Rumble—!
From above the disguised skyscraper of Section 13, a dazzling violet-red light streaked across the sky, followed by a deafening explosion that echoed through the entire district.
Whooosh—!
The sweeping shockwave, like rolling violet-red flames, instantly engulfed the disguised skyscraper and spread rapidly outward, obliterating every building and living thing in its path.
When the blinding light and shockwave finally dissipated, towering smoke rose into the sky. Within a two-kilometer radius, most of the district had been reduced to scorched earth.
At the explosion's epicenter, where the disguised skyscraper of Section 13 once stood, a crater roughly a hundred meters wide and thirty meters deep now gaped open. The soil inside had been completely vitrified by the instantaneous high heat, radiating scorching temperatures—an absolute forbidden zone for life.
At that moment, through the thick smoke came a shout. "Uncle, are you all alright!?"
"Hm? Still alive?" Liver, who was controlling the Shadowkhan Kingdom and unleashing ultimate darkness, looked toward the center of the crater in surprise.
That astonished him. With an explosion this violent, the old him would've been vaporized instantly—yet Jackie and his companions were still alive and moving?
As expected of enemies valued by Milady. Though they appeared harmless on the surface, their hidden strength was far from ordinary.
Then, in that case, it was time to bury them completely.
In the smoke, Uncle, who was helping Jade to her feet, shuddered when he heard Liver's voice. "Jackie, be careful! Remember the incantation I taught you!" he shouted.
"Yes, Uncle!"
Crack!Boom!
Jackie shook his body, and in the next instant—accompanied by a fierce sonic boom—he shot out from the bottom of the smoke-filled crater, rushing straight toward Liver's direction.
As Jackie burst from the crater, Liver's gaze shifted toward the dark-blue armor covering his body. The armor's bronze-gold patterns traced along every edge, making it look both sacred and powerful.
"The Divine Armor of Lan Caihe, one of the Eight Immortal—'The Armor of God'!"
This armor was no mere decoration.
According to the knowledge Selene had imparted to him, this was the battle armor of Lan Caihe—the Immortal who subdued the Earth Demon Dikuai in ancient times—known as the 'Armor of God'!
A true relic of an Immortal.
Once worn and acknowledged, even an ordinary human could wield divine power beyond imagination.
The Eight Immortals' lingering strength infused within the armor granted its wearer power enough to stand toe-to-toe against the Eight Demon Sorcerers themselves—and with mastery, perhaps even to defeat them.
Though some might call it borrowed strength, Liver wasn't in a position to judge. After all, he too was drawing on Selene's power.
And most importantly—just like the Teigu—the user's own ability determined everything. Without true strength, one could never earn such a relic's recognition, let alone unleash its full might.
"Good! Come at me then!"
BOOM!
The surrounding air quaked, scattering the thick dust. The ground beneath their feet—nearly a hundred meters across—collapsed inward.
The next moment, earth and stone exploded upward. The once-vitrified soil shattered anew, as countless 'crystal shards' were flung into the air by the force of their clash, creating a trench several hundred meters long.
If not for the smoke and ruins around them, the scene might almost have seemed dreamlike.
"Your Shadow Legion... how could you—"
Grappling against Liver, Jackie was about to question why he had unleashed the Shadowkhan—but when he finally got a good look at Liver's current form, his breath caught.
"Liver, stop this! You've been consumed by darkness! There's still time to turn back!"
It wasn't hard to see why Jackie thought so. He could never have guessed that Liver was an outsider from another world.
Under the combined influence of Selene's Honkai energy and the authority of the Shadow Legion, Liver's body now looked exactly like a being possessed by a demon.
His skin had turned pale-blue, his eyes glowed crimson, and ominous violet-red energy lines pulsed beneath every vein.
He was, in every sense, the image of a man fallen to demonic temptation.
Liver didn't bother answering. Instead, a faint smile curled his lips, the red gleam in his eyes intensifying. "So... you are the true warrior of this world."
Seeing Liver so stubbornly lost to madness, Jackie gritted his teeth and steeled his resolve. "Then... I'm sorry!!" With that, he struck without hesitation, channeling even greater strength into both fists.
With a fierce roar, blinding blue light burst from his body. A torrent of divine power surged through his veins, filling him with boundless might. Raising his fist high, he drove it straight into Liver's chest.
BOOM!
Liver was instantly blasted away, massive cracks splitting the ground as jagged spires of earth erupted skyward.
Jackie's eyes gleamed. "Liver, whatever your goal is, you won't succeed!"
As he spoke, the blue divine energy around him surged violently. His dark-blue armor shifted, reshaping into a form-fitting battle suit that hugged his body even tighter.
Lifting off the ground, Jackie briefly inherited the true power of an Immortal.
Chasing after the airborne Liver, his azure armor shimmered with divine light, each of his punches releasing shockwaves so intense they could split mountains and seas alike.
