Upheaval in the Four Regions

Throughout the Four Regions, relentless war raged. The Thunder Realm, the Five Demon Clans, the Tianfang Universe, the Chiyang World—fierce battles tore through every direction! Auras of the seventh rank pierced the entire chaos! Countless small and medium worlds trembled. Mid- and low-rank Sovereigns shuddered in fear; never before had they felt so many terrifying presences. A suffocating pressure blanketed the Four Regions, leaving nowhere to flee. Every corner seemed to be engulfed in combat and clashing Daos! What had happened to the Four Regions? *** Inside the Tianfang Universe. The Dragon Lord sensed that yet another dragon expert had perished. Yet at this moment, he remained completely serene, as though entirely oblivious. The hegemon of the chaos beasts acted as if nothing had happened. He merely glanced at Sovereign Chiyang in the distance! Right now, Sovereign Chiyang was burning with anxiety. He felt someone mounting an all-out assault on the Chiyang Domain, shaking the Great Dao Universe so violently that even he could sense it from within Tianfang. The Chiyang Domain was guarded by four seventh ranks and an eighth rank! Such strength equaled an entire, fully developed eighth-rank universe. Yet enemies had still breached it. Sovereigns were dying in droves. Though no seventh rank had fallen yet, to him, this was an omen of extreme peril. It meant... the Chiyang Realm might have been breached, and its mid- and low-rank Sovereigns were being slaughtered! Xinwu! It could only be Xinwu! Sovereign Chiyang was desperate. Alongside another eighth rank from the Outer Regions and two outer seventh ranks, he frenziedly besieged the Human King and his companion, roaring, "Hurry and open Tianfang!" Meanwhile, the Dragon Lord, the Lord of Yunxiao, and Sovereign Red Moon had gathered nearly twenty seventh-rank Sovereigns around one spot. They were continually cleaving the universe, attempting to forcibly unlock the Great Dao Universe. However... they fell short each time. Sovereign Chiyang was beside himself with urgency! Yet Yunxiao and Red Moon appeared focused, as if... waiting for something. Waiting for what? Naturally, they were waiting for Chiyang to fall! Having become unaligned vagrants, they could not bear to see anyone else fare better. In reality, with so many powerhouses gathered, they could forcibly open the passage if they truly wished. Yet now, Yunxiao and Red Moon proactively unleashed their power to fend off the Bright Sovereign, who seemed reluctant to participate! *We are holding off Bright!* *There is nothing we can do, Chiyang. You will just have to wait a little longer.* As for whether Xinwu would ascend to the eighth rank after seizing Chiyang... the probability was high. But perhaps only then could everyone truly unite. At this stage, whoever still possessed a great world was unwilling to exert themselves too much. Because they still had a foundation to fall back on. Only when none of them had a great world left—when they were all stray dogs with nothing to lose—would the time come to truly eradicate Xinwu. Both Red Moon and Yunxiao seemed to see through this clearly. At this moment, they remained cold and unhurried. The Dragon Lord appeared to be exerting his strength continuously, yet he harbored the exact same intention. Beside him, three dragon experts exerted themselves as well. And the Dragon Lord's eyes were already fixed on Chiyang and his allies. On Chiyang's side were two seventh ranks and two eighth ranks... but the Cang Emperor and the Human King were no weaklings either. Joining forces, though suppressed by Chiyang's group, the two-against-four battle remained an unbroken stalemate. Moreover, the Cang Emperor was faster than anticipated. The moment others closed in, the duo fled. Their objective was crystal clear: as long as the rest did not unite to breach the realm, they would not intervene. Not far away, the Bright Sovereign frequently stirred up trouble, while everyone else harbored their own hidden agendas... The Human King was thoroughly familiar with such scenes. Years ago back in Xinwu, it had been the exact same. A multitude of experts had been trapped in one place. A united strike could have breached that fake Heavenly Tomb, yet... everyone held their own schemes, unable to act as one. He had merely replicated that scenario. The people had changed, but their hearts remained identical. At this moment, none of them knew the exact situation outside, but they knew... things could not be optimistic. Yunxiao was gone. Right now, Chiyang was likely under siege, and whether it could hold out was an open question. Of the former eighth-rank great worlds, only Bright remained unscathed. The Dragon World was still intact among them, but of the other three, two had fallen, and one stood on the brink of ruin. "Yin-yang!" Heaven and earth reversed as yin and yang shifted. The Human King, who had just expended vast amounts of energy, seemed to recover in an instant. Besieged by four mighty experts, the peak seventh-rank Human King appeared impossibly formidable. In the past, slaying a seventh rank would leave him somewhat spent, but now, he fought as if throwing his very life on the line! Vaguely... he even seemed bolstered by a world and a universe! One had to understand that within this Great Dao Universe, it was extremely difficult to draw external reinforcement. Lost in thought, the Dragon Lord suddenly glanced toward the Human King. His eyes shifted with a hint of solemnity. Divine light surfaced in his gaze as he studied the Human King with some confusion. Everyone knew the Human King was powerful. He had ventured into the Absolute Darkness Great World alone and slashed the Lord of Extreme Darkness to death in a single strike, annihilating both the Great Dao Universe and the world itself. Exactly how terrifying he was, everyone knew. Yet here, two eighth ranks were besieging the Human King and the Cang Emperor. Even with the two cooperating, they should have