Head of the Four Kings, Azure Dragon Wen Guyan!

As the words fell, a man whose face still bore specks of fresh blood stepped slowly out from the void. His icy voice carried not the slightest trace of emotion. Dressed in a long green robe, he had pale blue eyes, sharp brows resembling drawn swords above starry eyes, and thin lips pressed slightly downward. Beneath his short hair hung a single braided plait, and from his ears dangled a pair of pale green, gold-threaded earrings. He possessed handsome, sharply chiseled features, yet appeared remarkably young. Behind his shoulders hovered the phantom of a colossal azure dragon; however, the phantom was so densely condensed that it looked almost entirely corporeal. This man was none other than a supreme powerhouse at the peak of the Tribulation Transcendence realm, one of the Seventh Domain's Four Kings—the Azure Dragon, Wen Guyan! Everyone was startled by the man's abrupt appearance. Though he stood right before their eyes, they could not perceive his presence in the slightest! With only a slight lift of his hand, the young man crushed that unimaginably terrifying attack with a single palm! *Bang! Rummmble!* Furious shockwaves rippled outward in ring after violent ring. The man turned back, swept his gaze over the crowd, and nodded slightly, murmuring softly, "My name is Wen Guyan. Though... you may also call me... the Dragon King!" Even after his voice faded, the others still had not fully processed what was happening. Cao Yan was the first to react, his eyes filled with adoration as he looked at the youth before him. In their eyes, the man appeared overly youthful, yet they knew his true age had likely surpassed several thousand years long ago. Wen Guyan looked at the group behind him, brilliant light glinting in his eyes. To him, these were all the hope—the seeds—of the Seventh Domain's future. Finally, his gaze rested upon Li Guanqi. His eyes narrowed slightly; this was the first time he had ever laid eyes upon the Domain Master's grandson. The corners of his mouth curved upward slightly, and Wen Guyan spoke softly. "Not bad. You didn't disappoint me." Before Li Guanqi could react, Pengluo had already bolted straight back into the sword coffin the moment Wen Guyan appeared. Its instinct for danger was extraordinarily keen. Facing Youming, it might die, but facing Wen Guyan, it felt it wouldn't even know how it died. Jiuxiao's draconic eyes remained fixed upon the azure dragon behind Wen Guyan's shoulders, his brow slightly furrowed and his gaze flickering, lost in thought. Everyone showed immense reverence toward Wen Guyan. Li Guanqi endured the agonizing pain, forced himself upright, and bowed, saying solemnly, "Junior Li Guanqi pays respects to the Dragon King." Meng Wanshu bowed slightly, performing a deep, formal curtsy. Cao Yan, Xiao Chen, and the others clasped their fists with the utmost deference. In the distance, the moment Youming caught sight of that azure dragon, his expression drastically changed! Terror consumed his entire mind in an instant. "The Four Kings' Azure Dragon! Aren't you all in the... Impossible... How could you manage to get away?!" Wen Guyan's expression remained detached, yet every slight movement radiated the suffocating oppression of a supreme sovereign. He turned toward Youming, tilting his head slightly with a faint furrow of his brow. "Heh. One of the Eight Generals defecting... Long Hou's discipline over these past years has truly grown worse and worse." "And with only that much to your name, you dare dream of becoming an immortal?" Youming's pupils trembled slightly despite his surging aura—perhaps out of terror of the Four Kings' renowned name, or perhaps sheer fear of their might. He felt as though his legs were filled with lead, unable to take even a single step toward the center of the Immortal Ascension Platform. Inside his body, he madly refined the power that belonged to Lu Tian. Even though Lu Tian was dead, his shattered soul still held immense value! As the refinement progressed, Youming's aura surged at an unbelievable speed toward the mid-stage of the Tribulation Transcendence realm! *Boom!