Chapter 696 The Final Step
Eastern Region, Ancestral Dragon City.
The once towering Zulong City, a renowned defensive line in the Eastern Region, guarded the border for tens of thousands of years, but now it is in ruins, with remnants of war everywhere.
Here, the remains of the ancestral dragon are everywhere. The enormous dragon body lies horizontally, its flesh cracked and bones scattered. In addition, there are the remains of many other great clans of the Eastern Region. Dragon blood and phoenix bones are piled up like mountains, making it a desolate graveyard.
The ground rumbled and trembled, and howling sounds swept across the solidified, lifeless skeletons in the void. Looking up, one could see an overwhelming black shadow, a vast expanse of wings flapping and creating a bloody wind, brutal and chilling, rushing over the ancient Ancestral Dragon City, which had weathered thousands of years of storms, towards the vast eastern region further behind.
In the distance, the heavens and earth collapsed, and all sorts of strange phenomena appeared. The immortal waterfalls and flames formed by immortal magic flowed like long rivers, creating storms in the void.
The earth-shattering sounds of battle echoed from that distant horizon.
"Defend! Defend to the death!"
"Even if it means burning your souls and your lifeblood, you must hold on!"
"We must not retreat, not even a single step!!"
The roar of the Ancestral Dragon Clan echoed across this last line of defense; it was the furious roar of a quasi-emperor that resounded throughout the entire battlefield.
But soon, a quasi-emperor-level expert among the ancient demons also spoke up, his voice cold and domineering:
"Kill! Kill everyone in front of us!"
"Once we cross this defensive line, this vast Eastern Region will be ours!"
"They will all become our food, our food! We'll let you drink their blood and eat them for a thousand years!!"
The quasi-Emperor level experts on both sides were in a standoff, some commanding from behind the lines, others fighting on the battlefield, turning the void into an alien realm that outsiders could not approach, and even Immortal King level experts dared not get close or touch it.
"Dragon Ancestor, we can't hold on much longer!"
Behind the defensive line, an ancient ancestral dragon figure was coiled up. Its enormous dragon body stretched for thousands of miles. This was its miniature form after shrinking its imperial body. Even so, the dragon scales and body forged from divine iron already exuded a terrifying pressure that made people's breath suffocate, like an ancient ferocious beast looking down on all living beings.
"The Dao Source Immortal Emperor and the Sovereign Emperor are still at war, and there are five other Great Emperors guarding the outside. Are there any reinforcements?"
"A quasi-emperor level cultivator from the Ancestral Dragon Clan said anxiously."
He was also the Ancestral Dragon, but now he had transformed into human form and stood before the Dragon Ancestor like a speck of dust, his eyes revealing urgency.
Reinforcements... The Dragon Ancestor silently stared ahead, his eyes, which seemed to be formed from the sun and moon, piercing through the endless black demonic tide and seeing several imperial figures behind it.
As if sensing his probing, the several imperial figures who were talking all twitched their eyelids and looked at him.
Despite being separated by billions of miles, the two sides seemed to be face to face, staring at each other and confronting each other!
On one side is the Dragon Ancestor, who entrenched himself in the Eastern Region, and on the other side are the Five Emperors, who stand behind the Demon Tide. Each of them wields the power of their respective regions.
"I opened up the Divine Blood Realm, enabling all races to break free from their shackles and unleash the power of divine blood. Now, all races are also fighting for the Eastern Region..."
The Dragon Ancestor slowly spoke, saying, "In the battle ten thousand years ago, several old friends risked their lives to secure the future ten thousand years later. Now, it is my turn."
His massive dragon body trembled slightly, and in an instant it seemed to resonate with heaven and earth, emitting a powerful and terrifying aura.
This aura instantly crossed the defense line and swept across the entire battlefield. In an instant, the countless ancient demons on the battlefield of the frenzied battle were suppressed by this dragon's might. They all woke up from their frenzied fighting, trembling all over, with a sense of utter fear that shattered their hearts.
This ancient suppressive force, even though the bloodline of the ancient demon race was no weaker than that of the dragon race, and was even stronger than that of the dragon race, and was not suppressed by the dragon race, at this moment they felt as if they were facing a bloodline nemesis, and trembled in fear.
It was this momentary pressure that caused countless ancient demons on the battlefield to bow their heads, while the soldiers who were resisting seized the opportunity to kill them, resulting in countless deaths and injuries in an instant!
But the oppressive aura was only there for a moment before the five emperors behind the demonic tide intervened and quickly covered it up, as if a thin veil had been draped over the battlefield to conceal the dragon's might.
"Old mudfish, finally couldn't resist making a move?"
