Chapter 356

Chapter 356: I Am the Calamity, I Am the Misfortune, I Am the Lord of Calamity! (Please subscribe, please cast your monthly vote)

“?!!”

Luo Chen’s sudden outburst caught Mu Lin completely off guard.

Though Mu Lin had once joked that Luo Chen was Heaven’s chosen savior—the Destined One—and such prodigies often broke through their limits in desperate moments to defeat stronger foes, having this cliché play out against himself left Mu Lin dumbfounded.

“Have I become the villain now?”

“The final boss who triggers the hero’s power-up?”

…

While Mu Lin stewed in disbelief, Luo Chen didn’t view his breakthrough as some divine intervention. To him, it felt inevitable.

Years of absorbing calamity energy had already pushed his cultivation to the peak of the high-level resources stage, leaving him a hair’s breadth from the Transformation realm. All he’d lacked was a catalyst.

That catalyst came in the form of Mu Lin’s relentless pressure, forcing Luo Chen to stare death in the face for the first time. Sheltered all his life by northern aristocrats due to his talents, this brush with mortality became the spark he needed.

The people’s hopes, his duty to protect the northern territories, the weight of responsibility—all these emotions ignited a fire within him. He burned through all his reserves—magical power, vitality, even his will.

This desperate combustion, colliding with the life-or-death catalyst, detonated his latent potential like gunpowder meeting flame. Seizing the moment, he vaulted into the Transformation realm, his aura exploding in waves of raw power.

While Luo Chen’s foundation paled next to Mu Lin’s, it remained formidable. This solid base amplified his breakthrough, boosting his strength tenfold—no, dozens of times over—in mere moments.

“Power… this overwhelming power!”

Hovering midair with closed eyes, Luo Chen reveled in his metamorphosis. The surge of energy painted a triumphant grin across his face as invincibility coursed through his veins. It took nearly a minute before the euphoria subsided enough for coherent thought.

When his eyes finally reopened, all traces of fear had vanished from Luo Chen’s gaze. Now he looked down at Mu Lin with cold superiority.

“You have my thanks, Mu Lin. Your pressure forged my breakthrough.”

“In gratitude, I’ll grant you mercy. Surrender now.”

“You stand no chance against my current power.”

“Surrender? Hah.”

Mu Lin’s lips curled into a frosty smile at the condescending tone:

"You are indeed strong now, but what makes you think you’re stronger than me?"

"Have you ever witnessed the full extent of my power?"

Mu Lin’s response drew a dismissive shake of Luo Chen’s head.

"I haven’t seen your limits, but it doesn’t matter. You don’t grasp the true might of the Transformation Realm…"

He sighed heavily. "Words won’t enlighten you. I’ll demonstrate the power of Transformation myself."

"Mu Lin, I’ll personally deliver your defeat."

"Hum!"

As his declaration echoed, Luo Chen flung his arms wide.

"Calamities, heed my call!"

Mu Lin narrowed his eyes as gray-black tendrils of calamity energy surged toward Luo Chen—sickness, agony, death, aging, bitter cold, and mortal suffering all coalescing from across the land.

"Hum!"

After his Transformation advancement, Luo Chen’s reforged body and mind amplified his natural genius. His influence now spanned over ten miles.

"Hah—"

This vast reach gathered staggering amounts of calamity energy. The swirling miasma thickened into a dark cloud mass that pressed down like a mountain, choking every observer with dread.

Southern aristocrats paled beneath the ominous sky. Panicked whispers broke out:

"Damn it, how could there be a sudden breakthrough mid-battle?!"

"Could Luo Chen actually reverse this?!"

"Impossible! Mu Lin’s beaten Transformation cultivators before—even a descendant of evil gods!"

A scoff cut through the chatter. "Fools. The Grave Lord’s prisoner was no true Transformation expert—suppressed to the combining Essence and Evil realm and weakened by others first. Mu Lin’s past victory proves nothing."

