Those were Black Fog Symbionts beyond counting, their numbers far surpassing the limits Rod had ever seen. That all‑encompassing darkness was like a world‑drowning dark ocean erupting into a raging tide.

However, in the next instant, Rod finally witnessed why it was called the "Steel Fire King Sword."

He stood quietly in midair as mist‑like Spiritual Energy surged into his body like the tide. Wave‑like Spiritual Light converged between his brows, like a shining eye.

His Spiritual Energy suddenly vanished, leaving only the faintest trace of breath.

But Rod clearly felt an incomparably mighty force lurking just beneath the Void, like a churning volcano on the verge of eruption.

The dark tide surged toward him from the eight western directions, yet he stood unmoving, towering like a mountain. Only when a Black Fog Symbiont’s demonic claw reached for him did Rhein abruptly open his eyes. In that moment, immense Spiritual Energy erupted from his Soul, and a powerful Spiritual Power Wave shot straight through heaven and earth.

"Eighty million k刻 of Spiritual Power Strength!" In the Dream Realm, the Book of Knowledge shouted, "No, it’s still rising—one hundred million... two hundred million!"

The Book of the Future said in shock, "Even with the Red War God State blessing the master only reaches two hundred million! This man really has stepped into the realm of eternal Strong ones!"

The Shock Wave of the Void slammed into him. Rod felt his Soul swaying in a gale‑whipped storm, but he kept his Eye of the Soul locked on this apex powerhouse of Saint Longde, not daring to look away for even a heartbeat.

Most of his Spiritual Energy was gathering in his hands. His hands had become an extremely pure Spiritual Energy form. The vast Spiritual Energy blessing turned them from incandescent white to a glowing crimson, like freshly smelted molten steel in a blast furnace.

"Hah!"

Rhein let out a thunderous roar that made heaven and earth tremble. His heavy, Spiritual Energy‑laden fist shot out. In that instant it was as if a bolt of thunder flashed through the world. The Black Fog Symbiont before him was shattered to dust by the impact. Steel‑like sparks exploded at his knuckles, and with incomparable impact force, formed a tornado of crimson light and flying sparks that pierced through the Black Tide in an instant.

The next second, steel sparks carrying unimaginable heat detonated amidst the waves of Black Fog Symbionts, dyeing half the sky red with their blast.

The scorching breath rushed toward him; even though Rod was tens of thousands of yards away, he could still feel that terrifying, annihilating heat wave.

When the flames subsided, Rod finally saw that with just this one strike, half of the Black Tide before them had already been blasted away. The terrifying impact had scattered the Black Fog Symbionts into a chaotic mess.

Yet they still rapidly converged again, charging at Rhein from the eight western directions.

"I am Rhein of Steel Fire, the Holy Emperor’s King Sword!"

His mighty voice echoed between heaven and earth. Rhein bellowed, raising both arms high, elbows folding inward.

With a thunderous boom, his fists slammed together. Far more intense Steel Fire than before exploded outward in an instant. That cataclysmic steel flame drowned out Rod’s vision; the searing red light made the whole world seem like a giant steel mill.

In that terrifying yet resplendent, destructive yet gorgeous Fireworks, all of the Black Fog Symbionts were burned to ash.

This unparalleled combat strength left everyone, including the Book of Knowledge, completely dumbfounded.

"This is way too Strong!" the Book of Knowledge muttered. "Such a ferocious tough guy—I don’t think I’ve ever seen one like this before!"

The Book of the Future shouted excitedly, "I absolutely must see his fate, must foresee the future related to him!"

Asa was excited too: "If I Devour his shit, will I be as badass as he is?" 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

But the crisis did not end there. In the deeper darkness far away, a new round of Black Tide surged up, even more Black Fog Symbionts rushing toward them once again.

Moreover, within this new wave of Black Tide, many Black Fog Avatars had appeared. These were darker Dark Monsters than the Black Fog Symbionts, larger in form and without any fixed shape. Within the surging Black Tide, they were like leaping bolts of lightning.

Rod was the first to snap out of it. His keen perception caught an extremely terrifying power—one very similar to that of a Human Demon. It was extraordinarily unique and extraordinarily horrifying, an existence that transcended the form of Spiritual Energy itself. In the battle with the Human Demon, it had manifested as demonic claws, which not only possessed immense Destructive Power, but could directly snuff out his Source Laws.

He remembered clearly that in the Human Demon Tomb, his God of Giants State had been directly broken by those demonic claws. All his Star Power became unusable. If Kai had not burned his soul and entered the Ancient Sun God State in that instant, they would never have made it out alive.

And beneath the Royal City, it had been the mighty Holy Fire that suppressed this power; otherwise, even the Fire King’s final form would not have been able to contend with the Human Demon.

"It’s that power..."

The Book of Knowledge also came back to its senses. The fearful memory made it tremble slightly.

"I know what it is, but I can’t remember... My wisdom has returned, but my memories haven’t. Why? Why would such a power appear among the Black Fog Symbionts?"

But very quickly, Rod’s ultra‑sharp perception picked out something special within it. "It’s scattered! It’s scattered throughout the Black Tide, not condensed into a single powerful Soul like the Human Demon!"

The Book of the Future shouted, "Look, master!"

Rod saw it too. In that surging wave, several massive demonic claws were dancing around the Black Fog Avatars. They were extremely similar to the demonic claws that had appeared in the battle with the Human Demon, and the source of this horrifying power was precisely them.