Luo Chen maintained a composed expression as he activated Tenseigan mode.
Indigo energy condensed into a cloak around him, with twelve Truth-Seeking Balls encircling his body.
Facing the long blade swung by "Rocks," the twelve Truth-Seeking Balls spread out, transforming into a pitch-black shield.
A deafening "BOOM" resounded.
Luffy and the others clutched their ears in agony as a trickle of blood slowly seeped from their ear canals.
In the vicinity of Luo Chen and "Rocks," space itself fractured, revealing streaks of pitch-black cracks.
A massive amount of energy aftershocks was on the verge of erupting outward.
Luo Chen manipulated gravity to form four barriers, channeling the colliding energy aftershocks directly into the sky. Otherwise, the shockwaves from his and the Dark God's exchange would have obliterated the entire Flower Capital.
The pure black energy of "Rocks" and Luo Chen's indigo energy intertwined into two pillars of light that pierced the heavens.
The sky above the vault was completely torn asunder.
The entire blue sky resembled a shattered mirror, with fragments of the azure "glass" fluttering and falling as space utterly collapsed.
Kozuki Hiyori, Shimotsuki Yasuie, and the others looked up at the sky, their faces turning pale.
This level of power was as if gods themselves were at war.
Even space had been shattered.
If Luo Chen had not intentionally controlled the impact, they and the hundreds of thousands of citizens in the Flower Capital would have been shredded by the aftershocks.
A look of astonishment appeared on "Rocks'" face, seemingly surprised that his attack had been blocked—and that Luo Chen even had the spare energy to protect the Flower Capital.
An ill omen surged within the Dark God's heart.
Had He miscalculated Luo Chen's true strength?
He let out a great roar and raised His blade to strike once more.
Pitch-black energy danced wildly like thick black pythons, lunging from all directions to tear Luo Chen apart.
"Silver Wheel Rebirth Explosion!"
Luo Chen shouted inwardly as the twelve Truth-Seeking Balls rotated at high speed around his palm.
A silver tornado, as concentrated as a laser, erupted from his hand.
The silver tornado decimated the surrounding space, crushing the Dark God's slashes with overwhelming force.
Those black, python-like strikes were swept away by the silver tornado and annihilated into the void.
Luo Chen aimed at the Dark God and triggered "Silver Wheel Rebirth Explosion" once again.
The silver tornado charged forth violently.
"Rocks'" expression shifted as He moved to dodge.
Luo Chen immediately exerted gravity.
Bansho Ten'in and the dual gravitational forces of the Tenseigan merged into one, pinning "Rocks" in place.
"Damn it!" the Dark God cursed, realizing He couldn't dodge in time.
He crossed His arms in front of His chest, releasing a massive amount of dark power to fuse with Armament Haki, forming a final shield.
In a thunderous explosion, the black shield before the Dark God was blown to bits.
The body of "Rocks" sprayed trails of blood within the silver tornado as He was sent flying into the high altitude.
Seeing this, Imu instantly flashed over, reaching out to brace "Rocks'" back.
The two slid backward over ten meters in mid-air before finally coming to a halt.
Imu's crimson eyes stared at Luo Chen, whispering, "How is this possible..."
"Rocks" was covered in blood, His clothes tattered, and wisps of black mist were leaking from His body.
The Dark God seemed nearly unable to maintain this physical form.
He took a deep breath to steady His breathing, and after a moment, the black mist stopped leaking.
"He is far stronger than we anticipated," the Dark God said in a heavy voice.
In the attack just now, He hadn't held anything back.
Every casual strike of His could shatter space.
Yet, even so, He was easily defeated by Luo Chen.
The Dark God could not believe that a human being's power could actually surpass His own.
He was the most primordial god of this world, born from the desires of all living beings.
Aside from the Sun God Nika who appeared later, it should have been impossible for anyone to be stronger than Him.
Just who was Luo Chen?
The Dark God gritted His teeth, His composure beginning to crumble.
He was on the verge of regaining His full power, yet He was no match for a human. What had happened to this world?
*Vrum, vrum, vrum—!*
Below, space groaned under the unbearable weight, sounding as if it were about to break.
The Dark God and Imu focused their minds and looked toward the ground.
