.
Michael was very familiar with this kind of gaze. He had always used this gaze to look down upon others. He never expected that one day, someone would stare at Him with such a gaze.
Michael snorted angrily. With a backhand swing of His sword, white Holy Light wrapped in monstrous Sacred Flame swept towards Black Phoenix. In an instant, everything within a hundred-mile radius was completely destroyed. All matter was instantly vaporized.
Facing this destructive attack, Black Phoenix didn't even move a step. The crimson energy around her body surged against the wind, like a red tide, slamming towards Michael.
Sacred Flame and the crimson energy flames met. The two energies collided, resulting in an eerie silence. The usually overbearing Holy Light Sacred Flame met the even more overbearing Phoenix Force and directly dissipated into nothingness, breaking down into the simplest energy particles.
Three breaths. The sky-filling Sacred Flame that Michael had swung His sword to unleash only lasted for three breaths before the Phoenix Force. Then, the sky-filling crimson flames, like a reversed wind and fire, slammed fiercely towards Michael.
The crest of the monstrous wave-like crimson Phoenix Force almost submerged the high-and-mighty Gate of Heaven.
*Rip!* Michael spread His wings. Using the ability of His wings to traverse space, He avoided the surging red tide formed by the Phoenix Force. With a flash of Holy Light, He appeared behind Black Phoenix.
The Sword of the Fire God silently stabbed towards Black Phoenix's back.
The Sword of the Fire God pierced through the Energy Defense Barrier composed of Phoenix Force on Black Phoenix's body. Even though the Sword of the Fire God was one of the most famous Divine Artifacts in Heaven, in the face of this Cosmic Level power of the Phoenix Force, it was corroded and became pitted and uneven. Even the sword tip was broken down into the most basic energy particles.
It was precisely because of the Phoenix Force's formidable power that it gave Black Phoenix time to react. She grabbed Michael's wrist with a backhand. The Phoenix Force on her palm instantly corroded away Michael's sword-wielding right hand, along with His entire arm.
As one of the few Archangels in Heaven, Michael had led the Angelic Legion in countless battles, conquering countless dimensions and leveling countless heretical God's Kingdoms. His combat experience was not something this Little Girl, Black Phoenix, could compare with.
Michael endured the pain of His arm being decomposed. Two streaks of Golden Flame suddenly shot out from His eyes towards Black Phoenix.
This Golden Flame was not only extremely hot, but it also carried a powerful Soul Attack, like the Ghost Rider's Eyes of Judgment.
At this moment, Black Phoenix seemed to hear hundreds of millions of Followers devoutly shouting Michael's name.
Each of these hundreds of millions of Followers dispersed a tiny wisp of Mental Power, which merged into this Golden Flame and struck towards Black Phoenix's soul.
Black Phoenix snorted coldly. The Crimson Flames condensed by the Phoenix Force also struck towards Michael along with her gaze. With two muffled groans, Black Phoenix and Michael both flew backward.
Half of Michael's body was almost completely corroded away by the Phoenix Force, and the remaining half was also wrapped in crimson flames flickering like fireflies.
Michael gritted His teeth and directly swung the remaining half of the Sword of the Fire God, cutting off the part of His body and luminous feathers that were tainted with the Phoenix Force.
On the other side, Black Phoenix was also not feeling well. Her facial expression constantly changed, as if someone having a nightmare was struggling to wake up.
The essence of the Phoenix Force was far above Heaven's Sacred Flame, but the Phoenix Force that Black Phoenix controlled was not yet proficient.
Black Phoenix, strictly speaking, was just a second personality that Jean Grey's fear of her own power gradually formed when she was a young girl. Later, she was sealed by Professor Charles with his powerful Psychic Ability.
To find and rescue Professor Charles, Jean Grey had to borrow the power of Black Phoenix, causing her Main Personality to fall into a state of slumber. However, Michael's Soul Attack, comparable to the Eyes of Judgment, caused the two personalities to fall into a state of confusion.
Michael looked at the woman crouching down, holding her head. A cruel smile appeared on His originally holy face. He was just about to step forward with the half of the Sword of the Fire God in His remaining half-body.
*Rip!* A sharp Corpse Claw suddenly emerged from Michael's heart.
A faint Black-Red Corpse Qi was faintly visible on this sharp Corpse Claw. A wisp of Corpse Fire continuously spread along Michael's wound. The skin near Michael's chest immediately turned a dazzling greenish-black. The Holy Power within Michael's body and the Corpse Qi from the Golden Armored Corpse King collided and devoured each other, producing the explosive and roaring sounds that only ice water splashed on a red-hot iron plate would make.
A strike through the heart. Michael, who was already severely wounded by the Phoenix Force, convulsed all over and turned around.
Behind Him, a tall figure, as if wearing golden armor, stood tall. It was he who had suddenly appeared behind Michael and launched a Sneak Attack.
Michael opened His mouth and spurted out a streak of Golden Blood. The Golden Armored figure before Him swung His hand back and pressed it onto Michael's head. With the power originating from the Celestials themselves and the augmentation from the Golden Armored Corpse King, the large hand pressed down on Michael's head and squeezed hard.
