On the ruins of the deep-mine floor, two polar opposite currents of Order-energy collided with a violent, world-shaking force.
Lin Xiu's longsword danced with arcs of brilliant violet light—the absolute suppression of the [Blood-Engraving Realm]. Each strike carried the tearing attributes of his three Order-Traces, shredding the very air around Gu Hanzhou into a vacuum of jagged vacuum pockets.
"How do you plan to fight me? You're a madman who ruined his own future!"
Lin Xiu roared, the violet crosshairs in his prosthetic eye locking onto Gu Hanzhou's chest. He could see it clearly: the realm Gu Hanzhou was desperately maintaining was unstable. The closure of the Consciousness Shackle had created a massive rift in his internal energy circulation, leaving his defenses full of holes.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
Gu Hanzhou was forced back three steps, his boots leaving deep craters in the piles of mineral slag. The blade of [Black Order] emitted a high-pitched, agonizing groan as it reached its breaking point. Gu Hanzhou's webbing between his thumb and forefinger had already split, and fresh blood trickled down the hilt of his sword.
"It's over! Go to hell and keep Mordent company!"
Lin Xiu seized the fleeting millisecond when Gu Hanzhou's strength flickered. The three Order-Traces on his sword flared with blinding intensity, transforming into a violet meteor capable of piercing heavy tank armor. He lunged, aiming directly for Gu Hanzhou's undefended left shoulder.
If this strike landed, it wouldn't just pierce Gu Hanzhou's heart—it would skewer Gu Qingshan on his back as well.
However, in this split second of life and death, a bone-chilling arc appeared on the corner of Gu Hanzhou's mouth.
He didn't dodge. Instead, he took a step forward, directly into the path of the sword.
"Who told you... that I was trying to trade my life for yours?"
Gu Hanzhou's voice was low, rasping with a desperate, all-or-nothing madness.
Just as the tip of Lin Xiu's sword was about to touch his skin, Gu Hanzhou's right hand suddenly clamped onto his own left shoulder. The Imperial Gold blood within him stopped trying to suppress the crimson, chaotic energy of the ore. Instead, like a dam bursting, it surged forward, slamming into the mineral shards that had already fused into his marrow.
CRACK—BOOM!!
The sound of shattering bone rang out with startling clarity in the silent abyss.
Gu Hanzhou had intentionally shattered his own left shoulder bone!
The dark-red "Anomalous Ore" that the Blind Gatekeeper had planted—which had not yet been fully absorbed—reached its critical pressure point and exploded. A terrifying pillar of crimson light, filled with the stench of mutation and destruction, erupted from Gu Hanzhou's shattered scapula.
"What... what kind of monster is this?!"
The fanaticism in Lin Xiu's eye instantly turned to pure, unadulterated terror.
That energy was too savage. It didn't belong to humanity, nor did it belong to the established Order. It was the "Soul of the Slag"—the cursed essence of the earth buried for ten thousand years beneath the mines.
The crimson pillar instantly swallowed Lin Xiu's violet sword-light. The three supposedly invincible Order-Traces, upon contact with this self-destructive primal energy, began to hiss and dissolve like silk dipped in concentrated acid.
SPURT!
Gu Hanzhou endured the soul-tearing agony of having half his body nearly ripped apart. Amidst the crimson mist, his right hand gripped [Black Order], his figure emerging like a vengeful spirit crawling out of the embers of hell.
Using the explosive recoil of his shattered bone as a propulsion system, he moved at a speed that even a high-spec prosthetic eye could not track.
"The first strike... is for my ten years of blood as a mine slave!"
Gu Hanzhou's blade fell.
Lin Xiu shrieked, raising his sword in a desperate block, only to find his strength laughably insignificant against the crimson surge.
SNAP!
The Inquisition-issued Blood-Engraving sword was snapped clean in two.
"NO—!"
With a scream of despair, Lin Xiu was sent flying by the shockwave, crashing violently into a distant mountain of mineral waste. His prized violet prosthetic eye shattered upon impact, and half of his face was charred black by the heat of the explosion.
Gu Hanzhou stood his ground, his left shoulder a gruesome mess of mangled flesh and exposed bone splinters. But the suffocating sensation within him had vanished.
The "Consciousness Shackle," which had been sealed tight, had been forced open by a half-finger-wide crack from the sheer impact of the internal explosion.
Imperial Gold blood gushed through the gap, frantically repairing his broken body.
"Cough... hack..."
Gu Hanzhou dropped to one knee, gasping for breath and spitting out shards of bone. He looked toward the depths of the ruins, his eyes devoid of any mercy.
The blind old man began to clap in the darkness, his raspy laughter sending shivers down the spine. "Good... ruthless enough. Using your own bones as cannonballs. Boy, you've officially passed the entrance exam."
In the distance, a blood-covered Lin Xiu struggled to crawl to his feet. As he looked at the approaching Gu Hanzhou, he felt, for the first time, a primal terror known as "The Natural Predator."
It wasn't just the difference in combat power; it was the sheer insanity of someone who treated the edge of death as their playground.
"Gu Hanzhou... you're not human... you're a monster..."
"Thank you for the compliment."
Gu Hanzhou slowly raised [Black Order] once more. This time, the aura swirling around the blade was one of pure, absolute, dark-gold killing intent.