From the end of the world

Chapter 792 Shattered Moon
At this moment, the old Fist God undoubtedly poured his entire being and spirit into this strike. His magical power fluctuations revealed an indomitable, fanatical spirit, as well as a chilling will to destroy everything. He only had eyes for me, this formidable enemy, disregarding even himself.

Therefore, I must respond to this attack. I must exert the same level of mental strength. Because I also want to defeat him, and I cannot allow myself to show any weakness compared to him.

Just as he was about to collide with the moon, I completed my own power-up, transforming into a star emerging from the depths of the moon's subsurface, and charged towards him.

In the instant of the violent collision, an impact that seemed capable of destroying everything in the universe spread outwards.

Even my consciousness was plunged into a void of nothingness in the explosion that shattered everything. It felt like entering a void for the first time. My consciousness was scattered and blurred, making normal thinking impossible, and I may have experienced fragmented periods of time.

When my thoughts came back to me, I found myself lying on a grayish-white ground. Like someone just pulled from a swampy, unconscious sleep, my mind was still somewhat foggy, and I thought I had entered another world after death. It took me about two seconds to realize that the afterlife wasn't like this. This land was composed of lunar soil, and I seemed to still be on the moon.

However, when I looked around, I realized I was wrong. This wasn't the moon... no, to be precise, this was "a place that used to be the moon."

I flew into outer space and looked back. The moon had been shattered into pieces, turning into enormous rocks floating in the dark, boundless universe.

Similar to Earth's structure, the Moon also has a mantle, sometimes called the lunar mantle, and its core is also an iron-nickel core similar to Earth's. However, the Moon's internal temperature is far lower than Earth's; even the lunar core only exceeds 1,000 degrees Celsius, a far cry from the Earth's core, which is comparable to the surface temperature of the Sun. The lunar mantle, which constitutes the majority of the celestial body's mass, is also primarily composed of solid rocky material, rather than flowing molten material.

If the Earth were shattered, it might burst into countless streams of lava like a broken egg, but the Moon wouldn't be like that. At that moment, I also saw some molten material glowing against the dark background of the universe, but that was negligible compared to the Moon's total mass.

The clash of power between me and the old Fist God shattered the moon.

Perhaps in the distant future, the shattered moon will reassemble under the influence of the law of universal gravitation, becoming a new moon. As for the subsequent impacts during that long period, that remains to be seen.

All I know is that Earth's tides are caused by the Moon's gravity. If the Moon were to disappear completely one day, the concept of tides would also disappear, and many other climate phenomena based on the Moon's gravity would cease to exist. Earth's ecosystem would suffer a large-scale extinction, and even Earth's rotation and axis would gradually become different from what they used to be.

But now the moon hasn't disappeared, it's shattered... What will become of Earth afterward? Although I'm very curious, I'll put that aside for now.

I closed my eyes and focused my senses, then located the old Fist God. He was on another fragment of the moon, and I moved in that direction.

I'm in terrible shape right now, just one step away from death, my thoughts are all jumbled up. But at least I'm not really dead, and I'm not completely paralyzed; interstellar travel is still possible. It's still as simple as raising a hand or making a movement; with just one step, I've traversed over a thousand kilometers to reach that location.

The old boxer sat upright on the ground, gazing towards the sun. In the absence of an atmosphere, the sun's brightness far exceeded what was visible on Earth, enough to blind a human. The old boxer, of course, was not bothered by this.

Unlike me, who managed to maintain an intact appearance, he now looked like a dead man. His legs were completely gone, his right arm was missing, and only half of his left arm remained. More than half of his torso was missing, and part of his head was also broken off, reminiscent of a smashed stone statue.

I sensed no vitality or threat from him. He had been utterly defeated; though he still exhibited some mental activity, it could not be sustained for long.

Strictly speaking, we were both severely injured. In that earth-shattering collision, neither my soul nor Old Fist God's soul could withstand it. Only my true spirit form barely managed to hold on under the impact.

The old fist god turned to look at me, his face showing no fear of death whatsoever.

"It seems I still haven't been able to truly break through my limits," he said regretfully.

Although there were many signs of him pushing his limits in the previous battle, it seemed to be just an extraordinary performance under the influence of passion. Before this battle, he must have already reached his limits in all directions through various means, to the point that he could not advance even an inch without making a "major sacrifice".

