# Chapter 2005: Humiliation Turning to Rage
(Apologies, I made a mistake with a number earlier. When a cultivator breaks through to the Nine-Step Saint King level, the small heaven and earth of rules requires roughly six to seven million rules. Breaking through to the great heaven and earth requires roughly ten million rules. Breaking through to the Dao Domain requires roughly fifteen million rules.
I misremembered a point earlier, so there were some discrepancies in the writing, which have now been corrected. So now, Shang Zihong's total number of rules should be around seventeen million.)
……
Zhang Ruochen stabilized his form, the Flame God Armor's surface still blazing fiercely with crimson flames, not extinguished by the terrifying impact just now.
"The complete Flame God Armor is truly extraordinary. Its defensive power far surpasses that of the Radiant Merit Armor, and more importantly, it can greatly enhance my own attack power." Zhang Ruochen clenched his fist, his heart shaken.
With the power of the Flame God Armor, he had just executed the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Palm, and its might was undoubtedly greatly amplified, barely managing to block Shang Zihong's full-powered sword strike. The effect was better than he had anticipated.
"Zhang Ruochen, do you think a mere Flame God Armor can change anything? You are delusional."
Shang Zihong let out a cold shout as he struck again.
A chilling yin-cold aura surged wildly from Shang Zihong's body, condensing into a massive, ferocious beast.
At the same time, the Ten-Thousand Refining Tower flew out, rapidly expanding like a divine mountain, releasing streams of terrifying supreme power.
A sharp light flashed in Zhang Ruochen's eyes. His body shook violently, and all one hundred and forty-four acupoints opened fully, releasing a torrent of sacred qi from within.
Even though his cultivation was now inferior to Shang Zihong's, in terms of the quantity and quality of sacred qi, he was not necessarily worse off.
The Flame God Armor erupted with even more fearsome crimson flames, displaying a heaven-burning momentum.
Zhang Ruochen let out a fierce roar, gathering all the flame power into his left leg, and at an astonishing speed, stamped three times in midair.
"Boom."
Three waves of fire, like mountains overturning seas, surged forth and swept out.
Using the Blazing God Leg's power to execute the Divine Step Nine Heavens, supplemented by the Flame God Armor's strength, the resulting might was beyond imagination.
"Bang."
Although the ferocious beast was powerful, facing the three superimposed fire waves, it quickly shattered and annihilated.
The supreme power released by the Ten-Thousand Refining Tower shattered the fire waves, but the tower itself was also sent flying backward.
A collision of this level would have damaged or even destroyed other high-grade ten-thousand-pattern sacred artifacts.
This time, Zhang Ruochen only retreated five steps backward, and he appeared completely unharmed.
Perhaps affected by the extreme heat and extreme cold, thick clouds gathered above Peacock Manor, pitch black, blocking the starlight and moonlight, as if the sky were about to collapse.
"Rumble."
Low thunder sounded, and in an instant, a torrential downpour fell.
"What is that armor? How did Zhang Ruochen become so powerful after putting it on?"
"That seems to be the legendary Flame God Armor, a powerful divine relic ancient artifact."
"Relying on a divine relic ancient artifact, Zhang Ruochen can actually contend with Shang Zihong, who has broken through to the Dao Domain realm? Just how strong is Zhang Ruochen?"
"According to legend, the Flame God Armor is very special, and ordinary people cannot use it at all. I wonder why Zhang Ruochen can."
"Regardless, Zhang Ruochen has now regained his footing. I wonder if there will be any more surprises."
"These two are both terrifying. One is at the peak of the great heaven and earth of rules, the other has just broken through to the Dao Domain realm, yet their duel is like two Great Saints fighting. If this were outside the domain, they would probably have already caused stars to fall."
…………
Many of the observing cultivators were now stunned, completely shocked by Zhang Ruochen's performance.
Many of them had already thought Zhang Ruochen would surely lose and be ruthlessly suppressed by Shang Zihong.
But now, no one dared to be too certain. Until the last moment, no one knew what variables would appear.
Shang Zihong's expression turned extremely ugly. This outcome was completely unexpected.
His gaze shifted, and Shang Zihong looked at Zhang Ruochen's left leg, filled with anger. He hadn't expected that a divine leg belonging to his master would now become a major obstacle in dealing with Zhang Ruochen.
The Blazing God Leg alone, or the Flame God Armor alone, were not terrifying. But when combined, they became extremely fearsome.
It could be said that Zhang Ruochen, possessing the Blazing God Leg and now obtaining the Flame God Armor, was like a tiger with wings.
"Kill."
The killing intent in Shang Zihong's eyes surged. Gripping the Red Child Sword, he attacked Zhang Ruochen directly.
He wanted to see just how strong the Flame God Armor's defense was. Could it withstand the Red Child Sword in his hand?
The Red Child Sword had always been invincible in his hands, and this time would be no exception.
Shang Zihong fully activated the Red Child Sword, and countless golden patterns emerged on the blade, releasing streams of eerie divine power.
Executing the Way of Flowing Light, Shang Zihong transformed into flowing light, moving at extreme speed.
"Clang."
The Red Child Sword struck the Flame God Armor again and again, trying to forcefully break through its defense.
At this moment, Zhang Ruochen was not wearing the Radiant Merit Armor, so his speed was inferior to Shang Zihong's, forcing him into a passive defense.
The Red Child Sword's attacks were sharp and overbearing, enough to damage an undying sacred body.
