Lou Gao threw back his head and laughed heartily. His laughter caused the very air to tremble, while the golden Flames of Nirvana surged upward with his emotions, making him resemble a war god emerging from a sea of molten lava.
"Xiao Xia! Just how many more surprises are you going to give me?!"
His eyes burned even brighter than the divine flames themselves.
It was the ultimate excitement of a master craftsman seeing the pursuit of his lifetime become reality.
It was the blazing battle intent of a warrior finally encountering a worthy opponent.
"Come then! Let your teacher see what kind of divine weapon you've forged over these five years!"
The moment his words fell, Lou Gao's aura underwent a dramatic transformation.
An overwhelming heat wave capable of scorching the heavens and boiling the seas erupted explosively!
His right arm shot into the air as crimson-gold divine flames gathered and compressed at a frantic pace.
They were no longer illusory flames.
Instead, they flowed and took shape like liquid magma.
Clang—!!!
A metallic roar, as though heaven and earth had just been split apart, echoed across the skies!
The divine flames condensed, forming an ancient yet overwhelmingly domineering colossal hammer in Lou Gao's grasp!
This was the ultimate evolution of his martial soul, the Sacred Molding Pen, perfectly fused with the Phoenix God's divine flames after completing the Phoenix God's Trial, the Phoenix Vajra Chisel!
The hammer's body was entirely dark gold, as though forged from countless layers of divine metal folded and tempered together.
Ancient phoenix feather-shaped divine patterns naturally covered its surface.
One end of the hammerhead was a massive rounded striking face, faintly engraved with the image of a phoenix spreading its wings.
The opposite end tapered into an incomparably sharp diamond-shaped chisel tip, as though capable of piercing the stars themselves!
The entire weapon flowed with intertwined crimson-gold and dark-gold divine radiance, releasing a terrifying pressure capable of tearing space apart and melting all things.
Simply holding it caused the surrounding space to distort from the unbearable heat, emitting mournful cries.
Holding this divine weapon larger than his own body with one arm, Lou Gao looked as though he were lifting a blazing mountain.
His crimson-gold eyes locked firmly onto the towering steel giant before him.
His battle intent pierced the heavens.
"Xiao Xia!"
"Take this!"
Lou Gao did not use any divine techniques.
He merely poured his immense Phoenix divine power into the Phoenix Vajra Chisel.
His body transformed into a crimson-gold streak that tore through space itself.
In the most direct most overbearing.
Most straightforward manner.
He unleashed a Phoenix Mountain-Shattering Hammer, smashing mercilessly toward the chest of the Chixiao mecha!
The surrounding air was instantly compressed into a vacuum, releasing a shrill sonic explosion!
Before the hammer had even arrived, its terrifying heat and shockwave had already melted the solid volcanic rock below into a crimson pool of lava!
Inside the cockpit, streams of data cascaded across Lin Xia's vision.
His spiritual power was deeply synchronized with the neural interface of the mecha's core.
He could feel that destructive energy, powerful enough to instantly vaporize even a Soul Douluo.
"Maximum power to the energy shield!"
"Right arm, guard position!"
"Activate force-dispersal structure!"
"Leg buffering array, engage!"
Lin Xia's thoughts moved as swiftly as lightning.
Bzzz—!
The armor over Chixiao's chest instantly lit up with dazzling azure hexagonal energy matrices that unfolded layer after layer.
At the same time, the enormous alloy right arm shot upward.
With a series of metallic clicks, the thick composite armor covering the forearm transformed and reconfigured into a gigantic angled shield.
Countless miniature Soul Tool runes illuminated across its surface, preparing to receive the incoming impact.
BOOM—!!!!
The Phoenix Vajra Chisel descended with world-destroying might, crashing heavily against the brilliant azure energy shield!
Blinding light instantly swallowed everything.
The violent energy shockwave exploded outward in every direction, hurling and pulverizing the surrounding volcanic rock for hundreds of meters as though it were made of paper!
The energy shield flickered violently and caved inward.
It endured for less than half a second before shattering completely!
Yet that brief half-second was enough to buy the mecha precious reaction time.
CLANG—!!!!!!!!!!
An earth-shaking metallic explosion rang out, like two divine mountains colliding!
