Would you be willing to recognize me as your master

"Do you really think that wearing fine clothes and taking up a lousy spot makes you some big shot? I think your brains have been washed dumb by the Dao rhythm!"

The fan-wielding youth and the arm-crossing cultivator were both stunned, clearly not expecting this inconspicuous fatty to be such a capable fighter.

After reacting, the fan-wielding youth shouted angrily, "You dare make a move? You're courting death!"

With that, he waved his folding fan, and several golden wind blades slashed toward Fatty Wang.

Fatty Wang dodged sideways. Flipping his chubby hand, he pulled out a low-tier lightning talisman from his storage bag and crushed it with a crack. "Your grandpa doesn't even need to get serious to beat you!"

Lightning exploded, instantly enveloping the fan-wielding youth and the arm-crossing cultivator.

Caught off guard, the two were struck by the lightning. Their bodies went numb, and their spiritual energy stagnated. Just as they wanted to retreat, Fatty Wang rushed forward, slapping them left and right. Two resounding slaps landed on their faces, hitting them so hard that their teeth loosened.

"Get lost!"

Fatty Wang kicked the fan-wielding youth in the chest. With a muffled thud, the youth flew backward like a kite with a broken string, rolling several times on the bluestone slabs before finally sprawling on the ground in a miserable posture.

Blood welled up from the corner of his mouth. His jade crown shattered into pieces, and his dark hair stuck messily to his bloodstained cheeks. His originally luxurious brocade robe was covered in dust and gravel, completely losing its original appearance.

The arm-crossing cultivator beside him had just struggled to prop up half his body when he met Fatty Wang's fierce gaze. He felt as if he had been struck by a heavy blow and slumped back down with a thud.

Fatty Wang put his hands on his hips, just about to mock them, when Fang Hanyu, who had been standing quietly to the side, suddenly moved.

A cold light flashed in his eyes. The Absolute Beginning Sword at his waist let out a soft, autonomous hum, and an extremely sharp killing intent instantly spread out, precisely locking onto the three wretched figures.

The fan-wielding youth and his companions stiffened all over, feeling as if they had plunged into an ice cellar.

Cold sweat dripped down their spines. They even forgot to breathe; only the coppery taste of blood kept rising in their throats.

They clearly sensed that the killing intent was like a physical sword blade, pressing firmly against their throats. If the other party moved a finger, they would be decapitated.

Fang Hanyu turned his head, his gaze falling on Xiao Ruobai. His telepathic voice carried a bit of coldness: "With this kind of people, beating the young will inevitably bring out the old. It's better to just eliminate them to prevent future troubles."

Xiao Ruobai's expression remained unchanged. He just looked at the pale, trembling figures, slightly raised his fingertips, and replied telepathically as well.

"There are many people here, a mixed bag of good and bad. Killing them in public will easily cause more trouble. If their old ones come, we can deal with them all together."

The cold light in Fang Hanyu's eyes slowly faded, and the hum of the Absolute Beginning Sword fell silent. That suffocating killing intent receded completely like the tide, as if it had never appeared.

Fatty Wang looked at their fleeing, wretched backs and spat, "Bah, consider yourselves fast runners!"

He turned to look at Fang Hanyu, chuckled, and gave a thumbs-up: "Second Brother, you're still the best! You scared the piss out of them with just one look!"

Fang Hanyu didn't respond. He simply walked to an empty spot in silence, sat cross-legged, and began to comprehend the Dao rhythm.

Xiao Ruobai also walked to the side, sat down, and closed his eyes to focus his mind.

Seeing this, Fatty Wang didn't dare to make any more noise. He hastily found a spot to sit and also began trying to comprehend.

...

On the other side, in the Forbidden Zone of the Ancient Abyss of Annihilation!

Gu Changge listened to the words of the Lord of Annihilation, his brows slightly furrowed. His fingertips unconsciously tapped the void, producing a faint rhythm that seemed capable of piercing through time and space.

