Chapter 356 – I Am Calamity, I Am Misfortune, I Am the Calamity Lord

“?!?!”

Mu Lin had absolutely not anticipated Luo Chen’s sudden outburst.

Although he had once jokingly speculated that Luo Chen was the chosen savior of the Heavenly Dao, a child of destiny,

and such prodigies often experienced breakthroughs in desperate situations, defeating enemies beyond their level,

having it actually happen to him still left Mu Lin utterly speechless.

“Have I become the villain?”

“The big boss that helps the protagonist break through?”

…

While Mu Lin was speechless, Luo Chen did not see his breakthrough as sudden or empowered by the Heavenly Dao.

He believed his advancement was a natural progression.

Having absorbed Calamity Qi for years, his cultivation level had already reached the peak of Gang Sha, just one step away from Mortal Shedding.

All he lacked was a catalyst.

Earlier, Mu Lin’s suppression had pushed him into a desperate situation, allowing him to truly experience the calamity known as ‘death.’

—Due to his exceptional talent, Luo Chen had been extremely well-protected by the Northern Aristocracy, making this his first brush with death.

This desperate situation was precisely the catalyst he needed for his breakthrough.

Moreover, the expectations and hopes of the people, his concern for the safety of the Northern populace, the responsibilities he carried… all these emotions drove him to burn everything—his mana, his Qi and Blood, even his willpower.

This extreme burning, combined with the catalyst of the ‘death crisis,’ collided like a spark striking the earth, igniting his inspiration in an instant.

He seized this catalyst and, in one fell swoop, reached the Mortal Shedding realm.

This was why his aura was soaring, surging, and exploding.

It should be noted that while Luo Chen’s foundation could not compare to Mu Lin’s, it was still exceptionally solid.

This solid foundation meant that his breakthrough allowed his strength to increase tenfold, even dozens of times, in an extremely short period.

“Power, immense power!”

In the air, Luo Chen, with his eyes tightly shut, was fully experiencing his transformation and the continuously surging power.

This overwhelming force brought an uncontrollable look of ecstasy to his face, along with an invincible will.

It took dozens of breaths before he regained his senses from this explosive surge of power.

Once lucid, Luo Chen looked at Mu Lin again. There was no longer any fear or despair in his eyes, only a hint of condescension.

“Thank you, Mu Lin. It was the immense pressure you brought that allowed me to break through.”

“In gratitude, I permit you to surrender.”

“Admit defeat. As you are now, you are no longer my match.”

“Admit defeat, huh.”

Luo Chen’s condescending attitude made Mu Lin laugh—a cold laugh:

“You are indeed strong now, but what makes you think you can surpass me?”

“Have you ever witnessed the limits of my power?”

Mu Lin’s reaction and his words made Luo Chen shake his head:

“I have indeed never seen the limits of your power, but that doesn’t matter at all, Mu Lin. You simply don’t understand the strength after Mortal Shedding…”

At this point, he sighed: “Forget it. Mere words won’t make you understand. In that case, I’ll show you the power of Mortal Shedding myself.”

“Mu Lin, I will personally grant you defeat.”

“Hum!”

As his words fell, Luo Chen’s hands suddenly spread wide.

“Calamity Summoning!”

As he made this gesture and shouted, Mu Lin narrowed his eyes and observed that sickness, suffering, pain, torment, death, aging, cold, resentment… all the calamities of this floating world transformed into wisps of ominous gray-black qi, rapidly converging from all directions toward Luo Chen.

“Hum!”

After advancing to Mortal Shedding, Luo Chen had undergone a transformation in both body and mind. Coupled with his innate top-tier talent, this allowed the transformed Luo Chen to influence an area spanning over ten miles in a single breath.

“Hoo…”

The vast range of influence enabled him to gather an immense amount of Calamity Qi. The sheer volume of calamity even condensed into a mass of dark clouds.

Beneath the heavy clouds, everyone felt a weight pressing on their hearts, as if crushed by a mountain. Simultaneously, a sense of impending disaster washed over them all.

This oppressive feeling left many members of the Southern Aristocracy with grave expressions and pale faces. At the same time, words of frustration spilled from their mouths.

“Damn it, how can something like breaking through mid-battle even happen?!”

“Damn, could Luo Chen actually turn this around?”

“That shouldn’t be possible, right? Although Gang Sha fighting Mortal Shedding is extremely rare, Mu Lin is a top-tier Prodigy—he might just pull it off. Besides, I heard Mu Lin once defeated a Mortal Shedding cultivator, and that was even an Evil God Scion…”

Some were worried, while others brought up Mu Lin’s past glories. However, before they could finish, they were interrupted.

“It’s different. The Mortal Shedding cultivators that Gang Sha Realm fighters can defeat are mostly ordinary ones. It’s incredibly difficult for anyone to challenge a Prodigy who has advanced to Mortal Shedding.”

“As for that Evil God Scion in Grave Lord’s Tomb, he was indeed a Mortal Shedding expert, but he was suppressed by the tomb itself, limiting his strength to the Realm of Gang Sha Unity. Moreover, before fighting Mu Lin, he had already been worn down by over a dozen Prodigies. He wasn’t at full Mortal Shedding strength, and defeating him wasn’t solely Mu Lin’s achievement.”

“Uh…”

The words of those in the know only deepened the Southern cultivators’ frustration.

In contrast, the Northern Aristocracy collectively breathed a sigh of relief.