crumbled long ago. Why... did he only grow fiercer with battle? As if he would never tire? The Dragon Lord felt a pang of doubt, but said nothing. Xinwu might become a grave threat in the future, but for now... he could not afford to worry about that. The humans were too formidable, their prodigies too numerous; they could only be eliminated one by one. For now, Xinwu could still help him eradicate many great rivals! As for what was happening in the Dragon Domain, or whether the campaign against the Thunder Realm had run into complications, he could no longer attend to it. If a few seventh ranks died, so be it... Compared to what he planned next, losing a few seventh ranks was entirely acceptable. Right now, he was still waiting for an opportunity—an opportunity they might all be waiting for: Chiyang... being breached! Could Xinwu pull it off? Defended by an eighth-rank Sovereign and holding the home advantage, could they successfully overrun Chiyang, shatter Sovereign Chiyang's Great Dao Universe, and reduce him to an unaligned vagrant whose strength would plummet in an instant? The Dragon Lord felt both excited and uneasy... Over the countless years, such emotions had rarely surfaced. In the distance, the Human King was already covered in blood, yet his grin remained chilling. "Is that all an eighth rank has?" He slashed out with his saber, aiming not at Chiyang, but primarily at that eighth rank from the Outer Regions. In a sinister, icy voice, he said, "The matters of the Four Regions will be settled by the Four Regions! When was it ever your turn to meddle? Take care you don't bite off more than you can chew. As for that brother of yours, whether he survives... I'd say his chances look bleak!" The outer eighth-rank Sovereign's face turned grim! Filled with burning fury, he snarled in a low voice, "Human King, it is only in the Four Regions that you dare act so arrogant! Outside the Four Regions, you are nothing! If this were beyond the Four Regions and your Xinwu dared set foot in my Gemini Domain, you would have been annihilated long ago! How could you run rampant like this?" He was thoroughly enraged and vexed! The Gemini Domain was considered a top-tier realm even in the Outer Regions. It possessed two eighth-rank Sovereigns and as many as eight seventh ranks under its command. For this venture into the Four Regions, both brothers had come, bringing along two seventh-rank Sovereigns, originally aiming for Tianfang. Yet Tianfang's revival was a lie—a trap set by a seventh-rank lord. It had trapped a host of eighth ranks! That was infuriating enough... but what enraged this outer eighth rank even more was that the eighth ranks here had too many petty schemes. Every single one was calculating. So many seventh- and eighth-rank Sovereigns were gathered over there, yet to this moment they had failed to break through a solitary dormant ninth-rank Great Dao Universe! Not only were the eighth ranks holding back, but even the seventh ranks... seemed to be waiting. They appeared to be biding their time, waiting for eighth ranks to perish so the seventh ranks could rise! Of course, if his own brother were not still in the Chiyang Domain, he would gladly watch the show. But right now, his brother was holding the fort in Chiyang! The Human King smiled brilliantly, with a sinister glint. "Old bastard, if I don't die today, the first thing I do once I step outside into the Outer Regions... is wipe out your Gemini Domain!" The outer eighth rank wasted no more words. His Great Dao power erupted, cracking heaven and shattering earth, yet the blow was still cleaved apart by the Human King's saber! *This fellow truly has to be treated as an eighth rank.* *Damn it!* *** The Chiyang Domain. In the Chiyang World, battle had already erupted. Within the Chiyang World, four seventh ranks and an eighth-rank Sovereign joined forces in defense. Sovereign Wushan, having devoured the Yunxiao Great Dao Universe, had barely stepped into the eighth rank. At this moment, he was locked in a fierce celestial clash against the foreign eighth-rank Sovereign! Meanwhile, the four native seventh ranks of Chiyang guarded their world, joining forces with nearly a hundred Sovereigns to resist the invasion of the Xinwu Sovereigns. Though the Xinwu Sovereigns were formidable, their opponents held the home-field advantage and had prepared in advance following Yunxiao's downfall. Xinwu had failed to catch them off guard, so they were unable to swiftly bring down the four Sovereigns! The Supreme had not yet entered the fray. At this moment, the Xinwu seventh ranks engaged in battle were only Li Zhu, the Sword Venerable, the Underground King, along with the Earth Emperor and the Blood Sovereign, who had both advanced to seventh rank after devouring the world power of Yunxiao. Three of them battled the four seventh ranks, while the remaining two slaughtered the ordinary Sovereigns. Overall, Xinwu held the upper hand, but Wushan, having only recently advanced to the eighth rank, still struggled somewhat against the foreign eighth rank. In the surrounding great worlds of the Chiyang Domain, several seventh-rank Sovereigns who had not entered Tianfang hesitated. Some seemed inclined to offer aid, yet feared the danger and wavered indecisively. All sides appeared locked in a stalemate, with neither able to break the deadlock. The Supreme observed the clashing factions. Behind him stood several figures who had yet to join the battle: the sixth-rank Heavenly King Zhen, the sixth-rank God Casting Envoy, and his old friend, the sixth-rank Underworld King Li Zhen. There was also the sixth-rank Qin Fengqing, and the sixth-rank Heavenly Dog... Xinwu possessed an astonishingly large number of sixth ranks. Moreover, most of them were not far from the seventh rank, but due to a deficiency in yang energy, Xinwu could not elevate into an eighth-rank universe, making a breakthrough to the seventh rank unimaginably difficult. Beside him, the golden great hound, its fur gleaming like steel and its eyes full of wild defiance, bared its teeth. "Martial King, why won't you let this emperor join the battle?" On the other side, the bald Qin Fengqing chuckled slyly. "The Martial King won't let us fight probably because he thinks once we step in, there won't be a fight left. These guys will all die instantly. He must think we're even more formidable than the seventh ranks out there..." The Heavenly Dog shot him a glance. *Lunatic!