Simultaneous Three-Way Strike

Packs of wolves poured forth in all directions. The Eastern Region had been tranquil for many years. Hegemons had clashed and vied against one another, but major wars had broken out only on rare occasions. Now, unrest gripped the Four Regions. Packs of wolves had been unleashed, glaring hungrily, dissatisfied with the status quo, stirring up the winds of change. ... At that very moment, within the Seventh Heaven. The Iron-Eating Sovereign was finally overtaken and intercepted. An iron rod smashed the heavens apart, shaking the firmament as surging energy swept across the realm. Manifesting as a myriad-zhang giant bear, the Iron-Eating Sovereign roared fiercely, "You murdered my brothers all those years ago, and today you dare pursue me? You seek death!" Sovereign Fusheng's expression was chilly and stern. No one cared what they themselves had done; they only cared about what others had done to them. He remembered only the humiliation of back then. Just like today, Iron-Eater had struck him with an iron rod until he vomited blood ceaselessly, every bone in his body shattered. That day, had Long Zhan not intervened—had Long Zhan not been wary of Samsara—Fusheng would have died on the spot. And now, the time for vengeance had arrived. A weapon resembling a millstone appeared in his hand, suppressing heaven and earth in a cycle of life and death, Samsara. The Samsara Realm took life and death as its primary Dao, and Fusheng was also an expert of the Life and Death Dao, though not quite as formidable as the Sovereign of Samsara. Yet as the millstone emerged, heaven and earth seemed to shift hue, eighth-rank power sweeping across the realm! Innumerable wraith-like entities materialized between heaven and earth, swarming toward Iron-Eater. The countless wraiths shrieked with agonizing wails that frayed the nerves. Be it monster race or chaos beast race, neither was adept at nurturing the spirit. Their physical bodies were formidable, but their spirits were frail. For years, Fusheng had pondered vengeance, considering how best to slay Iron-Eater. Now, the opportunity had arrived. At the peak of the seventh rank, Iron-Eater was powerful... yet stripped of the empowerment of his world, no matter how tough his body was, he was no match for an eighth-rank sovereign. The wraiths howled. Among the endless souls were humans, monster beasts, and chaos beasts. Innumerable monsters were among them. There were even some that resembled corrupted, blackened iron-eating beasts. Sovereign Fusheng no longer showed the cultured gentility he usually displayed in the Samsara World. His gaze was icy and harsh, his face twisted in resentment. Gritting his teeth, his voice came out deep and guttural: "Do you see this, Iron-Eater? Weren't you always hiding inside the Four Regions, refusing to come out? Over all these years, I scoured the Eastern Region and slaughtered every single member of your iron-eating clan, waiting for this very day!" The Iron-Eating Sovereign was beside himself with fury! Holding his iron rod, he smashed countless wraiths to smithereens, bellowing, "Scoundrel! Is an eighth-rank sovereign capable of only this?" It was impossible to trace who was right or wrong in the grudges of the past. Yet slaughtering the entire iron-eating clan across the region just to vent his spite... the Iron-Eating Sovereign was inflamed with rage. The innumerable wraiths blanketed the sky, wrapping the Iron-Eating Sovereign in layer after layer. On the perimeter, Sovereign Fusheng smiled chillingly, a complete departure from his normal demeanor. He intended to torture his foe to death little by little! Naturally, this was also to kill him with maximum certainty and safety. Even now, Fusheng remained extremely vigilant, his fury not having completely clouded his wits. Four seventh-rank sovereigns circled around him, while he himself merely deployed the Dao of wraiths from within the Life and Death Samsara. First, wear Iron-Eater down! Grind Iron-Eater down for a while; if no one showed up, finishing him off would be effortless. There was no rush. If anyone thought they could take advantage of the battle to launch a sneak attack on him... they had another think coming. ... In the distance. Amid the dense chaotic energy, Sovereign Diyang frowned slightly. Beside him, Li Hao's brows also lifted a fraction. This Sovereign Fusheng was somewhat more difficult to deal with than expected. The Life and Death Dao? Just how many living beings had he slaughtered to produce so many wraiths? Crucially, these wraiths alone were managing to pin down the Iron-Eating Sovereign. If the Human King intended to launch a surprise attack... it would likely prove difficult this time. Four seventh-rank sovereigns remained on guard around Sovereign Fusheng at all times, and while Fusheng was expending no small amount of energy, he was clearly on his guard. Under such circumstances, Diyang worried that the Human King wouldn't show up at all, while Li Hao wondered whether the Human King could handle all of them if he did appear. An eighth-rank