Strength

"Hmm?! Insolence!" Alert and vigilant, Dao Lord Penglai let out a cold grunt, detecting Demon Saint Kunpeng's audacious strike the instant he made his move. Great Dao of Origin—just as the Kunpeng Sky-Devouring Technique unfurled by Demon Saint Kunpeng swept down like an overcast shroud, a fire phoenix radiating infinite brilliance and heat suddenly manifested. Soaring with spread wings, it held off the Demon Saint's sky-devouring art with a burst of pure energy. At the same time Demon Saint Kunpeng attacked Dao Lord Penglai, Demon Saint Yulin's assault followed in close pursuit. On the other flank, Demon Venerable Black Moon and God Venerable Radiance likewise lunged forward, launching strikes against Dao Lord Juntian and Dao Lord Dihui. "You are courting death!" The two Dao Lords, Juntian and Dihui, reacted with blinding speed, swiftly unleashing their Dao arts to counterattack. And just a hair's breadth behind the total outbreak of battle, Dao Lord Jimie struck. Employing some special secret technique or perhaps a curious treasure, he crossed the expanse between himself and Yaoguang in utter silence, bringing the Great Void Collapse Art crashing down upon the space where Yaoguang stood. The great battle had erupted without warning. Not a single Void Shattering True Monarch present had time to react. Yet while the Void Shattering True Monarchs were too slow to react, Dao Lord Taiwei, a Dao Lord of the Void, had sensed something beforehand. However, faced with the choice between intercepting Dao Lord Jimie or shielding the warship beneath his feet—which carried his disciple, True Monarch Tianxiao—he chose the latter. "Careful!" Dao Lord Taiwei immediately used the power of the void to sweep up the warship, carrying the numerous True Monarchs aboard away from the battlefield at full speed to withdraw into the far distance. As for the other two Dao Lords... Dao Lord Danding's expression shifted slightly, and he too pulled back from the battlefield. Dao Lord Qingya, however, acted with extreme resolve in that moment: "Radiance, it seems you didn't take my words to heart at all! In that case, let me see just what a God Venerable who has lost his Divine Kingdom still amounts to!" With a tremor of divine mind, a blazing cloud of fire parted before him, driving the power of the Grand Dao of Lihuo straight toward God Venerable Radiance. In an instant, the area descended into a free-for-all among Dao Lords. Grand Dao resonance, Grand Dao manifestation, and Grand Dao rhythms interwove with unfolding Dao arts. The entire atmosphere transformed directly into a terrifying earthly inferno. Cataclysmic collisions of energy erupted across several corners of this void, ready to unleash their pent-up fury in the very next second, turning into shockwaves potent enough to shake all of Beihai Star and tear through hundreds of thousands, even millions of li of the celestial vault. Yet amid such a ferocious battle, the true focus of every Dao Lord was not their own opponent, but another expanse of space entirely. Yaoguang. Yaoguang, who had just stepped into the Dao Integration realm. Even Dao Lord Penglai was no exception. Facing the joint assault of Demon Saint Yulin and Demon Saint Kunpeng, she seemed capable of withstanding both Dao Integration attacks while simultaneously intercepting Dao Lord Jimie. Yet just as she prepared to exert her full strength, she seemed to receive a transmission from Yaoguang. Her movements paused, allowing Dao Lord Jimie's Great Void Collapse Art to crash unimpeded into the void where Yaoguang stood. "Die!" Dao Lord Jimie's eyes were filled with ferocity and murderous intent! The void shattered. Everywhere the Dao art swept, everything was torn to powder by chaotic, violent void power! Such might... To say nothing of beings below the level of Dao Lord, even Dao Lords without defensive Dao arts or pinnacle defensive Dao artifacts would find it virtually impossible to withstand. This blow... It could without doubt prove whether Yaoguang's ascension was real or fake, and gauge just how much weight this newly minted "Dao Lord" carried. Yet the moment the Great Void Collapse Art struck the void where Yaoguang was, both Dao Lord Jimie and Demon Saint Kunpeng felt an unspeakable palpitation in their hearts. Not only them, but even Dao Lord Taiwei—who had immediately carried the warship and its True Monarchs far from the battlefield—felt his heart shudder. A spine-chilling dread, like an inferior encountering a superior or prey crossing paths with its natural predator, surged into their hearts. The instant that sensation arose, they suddenly felt their control over the Grand Dao of the Void drop noticeably. This drop was not a decrease in their share of void power, but an indescribable sense of being diminished. It was as if their fusion with the Grand Dao of the Void had become less intimate than before. Right then, the Great Void Collapse Art struck Yaoguang's body without reservation. Throughout the entire process, Yaoguang stood in that space without making the slightest move to dodge, simply letting the force of the Great Void Collapse envelop and strike his body completely. He let the space around him be crushed, pulverized, and disintegrated by the power of the Grand Dao of the Void. "Yaoguang!" "Fellow Daoist?!" This sight caused Dao Lord Juntian and Dao Lord Dihui to cry out in alarm. Even Dao Lord Penglai's expression shifted slightly. However... In the end, she once more chose to trust Yaoguang. Just as she had trusted him before when he forged a pinnacle Dao artifact, and when he achieved instantaneous Dao Integration. Buzz! Buzz! Violent spatial turbulence laced with intense void tremors filled the space