“Zhuang Cheng, your opinion is probably correct. If you want to achieve a breakthrough evolution through adversity, then that adversity must also be exceptional. Even if we didn’t choose to give you the Divine Seal of the Present World, if we allowed you to use a portion of the power of the Divine Seal of Doomsday supported by that little girl, things might have been different,” the old Fist God said with a sigh.

"Then why not do that?" I asked, "Just because you said before that you wanted to fight 'the original, manifested prophets'?"

“That’s my honest opinion, but it’s only part of the reason. I’m not only very curious about the strength of the manifested prophets, but I also have an urge to defeat you,” the old Fist God said. “Mountain Two Elements is the strongest and most dangerous enemy I have ever faced, and you have now surpassed Mountain Two Elements and defeated him without a doubt.”

"I defeated the Mountain Ryougi of the past, while you defeated a Mountain Ryougi that has become even stronger. Therefore, I developed a desire to win, to determine who is superior to you, to prove that I am stronger and better. Knowing there is a more suitable approach of 'great renunciation,' I still couldn't help but choose this path. 'What a karmic obstacle! More concerned with immediate pleasure than with a higher goal. Even this 'attachment' cannot be relinquished; it seems I am still far from 'great renunciation.'"

“But I think you look better this way,” I exclaimed.

The old boxing master asked with great interest, "What makes you say that?"

“Because right now, you don’t seem to have the slightest bit of regret,” I said.

“That’s right!” he nodded. “My life may be full of regrets, and I’ve made unforgivable mistakes, but I have absolutely no regrets! Hahahaha!”

At the last moment, he let out a hearty laugh, and then his remains collapsed and disintegrated like a shattered stone statue, turning into countless dust particles that drifted away and disappeared on the broken moon.

The old boxing god is dead.
-
Mountain Two Elements died, and Old Fist God also died.

Of the three Third Gate Great Impermanences active in the real world, I personally killed two of them, leaving only myself.

I felt completely exhausted, like I wanted to collapse on the ground and never wake up again.

Unfortunately, I know I can't have my way. There's still unfinished work waiting for me, and even one last enemy I must defeat.

After the death of the Old Fist God, changes also occurred on Earth in the distance. The gray mist wall surrounding Earth began to disintegrate, and the cage that sealed the celestial bodies crumbled. My connection with the countless flames there was automatically re-established, and the Divine Seal of the Present World, now in the shape of a white disc, was once again exposed to my perception.

I also sensed Xiaowan's situation. Without my subsequent support, she could only rely on the large amount of flames I initially supplied to suppress the Lord of the Divine Seals, Tai Sui. Not skilled in combat, she hasn't yet completed the process of replacing the Lord of the Doomsday Divine Seals, but she has still made considerable progress thanks to her overwhelming advantage, and the suppression mission is nearing its end.

I immediately took my first step, rushing towards the Divine Seal of the Present World, while simultaneously transferring my power to the small bowl.

Xiao Wan's voice also rang in my heart. Having re-established contact, she didn't even have time to ask how I was doing, and hurriedly said, "Brother Zhuang Cheng... the Divine Seal of the Real World!"

"I know..." I also know the situation is urgent, "I'm on my way!"

The distance between the Moon and Earth is variable, varying from more than 400,000 kilometers to less than 360,000 kilometers depending on the Moon's position in its orbit. Even light cannot traverse this vast distance in a single second.

Fortunately, I didn't move physically, but rather sprinted through space. In just an instant, I arrived at the location of the Divine Seal of the Real World—above the North Pole—with an efficiency that even the speed of light couldn't match, and then stretched out my hand in its direction.

But I was still a step too slow; the Divine Seal of the Present World disappeared from my sight.

It didn't truly vanish from reality; rather, it appeared in someone else's hands. This outcome is likely unrelated to whether my actions in seizing it were fast or slow. Even if I weren't in this weakened, near-death state, the result would have been the same.

Because the person who reclaimed the Divine Seal of the Present World possesses the supreme authority to return it to their own hands in the blink of an eye. After the Divine Seal of the Present World leaves the Old Fist God's control and before I seize it, an extremely brief but inevitable gap will arise. As a fellow expert who has pushed open the third door, there's no reason for my actions to be faster than his thoughts.

The reason he appeared in the Void in the past was because the power of the Old Fist God blocked his physical body at the border of the real world, but now he is unrestrained.

He stood at a distance, watching me with immense admiration.

"—What a magnificent battle, Zhuang Cheng."

The one who holds the seal, Liu Shuying, appeared before me.

(End of this chapter)