* *If you can beat a seventh rank, why waste your breath here? Why don't you charge in?* "No rush!" The Supreme gave a faint smile. He looked around, then gazed at the Chiyang World, softly saying, "The Chiyang World is rich in yang energy. But no matter how rich it is, what good is it if it isn't drawn out? Sovereign Chiyang is still the Dao Lord. If the seventh ranks die too quickly, he will instantly draw away immense supreme yang energy and become an unaligned vagrant. The loss would be far too great..." He smiled meaningfully. "Wait a moment. Let them see some hope, and only then will he release more origin yang energy to these seventh-rank Sovereigns. Otherwise... if it's all drawn away, what is the point of us conquering an eighth-rank world?" The likes of Red Moon and Yunxiao had realized that resistance was futile the moment their seventh ranks fell, promptly siphoning off vast amounts of Great Dao power and abandoning their Great Dao Universes. If the four seventh ranks of Chiyang died too quickly now... so long as Sovereign Chiyang was not insane, he would immediately extract massive amounts of Dao power to become a vagrant, rather than clinging to hope and bleeding away his power bit by bit! The Heavenly Dog could not be bothered to ponder such schemes; it merely felt this man thought far too much—a true scoundrel to the core! Clearly, he was waiting for the four seventh-rank Sovereigns to glimpse hope, prompting them to extract more yang energy to fight Xinwu! After all, with an eighth rank and four seventh ranks holding the line, there truly was hope. Among Xinwu's seventh ranks, only the Supreme had not yet joined the battle. At this moment, the Supreme gazed eastward toward the Dragon Domain. Lightning still flickered incessantly there, though somewhat less intensely than before. In two separate locations, numerous seventh-rank Sovereigns were locked in battle, and neither seemed to have reached a conclusion. *The Silver Moon King?* *If he is truly the one orchestrating that, it is truly extraordinary!* *Our Xinwu cannot afford to lose face. Others are already slaughtering seventh ranks while we remain at the seventh rank—that would be far too shameful. Though Xinwu only has a thousand years of history, which is nothing in the chaos...* *Xinwu is unique!* *Silver Moon is merely a small world that drifted away from Xinwu. How could we allow them to surpass us?* *Today, Xinwu must enter the eighth rank!* He watched in silence. Not only did they need to take Chiyang, but over in Tianfang, it would be best if Fang Ping could slay Sovereign Chiyang. Otherwise, the yang energy might still prove insufficient; if an eighth rank siphoned away a massive portion of it, it might not be enough. *Fang Ping, under these circumstances, can you take down Chiyang?* *If you cannot... ascending straight to the eighth rank today might prove difficult.* The waiting continued for a while. The four seventh ranks now blazed like four brilliant suns, their combat power seemingly greater than before. The experts throughout the Chiyang World grew brimming with confidence. Nearby, the outer eighth rank even shattered Sovereign Wushan's Five Finger Mountain, fracturing a portion of his Heavenly Secret Dao. Wushan coughed blood! Unable to match his opponent, Wushan felt both shaken and helpless. Why had Xinwu's Supreme not joined the fight? If he had intervened earlier, they might have turned the tide. But now... even if he joined, it would be troublesome. He could not understand! Why was Xinwu's Supreme simply watching? Was he guarding against seventh-rank reinforcements from the vicinity? Perhaps there was a need for that. However... as the situation developed, disaster was brewing. Fortunately, he had reached the eighth rank and come to assist; otherwise, Xinwu would have had no hope of forcibly breaching Chiyang. Perhaps they could still retreat outside the Chiyang World. Without the home-field advantage, those four seventh ranks would at least be unable to suppress Xinwu's seventh-rank Sovereigns! The outer eighth rank sneered. "A newly advanced eighth rank is indeed decent, possessing some skill! But... it seems you have no hope of breaching Chiyang today!" Wushan coughed blood. "You outsider, this is an internal conflict of the Four Regions! What does it have to do with you? Is Chiyang your father?" The outer eighth rank sneered, ignoring the insult. As an outsider, if he did not find an ally here, would survival not be even harder? The Four Regions had no shortage of mighty experts. Chiyang was an excellent partner. Both sides needed each other, making them ideal allies. Since he could stop them, why wouldn't he stop these people from devouring Chiyang? *Boom!* His Great Dao erupted, driving Wushan back once again. Wushan retreated repeatedly, his five fingers plucking the strings of heavenly secrets, the Great Dao seemingly omnipresent. Yet soon, the outer eighth rank crushed it all! Having just entered the eighth rank, Wushan remained no match for him. Nearby, the four Chiyang seventh ranks shone like blazing suns illuminating the heavens, suppressing the Yang God, the Sword Venerable, and Li Zhu. These three seventh ranks were top-tier figures among their peers—the Sword Venerable had been capable of slaying seventh ranks while still at the sixth rank! Yet now, they were being pushed back! Though it was three against four, this still fell short of their reputation as top-tier seventh ranks. At this moment, the Supreme, who had been watching from outside, glanced at the four seventh-rank Sovereigns and smiled. It was nearing the limit. The four seventh ranks were bolstered by at least half of Chiyang's yang energy. Any more, and there would be none left to give. If more were given, Sovereign Chiyang himself would suffer severe depletion. This was likely the absolute maximum amount of yang energy Sovereign Chiyang could bestow upon them. The remaining portion was kept with Sovereign Chiyang himself. "It's about reached the limit..." the Supreme murmured. A book materialized in his hand. He chuckled softly. "Nowadays, everyone enjoys calling me the Supreme. 