CHAPTER 384: DIVINE PUNISHMENT

So, he knew his opponent was very strong, but thankfully it seemed even transcendent beings could not seem to overcome Rion’s seal, meaning he had a chance. To defeat this opponent, he needed to go all out and even needed to use his fire rule, which reached the fourth layer, combined with his sovereign black-gold flames.

Otherwise, it will be difficult to overcome such a strong adversary.

And so...

Apollo’s eyes narrowed to razor focus.

The Eternal Sword Rule in his body blazed to life. Dozens of radiant sword marks shimmered across his body like divine engravings, pulsing with celestial rhythm. His Fire Rule roared — molten runes encircling his limbs, flickering with the destructive power of the fourth layer.

A black sun of fire rose behind him — Sovereign Black-Gold Flame, condensed to the size of a giant wheel but weighing more than mountains.

"Oh, such strength at a young age. Who are you, actually?" The young handsome transcended being asked, as although he appeared young, there was a sign of years left on him, but from Apollo, he could see the youthful vitality without any sign of years clearly showing he wasn’t old.

Apollo’s aura didn’t diminish, but he answered calmly, "I already told him I am just an ordinary guy from the eastern continent. As for my strength, it’s alright; it was just the guy behind you who was weak."

The transcendent being didn’t say anything but looked at him with curiosity, but his heart was filled with shock. Just from the aura he just showed, he wasn’t sure if he could take him out.

Although he was sure Apollo wasn’t a transcendent being, whether it was mysterious flames or rules, he wasn’t weaker than ordinary transcendent beings, and within Rion, his own strength was limited. So the thought of leaving came to his mind.

But if he didn’t do anything, how could his majesty as a transcendent being remain in front of his people?

How could he — one who had crossed the eternal boundary and entered the supreme realm above all gods — just retreat from a youth who hadn’t even reached transcendent level?

So, he lifted his hand.

His palm opened slowly, revealing a brilliant sphere of white-gold essence that pulsed like a fragment of a star.

With a thought, it expanded into a transcendent domain — a compressed world of stillness and mysteries of rule. Even in its incomplete form, the power of a higher realm flooded the land.

Every transcendent has a unique world within them that is completely different from the internal world of the true God or eternal God. The world within the transcendent world surpassed it as it practically became a real world and can be as big as worlds like Rion. They can be called an almost perfect world.

Even a living being can directly live within the transcendent internal world. They can project their world in the form of transcendent authority that can override the natural order and cannot be stopped unless the opponent is equally powerful and has a deep understanding of the rules.

The moment the transcendent world unfolded, the entire land fell into reverent silence.

Above the fractured mountain range, the clouds receded. The sky — already corrupted and dim — dimmed further. The projected domain radiated an oppressive sovereignty, like a world’s will had descended.

⟪ Transcendent Authority. ⟫

It was a force that overrode all natural order, replacing it with the Transcendent’s own reality.

The white-gold world domain was vast and majestic, layered with flowing rivers of runes, inverted constellations, and swirling rule fragments.

Transcendent Authority – Golden Star River

This was no illusion. It was a reality unto itself, a projection of the Transcendent’s inner world — layered with:

Inverted constellations orbiting rivers of molten runes,

And a current of golden starlight flowing endlessly like a divine river, crushing everything beneath its tide.

The Golden Star River wasn’t just beautiful — it was absolute.

Although it was suppressed by the seal on Rion, it still has the power to destroy eternal gods; even peak eternal gods might not survive if they face it.

The mountains bent, the earth sank, and the air thickened into golden mist. The sky itself groaned under the weight of a foreign world.

Apollo stood at the heart of it all.

Unflinching.

"You may be extraordinary, Apollo of the East. But can you survive this?"

With a single thought, the currents of the Golden Star River surged. Dozens of astral runes aligned into formation, and starlight turned to endless star-dismantling golden blades.

The Eternal Sword Rule around Apollo began to hum. The Sovereign Black-Gold Flame pulsed like a second heart behind him.

His sword, combined with fire rules and sovereign Black-Gold flames, turns into an unbelievable power that seems to have also transcended the mysteriousness of eternal gods.

Then — in complete silence — something cut across the...Golden Star River.

It was not a beam. Not a slash. Not even a sword.

It was a concept—a moment of eternal brilliance that can last forever and will burn for eternity. A truth that could not be denied.

The Golden Star River, once absolute in its authority, trembled.

And the moment it touched the golden river—

Silence.

Then...

Crack.

The world fractured.

The Golden Star River broke down the middle, and the projection of the Transcendent World buckled.

"What!"

But at that instant the runic seal on Rion seemed to burst out as the power of their attack seemed to overload the space.

Boom!

And like Divine Punishment, numerous purple thunder and lightning above them seemingly froze the two of them, like a warning.

The sky wept thunder. Not ordinary thunder — but Heaven’s Judgement.

⟪Divine Seal Enforcement⟫

⟪Universal Balance Protocol: Activated⟫

Cracks formed across the firmament.

Dozens — no, hundreds — of Heavenly Runes spiralled into the air above Apollo and the Transcendent Being. Like giant celestial brands, they hung above the world like angry eyes.

"Fuck!"

BOOM!!!

Purple lightning — thick as mountains — crashed down.

It didn’t discriminate.

Both Apollo and the Transcendent Being were struck. Frozen in mid-air. Their movements sealed, their energy stifled.

For a breathless moment, time halted.