Chapter 427: Grand Finale!!
The vast majority of people believed that the Water Demon was already dead.
Chen Ye, however, was not so optimistic.
He could still sense the Water Demon's life force. The immense pressure it exuded had not vanished, which meant it was not dead.
After all, it was a Level Six cosmic behemoth that roamed the universe freely—it would not die so easily.
Chen Ye's reaction drew the attention of many.
"Hm? Why does the God appear so serious? Isn't the monster already dead?"
"Could it be… the Water Demon is still alive? No way, right?"
"Its body's been burned through! How could it still live in that state?"
Amidst the murmurs, a strange scene unfolded.
The enormous "corpse" of the Water Demon before Chen Ye began rapidly shrinking. In just a few breaths, it had diminished to a fraction of its size.
Where once it rivaled a planet in scale, now it was no larger than a moon.
Even so, it remained colossal.
But the changes did not stop there.
Its body began to split apart, with chunks of outer flesh falling away into space, revealing fresh skin beneath.
It was shedding!
Once the shedding ended, the Water Demon's size had shrunk again, no longer boundless. At this range, Chen Ye could take in its entire form with the naked eye—its length was now roughly ten thousand meters.
Its appearance had also changed.
The most striking difference was the single horn that had grown from its head.
Beneath that horn, a massive solitary eye stared outward.
Though its size had reduced by more than tenfold, its aura had not weakened—in fact, it had grown even more oppressive.
Especially that single eye.
It was like a black hole.
Even through a live broadcast, it sent chills deep into the hearts of countless humans.
Perhaps this… was the Water Demon's true form.
That vast earlier body was merely a mobile reservoir for storing water.
Seeing its new form, Chen Ye rolled his shoulders, then—attacked!
Whatever the form, he would fight until it was over.
A colossal white fire fist erupted into the void, carrying the might of countless armies as it charged toward the Water Demon.
It was Chen Ye's own flame—burning without need for atmosphere.
With the appearance of that fire fist, an unprecedented cosmic battle began.
…
More than an hour later.
Chen Ye and the Water Demon abruptly halted, standing still in the void.
Outwardly, both appeared somewhat battered. But on closer inspection, Chen Ye bore only superficial scorch marks, without true injury, while the Water Demon's massive body was marked with numerous wounds.
Looking at the giant before him, Chen Ye could not help but sigh. This was indeed worthy of being a Level Six cosmic behemoth—it was formidable.
In that past hour, he had lost count of the number of punches he had thrown or the flames he had unleashed, yet he had failed to kill it—only wounding it lightly.
Such defense was something Chen Ye had never seen before.
No wonder it could run rampant through the cosmos.
Still, despite his unscathed appearance, Chen Ye was not entirely comfortable.
The horn atop the Water Demon's head could emit a particle beam akin to a gamma-ray burst, striking at him.
Gamma rays were high-energy electromagnetic radiation with immense penetrating power, capable of piercing most materials, even lead. Their radiation was devastating, able to destroy molecules within cells, such as proteins and DNA, causing mutations, loss of blood-producing function, cancer, and more.
In the Marvel world, it was after exposure to gamma radiation that Dr. Banner's genes mutated, turning him into the Hulk.
Chen Ye's iron body had long been invincible, comparable to indestructible diamond.
Yet the Water Demon's gamma rays still left him feeling distinctly unwell.
The radiation's energy intensity was so high that it formed a beam of visible light. And because it traveled at the speed of light, it was almost impossible to dodge.
During that hour, Chen Ye had been struck by it at least a dozen times.
Still, he had gained something.
He could now confirm that this was the monster's final form, with no hidden abilities remaining—if it had more, it would have used them already.
"So this is your limit? Then I won't play with you any longer…"
Muttering to himself without sound, Chen Ye's form suddenly shifted before countless watching eyes—
He became a massive azure dragon, over six thousand meters long.
In sheer size, he was only slightly smaller than the Water Demon itself.
Countless people from other worlds, already stunned into silence, were shaken once more.
"What the—??? Am I seeing things?"
"Th-this is… the legendary Dragon God?"
"Unbelievable… utterly breathtaking…"
"So the God is actually the Dragon God of legend? No wonder he has such overwhelming power."
"Wasn't the Dragon God just an outdated myth? How could it be real?"
"My teacher always told me not to believe in superstition, only in science. Should I be demanding an explanation now?"