'Supreme,' exalted and peerless—you all flatter me too much! Looking back to when Xinwu was first founded, I was known as the Martial King, establishing our foothold through martial might... Whether the Human King, the Cang Emperor, or any of you present... who dared treat me as a mere scholar?" *I am the Martial King!* Beside him, someone mumbled, "No one ever thought of you as a scholar. You're the only one who thinks that!" "..." The Martial King turned his head, smiled, and gently patted Qin Fengqing's bald head, chuckling softly. "A thousand years have passed, yet you're still as mischievous as a child. Well said. Don't ever say it again, understand?" "..." Qin Fengqing did not say a word, his scalp tingling with dread. *Fine, I won't say it again! Could you take your hand off my head? You're about to rub my scalp right off!* "How can we let the Silver Moon juniors laugh at us? When Red Moon was destroyed that day, it was already an embarrassment... Today, we cannot afford to become the butt of their jokes again!" With a soft laugh, a book instantly manifested between heaven and earth. In the next moment, a Great Dao seemed to reveal itself directly. Flanking that Great Dao, countless citizens prostrated themselves, and ten thousand emperors bowed low—a glorious path, the path of the Human Sovereign! An imperial dao of supreme majesty! The book gleamed with gold. A pointer appeared in his hand, and atop the Supreme's head, a crown seemed to materialize—or perhaps... a divine spark forged from the faith of myriad people? The four seventh-rank Sovereigns turned to look at him, vigilant, yet unafraid! Even if the Supreme joined the fray, it would only be four against four. As for the Blood Sovereign and his companion, they were still entangled with the mid- and low-rank Sovereigns. Just as they thought this, the Supreme chuckled softly. "After so many years, it's finally my turn!" In an instant, the book suddenly split apart into individual pages. From each page emerged a Supreme! In a flash, over a thousand Supremes appeared. Individually, each did not seem overwhelmingly powerful, yet they all possessed the might of a Sovereign. These countless Supremes seemed like avatars, bearing a slight resemblance to Li Hao's Thousand Realms Dao in that fleeting instant. A thousand Supremes wove into a massive net. These clones, initially not overly formidable, suddenly linked their Great Daos together, weaving a thousand paths into a net that descended instantly upon the four Sovereigns. Right at that moment, the Yang God and the other two seventh ranks erupted simultaneously! Sword intent, fist intent, and a dark tome surged forth in a flash, their power leaping drastically above before. The four Sovereigns were thoroughly shocked, caught off guard before they could stop the massive net from descending! *Buzz!* The net fell, enveloping the four of them and severing their connection to the Great Dao Universe. The four were startled! Before they could process it, a figure appeared before one of them, crown upon his head and pointer in hand. With a tranquil, breezy air, he struck toward the Sovereign's head. "Disobedient!" *Bang!* A single lash struck the opponent's skull... A seventh-rank Sovereign was incomparably formidable, yet at this moment, his head cracked like tofu under that light tap, shattering instantly into nothingness as a radiant sun emerged! That was the Chiyang Dao mark! A book page swept in, absorbing the Chiyang sun before vanishing instantly. A seventh-rank Sovereign had been casually whipped to death just like that! The remaining three were horror-stricken! What kind of Dao was this? They felt enveloped, pinned, and locked in place by the massive net, unable to move. With smiling eyes, as if lecturing children, the Supreme spoke softly: "This is the Dao of Myriad People. Tens of billions of Xinwu citizens wish for Chiyang to belong to me. It is the will of the people, impossible to decline. Everyone, please grant their wish!" The pointer appeared once more. It tapped lightly against another Sovereign. The man's face twisted in horror. Roaring frenziedly, his Great Dao erupted and a blazing sun materialized, forcibly snapping the Dao net binding him. Just as he breathed a sigh of relief... The Supreme seemed to lose his temper, his expression abruptly shifting. Having been calm and breezy a moment ago, he suddenly flew into a rage. Tossing the pointer aside, he closed the distance in a flash, clenched his fist, and brought it smashing down. In the next moment, he swung his fists like a madman, raining down over ten thousand blows in a single breath! *Boom!* That seventh-rank Sovereign was beaten to pieces on the spot. The Supreme roared in fury, "You dare resist the law and defy authority?" *Just obey and die quietly!* *How dare you fight back?* Beside him, the three Xinwu Sovereigns wore deadpan expressions. Did the Human King learn this routine from you, or did you learn it from the Human King? You two have hung around together for a thousand years—did you rub off on each other? In his fury, the Supreme beat the opponent to pulp with his bare fists, then snapped, "What are you standing there for? Get to work and kill them!" In an instant, the three Sovereigns struck! The remaining two seventh-rank Sovereigns, who had previously been able to match or even slightly suppress their foes, saw the tables turn completely in the blink of an eye! In the distance, the outer eighth rank's face turned pale. *How could this happen?