sovereign and four seventh-ranks, clearly prepared—this would hardly be an ambush in the truest sense... At this moment, Li Hao broke into a sweat on the Human King's behalf. If things went wrong, they might lose their bait: the Iron-Eating Sovereign. Diyang, too, looked somewhat displeased. That fellow Fusheng... wasn't as rash and hotheaded as expected. Diyang had assumed Fusheng would lose control in his wrath, engage Iron-Eater in direct combat, and be ambushed by the Human King... Now... he was sorely disappointed. ... On the other side. In the chaos, the Human King stood with arms crossed. No longer dragging his great saber behind him, he cradled it in his arms. Behind him stood another iron-eating beast, the Iron-Eating Sovereign named Tie Han, wearing a look of deep concern. This was... bad. The four seventh-rank sovereigns hadn't separated, which was two more than anticipated. Even worse, that old enemy hadn't stepped into the fray himself, yet his elder brother was already trapped by mere wraiths. Tie Han worried for his brother's safety, but was also stunned by the enemy's methods. So strong! Back then, Fusheng had not been this powerful; otherwise, how could he have nearly died at Iron-Eater's hands? Then he looked at the Human King, who looked utterly unhurried... This... this wouldn't do! Several times Tie Han opened his mouth to speak, only for the Human King to cast him a sidelong glance, swallowing the words right back down his throat. If the Human King didn't act soon, his brother was finished. Tie Han was desperate! Those countless wraiths constituted a spiritual-level attack method. To the monster race and chaos beasts, such attacks were the most vexing of all. While formidable in terms of pure physical Dao, any attack targeting the spiritual level dealt catastrophic damage to them. Tie Han could hold back no longer! In the past, five brothers had risen in the iron-eating clan, much like the five brothers of today's hegemonic Five Elements Realm. But back then, Fusheng had killed two of them, and later a surprise raid by Red Moon had killed another. Now, only he and his eldest brother remained. Even the Iron-Eating Domain was lost. If his eldest brother fell here as well... Wouldn't the iron-eating clan be completely devoid of hope? They had too many terrifying enemies: Red Moon, Fusheng, the Dragon Lord—all of them were eighth-rank sovereigns... Could he be expected to take revenge on his own? At that moment, he wanted to charge in. But the Human King dropped his usual banter and sarcasm, turning to face him with solemn dignity, his eyes sharp and icy as he transmitted, "Watch! Wait! Wait until your brother is on the verge of death, until that bastard feels victory is assured! At that moment, regardless of whether someone relaxes their vigilance, their focus will be at its laxest. I will strike then!" "But—" "No buts!" The Human King was utterly stern, glaring at him as he sent a mental voice: "You obey me, and only me! Otherwise... going in is suicide, dying alongside your brother! If you want to run with me and take your revenge, what's a little risk? If you're this cowardly, after this you two brothers can get lost. You can seek your revenge on your own!" At this moment, the Human King was supremely overbearing and cold. How far had this even progressed? What kind of danger was this? Wait! Wait until Iron-Eater was on the brink of collapse or launching a dying counterattack—that was the true opportunity. Either don't strike, or strike to kill! Even if he couldn't take down Fusheng in one blow, he had to sweep away the surrounding seventh-ranks in an instant. ... Time ticked by. Encircled, the Iron-Eating Sovereign roared madly, his iron rod whirling frantically, smashing through heaven and earth, shattering countless wraiths. The stench of death permeated the void. Many of these wraiths had reached the sovereign level in life. Yet in this moment, they were pulverized beneath a single sweep of the rod. Sovereign Fusheng's heart twinged with regret. While these wraiths did not constitute his full power, he had expended immense effort and resources collecting them bit by bit. Now that this brute had smashed so many apart, he might not be able to rely on this technique in the future. Fortunately, the Iron-Eating Sovereign was now cloaked in deathly aura, his spirit under constant assault. Although his external injuries appeared light, the damage to his mind was driving him mad! He battered wildly in all directions, charging toward Sovereign Fusheng, his peak seventh-rank aura reverberating across the cosmos as he snarled, "Beast, do you dare face me head-on?" Sovereign Fusheng wore a cold, impassive expression. Why clash physically with you? Refusing to use one's advantages was the height of idiocy. Seeing the Iron-Eating Sovereign grow deranged, Fusheng actually smiled. This was perhaps the best outcome. Though the destruction of his wraiths had cost him considerable energy, effortlessly slaying a peak seventh-rank nemesis made it all worthwhile. "Iron-Eater, kneel and beg me..." Fusheng taunted