Behind the demonic tide, the ancient demon emperors of the five races looked at the most powerful dragon in the world with cold eyes, their eyes filled with mockery, killing intent, and appreciation and greed for the delicious food.
"Whoever slays them, the thousand races of the Eastern Region will receive an extra half-share!"
The Yama Clan Emperor said calmly.
The Dragon Ancestor, who was stationed in the Eastern Region, was only worth half a percent of the profits in his eyes.
"Since none of you will fight for it, then it is my Mirror Clan that will!"
Beside him, an ancient demon emperor spoke slowly.
Seeing that no one else spoke, he knew that they were worried that the old dragon's desperate counterattack might damage his imperial body and affect his future rule.
"Wraith, come and join me in slaying the dragon!"
The Emperor of the Netherworld Clan said softly. As the clan leader, he was confident in killing the Dragon Ancestor, but he did not underestimate him.
As he called out, a dark vortex appeared in the void behind him, from which a shadowy figure slowly emerged.
He also exuded an aura of imperial power, being an emperor of the Netherworld Clan.
Upon seeing this, the eyes of the Yama Clan and other Emperors flickered slightly, clearly not expecting that after sending out two Emperors, the Niejing Clan actually had another Emperor hiding.
"Don't break the old dragon's remains too into pieces, or it will taste bad."
The Poisonous Corrosion Clan Emperor smiled faintly.
"If that's the requirement, then you should do it."
The Emperor of the Mirror Clan snorted coldly.
The Poisonous Corrosion Clan Emperor narrowed his eyes slightly, smiled, and said nothing more.
On the other side of the battlefield, the Dragon Ancestor's departure shocked everyone in the Ancestral Dragon Clan, and many of them showed anxious expressions.
If something were to happen to the Dragon Ancestor, then the Eastern Region would truly be doomed.
"Dragon Ancestor, why did you take action? Is it because you glimpsed destiny?"
One of the quasi-emperors of the Ancestral Dragon Clan couldn't help but ask, his eyes filled with urgency and humility.
The other Ancestral Dragon Immortal Kings also looked at the Dragon Ancestor, their eyes filled with anticipation. As an Emperor, he had long since taken control of his destiny and could change it. Perhaps he had already seen the answer to this battle at the end of his destiny.
"To try to understand fate is also part of fate's arrangement. Those who truly understand fate never try to understand it. Ignorance means no change, and no change means no fate."
The Dragon Ancestor slowly said that he did not pry into fate. The Emperor can control fate, and it is precisely because he controls it that he does not pry. All prying is just a part of the presentation of fate, and cause is effect.
Especially in such a vast war, involving countless races, countless destinies, and even the participation of emperors, the destinies presented are all illusions.
"All of you, watch closely! If I win this battle, I will break through the demonic tide before me and carve a bloody path for the Eastern Region!"
"If I am defeated in this battle, I will use my imperial blood to stain this battlefield red. You will fight bathed in my dragon blood, vowing to exterminate the ancient demons!"
As he spoke in a deep and majestic voice, the Dragon Ancestor's body moved, and the surrounding world seemed to shatter, unable to withstand the power of his imperial body, causing turmoil and collapse.
The dragon scales, forged from divine iron, rapidly extended, and in the blink of an eye, a primordial ancestral dragon, with a diameter of a million miles and whose head and tail could not be seen, appeared in the sky above this battlefield.
Its body alone is comparable to this defensive line, stretching across the heavens and the earth.
All the races fighting on the battlefield felt the dragon's might and the emperor's will, and were all terrified. But unlike the fear and awe they had felt before, this time the warm power and indomitable will emanating from the emperor's body inspired and encouraged them, and their morale soared.
As the dragon's might enveloped everything, two terrifying dark forces, emanating a vortex-like aura of devouring energy, swept in from behind the demonic tide. They were none other than the auras of two Emperors.
The Dragon Ancestor's eyes were filled with imposing power, his pupils seemed to be imbued with divine fire, and with a roar, the heavens and earth on the battlefield collapsed and tore apart into another realm.
The Emperor of the Demon Realm was not to be outdone, and he unleashed his power on the Dragon Ancestor, quickly storming into the alien realm.
Their battles, even if they only slightly spill over into the outside, cause terrible casualties.
As the Dragon Ancestor entered the alien realm to fight, several Quasi-Emperors of the Ancestral Dragon Clan immediately took over the battlefield. However, when they sensed the aura of the Emperors still standing behind the demonic tide, they couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat. There were simply too many Emperors from the five ancient demon clans joining forces!
"You all keep a close watch on the battlefield, and so does my Primordial Clan!"
As a cold voice rang out from behind, two more figures exuding the aura of emperors appeared. They were none other than the Primordial Clan, a hidden ancient clan in the Eastern Region.