* Perhaps because the two souls shared the same origin, or perhaps spurred by the crushing pressure of the Dragon King Wen Guyan, Youming's breakthrough was astonishingly swift. As Youming's aura erupted once more, everyone's faces turned pale. Whipped by the ferocious winds, their complexions grew grim beyond measure. Only the green-robed man remained unperturbed, the sneer on his face laid bare without the slightest attempt to hide it. Youming took a step onto the Immortal Ascension Platform! In an instant, the skies turned turbulent, and fierce winds howled. The domain boundary tore open, dark clouds blanketed the firmament, and a terrifying worldly might clamped down upon the entire region. Under this grand cosmic pressure, every person except Li Guanqi and Meng Wanshu sank suddenly downward! Beneath that inexplicable weight, an urge welled up within them to drop to their knees in worship. Tang Ru's face was deathly pale under the force; he struggled just to brace his hands against his knees! *Whoosh! Whoosh!* Gu Li and Ye Feng supported him from the left and right; neither was willing to bow their heads beneath this pressure. Thunderclouds churned, and terrifying heavenly tribulation lightning rolled and leapt amidst the sky. Not only that, but the massive Immortal Ascension Platform emanated an intensely mysterious aura, reaching up to connect heaven and earth. A gaping void was blasted clean through the clouds of the firmament, within which mist rolled and immortal radiance flashed intermittently. Witnessing this, Youming clenched both fists tightly and finally burst into uproarious laughter! "Hahahahaha! The Immortal Realm!" "The guiding reception power has already manifested! Wen Guyan! You no longer have the power to stop me!" The young man's eyes narrowed to slits upon hearing this, and he murmured in an icy voice, "Heh... Since when does one of the Eight Generals dare call me by name?" Wen Guyan simply stood where he was, arms crossed over his chest, regarding the manic Youming upon the Immortal Ascension Platform with an amused look. In a calm voice, he said, "To seize the Immortal Ascension Platform, you lay dormant among the Eight Generals for several thousand years." "After your split soul finished laying out the Abyss Demon rifts across the Six Domains and the time was ripe, you formed the Sha organization to slaughter countless mortals, all to harvest the power of aggrieved souls and forge the Heavenly Demon Physique." "It seems your obsession with ascending to the Immortal Realm runs quite deep..." Upon hearing those words, Youming's eyes flashed with madness as he roared, "Yes! Exactly! I want to ascend to the Immortal Realm!" "A mere Human-Spirit realm, so barren of spiritual energy! I have no idea why Su Xuan insisted on erecting the Human-Immortal Realm Barrier!" "Throughout these ten thousand years, how many peerless geniuses had their lifespans drain away until they died?" "Originally, reaching the Mahayana realm was enough to ascend to the Immortal Realm, yet Su Xuan refused to allow it!" "Originally, the Human-Spirit realm could place faith in immortals, offer incense, receive an immortal's blessing, and invoke an immortal's name to bolster their power!" "And what of now? Hahahaha! There are no immortals in the Human-Spirit realm! And the immortals receive no incense!" Youming vented all his resentment in a single breath. Wen Guyan merely scoffed at his words and spoke no further. How could the likes of Youming possibly comprehend the true secrets of the Seventh Domain? Why did the Human-Immortal Realm Barrier exist? Only the Four Kings and the Domain Master knew the real reason; even the Eight Generals knew next to nothing about it. With an expressionless face, Wen Guyan uttered two words: "You fool." As soon as he spoke, Youming sneered in return. "A fool? Heh, believe whatever you want!" "Now that the guiding heavenly tribulation has arrived, unless you possess the ability to contend with the reception power of the Immortal Realm itself, you... cannot touch me!" *Rumble!