Starting with Naruto, I'll become stronger through my own efforts.

Chapter 458 Forcing Yhwach to Kill All the Quincy

After the God of Wealth Xia Zuo became an immortal, the Xia Zuo people, drawing on his experiences in the Heavenly Court, resolutely and thoroughly abandoned the dragon's scaled armor clan and the white tiger's beast clan, choosing the phoenix's avian lineage as the direction for their power to advance.

Because the Phoenix leader is still around, but the Ancestral Dragon is truly gone, and the Qilin lineage—from the very beginning, has never had a true leader who can serve as its foundation.

In terms of real power, the Phoenix lineage still has the Golden-Winged Roc and the Peacock King Kong Xuan, whose strength and status far surpass those of the Four Seas Dragon Kings. As for the Qilin, it has nothing at all.

So for their own future, they will definitely strive to become part of the Phoenix lineage.

As Xia Zuo got serious, each of his strikes triggered strange phenomena in the heavens and earth. He not only gained the power of the world but also conjured various birds and received some kind of mysterious blessing.

As a result, Xia Zuo's attacks intensified, eventually forming an irresistible overwhelming force.

Yhwach's expression was solemn. Even he couldn't withstand such a terrifying attack head-on. If he were to be hit squarely, he would be seriously injured, if not killed.

At his level, there's no possibility of serious or minor injuries; any injury can heal itself in the blink of an eye, as if it were never injured at all.

But Xia Zuo's attack felt completely different to Yhwach; it was a feeling that could crush him into dust, an existence that surpassed his father, the Soul King, by a whole level.

Most importantly, he felt death during Xia Zuo's attack!

There is great terror between life and death, and Yhwach felt fear for the first time.

He was fearless before because he felt no threat of death.

Even when Captain-Commander Yamamoto beat him to the point of losing his strength, consciousness, and heartbeat, Yhwach did not feel threatened by death. He was certain that it was just a process of his transformation.

But now, what he feels is death, the end of everything ceasing to exist.

Fear of death is the greatest instinct. Without thinking too much, Yhwach summoned countless spiritual particles into his body, and straight, eerie patterns appeared on his body surface.

[Blood Stasis Gear]

This is the Quincy's strongest defensive measure!

It is said that after being equipped with the [Silent Blood Armor], even the Bankai of the Shinigami Captain cannot break through the defense and harm the Quincy.

Of course, this is just internal propaganda from the Quincy. If it were really that effective, well, the Grim Reapers would have been wiped out long ago.

However, the [Silent Blood Armor] on Yhwach can indeed block all Bankai attacks.

Back then, he used this move to withstand the attack of the Zanka no Tachi after its Bankai, and preserved the integrity of his body under Yamamoto Shigekuni's attack.

It was precisely because his body was intact that Yhwach was able to be resurrected so smoothly.

If he were torn into eight pieces like the Spirit King, the first thing he would do upon waking up would be to travel and adventure everywhere, searching for his missing body parts.

In the process of regaining their body, they gradually recover their strength and ultimately achieve true resurrection.

This is another story featuring Yhwach.

After Yhwach put on the [Silent Blood Armor], he looked up at the sword-wielding bird chasing him and immediately realized that his defense was still insufficient!

Immediately afterwards, the patterns on his body's blood-red armor shone brightly, and the radiance expanded outward from his body, transforming into a spherical defensive shield that firmly enveloped him.

[Outer shell with blood purification coating]

This is an enhanced version of the [Silent Blood Set]!

After activating this move, the defensive [Still Blood Armor] can be expanded outside the body, turning it into a textured semi-circular shield.

The 【Blood-Sealing Outer Shell】not only can it withstand enemy attacks, but it can also corrode everything that touches its body, seizing control at the spiritual level and taking the enemy's treasures for its own use.

Yhwach can even briefly control his Zanpakuto with this technique.

However, the [Outer Shell Blood Armor] is by no means a perfect skill. While it enhances defense and counterattack capabilities, it inevitably reduces Yhwach's speed and increases his vulnerable area.

As a result, the sword energy birds that Xia Zuo unleashed no longer missed their targets, but instead crashed into the [Outer Shell of the Bloodstained Armor], causing a series of booming sounds.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Xia Zuo's attack was centered on his own spiritual pressure, drawing in the power of the world and receiving mysterious enhancements from the unseen, resulting in an unprecedentedly powerful attack.

