But the others didn't know that, and watched with worry as Arthur, still spitting fresh blood as he spoke, tried to reassure them.
"Just a little blood, that's all. Not fatal."
To everyone else, it looked like Arthur was simply being stubborn, and all eyes were fixed tightly on the gaping wound in his chest.
"I'm really fine. Help me up, this old man can still fight!" Arthur said, reaching to pry Na'er's hands off him.
Then he suddenly froze.
"Hm?"
Feeling the power that Na'er was pouring into his body at that moment, Arthur's eyes went wide.
That couldn't be right. Could this really be the Golden Dragon King? Even the Silver Dragon King wouldn't feel like this.
A thought flickered through his mind, and he tried to trace the source of the power along the thread of Fate.
Not quite enough.
The thought crossed his mind, and Arthur's eyes darted.
He pried Na'er's hand off, then, seizing the moment, pulled her into an embrace instead.
"Na'er, I don't want to die."
Summoning every ounce of effort he had, Arthur forced out a few genuine tears.
Na'er's body went rigid for a moment. Something about this felt oddly familiar to her, but she didn't dwell on it.
The small pearl-like tears welling in her eyes spilled over, and she began sobbing in earnest.
Xu Xiaoyan's face had gone pale too, her body going limp as she plopped down onto the ground like a dropped duck, both hands wiping frantically at her eyes.
Only Gu Yue, who had also been worried a moment ago, suddenly frowned, sensing something was off.
Based on the experience she'd recorded in her observation journal, it seemed like Arthur might be putting on an act right now.
"Don't talk nonsense!" Na'er's voice choked with emotion, her arms tightening around Arthur as though afraid he might vanish the next instant. "I won't let you die! Never!"
The Golden Dragon King's energy grew ever more vast and mighty, flowing into every limb and every inch of Arthur's body with a warm, gentle presence.
That's enough!
Arthur's eyes lit up.
Following that strange, wondrous power, he glimpsed, through the dimension of Fate, an utterly magnificent golden dragon.
And somewhere deep within, he sensed the dragon's name: the Golden Dragon King.
The Golden Dragon King?!
Arthur turned to look at Tang Wulin, recalling that over these past few years, Tang Wulin had never once shown any trait belonging to the Golden Dragon King.
So that's how it is. The Golden Dragon King's been taken by Na'er.
Then what about Tang San's spiritual sense?
Arthur wanted to probe further, to draw out more from Na'er, but his expression suddenly shifted.
Not good.
His injuries were about to break free of his suppression!
He was about to heal, right here and now!
The Crimson Dragon, with terrible timing, chose that moment to unleash its might, and combined with the ley line energy, within a few breaths, Arthur's wounds began visibly closing before everyone's eyes.
The gruesome, gaping hole in his chest sealed itself shut in the blink of an eye, the dark green markings on his skin rapidly fading away, and even his breathing evened out.
The auspicious beast Xiaxi, no one quite sure when it had appeared, leapt out and landed lightly, its small form settling onto Arthur's shoulder.
Its soft pink tongue gently licked at the traces of blood left on his neck, warm rosy light spilling out and clearing away the last remnants of poison entirely.
Everyone froze at the sight.
Na'er's arms, still wrapped around Arthur, stiffened mid-air, the tear tracks on her face not yet dry, her wide eyes staring at Arthur's chest, now perfectly whole, unable to say a word for a long moment.
Gu Yue raised an eyebrow, a flicker of understanding crossing her eyes.
Tang Wulin and Xie Xie exchanged a glance, the corners of their mouths twitching uncontrollably.
So all their worry a moment ago had been for absolutely nothing.
Xu Xiaoyan, thoroughly annoyed, stomped her foot and pointed at Arthur, shouting, "Arthur! You've gone too far! Toying with my feelings like that!"
"What are you talking about?!" Arthur said, utterly shameless. "I said it from the start!"
"I'm fine."
Facing the resentful glares of everyone around him, Arthur decisively made his exit.
"I was just passing through, who knew you'd all react so strongly."
"Alright then, the fight's not over yet, I'll be heading off. You all carry on."
Arthur shot straight up into the sky and vanished.
Leaving everyone below staring at each other in stunned silence.
The three-word Battle Armor Master let out a helpless sigh. "So... the match continues?"
Back at the battlefield, he found the trail of the two evil Douluo.
The pair, now at the very end of their strength, spotted Arthur as well.
Watching him bounce back, completely unharmed, as if nothing had happened, they were utterly unable to believe their eyes.
The bartender's face had gone pale as paper. He stared fixedly at Arthur, his voice hoarse. "Impossible... how could you possibly be fine?!"