Behind the demonic tide, the Yama Clan and other emperors remained calm, showing no surprise at the appearance of the Primordial Clan. In the previous battle, one of the Primordial Clan emperors had joined the battlefield, and now the Primordial Clan had come out in full force.
"Who's coming?"
The four tribes looked at each other.
...
In the abyss, within the Tower of the Gods.
"Look, the preliminary results are in."
Ten years have passed in the blink of an eye, and the previous True King Competition has now reached its final result.
Many figures stood in the Great Emperor's Dojo outside the Tower of All Heavens. Looking up, they saw that the first in line was none other than the powerful Emperor Mingyuan of the Imperial Clan.
Number of floors: 145!
For ten years, Di Mingyuan's level has remained unchanged. Some people have seen that he has never entered the Tower of All Heavens for the challenge, which means that he did not participate in this preliminary selection, but the result is still first place!
It ranks second, with only 138 floors, a difference of seven floors.
"There were few changes in the top ten, with only three players making slight progress in their rankings."
Many people looked on with regret, knowing that the number of true kings would ultimately remain largely unchanged.
"snort!"
Among the crowd, the god-king in golden armor had cold eyes. After five hundred years of cultivation in the abyss, he had risen from the first level of the Immortal King Realm to the seventh level. He still had the Domain Pill to consume. If he were to take it, he could advance another level.
In other words, if he advances two more realms, he can take the elixir and directly reach the Perfect Immortal King realm!
At that time, he will inherit all the power from his previous life, and this reincarnated body will be able to bear it.
That will be the time for him to demonstrate his power and rise rapidly. He will definitely secure a spot as a true king!
"It's still early. The Immortal Emperor said that there might be two or three hundred more years before this cultivation ends, which should be enough!"
“Cultivating in this Great Emperor's Dojo, for others, means not only improving their realm but also comprehending immortal techniques and the Dao realm. For me, however, I only need to rapidly improve my realm, and all the power from my previous life will return. Although I never reached the King's Realm in my previous life, in this life…”
The Divine Venerable narrowed his eyes. Of the three disciples of his master, the Heavenly Calamity Immortal Emperor, only his junior sister had cultivated the Royal Domain and become one of the Seven Monarchs.
However, after he became a quasi-emperor, he also condensed other top-tier realms, but there was no possibility of merging them again.
Now that he has been reincarnated, this realization is his foundation, and it will not be difficult for him to cultivate the realm of kingship again.
"Just wait, once I cultivate to the ninth level of the Immortal King Realm and consume the Domain Pill, all those imperial clans and Dao clans will have to step aside!"
The Divine Venerable narrowed his eyes and swept his gaze across the crowd, passing over several figures. However, these were not the top three powerhouses of the Imperial Clan, such as Di Mingyuan, but rather several figures whose auras were concealed.
One of the figures, dressed in green with a golden bell hanging from her waist, was Shi Miao.
A hint of apprehension flashed in his eyes. He knew that his true formidable enemies were these few.
Among them, this junior sister who was reincarnated like him is also a formidable rival!
“She broke through to the next realm earlier than me, and her current aura seems to have reached the peak of the Immortal King realm. Logically speaking, she has inherited all the power from her previous life and could step into the Quasi-Emperor realm at any time. If she were to challenge the Tower of All Heavens now, she would certainly not be inferior to that guy from the Imperial Clan…”
"But she's only on the 110th floor, she hasn't exerted any force at all. Is she hiding her strength, waiting for the final sprint?"
The God narrowed his eyes. He knew there was no need to reveal himself in advance, and it wouldn't be worth it to do so for the sake of this Quasi-Emperor weapon, since he didn't lack Quasi-Emperor weapons.
Only by revealing it at that time, giving those heirs of powerful clans no chance to react, can one easily surpass them in one fell swoop.
At the Great Emperor's Daoist temple.
Shi Miao sat cross-legged, quietly listening to the noise outside. She felt as if she were in a secret realm, her mind at peace and undisturbed.
"Haotian's level hasn't changed much over this long period of time; he must be comprehending his own path..."
"He found the prototype of the Emperor's Path at the first level of the Immortal King Realm and is striving for his own Emperor's Path. I should also work hard."
"In this life... another catastrophe has descended, and it may be the last. Even if we escape the turmoil of the catastrophe, given Brother Haotian's personality, he may very well be drawn into it, or even sacrifice himself... I must become stronger in order to help him!"
"The imperial path I failed to complete in my past life, I must forge in this life, an eternal imperial path that belongs to me!"
Her gaze hardened, she withdrew her eyes from the rankings on the Tower of All Heavens, and closed them to enter seclusion once more.
Amidst the clamor and discussion, the Immortal Emperor, standing atop the Tower of All Heavens, slowly announced the rankings for this session. He then read out the initial tests and enhancements for each realm during this cultivation.