him with a smirk. The angrier, wilder, and more distraught his enemy grew, the more delightful it was. "Roar!" A deafening roar resounded through the surrounding space. The iron rod, like a heaven-propping pillar, swung wildly in every direction. With a light wave of Fusheng's hand, the four sovereigns struck out simultaneously, shattering the shockwaves. Such mere aftershocks could not harm them. The four seventh-rank sovereigns felt somewhat more at ease now, scanning their surroundings while maintaining constant vigilance. With such a tremendous racket, they had to beware of outsiders interfering. ... Li Hao continued to observe in silence. Beside him, Diyang was growing impatient and transmitted, "Xiaochen, haven't your people arrived yet?" "Soon..." Li Hao replied mentally, "Rest assured, Senior. Besides... the situation is tricky right now, and there might not be a chance to strike. Given this state of affairs, even if the Human King is nearby, he might not dare make a move..." Diyang felt somewhat gloomy. True enough! That little brat Fusheng was exceptionally wary. Rumble! A thunderous crash echoed across the void. Diyang looked toward the battlefield again: the colossal Iron-Eating Sovereign was attempting a breakout, only to be hammered back by the five experts working in concert, plunging back into the encirclement of wraiths. Although the wraiths were steadily breaking apart, they still appeared boundless. This Fusheng had certainly killed a great deal of people over the years. "His Life and Death Dao is somewhat decent..." Diyang remarked, then shook his head. "Still, despite having countless wraiths, their quality isn't very high. If he truly had the capability to slay thousands or tens of thousands of sovereigns and besiege an enemy purely with sovereign wraiths... a seventh-rank would have been dead long ago." Li Hao said nothing, continuing to observe. Wraiths... Everyone cultivated the Life and Death Dao differently. Li Hao's Life and Death Dao centered only on life, death, and reincarnation; other aspects were fairly pedestrian. Lin Hongyu's Life and Death Dao had forged a deathly purgatory that could convert the deceased into undead guards. As for Fusheng, he exploited the wraiths of the deceased—converting their spirits into vengeful specters. Each had their own unique approach. Could Fusheng traverse the path of living and dying repeatedly? What about the Sovereign of Samsara? Could he achieve nine deaths and nine rebirths? Li Hao wondered, unable to judge. If so, that would be terrifying. Who could kill a peak eighth-rank sovereign nine times? Granted, that assumed that after being killed once, the sovereign could continually revive, each time requiring sufficient energy to restore an eighth-rank. Just then, Sovereign Fusheng attacked once more. This time, it was no longer wraiths, but a towering tree manifesting between heaven and earth. Its branches acted like a Dao domain, enveloping the entire battlefield as the tree drained boundless vitality from the surroundings! The Iron-Eating Sovereign surged into the sky, smashing countless branches, yet vitality steadily leaked from his body. "Roar!" Another agonizing howl tore through the void. The Iron-Eating Sovereign charged furiously; despite possessing peak seventh-rank power, he was thoroughly suffocated here, since Fusheng refused to engage him in a direct collision. In the next instant, a towering wave of vitality and blood erupted from his form—he was staking his very life! A colossal monster body manifested in the cosmos like an astral body, bloating and bursting the myriad wraiths in all directions! Every single wraith detonated in that instant! Meanwhile, the flesh on Iron-Eater's body seemed to dissolve, laying bare bleak, gleaming white bones. Clutched in skeletal hands, the iron rod smashed down, splintering the giant tree into pieces! Sovereign Fusheng grunted, yet smiled. The peerlessly tough body of the Iron-Eating Sovereign had been worn down to nothing, his vitality mostly exhausted, his aura plummeting from the peak of the seventh rank down to barely the seventh rank. One could imagine just how severe his injuries were. Now, the Iron-Eating Sovereign had nowhere left to run. "Kill him!" Fusheng ceased trapping him. Delays brought complications, and the timing was ripe. In an instant, the five experts lunged toward the Iron-Eating Sovereign together. And at that very moment... the void rippled as an expert seemed to appear. Sovereign Fusheng's gaze turned chilling as he barked, "I knew someone was waiting for me!" He raised a hand and unleashed a palm strike of staggering power—gone was any trace of his prior pallor! Space fluctuated. A deafening boom rang out! An iron-eating beast tumbled out of the void, bathed in blood, coughing blood endlessly, deathly aura clinging to his body as he howled savagely, "Die together!" An explosive surge welled up within him, showing signs of self-detonation. A seventh-rank sovereign ready to self-detonate the moment they met. Sovereign Fusheng froze, frowning slightly. Seventh rank? Not an