where Yaoguang stood, but the omnipresent power of the Grand Dao of the Void quickly mended it. Yet... As the Grand Dao of the Void repaired that region, a figure gradually emerged from the turbulent void power. Letting the void power capable of tearing any matter to shreds wash relentlessly over him, step by step, he walked out of the twisted, chaotic space. The moment they saw that figure clearly, Juntian and Dihui both let out a sigh of relief. "It's Yaoguang?!" "He's unharmed! Excellent!" Even Dao Lord Penglai's lips curved into a faint smile. "How can this be..." Dao Lord Jimie's face drained of color. He endured it?! Yaoguang... A newly ascended Dao Lord had actually withstood a direct strike from his Great Void Collapse Art?! Yaoguang's gaze cut across the warped space, settling upon this Dao Lord of the Void. Then... "Come," he said, beckoning with a hand. Such contempt instantly ignited Dao Lord Jimie's fury. "You seek death!" In the next breath, void power surged around him once more as an even more violent force of annihilation coalesced about his form. Yet before this force could reach its peak, Yaoguang's eyes brightened abruptly as he looked at him. It was merely a glance, yet Dao Lord Jimie distinctly sensed that mobilizing his void power had suddenly become arduous. It was as though another source of power was dragging him down from behind, preventing him from bringing his strength to its fullest. Yet the pressing battle left him no time to hesitate. Without waiting for the Great Void Collapse Art to reach peak power, he gestured, and the space-shattering power hurtled once again toward Yaoguang. "Watch out!" Dao Lord Dihui urgently warned. Yet facing this fresh strike of the Great Void Collapse Art, Yaoguang still made no move to evade. He did not even cast a Dao art, relying solely on his comprehension of the Grand Dao of the Void... He simply extended his hand, pushing flat out against the Great Void Collapse Art crashing down from Dao Lord Jimie. Buzz! Buzz! The instant his right hand met the Great Void Collapse Art, an invisible ripple seemed to wash outward. The convergence and clash of the Grand Dao of the Void against the Grand Dao of the Void reached an unprecedented zenith within that tiny pocket of space and fleeting breath of time. For a fraction of a second, time and space seemed to freeze. And in the very next instant... The crashing Great Void Collapse Art was fundamentally and utterly unraveled. Every ounce of void power contained within it shattered into nothingness. A devastating strike powerful enough to obliterate hundreds of thousands of li across Beihai Star fell upon Yaoguang only to dissolve into a gentle breeze... Calling it a gentle breeze was not entirely accurate—at most, it was a moderate gale, strong enough only to whip Yaoguang's robes and send his long hair flying, without inflicting the slightest real harm. Calm and unhurried. Effortless and understated. Such utter ease caused the pupils of Demon Venerable Black Moon, God Venerable Radiance, Demon Saint Yulin, and Demon Saint Kunpeng—all locked in combat with the Dao Lords of the Ten Immortal Sects—to contract violently at the same time. Not only those foreign Dao Integration experts, but even Juntian, Dihui, Qingya, Danding, and Taiwei of the Ten Immortal Sects could not help but widen their eyes in shock. "This..." Words failed them. Yet Yaoguang paid no heed to the astounded Dao Lords. His gaze remained fixed on Dao Lord Jimie. "Again," he said, gesturing for him to continue. "How can this be..." Dao Lord Jimie's mind suffered a severe blow. Yet a Dao Lord was not someone who would collapse over such a thing. In mere moments, he channeled an even vaster tide of void power... Of course, what was called a vast tide was noticeably weaker compared to his usual combat strength. It was as though the power of the void was being controlled and suppressed by some terrifying entity; where he could once easily draw ten tenths of his power, now even with every ounce of effort, he could summon three or four tenths at best. Once gathered, this void power quickly coalesced into a relatively massive Void Sword, which slashed down violently toward the space Yaoguang occupied. "No matter what defensive Dao art you possess, break for me!" Whoosh! Renowned within the path of the void as the preeminent art for piercing defenses and shattering formations, the Void Sword carried violent spatial tremors as it shot ruthlessly before Yaoguang. This time, all the Dao Lords opened their eyes wide in unison, determined to see what method Yaoguang had used to dismantle Jimie's Great Void Collapse Art earlier. Yet... There was nothing. Yaoguang still did not deploy a single Dao art. He simply reached out, his five fingers splayed wide, and the moment the massive Void Sword struck toward his body, he clamped his hand firmly around this blade formed entirely of void power. A void power that was not necessarily stronger, but far more precise, delicate, and agile, instantly seeped from his fingers and permeated into the Void Sword. In less than a second... As his fingers tightened, the massive Void Sword violently collapsed, exploding into visible void ripples that washed outward in all directions. The shockwave formed by the dissipating void reached across tens of thousands of li. Dao Lord Jimie felt as though all strength had been drained from his body, and the impact of the exploding spatial shockwave knocked him involuntarily onto the ground. "This is impossible!" He stared fixedly at the figure who had crushed the full-power Void Sword without using a single Dao art... All at once, he felt the unshakeable confidence and pride within him come crashing down.