Chapter Sixty-Four: The Power of the Giant Hammer

“You!” Lin Aosoul was so furious he wanted nothing more than to tear the cold-blooded, heartless crowd before him to pieces. The massive hammer in his hands hummed with tension.

“Don’t be rash! Commander Lin, he’s a prince—someone we can’t afford to provoke!” The soldiers of the city guard behind him, well-acquainted with his temper, hurried to restrain him.

Ordinarily, Lin Aosoul would have already swung his hammer and charged forth, heedless of noble or royal blood—he would even beat the son of the Lord of Chiyan City without a second thought. But this time, he held himself back. The only “Prince” on this continent, son of the reigning Thunder Emperor and current ruler, bore a title that even he hesitated to cross.

If not for himself, he had to consider the people of the city. To offend the Thunder Family could spell disaster for the entire Holy City.

At that moment, Lei Jue’s triumphant smile grew wider. He turned to the students and said, “It seems the matter is settled. You may return to your training.”

Reino immediately fell in step beside his white tiger, fanning the flames with glee. “That’s a real relief for us! Two demon souls aren’t worth much, but I simply can’t stand how arrogant the Holy City’s become. What is the Chiyan family anyway, daring to look down even on the Thunder Family?…”

Lei Jue had originally brought the younger generations of both families here for training in the nearby woods, never expecting such an incident. In truth, someone of his status shouldn’t have involved himself in these trivial affairs, but the younger ones had pleaded, leaving him no choice.

Suppressing the inferno within, Lin Aosoul restrained himself again and again. The Holy City’s guards clung to his legs, terrified he’d act on impulse and provoke an irreversible disaster.

Suddenly, Lin Aosoul flung his warhammer aside, the force of his aura shaking off everyone clinging to him.

Lei Jue, having walked a short distance, heard a furious roar from behind: “Stop!” It was followed by the crisp clang of armor falling to the ground.

Lin Aosoul stripped off his silver armor, tossed it aside, tore the red cloak from his back, and flung it high. In a voice that boomed across the square, he declared, “Others may swallow such humiliation, but I, Lin Aosoul, cannot! From this moment, I am no longer Commander of the Holy City’s Guard. Whatever happens next, I alone shall bear the consequences—this has nothing to do with the Holy City!”

His words stunned everyone present. Across from him, the students and teachers of the Royal Academy halted in their tracks. Even Heiyu, who’d never liked the rash and violent commander, felt a surge of respect as he watched Lin Aosoul remove his armor at the city gates, his towering figure inspiring awe.

Lin Aosoul’s warhammer blazed with light. In a sudden burst of power, he charged forward like a great bear, fearless and unyielding.

“Vajra Ape!”

“Commander Lin!” The guards behind him stood frozen in terror.

Lei Jue turned, coldly eyeing the hammer crashing down with all its might.

“Overestimating yourself,” he sneered.

With a kick to his tiger’s back, Lei Jue soared gracefully into the air, like a butterfly. Within several meters, thunder elements rushed to his staff, forming a sphere of blinding lightning.

Lin Aosoul leaped a man’s height, swinging his hammer down. Their attacks collided midair in a clash of immense forces; lightning flashed, the air itself shattering with thunderous blasts.

Suddenly, the energy within the sphere exploded. Lin Aosoul’s hammer was knocked back, dragging his arm and waist as his massive frame was hurled ten yards away, landing where he’d begun.

Lei Jue descended lightly, standing before the white tiger, his jade magic staff glowing and floating beside him.

Lin Aosoul transformed his weapon into its second form—the hammer doubling in size, turning pitch-black, ringing with metallic resonance, shrouded in black mist, a pair of rhinoceros horns rising from its head. He attacked again.

“Weapon evolution, second form—Rhino Strike!”

Lei Jue’s composure remained undisturbed, his gaze as unmoved as a mountain. His robe sleeves fluttered as he cupped his hands, gathering lightning into another sphere before him.

Lin Aosoul charged, leaping fearlessly. The giant shadow of his hammer blotted out the ground, crashing down as the rhino horns slammed into Lei Jue’s sphere of light.

Thunder roared, black and white light exploded, and waves of wind swept through the square, blasting the guards and civilians back like leaves before a storm. Heiyu barely managed to brace himself, shielding his face against the gale to watch.

Lei Jue didn’t budge an inch. With a gentle push of the lightning sphere, Lin Aosoul and his hammer were sent flying once more, landing where he started—this time, breathless and spent.

“So strong,” Heiyu thought. He remembered how, in Lin Aosoul’s last battle with Yixin, his weapon’s second form had broken through Yixin’s flame barrier. But today, Lei Jue had repelled him with barely any effort.

He noticed that now Lin Aosoul had removed his armor, the badge on his chest was white crystal, symbolizing the rank of Magus. Lei Jue’s badge was yellow crystal—the pinnacle of Magus. The gap between them was at least one major tier, and at these heights, even the smallest difference was like heaven and earth.

“Lin Aosoul might not make it out of this one…” Heiyu thought.

The bystanders had all retreated behind the city gates, afraid to approach the battlefield. Only the Holy City’s guards still stood outside.

Lei Jue, after withdrawing his spell, remained haughty and cold. Chin raised, he threatened, “You’d best give up. For the sake of two lowly demon lives, to oppose the Thunder Family is more than an entire city can bear.”

Among the crowd, the fox maiden bit her lip in anger. “How dare he call our lives lowly! These people of the Divine Realm truly think nothing of others!” But with the overwhelming power before her, she could only glare fiercely, suppressing her fury.

Lin Aosoul was even more incensed. Twice thrown back, his unyielding spirit now blazed all the brighter; it was impossible for him to back down.

“People of the Divine Realm, don’t be so arrogant!”

He hefted his hammer again, shifting it into its next form. Emerald lightning flickered over its surface as it swelled ever larger, two colossal tusks sprouting from the top. Soon, the hammer stood taller than a man.

“Third form—Mammoth Titan!”

Upon the hammer’s head, the spectral image of a primeval mammoth reared up, mountain-sized, its trunk raised in a sky-shaking trumpet.

At the city gate, the guards retreated in alarm. “This is serious—Commander Lin’s using his ultimate move…” Even Heiyu was stunned, “So his weapon holds a third form!”