With her Combat Bloodline fully awakened, Sun Qianqian's fighting strength surged. She swung her longsword, and the powerful sword aura carved a deep gash into the Vermilion Bird Palace’s walls.

Han Wu felt the pressure build. What he had feared most had come to pass. Sun Qianqian was the type to grow stronger the longer she fought. He glanced at Qin Shuang, still locked in battle with the Vermilion Envoys inside the palace, and took a slow breath. "I just need to hold on a little longer. She'll finish her trial soon."

He turned back to face Sun Qianqian. He had to admit that she was formidable now, more than ten times stronger than when the battle started. Fortunately, the Sea-Calming Staff had been shattered earlier. Without it, she remained dangerous, but not at her full potential. If he didn't end this quickly, she would become an even greater threat.

Han Wu took a deep breath and brought out his most powerful close-range weapon, the 9-Star God-grade Giant Locust Blade.

Sun Qianqian studied the blade in his hand and felt a faint sense of danger. Her Combat Bloodline warned her, so she resolved to destroy it. In the next instant, she lunged at Han Wu and thrust her longsword forward.

Han Wu easily sidestepped with his Freespirited Ape God and started channeling the energy of heaven and earth into the Giant Locust Blade. The immense influx of energy caused the blade's power to surge.

Sun Qianqian no longer underestimated it and unleashed over 100 sword auras at Han Wu. Han Wu didn't evade, tanking the barrage with the Abyss Armor.

As soon as the attack ended, Sun Qianqian charged at him again. This time, Han Wu finally found his opening. He quietly launched the Dark Curse Nail, which pierced straight into Sun Qianqian's shadow. She froze in place, her body and soul pinned down, unable to take a single step.

Han Wu seized the moment, raised the Giant Locust Blade with both hands, and roared, “Thousandfold!”

The two-meter blade expanded to 2,000 meters. The energy blade formed from the gathered power of heaven and earth energy exceeded the blade itself. The Vermilion Bird Palace’s roof was punched straight through.

Han Wu didn't care. He brought the Giant Locust Blade down with a crushing force amplified two thousandfold, as casually as stamping out an ant.

The blow fell on Sun Qianqian, and she didn't even have time to scream before she was gone. The entire Vermilion Bird Palace split in two under that single strike. Fortunately, the trial inside wasn’t affected and continued as normal.

Han Wu then collected the items Sun Qianqian had dropped and waited for Qin Shuang to finish her trial. It was an impressive haul. As the young mistress of Wanyao City, Sun Qianqian had grown up with everything within reach and took whichever Divine Weapons she pleased. Many of those she had acquired on a whim had been barely used.

With her death, all of them fell into Han Wu's hands. He found more than fifteen Divine Weapons. Aside from her 9-Star God-grade full armor set and the spare longsword, everything else was 7-Star God-grade or lower.

Han Wu couldn't help but sigh. It was good to be born into a wealthy family. A 7-Star God-grade Divine Weapon would likely represent the peak a common warrior could ever reach in their entire lifetime. For Sun Qianqian, it had been only a starting point. The gap between people could be demotivating. Being born rich and lucky was a kind of ability in itself.

After that brief reflection, Han Wu stood. A message from the Divine Weapon Civilization echoed in his mind.

[Sufficient essence has been accumulated. The tenth Divine Weapon in the Divine Weapon Atlas has been fully unlocked!]

Han Wu immediately checked the final page of his Divine Weapon Atlas, where the shape of his new Divine Weapon appeared. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

[Locust Dragon Seal]

[God Equipment]

[Rank: 1]

[Durability: 500/500]

[Effect: Dragon Fear (God)]

[Skill: Locust Dragon Roar]

[Description: Formed from the Locust Dragon. Contains the power of the Great Dragons.]

Dragon Fear carried the Great Dragon race’s dignity and could suppress all things, forcing countless lives into submission. Locust Dragon Roar dealt sound-based damage to its target.

At the same time, three God-grade options appeared before Han Wu.

[Option 1: Tyrant Dragon Force. Enhances physical destructive power, dealing heavy physical damage.]

[Option 2: Sage Dragon Heart. Enhances magical destructive power, dealing heavy elemental damage.]

[Option 3: Holy Dragon Dominance. Enhances soul-type destructive power, dealing heavy soul damage.]

Each option represented a different direction for the Locust Dragon Seal. All were simple and clear at a glance. Han Wu reviewed them carefully.

He immediately dismissed the first option, Tyrant Dragon Force. He could already deal heavy physical damage through the Small Locust Blades, Locust-V, Heavenly Demon Spike, Giant Locust Blade, and others. He didn’t need more.

He considered the second and third options before choosing the third, Holy Dragon Dominance. Sage Dragon Heart was powerful and capable of dealing heavy elemental damage, but its definition was too broad. More importantly, he already had the Explosive Locust Blade for elemental attacks.

Holy Dragon Dominance was different. It targeted the soul directly, making it one of the hardest forms of attack to defend against. Combined with the Locust Soul Orb's soul-absorption effect, the two Divine Weapons would complement each other perfectly: one would shatter the soul, and the other would absorb what remained.

With his choice made, Han Wu immediately summoned a swarm of Glutton Locusts to consume Sun Qianqian's corpse. It was excellent material and important for the Gluttonswarm Ring’s growth.

As the Glutton Locusts devoured her remains, they extracted a crystalline bead from her skull and delivered it to Han Wu. He examined it and was surprised to find it was a soul bead. Such beads were supposed to come from mutated beasts, not monsters, yet she possessed one.

Han Wu turned it over in his hands. Within it, he could sense a fragment of Sun Qianqian's soul, as well as a strand of her Combat Bloodline. Because he possessed the Duel Jurisdiction, he was certain that absorbing that strand would empower it.

He set the matter aside for later, though. For now, he needed to make it out of the trial. He tucked the soul bead into his Dimension Bag and let Master Ou select two usable Divine Weapons from the remainder.

Not long after, Qin Shuang finished her trial. She wasn't as powerful as Han Wu, but she managed to complete it by borrowing strength from her true body. Regardless, the rewards were significant.

Qin Shuang could feel that once she fully understood the Vermilion Bird Armament Spirit, she would be able to transfer the Vermilion Bird's abilities onto her Thunder Sparrows. With that, they would gain the power to control fire. Combined with their existing lightning abilities, it would create a devastating synergy that would allow Qin Shuang to grow much stronger in a short time.

With both of their trials complete, it was Master Ou's turn. He decided not to enter. He had a clear and honest understanding of his own abilities. He knew what he could handle and what he couldn't. When something was beyond him, he let it go without trying to prove himself.

Never overreach. That was how people got themselves killed. Those were lessons he had learned through years of living in the world.

Since Master Ou had no intention of taking the trial, they left the palace. Not long after they left, a group of monsters arrived, drawn in by the scent. The Vermilion Bird Palace’s interior had suffered heavy damage, and the smell of blood still hung thick in the air from the fierce battle. What puzzled them was why the scent of their team leader, Sun Qianqian, lingered inside.