"Water Dragon Vortex!"
The same technique—yet a completely different result.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Each of Jackie's punches shattered the oncoming Water Dragon Vortexes, scattering them into exploding torrents. The resulting winds even threw off Liver's counterattacks.
In a blink, the two were locked in a fierce chase, their battle spreading across multiple city blocks toward the San Francisco Bay. Everywhere they passed, the ground fractured and smoke billowed into the sky.
"Hmph. You're trying to lure me away so that old man can seal the coordinate node, aren't you? Hahaha... it's already too late!" Liver taunted after the two clashed and broke apart, using the recoil to steady himself.
"I believe in Uncle! You'll never win!" Jackie shouted, raising his glowing fist and swinging it toward the airborne Liver.
A surge of radiant blue energy burst forth from his fist—divine power without end.
"So strong... So this is the power of your world's gods, huh? Fine! Then I'll show you what true power looks like!"
Liver roared fanatically, raising two fingers to his collar.
Violet light flared behind him as a phantom form began to coalesce—a silver-haired, crimson-eyed figure wearing a silvery-white suit of armor adorned with gold patterns. Several violet-red halos floated behind her like divine sigils.
"For Selene!!!"
With a bellow, Liver threw his fist forward. From the glowing phantom at his back, dense violet-red energy converged into his punch.
"Come on!!"
Both men now hovered high in the sky.
Like two falling stars, they collided.
The divine fist empowered by the Immortal's strength clashed against the fist infused with every ounce of Selene's bestowed Honkai energy.
BOOOOOOM!!!
It was as if a tactical nuke had detonated in the heavens. Blinding light engulfed everything.
The entire district below seemed to erupt all at once, as an apocalyptic storm swept outward, flattening everything in its path.
At the heart of the explosion, Jackie and Liver struggled to endure, teeth clenched in agony as if enduring divine torture.
After all, both of them were merely borrowing power—one had temporarily inherited the might of an Immortal, the other a fragment of Selene's strength.
Though their bodies had transcended human limits, they were still mortal in nature. The sheer force of their collision was pushing both to their breaking point.
"Uncle... you must succeed..." Jackie thought silently, gritting his teeth before letting out a furious roar and charging again.
...
Meanwhile, at the ruins of Section 13's base—
"The point of ultimate darkness is just ahead," Uncle said, holding up the dried lizard as the chi spell's guidance led the way. He turned to Tohru and Jade. "Quickly, we must reach the center!"
But suddenly, several radiant violet-red lines spread across the ground—darkened and corrupted by the released ultimate darkness—stretching out like a vast spiderweb.
"Oh no, there's no time left! Jade! Tohru! Move!"
Protected by the chi barrier, Uncle and the others rushed toward the central area as fast as they could.
Before long, a massive violet-red monolith—radiating an ominous aura—came into view before Uncle.
"So pretty..." Jade murmured unconsciously. Girls always had an eye for beautiful things, and the crystalline, gem-like sheen of the monument certainly fit her taste.
"Aiya! Jade, this is no time to admire it! We must destroy it!" Uncle scolded as he quickly set down his backpack and dumped out its contents.
Clatter!
Countless magical reagents, potions, charms, and books spilled out onto the ground.
"Though the Ultimate Darkness has already been released, this 'monolith' clearly doesn't belong to the Shadowkhan. It must be connected to that new, far stronger demon," Uncle muttered as he flipped through his spellbook, frantically searching for the right incantation.
Suddenly—
"For Selene!!!"
BOOOOOM!!
A deafening roar and explosion followed, shaking the ground beneath their feet. The sound alone made their heads buzz.
"That was Liver's voice! Is Uncle Jackie alright?" Jade asked anxiously.
"With the Immortal's relic protecting him, Jackie will be fine," Uncle replied quickly. "But... Selene... so that's the name of the new demon?" he muttered, still clutching his spellbook.
"Selene... That's a name from Greek mythology. What connection could there be?" His thoughts spun wildly as panic crept in. He ruffled his white hair, muttering in frustration.
But Selene had no intention of giving them time.
The release of the Ultimate Darkness overwhelmed the chi barrier, tipping the balance of yin and yang and creating rifts in the world's defensive wards. Though equilibrium would eventually return, even a brief moment of imbalance was all Selene needed—and with the coordinate nodes already corroding reality from within, the timing was perfect.
Crack!
From the center of the monolith—formed from condensed Honkai crystal—a massive rift in space-time tore open in midair. From its glowing violet-black core, streams of shimmering particles surged forth.
Crack... crack... crack—!
The rift widened continuously, stretching skyward and earthward alike. The very atmosphere seemed to split apart as countless fractures webbed across the sky—a sight both breathtaking and terrifying.
For Uncle and his group, however, it was the worst possible outcome.
No time remained to find the proper spell. "We'll use the incantation that sealed the Eight Demon Sorcerers! Quick, Tohru—help me cast it! We must destroy—"
But before he could finish—
"Clearly, you will not have that chance."
