Chapter 355

Chapter 355: Mastery of Calamity, the Destined One

Mu Lin emerged from the smoke and dust, leaving the crowd stunned into silence. Despite being struck directly by a meteor, he bore few injuries.

Even his misty robes remained largely intact.

The hundreds of high-level resources he’d refined hadn’t been wasted.

His foundation had grown terrifyingly solid. With just his magic and innate abilities, he could crush others’ hopes effortlessly.

“No… no injuries at all.”

“Mu Lin’s surpassed ordinary geniuses. He’s a true powerful being now.”

“Agreed. The gap between us has become unbridgeable…”

While some marveled, others had sudden realizations.

“Do you think Mu Lin could conquer the Youth Group after clearing the Young Group?”

“Difficult. The Youth Group’s age limit is forty-nine – they include those at the peak of Transformation…”

“Even defeating a few would humiliate the North. High-level resources user defeating Transformation experts? Unheard of!”

…

Mu Lin ignored the chatter outside the fighting arena. Instead, he studied the ledger of life and death in his hands.

“So your power isn’t merely summoning fire or lightning. You control calamity itself.”

“Son of the Wandering Star – that title suits you perfectly.”

The celestial phenomenon called “Wandering Star’s Vigil” symbolized dire omens: wars, imperial downfalls, and great disasters. Ancient records linked it to chaos, plague, death, famine, and conflict.

Luo Chen’s calamity control justified this ominous title.

Now Mu Lin understood why his reflective substitution failed.

“Ordinary attacks – fire, ice, weapons, disease, poison, lightning – all count as calamities. You control and absorb them. They empower rather than harm you?”

Luo Chen nodded.

“Correct. Most attacks fuel my strength.”

The meteor strike hadn’t injured him either.

The main impact hit Mu Lin, leaving Luo Chen with only residual force. Moreover, the shockwaves and flames became calamities for him to absorb.

This calamity control surpassed even Mu Lin’s substitution in sheer unfairness.

Ninety-nine percent of attacks qualified as calamities, rendering most techniques useless against Luo Chen. His innate talent – not some forbidden power – made this near-invincible ability stable and controllable.

Such a powerful innate ability made Mu Lin sense that Luo Chen before him might be the world’s chosen savior – the Destined One born from cosmic crisis.

This wasn’t mere speculation. When the paths of Heaven and Humanity detected impending doom, they’d indeed expend their essence to make ancient relics emerge and extraordinary talents appear.

Most pre-apocalyptic worlds entered such golden ages.

Mu Lin’s world already showed these signs.

The Savior Organization’s prophecies spoke of a golden crow’s descent. The Demon Race bore White Tiger, Golden-Winged Tiger, and black fierce tiger.

The Qingqiu Fox Tribe produced a nine-tailed celestial fox, while the Feather Tribe gained Tian Yun with future-sight.

Even the struggling dragon clan witnessed nine Dragon Princes born together.

Relics like Grave Lord’s and others kept surfacing – clear signs of the world’s self-preservation.

Though all saviors mattered, the limited essence meant Heaven favored some more. With calamity mastery, Luo Chen stood among the most favored.

Yet knowing Luo Chen’s destiny and invincible abilities, Mu Lin felt no defeatism. His reasoning:

"Calamity mastery itself is unstoppable – but you aren’t. You can’t absorb beyond your limits."

"Nor can you handle high-rank forbidden power."

Luo Chen fell silent.

Mu Lin was right. His current strength couldn’t contain excess calamity. Previously, this didn’t matter much – absorbing abundant calamity power across North Wilderness made him outpace peers.

But against superlative Mu Lin, confidence wavered.

As silence lingered, Mu Lin spoke again.

"Yield. You can’t win."

"Never. I won’t lose."

Seeing determination, Mu Lin shook his head and tossed a paper figure.

"ROAR!"

The figure became a roaring Ink Dragon coiling mid-air – the River Lord itself.

This terror commanded forbidden power through black river water. Mu Lin’s fortified foundation and refined vibrant energy had strengthened it, notably increasing its dark waters.

"ROAR!"

"SPLASH…"

After a roar, black river water materialized from nothingness, merging with the Ink Dragon River God and triggering uncontrollable expansion of its form.

A three-hundred-meter-long ink-hued dragon soon soared across the heavens. Though composed entirely of black river water, this didn’t diminish its power—instead, the creature radiated heightened danger and taboo energy.

"Fire calamity!"

"Wind disaster!"

Luo Chen sensed the threat and instinctively sought to dominate it, yet found himself powerless against the forbidden power. Desperate, he summoned swirling flames and howling winds, merging them into a colossal fire tornado to consume the ink dragon.

It proved futile. While fire could evaporate ordinary water, the dragon’s body consisted of black river water capable of dissolving all matter. Worse still, Mu Lin’s Chaos Origin Essence had been fused into the liquid—both to dilute its corrosive nature for easier control and to amplify its destructive properties.

When these twin dissolution forces resonated, even Luo Chen’s mountain-sized fire tornado vanished instantly upon touching the dragon’s scales.

"Damnation! Winds! Thunder! Flames! Frost!"

Panicking, Luo Chen wildly gestured, summoning endless calamities to halt the Ink Dragon River God’s advance. All attacks dissolved soundlessly upon contact, as ineffective as pebbles thrown into a bottomless abyss. The dragon devoured everything like a living void.

With offense failing, Luo Chen attempted retreat. Yet the cramped fighting arena offered no escape from the cloud-riding dragon’s speed. Soon, the beast coiled around him, its liquid body constricting tightly.

Hisses filled the air as the black water began corroding Luo Chen’s magic and flesh. Though defeat seemed certain, the stakes forced him to endure. Even as his skin melted away, he kept channeling power through gritted teeth.

"I won’t lose! Can’t lose! I’m the Lord of Calamity—all disasters answer to me!"

His mastery of calamity granted marginal resistance against the corrosive water. Given years of gradual exposure, he might’ve tamed this force. But now, his regeneration couldn’t outpace the rapid dissolution. Within moments, his body became a skeletal horror draped in tattered flesh.

Mu Lin shook his head. "Yield. You’re strong, but I’m stronger."

As Mu Lin prepared to fling his opponent from the arena, distraction caused momentary loss of control over the dragon’s waters. Though dominion fire swiftly reasserted command, Luo Chen burst free during the lapse.

Hovering midair, the skeletal figure’s aura exploded in violent crescendo—Luo Chen had broken through mid-battle.

"?!!"