Mount Tai, Jade Emperor Peak.
Golden vital energy clashed head-on against black energy.
The immense power set the surrounding forests rustling violently and shattered the mountain rock. The clash of momentum alone was so overwhelming that it wrought such devastation before either side had even committed to a full attack.
Only the extraordinary nature of Jade Emperor Peak kept half the mountain summit from crumbling outright.
Below, outside the Trial Academy.
Elder Ji, Elder Yun, and the others looked on in sheer shock upon witnessing the scene.
They finally understood why King Lu had forbidden them from interfering at will. A clash on this scale had exceeded everyone's imagination, rivaling genuine myth.
Anyone slightly weaker could not even withstand the aura. If any person present were to rush up, they would be crushed to death by the sheer pressure before having a chance to react.
With the turn of the era, thermal weaponry was indeed heading toward obsolescence. From now on, transcendent might would govern everything.
"Facing those extraterrestrial beings, can King Lu truly succeed?" Elder Yun asked, his expression grave. He naturally believed in Lu Yuan's strength and had watched him injure a Nether Bull with a single blow.
Yet now, what he faced were three of them, all in the Sovereign King Realm—the fifth stage of evolution.
Moreover, intelligence recently gathered by the authorities showed that these creatures were terrifyingly powerful. Against every Beast King they encountered, they had asserted overwhelming dominance, likely without even displaying their true might.
Everyone feared this would be a brutal, desperate battle.
Elder Ji did not answer right away. Instead, he turned toward Zhu Qingyu. "Qingyu, what did King Lu say before he left?"
"King Lu said he wouldn't take long," she answered, recalling the unshakable confidence he had radiated. For reasons she could not explain, she truly believed King Lu would triumph—settling the entire situation in a single battle, just as he always had.
"Then let us watch," Elder Ji took a deep breath, his expression resolute.
No matter what, they would stand with Lu Yuan, win or lose.
After all, this time they faced true arch-enemies from beyond their world.
What the leadership needed to do right now was offer their absolute trust.
At the same time, the footage from Jade Emperor Peak was broadcast live to countless viewers.
Even through their screens, every spectator could feel the crushing weight of that aura.
This battle was Earth's first clash against extraterrestrial life, carrying monumental significance. Furthermore, Lu Yuan was recognized worldwide as humanity's premier combatant.
Virtually the entire world, domestic and foreign, watched with bated breath.
Rumble!
Atop Jade Emperor Peak, two completely different forms of energy intertwined.
The auras of the three Nether Bulls merged as one. They were in no rush to attack, intending instead to suppress the human before them with pure momentum to test the depths of his foundation.
Behind them, the Spirit Monkey and the other Beast Kings looked on in astonishment. These otherworldly beasts possessed ample time to evolve and were indeed far stronger than Earth's native kings. If a real fight broke out, the local beasts would face certain death. As always, they had simply lacked the time to mature.
Lu Yuan, however, remained calm.
Golden vital energy coiled around his form, and the power within him gradually uncoiled. Seeing that the enemy intended to test his aura, he merely offered a faint smile.
Rumble!
In a flash, an even more formidable power erupted from his body. His vital energy surged anew, his internal organs thrummed, and a brilliant golden sun faintly manifested behind him.
Scorching power blanketed the entirety of Jade Emperor Peak in an instant, terrifying to behold, causing the air itself to sizzle.
Lu Yuan had begun unleashing the Human Sovereign essence blood he had fused with earlier—akin to an original progenitor bloodline—magnifying his aura even further.
Boom!
As if the world itself shuddered, the vital energy encircling him erupted like hundreds of volcanoes bursting simultaneously. In a single instant, the golden ocean formed of his vital energy boiled over, thoroughly suppressing the black energy.
The next moment, the three Sovereign King Realm Nether Bulls were forced back, their eyes filled with shock.
Lu Yuan seemed to have lost all interest in wasting time. He stepped forward.
Unleashing even greater power, he closed the distance and swung his right fist.
Boundless force surged to the absolute limit, detonating the air and churning up layered shockwaves that swept across hundreds of meters.
"Not good!" Shaken, one of the Nether Bulls channeled black energy into its razor-sharp claws. Its thought was simple: since the human had attacked, it would meet him with its full strength. The two Nether Bulls beside it did not hesitate either, joining forces to strike together.
Boom!
Golden vital energy billowed.
Lu Yuan's punch drove forward with vast, unyielding force, releasing its terrifying power the moment it made contact with the first Nether Bull.
Crack!
In the very next instant, both of the beast's claws shattered into powder.
At the same time, half its torso fractured and burst apart. Black blood and torn flesh rained down upon the rock, creating a gruesome sight.
Yet as a Sovereign King Realm entity, even with half its upper body destroyed, it still radiated a fierce aura.
Lu Yuan did not pause; following through on his strike, he brought his foot crashing down.
Rumble!
The entire summit of Jade Emperor Peak trembled.
