Feng Mingge

"Go for it, Golden Flash Invincible Grand General!" Yu Xian shouted at the top of his lungs, his eyes fixed on his golden beetle. Not to be outdone, the boy opposite him yelled back, "Crush it, Blacklight Ironclad Monolith War God!" The children behind him chimed in one after another. After all, Blacklight Ironclad Monolith War God was already on a seven-match win streak; just three more victories, and it would advance to the grand finals. In hosting these festivities, Niu Kaitian and the others had put up real, hard silver and gold as prizes. First place would receive a top-tier cultivation technique that, with diligent practice, could take a cultivator straight to the Heaven Rank. There were not many competitions open to children, and bug fighting was one of the few major tournaments they could take part in. Yet plenty of adults coveted such a prize as well, making the competition exceedingly fierce; this young boy had already made it the farthest among all the child competitors. Unfortunately, this time Blacklight Ironclad Monolith War God had met its match. Yu Xian's Golden Flash Invincible Grand General was nearly twenty percent larger than Blacklight Ironclad Monolith War God and covered in sharp spikes, resembling an armored war chariot. By contrast, Blacklight Ironclad Monolith War God had only a single long horn with which to attack. The moment the two beetles collided, Blacklight Ironclad Monolith War God was driven backward step by step. Seeing this, the boy nearly burst into tears and couldn't help but roar, "Blacklight Ironclad Monolith War God, don't lose to it! Go, go, go!" The hype was ablaze! Dozens of children cheered frantically for Blacklight Ironclad Monolith War God. As if sensing the children's ardent wishes, Blacklight Ironclad Monolith War God actually arrested its retreat. It jerked its head up with all its might, trying to flip Golden Flash Invincible Grand General, but Golden Flash Invincible Grand General merely exerted a fraction of its strength, forcing Blacklight Ironclad Monolith War God to lower its proud head once more. "No! Don't lose!" "Waaaah! Blacklight Ironclad Monolith War God, I feel like my heart has died!" "My happiness has ended before its time! Farewell, my childhood!" "Is this as far as our dream goes?!" Across from Yu Xian, the children were all streaming tears, watching helplessly as Blacklight Ironclad Monolith War God was completely overpowered, inch by inch, by Golden Flash Invincible Grand General. "I declare the winner to be Golden Flash Invincible Grand General!" the referee announced at last. The master of Blacklight Ironclad Monolith War God dropped to his knees, pounding the ground with indignant fists as fat tears splashed into the dirt. He had lost after all, his run halted at seven straight wins. "Hahahaha! Golden Flash Invincible Grand General, brilliant work!" While one side wept, the other rejoiced. Yu Xian showed not a shred of pity for the sobbing boy opposite him. Scooping up the golden beetle, he showered it with kisses and crowed with delight. "Contestant, take a ten-minute break. The next match begins shortly," the referee told Yu Xian. Yu Xian nodded. "Sure, no problem." He placed the golden beetle into a glass terrarium and immediately plied it with all kinds of food. "Hey!" At that moment, the defeated boy, clutching the corpse of Blacklight Ironclad Monolith War God, called out to Yu Xian. Without even raising his head, Yu Xian replied nonchalantly, "My name isn't 'Hey.' It's Yu Xian. You can call me Big Brother Yu." "Waaah! You listen to me!" the boy yelled indignantly, glaring at Yu Xian. "Blacklight Ironclad Monolith War God lost to Golden Flash Invincible Grand General because its bug skills weren't up to par! You must—you absolutely must—carry Blacklight Ironclad Monolith War God's share of strength, keep on winning, and become the champion!" Yu Xian stood up, looked at the boy solemnly, and said, "Very well. I accept your request! Golden Flash Invincible Grand General will definitely make it to the very end and march all the way to the championship, step by step!" Ten minutes later... Yu Xian was on his knees, watching his large golden beetle being crushed to a pulp by its opponent, tears streaming down his face. "Golden Flash Invincible