The blood sea erupted. Heaven-annihilating, earth-destroying.
The Lion Cloud in the sky was pierced through by that endless flood of blood-red energy, dispersed in smoke, and turned into a single beam of golden light that vanished back into the blood sea. Only because it was a life-guardian war beast — which could never truly die — was it able to survive the annihilating force of that blood sea at all.
The surface of the Storm Sea heaved up in enormous towering waves, a thousand layers of frightful swell.
Rolling. Roaring.
Not settling for a long time.
Around the Silent King, gathered unharmed, were the Eight Generals. Under the triple shield of the Silent King’s “Devout One” life-guardian war beast, his Faith talent, and his Prayer Domain, the Poet, the white-bearded elder, the Fat Man, the Dwarf, the Lazy One, the wild-tribe savage, the Hanged Man — all of them — had ridden out the Rage Domain Emperor’s “Blood Sea Eruption” self-immolation without a scratch.
“Bah!” The Hanged Man had had a bad scare, but after realizing that the Silent King had shielded him and he was unhurt, immediately resumed his contemptuous swagger.
“Fool who does not know his own limits.” The Dwarf gave his weird little cackle.
“…” The Silent King, who stood over his subordinates like a solid mountain range shielding them, was silent as gold. He did not mock, did not permit himself so much as an expression of disrespect. In fact, he offered a small, courteous farewell bow toward the Rage Domain Emperor — the man who was, at the center of the Storm Sea, spending his own life to unleash the mutually-annihilating blood sea power.
From the sky above, two figures crashed down.
The Golden Crown King, whose right arm had been snapped clean off. And the Lion King, whose life-guardian war beast had, on this occasion, actually died in battle.
Both Kings had been standing at the epicenter of the Rage Domain Emperor’s self-destruction. Being the first to take the strike, they had absorbed the greatest share of the blood sea energy. Both were still tremendously strong and in no danger of death — but they were in visibly ragged shape.
At the vault of the sky, a blood-red demon-god was slowly descending.
At that moment, on its face, there was no more anger.
Only a strange expression.
Release.
That kind of release — like the release of someone who has for many years carried a hidden wish or a hidden secret, and finally has the chance either to see it through or to say it out loud. That feeling that came only in the moment just before dying, in the lucid clarity of a life’s last flare-up.
The blood-red energy the crimson demon-god gave off was no longer of tyranny or rage. No longer of bloodlust or slaughter.
He was not smiling; but the impression he gave was that the crimson demon-god was, in fact, smiling.
He continued drifting down.
Drifting toward the blood-red-energy-wrapped Revenge Domain Emperor on the Storm Sea’s surface.
Closer. Closer. Slowly closer.
The Revenge Domain Emperor, encased in his own blood-red protection, had not yet died. Barely, he opened his eyes. He saw the crimson demon-god drifting closer, and slowly changing shape — into the Rage Domain Emperor.
The Rage Domain Emperor seemed to want to speak — but no sound came out.
He seemed to want to reach out and embrace the Revenge Domain Emperor.
But he no longer had a body.
His body had already been ground to nothing when the blood sea detonated. What he was now — this energy-body of blood-red force — was identical in composition to the blood-red energy wrapping the Revenge Domain Emperor. And before that hand could actually touch the Revenge Domain Emperor’s flesh, it kept dissipating… The Storm Sea, its energy-suppression gone, began to howl once more. A vast wind swept across the sea’s surface, and the Rage Domain Emperor’s energy-body was blown to a blur, and dispersed. What was left of his will barely held together into the shape of a head. The lips on that head moved slightly — as though he wanted to tell the Revenge Domain Emperor, at last, something long-held that had never been said before…
“What a really annoying man. Whatever it takes, you two are not walking out of this Storm Sea alive.” The Lion King was seriously irked. Lion Cloud was his life-guardian war beast — you couldn’t kill it, but under a beating like this, its rank and combat power were going to drop precipitously. And it would be a long, long time before he could summon it again.
“Die!” The Golden Crown King was more resentful still.
The Rage Domain Emperor had, in front of everyone present, snapped his arm off.
That arm had been fused with the Central Divine Hall’s Golden Sacred Sword. Losing it cost him at least thirty percent of his strength. Where he had previously stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the Lion King, he now ranked below him.
