One slash rang through the heavens, cleaving the colossal dragon and unleashing a torrent of blood-rain.

  The entire Bloody Battlefield fell deathly silent; you could hear a needle drop.

  Everyone stared in stunned disbelief at the white-robed Nie Changqing standing amid the carnage. That peerless slash had branded itself into every soul present.

  What a breathtaking strike!

  One year in the Immortal Relic—ten years inside the great formation—and Nie Changqing had grown to such terrifying heights that a single slash could birth such brilliance.

  Dao Intent!

  Fourth-tier Sequence Dao Intent!

  Only then did the crowd understand how he had produced such a stunning slash.

  Dao Intent was monstrously powerful. Back when Overlord was merely Heaven Lock realm, he had used Dao Intent to fight Nascent Soul experts across an entire major realm.

  Now, Nie Changqing—also Spirit Severing—faced the Heavenly Dragon Holy Son on equal footing. With Dao Intent empowering his blade, such a slash was only natural.

  Nie Changqing sheathed Dragon Slayer and exhaled slowly.

  He stood motionless like an immovable mountain.

  This was his ultimate strike: the Unsheathe Dao Intent, a single slash drawn in the instant the blade left its scabbard.

  He had succeeded.

  This slash had shaken the world.

  He had not shamed the Young Master.

  Whoosh…

  Dragon blood poured down like a crimson storm.

  Scales shattered, blood mist billowing.

  The silent battlefield suddenly erupted with a heaven-shaking howl of agony.

  The Heavenly Dragon Holy Son!

  He had nearly been cleaved in two!

  “Damn you!”

  “I’ll kill you!”

  Roar!

  A furious dragon bellow shook the heavens.

  The holy son revealed his true form—not a heavenly dragon, but a massive winged lizard-dragon, ferocious and grotesque. Spiral horns crowned his head, fangs filled his maw.

  Without question, this was his true body.

  The thrashing dragon whipped up storms of crimson sand, as though the very earth and sky were collapsing.

  The holy son’s heart pounded with lingering fear, but rage drowned it out.

  Even protected by the dragon pearl, that slash had nearly killed him!

  A saint-tier treasure had failed to fully protect him!

  Part of it was the world’s suppression, but… a strike infused with Dao Intent was simply too terrifying.

  “Dao Intent… How does a native possess Dao Intent?!”

  “What a waste of a heaven-defying prodigy—born in a world doomed to fall!”

  The holy son staunched his bleeding wounds.

  Killing intent exploded from him.

  On the Bloody Battlefield, the cultivators of the Five Phoenixes were stunned.

  In the void, the wanderers were equally shaken.

  One slash to silence the heavens.

  That single strike had left every onlooker breathless.

  “Dao Intent…”

  Qi Liujia, seated on his barren continent, gazed with complex emotions—admiration mixed with regret.

  He shook his head slowly.

  “Such a heaven-blessed genius… If he had been born anywhere else, he would have shaken the heavens, become a holy son of a sacred ground. What a pity…”

  The wanderer wreathed in flames stared with burning eyes.

  “What a slash!”

  “This world actually hides such a monster!”

  The snake-tongued woman felt her heart tremble. She thanked the heavens it had not been them who entered.

  Without saint-tier treasures, any of them would have died to that blade.

  Weaker wanderers paled with fear.

  “That was the Heavenly Dragon Holy Son! Descendant of a high martial honored one—how could he lose?! To some unknown native from a mid-martial world?!”

  Many refused to accept it.

  On the Bloody Battlefield, the Five Phoenixes cultivators erupted with exhilaration.

  Tantai Xuan, coughing blood, clenched his fists and roared.

  Jiang Li, carried back half-dead, saw the slash and cracked a pained smile.

  Yet no one relaxed.

  The battle was not over.

  “So what if you have Dao Intent?!”

  “A native is still a native!”

  “This holy son possesses saint-tier treasures—what can you do? How many times can you swing that blade?”

  The holy son roared, his draconic body gleaming, blood seeping from cracked scales.

  He struck first, unease gnawing at him.

  Even he, the holy son of the Nine Dragons Minor World, had never comprehended Dao Intent.

  Yet this native wielded fourth-tier Dao Intent!

  The boost to combat power was immense.

  He could not underestimate this foe.

  BOOM!

  The holy son vanished.

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  His halberd carved the earth as he closed in for melee—preventing another full-powered Dao Intent slash.

  His draconic body was monstrously strong; he was confident he could crush Nie Changqing in close combat.

  The air exploded.

  The halberd strike was vicious enough to pulverize an Infant Transformation expert.

  The Bloody Battlefield quaked violently.

  Nie Changqing planted his feet and slashed with simple, ancient strokes.

  Clang! Clang! Clang!

  Sparks flew like lightning across the battlefield.

  BOOM!

  Hair whipping wildly, Nie Changqing’s eyes burned with resolve.

  Dragon Slayer met halberd again and again; their bodies nearly collided.

  Killing intent blazed in the holy son’s eyes—ice-cold defiance in Nie Changqing’s.

  Shockwaves erupted, hurling mountains of earth skyward.

