The moment Chen Xinjie's words fell, a somewhat casual voice sounded from beside them: "Here it comes, here it comes."
Everyone looked in the direction of the voice, only to see that Huo Yuhao was already standing in mid-air at some unknown time, a mere few zhang away from Chen Xinjie.
He was dressed in simple attire with a calm expression, and a faint smile even hung at the corner of his mouth, completely not looking like someone about to face a Divine Rank powerhouse.
Yet what truly made Chen Xinjie, Amorous Douluo Zang Xin, and even Ya Li's hearts tighten was that not a single one of them, powerhouses standing at the Peak of the Douluo Continent, had sensed when Huo Yuhao appeared.
There was no spatial fluctuation, no surging Spirit Power, and he appeared there silently just like that, as if he had been standing there right from the very beginning.
Chen Xinjie's pupils constricted slightly, and the guess in his heart grew increasingly intense.
The strength of this junior who had taken charge of the Spirit Pagoda at such a young age probably had long since exceeded everyone's imagination, and might even have surpassed veteran Limit Douluo like them.
Facing the Demon Queen before him, whose aura was causing the entire sea surface to tremble, Huo Yuhao's expression remained as relaxed as usual.
He even turned his head and smiled at the few people beside him: "It is the final battle. After today, the Holy Spirit Cult will be completely wiped out."
The Demon Queen opposite was already fully prepared, the Divine Power around her surging like a tide, dyeing the surrounding seawater a deep dark purple.
She did not believe that anyone among the current humans could surpass her; she had already achieved a Breakthrough into the Divine Rank, with both her Spirit Power and mental force undergoing a qualitative change.
The Divine Realm was lost, and she was the only True God on the Douluo Continent for these Ten Thousand Years.
The Demon Queen's eyes suddenly turned blood-red, madness and tyranny surging deep within her pupils. The frenzied aura around her grew increasingly intense, and even the air was permeated with a suffocating sense of oppression.
She shouted angrily: "Audacious! Human, go die!"
The very first person she wanted to kill was this ignorant human brat.
The air above the ocean suddenly became viscous, as if the entire heaven and earth were clenched by an invisible giant hand, causing even the sea breeze to stagnate and halt.
The purplish-black Divine Power around the Demon Queen was like a roaring angry Dragon, carrying the might to destroy everything as it whistled toward the direction where Huo Yuhao was.
Wherever it passed, the air was torn apart into visible cracks to the naked eye.
Chen Xinjie had already prepared himself, able to take out the Sea God helmet at any moment. As long as Huo Yuhao showed the slightest sign of being unable to match her, he would immediately activate the Divine Artifact to intervene in the battle.
But when his gaze swept past Huo Yuhao, he discovered that this young man still maintained a leisurely and carefree demeanor, as if the Divine Power torrent before him, which was sufficient to crush a mountain, was merely a breeze brushing against his face.
Just as Chen Xinjie was filled with doubt and uncertainty, a sudden change occurred.
Chen Xinjie, Amorous Douluo Zang Xin, and Ya Li simultaneously felt their bodies sink heavily, as if they were firmly nailed into mid-air by some irresistible force, unable to move even a single finger all over their bodies.
The expressions of the three changed drastically, and their first reaction was that the Demon Queen had secretly made a move, suppressing everyone together with Divine Rank power.
But very quickly they dismissed this notion, because the Demon Queen and the Ghost Emperor opposite them were likewise frozen in place.
Even more shockingly, the incomparably tyrannical purplish-black Divine Power swung out by the Demon Queen also came to an abrupt halt halfway, like a surging river frozen out of thin air, and the beam of energy suspended in mid-air solidified like a physical entity, motionless.
The surging waves beneath their feet also calmed down in this instant, layer upon layer of wave crests solidifying into undulating curved surfaces, and even the splashing water droplets suspended in mid-air.
The entire ocean, the entire battlefield, was pressed with a pause button at this moment, and time seemed to have lost its meaning.
And right amidst this stagnation of all things, Huo Yuhao moved.
With a single step forward, just a single footfall, his entire person crossed a distance of hundreds of meters, appearing instantly in front of the Ghost Emperor.