The Lion King lost his Lion Cloud — but that was a life-guardian war beast; it would come back.
The Golden Crown King’s lost arm was a considerably bigger dent in his strength.
What worried the Golden Crown King most was that the Two-Faced King had been advancing very fast in recent years, always just behind, and if he kept losing strength like this, sooner or later the Two-Faced King would overtake him.
His remaining left arm swept out. In empty air he traced the pattern of a Sacred Shield rune, and golden energy coalesced into a brilliantly glowing Sacred Shield. Just as the Rage Domain Emperor’s lips were still moving — trying to tell the Revenge Domain Emperor whatever it was he had never gotten to say — the Golden Crown King spun and hurled the shield. A gold arc split the air. Charged with the Golden Crown King’s rage and killing intent, the shield slammed into the crimson head — the last remnant of the Rage Domain Emperor — and shattered it in an instant.
The Revenge Domain Emperor watched with his own eyes. He had no power to prevent it.
He did not speak.
He kept his lips pressed tight.
But at the corner of his eye — a single drop of blood-tears rolled swiftly down.
When the target of his deepest hatred, the object of his revenge, died in front of him, he did not feel triumph or satisfaction. He felt an inexpressible regret and pain.
“Kill him…” The Golden Crown King raised his single arm. The Radiance God Sword, which had been slowly sinking into the sea, burst up from the water like a flying fish, and — as though caught by a fishing line drawing at its mouth — landed with unerring precision in the Golden Crown King’s hand. The Radiance God Sword would not accept this kind of master. It hummed once, sharply — but it could not resist the Golden Crown King’s raw strength. Like a large fish in the fisherman’s hand, it struggled uselessly. It hummed a few times, then fell silent, and — as a sentient artifact — sealed its own will, refusing to accept the new master. The Golden Crown King did not care in the slightest. He knew that under prolonged energy pressure, the Radiance God Sword would sooner or later submit. Strength wins in the end. He slid the sword into his belt and gestured. Cruelly, he ordered the Eight Generals to move up and kill the Revenge Domain Emperor — in front of the Radiance God Sword, murder its old master.
“Yes.” The Hanged Man and the wild-tribe savage stepped forward, ready to take the credit.
The Revenge Domain Emperor at full strength would have been beyond them, even with numbers. But now —
Never mind elite Eight Generals — even ordinary Sky-rank cultivators, or even Earth-rank warriors, hitting him in sequence, could shatter his blood-red energy shell and finish him.
The Revenge Domain Emperor slowly closed his eyes.
Death he had long since accepted.
His only wish, in this moment, was that he had died in the Rage Domain Emperor’s blood sea eruption, and not at the hands of the Hanged Man and his friends.
The Rage Domain Emperor’s protection had bought him at most one more minute. What did another minute even mean? Being tortured to death by the Central Divine Hall’s people — he would have rather died grandly in the sea of blood. But death was not for you to choose. And the wait wouldn’t be long. His enemies would not waste time. The killing blow was already coming…
“Wait a moment. This kid still owes me a fair bit of money. At the very least, let me collect one debt back before you get on with things!” On the Storm Sea’s surface, a person had appeared. The churning waves seemed to shrink under his tread; they suddenly calmed, like a puppy cringing into a corner.
“Wha — what?” Not just the Storm Sea. The Lion King and the Golden Crown King were also badly rattled.
“…” The Silent King’s eyes narrowed to hair-thin slits, as though pins had pricked them.
The Poet and the surviving generals simply went blank.
Jaws hanging.
Unable to believe this man had shown up.
The newcomer was, of course, the young man the Solar King had called “the new-generation Prison Emperor” — Yue Yang.
He was grinning. That easy, sunshine-bright, red-lipped, white-toothed grin. If you didn’t know better, you’d think he’d just come back from someone else’s wedding banquet.
And when Yue Yang’s silhouette appeared, right behind him, one by one — the snake-hair demon man, the Windstill national ruler, Lady Zhiguang, Blue Wolf, and all the others who were supposed to have been annihilated by the blood sea eruption — appeared.
Not one of them missing.
Not one of them dead.
The Silent King’s eyes were, at that moment, colder than ice.