* With a furious roar, he blew Wushan away with a single punch and fled immediately. Chiyang was finished! Two of the four seventh-rank Sovereigns had died in an instant, and the remaining two would not last long. Run! Wushan moved to intercept, but the Supreme barked, "Do not pursue a desperate foe!" Wushan froze. *Not pursuing?* *Boom!* The remaining two seventh-rank Sovereigns were obliterated in the blink of an eye. The Heavenly Dog and the other Sovereigns charged forward, swiftly slaughtering the mid- and low-rank Sovereigns. Drenched in blood, Sovereign Wushan quickly flew back, bewildered, shaken, and unwilling. "If I held him back, we had a chance to kill him..." With so many experts present, they could have easily spared someone to block his retreat. The Supreme merely glanced in the direction the enemy had fled, smiling meaningfully. "No rush. If he doesn't run, how will we know where his home nest is?" *Huh?* The Supreme murmured again, "The yang energy is roughly sufficient, but our Xinwu... has too many sixth ranks! Do we really have to slaughter the entire Four Regions clean? That wouldn't look good... An eighth-rank Gemini Universe, with two eighth ranks—what a massive world! It's far stronger than an ordinary eighth rank; it should be able to birth at least five, six, seven, or eight seventh ranks, right?" "..." Wushan felt he had encountered a pack of lunatics! Just then, the Supreme suddenly laughed aloud. "Yang God, Longevity Sword, Li Zhu, coordinate with Sovereign Wushan and pursue him immediately! Drive him out of the Four Regions!" Wushan was startled. *Why pursue now?* In the next moment, realization dawned on him. They were... deliberately giving the foe a chance to escape while ensuring he could not linger in the Four Regions, driving him back to his native world! With that thought in mind, he dared say no more. These lunatics were genuinely terrifying. Alongside the other three Sovereigns, he swiftly melted into the void, darting after the fleeing eighth rank. Wushan also noticed... these fellows possessed flawless coordination. They fanned out, driving their quarry along a specific trajectory. This forced the eighth rank, in his desperation to avoid being pinned down, to flee toward the Thunder Domain to escape through it! Sure enough, sensing the auras behind him, the eighth-rank Sovereign, who had originally intended to linger in the Four Regions and await his brother's return, dared not stay any longer. He bolted straight for the Thunder Domain! *Return to the Gemini Domain first!* *Mobilize the other seventh-rank Sovereigns in our realm and prepare to re-enter this place at any moment to extract my brother!* Gritting his teeth, he was thoroughly shaken by this sudden reversal. *Fortunately, I ran fast!* He vanished in an instant, plunging into the surrounding Thunder Domain to flee outward. Behind him, the Sovereigns arrived moments later. Watching him enter, they lingered for a brief moment. The Yang God chuckled. "He's gone. Looks like the Martial King left something on him again..." Li Zhu nodded slightly, completely composed. "The Martial King's Daos are far too convoluted and numerous. In that regard, he is quite similar to that young fellow from Silver Moon..." He paused, then smiled. "No, it is Li Hao of Silver Moon who resembles him." He was not slighting the Martial King; after all, the Martial King had come first. This Dao of Avatars felt somewhat like the Dao of Attachment, only far more concealed. The Martial King had certainly attached something to that fellow! With narrowed eyes, Li Zhu muttered in a low voice, "Over the past millennium, that fellow gathered a thousand clones, each achieving the Sovereign level. Exactly how much Great Dao power did he siphon from Xinwu? What an abuse of public power for personal gain! Once Fang Ping returns, I am going to impeach him!" The Yang God picked his ear and said nothing. The Sword Venerable looked up at the sky and remained silent as well. *Go ahead and impeach him!* Still... one had to admit, Old Zhang's heart was far too black. Because Xinwu could not enter the eighth rank, the world itself had continued absorbing Great Dao power as a twin-Dao universe of yin and yang. A seventh-rank world with twin Dao universes... coupled with many individuals detaching from the Great Dao Universe. As a result, the Martial King had quietly siphoned away so much Great Dao power to forge a thousand Sovereign-level avatars for himself! How black-hearted! He must have embezzled an enormous amount! Those thousand avatars were enough to birth several seventh-rank Sovereigns... The Sword Venerable cursed inwardly as well. *If those thousand avatars were given to me, I would have reached the seventh rank long ago! Old Zhang is far too wicked. If Li Zhu impeaches him, I'll have to file a report against him too!* Yet he also felt a pang of envy. The man was terrifyingly strong. Having stepped into the seventh rank, the Sword Venerable could not claim to possess the greatest offensive power among seventh ranks given how recently he had advanced, but he was still a top-tier figure capable of clashing with ordinary Realm Lords. Yet... that fellow Old Zhang could whip a seventh rank to death with a single strike. Between him and Fang Ping, it was truly hard to say who was stronger. *** At the very moment Xinwu slaughtered the four seventh-rank Sovereigns... Inside the Tianfang Universe. Sovereign Chiyang had initially grown much more at ease, as his four seventh-rank Sovereigns appeared to hold a considerable advantage. Judging from the Great Dao, it seemed rock-solid with no signs of being breached. His anxiety eased, and he lowered his guard, no longer poised at every second to sever his connection and siphon away the Chiyang power. Otherwise, if they could have held the line, but his withdrawal of Chiyang's power caused the four seventh ranks to fall, he would lose an eighth-rank world and an eighth-rank Great Dao Universe. Naturally, it was best not to become an unaligned vagrant. Even so, Sovereign Chiyang still guarded his own portion closely. Aside from what he retained for himself, the remaining Chiyang power could be drawn freely; as long as they could defend Chiyang, nothing else mattered! Everything had seemed stable... Yet in a single breath... In truly a single breath, he suddenly sensed a star shatter within the Great Dao Universe. Before he could react, the second star shattered, followed by the third, and the fourth... The entire Great Dao Universe convulsed violently in an instant. All four seventh ranks had fallen simultaneously! He coughed up a mouthful of blood as vast amounts of Chiyang power leaked outward. His expression shifted drastically! *Instant slaughter of four seventh ranks?