Gao Wu insists on cultivating immortality.

Chapter 412 Seize Destiny
Athena reached out and made a light gesture, creating invisible, golden walls of light that sealed off the area where Hercules and Gao Wu were located.

The Eternal City is a divine realm, blessed by divine power countless times. As the Pope, Athena can even mobilize divine power within the Eternal City.

The Eternal City's space was divided into numerous layers through pre-set divine magic, also to protect the Eternal City and its loyal believers.

The destructive power of an eighth-level expert is too great; a single strike can destroy most of the Eternal City.

Building the Eternal City cost trillions of dollars and various resources. Destroying it is easy, but rebuilding it is difficult.

In Athena's heart, the Eternal City was far more important than Hercules.

Despite Hercules's prowess, he was, after all, a heretic.

Athena did not rush to help Heracles, mainly to guard against powerful outsiders launching a sneak attack that could damage the Eternal City.

Moreover, Hercules wields the Sword of Destiny, and within the realm of her divine domain, its power can be unleashed at almost 90%. Meanwhile, the outsider Gao Wu is suppressed by the divine domain.

In their battle, Hercules has gained a significant advantage. Moreover, Hercules is truly exceptional in combat.

Hercules never considered asking Athena for help. With power at his level, skills and tactics became secondary.

By raising the sword of destiny, Hercules felt that he had control over his destiny.

Hercules could even faintly see the threads of fate on Gao Wu's body. With this one sword strike, he could sever Gao Wu's fate and end everything.

He also knew in his heart that the so-called thread of fate was not a manifestation of the concept of fate, but rather all the connections between Gao Wu and this world.

Spiritual magnetic field, source energy magnetic field, and so on—a living person must have a close interaction with the world.

Looking at these connections with the sword of fate, they appear as invisible threads of destiny.

Hercules made a slight adjustment, then unleashed his divine power and slashed his sword fiercely at Gao Wu.

Although the Sword of Destiny cannot sever the void of fate, it possesses the unique ability to lock onto its opponent.

The sword strike was like a predetermined fate, leaving no escape and no way to stop it.

Without such extraordinary abilities, this sword would not deserve to be called the Sword of Destiny.

Gao Wu immediately sensed the special lock of the Sword of Destiny. In the past, he could only sense it but would find it difficult to make an accurate judgment.

Despite his improved fundamental abilities, he was able to make accurate analyses of them.

The Sword of Destiny has both spatial and mental locks, a dual lock activated by Hercules, which tightly locks onto his physical body.

It is indeed a powerful artifact, and to some extent, it does possess the immense power to control destiny.

Gao Wu estimated that if he upgraded to the Xuanwu Divine Qi Curse, he could actually go toe-to-toe with Hercules with his unparalleled divine power.

Now, there's a significant difference in power levels. Even though the Heavenly Fate Sword is at level ten, it's impossible for it to directly sever the Sword of Destiny.

The Heavenly Fate Sword is of a high level, but not at this level.

Inside the Eternal City, Gao Wu also felt the suppression of the Divine Realm on him, an outsider, and even the circulation of his source power became somewhat sluggish.

He not only had to face Hercules, but also Athena.

Gao Wu's agility and root potential are both at 40 points, which makes his reaction speed far exceed that of the two level 8 experts in front of him.

In the blink of an eye, he performed billions of analyses and calculations like a supercomputer. These analyses and calculations were based on his understanding of the world and power.

In terms of his personal condition, he's currently only slightly weaker in strength; in all other aspects, he's reached the ninth level. However, his martial arts realm is still inferior to Qin Liuhe's, and he hasn't truly achieved oneness with heaven and man. Even so, he can still handle two eighth-level powerhouses with divine domain enhancements with ease.

Gao Wu instantly made a complete plan for the battle, and he punched the descending sword of fate head-on.

He was using the Xuanlong Hammer, and with one punch he covered all directions. The intent of the punch also dominated the vast space, destroying all the restrictions that divine power placed on the source power.

The Xuanlong Hammer can not only cover all directions, but also gather source power through a vast space and transform it into a heavy hammer that can shatter everything.

Hercules was somewhat surprised that Gao Wu dared to fight him head-on, and that he would not use his sword but instead use his fists to attack him directly.

"Are young people this brave these days?" Hercules was slightly surprised, but then became even more excited; he liked such brave opponents.

The gods would be even more pleased to slay such a powerful enemy.

Athena was also a little surprised. Gao Wu, as a true martial saint, actually chose the simplest way to deal with it, which was very unreasonable.

On the other hand, Gao Wu used his fists as hammers to control the surrounding spatial energy, ignoring the suppression of the divine realm, and also demonstrating his unparalleled martial arts skills.

Athena silently prepared two divine spells, stripping and restricting, ready to help Heracles at a crucial moment.

The sword of destiny, capable of cleaving through everything, struck Gao Wu's right fist. The clash of pure power unleashed a terrifying energy shock, causing the surrounding void to tremble violently and the golden wall that formed the spatial divine domain to shake continuously.

The two sides were locked in a stalemate for less than a fraction of a second before Gao Wu's Xuanlong Hammer was shattered by the Sword of Destiny.

Even the Taiyi Battle Body couldn't withstand such a terrifying heavy sword. The blade left a deep sword mark on his fist, but it failed to sever his right fist.

Gao Wu had anticipated this change, and as he withdrew his fist, he changed it into a palm.

The sword wound that had almost severed his right palm healed instantly. The power of his "Regretful Dragon Palm" strike landed on the hilt of the Sword of Destiny.

No matter what kind of divine weapon it is, as an extremely heavy greatsword, the Sword of Destiny must follow the rules of matter, with the center of gravity of the sword located one foot from the front of the hilt.

Only in this way can the sword's center of gravity be balanced.

Hercules brought his sword down with tremendous force, but the sheer power made it difficult for him to control the heavy sword precisely. He could only let the force of the blow run through him before turning around and striking again.

Gao Wu's change from fist to palm was too fast, so fast that Hercules had no time to adjust. The Sword of Destiny was hit by the fierce force of the "Regretful Dragon Palm" at the weakest point, and the heavy sword was deflected.

Hercules also realized what was happening, and divine runes shone on his body, while the berserk runes were activated once again.

With the aid of divine magic and his spiritual connection with the Sword of Destiny, he managed to stabilize the veered blade.

At this moment, Gao Wu changed his move again, turning his palm into a claw, and his five fingers gripped the blade of the Sword of Destiny.

Hercules was even more astonished, for the Sword of Destiny was not to be desecrated, and any external force would be annihilated by its divine power.

Gao Wu actually grasped the Sword of Destiny and withstood the unparalleled divine power of the blade. Could this person's body be harder and sharper than a level nine divine sword?

Hercules' divine runes shone once more, unleashing another layer of berserk divine magic that doubled his power again.

Its immense power made even the heavy sword of destiny as light as a feather.

Hercules suddenly flipped his sword, and Gao Wu, without letting go, severed his arm. Once he let go, he used the momentum of the flip to stab Gao Wu through!
Hercules, however, felt no resistance, and the Sword of Destiny easily flipped and broke free from Gao Wu's control.

But in that brief moment, Gao Wu flashed in, his figure brushing against the blade. Before Hercules could react, Gao Wu's leg, like a blade, slashed upwards, striking Hercules in the groin...

At the same time, Athena, sensing something was wrong, activated her stripping spell, a flash of golden light pointing directly at Gao Wu...

(End of this chapter)