The southern cultivators’ unease deepened. Meanwhile, northern aristocrats grinned as their mountainous leader boomed:

"Good! Good! Good!"

"Ha! I never doubted Luo Chen!"

The usually steady Qing could no longer contain his excitement and let loose.

The other northern aristocrats, equally thrilled, shouted loudly.

“Luo Chen, Victory for all!”

“Luo Chen, you’re unbeatable…”

“Roar! Southern wenches, what’s your excuse now?!”

…

The northerners’ cheers and support energized Luo Chen. As his mood shifted, the calamity energy he’d summoned – which already covered half the sky – pulsed vigorously.

“Caw! Caw! Caw!”

Suddenly, the dark mass morphed into countless cawing crows.

Law possessing a primal spirit!

This marked the basic manifestation of that principle.

In this world, dense natural environments bred special elemental beings:

Water spirits in lakes, stone giants in mountains, frost creatures in snowy wastes.

The ultimate forms included flame phoenixes, solar crows, and natural deities born from cosmic laws.

Though Luo Chen hadn’t reached such heights, his rare talent granted him partial access to this primal power.

The crows symbolized misfortune, disaster, and ill omens.

Their transformation wasn’t mere appearance – they amplified Luo Chen’s spell power dramatically.

These crows could even attack independently.

“Cawcawcaw!”

Their maddening cries frayed nerves and darkened moods.

Those meeting their crimson gaze suffered worse – Ominous Energy invaded their bodies.

Many spectators fell victim. After locking eyes with crows, cultivators started coughing, burning with fever, or breaking out in rashes. Some found their magic spiraling out of control. Others tripped over nothing or crashed through suddenly-splintered chairs.

These misfortunes merely resulted from peripheral exposure.

The crows’ true target was Mu Lin.

“Caw! Caw! Caw!”

Thousands of hoarse cries echoed as blood-red eyes fixed on him. Waves of calamity energy poured into Mu Lin’s body.

“Huummm!”

The ominous calamitous energy made Mu Lin’s eyebrows twitch.

He imagined if he had a game Attribute Panel, its log would be flooded with endless messages about negative emotions.

【Cursed by Ominous Energy: Afflicted with Weakness, Exhaustion, Fatigue, Poison, Paralysis, Dizziness, Fragility, Chill, Stiffness, Hunger…】

Each crow represented a different negative condition.

Mu Lin knew these alerts should conclude with: [Your defensive resistance negates all negative conditions].

Though countless misfortune crows glared at him, their calamitous energy couldn’t penetrate Mu Lin’s defenses. His three hundred sixty-five portions of Central Earth Evil granted him unimaginable protection through overwhelming energy.

However many crows Luo Chen summoned, their mundane calamity energy couldn’t pierce Mu Lin’s thin misty robes.

"You blocked them?"

Luo Chen stared in disbelief at Mu Lin’s ironclad defenses. His surprise quickly turned to indifference.

"Impressive, Mu Lin. But high-level resources remain just that."

"Let me show you true Transformation!"

With arms spread wide, Luo Chen roared at the sky:

"I AM CALAMITY! I AM MISFORTUNE! I AM THE LORD OF CALAMITY!"

BOOM!

His body violently exploded into swirling gray-black Ominous Energy.

CAW-CAW-CAW!

The murder of crows dove into the expanding Black Fog. Within moments, the dark cloud spanned hundreds of meters.

THUD-THUD-THUD!

The pulsating fog resembled a womb birthing offspring. Through extraordinary sight, Mu Lin glimpsed a forming humanoid figure – a 137-meter-tall entity with blood-red eyes, thirteen wing pairs, and a billowing gray cloak.

This was Luo Chen’s ultimate form: the Calamity King’s Transformation manifestation.

CRACK!

The fog shattered, unleashing the avatar. Luo Chen’s power surged exponentially, finally making Mu Lin feel genuine threat.

Mu Lin responded with booming laughter, his smile radiating wild delight.