* *What is going on?* *How is that possible!* The four seventh ranks had been rock-solid, even in their peak state. How could they be slaughtered in an instant? He had no time to think. It was over! With all four seventh ranks dead, the Great Dao Universe was violently unstable. If he did not detach right now, the moment they breached the Great Dao Universe and shattered the Dao origin, he would truly be finished! "Bastards!" With a furious curse, he instantly siphoned away his Chiyang power, preparing to break away from the universe! *Damn it!* Rage boiled within him. *I have to become a vagrant too. Damn it all! I was just laughing at Yunxiao, and in the blink of an eye, it's my turn. Red Moon and Yunxiao must be laughing their heads off!* *How could Xinwu be this strong?* *Even with four seventh ranks and an eighth rank holding the fort, they collapsed? Looking at the guy beside me, his brother... seems fine. Did his brother run away?* The suspicion blossomed in Sovereign Chiyang's mind, and he cursed inwardly once more! *It must be!* Otherwise, this fellow would have sensed his brother's demise, instead of looking utterly astonished right now, seemingly unaware of what had occurred. *Damn him!* At that exact moment, a gleam of delight flashed through the Human King's eyes. Chiyang had finally been breached! He had to slay Sovereign Chiyang as well; otherwise, the harvest would not be complete. Erupting in an instant, he raised his saber and charged straight at him! The outer eighth rank roared in fury. He could not allow Chiyang to be killed now; Chiyang had just detached from the Dao and was in a state of extreme weakness! The two seventh ranks beside him charged forward as well! The Human King let out a thunderous roar. His long saber carried the power of myriad Daos, but it went beyond that—within the saber, another world seemed to emerge, as though... an entire universe was nurtured within the blade! Incomparably formidable! This single strike left even the outer eighth rank thoroughly shaken, prompting him to roar in disbelief, "A second universe?" *How is that possible!* *Isn't this Human King the Lord of Xinwu?* *Isn't he the Lord of Yin-Yang?* *Where did a second universe come from?* It was not the twin-Dao universe of yin and yang, but a true, distinct, newborn universe. This strike was vastly more powerful than before! This fellow had actually been concealing his true strength all along. Judging by the aura within the blade... this second universe wielded the power of a seventh-rank universe—an independent seventh-rank universe! *The Human King secretly nurtured an independent universe within himself? That's impossible!* *Besides, he is already the Lord of Yin-Yang. Was this to guard against the Cang Emperor?* *Why else would he nurture one separately?* These thoughts flashed by in an instant. With a tremendous crash, the saber descended. The eighth-rank powerhouse was thrown backward, coughing up blood. *He's so strong! That beast of a Human King was hiding his strength!* *Damn him!* The Human King's sudden eruption and the strike that blew the outer eighth rank away caused the Dragon Lord over on the other side to frown. He had already ordered his four seventh ranks to strike, but now his gaze flickered, shifting his strategy in an instant: "Kill that outer eighth rank... take his life while he's weakened! Slay him, then kill those two seventh ranks!" Four seventh-rank Sovereigns materialized instantly. The Dragon World manifested directly, suppressing heaven and earth. Still reeling in shock, the hurled eighth-rank Sovereign suddenly felt the sky darken above him as a universe pressed down! Four seventh-rank Sovereigns—four chaos beasts that had never appeared before—manifested in a flash. They descended upon him with killing intent! The outer eighth rank's face paled. *Four seventh ranks?* *All from the chaos beast race!* *Where did they come from?* The Dragon World was an eighth-rank world, pressing down directly to suffocate him, while the four seventh ranks struck with terrifying suddenness! Before that clash even concluded, three giant dragons beside the Dragon Lord lunged toward Sovereign Red Moon! Sovereign Red Moon's expression twisted in terror, and he fled frantically! The Lord of Yunxiao was equally horrified and tried to flee, but in that fleeting instant, the Dragon Lord beside him seemed to transform into an entirely different being—incomparably majestic and overwhelmingly powerful. He threw a light punch, yet thousands of Daos manifested with it, a chaotic Great Dao coiled like a dragon, forming a Dao Domain powerful enough to suppress an eighth rank! Unbelievable! This sudden turn of events caught everyone off guard. The Lord of Yunxiao was filled with sheer terror! "You..." "Trash. Living only wastes Great Dao power!" The Dragon Lord remained completely calm; with things having reached this point, there was no longer any need to hide. He threw a punch! Terrifying physical might erupted in an instant as a dragon's roar reverberated through the entirety of Tianfang. *Boom!* The Tianfang Universe shook violently. *Boom! Boom!