  A battle to shake the world!

  The Five Phoenixes cultivators cheered.

  The wanderers in the void watched in stunned awe.

  Someone from this world could actually fight a high martial holy son!

  “Your foundation is rock-solid, your spiritual energy endless, and you possess Dao Intent… You truly are a monster!”

  “For a world to birth someone like you—it is no wonder you have the qualifications to challenge high martial!”

  The holy son snarled as they locked eyes.

  “But you lack saint-tier treasures!”

  “Today, I slay you and prove my Dao!”

  His halberd blazed with golden light, transforming into a roaring golden dragon that lunged at Nie Changqing.

  The ground exploded in its wake.

  Nie Changqing’s expression remained calm.

  “Saint-tier treasure?”

  He smiled faintly.

  “This blade was forged by the Young Master himself.”

  “He once told me: tier means nothing. What matters is whether the weapon suits the wielder.”

  “If heart and blade are one—even saint-tier treasures can be broken!”

  He gripped Dragon Slayer with both hands.

  His spine roared like a dragon.

  Nine segments of bone blazed with blood and qi—the unbreakable foundation of the Nine Heavenly Locks!

  “My blade is named Dragon Slayer!”

  “Today, I cut down a false dragon!”

  Hair flying, Nie Changqing spoke with solemn coldness.

  He assumed the unsheathing stance once more.

  This time, he poured everything into it—blood, qi, spiritual energy, soul.

  All three forces converged into a blooming lotus.

  “Arrogant!”

  The holy son roared in fury.

  When had he ever suffered such humiliation?

  A native dared call him a false dragon?

  He was the descendant of the honored one of the Nine Dragons Minor World—pure dragon blood!

  And this native thought himself worthy to slay dragons?

  “DIE!”

  The holy son unleashed everything.

  Even suppressed by the world’s protection, his aura was overwhelming.

  The dragon pearl erupted with blinding light, forming a massive golden dragon shield.

  His halberd became bolts of golden lightning that lashed the void.

  The two forces collided!

  Nie Changqing’s slash detonated the battlefield in blinding light.

  White robes snapping, he flicked his wrist.

  A blood-colored jade bottle appeared.

  He poured out a rolling pill that released an intoxicating medicinal fragrance.

  He swallowed it in one bite.

  The depleted energy within him surged back like a tsunami.

  In the distance, the holy son’s pupils contracted.

  He’s doping?!

  Nie Changqing truly could not unleash too many fourth-tier Dao Intent slashes in succession.

  The consumption was simply too great.

  But…

  The holy son had never imagined a mid-martial world could produce such pills.

  Crunch…

  The sound of the pill breaking between teeth echoed like the shattering of the holy son’s heart.

  BOOM!

  Nie Changqing’s aura exploded once more.

  Unsheathe—slash!

  Clang!

  The holy son blocked desperately.

  Pfft!

  This time, scales shattered and dragon blood sprayed.

  He nearly died!

  Only the saint-tier halberd saved him.

  Nie Changqing didn’t pause.

  Another pill.

  Same motion—doping, unsheathing, slashing!

  Clang! Clang! Clang!

  Slash after slash.

  Eight slashes.

  Eight pills.

  The dragon pearl dimmed.

  The halberd grew too heavy to hold.

  Every scale bled.

  Crunch…

  The heart-shattering sound of another pill.

  Silence fell across the Bloody Battlefield.

  The blood-soaked halberd crashed to the ground.

  Dragon blood fountained ten li high.

  The Heavenly Dragon Holy Son’s head was split open!

  A Dao Intent slash sent his head flying, blood arcing through the air.

  Fury and disbelief froze on his severed face as it rolled across the ground.

  The next instant, his soul shot skyward in a streak of light, fleeing for his life.

  He abandoned both halberd and pearl.

  Nie Changqing’s veins burned, his head spinning from pill overdose.

  But he would not let the soul escape.

  Cut the grass, remove the roots—this was the Young Master’s teaching.

  Enduring the backlash, he merged with his blade and chased the fleeing soul.

  Think you can run?

  Ask my blade first!

  Ni Yu’s latest super-enhanced Qi Gathering Pills were terrifyingly effective—but the side effects were brutal.

  Nie Changqing shook his dizzy head; his pursuit slash lost some of its edge.

  The holy son’s soul shot out of the Overturning Sky Array, fleeing madly into the void.

  On the barren continent, Qi Liujia—who had seemed half-dead—formed a hand seal.

  The killing array shifted.

  Rumble!

  The holy son’s soul suddenly found the void transformed.

  “Qi Liujia—you dare?!”

  BOOM!

  The array roared.

  It delivered the soul straight in front of Nie Changqing.

  Nie Changqing blinked.

  Then, without hesitation—slash.

  Pfft!

  Dragon Slayer carved through the soul, tearing it apart.

  Buzz…

  The black blade erupted with terrifying energy.

  The soul fragments were sucked into the blade.

  Dragon Slayer grew deeper, more profound.

  A flash of light rippled across its surface.

  Nie Changqing stared at his blade in shock.

  Rumble!