eighth-rank? In the next breath, his expression shifted subtly. A trap... no, bait. Damn it! Behind him, the four seventh-ranks lagged half a step behind. And at that exact moment, soundlessly, a long saber materialized. With an impassive expression, the Human King slashed toward one of them, a strike that seemed to cleave through the heavens. The four seventh-rank sovereigns were enveloped as if swept into an infinite, boundless universe. This universe seemed isolated from chaos, isolated from heaven and earth, isolated from the Great Dao Universe. In all of creation, only this one saber remained! As the strike fell, the targeted seventh-rank sovereign's face contorted in sheer horror as he wailed, "Kill!" All four seventh-rank sovereigns struck out together, but the long saber was faster—infinitely fast. A suppressive might erupted, seeming to immobilize all four of them for a heartbeat! All of space turned into a cage. Dao principles manifested between heaven and earth one by one. One thousand, two thousand, three thousand, four thousand... Above the entire universe, aside from this saber, all the Dao principles ultimately converged into a single entity... that was... a person! A person identical to the Human King! It wasn't any external object, nor was it a weapon—it was simply a person. The Human King had fought in countless battles throughout his life; he trusted only in himself to resolve any crisis. Any trouble could only be solved by his own hands. Faith in oneself? No, it was simply that the ultimate culmination of his Dao could only be himself! Others' Daos were long rivers, weapons, all creation, heaven and earth, the sun, the moon... Not his! His Dao was the convergence of myriad Daos, which in the end would only gather into his own likeness. He cultivated neither Yin-Yang nor Life and Death, nor anything else—he cultivated only himself! "Puny shrimps, what are you jumping around for?" A sneer echoed across heaven and earth. The saber slashed down. To outside observers, it was merely a silent stroke, but in the eyes of the four seventh-rank sovereigns, it was the collapse of a world, the extinction of the cosmos. As the blade fell... One seventh-rank sovereign's soul was obliterated, their Great Dao snapped, flesh pulverized, bones erased, Dao source shattered... Clean and decisive to the absolute extreme! A seventh-rank sovereign hailing from a top-tier eighth-rank great universe simply vanished from existence without a sound. ... Sovereign Diyang was shocked! When Tie Han appeared, he had briefly felt excited, thinking it was the Human King. But Fusheng had slapped him out into the open, proving it wasn't the Human King, which disappointed Diyang. Yet who could have guessed that in the next instant, the Human King's blade would appear? A strike seemingly plain and unremarkable. Yet when it landed on a seventh-rank sovereign, that sovereign had offered no struggle, no roar, nothing at all... dead. Soul and spirit utterly extinguished! Li Hao was equally startled, his gaze shifting slightly. So strong! Li Hao had once slain Long Xuan with a sword strike, but that had only severed the body into two halves; he had still needed to destroy the Dao source and follow up with further strikes. Moreover, it had made a tremendous disturbance, and others had needed to create the opportunity for him... Yet today, the Human King struck once against four seventh-ranks fighting back, slaying one instantly without causing the slightest stir. It was so silent that... the seventh-rank sovereign seemed like a mere illusion, dissipating without a trace. Meanwhile, Fusheng had just swatted the seventh-rank Tie Han away. When he turned back, he was both thunderstruck and apoplectic! Was this... the rumored Xinwu Human King? Damn it! One slash, silent and soundless, and a seventh-rank was dead on the spot! It was beyond belief—too fast. Even if an eighth-rank was capable of slaying a seventh-rank, it shouldn't have been this... effortless. "Damn you!" Fusheng roared and spun around to fight the Human King, but behind him, the skeletal Iron-Eating Sovereign bellowed in madness, his iron rod smashing toward Fusheng as if to crush heaven and earth! He lunged straight at Fusheng! And the Human King merely chuckled, wearing a mocking smile. "Killing my brother is the same as killing me. Dare lay a finger on my brother... and I'll wipe out your whole clan!" Another strike slashed out! The three remaining seventh-ranks regained their senses, howling frantically as they unleashed their attacks toward him. A river of life and death materialized between heaven and earth, looping across the realm as deathly aura engulfed the area. The Human King's saber fell just as before—another slash... Boom! This time, a sound rang out, deafeningly loud. A seventh-rank collapsed into oblivion in an instant. The Human King's form paused slightly as he drew a short breath. Killing a seventh-rank in one strike was somewhat taxing after all. A pity he hadn't reached his true peak yet; faced with four seventh-ranks blocking the way, he had only killed