* The realm-breaking heavenly tribulation struck first, thick pillars of lightning piercing heaven and earth, tearing through the domain boundary in the blink of an eye! Youming's long hair danced wildly in the tempest, making him appear completely mad. With his current strength, unleashing the Heavenly Demon Physique made him comparable to a mid-stage Tribulation Transcendence cultivator; handling the realm-breaking heavenly tribulation was effortless. No sooner had it struck than the heavenly tribulation dispersed within a few breaths, entirely unable to harm Youming now. Not to mention, Youming had prepared several overwhelmingly powerful array plates for this tribulation, paired with the fused power of the Heavenly Demon Physique. Absorbing the heavenly bestowal, Youming's face radiated unprecedented confidence and arrogance. With blood staining his cheek, Youming looked mockingly at Wen Guyan. As he looked up, brilliant cosmic radiance washed across the heavens, and great Dao chimes seemed to resonate through the world! The sound rang out in everyone's minds, tolling like a bell that shook their spirits. A milky-white halo descended from the sky, bathing Youming within its glow. Savoring the rich immortal qi within, Youming closed his eyes and basked in the moment. Just as Li Guanqi assumed Youming would truly ascend, an ancient, purely azure longsword suddenly appeared in Wen Guyan's left hand. Wen Guyan's calm voice drifted slowly through the air. "You spent your entire life pursuing ascension to the Immortal Realm, and now it stands before you, within arm's reach." At these words, everyone was startled! Floating in midair, bathed in the pillar of light, Youming suddenly felt a chill run down his spine. His eyes locked onto the youth in the distance... Wen Guyan slowly drew his sword. A single stride carried him across a thousand zhang, and with a second, he stood merely ten zhang before Youming. "However... I do not consent." "This immortal... you will not become!" *Boom!* An unimaginable, terrifying pressure instantly blanketed the void! Heaven and earth trembled, and the domain boundary sealed by Youming let out an agonizing, overwhelmed groan. Immediately afterward, the domain shattered and collapsed. Mountains and rivers were torn apart, and the ground cracked into bottomless abysses. In that single instant, everyone was crushed to the ground by that terrifying aura, completely immobilized. There was no resistance possible, not the faintest hope of fighting back... Li Guanqi used every ounce of his strength to look forward. The azure dragon phantom, its eyes gleaming with chilling killing intent, roared toward the heavens. Then, Wen Guyan drew his sword and struck out with a single, savage vertical slash! As the sword struck, heaven and earth fell silent, as though sinking into oblivion. All the wood-element primal energy within a hundred li was completely drained in that single instant. Darkness swallowed everyone's vision, leaving only a streak of azure sword light flashing across midair! Where the sword light passed, the incomparably sturdy Immortal Ascension Platform shattered with a roar, and the golden pillar of light broke apart like porcelain smashing against the ground. Every ounce of violent might was contained entirely within the sword light. No one could tell how vast that sword light truly was; they could only see that it seemed to link the heavens and the earth. *Pfft!* Youming's body was bound in place by an inexplicable force, leaving him to watch helplessly as the sword light cleaved his body clean in two. Only in that final moment did he truly understand why the Four Kings had remained unchanged for ten thousand years. The peak of Tribulation Transcendence! *Boom!* A tremendous explosion erupted, completely obliterating the void within a hundred li! The reception power that had pervaded the void vanished in an instant, and the Human-Immortal Realm Barrier closed once more. Wen Guyan stood motionless, letting the violent shockwaves wash past him. The lingering force of the blast dissipated the moment it drew within a hundred zhang of his side. Slowly sheathing his blade, the aura around him receded, returning to complete tranquility. Li Guanqi stared wide-eyed at the scene... This sight... shared an uncanny resemblance to when Long Hou had obliterated the Nether River Lands with a single spear strike. Li Guanqi let out a self-deprecating chuckle, at a total loss for words. To them, Youming in the Tribulation Transcendence realm was an insurmountable mountain towering to the heavens, yet to this man, he could be annihilated with a casual wave of the hand... Li Guanqi murmured inwardly, *To personally destroy him right when he thought he had finally achieved his lifelong dream...* *Not only killing the man, but crushing his soul! Truly terrifying strength. Is this the Dragon King?*