The other two Nether Bulls recoiled repeatedly, gripped by sheer terror.
Beneath that downward stomp, the remaining lower body of the mangled Nether Bull was obliterated into nothingness.
A body over a hundred meters tall—sturdier than a mountain—had yielded like soft tofu. Even the black blood was instantly vaporized by the scorching heat, leaving no trace behind.
"Well, the Sovereign King Realm isn't bad," Lu Yuan murmured softly, standing right where he had landed.
Not far away, the three Beast Kings had retreated before the clashing auras. Hearing his remark, their expressions turned strange.
A fifth-stage Sovereign King Realm alien beast that they were utterly powerless against had earned nothing more than "isn't bad"?
Was that not far too arrogant?
Yet on second thought, having slain a Sovereign King Realm entity in the blink of an eye, his words seemed entirely justified.
Naturally, this scene was broadcast far and wide. The viewers watching the live stream stared wide-eyed in disbelief.
"King Lu is absurdly strong!"
"It's still an absolute steamroll, just like before!"
"Invincible, truly invincible! King Lu is King Lu, the unquestioned number one combatant!"
After their brief stupor, the public finally reacted. Where there had once been doubt and dread, the crushing pressure brought by the Nether Bull Clan vanished into thin air.
King Lu remained the same King Lu, subduing any foe with overwhelming dominance.
Still, no one lowered their guard completely, keeping their eyes glued to the screen. After all, two more remained, and they appeared even more formidable.
Atop Jade Emperor Peak, Lu Yuan turned his gaze upon the remaining two Nether Bulls, his eyes cold and sharp. "You two are next."
"You're nothing more than an indigenous native of the Milky Way Star Sector! Even if your lands once knew supreme glory, it has long fallen into decay! Our Thunderstrike Star Domain has risen, ranking among the top hundred star sectors, possessing a brilliant civilization far beyond anything you could ever imagine!"
Recovering from its stupor, the lead Nether Bull steadied itself and bellowed aloud. The human's strength had exceeded expectations, but so what? It hailed from a higher civilization; how could it be cowed by a mere savage?
Without hesitation, it reared its head and roared into the heavens.
The other Nether Bull did the same, gathering vast oceans of energy. The sky grew dark and somber as streams of natural power converged, pouring into the horns atop their heads. The dark energy coalesced, manifesting as an enormous spectral Nether Bull.
This was their clan's ancestral divine ability, a terrifying technique that represented their absolute peak power.
"Let me show you what true power looks like—Wrath of the Nether God!" the lead Nether Bull barked. As its words fell, the phantom Nether Bull charged forward, treading across the empty air with staggering momentum.
The Spirit Monkey, Peacock King, and Nine-Tailed Fox King blanched. Sensing the boundless force within that charge, they knew none of them could endure it; even with superior bloodlines, they would be slaughtered in moments.
Yet Lu Yuan stood suspended in midair, his expression as calm and aloof as ever.
He threw another plain, unadorned punch, deploying no divine ability whatsoever. Golden vital energy gathered, and his internal organs rumbled like rolling thunder.
Rumble!
With an ear-splitting roar, terrifying energy surged skyward, tearing apart the clouds. In a fraction of a second, that single punch drove straight through the so-called Wrath of the Nether God and crashed into both Nether Bulls.
Splatter!
Their bodies ruptured, spewing dark blood across the ground. Their life force drained at a visible rate, their auras withering in an instant.
"H-how is this possible? It had... no effect at all?"
The two Nether Bulls were utterly aghast. That was their supreme power. Even if it could not defeat the human, it should never have been dispelled so effortlessly, leaving them grievously wounded from the residual force alone.
"Is this the power of your so-called higher civilization?"
Lu Yuan walked toward them step by step, shaking his head faintly. "You did your best."
Unwilling to waste more breath, he formed a fist seal and struck downward from the sky. Overwhelming power poured out like a heavenly river bursting its banks.
Sizzle!
In merely an instant, the Nether Bulls' physical bodies shattered, reduced to scattered gore across the ground.
When they first descended upon Mount Tai, their imposing aura had struck terror into countless living beings. Yet less than half an hour later, they were reduced to mangled flesh, without even a whole corpse left behind.
They had prided themselves on being from a higher civilization, only to be slain cleanly by a human from a world they deemed primitive.
"The Sovereign King Realm really isn't bad. Slaying them actually requires using real strength, and that's even with their mediocre bloodline talent," Lu Yuan mused, disregarding their demise as he reviewed the battle.
He had appeared relaxed, but in truth, it was not that trivial. They were, after all, an entire evolution realm higher than him. It was also apparent that the Nether Bull Clan was not a prominent clan in the Thunderstrike Star Domain; otherwise, how could that domain rank among the top hundred?
Setting those thoughts aside for now, Lu Yuan smiled faintly and turned toward the Spirit Monkey and the other Beast Kings.
"It's over. The first joint operation between humanity and mutated beasts to repel foreign invaders was a success."
Chapter 130