two before feeling slightly tired. Truly disgraceful. Back in the day, when he fought those weaker than him, he had cut down one with every slash, without the slightest hesitation. Now... he was getting old. The Human King lamented internally: over a thousand years old, no longer young. Tired after slaying merely two seventh-ranks... what a disgrace. In the next instant, he swung his saber no more. Instead, he flashed directly between the two surviving seventh-ranks. The entire space seemed to transform into a tiny cage. The Human King chuckled. "This is the Myriad Ages Fang Ping Art! Watch closely... can you handle close-quarters combat?" Before the two seventh-ranks could even recover their senses, still thinking of how to ward off that saber... he had closed the distance in a flash. In the blink of an eye, tens of millions of fist strikes materialized, smashing the firmament to pieces in an instant! Like an archaic behemoth, the Human King bombarded them madly. Tens of millions of punches rained down like a storm, impossibly fast, each strike compounding upon the last. The two seventh-ranks wanted to retreat, but there was nowhere to go—they couldn't escape at all! At that moment, fear and dread finally showed in their eyes. How could this be? What was this technique? Four seventh-ranks could match an eighth-rank! Yet before this eighth-rank—before this Human King who had supposedly just advanced to the eighth rank—two had been killed in a heartbeat, and in the next blink, the surviving two seemed to see meat paste beside them, paste reducing to ash, ash scattering in the wind... Those were their physical bodies! In just a breath, the bodies of the two seventh-rank sovereigns were ground into fine powder. The Human King's saber was famous, but few knew of his close-combat prowess. Today, someone learned of it. Because usually, those who knew were all dead. Thus, the Human King always felt regret that his close-combat art—be it the Myriad Ages Fang Ping Art or the Myriad Teachers Fang Ping Art—was on the verge of fading into obscurity, with hardly anyone remembering it. What a shame! Boom! An explosive blast erupted, tearing heaven and earth apart. The surrounding chaotic energy detonated, and the two seventh-ranks vanished into thin air! Four seventh-rank sovereigns, slaughtered on the spot by the Human King in the span of a single breath! ... In the shadows. Diyang's jaw dropped, shock gleaming in his eyes! So strong! Killing a seventh-rank: one, he could do; two... if they joined forces, killing them would require paying a price and taking considerable time; three... that was exceedingly difficult, and taking down even one would be troublesome. Four... he could barely fight them, winning would be difficult, let alone killing any of them. Yet slaying four seventh-rank sovereigns in the blink of an eye—unless he and his brother joined forces and paid a steep price, only then might it be possible. Yet right now... the Human King was a single man. Was this someone who had just broken through to the eighth rank? Li Hao's eyes flickered as he assessed the situation. At least five thousand Dao principles in strength! The Human King's power was beyond imagination. Previously, he had thought that since the Human King was formidable at the seventh rank, he wouldn't be weak upon entering the eighth rank—at least around four thousand Dao principles. Now it seemed he had still underestimated him; this man had at least five thousand Dao principles. Even if weaker than the Dragon Lord, how many years had the Dragon Lord been at the peak of the eighth rank? The Human King was barely over a thousand years old. ... "Impossible..." Fusheng bellowed in shock and disbelief. Four seventh-ranks, slain in an instant! At that moment, he wanted to flee. Yet an instant later, he calmed down. Not far away, the Human King's face was flushed red as he heaved and gulped in breath. Slaying four seventh-ranks in one breath was heavy even for him; this was no act, even though the Human King loved pretending. Right now, the Human King wheezed heavily, bearing his teeth in a grin. "Getting old. Good thing I'm... still vigorous despite my age!" Killing seventh-ranks, this daddy can still manage. "You..." Fusheng's expression shifted, but he spoke no further. Sensing something, delight surfaced in his eyes, and he struck out with a palm toward the Human King. In truth, many people were watching this battle. Even from afar, observers were tuned in. Even within the Samsara Realm, experts had been monitoring the fight. None of them had anticipated the Human King's terrifying prowess, wiping out four seventh-ranks in a single breath. Now, the power of Samsara's Great Dao was beginning to spread toward this place. Experts were seeking to descend here! The Lord of Samsara? Fusheng pondered, but quickly deduced that it probably wasn't. It was likely his two senior uncles. The Sovereign of Samsara had recently been in closed-door seclusion—genuine seclusion, not a disguise, nor did he need one. Moreover, supreme existences like him rarely left their native