Luo Chen raised his right hand, the twelve pitch-black spheres beside his palm spinning rapidly as a glint of gold emerged first.
It was precisely this golden light that was shredding the space around him.
The Dark God and Imu's hearts tightened as they recalled that golden slash that had split the sea.
With the Dark God's current strength, He could achieve that as well.
But looking at Luo Chen's performance now, that previous strike definitely hadn't used his full power.
That golden slash might very well be stronger than the silver tornado from before.
The Dark God said quickly, "Go! We must leave immediately!"
Imu was somewhat incensed. "How can we possibly get away?"
Since Luo Chen went to sea, his mastery over spatial power was known to all. How could they escape in front of him?
The Dark God took a deep breath and instructed, "Hold him off. Just one second will do."
Having said that, He directly closed His eyes, seemingly sensing something.
A look of ruthlessness flashed in Imu's crimson eyes.
If the Dark God couldn't defeat Luo Chen, He certainly couldn't either.
But this strike had to be blocked.
Imu immediately summoned the Phantom House.
The pitch-black shadow of the house acted like a giant black cauldron, covering Him and the Dark God, who was sensing with His eyes closed.
The golden longsword in Luo Chen's hand finished condensing. Without hesitation, he slashed directly at the Phantom House.
He wanted to see if that wretched house could withstand a sword strike capable of cleaving the moon.
"BOOM—!"
A sound like the world exploding erupted from the point where the golden sword collided with the Phantom House.
The ordinary citizens of the Flower Capital, as well as women who didn't train much like Kozuki Hiyori, Toko, and Carina, rolled their eyes and fainted instantly.
Luffy, Zoro, and the others also showed expressions of pain, kneeling on the ground while clutching their ears.
The mysterious treasure, the Phantom House, emitted a "crack, crack" sound of shattering.
The pitch-black structure became increasingly transparent.
One could even see Imu and the Dark God inside.
Imu's eyes were filled with anxiety and heartbreak, staring intently at the numerous cracks appearing all over the structure.
Before the Phantom House completely shattered, the Dark God snapped His eyes open, and a massive amount of dark power radiated from His body.
That dark energy filled the Phantom House and then spilled out, transforming into a black hole with a radius of over ten meters.
Even the black hole could not resist the golden sword's slash; it trembled violently in the void, its edges beginning to collapse.
But before it could completely break down, the black hole vanished.
It disappeared from the void without warning.
Taking the Phantom House, Imu, and the Dark God along with it, they vanished into thin air.
Luo Chen frowned and dispelled the golden sword in his hand.
He hadn't expected the Dark God and Imu to actually escape.
He hadn't sensed any fluctuation of spatial power.
They had disappeared in a way he could not perceive.
"I should have used Overlord's Fate."
"I didn't think they could actually get away."
"They can't beat me in a direct fight, but the Dark God possesses abilities I can't detect."
Luo Chen communed with himself.
The Dark God's life form was different from his.
Even though he was very strong now, he was still a normal living being.
The Dark God was different; born from nothingness, He possessed eerie methods that ordinary life forms could not perceive or understand.
"I am still human, just far more powerful than ordinary people."
"The Dark God, however, is a god with a different life form, possessing Authorities that I cannot sense."
"I must find a way to deal with this escape ability. Where exactly did they flee to?"
Luo Chen pondered silently.
The one thing he could be sure of now was that while the Dark God's Authorities were mysterious and unpredictable, His actual strength was average.
He was not a threat to Luo Chen.
"They took Pluton. Vegapunk is surely in Imu's hands."
"Fish-Man Island was slaughtered, Princess Shirahoshi is missing—Poseidon has also fallen to Imu."
"Combined with Uranus which they already had, the three Ancient Weapons are now gathered."
"I don't know if any changes will occur now that all three Ancient Weapons are together."
"I can't afford to be careless."
Luo Chen calculated his moves, his gaze falling on the unconscious Kozuki Hiyori.
He needed more wealth.
The wealth of Wano Country and Kaido, as well as the wealth of the World Government, could now be collected.
As for the Four Seas, a great deal of wealth had been requisitioned from various royal families.
Luo Chen hadn't had the chance to convert them into Cultivation Points yet.
In terms of strength, he still had room to improve.
Would you like me to continue with the translation of the next chapter?
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]