* With a thunderous crash, the punch punched straight through his opponent. The Dragon Lord's strength was terrifying to behold! Punching right through Yunxiao, the Lord of Yunxiao roared in frantic fury, Great Dao power pouring forth as his bellows shook heaven and earth: "How dare you... If you kill me, Xinwu cannot be checked... If he kills Chiyang, he will surely step into the eighth rank..." *Dragon Lord, you are insane!* *What is wrong with the Four Regions?* *Don't you know that Xinwu is the greatest threat?* *I am already an unaligned vagrant, yet you still want to kill me...* The Dragon Lord said nothing, throwing another punch. This strike seemed to gather ten thousand Daos together. *Boom! Bang!* A tremendous roar rang out as the Great Dao Universe trembled frantically. Beneath the blow, the dragon's roar sounded once more, shocking the Lord of Yunxiao into frozen terror. In a fraction of an instant, his head vanished completely! Countless strands of Great Dao power scattered! An eighth-rank Sovereign—one who had detached from his Great Dao Universe and teetered on the verge of slipping in rank—was beaten to death by the Dragon Lord in just two punches! The Dragon Lord reached out, snatching a cloud-like mass of origin Dao power into his grasp! With utter coldness in his eyes, he crushed the cloud in an instant! "Impossible..." In his final moments, the Lord of Yunxiao was filled with despair and disbelief. A million years! He had dominated the Four Regions for a million years. Was he... truly killed just like this? He had become the first eighth-rank Sovereign to fall in a million years—the very first! Ever since Tianfang vanished, eighth ranks had been invincible beings within the Four Regions. An eighth-rank powerhouse had never fallen. In the million years of the Four Regions, only these few eighth-rank Sovereigns had existed, each a true hegemon! Yet today... he had become the first eighth-rank Sovereign to truly perish! He had thought it would be Red Moon, or Chiyang, or someone else... Yet he was the first eighth rank to be slain! Killed at the hands of the Dragon Lord! Over on the other side, the Human King's jaw nearly dropped. *Fuck, this bastard is strong! He was hiding his strength all along, so treacherous... As for me hiding an internal world, that wasn't treacherous, just basic self-defense.* *But this dragon bastard was already an eighth rank and still hid his strength—shameless!* Brandishing his broad saber, he ignored everyone else and bellowed, "Big Cat!" The Big Cat opened its mouth wide, lunging to swallow Sovereign Chiyang. Sovereign Chiyang was in a weakened state; his face drained of color as he looked around, turning even more deathly pale! Yunxiao was slain, Red Moon was besieged by three dragons, and of the three powerhouses he had brought, the outer eighth rank was besieged by four unfamiliar chaos beasts, while the two seventh ranks were pinned beneath the eighth-rank great world, barely able to fight back. On the other side, the Bright Sovereign's eyes went wide, his mouth agape in disbelief! An eighth rank had actually died? And... judging by the situation, more than one might die today! The Dragon Lord was far too powerful! His expression shifted drastically as realization struck: he was in trouble, and he needed to survive! In an instant, he threw a punch—the Bright Divine Fist, hurtling straight toward Chiyang—roaring, "Human King, I'll assist you! Hurry and enter the eighth rank!" If the Human King did not reach the eighth rank, the Dragon Lord's side... would be too strong, entirely unchecked. When that happened, everyone would be in deep trouble! *Boom!* Sovereign Chiyang fell into total despair. *Bastard! Bright Sovereign, you fence-sitter, you wretched scoundrel! You call yourself Bright, yet you kick a man while he's down... I curse you!* The Human King burst into hearty laughter! Earlier, he had been trying to cozy up to the Bright Sovereign, but now, sensing the crisis, it was the Bright Sovereign rushing to join forces with him. "Die!" "Yin and yang reverse—saber, fall!" Yin and yang seemed to invert. All the yang energy within Sovereign Chiyang vanished in an instant, converted into yin energy. He was frozen stiff, while within the broad saber, the light of ten thousand Daos seemed to erupt! The saber slashed down, while behind him, the Bright Divine Fist struck simultaneously! *Boom!* Sovereign Chiyang wore a look of bitter desolation. *Am I... the second eighth rank to fall?* *How... laughable!* However, he struggled to turn his head... and suddenly smiled. Over there, the eighth-rank Sovereign who had come with him let out a bloodcurdling scream. Having slain Yunxiao, the Dragon Lord had not pursued Red Moon, but descended upon him instead. One punch! It suppressed heaven and earth. One punch shattered the eighth-rank Sovereign's defense! Another punch obliterated his physical body. In three punches, that eighth-rank Sovereign was torn to pieces. A glimmer of origin Dao power surfaced, only to be instantly seized and crushed by the Dragon Lord, who then swept out to pull everything into the Dragon World. Turning around, a tail suddenly materialized and whipped across the void! *Boom!* The two seventh ranks pinned beneath the world were whipped to dust in an instant, reduced to nothingness, and drawn into the Dragon World as well. The Gemini Domain's eighth rank was beaten to death directly, along with the two seventh ranks. In his dying breath, that eighth-rank Sovereign could only sigh with sorrow: "They all said the Four Regions were perilous... It was I... who was too greedy..." How tragic! The Gemini Domain was a top-tier great world in the Outer Regions, possessing two eighth-rank Sovereigns! Yet today, Chiyang was breached, and while his brother might still live... He had taken the first step into death. In the Outer Regions, an eighth rank had not died in many years—save for recently, when that newly ascended ninth rank launched a surprise attack and slew an eighth rank, firing the opening shot in the war to unify the chaos. Yet here, in the blink of an eye, Yunxiao had died, and now he was dying too... Chiyang was likely about to perish, along with Red Moon... How many Sovereigns' graveyard would this Four Regions become? And the seventh ranks seemed to die like meaningless chaff! *Boom!