The Archangel's head immediately exploded like a ripe watermelon. His half-body, without any power to resist, also shattered. Golden Blood and white Sacred Flame sprayed wildly in all directions, but were blasted into dust by a rush of the Golden Armored Corpse King's Corpse Qi, turning into wisps of faint light that scattered.
Several White Bone Banners appeared out of thin air. Kane revealed his figure. The White Bone Banners spun around, gathering all the scattered faint light into them.
From the moment Black Phoenix appeared before the Gate of Heaven until Michael died from the sneak attack, although it sounds complicated, it was actually only a matter of a few minutes. It was so fast that the many angels inside the Gate of Heaven, who were close at hand, didn't even have time to react.
By the time they reacted, Kane had already trapped Jean Grey's soul with the Ghoul White Bone Banner. The Golden Armored Corpse King grabbed him, and the two escaped into an opened Space Gate.
Perhaps because they left too quickly, they even forgot Professor Charles's somewhat illusory soul on the spot.
This Sage, known as the Polarity of Mutants, the Prophet of Mutants, who possessed a power so great it could destroy all life on Earth, was directly submerged in the tide-like Angelic Legion.
This Sage dedicated his life to the cause of mutant liberation. Even after mutants established their own Utopia, this old gentleman still tirelessly fought on the front lines, wanting to turn Utopia into a nation of Freedom and Democracy.
In his view, Utopia's most basic civilian facilities, water and electricity, education, and medical care, should be controlled by the Utopia Government, not entrusted to others.
The demise of Professor Charles was a great loss for mutants, and even for all of humanity, and it kicked off the prelude to humanity's anti-religion movement. Outside the Reality Dimension, in The Void, suddenly, an extremely strong radiance shone down from Space. Nearly a thousand High-Rank Angels, wearing silver armor, holding longswords and round shields, with flowing wings growing on their backs, rushed straight down from the Heaven Dimension.
Michael was dead, and these angels were all Michael's direct subordinates.
They used all their Strength to attack regardless of the consequences, frantically attacking every target in their sight.
Especially the two Twelve-Winged Angels leading the charge. As Michael's Adjutants, they possessed a part of Michael's might.
They burned the Power of Faith from Michael's Followers, unleashing incredibly powerful Strength, supporting them in sending out streak after streak of extremely powerful Cross Sword Qi.
Gradually, the burning Power of Faith turned the bodies of the two Twelve-Winged Angels golden-yellow. Their bodies had become hazy, like two masses of burning golden flames.
Carrying a suffocating terrifying aura, they continuously swung out streak after streak of golden Sword Qi.
Whistling sounds struck down from High Altitude, hitting the Holy Land Barrier covering the outside of the Reality World almost simultaneously.
The Holy Land Barrier laid down by the Sorcerer Supreme rippled.
Nearly a thousand angels roared simultaneously, "In the name of the Lord!" Countless Cross Sword Qi of slightly smaller scale whistled down like raindrops. The Cross Sword Qi was entirely composed of pure light energy. The temperature of the Sword Qi was extremely high, even much higher than the temperature inside a Normal Star.
At the Peak of the Tibetan Snow Mountain, the Ancient One glanced indifferently at the rippling barrier, continuing to lower her head and drink her butter tea. Meanwhile, in Earth's outer space orbit, dozens of satellites mixed among hundreds of other satellites suddenly flashed red light.
"Danger level confirmed, A-Level. Skynet System shutting down. Activating Great Derivation Satellite Attack Formation!" Red Queen's cold voice rang out inside the satellites.
The Artificial Satellites that had been hovering in orbit above Earth slowly adjusted their bearings.
Sunlight was projected directly onto the energy storage panels of the forty-nine Tang Group Satellites.
Strange five-colored radiance began to spread across the outer shells of the forty-nine satellites.
On the thick muzzles, a point of five-colored light containing an aura of death slowly began to flash.
While Tang Group embezzled, *cough cough*, tens of billions of Federation military expenditure to help the Federation build several Rod of God Launch Satellites.
They also used the remaining military expenditure to launch their own batch of satellites. The Skynet System created with these was not just for internal use.
When the Tang Group's weapons design department was designing the prototypes for these satellites, they once asked Boss Tang for his requirements.
Boss Tang casually said something that made the engineers in the weapons design department collectively go bald: "You're asking me about the power of these weapons? Well, to put it more figuratively, for the protective net formed by these forty-nine satellites, my design standard is that a single volley can take down a god!"
The weapons design department only designed and manufactured the outer shells of these satellites and the various weapons loaded onto them. As for the true finished products, Tang Song personally modified and inscribed them with Runes. He even re-tempered these forty-nine satellites once using the Eternal Flame.
Nobody knew exactly how great the power of this weapon was. But these forty-nine Adamantium satellites, personally named the Great Derivation Satellite Attack Formation, a formidable weapon, by the Boss, indeed began their first test firing today.