This world's humans had also passed through a feudal era. But with alien tomes left behind, that era had been relatively short-lived.
In those primitive days, the ignorant masses, upon seeing strange celestial phenomena, imagined unknown beings dwelling in the heavens. Many myths were born this way.
Among them, the Dragon God was one of the most revered, known to nearly all.
This was partly because the world harbored an abundance of reptilian creatures.
Now, seeing Chen Ye take the form of a massive dragon, countless people were left reeling, their understanding of the world shattered.
After transforming into the azure dragon, Chen Ye wasted no words. He charged forward and began ruthlessly assaulting the Water Demon.
With his strength amplified fivefold, his claws tore through the Water Demon's outer hide with ease.
In mere moments, the creature's massive body was covered in wounds.
Then, it suddenly turned tail and fled.
Clearly, the Water Demon was not lacking in intelligence.
With its speed in space, if it managed to escape, Chen Ye would never catch up.
So, he unleashed his trump card.
A beam of dragon's breath ripped through the void, striking the fleeing Water Demon in an instant.
Boom!
Like the violent detonation of a supernova, the explosion illuminated the cosmos.
The terrifying energy from the blast swept through space without restraint, destroying everything nearby.
Several live-feed drones were consumed instantly by the shockwave, leaving only two at the farthest distance intact.
The last image countless viewers saw was a blinding light.
Moments later, when the surviving drones resumed broadcasting, the surrounding asteroids had been completely cleared away.
In the distance, the Water Demon's body floated motionless. On closer look, it was in ruins—its entire tail was gone.
Beside it, the colossal azure dragon stood proud and imposing.
Then, the dragon quickly shrank, reverting to human form.
The bald-headed Chen Ye had returned.
Without sparing the Water Demon another glance, he flew off.
He could sense its life force was completely gone.
"We won? We really won?"
"We won! The Water Demon's wrecked beyond repair. There's no way it survived. The God is truly incredible."
"This is great—no more fear of the apocalypse."
"Long live the Dragon God!"
"Don't celebrate too soon. This outcome might not be a good thing."
"What do you mean by that?"
"The God has shown power we can't match. If he makes excessive demands, what will humanity do? Can we refuse him?"
Such discussions surfaced in more than a few places.
Some people were naturally cautious—perhaps even inclined to view others with suspicion and guard against them.
But the majority were lost in joy, hailing Chen Ye as the hero who had saved the world.
The man countless people now called a hero returned to the homeworld the next day. The commander greeted him with the highest honors, but Chen Ye did not linger and went straight back to Blue Star.
After he left, his legend continued to circulate throughout that world.
…
Upon returning to Blue Star, Chen Ye immediately sought out the representative from Xia Nation, informing him the Water Demon had been slain and instructing him to negotiate for benefits.
Chen Ye knew his own strengths.
Negotiations were best left to professionals.
He believed the Xia Nation's representative would bite deep into the commander for concessions—anything less would be disappointing.
As for whether the commander would refuse? That was the least of his concerns.
Two days later, the Xia Nation's representative returned with news of victory.
"Mr. Chen, the commander has agreed to nearly all of our demands."
Chen Ye nodded, unsurprised.
But then the representative added, "However, the other side also made a request…"
"Oh?"
Chen Ye froze for a moment.
A request and a demand differed in just one word, but their meanings were entirely different.
After some thought, he asked, "What request?"
The representative replied, "Better to let Miss Ye tell you herself."
With that, he stepped aside.
A cold-faced woman stepped forward—it was Ye Sheng, one of the commander's four great war gods.
But now, her skin was white instead of its former red.
Chen Ye had long noticed her presence and regarded her with suspicion.
"Lord God, I hope you can leave some divine seed within me… I know your side's standards of beauty. Rest assured, the skin on my body is simulated and has been altered to match your preferences. Also, my reproductive organs remain in their original, natural state, completely intact."
At these words, Chen Ye's eyes widened.
He could not comprehend how such outrageous words could be spoken so calmly—especially with so many people around.
Seeing his hesitation, Ye Sheng thought he was concerned about something else and continued, "You needn't worry about the divine seed's future. The commander has said that once I conceive and give birth, the divine seed will become the next commander."
Chen Ye could hold back no longer.
He spat out three words: "Get lost!"
(The End! An epilogue follows, detailing the futures of key supporting characters.)