The power of the Sword Qi Bird was unmistakably revealed the moment it collided with the [Outer Shell of Still Blood Armor].

The terrifying energy within the bird manifested as a stream of light upon impact, racing across its defensive shell and tearing visible cracks wherever it went.

In just a moment, the [Outer Shell Blood Armor] was already in grave danger.

Clack clack, biu! —Chirp! Chirp—

Upon hearing a sound similar to ice cracking, Yhwach's pupils constricted sharply.

He anticipated that the enemy's attack would be terrifying, but he did not expect it to be this terrible. Even his strongest defense, which he exerted with all his might, could not withstand Xia Zuo's attack, which carried the power of heaven and earth.

Yhwach knew that with his heavy [Outer Shell Blood Armor], dodging was simply impossible.

In his haste, there wasn't much he could do but shout, "Great Sage Bow!!"

As he rapidly pulled with both hands, clusters of enormous holy annihilation arrows appeared out of thin air and hurled themselves at Xia Zuo without regard for anything else.

Yhwach wanted to use offense as defense, forcing Shazor to defend and reduce his attack power, thus relieving himself of the pressure.

The light arrow, shaped like a giant spear, instantly attacked Xia Zuo. The arrowhead, streaking with light, tore through the air and emitted a chilling shriek.

Xia Zuo looked at these sacred arrows of destruction. He neither dodged nor dodged, nor did he make any defensive stance. He continued to swing the Measuring Ruler and slash out with sword energy.

With the blessing of a mysterious power, the sword energy transformed into sword-energy birds, which swooped down on Yhwach one after another.

As for the swarming divine arrows of destruction, they were met with streaks of white lightning that appeared out of nowhere.

This is the mental and physical supernatural power [Ghost Path Reincarnation] that Xia Zuo naturally mastered after completing the cultivation of the "Scripture of Reincarnation and Salvation". It does not require chanting or hand gestures, but only requires a flash of thought to activate the corresponding ghost path.

On average, three hits of [Hado I - White Lightning] are enough to destroy a Holy Annihilation Arrow.

With his willpower, Xia Zuo unleashed the speed of the white lightning, several times faster than Yhwach's summoning of the Holy Annihilation Arrow. Soon, bolts of white lightning found their way into the gaps and struck the [Outer Shell of the Bloodstained Armor].

The sound of ice cracking grew louder and more frequent, until finally—

Click!

The outer shell, which was covered in blood, broke open completely and made a loud "bang" sound!

Yhwach was so dizzy from the shock that he forced himself to look up.

A dense swarm of sword-qi birds pierced through the exploding spiritual particles and swarmed down.

There were also countless white lightning bolts among the birds, filling his vision completely without leaving any gaps.

Suddenly, Yhwach felt that time had slowed down and the world had suddenly darkened.

He could see the movements of each sword-qi bird clearly, and even the extension and reversal of the white lightning.

However, his body was even more sluggish and completely unable to perform the actions he imagined.

All he could do was shift his body slightly to avoid the peck of the largest sword-wielding heron at the most dangerous spot.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom—!

The barrage of attacks rained down on Yhwach, the sword energy clashing fiercely with the [Quiet Blood Armor], unleashing a dense roar that even merged into one.

The billowing smoke and dust enveloped the emperor of the invisible empire, and Xia Zuo could no longer pinpoint the enemy's location, leaving him no choice but to halt his attack.

He's not the impatient Prince Vegeta; he wouldn't make a foolish attack like the Prince's Battle Technique.

When the smoke cleared, Shazor saw Yhwach.

He had moved to a corner of the palace, where he knelt on one knee, clutching his chest wound and panting heavily.

Yhwach's Bloodstained Armor was already shattered, and even his cloak had been cut into strips, revealing his bloodstained and wounded body.

Even though the [Quiet Blood Armor] blocked one wave of attacks, it still left wounds on his body.

Fortunately, most of the wounds were not serious, and by this time they had healed to the point where only a bloodstain remained.

But on the chest that Yhwach was covering, there was a horrific open wound, so large that he couldn't cover it with both hands.

Through the open wound, one can see white fragments of broken ribs, a powerfully beating heart, and alveoli rising and falling with each breath.

But what's even more glaring is the dense network of fine spiritual threads on the heart and lungs, countless threads stitching up the lacerations.

It was clear that Yhwach's internal organs were severely injured; if they hadn't been held together by the spiritual threads, his internal organs would likely have spilled out all over the ground.