realms, as doing so drastically increased the danger to them. Though not Dao Masters, the two eighth-rank sovereigns possessed certain special authorities within the Great Dao Universe. Having sensed Fusheng's peril and the demise of the four seventh-ranks, they threw caution to the wind. They locked onto Fusheng's coordinates immediately, using the top-tier Great Dao Universe to teleport and descend here! It was precisely because he sensed this that Fusheng chose to stand his ground. The Human King sensed it as well. He cursed inwardly, though he wasn't afraid. Even if the Lord of Samsara descended, at worst he would just run. For now, it seemed it wasn't the realm lord, and they would still need a bit of time to arrive... A pity he most likely lacked enough time to slay this eighth-rank sovereign. Rotten luck! So fast—a bit faster than anticipated. Still, slaying four seventh-ranks for now was enough. The Human King was already preparing to withdraw! ... In the shadows. Sovereign Diyang also sensed the fluctuation and frowned slightly. So fast! Had the Samsara Realm gone mad? Several eighth-ranks arriving at a moment's notice—they clearly valued Fusheng immensely. Weren't they afraid of another trap? If they took a fall, it wouldn't be just one eighth-rank going down. What audacity! On the Human King's side, the rest of Xinwu hadn't even shown up yet. If they did... would Samsara personally descend? Li Hao also frowned slightly. The Great Dao Universe was fluctuating, and heaven and earth were shaking; it seemed powerful experts were about to descend. However, Li Hao did not hold back. Taking advantage of the disturbance in space, he transmitted a message. At that moment, the Dao Chessboard far in the rear vibrated its own universe. The Dao Chessboard possessed teleportation capabilities to begin with, though the fluctuations it caused were substantial. Under normal circumstances, it wouldn't teleport lightly. Yet now, with the Samsara Great Dao Universe fluctuating violently, no one would notice a little extra disturbance. Li Hao felt no fear! As long as they slaughtered Diyang and his group beside him, even if Samsara's experts arrived, at worst he could join up with the Human King. Whether they fled, killed, or fought... there would still be a chance. Such an opportunity was rare; what was there to fear? Besides, the Human King had wiped out four seventh-ranks in an instant... Honestly, Li Hao felt pressure, but also an impulse! The Human King could wipe out four seventh-ranks in a breath—could he? What a joke. Never mind four, taking down even one was tough. As for the Human King being eighth-rank while he was sixth-rank... the Human King had only just entered the eighth rank, and Li Hao could count as seventh-rank, so the gap was really only one rank... And that man could wipe out four in an instant... Li Hao gritted his teeth. A spatial fluctuation rippled behind him. Diyang initially assumed it was the fluctuation from the Samsara Universe, but in the next heartbeat, he realized something was off. It wasn't! What was it? It seemed like the aura of an expert... Just as he thought this, Li Hao spoke: "It seems my people have arrived..." Your people? No sooner had the thought crossed Diyang's mind than his expression changed drastically. The four seventh-rank sovereigns beside him felt nothing, having noticed nothing at all. At that moment, Li Hao dropped all pretenses. The Sword of a Thousand Worlds, prepared long in advance, struck out in an instant! It hurtled straight toward one of the seventh-ranks, not the eighth-rank Sovereign Diyang. A single strike couldn't kill an eighth-rank. Even if this eighth-rank was away from his native realm, one sword strike wouldn't be enough to end him. A seventh-rank, on the other hand, was well within reach when caught completely off guard. The sword unleashed, sword intent erupting! Sword Venerable? Xinwu? That was Diyang's first thought. In the next breath, Sovereign Wushan struck out with a palm, an aura exploding that made Diyang instantly furious. Wushan—truly Xinwu... wait, apart from Wushan, the other auras were different? What was going on? Just as the thought surfaced, a deafening boom rang out as the sword cleaved heaven and earth apart. Under that single strike, an entirely defenseless seventh-rank sovereign was instantly cut down on the spot! Li Hao's face flushed for an instant before returning to normal. "You are..." Diyang roared in fury! This was... the Silver Moon King? Though he had never met him, he knew of him. Damn it, bastard! How had he disguised himself as Xiaochen? Li Hao ignored him, merely glancing backward. At that moment, the Human King looked over as well. Their eyes met, and the Human King suddenly grinned. Was this little guy trying to prove himself to him? Or was he saying that the Silver Moon King was in no way inferior to the Human King? You slay seventh-ranks at the eighth rank, so I, at the sixth rank, can slay seventh-ranks too? In a split second, Kongji, Er Mao, Wushan, and the Dao Chessboard attacked simultaneously. Along with Li