* His consciousness shattered completely. With a cold expression, the Dragon Lord looked toward Sovereign Chiyang, who was being cleaved in two not far away, his eyes flickering! *The Human King!* *Should I step in to stop him?* With the Human King, the Cang Emperor, and the Bright Sovereign present—three powerful experts—if he intervened, his own momentum would be stalled. He merely glanced at them, then darted straight for Red Moon, his four Sovereigns following closely behind! At this moment, Sovereign Red Moon was driven mad with terror. Seeing this, he actually called out to the Human King for help: "Save me... Human King... If I die, the Dragon Lord will command seven Sovereigns... None of you will survive either..." He turned toward the fleeing seventh ranks around them and roared, "Save me! If I die, you will be hunted down one by one, and all of you will die..." There were still over twenty seventh-rank Sovereigns around! If they didn't run and joined forces, they could still fight! *Don't run!* Yet with these sudden upheavals and eighth ranks falling one after another, the seventh-rank Sovereigns were on the verge of mental collapse. With no one to rally them and Red Moon himself facing death, who dared remain? Seeing the Dragon Lord descending upon him, Sovereign Red Moon shrieked shrilly, "I surrender!" *I submit!* *I don't want to die.* With things as they were, surrendering was his only path to survival. *Boom!* In the distance, an explosion rang out as the Human King severed Sovereign Chiyang with a single slash. Countless strands of yang energy erupted, and the Human King devoured them frenziedly. His aura surged instantly as he looked over toward the Dragon Lord! *This dragon fellow strikes ruthlessly!* The Human King clicked his tongue. *I only killed one eighth rank, yet this guy slaughtered two in the blink of an eye and is working on a third... The Four Regions actually has a monster like this.* The Bright Sovereign was thoroughly shaken as well! Three eighth ranks had died. Beside him, a fragment of Sovereign Chiyang's will lingered, seeming to want to say something. The Bright Sovereign casually punched it into oblivion. *Stop wasting your breath. You're already dead, don't distract us! I'm terrified right now!* The Human King could not help but glance at him. Even the Dragon Lord looked back at Bright with a strange expression. The man was already dead, yet he... wouldn't even let him leave a last word? Talk about black-hearted! *And you dare call yourself Bright?* The Bright Sovereign froze. Seeing everyone staring at him, he was at a loss for words. *I just... threw a casual punch, I didn't mean anything by it! You murderers don't think you're cruel, but you think I'm cruel?* *What kind of people are these?!* He felt utterly helpless. As for Chiyang, he was already dead—what was the point of talking? Meaningless! He was merely sending him on his way a little faster! "Human King, do we save Red Moon or not..." The Human King ignored him completely, darting away in an instant as he roared, "Seventh ranks of the three regions, gather to me immediately! Let us breach the boundary together and flee!" "..." *Flee?* The Bright Sovereign cursed inwardly. *We could still fight them! Why are you running?* The Dragon Lord cast another glance at the Human King, his eyes flickering. *Flee?* *Could you be planning to lead the other human seventh ranks to their deaths?* *If so... Human King, your heart is truly as black as it gets!* Before him, Sovereign Red Moon shrieked shrilly, "I am willing to sign a Great Dao pact and submit to the Dragon Lord! Spare my life!" "If the Human King, Bright, and the Cang Emperor all step into the eighth rank, Xinwu's overall ascension will cause their strength to soar. The Dragon Lord stands alone and still needs loyal subordinates... I am willing to serve!" He bellowed at the top of his lungs, drenched in cold sweat. The Dragon Lord stared deeply at him for a long moment, then chuckled softly. "The Dao of Desire is truly intriguing... Is fear of death also a Dao?" Chuckling, he nodded. "You truly are a clever man. Very well, I shall take you in. You offended Xinwu and were the first to have your world destroyed, yet you have survived to this day. Impressive. It's just... you were at the peak of the eighth rank, so why... are you so weak?" He had left Red Moon for last precisely because he believed him to be at the peak of the eighth rank! Yet... why was he this weak? Sovereign Red Moon looked bewildered. *When... was I ever at the peak of the eighth rank?* The Dragon Lord sighed. *It seems I misunderstood.* *What an annoying fellow. If that was the case, why did you mislead me last time?* *Had I known you weren't at the peak of the eighth rank, I should have attacked the Human King just now. What a pity.* He felt somewhat annoyed, but quickly calmed himself. Since that was how things stood... he would let this fellow serve as his vanguard! A vanguard against Xinwu! "Let's go. Follow them out... It seems there are some minor developments in the Dragon Domain." The Dragon Lord's eyes turned chillingly cold. Who was stirring up trouble in the Dragon Domain? After today, within the Four Regions, he alone would reign supreme! Even if the Human King ascended to the eighth rank, so what? As for the Lord of Red Moon, only lingering dread and relief remained. He could no longer care about anything else. *I... am still alive.* Chiyang was dead, Yunxiao was dead, the foreign eighth rank was dead, yet he was still alive... That alone was worthy of celebration. The skies over the Four Regions had shifted completely! A balance that had remained unchanged for a million years was about to be overturned forever.