The remaining force of the Phoenix Vajra Chisel struck the alloy arm shield head-on!
Chixiao's colossal body trembled violently.
The volcanic rock beneath its feet exploded apart as it sank several meters into the ground!
Yet, astonishingly it did not retreat a single step!
Countless runes across the arm shield flashed frantically as azure starlight and crimson-gold divine flames collided and annihilated one another.
Amid ear-piercing sounds of twisting metal, a massive crater was crushed into the shield's surface.
Even its edges began to melt.
Yet the structural core endured the impact by sheer force.
More importantly although the mecha's enormous body shook violently, Lin Xia's exquisite control instantly activated the complex hydraulic buffering system and energy dampeners within its legs.
Through a series of incredibly precise micro-adjustments, the catastrophic impact was dispersed layer by layer and redirected into the ground beneath its feet.
The stability of its posture control far exceeded anything Lou Gao had imagined.
"W-What?!"
For the first time, genuine astonishment flashed across Lou Gao's eyes.
Although he had not struck with his full strength, the divine power contained within that hammer blow was enough to severely wound an ordinary Soul Douluo.
Yet this mecha had not only taken it head-on
It had barely moved from its original position!
That force-dispersing technique was comparable to the finest agility-type martial souls.
"What an incredibly tough shell! And what ingenious force dispersion!"
Lou Gao couldn't help but praise it, his evaluation of Lin Xia's forging skills and Soul Tool craftsmanship rising once again.
Lin Xia's counterattack was launched almost the instant he completed the block.
"Engine, Overload Mode!"
"Starlight Thrusters, Maximum Output!"
"Target: Flank from the left!"
"Furnace Fist!"
The Tear of the Star Core within the mecha's core erupted with dazzling starlight!
Dozens of honeycomb-shaped thruster ports instantly unfolded from its back, shoulders, and legs.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Like exploding stars, torrents of violent azure starlight particles blasted from the thrusters!
Chixiao's enormous body disappeared from its original position in an instant, leaving behind only expanding sonic booms and scorching shockwaves.
All that remained was the lava crater Lou Gao had created and the billowing cloud of smoke and dust.
"So fast!"
Lou Gao's divine sense instantly detected the terrifying pressure sweeping in from his flank.
Rather than charging in a straight line, Chixiao used its Starlight Thrusters to execute an unbelievable high-speed zigzag maneuver that completely defied the laws governing such an enormous body.
Its speed was so great that only crimson-and-azure afterimages remained.
The gigantic metal fist, wrapped in highly compressed azure energy that blazed like a white-hot furnace, tore through the air with a piercing shriek, smashing viciously toward Lou Gao's ribs from his blind spot.
This punch was no longer merely physical force.
It was infused with the pure power of the Tear of the Star Core.
Its destructive might was enough to punch through a mountain.
Instead of being alarmed, Lou Gao was delighted.
"Excellent!"
The Phoenix Vajra Chisel instantly shifted from a downward smash into a sweeping strike.
The massive hammer moved like the flaming wings of a phoenix, carrying the force to sweep away an entire army as it met the mecha's Furnace Fist with flawless precision.
At the same time, Lou Gao clenched his left hand slightly.
Dense golden Flames of Nirvana instantly condensed into a small yet incomparably solid crimson-gold fire shield, positioned before his ribs.
Boom! Boom!
Two explosions rang out almost simultaneously.
The first came from the collision between the Furnace Fist and the Phoenix Vajra Chisel.
The power of the stars and the Phoenix God's divine flames clashed violently once more, and the resulting energy shockwave exploded outward like a tidal wave.
This time, Lou Gao clearly felt a condensed, immensely heavy force carrying the boundless will of the stars travel through the hammer, leaving his arm slightly numb.
The second explosion came at the very instant of the collision.
The mecha's right leg swung upward like a battle axe, tearing through the air with a piercing howl as it kicked viciously toward Lou Gao's lower abdomen from an unbelievable angle.
The transition between attacks was unbelievably fast.
Its movements flowed together as smoothly as those of the greatest martial arts master.
Fortunately, the fire shield Lou Gao had prepared in advance barely managed to block the kick.
The impact exploded into a shower of crimson-gold sparks that filled the sky.
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