"...Among those at the first level of the Immortal King Realm, nine have made the fastest progress..."
The Immortal Emperor announced the origins and names of the nine individuals, drawing all eyes to them.
Among them were Luo Ningshuang and Su Wanyi, as well as the God Venerable and Xue Fei, who possessed the ancient immortal body.
In addition, several disciples of the Chaos Ancient Clan under the Primordial Immortal Emperor have also made remarkable progress and have now climbed to the ninetyth level.
Keep in mind that it has only been five hundred years since they first arrived.
It is absolutely astonishing that someone could cultivate from the first level of the Immortal King Realm to their current near-perfect peak combat power in just five hundred years.
Those who can break through the hundredth floor all possess a foundation built up over many years.
"Among us, he actually has the highest floor number."
Su Wanyi looked at the God Venerable with surprise and solemnity in her eyes. The other party was expelled from the Heavenly Domain by Haotian and did not even obtain the Heavenly Dao Power. Now he has actually reached the 98th floor, while she and Luo Ningshuang, who have the Primordial Emperor Power in their bodies, have only climbed to the 95th floor!
As time goes on, the boost from the power of the progenitor emperor diminishes, and they need to cultivate other aspects of their strength in order to maintain their power in cross-border operations.
"That guy, it's not surprising that he's said to be a quasi-emperor reincarnated."
Luo Ningshuang glanced at the Divine Venerable, but her eyes didn't show much emotion. She understood that the other party was definitely aiming for the True King's spot as well. As for her and Su Wanyi, they would be lucky to even get the position of True King's deputy. After all, in addition to the True King's spot, there were twenty True King's deputy positions. That meant that only those who ranked in the top thirty would be eligible for a deputy position.
The 30th floor is now the 105th floor.
"But that guy is still stuck on the 60th floor, what's going on?"
Luo Ningshuang glanced around and was surprised to find that Li Hao was not among the nine people, which she found somewhat incomprehensible.
"He's probably in seclusion, or maybe..."
Su Wanyi glanced at the Tower of All Heavens, a hint of worry in her eyes.
"Or are they stuck at a bottleneck, destined to become just another ordinary person?"
Luo Ningshuang frowned, disappointment showing in her eyes. She shook her head and said, "Never mind him. We should all strive to become the deputy of the True King. You should ask your Su family in the Northern Region to contribute more and send some supplies. I heard that other major clans are also secretly sending supplies for their own people to cultivate, hoping to catch up and win a seat."
Su Wanyi smiled bitterly. The Su family had given her everything they could; all that was left was for her to rely on her own talent.
"In the remaining few hundred years, I will strive to raise the Wood Path to the tenth level. Although it is a single level, the tenth level is enough for me to break through 100 levels!"
Luo Ningshuang said that her cultivation time was too short to raise all ten thousand paths to the eighth or ninth level like others, so she could only choose one path.
She has an exceptionally high aptitude for the Dao of Wood, and has now reached the ninth level. If she can break through to the tenth level, that would be the pinnacle for a Celestial King, allowing her to easily suppress other Celestial Kings at the peak and join the ranks of the top tier.
Su Wanyi nodded slightly. She also wanted to study her own swordsmanship. If she could comprehend the Spring Fall Swordsmanship passed down by her ancestors, even if she only had a trace of the Emperor Sword's prototype, it would still allow her to break through the hundred levels!
Both of them went into seclusion to further their research and development.
Time passed.
Inside the Tower of All Heavens.
Li Hao's forehead was covered in cold sweat. In his domain, seven domain hearts stood side by side, yet they attracted each other, causing the domain to distort.
Li Hao chose to embed the last Chaos Realm Heart into his sword path, placing it alongside the Void Realm Heart. As he expected, his sword path possessed both the power of the Void Realm and the power of Chaos. With the two compatible, the power of his sword path increased dramatically, resulting in extremely terrifying destructive force.
Although the power of the sword has increased, the seven World Hearts are difficult to coexist, and the devouring power they unleash far exceeds that of before.
"This final step on the path to the Emperor... is far more terrifying than I imagined!"
Li Hao had a feeling that he would be devoured, and once devoured, all his years of hard work would be in vain.
"Throughout history, countless geniuses have failed at this hurdle, including those emperors. They must have had their reincarnated bodies cultivate, but ultimately none of them have been able to forge this path to emperorship..."
"Difficult, extremely difficult."
Li Hao felt an unbearable sense of suffering. Just slowing down the fusion of the seven World Hearts had taken all his strength, let alone stabilizing them.
But he had no way out; he either failed and became a king, or he succeeded and opened up the path to becoming an emperor.
(End of this chapter)
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