The appearance of this scene made everyone suddenly enlightened.
This overwhelming binding force did not originate from the Demon Queen's hands, but was the means of the Spirit Pagoda Master, Huo Yuhao!
Although the Ghost Emperor's physical body was fixed in place, his consciousness remained clear.
He looked at Huo Yuhao who was close at hand; that excessively young face had no expression whatsoever, looking as cold as if he were looking at an insignificant dead object.
The Ghost Emperor's pupils shrank violently, and an unprecedented fear surged up from the depths of his heart. For the first time, he truly experienced what despair was.
Huo Yuhao looked at the Ghost Emperor, his tone calm and waveless when he spoke: "For these years, you have always been the one in charge of the Holy Spirit Cult, right?"
The Ghost Emperor naturally could not answer, and Huo Yuhao clearly did not plan to listen to his answer either, simply continuing on his own: "You deserve to die."
Words falling, he raised his right hand, his slender fingers pointing gently toward the Ghost Emperor. Where his fingertips brushed past, even the air did not stir up ripples.
Then, the Ghost Emperor vanished.
There was no explosion, no miserable scream, and no flesh and blood flying everywhere. In that very instant, the Ghost Emperor was shattered into nothingness, as if he had been completely erased from this heaven and earth, leaving not even a shred of residue behind.
Afterwards, Huo Yuhao slowly turned around, his gaze falling upon the Demon Queen not far away.
That pair of calm eyes held no killing intent, nor any flamboyant might, yet carried a condescending scrutiny.
At this moment, the overbearing madness in the Demon Queen's heart was finally suppressed, and she clearly felt the threat of death.
But she could not figure out why, when she had clearly broken through the dual shackles of Spirit Power and mental force to step into the true sense of a "divine" level, with the Divine Realm lost and no one comparable for Ten Thousand Years, how could a human youth still surpass her?
Just earlier she had sneered at the other party for "talking big," but now she no longer even possessed the opportunity to open her mouth and beg for mercy.
Huo Yuhao gazed at her, his brows frowning slightly, his tone carrying a trace of undisguised disgust: "The bloody aura on your body is almost overflowing, stinking to high heaven. It seems you haven't harmed fewer living beings over these years."
"Just relying on hands full of blood and a body full of grievances, you still want to become a god? That is simply wishful thinking."
Simultaneously as his voice fell, he raised his hand and casually snapped his fingers.
The crisp sound gently echoed above the sea surface, and immediately following, a muffled yet majestic thunderclap suddenly resounded through the entire firmament.
A purplish-black thunderbolt descended from the sky, as thick as a pillar, enveloping an aura that could destroy the world as it accurately and unerringly struck down upon the Demon Queen.
That was the power of the God of Destruction. As a God Realm Enforcer, the thunder of the God of Destruction not only contained pure destructive force, but also carried a trace of divine punishment's effect.
At this moment under the trial of the destructive Divine Power, the Demon Queen was convicted and deserved execution, with no pardon and no escape.
The purplish-black light suddenly burst open, illuminating the entire sea area.
After the light flickered past, the sea surface returned to peace, while the Demon Queen's figure had already vanished, leaving only a patch of flying ash gently rolled up by the sea breeze, fluttering down to scatter across the sea surface without a trace to be found.
At this time, that invisible binding force also quietly dissipated, and Chen Xinjie, Amorous Douluo Zang Xin, and Ya Li simultaneously recovered their mobility.
Yet none of them moved, three pairs of eyes falling almost simultaneously onto Huo Yuhao, the look of shock on their faces so thick it couldn't be dissolved, their mouths moving, yet not a single person managed to utter a word for a long time.
Clearly, these three powerhouses standing at the Peak of the continent were thoroughly stunned by the strength Huo Yuhao had displayed at this moment.
The Demon Queen who had stepped into the Divine Rank did not even last a single move under his hands, being erased just like crushing an ant.
Just what cultivation level was Huo Yuhao at right now? Exactly which step had he reached?
This doubt hovered within the minds of the three, unable to disperse for a long time.
----------------------------------------------
A/N:
I hope all of you are enjoying this story so far. I would appreciate some Power Stones if you can spare any. Leave a review if you like the story. Thank you.