If a human were to accept the power of the Nine-Headed Sanctuary, this skill would manifest in two stages:

Stage One: Three heads and six arms, wielding the foundational power of destruction. It can be maintained for one second for every point of base Physical Strength and Endurance.

Stage Two: Dragonification! Transforming from the three-headed, six-armed state into a true Great Black Heaven Dragon.

To enter Stage Two, one must completely activate all the Holy Hall Power within the body (within the Lamp). The three heads then temporarily become three main dragon heads, the six arms become six secondary heads, and the torso morphs into the body of a giant dragon. In addition to possessing all the skills and abilities of the Great Black Heaven Dragon, one also temporarily gains a massive body and physical constitution comparable to a Holy Hall-level Sea Beast.

It can be maintained for one second for every 10 points of base Physical Strength and Endurance.

The size of the dragon form is also determined by these stats, ranging from a minimum of 30 meters to a maximum of 1,000 meters.

Shi Ming had just obtained this immense power and immediately used it to counter the disintegrating ability of the Immortal Evil Eye. Before he even had time to think,

a notification from the Eye of the World instantly appeared—

[Perhaps, in essence, humans are a type of beast too?]

[While it sounds cool, the Eye of the World must remind you that the Great Black Heaven Dragon is still alive. If you transform into a dragon while the Great Black Heaven Dragon is not yet dead, the consequences could be extremely severe.]

[According to the Eye of the World’s calculations:]

[The probability of the Great Black Heaven Dragon waking in a rage because of this will increase by 19,000,000 times!]

[That means the probability of it waking up will skyrocket from the normal 0.000001% to 19.31%!!! This may seem low—less than one-in-five—but if it happens, it will be fatal. With your current Physical Strength and Endurance, even with the help of the Star Lamp, you can maintain the dragon form for 30 seconds at most. However, a first-time user is bound to be clumsy, so that time will be greatly reduced.]

[Given that you familiarized yourself with its body in your dreams, perhaps your actual controllable time could be extended to 10 seconds?]

[10 seconds to face the Great Black Heaven Dragon’s fury at being desecrated and its ten-thousand-year-old morning grumpiness...]

[Hmm... perhaps we can find another way to die.]

Shi Ming, of course, understood.

He suppressed the urge to transform into a dragon.

The skills released by the Star Lamp essentially used the lamp’s oil as a catalyst and the Lamp itself as a medium to steal the power of the original sea beast. The Great Black Heaven Dragon had such an excess of power that it often unleashed skills in its sleep, causing violent tsunamis and earthquakes. Siphoning off a little power wouldn’t startle it; after all, it wasn’t a sea beast like the Abyss Lord, whose consciousness was in a state of absolute wakefulness.

But to transform into another Great Black Heaven Dragon right under its nose...

...that was like dancing at its bedside, pushing the limits, and flat-out courting death.

Power is a double-edged sword.

Too much and too little are both worse than just right.

The skill Virus used was merely a knockoff. For the current crisis, the three-headed, six-armed state was more than enough!

He stood imposing, his three heads and six eyes turning in unison to glance at "Virus," who was desperately trying to maintain the Immortal Sanctuary. The coldness and destruction in his vertical pupils swept over her. Like a humanoid dragon, his very presence crushed the S-class phantom of the Immortal Evil Eye.

This was the difference between the genuine article and a cheap copy!

There was no suspense.

The tables had turned completely.

With just a single glance from Shi Ming, Virus felt a powerful hurricane erupt within her own flesh. It tore at her from the inside, threatening to rip her mother body to shreds. Her skin began to tremble and crack. Behind her, the phantom of the evil eye started to fade under the pressure of his power, and the visual rays she used to deconstruct all matter grew significantly weaker.

It was as if she were being suppressed by a higher tier of power.

While being crushed, her mind reeled in disbelief.

’Who is he?’

’Have the Dragon Country People also mastered the ability to use Holy Hall Skills?’

’No, even if I can’t win, I have to escape! I have to get this information back!’

Virus decided to risk everything on an escape. Taking her evil eye phantom with her, she had yet to even move when her body slammed into Shi Ming’s oncoming fist. The compressed destructive power of the Nine-Headed Sanctuary struck her without holding anything back, and the mother body, which had gained a portion of the Immortal Evil Eye’s power, felt its consciousness begin to scatter.

The first thing to go was the fleshy pinwheel of eyes on her torso; all seven shattered and disintegrated under the influence of destruction’s fundamental power.

The second blow followed, and the phantom of the Immortal Evil Eye behind her instantly dissipated.

Gritting her teeth, Virus tried desperately to flee.

But Shi Ming wouldn’t allow it. A heavy energy blow, comparable to a mighty strike from the Great Black Heaven Dragon, slammed into Virus’s body. On the third strike, her body tumbled into the sea, returning to eternal destruction.

It was a completely one-sided beatdown.

’Sometimes, I feel like *I’m* the real boss!’

’And a final boss with five phases, at that! Take this battle, for example. I’m always hitting the enemy with even greater power when they least expect it.’

’Phase one, I’m a normal human with stats far exceeding 100.’

’Phase two, I’m the Dusk Giant who has unleashed Ragnarok.’

’Phase three, I’m the Dawn Giant who has activated the "Pillar of Dawn".’

’Phase four, I’m the three-headed, six-armed humanoid dragon.’

’And phase five, I *will be* the all-or-nothing Great Black Heaven Dragon!’

Although he didn’t use his fifth phase and wasted the opportunity, it was still part of his foundation, a trump card, an irrefutable part of his strength.

’A mere infinite mother who can only split into thirty-odd sub-bodies... how could you possibly fight me?’

Shi Ming collected the "Virus" mother body—now half-rotten, its seven eyes completely destroyed—along with all her remaining belongings, and stuffed them directly into his own untraceable and absolutely secure personal inventory. Unlike other Awakened who were useless after death, the main body of an infinite mother might actually be quite valuable.

Once he was back on the ship, he could use the Eye of the World to investigate it.

He had used up one drop of blood and one charge of the Star Lamp, but the danger was completely neutralized.

Under the clash of Holy Hall Level Power, more than half of Fujing Mountain’s crater had collapsed, and the Shrine ruins atop it were utterly destroyed. The former spiritual symbol of the Vortex Country had now completely lost its elegant shape, taking on a style that better suited an aesthetic of transience and sorrow.

’The Vortex People are sure to love it.’

Shi Ming boarded his vessel, the *Sun-Shooter*, and shot out from the collapsing crater of Fujing Mountain, heading back in the direction of the *Grand Fortune*.

Renhuang and the Black Society were no longer in these waters. Who knows where they ran off to. Lucky for them...

’But a day of reckoning will come.’

...

...

...

Shi Ming returned to the *Grand Fortune*.

The three heads and six arms had vanished, the surging power of destruction had completely receded, and he was back to his normal, one-headed, two-armed human form.

’This feeling, of power coursing through my whole body... it’s incredible.’

’One day, I’ll definitely have to see what it feels like to become a dragon in the real world.’