"Continuous extraction and stripping... the foundation of the Black Yellow Great World is being hollowed out."

He muttered to himself, a trace of solemnity in his tone.

"If this continues, the spiritual energy of this world will become increasingly thin, and the Great Dao will become ever more obscure. Eventually, it will completely enter... the Dharma Decline Age."

His gaze seemed to pierce through the eons, seeing a future where spiritual energy was exhausted, the path of the Dao was severed, and cultivators were reduced to mere legends.

That was not just the severing of the Emperor's path, but the slow demise of the entire cultivation civilization.

His words were like a cold blade, piercing the silence in the hall.

The Lord of Annihilation lay in the coffin, the death aura around him trembling slightly. Evidently, he was also touched by this cruel future. Even though he chose to linger on using the power of annihilation, if the origin of the world was exhausted, he would ultimately not escape the fate of his Dao vanishing and his body dying.

Gu Changge slowly raised his eyes, his gaze once again falling upon the Lord of Annihilation.

That gaze was no longer peaceful, but instead carried a scrutiny that pierced through everything, as if it could see through the death aura surrounding the other party to clearly view all his secrets from across the ages.

From the glory of ascending to the Emperor Realm in the past, to the helplessness of severing his own Dao foundation and retreating into the forbidden zone, and then to the ignoble existence of relying on the Myriad Annihilation Return to Origin Grand Array to steal the residual rhythm of heaven and earth over these years.

After what felt as long as a century, or perhaps just an instant, Gu Changge slowly withdrew his gaze.

"You should consider yourself lucky."

Gu Changge's voice was flat and waveless, yet it carried a sense of judgment.

"You chose to prolong your ignoble life with the intent of annihilation, stealing the residual rhythm of heaven and earth, rather than devouring the essence of living beings and blood-sacrificing the common people to maintain your decayed Emperor body."

Hearing this, the Lord of Annihilation's soul suddenly relaxed, immediately followed by boundless lingering fear and rejoicing.

When he severed his own cultivation and retreated into the forbidden zone back then, there were indeed many evil methods to prolong his life to choose from. Devouring living beings and blood-sacrificing all souls were the fastest and most effective ways.

But he ultimately chose the most difficult and most gentle path of annihilation, assimilating with this ancient battlefield to absorb the residual intent of annihilation.

So... so this actually became the key to leaving him a sliver of hope for survival today?!

If he had chosen that bloody path back then, he would probably have been reduced to ashes by a single thought from this supreme existence by now!

"To be able to prove the Dao and become an Emperor in ancient times, creating this unique path of annihilation, and lingering on in this manner..."

Gu Changge gave a slight nod, his tone carrying a faint, almost imperceptible hint of approval.

"It can be considered that you have some means and... a bottom line."

The Lord of Annihilation had just felt a bit of relief because of this hint of approval, but Gu Changge's next sentence made his soul violently shake once again.

"Are you willing to acknowledge me as your master?"

The voice was flat, yet it was like a thunderbolt from the nine heavens, exploding deep within the Lord of Annihilation's soul!

Acknowledge a master?!

A dignified Emperor of a generation, even if he had severed his cultivation, even if he was lingering on his last breath, he was once an existence who ruled over the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, wielding the Mandate of Heaven! How could he acknowledge someone else as his master?!

Endless humiliation and the pride of an Emperor instantly erupted in the Lord of Annihilation's heart!

"You—!"

The Lord of Annihilation's soul fluctuated violently due to extreme anger and humiliation. The death aura surged, almost losing control!

Even facing an incomprehensibly terrifying existence, the pride deeply rooted in his Emperor soul did not allow him to easily bow his proud head!

However, Gu Changge seemed not to see his anger. He merely added a sentence indifferently. The voice was not loud, but it instantly overwhelmed all his anger and pride:

"What if... I can make you return to your peak?"

"..." The Lord of Annihilation's anger instantly solidified, and the surging death aura was as if frozen in ice.

Return to... the peak?!