The bone dragon wasn't faring any better, its pale, bleached bones riddled with cracks, one of its wings snapped clean off at the root.
Its Martial Soul true form could barely hold together anymore.
Flames flickered wildly in its hollow eye sockets, thick with both venomous hatred and fear. "What kind of monster are you?!"
"What kind of monster?"
Arthur let out a disdainful, cold snort.
"The kind that's here to take your lives!"
Then he swept his gaze around, taking in every powerhouse gathered across Sun Moon, from one end to the other.
"Were you all satisfied with the show, elders?"
The moment those words left his mouth, the space around them warped ever so slightly, several faint, concealed presences swiftly withdrawing themselves, though none of them escaped Arthur's senses.
Under everyone's astonished gaze, Arthur sheathed Excalibur.
He raised his hand and closed it around empty air.
A beam of light descended from the void, spiraling and coiling like molten gold, finally stretching out and condensing in Arthur's palm into a spear of pure, translucent light.
The Holy Lance, Longinus.
Light like moonlight flowed along the length of the spear's shaft.
"Wait, what's... " Among the nearby Titled Douluo, someone who'd looked into Arthur's background suddenly remembered something.
There was a detail in Arthur's records, never hidden, but somehow overlooked by most.
He possessed a Twin Martial Soul!
If memory served, the records had called it something like... the Spear That Shines at the End of All Things?
Except Arthur had never once displayed it publicly before.
The Holy Lance in Arthur's palm suddenly trembled, its soft moonlit glow instantly shifting into a blazing, molten gold. One end of the beam of light rooted itself at the spear's tip, the other sinking into the void, as though anchoring the entire heavens and earth.
"Let me show you something."
"The Storm Anchor that tears the sky and binds it to the earth!"
Arthur's voice carried out through his shattered, ruined Battle Armor, resonant with elemental power and the weight of law itself.
He gripped the spear's shaft and wrenched it sharply upward!
In that instant, the void let out a groan as if unable to bear the strain any longer, the crisp shattering of chains ringing out across the entire battlefield, countless points of molten gold light bursting out from where the chains broke apart, transforming into a sky full of glittering stardust.
The moment the Holy Lance's tip pierced the air, a pillar of molten gold light shot straight into the heavens, tearing open a massive rift in the sky, through which the faint outlines of spinning star tracks and flowing nebulae could be glimpsed.
A voice rang out from the void, an elf's voice, utterly devoid of emotion.
[This battle, is a battle fought for survival]
[—Acknowledged]
[This battle, is a battle fought against one stronger than oneself]
[—Acknowledged]
[This battle, does not stray from the path of humanity]
[—Acknowledged]
[This battle, is a battle fought in pursuit of truth]
[—Acknowledged]
[This battle, is not a battle fought against the elves]
[—Acknowledged]
[This battle, is a fair battle]
[—Acknowledged]
[This battle, is a battle to punish evil]
[—Acknowledged]
[This battle, is not fought for selfish desire]
[—Acknowledged]
[This battle, is not a blade raised against the virtuous]
[—Acknowledged]
One judgment after another rang out.
"Holy Lance! lift thy anchor!"
That pillar of molten gold light, piercing through heaven and earth, suddenly surged in intensity, the star tracks spinning ever faster, the light of the nebulae pouring down like a waterfall, staining the entire sky above Sun Moon in brilliant gold.
"The Spear That Shines at the End of All Things!"
Countless beams of golden light filling the sky converged and spun together, taking the shape of a spearhead.
Then bore down with the crushing weight of a collapsing heaven!
Before such absolute power, all resistance was rendered utterly meaningless.
The bodies of the two evil Douluo disintegrated inch by inch within the light, not even a trace of their remnant souls left behind.
The powerhouses of Sun Moon were thoroughly stunned into submission by that overwhelming power, whatever wait-and-see attitude they'd held before now completely gone, leaving only deep, wary fear.
Arthur sheathed the Holy Lance, its molten gold light slowly fading away. He lifted his gaze toward the sky, where the rift was gradually closing, the light of the star tracks fading away bit by bit.
"It's over," Arthur said quietly, then turned and flew off toward the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy, his figure receding into the distance amid the golden afterglow.
He left the powerhouses of Sun Moon standing rooted to the spot for a long while, hearts churning with a tangled mix of emotions.
At the very highest point of the Douluo Continent, the world consciousness that had been watching all along, carefully feeding power to Arthur, finally let out a breath of relief.
That impossible little devil was finally done.
Then it went back to focusing on beating up Tang Hao.