Hao, the five experts erupted at once. Li Hao had felled one with his sword, while Kongji, Er Mao, and the Dao Chessboard teamed up against another seventh-rank, aiming for an instant kill! Wushan held back Diyang. The remaining three seventh-rank sovereigns hadn't even recovered their wits. In a flash, the Six Paths Divine Fist erupted, vastly more formidable than in the past. Boom! The Six Paths Fist blanketed the cosmos. Er Mao inhaled and exhaled the world, directly severing the Great Dao power, while the Dao Chessboard enveloped the area, dragging the other two seventh-rank sovereigns into space, trapping them in an inversion of space. Rumble! A thunderous blast rang out as another seventh-rank sovereign had his entire body blown apart by the Six Paths Fist. "Bastards..." Sovereign Diyang roared in madness, howling in fury. Damn it! Bastards! I was duped! Yet the speed of Li Hao's group was staggering, impossibly fast. Sovereign Diyang had never anticipated such a sudden assault—one moment Xiaochen was scheming with him against the Human King, and the next moment he was the Silver Moon King. "You are Li Hao... Li Hao, how dare you—" "Noisy!" Sovereign Wushan snorted coldly. Did this fellow look down on him? His five fingers fanned out, plucking a string in the cosmos as if strumming destiny itself, causing Sovereign Diyang sudden discomfort. In the next moment, Sovereign Wushan, who had always kept a low profile, seemed to be holding in his breath as well, eager to prove himself. Suddenly, a drum seemed to manifest between heaven and earth. His five fingers closed into a fist and struck the great drum. Thump! Like a beating heart, like the heart of the cosmos, or like a call echoing from ancient times, Sovereign Diyang's heart violently convulsed. And that wasn't all—beams of light in varying colors appeared in Sovereign Wushan's eyes. They seemed like... threads of destiny, or the condensation of fortune. In Wushan's eyes, this was Heavenly Secret! What he cultivated was Heavenly Secret! The resounding drumbeat sent out a wave of force straight toward a dark red thread—a pillar, even—seeking to snap it! Sovereign Wushan roared. Normally, this art didn't seem particularly devastating, but today it shattered heaven and earth in an instant. Thump! The drum sounded again, reverberating like an exploding heart. Sovereign Diyang stumbled back a step, utter horror written on his face. What on earth was this? Where did these people learn such bizarre Daos? Li Hao and his companions didn't spare them a second glance. At that moment, four experts struck at the remaining two seventh-ranks at the same time. In the distance, the Human King laughed uproariously: "Kill!" With a ferocious shout, he charged straight at Fusheng! This kid Li Hao had quite the nerve. Clearly, he intended to join forces. Li Hao's group would slay the Gemini Universe's experts as quickly as possible, then join him to counter-kill the reinforcing Samsara sovereigns! A fine idea, but... difficult to realize! Yet... what did it matter? Give it a try! The Human King was arrogant to the extreme. Seeing that Li Hao hadn't fled and instead revealed himself to ambush four seventh-ranks and an eighth-rank—an exact mirror of his own side's opposition... This was an outright provocation! Would this daddy fear you? His great saber swept across the void, the Human King turning utterly manic. Crimson converged, vitality and blood merging as countless Dao principles materialized... Over on the other side, Li Hao sensed it. Huh, the Blood Blade Technique? A life-risking technique of Xinwu that almost everyone knew. He... knew it too! He had always known it, but had stopped using it because the boost it gave was minimal and damaged the body. It wasn't cost-effective; that tiny increase in power was practically negligible. Yet at this moment, a crimson sheen abruptly surfaced over the long sword in his hand—the Blood Blade Technique! Vitality and blood surged across his body, boundless physical energy erupting. Spirit and mind became one, the spirits of the five forces fused, a Dao domain unfurled, and a sword slashed out! A thousand worlds materialized as a thousand laws erupted! The Human King bellowed, "Kill!" Li Hao also shouted sharply, "Sever!" Testing who is faster? At this moment, the polite and scholarly Li Hao was refined no longer. The Human King had been thoroughly exhausted, yet suddenly flared up—who was he putting on a show for? I came to help you, and you suddenly put on an explosive show for me... You might be older, but I have my pride too! Silver Moon martial masters cared about their pride! Boom! Both exploded simultaneously, blood qi soaring to the heavens. One saber, one sword—the saber stronger, the sword weaker. Anyone unaware would have thought the two were fighting each other, yet they slashed down at the same time! Rumble! Thunderous booms resounded almost simultaneously. Their opponents reacted: the eighth-rank Fusheng stumbled back several paces, a bloody slash appearing across his chest, looking stunned! Meanwhile, in front of Li