Chapter 387: Overpowering

"Gray Robe! Where did you go?! Why are you just arriving now?!" Master Yunmiao, who had been worried about Lin Zhiguo, thought that Gray Robe, who was supposed to protect him, had died in battle. To her surprise, he stood there as if nothing had happened.

Lin Zhiguo had already awakened from his unconscious state. Seeing Yunmiao and the others rushing over, he gave a faint smile, "Yun'er, Gray Robe had some matters to attend to. It wasn't a failure in his protection."

Gray Robe lowered his head silently, offering no explanation.

Master Yunmiao looked Lin Zhiguo up and down and asked, "Are you alright?"

Lin Zhiguo pointed to a triangular protective cover made of two massive steel plates behind him, which stood out in the ruins of the mountainous area. He said, "It appears Yang Chen shielded me, allowing me to escape unharmed."

"Hmph, I can see that. You didn't even know when the enemy would arrive. It's a disgrace that you've led the Yanhuang Iron Brigade for so many years!" Master Yunmiao said discontentedly.

Lin Zhiguo smiled bitterly and said, "It's a long story. Let's first look at the situation between Yang Chen and Ares."

Only then did the group turn to look at the two figures in the distant sky. Though they were so small they were almost invisible, the formidable aura they emanated could be felt even from afar.

Indeed, Yang Chen and Ares were locked in a fierce battle. The strength difference between the main gods was minimal, primarily depending on battle experience and techniques. Both having spent years on the battlefield, Yang Chen and Ares were equally matched, neither willing to give an inch.

Ares, frustrated at his inability to defeat Yang Chen, grew enraged. After all, in his eyes, Yang Chen was merely an "inferior product," whereas he, as a genuine main god and the God of War, should easily defeat him.

"You've managed to force me to use this, which is quite an achievement," Ares suddenly flew back to a distance. The bronze spear tattoo on his face flashed with a stream of light and disappeared.

Next, a massive bronze spear, over three meters long and as thick as an arm, appeared in Ares' hand!

The spear was engraved with ancient patterns and slightly damaged, yet it still radiated a sharp greenish glow. Especially the spearhead, which was shaped like a halberd, appeared to be a lethal weapon in ancient warfare!

"The Hand of Ares," Yang Chen muttered.

"Haha, I'm surprised you recognize this artifact," Ares said proudly. "At the dawn of creation, the Titans, the progeny of Gaia, Mother Earth, forged artifacts for each of us. Hades once had his Helm of Darkness, capable of rendering him completely invisible, even to us main gods. However, it was lost three thousand years ago in one of his cycles. Though you've inherited his spatial law comprehension, you possess no artifacts. My Hand of Ares, though not as formidable as Zeus's thunderbolt or Poseidon's trident, is more than enough to deal with you! Prepare to die!"

As soon as Ares finished speaking, he charged towards Yang Chen again, making several spatial jumps to appear right in front of him!

Yang Chen was just about to dodge the sharp thrust, but to his horror, he found that the space around him was frozen?!

"Fool! The effect of my Hand of Ares is instant spatial freezing!"

Ares laughed, seizing the moment. The spear was about to pierce through Yang Chen's head!

Yang Chen knew that if he was struck now, he would truly have to reincarnate!

But if that happened, what would become of his loved ones?

Absolutely not! In an almost split-second reaction, Yang Chen instinctively activated the "Wang Nian Yan Sheng Jing," his innate true energy surging wildly through his meridians!

Up until now, because they were battling with spatial laws, Yang Chen had not considered using his internal martial arts against Ares. He felt that compared to spatial combat, his internal energy techniques would be of little use. But at this critical moment, with space frozen and no time to dodge, he had to use the only power left to him.

It was a desperate attempt, yet unexpectedly, Yang Chen's innate true energy field actually broke through!

The true energy burst forth like a caged tiger unleashed, exploding within the frozen space!

The innate true energy, almost tangible, condensed into a massive energy field around Yang Chen, more abundant and powerful than ever before in this dire moment!

Ares had believed that this strike would surely defeat Yang Chen. But to his surprise, his bronze spear could not penetrate further than half a meter from Yang Chen!

