"W—Won?!"

In the distance, on the city walls of Nagato Port, the soldiers who had been holding their breath erupted into deafening cheers the moment they saw this scene.

"Won! The Marshal won!"

"That is an SS-Rank Expert! He was actually slain!"

"Long live Great Xia! Long live the Marshal!"

Many young soldiers were moved to tears, embracing and weeping together.

On the sea surface.

Zhao Qingcang dismissed his Domain, feeling utterly exhausted. His figure swayed slightly, and he almost plunged into the sea.

Marshal Deng Qihe was also panting heavily, the light of the longsword in his hand dimming; clearly, that previous strike had drained all of his vitality and spirit.

Looking at the headless corpse floating on the sea surface, a gratifying curve formed at the corner of Marshal Deng Qihe's mouth.

He had just wanted to open his mouth and say, "I could behead you forty years ago, and I can behead you just the same today."

However, the words stuck stubbornly in his throat right before he could speak them.

The old man's pupils constricted as he stared intently right above the corpse.

There, the health bar that should have been cleared upon the host's death actually still had a tiny sliver remaining!

Although faint, it was despairingly resilient.

"Careful! It's not dead!"

Marshal Deng Qihe's shrill roar had just left his mouth.

A sudden change occurred.

Gurgle—

That headless, motionless remains suddenly began to twitch violently.

Following that, the flesh at the broken neck squirmed frantically, emitting a nauseating "squelch" sound.

In the terrified gazes of the two men, a brand-new, mucus-covered giant snake head abruptly burst out from the severed stump!

This wasn't the end.

With the appearance of the first snake head, it was like opening Pandora's box.

Plop! Plop! Plop!

The second, the third, the fourth...

Those snake heads grew frantically like bamboo shoots after a spring rain, at a breathtaking speed.

At the same time, Qinze Taichiro's health points, which had previously bottomed out, also began to recover at a terrifying speed.

10%... 30%... 50%... 80%...

In the blink of an eye, the health bar was completely full!

Marshal Deng Qihe's sword-holding hand trembled for the first time, his complexion as pale as paper.

He didn't understand.

He had clearly perfectly replicated the fatal strike from back then, and clearly severed all the heads simultaneously.

Why?

Why could it still not be killed?!

When that ball of blood mist dissipated and Yamata no Orochi's brand-new posture was revealed before the two men, Zhao Qingcang and Marshal Deng Qihe simultaneously gasped, a bone-chilling chill surging straight from the soles of their feet to their crowns.

One, two, three, four...

The two mechanically counted the heads swaying in the air.

Seven... Eight!

A full eight heads!

At this moment, the aura on Qinze Taichiro underwent a heaven-shaking and earth-overturning change.

It was no longer the previous berserk and chaos, but a kind of Perfection, a nearly divine coercion.

The newborn snake head in the center slowly opened its eyes.

Those were a pair of golden vertical pupils, cold, aloof, looking down from on high at two ants.

"Are you surprised?"

Eight heads spoke simultaneously, their voices overlapping layer upon layer, carrying a despairing echo.

"Forty years ago, I had not yet fully evolved and only had seven heads. That was my weakness and your only chance of winning."

"But thanks to you, that death allowed me to find life amidst death."

Qinze Taichiro's massive body slowly stood straight up, obscuring the entire sky.

"The one standing before you at this moment—"

"—is truly the Yamata no Orochi—Complete Form!"

The complexions of Zhao Qingcang and Marshal Deng Qihe both became extremely ugly.

They hadn't expected that the fatal strike they joined forces as master and disciple to execute, wagering everything, would instead become the stepping stone for the opponent to break through the bottleneck.

Now, the auras of the two old men were beginning to head downhill irreversibly.

The continuous high-intensity combat had squeezed dry their remaining vitality.

In contrast, Qinze Taichiro's aura was climbing step by step, growing increasingly mighty.

Just the remaining energy ripples emanating from his body were enough to make the entire sea surface turbulent and churn up monstrous waves.

Yamata no Orochi, having evolved into its complete form, was not in a hurry to make a move.

Eight snake heads and sixteen golden vertical pupils aloofly looked down at the two ants on the sea surface.

Eight voices overlapped together, the echo being despair-inducing.

"Zhao Qingcang, Marshal Deng Qihe."

"Come to think of it, I still have to thank you two."

"If you hadn't pushed me to the limit, I might never have been able to grow this eighth head and glimpse the true perfect posture."

"In this battle, there are no regrets left."

He paused, his voice turning cold.

"I will send the two of you on your way."

"However, please rest assured, once I take care of you two, I will not harm a single hair of the Great Xia soldiers."

"As long as they are willing to withdraw their troops."

Zhao Qingcang let out a cold snort.

"Then wait until you kill us first!"

He had just wanted to burn his Origin once more to fight with this last breath, but was stopped by Marshal Deng Qihe beside him.

Zhao Qingcang revealed a look of incomprehension.

Marshal Deng Qihe, however, smiled at him, his smile as gentle as ever, turning a blind eye to the monster before them.

"Qingcang, you cannot die yet."

"Great Xia still needs you."

Marshal Deng Qihe's voice was very soft, yet his tone was incomparably resolute.

"I am different."

"I am someone who should have died long ago."

Zhao Qingcang understood Marshal Deng Qihe's intent, and his heart trembled.

"Teacher! You want to—"

Marshal Deng Qihe waved his hand, cutting off his words.

"Qingcang, there is no need to try to persuade me further."

He turned around and took a final look at this most proud disciple of his, his eyes full of gratification and expectation.

"May my Great Xia prosper forever and remain undying!"

Before his voice faded, he no longer had any shred of reluctance, his entire body soaring into the air.

Resolutely flying toward the sky-obscuring Yamata no Orochi.

Qinze Taichiro was somewhat puzzled, all eight snake heads tilting simultaneously.

"Marshal Deng Qihe, by the strength of you alone, you are no longer my match now."

"Are you courting death?"

Marshal Deng Qihe hovered in mid-air, his figure as tiny as a speck of dust before the massive snake body, yet his face was filled with relief.

"To be honest, I had long anticipated this situation."

"Qin Ze, you and I are both products of the old era."

"It is also time to leave this era that does not belong to us."

Impatience appeared within Qinze Taichiro's vertical pupils.

"What do you mean?"

Marshal Deng Qihe did not explain further.

He merely raised his right hand, his five fingers spread open, palm facing upwards.

"Rise!"

A low shout.

The seawater let out a deafening roar—!

The sea surface below suddenly churned violently, a massive whirlpool appearing out of thin air.

Following that, amidst Zhao Qingcang's shocked gaze, a rusty ancient bronze sword actually dragged an incomparably huge stone coffin, breaking out of the water from the seabed!

That stone coffin was crafted entirely from unknown gray rock, its surface carved full of intricate and bizarre runes, exuding a desolate aura that devoured everything.

A premonition far more ominous than Yamata no Orochi enveloped the entire sea area.

Zhao Qingcang's expression became increasingly solemn.

"Could this be that Divine Artifact, the spirit sealing coffin?!"