Seeing Yhwach's condition, Shaza couldn't help but click his tongue in amazement: "He's been beaten like this and he's still alive? This guy's got some serious toughness!"

"Must we dismember them into eight pieces, burn them to ashes, or even suppress and seal them separately in the five extreme regions of the world?"

Yhwach and Shazor exchanged a glance, startled by the naked malice in Shazor's eyes.

Unable to conceal his location, he let out a sudden low shout, instantly destroying everything around him—the floor, rubble, dust, air, and so on—all disintegrating into spiritual particles.

Before the surge of spiritual energy could leak out, Yhwach greedily swallowed it into his body. The surging tide of spiritual energy poured in from all directions, filling his wounds.

In an instant, Yhwach was cured.

Xia Zuo was dumbfounded. He had healed such a serious injury by simply absorbing the surrounding decomposed spiritual particles. How was this possible?

If it were that simple, the evolution from inorganic matter to organic matter and then to rudimentary life in the natural environment wouldn't have taken billions of years.

Even the God of Wealth, Xia Zuo, with the divine power of the Heavenly Court system, could not achieve this level of power.

It's important to know that the first person in the cultivation system to directly transform inorganic matter into life was the Sage Nuwa, and only she could do it.

In mythological systems, those capable of similar feats are invariably the supreme gods or creators of their respective systems.

Even those who can transform the form of life matter are all legitimate gods or immortals, and are definitely not ordinary mortals who can do it.

But Yhwach, right in front of Shazor, completely healed what could have been a fatal injury by consuming simple particles.

Even Xia Zuo couldn't help but feel uneasy.

Just then, Xia Zuo heard faint screams.

Upon closer examination, he realized that it was not a real sound, but rather a spiritual wave emanating from Yhwach's body.

Xia Zuo frowned, raising his perception to the limit, carefully sensing the details of spiritual particle fluctuations through spiritual pressure.

He soon discovered the clue: the spiritual particles that gathered in Yhwach's body did not all become part of Yhwach's body; the vast majority of them were consumed as consumables.

The remaining small portion was simply insufficient to compensate for the body's defects; the spiritual particles that truly healed Yhwach's wounds came from other Quincy.

Shazor discovered that at the same moment Yhwach instantly healed himself, at least a thousand Quincy suddenly died.

Their spiritual pressure fluctuations, when mixed together, are the Linzi fluctuations that are now crying inside Yhwach's body.

"So it was extracting the life force of its subordinates—no, this is the Quincy's [Sanctification]!" Xia Zuo finally understood what had happened, and the anxiety he had been carrying finally subsided.

It turns out that instead of converting ordinary spiritual particles into one's own body, one consumes these spiritual particles to bring the scattered souls back into the body, and converts the Quincy's life essence into one's own body, thereby replenishing one's missing life force.

That's not scary at all, not scary at all.

Shazor could bring Yhwach to the brink of death a hundred or a thousand times, but could the Wandenreich afford to wear him down with 100,000 Quincy?

Xia Zuo's lips curled up, his smile revealing an exceptionally sinister expression: "Hehe, I've discovered the most efficient method for killing Quincy: repeatedly bringing you to the brink of death."

"I believe that an emperor who is afraid of death would not hesitate to sacrifice the lives of his people in his place."

"They can kill a thousand Quincy every time without having to worry about them hiding, resisting, or escaping. Their efficiency is incredibly high."

Yhwach's face was contorted with rage, but all he could do was curse, "Bastard!"

This was an irresistible, open conspiracy; even if Xia Zuo made his intentions crystal clear, Yhwach had no way to stop it.

Because he couldn't win, and he couldn't escape.

Just as Yhwach was racking his brains for a solution, Shazor used the "Instant Flash," a technique combining the three skills of "Body Flicker," "Instant Step," and "Moon Step," to suddenly appear beside him.

Xia Zuo flipped his hand and shook the Measuring Ruler, slashing Yhwach, who was still recovering health, away with a single blow.

Then, without giving Yhwach a chance to catch his breath, he flashed forward and reappeared in all eight directions around Yhwach.

Almost simultaneously, Xia Zuo unleashed a series of powerful slashes from eight directions, centered on Yhwach, with the ultimate [Instant Flash] technique, unleashing eight dazzling sword energies in a single burst.

Shazor has decided to use Yhwach's "Apostolic" tender dragon bone to make him kill all the Quincy and become the last lone commander.