Chapter 176 : The Dragon of the Nuclear Bomb

Chapter 176: The Dragon of the Nuclear Bomb

Third Floor Examination Hall.

Shen Qiong’s face was deathly pale as he coughed up blood, his body involuntarily falling to one knee—this was the sign of his divine sense suffering a severe backlash.

‘That was close!’ Shen Qiong’s eyes held unmistakable terror.

That force was far too terrifying—like a strike from a Golden Core cultivator!

Fortunately, he had been decisive enough to end the trial himself ahead of time, just as his mana collapsed and his skin began to char and peel. Otherwise, he very well might have perished within the God-Void Realm.

“Phew!”

Shen Qiong let out a heavy breath, shook his head, and forcibly snuffed out the fear in his heart.

As a member of the Shen Clan of Fengyuan, he could afford to lose, but never to cower.

Forcing himself to stay composed, Shen Qiong glanced around and realized that all the other examinees in the same room had been eliminated—he was the last one to awaken.

‘No, something’s off—there’s still one person who hasn’t been eliminated!’

His eyes narrowed as he looked toward a distant figure—sword-shaped brows and starry eyes, imposing and upright—it was Chen Beiwu, whose eyes were still tightly shut.

Shen Qiong took careful note of Chen Beiwu’s appearance before leaving the hall at the signal of an Immortal Alliance staff member.

Bixiao Immortal Sect.

God-Void Realm Monitoring Room.

Jiang Chuan looked at the miniature “sun” on the screen with a look of intrigued amusement.

“True Monarch Jiang, if the Three-Phase Bomb detonates early, it’ll render the environment on Chouyuan Star extremely hostile and eliminate the vast majority of examinees. Should we intervene?”

Pei Heng looked at Jiang Chuan with deep respect—even if this Nascent Soul True Monarch was only a split divine sense avatar, not his true body.

“No need.” Jiang Chuan smiled faintly.

The examinees from Sword-Abyss Immortal Sect, Tianyan Immortal Sect, and Daluo Immortal Sect had been stirring up too much trouble.

One particularly unruly examinee had even taken control of all the upper echelons of the Chouyuan Clan, leveled the entire surface of Chouyuan Star, and eliminated all competitors—earning an “A High” evaluation.

Compared to such problem children from those sects, Bixiao Immortal Sect’s candidates were already considered well-behaved—there was no need to intervene at all.

Thinking of this, Jiang Chuan gave Shen Qiong a “B Mid” evaluation for the second round.

This little one had decent potential. If he hadn’t acted too flamboyantly and ended up becoming Chouyuan Clan’s number one target, he might’ve had a chance to escape the core coverage of the Three-Phase Bomb.

The Golden Core True Persons present all exchanged knowing looks. For the sake of the Shen Clan of Fengyuan, they unanimously awarded Shen Qiong a B Mid rating.

There was no helping it. When an examinee chose to end the trial on their own, it significantly lowered their evaluation. The fact they gave face to the Shen Clan was already generous.

Only Zhao Wuchen and Pei Heng remained intently watching Chen Beiwu on the screen.

Chouyuan Star’s thermonuclear weapons were indeed powerful. Upon detonation, the miniature sun they created had a diameter of about three kilometers and temperatures exceeding one hundred million degrees Celsius—but they had a fatal flaw.

If a cultivator at the peak of Qi Refining reacted in time before the nuke exploded, escaped the absolute kill zone, and used a technique to burrow four or five hundred meters underground, there was a good chance they could survive.

On the other hand, if they were unlucky and too close to the kill zone, they might still die from the earthquake triggered by the shockwave, even if underground.

As for not running and trying to tank the Three-Phase Bomb head-on? What a joke!

Without talismans, spiritual artifacts, formation defenses, or other protective items—not even Foundation Establishment peak cultivators could survive their first encounter with the bomb unscathed.

Only Golden Core True Persons who had condensed Immortal Gold could dodge it unscathed or tank it directly.

If Chen Beiwu remained cautious and prudent, burying himself deep underground beforehand, he might actually survive the core blast of the bomb and earn an A-level or higher evaluation.