Even with the Flame God Armor's defense, Zhang Ruochen was still being pushed backward, clearly at a disadvantage.
It was evident that while the Flame God Armor could amplify his strength, it could not completely eliminate the gap between him and Shang Zihong.
Fortunately, the Flame God Armor's defense was astonishing. Although Shang Zihong's attacks were terrifying, they could no longer pose too great a threat to him. At the very least, severely wounding him was no longer an easy task.
With a thought, Zhang Ruochen took out the Abyssal Ancient Sword again, injecting his sacred qi into it while also attaching the flame power released by the Flame God Armor to the sword.
Swinging the Abyssal Ancient Sword, Zhang Ruochen executed the True One Thunder Fire Sword Technique.
"Boom."
Bolts of lightning descended from the sky, guided by the Abyssal Ancient Sword, striking at Shang Zihong.
Heavenly thunder combined with the crimson flames released by the Flame God Armor, pure yang and firm, perfectly unleashing the full power of the True One Thunder Fire Sword Technique.
For a moment, Zhang Ruochen actually managed to block Shang Zihong's fierce assault.
The purple divine stone embedded in the Abyssal Ancient Sword's hilt emitted a faint radiance, covering the sword's blade with a thin layer of purple light.
"Clang."
The Abyssal Ancient Sword clashed with the Red Child Sword, and a terrifying force transmitted through the Red Child Sword to Shang Zihong's body.
Astonishingly, Shang Zihong was pushed back three steps by this force, and both arms trembled slightly, feeling numb.
"Zhang Ruochen actually knocked Shang Zihong back with one sword strike? Am I seeing things?"
Seeing Shang Zihong retreat, an observing cultivator immediately exclaimed in shock.
Zhang Ruochen using the Flame God Armor to reverse his disadvantage and stabilize his position was already surprising enough.
Now, being able to push Shang Zihong back in combat and gain a slight advantage was even more unbelievable.
Shang Zihong's perception was extremely sharp, and he immediately locked onto the purple divine stone embedded in the Abyssal Ancient Sword's hilt.
"So he has refined this treasure with the sword. No wonder it can unleash such powerful force. Unfortunately, it's just brute force, posing no real threat." Shang Zihong murmured calmly.
Immediately, Shang Zihong struck again, displaying his speed advantage, pushing the Red Child Sword's power to its limit. From time to time, he would also activate the Ten-Thousand Refining Tower, launching unexpected attacks at Zhang Ruochen.
Two figures stepped out from Shang Zihong's body in succession, attacking Zhang Ruochen from different directions.
Now that Shang Zihong's cultivation was fully stabilized, he could once again execute the "Three Corpses Refining the Dao."
With two additional opponents, Zhang Ruochen's situation became extremely unfavorable.
"Bang."
The Five-Colored Merit Divine Stele slammed down heavily, and a five-colored divine light struck Zhang Ruochen's body.
Even with the Flame God Armor's defense, Zhang Ruochen still suffered considerable injury, spitting out a large mouthful of blood.
"Bang."
Not long after, the Ten-Thousand Refining Tower struck. Although Zhang Ruochen tried his best to block it, he still took a hit from a stream of supreme power.
Zhang Ruochen's eyes became extremely fierce as he fully executed the twelfth palm of the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Palm.
Rarely, this time he successfully mobilized the Truth Rules, amplifying his attack power by three times.
Shang Zihong, wielding the Red Child Sword, was too close and couldn't dodge in time, taking the palm strike head-on.
Shang Zihong was sent flying, and although many divine patterns emerged on his body surface, he still suffered considerable injury, blood gushing from his mouth.
However, at the same time, the Shang Zihong controlling the Ten-Thousand Refining Tower took the opportunity to unleash the Yin Nether Dark Light, hitting Zhang Ruochen solidly.
Zhang Ruochen was also sent flying, and the crimson flames on the Flame God Armor were mostly extinguished, covered with a layer of chilling white frost.
The fact that Zhang Ruochen had actually wounded him infuriated Shang Zihong. "Zhang Ruochen, no matter how much you struggle, you cannot escape death tonight. Not just you, but everyone related to you will also die."
Having broken through to the Dao Domain realm yet still being unable to kill Zhang Ruochen quickly made Shang Zihong completely lose patience. In his view, this situation should not have occurred.
"Shua."
The three Shang Zihongs instantly merged. Seventeen million sacred dao rules emerged, swirling around the merged Shang Zihong, constructing a powerful Dao Domain.
The next moment, an extreme yin force and an extreme yang force simultaneously surged from Shang Zihong's body, colliding with each other, creating extremely terrifying phenomena. Even space became slightly distorted.
"Zhang Ruochen, everything ends here."
Shang Zihong said with murderous intent.
The extreme yin force surged violently, condensing into a ferocious three-headed beast. The extreme yang force rapidly expanded, transforming into a towering flame giant, exuding an overbearing and powerful majestic aura, like a flame emperor.
The two stood side by side, both emitting an incredibly terrifying aura.
In an instant, the heaven and earth rules and power within thousands of miles all frantically converged.
"Roar."
The ferocious beast and the flame giant both roared to the sky, their sound waves becoming solid, spreading in all directions like mountain collapses and tsunamis.
This power was truly too terrifying, affecting a wide range.
Even those cultivators observing from afar were affected. Those with weaker strength were directly sent flying, and some even suffered considerable injury.
Even the powerful figures on both sides of the battlefield were significantly affected, retreating one after another, doing their best to create distance.
(End of Chapter)