"I didn't want you to be my helper. I said, I need a lieutenant."
Ling Ye's voice is calm, unwavering.
"I didn't ask you to fight Ye Tian with me."
Mad Asura frowns, confused. "Then what do you mean?"
"I need to rebuild the Blood Shadow Demon Army," Ling Ye says slowly. "I have swept through the heavens, achieving what no one else could for eternity. But the people under my command… they are unworthy of my trust."
Mad Asura laughs wildly. "Heh, and why didn't you think of that before accepting them?"
"When I took them in, I needed tools. And they… needed something to cling to." Ling Ye smirks. "Now, they will find a new attachment."
"Ye Tian? So you really did gather a bunch of opportunists," Mad Asura scoffs, swinging his sledgehammer once more.
"That's why I need a new army," Ling Ye says, his voice light but firm. "A force of true warriors. No more cowards."
Mad Asura eyes him with a crazed grin. "And me? You think you're qualified to have me follow you?"
Ling Ye remains unfazed. "No. I think you are qualified to follow me."
He doesn't react to Mad Asura's provocation. Only warriors like this—those who refuse to kneel—deserve to stand beside him.
Mad Asura chuckles darkly. "Hah, your words are always so arrogant."
Then, without warning, he grips his sledgehammer tightly. "In that case, take three of my hammers first!"
His grin widens, and deep within his eyes, the burning flames of battle ignite.
Boom!
A fiery red aura explodes from his body, the overwhelming energy of the Extreme God Realm surging outward.
Without hesitation, he swings his colossal hammer down at Ling Ye.
This is no ordinary strike.
This hammer carries the full force of his power—enough to shake the world, enough to destroy it.
But Ling Ye doesn't move.
He simply lifts his hand.
And blocks it.
Bang!
A deafening shockwave erupts as the impact resounds through the entire Chaos Asura Prison.
The eighteenth floor trembles violently.
The force ripples outward, shaking every level above it.
On the seventeenth floor, warriors tense up, their faces grim.
"What was that?! What's happening?"
"It feels like the entire prison is collapsing!"
"If the eighteenth floor falls, we're all doomed!"
Beyond Asura Purgatory, countless eyes turn toward the prison, staring in disbelief.
"This… what kind of power is this?"
"Who could shake all of Asura Purgatory?"
"This is the equivalent of shaking eighteen entire worlds!"
"Is it Mad Asura?"
"No… there's another aura. Even stronger."
"The Blood Shadow Demon Lord! Someone said he entered Asura Purgatory!"
"Are they fighting again?"
"Didn't they already fight once before? Are they really doing this again?"
"God help us. If Chaos Asura Prison is destroyed, won't we—ordinary people—be buried with it?"
The panic spreads across the surrounding continents.
Inside the eighteenth floor, the dust settles.
Ling Ye stands exactly where he was.
The massive hammer lies several meters away, having been blasted from Mad Asura's grip.
Mad Asura himself is embedded in the prison wall, having been thrown back by the sheer force of Ling Ye's defense.
For a moment, he remains still. Then, with a deep sigh, he dusts himself off and walks over to retrieve his hammer.
Shaking his head, he mutters, "People call me a fighter… but what kind of fighter am I, really?"
He grips his hammer once more and resumes striking the forge.
He is a fighter.
But a fighter's spirit only burns when faced with a worthy opponent.
Before Ling Ye… there is no fight to be had.
Mad Asura knows this truth better than anyone.
Years ago, he had fought Ling Ye at his peak.
He had been brimming with confidence, his battle spirit at its strongest.
And yet, the result was a crushing defeat.
Ling Ye had beaten him mercilessly—leaving him broken, nearly dead.
Now, years later, he has grown stronger.
And yet… compared to Ling Ye, he is still nothing.
So why fight a battle he knows he will lose?
Mad Asura had promised three hammers.
But after just one, the answer is clear.
There is no need for the second.
There is no point in the third.
"You truly are qualified to have me follow you," Mad Asura finally says, exhaling deeply.
Then, with a smirk, he corrects himself. "No… in your words, I should say—thank you for considering me worthy of following you."
Of course, in this world, only the victor's words matter.
The defeated have no right to speak.
"But that doesn't mean I have to follow you," Mad Asura adds.
"However… if you are willing to tell me something, I might consider becoming your lieutenant."