"How is this possible?! What kind of power is this?!"

Ares couldn't believe it and forcefully pushed again.

Yang Chen felt a sharp pain in his chest but wasn't actually pierced; it was the intense energy that caused his chest to ache.

Stimulated by this, the innate true energy in his dantian spun wildly, a massive force spreading through his energy field!

"Boom!"

With a muffled sound, Ares, along with his bronze spear, was blasted back, flying over a hundred meters before coming to a stop!

In his panic, Ares forgot to attack again, staring at Yang Chen in disbelief, unable to speak.

Yang Chen also felt that the innate true energy within him seemed to be even more abundant, as if it had been enhanced by the critical situation, though the exact reason was unclear.

Even more puzzling to Yang Chen was why the innate true energy wasn't bound by the frozen space and still broke through, even managing to repel Ares?

Could it be that innate true energy was not subject to spatial constraints?!

This thought suddenly flashed in Yang Chen's mind, startling him.

"What was that power? It wasn't spatial law; the space around you was clearly frozen!" Ares demanded.

Yang Chen smiled, frowning slightly, and said, "This is a martial art I cultivate from Yanxia, an internal technique. I don't know why it works this way, but it seems very useful. You can try again if you like."

"Internal energy? Martial arts from Yanxia?!" Ares laughed angrily. "What a joke! How could something created by humans possibly defeat us, the gods?!"

Furious, Ares didn't bother to think further. With another spatial leap, he froze the space around Yang Chen and performed a horizontal slash aimed at cutting Yang Chen in half.

Yang Chen's expression turned solemn. He channeled his innate true energy into his hand, gritting his teeth, and struck the Hand of Ares with a powerful palm.

"Clang!"

A metallic roar resounded as the Hand of Ares was once again deflected by Yang Chen's innate true energy. Yang Chen himself realized that the power of his true energy was several times stronger than Ares' force.

A bold idea finally took shape in Yang Chen's mind: Could innate true energy transcend spatial laws?!

If true, this would mean that a master of innate true energy could surpass even the main gods!

Back when he reached the ninth level of the "Wang Nian Yan Sheng Jing" and achieved innate perfection, Yang Chen had a vague feeling that there were higher realms of martial arts to explore. But that feeling had never been as strong as it was now!

After all, the main gods' strength lay not only in their formidable physical bodies but also in their control over spatial laws.

If innate true energy could break through the constraints of space, then the main gods' proud abilities would be rendered useless!

Of course, this was just a hypothesis. Even if innate true energy transcended space, innate masters couldn't float in the air or carve massive trenches in the sea. Such feats could only be accomplished by the spatial laws of the main gods. Reaching such a level with innate true energy seemed almost impossible.

However, at this moment, Yang Chen, who could wield both spatial laws and innate true energy, was like a tiger with wings!

Ares was both shocked and furious. Despite freezing the space around Yang Chen twice, he had been deflected both times, a humiliation he couldn't bear!

But before the enraged Ares could attack again, Yang Chen took the initiative this time!

"Come on!"

Ares swung his bronze spear, charging forward and freezing the space around Yang Chen once more.

Yang Chen ignored the spatial laws and instead unleashed two powerful blasts of innate true energy from his palms!

The surging true energy immediately signaled danger to Ares!

"Don't think you can hit me! Fold!"

The space in front of Ares folded into another spatial layer, intending to redirect the energy blasts to another dimension.

However, the true energy blasts broke through the folded space, ignoring the spatial trajectory and laws, continuing unimpeded through several layers of space, and struck Ares' chest directly!

"Ugh!"

Ares felt a sharp pain in his chest, the churning sensation causing him to spew a mouthful of blood. His body, like a kite with a broken string, plummeted towards the sea!

Although the body of a main god is incredibly resilient, it is not entirely immortal. The two strands of innate true energy carried the full force of Yang Chen's power. If they struck an ordinary person, it would be enough to tear them apart. That Ares only suffered internal injuries was already quite terrifying. Yang Chen watched Ares fall from mid-air, looking at his own palms with some doubt. The innate true energy had actually traversed through space!

However, Yang Chen didn't have much time to ponder these issues, as Ares' figure once again burst forth from the surging sea!