Starting to Gain Experience from Push-Ups Chapter 1211 - 588_2
Previously on Starting to Gain Experience from Push-Ups...
Within the Inner World.
Fang Cheng occupied the throne, his eyebrows slowly furrowing deeper.
That enigmatic entity from a superior dimension possessed spiritual energy of immense vastness.
It flowed like an unending river, almost impossible to deplete.
Though the foe had descended across dimensions and suffered severe weakening.
His consciousness tendrils, also outside the Inner World, failed to exploit the full home-field edge.
Prolonging the battle this way would exhaust his spiritual strength, sealing his inevitable loss.
His eyes glanced across the Fire Dragon’s agonized, contorted features, igniting a sudden flash of insight in Fang Cheng’s thoughts.
This realm truly belonged to the Fire Dragon.
He reigned as its absolute lord!
Thus, by embracing it fully, victory could be seized.
"Fire Dragon!"
Fang Cheng condensed his spiritual power into a piercing ray, morphing it into a resonant toll like a massive bell, detonating straight into the foe’s crumbling psyche:
"I can save you, relieve you of your pain!"
"Eliminate all distractions and call out my name—Fang Cheng!"
In the depths of the abyss where awareness plunged endlessly.
The Fire Dragon suffered the torment of his soul ripping asunder.
Struggling, he forced his eyes open to behold the sky scorched into a deep crimson.
A gigantic, unspeakable demonic silhouette loomed afar, crowned with horns, wreathed in ferocious fires.
It was the horrifying sovereign from his countless nightmare visions.
Overhead, a radiant golden sun blazed with intense luminosity, holding back the shadow’s advance.
That commanding voice jolted the Fire Dragon’s spirit to life.
Ignoring the glare’s sharp sting, he fixed his stare on the sun suspended high.
His parched lips parted, striving to voice that name:
"Fang... Cheng..."
Yet the shadow detected his disloyalty, surging its dark violet flames into wilder inferno.
"Ah—"
The Fire Dragon wailed, his form scorching hotter, his essence on the verge of incineration.
Right when endurance shattered and total blackness loomed, on the brink of surrender.
"Heart of Steel!"
A booming roar, charged with unbreakable godly might like celestial fury, thundered from on high.
Boom!
A metallic barrier glowing with icy sheen plummeted from emptiness.
Crushing with immense power, it sliced through the shadow’s blaze, encasing the Fire Dragon’s form securely.
The blistering agony evaporated the moment the shield descended.
Before the Fire Dragon could recover his breath, the surrounding world whirled in chaos.
The shadow, the fiery sun, the blood-red sky—all warped and reformed at breakneck pace.
Ultimately, they melted into myriad glowing streaks racing rearward.
Until weightlessness vanished sharply, restoring stability.
The Fire Dragon’s soles met firm earth, stumbling a bit, almost toppling.
He panted heavily, chest rising and falling, then flung his eyes wide.
The scene unfolding stunned him briefly.
Not the dank, fetid underground clinic, nor the fiery lava nightmare.
Instead, a supremely majestic edifice, a hall of utmost sanctity.
Sunbeams poured via lofty slender stained-glass panes lining the grand chamber, splintering into myriad glorious rays.
Like luminous bands, they spanned the full expanse.
Enormous stone columns, akin to primordial titans’ limbs upholding the heavens, flanked the area.
They bore the immense ceiling, infusing the space with gravity and majesty.
The Fire Dragon traced the light rays toward the hall’s far end.
Upon lofty stairs gleamed a throne forged of solid gold.
A humanoid luminous outline, too blinding to behold directly, perched there.
The form emitted a sun-like scorching radiance, bathing the vicinity in splendid glory.
The Fire Dragon widened his eyes, adjusting to the fierce glow, peering fixedly.
As the striking visage behind the aura sharpened into view, his pupils shrank, bursting out:
"Chairman Fang?!"
The throne’s glow flickered faintly.
The piercing golden aura began to dim.
Fang Cheng gripped the throne’s arms and rose steadily.
He overlooked the red-haired figure below the steps, voice steady and assured:
"Are you feeling better?"
The Fire Dragon gulped, throat bobbing arduously.
He inspected his unharmed frame, scanned the imposing columns, voice quivering faintly:
"This... Where is this? What just happened?"
The horrific vision from the dream flooded back irresistibly.
Fang Cheng had become a searing sun, clashing against the colossal demon shadow bestowing his might!
That entity had haunted solely his profoundest terrors till now.
Each manifestation, with brimstone and blaze, unleashed crushing dread that almost shattered his mind.
Even now, a mere thought triggered quaking like a throttled bird, heart nearly halting.
But this man repelled the force that petrified him utterly.
Fang Cheng advanced, easing down the initial step.
His imposing stature loomed grander amid the shimmering lights.
"This is my world."
His deep stare pierced as if through the Fire Dragon’s torso, unveiling the core terror within:
"Just now, I summoned your consciousness to come here; you are safe now."
"As for the thing haunting your subconscious, its reach cannot extend this far and can no longer threaten your life as before."
These words shook the Fire Dragon’s frame fiercely.
His azure eyes blended astonishment and reverence.
He grasped at last: that ordeal was no illusion but a vivid otherworldly clash!
This youthful striking man.
Not only wielding dread power to demolish armored choppers barehanded in the real world.
In the spiritual domain too, he commanded godlike prowess.
The hall’s ambiance fell into momentary hush.
Save for the faint whisper of wind gliding through the immense space.
Fang Cheng paused midway on the stairs, speaking evenly:
"Fire Dragon, are you now willing to pledge your loyalty to me and officially join the Illuminati?"
The Fire Dragon blinked in surprise, drew a steadying breath, his dazed look sharpening instantly.
No delay—he shifted his left foot back, slamming his right knee onto the unyielding stone.
Head bowed, right palm to left breast, he delivered a flawless western knight’s vow.
"I am willing to offer my loyalty and strength, becoming your most devoted and reliable servant, Chairman!"
His tone rasped yet burned with post-calamity fervor and worship.
"Very well."
Fang Cheng inclined his head faintly, gaze honing like a dagger into the other’s blue depths:
"But as the leader of the organization, I require more than just verbal allegiance."
"Since you have pledged to join the Illuminati, from this day onward, your life and your soul can only belong to me."
Fang Cheng looked down at his pledged follower beneath the stairs, words resonating slowly through the vast chamber.
The Fire Dragon lifted his gaze to confront the crushing stare.
A flicker of doubt crossed his features, then teeth clenched, shedding a great weight:
"Chairman, actually... Fire Dragon is just my code name, my real name is Shanks."
He lifted a hand, gesturing at his countenance with a bitter grin:
"This face is also specially disguised and is not my true appearance."
"I fled from Eastern Europe to Xia Country, concealed my identity, and joined the Bloodthorn Mercenary Corps just to settle a personal vendetta."
At this juncture, Shanks inhaled deeply once more, eyes igniting with unmatched passion:
"As long as you are willing to protect me and let me complete that matter. The life of Shanks, along with my soul, can be handed to you at any time!"