Hao, the seventh-rank sovereign was sliced cleanly into two halves by the sword strike, eyes filled only with despair and ash. He seemed to realize... these two were covertly competing with each other. But... did I provoke you? You're using us as target practice? One opponent was an eighth-rank, the other a seventh-rank—they were incomparable. Yet in this moment, Li Hao had completed a kill, while the Human King had merely inflicted a bloody gash on Fusheng. The Human King's expression suddenly turned sour. He didn't care how strong his opponent was, nor did he care whether he was exhausted, nor that he was eighth-rank while Li Hao was sixth-rank. In his mind, he had lost face. Because... he was older! Age was what the Human King loved competing over most; no powerhouse was younger than him. Now, this kid was actually relying on his youth to challenge him. "Bastard, why didn't you die?" The Human King raged! He was so furious that Fusheng found it surreal. In that moment, it seemed as if the Human King was the aggrieved victim, roaring in indignation. Why... should I die? "Diyang..." Fusheng bellowed, "Diyang, join forces with me! Experts from my realm will arrive to reinforce us at any moment!" Thump! Another deafening explosion rang out. As Kongji revitalized himself and returned to his peak, he unleashed another Six Paths Divine Fist. With a thunderous blast, the final seventh-rank sovereign was cut down on the spot by their combined might! Fast—impossibly fast. Four seventh-ranks, similarly facing four seventh-ranks, yet... in the blink of an eye, all were slain. It was as if they weren't even of the same rank. Far in the rear, the outsider Sovereign Kanghan stood motionless under the watch of Black Panther and the Queen, as if frozen in place. This was likely the most exhilarating day of his life. In an instant, eight seventh-rank sovereigns had died. Yes, eight in total. In just a breath, one after the other, impossibly fast. The Xinwu Human King had wiped out four, and this group under the Silver Moon King before him had also instantly killed four. Though they had greater numbers, these people were shockingly powerful. It was as if the seventh- and eighth-ranks of the Four Regions and the seventh- and eighth-ranks here did not even belong to the same tier of existence! Why... was this? Right at this moment, within the fluctuating Samsara Universe, the firmament suddenly seemed torn asunder, heaven and earth blown apart. A fist exploded forth from far outside the Samsara Realm! Two figures broke through the firmament and shattered the Great Dao Universe. Each threw a punch, smashing heaven and earth, severing the Samsara Realm's teleportation as a cold shout reverberated in all directions: "Human King, Silver Moon King, Bright Light has arrived!" With a single punch, heaven fell and earth cracked. The power of bright light surfaced, though somewhat dim... yet it did seem to be bright light? However... at that moment, both the Human King and Li Hao cursed under their breath! Far from being pleased that reinforcements had arrived, they cursed inwardly: Is this bastard even a dragon? So shameless, actually pretending to be Bright Light! This person was definitely the Dragon Lord! The Great Dao shook, heaven and earth convulsed. In the cosmos, two eighth-ranks shuddered and tumbled straight out of the Great Dao Universe's teleportation, utterly horrified. Welcoming them was nothing but a barrage of ten thousand fists! Inconceivably powerful! Who was this? Bright Light? Impossible... Bright Light of the Four Regions was definitely not this powerful. In fact, a sense of dread took hold—this person might even be stronger than the Lord of Samsara! In this single instant, three seismic upheavals shook the entire Upper Three Heavens to its core. Within the Extreme Ice World, several eighth-rank sovereigns emerged at once, their faces pale with shock. The Four Regions? No, this felt more like an assault by the ninth-rank Huantian! Damn it! What was going on? Had the three hegemonic factions launched an invasion? Samsara seemed in dire straits! ... At that moment, within the Samsara World, an expert cultivating with closed eyes had felt shaken by the death of four seventh-ranks, but had maintained his composure. Yet when the Great Dao Universe was punched open and the two eighth-ranks sent to reinforce were knocked out of the transmission... At that moment, he awakened. Life and death flickered in his eyes. Like Samsara itself. Opening his eyes, he gazed outside, his look instantly turning ruthlessly cold. Bright Light? No! It wasn't Bright Light. It was... Long Zhan! It was him! The Lord of Samsara's gaze turned chillingly cold. How could it be him? Wasn't he busy unifying the Four Regions? Hadn't he reached a fight to the death with Xinwu, Silver Moon, and the other factions? Why... were they striking simultaneously? What on earth had happened in the Four Regions? He had no time left to ponder. A towering aura surged forth, and a thunderous roar echoed in all directions: "How dare you!" My Samsara is in mortal peril today!