An impossibly cold, imperious female voice echoed from within the rift.
At that moment, though the weather in San Francisco was mild, Uncle, Jade, and Tohru all felt as if they'd been plunged into the Arctic. A shiver ran from the base of their spines straight up to their skulls, freezing them in place.
Zzzraaa—!
As if in response to the voice, the violet rift above Section 13's ruins split open wider, transforming into an enormous rippling vortex that spread rapidly until it engulfed the entire city.
The shimmering purple membrane above it glowed brighter and brighter, warping and distorting as bizarre anomalies began to appear.
Within the massive opening, a pitch-black maelstrom churned violently—ominous and foreboding.
Then suddenly, a massive, sharp white object thrust out from the vortex.
BOOM!
The spear-like structure pierced through a nearby skyscraper, shaking it violently. Shattered glass and chunks of concrete rained down from above, crashing toward the crowds of fleeing civilians below.
"Ahhh—!"
The people screamed in panic as the towering spire loomed over them like a demonic blade. Terror-stricken, they scattered in every direction.
ROAAAR—!
From within the swirling black vortex came a deafening, beastly roar—like thunder bursting within their skulls.
Moments later, an enormous white pillar—shaped like a monstrous leg—stepped out from the infernal gateway.
CRASH!
The impact crushed several fleeing civilians beneath its weight.
Then, as the dust settled, a colossal and majestic white figure slowly emerged from the rift.
Only then did those watching from afar finally see it clearly—and their blood ran cold.
Its body was as vast as a mountain—towering fifty to sixty meters high. Merely standing there, it resembled a colossal white peak piercing the skyline.
Across its massive form glowed streaks of pink light. Its head had been reconstructed through Honkai energy, forming a helm-like structure reminiscent of a medieval knight. One hand wielded a spear, the other a shield.
It was unmistakably a Templar-class Honkai Beast.
ROAR—! The creature's bellow shattered nearby skyscrapers, cleaving them clean in half.
ROAAAR—!!
As if that roar were a signal, countless glowing points appeared within the massive, vortex-like rift that hovered over San Francisco.
The earth trembled. From the endless storm of violet-red light, wave after wave of Honkai Beasts began to descend—Seraph-class, Chariot-class, Templar-class, Emperor-class, even Judgment-class. They poured through the rift in unending numbers, filling the skies and blanketing the land, descending upon a world not yet claimed by the Honkai.
BOOM!
Zzzraaa—!
Without needing any command from Selene, the Honkai Beasts began their slaughter instinctively, fulfilling their nature to eradicate all living beings in sight. Skyscrapers toppled beneath their titanic limbs or were melted into slag by beams of violet-red light.
Countless civilians perished—some crushed into pulp beneath the monsters' feet, others reduced to ashes in blinding fire. In mere moments, the entire city teetered on the brink of annihilation.
And yet, the flood from the vast rift did not stop. The Honkai Beasts continued to pour into this fragile world, an unending tide of death and destruction.
The world itself began to fracture.
"The prophecy... the omen of the magic circle..." Uncle muttered, staring blankly at the burning ruins of San Francisco. The dried pufferfish slipped from his trembling hand. "It's too late... We can't stop it anymore..."
"Uncle, there's still a way! We can't give up yet!" Jade cried desperately, refusing to surrender hope.
"Oh? And what way would that be... to stop me?"
A flash of violet light erupted before them. In Jade's terrified eyes, countless crimson particles gathered together, coalescing into a glowing, circular gate two meters high.
A moment later, an alluring yet elegant figure emerged from within—the gleaming silver and blue ensemble marking her unmistakably as Selene herself.
At last, the ruler of the Honkai had descended upon the world of Jackie Chan Adventures.
In that instant, as if sensing their sovereign's arrival, every Honkai Beast across the ruined city roared in unison, then lowered themselves in reverence, bowing toward Selene's position.
"Finally... I've entered this world. Its defensive barrier truly was like a turtle shell," she said coldly, her tone laced with disdain.
In a flash, Selene vanished—and reappeared directly in front of Jade.
Her hand shot out, gripping Jade's throat and lifting her effortlessly into the air.
"Hello, Jade Chan... Child of the World. This generation's Saint of Chi."
"Kh—khh...!"
The immense force crushed against Jade's carotid arteries, cutting off her breath. For the first time, she felt death closing in. Her hands clutched desperately at Selene's silver-armored arm as she stared up at the goddess before her.
Selene's battle attire gleamed beneath the violet-red light—her body wrapped in azure minidress and silver-white armor accents etched with dazzling patterns. A radiant skirt trimmed with silver filaments fluttered around her, divine and terrifying all at once.
She didn't look like a demon at all. She looked... like an angel.
Summoning all her fading strength, Jade rasped, her voice hoarse and weak, "You... why?"