One must know that a large part of Boss Tang's purpose in creating these satellites and setting up the Skynet System was to replace the Sorcerer Supreme's Sanctum Defense System.
Or rather, it was to add a layer of Energy Shield to his Earth.
Countless Talismanic Light flashed from these satellites.
They absorbed the powerful energy from the sunlight and simultaneously activated the Arc Reactor energy on the satellites, having fully activated the latent Formation Seals inside their bodies.
Streaks of Silver Light flowed ceaselessly between the Spirit Marks on the satellites. That was pure Power of Stars. Countless fine silver light streams shot towards them from countless Stars far and near at a speed close to Teleportation, injecting the purest Power of Stars into their bodies.
The Extreme Yang power of the sun, the Extreme Yin power from the moon's reflection, the purest and hardest Power of Stars,
Perfectly merged together inside the bodies of these forty-nine unprecedented weapons.
All forty-nine satellites turned silver-gray, becoming that kind of nearly transparent, silver-black color that almost merged with the Sky Curtain.
Subsequently, as Red Queen's intelligent fire control system locked onto their respective targets, after fine-tuning the muzzles,
Streaks of radiance were fired silently.
The first wave of attack from the Great Derivation Satellite Attack Formation, the Stellar Annihilation Light Needle, forty-nine streaks of Silver Light streaked across the sky, carrying an intense radiance that dimmed the entire Universe, fiercely striking forty-nine unlucky angels.
The Silver Light instantly enveloped the bodies of the forty-nine angels. Forty-nine tall and upright bodies, in an instant, turned silver, then dissolved into the brilliant radiance that instilled a sense of death from the depths of one's heart.
Silently, forty-nine angels who were originally wielding their Cruciform Swords and attacking Earth's barrier directly turned into dust.
The violently vibrating Power of Stars was like countless tiny sharp blades. After rushing into the angels' bodies, they immediately cut and shattered all the nearby massive molecules—the angels' body cells.
This was the most precise surgical operation. Unless you could use your own energy to stop their invasion, your body could only be assimilated into energy.
In the air, the forty-nine satellite cannons, having won their first battle, immediately began operating at full capacity.
In space, they possessed a nearly inexhaustible energy source. The cannon bodies, inscribed with formations and talismans, could contain as much of that powerful energy as possible.
The combination of Tang Group's latest technology and Jambudvīpa World's formations gave them a terrifying rate of fire of three rounds per second.
Every second, one hundred forty-seven silver light needles were fired, hitting the angels hovering in the air.
The light needles covered The Void. Nearly a thousand angels rapidly disintegrated in the silver light needles.
Facing this combination of Daoist Xuanmen Divine Abilities and Technology, the angels' armor and Holy Light also couldn't protect their lives.
The angels' death throes before death turned into a massive Mental Fluctuation that rushed back to the dimension they came from, the one named Paradise Mountain.
Six layers of Paradise Mountain simultaneously surged with dazzling Light Flames, erupting with a terrifying Storm.
Tens of thousands of extremely powerful Mental Fluctuations miraculously resonated and quickly connected together.
Tens of thousands of Mental Fluctuations were frantically shouting: "Archangel Michael has fallen! His personal guard are all killed in action!"
"Disgrace!"
"A tremendous disgrace!"
"We must retaliate! We must eradicate these heretics! Before the great Lord awakens, we must clear away this humiliation!"
After a brief silence, the Psychic Storm once again rolled between the Stars.
"Angelic Legion, charge!"
"Charge! Mission: Annihilate all heretics on that planet! Eradicate them all!"
Dozens of extremely powerful Divine Sense appeared in the Solar System Void. Large amounts of Light Flames surged in The Void, finally condensing into a triangular Stargate.
Millions of angels held high their Cruciform Swords, shouting war songs as they rushed into the Stargate.
Earth. A First-class Great Tang Heavy Battleship, two thousand meters long, shaped like a flattened cigar with a sharp and flat bow and a flat and wide stern, slowly sailed out of a blue Teleportation Gate in the air. It then trailed a blue flame tail a thousand meters long, majestically piercing through the clouds and mist, whistling down towards the Vatican.
The huge Warship entered Stealth Mode, hovering less than a hundred meters above the Vatican. Hundreds of large muzzles on the ship's hull extended simultaneously. The dark muzzles flickered with faint dark blue Electric Light.
In space, two military satellites that passed through this orbit detected this unknown signal fluctuation. Unfortunately, before the satellite signals could be transmitted back.
Two needle-shaped Energy Waves appeared from nowhere, turning the two satellites directly into two brilliant fireworks in space.
At this time, below the Vatican Central Cathedral, an emergency Secret Meeting was underway.
"That Black Colonel has been silenced. Even if they possess Mutants who can read minds, they still won't be able to trace it back to us!"
"The current problem is, His Holiness the Pope is still in their hands!"
"So what? Do they dare to torture the Pope? If they really dare to do that, we can completely mobilize the power of public opinion. With The Church's influence worldwide, this might even be a good thing!"
(end of chapter)