Grand General, don't die on me!" The match ended. Holding the corpse of Golden Flash Invincible Grand General, Yu Xian stood in silence beside the boy holding the corpse of Blacklight Ironclad Monolith War God. They looked at each other. Neither had any words to say. ... ... Niu Kaitian and the others stared at the surveillance feed, falling into equal silence. At this point, a hot-tempered System-rank powerhouse rolled up his sleeves and fumed, "What the hell does that bastard Baiyanggong think he's doing? Couldn't he secretly cheat and pinch his own beetle to injure it? I'm going to warn him." "Don't be rash," Niu Kaitian intervened. "At least for now, the competition is open, transparent, and completely free of shady tricks. Given our benefactor's magnanimity, he wouldn't let shame turn to anger over something like this." Yet no sooner had he spoken than Yu Xian on the monitor put away Golden Flash Invincible Grand General and grumbled with annoyance, "I'm not playing anymore. I'm going back to sleep." With that, he took off. "..." Everyone present turned to look at Niu Kaitian. Feeling rather awkward, Niu Kaitian could only muster a wry smile. "Our benefactor is truly profound and inscrutable. Impossible to fathom." "The question is, what do we do now?" Lady Tangtang asked. The room fell silent once more. Now that Yu Xian had run off, how were they supposed to deal with the deadly sun? The impulsive System-rank powerhouse immediately rolled up his sleeves again, grimacing in frustration. "I knew it! We should've beaten that bastard senseless! He doesn't even know his place—how dare he actually win at a time like this!" "That Baiyanggong lost too," Dinggong Bang chimed in. Everyone instantly directed their gaze at the monitor. Sure enough, the beetle belonging to the Star-rank powerhouse named Baiyanggong had also been defeated by another opponent. "..." Niu Kaitian and the rest were rendered utterly speechless. What did that prove? It proved that Yu Xian's beetle had never stood a chance to begin with. Even if it had beaten Baiyanggong's, it would have lost the very next round anyway. ... ... Above the Death Calamity Sea, Balz hovered in midair, his size now remarkably close to that of Earth. Even the seawater was affected by the light radiating from him, violently evaporating into vapor that ignited in midair and burned fiercely as flames. Eternal Fire Domain! As Balz continued to grow stronger, he had naturally manifested a formidable domain. Any living being that set foot inside would be consigned to eternal damnation. Yet at that moment, a man suddenly appeared—clad in white robes, his belt patterned all over with phoenix motifs, hands clasped behind his back. "Old Man Baiyang didn't lie to me. This fellow actually obtained the former clan leader's power. It seems I must take him back for careful study," the man muttered to himself as he looked at Balz. When Balz's light fell upon him, not only did it fail to ignite him, but it was entirely absorbed into his body. Then he extended a hand, and a phoenix imprint materialized on his palm. Fengxian Clan, Feng Mingge. Rank: Mighty One! In that instant, his hand seemed to possess immense gravitational pull. At the same time, the phoenix imprint came alive, swirling around the surrounding radiance and devouring all fire and light. The Fengxian clan traced its origins back to Feng Laixian. The current clan head was named Feng Qiuhuang, who was none other than Feng Laixian's eldest son. Feng Mingge was the son of the son of the daughter of the son of the son of Feng Qiuhuang's son. Yet he was a genius of the Fengxian clan in his own right; backed by vast resources, it had taken him a mere ten thousand years to successfully advance to Mighty One. Though Balz possessed a sliver of Feng Laixian's memories and power, to Feng Mingge, it amounted to practically nothing. In an instant, Balz was compressed by Feng Mingge into a tiny sphere. Holding the sphere in his hand, he looked in the direction of Dianguang Island and frowned. "Throwing a party with death knocking at the door? It seems I haven't seen enough of the world after all." With that, he departed directly. The surrounding temperature began to slowly drop. A world-ending calamity had been resolved without a whisper of fanfare.