  Overwhelming aura surged from Dragon Slayer.

  By devouring the holy son’s soul, Dragon Slayer… had advanced!

  It had become an earth-tier spirit weapon.

  A saint-tier treasure in the holy son’s terms!

  Nie Changqing was stunned.

  He had never known Dragon Slayer could absorb dragon souls!

  On the barren continent, Qi Liujia’s eyes flickered.

  He glanced warily at Nie Changqing and the black blade.

  An ultimate murderous weapon.

  The nemesis of dragons.

  “Thank you.”

  In the void, Nie Changqing sheathed his blade and glanced at the seemingly dying old man.

  Enemy or not, the old man had delivered the holy son to his blade.

  That was a debt.

  “Don’t celebrate yet…”

  “The true calamity has not arrived.”

  “High martial worlds are strictly ranked—from Ninth Derivative to First. The Heavenly Dragon Holy Son came from a Ninth Derivative high martial world—far from the strongest among holy sons and maidens.”

  Qi Liujia’s hoarse voice transmitted directly into Nie Changqing’s mind.

  Nie Changqing’s soul trembled.

  There were ranks even among high martial worlds?

  He wanted to ask more, but the old man lowered his head again, returning to deathly stillness.

  Nie Changqing swept a cold gaze across the distant wanderers seated in the void.

  Then he flashed back to the Bloody Battlefield.

  He collected the dragon pearl and halberd into his storage ring.

  Then sat cross-legged, spiritual energy swirling as he recovered.

  “Ni Yu’s so-called super-enhanced Qi Gathering Pills—‘Eternal Spring Pills’—are truly terrifying. Without them, killing that so-called holy son would have been impossible.”

  Nie Changqing exhaled slowly.

  Dragon Slayer lay across his knees like a statue as he entered meditation.

  No trace of excitement after slaying a dragon.

  In his eyes, the Heavenly Dragon Holy Son was no true dragon.

  Not even comparable to the Red Dragon.

  The Heavenly Dragon Holy Son was dead.

  Utterly destroyed in the void.

  Every wanderer felt chills crawl up their spines.

  They had thought this was just another weak mid-martial world to plunder.

  Yet such a monster had emerged.

  Still, none fled.

  The holy son’s death only made the situation more dire.

  They understood: the Five Phoenixes was no pushover, but one Nie Changqing could not change the final outcome.

  Qi Liujia remained seated on his continent.

  On the Bloody Battlefield, Jiang Li and the others sat in recovery, the oppressive atmosphere nearly suffocating.

  Days later…

  When the entire void had fallen into oppressive silence…

  A terrifying grinding sound tore through the emptiness.

  Wanderers seated on barren continents opened their eyes.

  They looked toward one end of the void.

  Dazzling radiance bloomed!

  Magnificent, resplendent light poured forth.

  “They’re here!”

  Every wanderer’s gaze sharpened.

  Solemn Buddhist chants echoed from the depths of the void.

  Then streaks of light shot forward.

  Opulent bronze warships crossed the emptiness.

  Colossal winged beasts blotted out the stars.

  Black-and-white immortal cranes danced on the wind.

  Spirit boats sailed the void.

  One after another, auras no weaker—many far stronger—than the Heavenly Dragon Holy Son’s wove through the darkness.

  The holy sons and holy maidens of high martial worlds…

  Had arrived.

  Nie Changqing opened his eyes, hair whipping in the wind.

  He stared at the magnificent scene.

  Every muscle tensed.

  Now he understood what the old man meant by the true calamity.

  Qi Liujia opened his eyes, deep as black holes, gazing at the peerless figures.

  He sighed softly.

  But as he sighed…

  His heart stirred.

  He looked toward the Golden Body Continent.

  …

  Origin Space.

  Rumble!

  Violent tremors continued without end.

  Three radiant origin stars floated within the vortex, forming a miniature galaxy.

  The Tian Yuan origin drifted among them, maintaining delicate balance.

  The vortex did not spin—held still by the pressure of the three supreme origins.

  Beneath the vortex, Lu Fan sat upon the Thousand Blades Chair and exhaled slowly.

  “Finally done.”

  One year.

  He had poured endless effort into fusing the Tian Luo and Prajna origins.

  Now, ninety percent was complete.

  The Five Phoenixes origin had grown colossal, on the verge of bursting.

  Only one final step remained.

  Stir the vortex.

  Revitalize the origin space.

  Then the fusion would be complete.

  And the Five Phoenixes origin would break the limits of mid martial and ascend to high martial.

  But Lu did not move yet.

  The time was not right.

  …

  Golden Body Continent.

  The clay avatar of Qi Liujia seated atop the mountain peak looked up in shock.

  The pressure from the origin was becoming heart-stopping; the void itself seemed on the verge of collapse.

  “He actually succeeded?!”

  “What kind of method is this?!”

  Fusing a weaker origin with three supreme origins at once…

  A miracle!

  Buzz…

  Suddenly, the old man turned.

  Unnoticed, a white-robed figure had appeared beside him like a ghost.

  An unfathomable aura rolled off the newcomer, nearly shattering the clay body!