Silei City Base Control Center.

A heavy silence hung in the air.

After killing all the Chouyuan, Chen Beiwu turned to leave.

“Better run now.”

Before leaving the base, he offered a kind reminder.

The fall of the military base would definitely prompt a response from the Chouyuan Clan.

He wasn’t afraid—but that didn’t mean the two cultivators at the Ninth Level of Qi Refining would be fine.

Hearing his words, Gu Tie and Ji Gang exchanged a look but remained silent.

Nineteen years old and already in Foundation Establishment—this kind of genius wasn’t someone they could afford to offend.

Even though Chen Beiwu’s actions had destroyed the base and ruined their infiltration plans, making it impossible to earn a higher score, Gu Tie and Ji Gang dared not utter a single complaint.

Yet the frustration in their hearts lingered.

‘Good advice is wasted on the damned.’

Chen Beiwu shook his head and left swiftly with Gold Egg, activating Wave-Stepping through the Tide.

No matter how much he sped up, he still felt a bone-chilling sense of danger dogging his steps—like a festering wound that refused to let go.

‘Locked on?’

Chen Beiwu looked up at the blue sky, pushing his divine sense to the limit.

In that moment, he “saw” the incoming warhead—racing toward detonation.

Death was imminent!

Absolutely unavoidable!

At this life-or-death juncture, inspiration struck Chen Beiwu, unlocking every ounce of his potential.

His feet followed the Kan Trigram—one step brought forth rain, the next unleashed crashing waves—instantly teleporting him a hundred feet. This was the sign of having perfected Wave-Stepping through the Tide.

But Chen Beiwu felt no joy—only a single thought.

No, this still wasn’t enough.

He needed even more speed!

The liquid mana in his dantian immediately vaporized, surging forth in a torrent to fuel Wave-Stepping through the Tide. In five successive steps, he leapt five hundred feet in an instant.

After this leap, Chen Beiwu coughed blood, his face pale—his body overwhelmed by the strain of so many consecutive teleports.

Even so, he had only barely escaped the absolute kill zone of the nuclear bomb.

“Boom!”

With the explosion of the Three-Phase Bomb, a fireball bloomed and swelled. At that moment, a sun rose—bringing absolute annihilation to all things.

‘Is this the end?’

Watching the Great Sun rise from such close proximity, helplessness welled in Chen Beiwu’s heart.

In just 0.6 seconds, the rapidly expanding fireball would vaporize him—erasing him completely.

This was not a force any Qi Refining cultivator could resist!

Just as Chen Beiwu prepared to end his trial and exit the God-Void Realm on his own, a thought suddenly echoed in his mind—it was from Gold Egg.

“Gulu!”

Gold Egg’s eyes gleamed with determination, and its body rapidly expanded before his eyes.

It was trying to transform into a dragon!

Whoever dared stop Chen Beiwu from entering the Thirteen Immortal Sects, was an obstacle to Gold Egg’s dragon transformation.

Just a puny little sun?

If they had been in the core of the sunburst zone, Gold Egg would have fled with its master without hesitation and exited the trial immediately.

But here, even though it felt a threat beyond description, Gold Egg was still confident it could take the hit.

‘Then I leave it to you.’

Chen Beiwu smiled with relief, letting Gold Egg swallow him whole.

If even a coward like Gold Egg had the confidence to survive a nuclear blast, how could he, a Beast Tamer, choose to cower and exit the trial?

“Roar!”

Empowered by the boundless mana from the Companion Contract, Gold Egg’s golden scales flared brilliantly. Its bloodline surged, pushing the Third-Tier Mid-Grade Treasure Art—Gilded Body—to the limit.

“Rumble—!”

As a deafening roar resounded, terrifying high temperatures and overpressure shockwaves swept across the land in a tide of destruction, leveling all structures like the apocalypse had arrived.

But in the instant when the rising sun evaporated the surface…

A faint golden gleam shone through—barely visible, yet striking.

Like a dragon born of the nuclear bomb.