“Good! Good! Good!”

The leader, Iron Tower, exclaimed three “goods” in succession.

“Hahaha, I knew Luo Chen wouldn’t let us down.”

Even the usually steady Qing couldn’t contain his excitement, letting loose with unrestrained joy.

The other Prodigies of the Northern Aristocracy were also exhilarated, shouting loudly.

“Luo Chen, eternal victory!”

“Luo Chen, you are invincible…”

“Roar! You Southern weaklings, what do you have to say now?!”

…

The cheers and support from the Northern Aristocracy also invigorated Luo Chen. As his emotions surged, the Calamity Qi he had summoned—which now blotted out nearly half the sky—rippled in response.

“Caw, caw, caw…”

In the next moment, the vast Calamity Qi transformed into countless cawing crows.

Spirit of Law!

What unfolded before them was the initial manifestation of Spirit of Law.

In this world, dense natural environments could nurture special Elemental Beings, such as Water Men in rivers, Rock Giants in mountain ranges, Snow Monsters and Snow Generals in icy landscapes, and so on.

The highest forms of Spirit of Law were the Phoenix within flames, the Golden Crow within the sun, and the Innate Deities born from the laws of nature.

Luo Chen naturally did not possess such a realm, but his extraordinary talent allowed him to touch the fringes of the Spirit of Law.

The cawing crows were symbols of ominousness, disaster, misfortune, and other such auras.

Naturally, the transformation of calamitous auras into crows was not merely a change in form; they also greatly enhanced the power of Luo Chen’s various spells.

Moreover, these crows could even actively attack.

“Caw, caw, caw…”

Just like now, their frenzied cries made people irritable, depressed, and driven to madness.

Beyond that, those who caught their gaze would be plagued by misfortune, invaded by all sorts of ominous auras.

Many of the surrounding cultivators fell victim to this.

After meeting the eyes of the crows representing ominous calamity, they would suddenly cough, develop fevers, break out in rashes… suffering from various ailments.

Or their mana auras would suddenly become chaotic.

Or their luck would turn sour—they might accidentally trip and fall, or the chairs they were sitting on might suddenly crack.

All these misfortunes and calamities were brought by the swarms of crows.

Of course, the cultivators around the arena were merely caught in the crossfire.

The primary targets of these countless crows were still Mu Lin.

“Caw, caw, caw…”

While frantically cawing with hoarse cries, the countless crows also fixed their blood-red eyes firmly on Mu Lin.

As they glared, countless ominous auras surged toward Mu Lin, attempting to invade his body.

“Hum!”

Such ominous and calamitous auras made Mu Lin raise an eyebrow slightly.

He had a feeling that if he possessed a game-like Attribute Panel, then at this moment, the log of that panel would be flooded with countless negative aura notifications.

[You have been cursed by an ominous aura, afflicted with the debuffs: Weakness, Exhaustion, Fatigue, Poisoning, Paralysis, Dizziness, Fragility, Cold, Stiffness, Hunger… and so on.]

Countless crows meant countless negative debuffs.

Of course, after these notifications, there should also be a line—Your defensive resistance is sufficiently high; you have resisted these negative status effects.

Yes, being stared at by countless Misfortune Crows did indeed unleash endless ominous auras trying to invade Mu Lin’s body.

But as the saying goes, Mu Lin’s three hundred and sixty-five portions of Central Wuji Sha were not cultivated in vain. The vast Baleful Qi granted him unimaginable defense.

No matter how many crows Luo Chen summoned, these crows were ultimately composed of mundane misfortune auras. They could not penetrate the thin layer of radiant clothing enveloping Mu Lin.

“He actually blocked it?”

This scene also took Luo Chen by surprise. He hadn’t expected Mu Lin’s defense to be so strong, so solid.

However, he soon dismissed it.

“Mu Lin, you’re quite impressive, but only just.”

“Gang Sha is still just Gang Sha. Let me show you what Mortal Shedding truly means!”

As he spoke, he suddenly roared wildly toward the sky.

“I am calamity, I am misfortune, I am the Calamity Lord!”

“Boom!”

As Luo Chen spread his arms and shouted, his body exploded.

Literally exploded.

Of course, the exploding Luo Chen did not die; instead, he transformed into countless streams of gray-black ominous mist.

“Caw, caw, caw…”

In the next moment, the swarms of crows surged toward this mist.

“Hum!”

The influx of countless crows caused the mist to rapidly expand.

In the blink of an eye, the gray-black mist transformed by Luo Chen expanded to a range of several hundred meters.

“Boom, boom, boom…”

In the next moment, the vast mist that had devoured countless crows began to pulsate violently, as if nurturing offspring.

And indeed, a figure was being birthed within that mist.

With his transcendent vision, Mu Lin discerned that the figure being nurtured within the mist was humanoid.

A sinister humanoid form, clad in a gray-black robe, standing one hundred and thirty-seven meters tall, covered in blood-red eyes, and adorned with thirteen pairs of wings.

This was the Calamity Monarch—Luo Chen’s Mortal Shedding Dharma Body!

“Boom!”

Another breath later, the mist exploded, and the Dharma Body emerged into the world. Luo Chen’s already soaring aura surged even higher.

At this moment, Luo Chen, having revealed his Dharma Body, made Mu Lin feel a hint of threat.

And this caused Mu Lin to smile.

A carefree, unrestrained smile.

(End of Chapter)