At Qin Feng’s command, their brief respite came to an end.
The four-man squad, a war machine honed to perfection, reactivated. They launched a new assault, charging toward the deeper, darker core of the Ore Vein Area.
The journey that followed was a long and protracted war.
Battle became the sole theme of their lives.
「The first month.」
They traveled through underground corridors that resembled giant circuit boards, with eerie green streams of data-light flowing across the walls.
The Mechanical Race’s offensive was several times more ferocious than in the outer regions.
They encountered Creator Level Mechanical Lords that could "print" an Immortal Legion from the metal walls behind them, and faced Heavy-Duty Destroyers that could fire a Spiritual Singularity to pin a person in place before bombarding them with a saturation strike from cluster Energy Cannons.
The fighting grew more difficult, but the four of them grew even more in sync.
Qin Feng’s commands were always precise and deadly. Shanyang’s blade was the team’s sturdiest shield, Zou Yun’s fists were the sharpest spear for tearing through enemy lines, and Pang Chen’s throwing knives were the net of death that reaped any who slipped through.
Amidst this endless combat, Qin Feng’s *Dragon-Snake Spear* technique was rapidly improving. He pushed every move from the Great Success Realm to its absolute limit.
「The second month.」
They fought their way into a massive underground geode. Countless enormous Spiritual Crystal Clusters hung down from the floor and ceiling, bathing the entire space in a light that made it feel like a hazy dreamscape. But it was on this magnificent battlefield that they encountered their most terrifying enemies yet.
"Phantom-class" Assassins that used the crystals’ refraction for optical camouflage, and "Resonance-class" Warlocks that could manipulate the crystals to create a resonance, unleashing wide-area shockwaves.
The squad fell into perilous situations several times. Zou Yun’s power armor was slashed open across the chest, leaving a gash so deep the bone was visible, and for the first time, Shanyang’s blade was chipped. Yet, it was under this extreme pressure that Qin Feng’s understanding of spear arts began to touch upon a completely new level.
He was no longer bound by the set techniques of the *Dragon-Snake Spear*. Instead, he began trying to merge the grand, sweeping dominance of the Thousand Army Spear with the subtle, fluid agility of the *Dragon-Snake Spear*.
Countless ideas collided and fused within his mind.
「The third month.」
During a desperate, bloody battle where they were besieged by more than five Mechanical Lords at once, Qin Feng single-handedly held off the tide-like surge of the Immortal Legion, wielding his Long Spear to cover for Pang Chen, whose power armor was about to run out of energy.
He pushed the *Dragon-Snake Spear*’s "Cunning Snake Exits the Cave" to its limits. His figure flickered, his spear striking like lightning, but he still couldn’t completely halt the advance of the iron flood.
Just as an Immortal’s energy bayonet was about to pierce his chest, the countless ideas he had been formulating day and night suddenly clicked into place!
He didn’t retreat. Instead, he took a step forward. He abruptly retracted his Long Spear, holding its shaft close to his body as he spun at high speed in an impenetrable stance. He had actually managed to perfectly fuse the absolute defense of Thousand Soldiers Guarding with the coiling, force-deflecting properties of the *Dragon-Snake Spear*!
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
Countless energy rays and bayonets were all blocked and deflected by this seemingly flimsy defensive ring of the spear’s afterimage.
And in the instant the Immortal’s attack missed, revealing an opening, the tip of Qin Feng’s spear—which had been used for defense—shot out from an unbelievable angle, like a venomous dragon that had been lying in wait.
This strike lacked the ultimate piercing power of Fierce Owl Chasing Shadow and the unparalleled dominance of Thousand Soldiers’ Evasion.
It was fast, precise, and ruthless, yet it also carried a hint of treacherous and deadly cunning, hidden beneath an ultimate defense, making it impossible to guard against.
SHHNK!
The Long Spear stabbed precisely into the gap at the Immortal’s neck, instantly destroying its core hub.
’I’ve finally gained control!’
’I’ll name this killing move—Dragon’s Repose.’
Qin Feng thought to himself.
A dragon submerged in the abyss, its edge hidden in the scabbard.
Using an impenetrable defense as a disguise, it baits the enemy into a frenzied attack. Then, when their assault is at its peak and their flaws are exposed, it delivers the killing blow!
This was "Dragon’s Repose"—a terrifying killing move that combined both ultimate defense and lethal offense!
With the birth of "Dragon’s Repose," Qin Feng felt his understanding of spear arts had finally broken through the last barrier.
[System Prompt: *Dragon-Snake Spear* proficiency has reached its maximum. Realm has been elevated!]
[*Dragon-Snake Spear* has reached the Control Realm!]
「Three months later.」
When Qin Feng used "Dragon’s Repose" to pin the final Mechanical Lord of the core Ore Vein Area to a massive Spiritual Crystal, the entire world finally fell silent.
VMM...
Deprived of their master’s commands, the green light in the eyes of the thousands of surrounding mechanical creations extinguished simultaneously, and they became a pile of cold, lifeless scrap metal.
HUFF... HUFF...
Shanyang, Pang Chen, and Zou Yun all dropped their combat stances at almost the same time, leaning on their respective weapons and gasping for breath.
Their power armor was covered in a dense web of scratches and scorched black marks. They looked utterly battered, but their eyes shone with a startling intensity.
"It’s over... We broke through the core area."
Zou Yun collapsed onto the ground, his voice laced with relief-fueled exhaustion.
"Strange..."
The usually taciturn Pang Chen wiped the grime from his faceplate and surveyed the deathly quiet core area, a hint of confusion in his tone. "We’ve broken through the core area. Logically, the squads from the other four directions should have pushed this far long ago. So why... why don’t we see a single soul?"