This was going to be the final battle!

The entire federation was eagerly awaiting the commencement of this final match on the nearest screens.

To the general public, mecha battles were even more appealing than Soul Master battles as even normal people could pilot mechas. As long as one's physical constitution and spiritual power could satisfy a certain set of criteria, they could enroll for mecha academies.

The final mecha battle was finally about to commence, and everyone wanted to see just what the most powerful mecha pilots were capable of.

Ever since he had progressed to the final 16, no one saw Spear King as a genuine contender for the championship title. However, he had managed to progress through one round after another against all odds, and now, he was in the grand final.

His opponent had the highest odds among all of the mecha pilots in the entire competition, and he had won almost all of his matches in an extremely crushing manner.

It could even be said that this man was a legend in the mecha world, and he was vastly renowned throughout the world of mecha pilots. Even the Star Battle Net was unable to hide his identity as he was simply far too well-known, and with his current powers, he could even put up a good fight against a divine-grade mecha pilot.

He was a man who was almost certain to become a divine-grade mecha pilot in the future.

Back when he was only 30 years of age, he was already a ninth-rank mecha maker, which made him the youngest ninth-rank mecha maker in the history of the entire federation. Furthermore, he had already successfully constructed a divine-grade mecha for someone else, and he was renowned for possessing the "Hands of God".

He also possessed superb aptitude when it came to mecha piloting. No matter what kind of mecha he used, he was always able to bring out far more of its power than anyone else could.

At the same time, he had an extremely outlandish and memorable name, and during his youth, it was a name that had earned him much ridicule.

However, this name was already renowned across the entire continent at this point.

His name was Wang Kulou [Literally translates to King Skeleton], and he was referred to as Skeleton God. His martial soul was his own skeleton, and he had the highest odds among all mecha pilots in the entire competition.

Compared to him, Spear King's path to the grand final had been a lot more arduous, and there were many matches where he had only narrowly escaped defeat.

However, that wasn't to say that Spear King wasn't a legend in himself. There were rumors circulating that Spear King and the champion of the Soul Master battle discipline, Golden Dragon King, were one and the same!

During the final match between Golden Dragon King and Strength King, Golden Dragon King had summoned a massive Tyrant Dragon soul spirit that was identical to the one Spear King had summoned in the past, so were they the same person?

If so, then Golden Dragon King's immense powers as a Soul Master would surely significantly enhance his mecha, and it would be difficult to say who was the favorite going into this match.

If this were true, then this battle would be a clash between the most powerful Soul Master and the most powerful mecha pilot in the format of a mecha battle.

In just a single day, the match between Spear King and Skeleton God had been promoted all over the entire federation, and everyone was eagerly awaiting this epic clash. Now, the grand final was finally about to arrive.

Skeleton God, Wang Kulou! To put it more accurately, it should be Skeleton King, Wang Kulou!

Tang Wulin sat within his resting suite and reviewed all of the information he had about Wang Kulou.

This Wang Kulou's martial soul definitely wasn't just a skeleton. Instead, it was the Skeleton King. He was using his skeleton as a martial soul, which was a part of his body, but after asking Mu Ye about him, Tang Wulin was told that those with skeleton martial souls weren't from a branch of the Body Sect. Instead, they came from a mysterious clan.

He was a divine-grade mecha maker, and even though there were far more high-grade masters in other occupations compared to forging, there were still only 13 ninth-grade mecha makers in the entire federation, and even for them, it was certainly not an easy task to construct divine-grade mechas.

Furthermore, crafting a divine-grade mecha for someone else was more difficult than crafting one for oneself, and it was important to remember that Wang Kulou was only 33 years of age. If it weren't for the limitations of his physical constitution, he would most likely already be a divine-grade mecha pilot.

It was undoubtedly the case that this battle against Wang Kulou definitely wasn't going to be any easier than his battle against A'Ruheng.

The atmosphere in the competition venue was even more frenetic than he had imagined, and the spectators seemed to have already completely forgotten the incidents that had taken place during the semifinal matches. Before Tang Wulin had even emerged into the competition venue, he could already hear waves of thunderous cheers erupting outside. The same cheers were also ringing out throughout the Blood God Legion as everyone cheered on Tang Wulin with all their might. They already knew for a fact that Spear King and Golden Dragon King were the same person!

……

Within the abyssal passageway.

"Ding!" A faint clang rang out within the deepest part of the abyssal passageway, and even the most sensitive of detection devices failed to pick up this sound.

A thin crack began to appear on the core at the deepest part of the passageway, and a layer of faint light appeared on the passageway's seal. This layer of light only appeared for an instant before abruptly vanishing again.

Wisps of black mist began to emerge soundlessly from within the crack. This stream of mist was very feeble, to the extent that the seal was completely unmoved. The black mist formed the shape of a needle, and as it drifted through the air, there was warped light constantly shimmering around it.

The black mist began to coil around, and during this process, it seemed to be winding itself around an invisible hand. The invisible hand gently pulled back, and an indistinct figure took shape within the black mist on the side of the seal that belonged to the Blood God Legion. The figure then dragged itself along the line formed by the black mist and quickly flew away from the seal.

……

"Clunk, clunk, clunk!" With each and every step the mechas took, a loud clang would ring out. Every single one of the spectators had their eyes focused intently on the two mechas that were making their way into the competition venue.

Tang Wulin was piloting his usual spear-wielding melee combat mecha, and the opponent that he was facing was also a melee combat mecha that was wielding a saber and a shield.

The two mechas didn't look any different; they were generic mechas, after all. However, as soon as they emerged, raucous cheers immediately rang out, threatening to blast the roof off the entire venue.

"Skeleton God, Skeleton God, Skeleton God!"

In contrast with the Soul Master battle grand final, virtually everyone was chanting Skeleton God's name, and no one was optimistic about Tang Wulin's chances.

Tang Wulin's expression remained unchanged. He had seen Skeleton God's past competition footage, so he was naturally aware of why his opponent was so popular.

Skeleton God's battle style was extremely flashy yet effective, and it was very pleasing to watch.

Tang Wulin's mecha held its spear halfway up the shaft, and the spear was pointed diagonally down toward the ground as he appraised Skeleton God from afar. Skeleton God was also appraising him with intense focus, and there seemed to be some kind of invisible connection between them.

It was undoubtedly the case that Skeleton God was far more familiar with mechas than Tang Wulin; this was a direct result of their differing occupations. During his past battles, Skeleton God's forte lay in his flashy combo attacks. Those attack sequences perfectly integrated power and speed, and there was almost no way to defend against them.

Skeleton God was renowned as the mecha pilot to have reached the upper limit of human mecha handling skills. Otherwise, his odds wouldn't have been so high.

"This is grand final match of the Star Battle Net Inter-federation Competition's mecha battle discipline; get ready!"

"Five, four, three, two, one, begin!"

The electronic announcement was just as concise as ever.

Following the conclusion of the countdown, Tang Wulin and Skeleton God sprang into action almost in complete unison, charging directly toward one another.

The difference between them was made quite apparent right away.

They were both piloting generic melee combat mechas, but in comparison, Skeleton God's weapons were heavier than Tang Wulin's. However, neither of them had activated their mecha's propellers, yet Skeleton God was half a second faster than Tang Wulin. This reflected the absolute advantage he had over Tang Wulin in terms of mecha piloting skills.