Only he understood the true horror of this young man. This young man had not only escaped from a strike by the Solar King himself — he had also, right past the Silent King’s own eyes, extracted a whole group of companions from the epicenter of a self-detonation. Most importantly of all, he had time to spare to do it. What did that prove? It proved that the Solar King, for the moment, was not going to catch up! However the young man had contrived to trap the Solar King, the Silent King could not work out — but from that relaxed smile, he understood one thing. This kid had a full hand. Which meant that showing up here right now was also, most likely, part of the plan.
“Sorry — I’m not dead. I hope I haven’t disappointed you.” Yue Yang apologized with a bright smile, seemingly full of sincerity.
“Where is Two-Faced?” The Golden Crown King’s heart skipped a beat. He asked after the Two-Faced King, who had gone off to chase Tianzhu. What he actually wanted to ask about was the Solar King — but he didn’t dare even think about the Solar King failing.
“Ah — do you actually think this young lord would personally clean up a low-tier lackey like him? Beneath my dignity. My guards and guard-dog were more than sufficient. I don’t do things below my station.” Yue Yang produced a paper fan from nowhere, snapped it open, and started fanning himself. He looked the very picture of a rich young rake out on the streets to harass respectable young ladies.
The Lion King started to speak. The Silent King, moving in an instant, stepped through his entire retinue and put himself directly in front of Yue Yang.
Aside from him, nobody in this room was Yue Yang’s opponent.
Even the brave Lion King and the proud Golden Crown King inwardly recognized how dangerous this young man was and — despite themselves — could not bring themselves to open the engagement.
This young man could not be pinned down by the Solar King, who had run the whole scheme personally, aiming for exactly one kill. This young man had defeated Void and Nine-Firmament — two of the Heavenly Realm’s three giants. This young man had been the one to fully defeat and kill the Nine-Sun Empress, and to send the entire Nine-Sun clan into extinction…
Xiao Wenli flashed sideways and appeared behind the Golden Crown King.
The Golden Crown King raised his Sacred Shield to guard his body.
Twisted at maximum speed.
Struck.
But the moment the snake-demon loli’s big eyes opened wide at him, her divine-beast will and binding talent detonated in one burst — freezing the Golden Crown King solid in midair. She extended one small hand and, very slowly, drew the Radiance God Sword out of the Golden Crown King’s belt. Her leisurely gesture was the equivalent of a stinging slap across his face — she was mercilessly humiliating this Central Divine Hall power in front of everyone.
Once the Radiance God Sword was freed, with Xiao Wenli’s energy backing it —
It turned into a bolt of silver light.
Shooting outward.
It punched straight through the blood-red protective shell, carrying its master — the Revenge Domain Emperor — with it, and flew back into the safe area behind Yue Yang.
The snake-hair demon man threw himself out with everything he had, catching the Revenge Domain Emperor with both hands. Then he turned and roared at the still-frozen Windstill national ruler, Blue Wolf and the others: “You fools! Get back to the spatial corridor, get out of here, don’t add to Yue Titan’s problems…”
The bellow snapped the Windstill national ruler and Blue Wolf out of their daze.
They quickly rallied their people and fled back to the spatial corridor.
The Lion King glanced sideways at the Silent King and discovered that the Silent King — like the Solar King before him — had eyes only for Yue Yang. He quickly took his place alongside the newly recovered Golden Crown King, standing shoulder to shoulder to face the enemy. Only now was he starting to realize: that silent snake-demon loli was not merely an ordinary divine beast. She was a loli-sized version of the Conquest Queen.
The wild-tribe savage howled at the sky and rushed madly at the Blue Wolf’s group and the other Sky-rank.
He might not be able to touch Titan Young Lord, but taking out Blue Wolf and company was doable. Under all the coarseness this hulk still had judgment — he’d picked his target well.
Ssschk!
A golden arrow slammed into the wild-tribe savage’s thigh.
In an instant, that elephant-thick leg turned into a stone column.
Somewhere behind Xiao Wenli, without anyone noticing when, four more life-guardian war beasts had appeared… four life-guardian war beasts. And every single one of them close to divine-beast tier. Never mind Eight-General-tier — even the Lion King and the Golden Crown King, seeing the Stone Medusa, the Storm Mermaid, the Thunder Naga, and the Frost Serpent-Demon, felt their hearts sink.
This fight — was not going to be an easy one.
(End of Chapter 975)