“Only after defeat can one attain enlightenment; only after breaking free from the cocoon can one transform into a butterfly. This child’s state of mind is truly terrifying!”
An elder cultivator murmured under his breath, his eyes filled with complicated emotions.
They understood far better than the younger generation just how difficult it was to take the step from the King realm to Sainthood. It required not only unparalleled talent, but also immense perseverance, great fortune, and a flawless, transparent Dao heart!
Wang Zhan had accomplished it—and before everyone’s eyes, in a manner so shocking that it left them speechless!
Prince Ji Xuanye of Great Zhou suddenly clenched his fists. The imperial dragon aura around him became unstable, and his gaze sharpened like a blade.
The compass in Xinglan’s hand stopped spinning. His expression turned incomparably solemn.
The Jiang Family's Divine King Physique, the Yaochi Saintess, and the others were equally shaken to their cores, sensing a pressure greater than any they had ever experienced.
Ling Xi stood quietly, her cool gaze sweeping over the gradually receding sacred light. A trace of understanding flashed through her eyes.
It was somewhat unexpected that Wang Zhan had been the first to take this step, but it was also entirely reasonable.
After all, the foundation of that Azure Heaven Sacred Physique was terrifyingly profound. Moreover, he had received enlightenment from the battle intent of Emperor Qingcang. With his Dao heart now clear and unblemished, his breakthrough had naturally followed as smoothly as water flowing along its course.
At the edge of the crowd, in an unremarkable corner, stood a young man.
He wore a simple black outfit and had an ordinary face—the kind that would be forgotten the instant he disappeared into a crowd.
Yet at this moment, deep within his seemingly ordinary eyes, countless bolts of lightning appeared to flicker and be born and extinguished, reflecting the soaring azure sacred radiance surrounding Wang Zhan in the distance.
His lips curved slightly upward. In a voice only he could hear, he murmured with a hint of interest, “The Azure Heaven Sacred Physique… Wang Zhan? Interesting.”
If Fatty Wang had been paying attention and carefully observed this person, he would have been shocked to discover that this was none other than the mysterious young man who had once tempered his body in the heavenly lightning of Wind-Thunder Valley!
At the very instant Wang Zhan stabilized his sacred might and achieved the status of a Saint—
“Rumble!”
A terrifying pressure that made one’s soul tremble descended without warning!
This pressure did not come from the stone wall, nor did it come from any of the cultivators. It came from above!
It came from the vast sky beyond the Emperor’s Tomb!
Although the countless restrictions within the Emperor’s Tomb blocked it, the might of the heavenly tribulation still pierced through some of those barriers. Like a dark cloud, it enveloped the hearts of every newly ascended Saint.
“It’s the heavenly tribulation! The tribulation for attaining Sainthood!”
An experienced elder cultivator turned pale with shock and cried out.
“The tribulation clouds are gathering outside the Emperor’s Tomb! What terrifying power!”
Just as the might of heaven and earth reached its peak and was about to descend—just as it was on the verge of forcibly tearing through the restrictions of the Emperor’s Tomb and locking onto the person undergoing the tribulation—
Gu Changge looked up at the sky and said, “This is the resting place of a Great Emperor, a place of eternal slumber. It must not be disturbed. Disperse!”
The instant his words fell, the terrifying tribulation aura that had enveloped the souls of everyone present was erased as though by an invisible hand, vanishing without a trace!
The tribulation clouds dispersed, but an indistinct imprint of the laws of heaven and earth quietly pierced through the void and settled onto Wang Zhan, who had just attained Sainthood, like a brand.
This imprint meant that the heavenly tribulation had not disappeared. It had merely been delayed.
Once he left the Emperor’s Tomb and saw daylight again, the heavenly tribulation that had accumulated for even longer—and might possess even more terrifying power—would arrive as promised. It could even be more violent than before!
In front of the stone wall, complete silence descended.
Everyone had been stunned by this bizarre scene.
“What happened to the heavenly tribulation?”
“Could it have been blocked by the Emperor’s Tomb?”
“It must be! The might of the Emperor is vast, and all techniques are powerless before it. Who would have thought it could even isolate a heavenly tribulation?”
For a time, the crowd began discussing the matter animatedly, their hearts filled with awe and admiration for the methods of the Great Emperor.
They all believed that the Emperor’s Tomb itself possessed some wondrous power that had protected Wang Zhan and temporarily delayed his tribulation.
Wang Zhan had naturally sensed the arrival of the heavenly tribulation, the obstruction created by the Emperor’s might, and the imprint of the laws of heaven and earth that had ultimately settled upon him.
He slowly opened his eyes. Divine light was contained within them, while sacred might naturally flowed around his body.
He had succeeded in breaking through. He had become the first peerless figure among the younger generation to enter the Saint realm!
He—Wang Zhan!
He had lived up to the potential of a Great Emperor!
His calm gaze swept across the faces around him—faces filled with shock, envy, wariness, and fighting spirit—before finally settling on Battle Asura and Sword in White.
The sacred power within his body, vast as an ocean and far surpassing what he had possessed before his breakthrough, surged through him. It brought with it an absolute confidence born of having everything under his control.
At this moment, his earlier eagerness to fight Battle Asura had settled and sublimated into something deeper.
Challenging someone in the King realm while he was a Saint would be somewhat akin to bullying him.
“Battle Asura, once you achieve Sainthood, you and I can—”
Before he could finish, his gaze inadvertently swept over the person standing behind Xiao Ruobai’s shoulder.
It was Fatty Wang, wearing a foolishly honest smile while his beady eyes darted slyly over Wang Zhan’s body.
With that seemingly casual glance, Wang Zhan’s voice abruptly stopped.
The words “a fair battle” and the like instantly became lodged in his throat.
Those unpleasant memories came crashing down upon his mind, dousing the heat that his recent breakthrough had stirred within him!
One must never underestimate anyone—especially not someone as monstrously talented as his opponent.
Thank goodness. Thank goodness he had nearly gone too far.
Wang Zhan’s expression stiffened and changed almost imperceptibly for an instant.
He forcibly changed the direction of his words. “No, why wait until you become a Saint? Once matters in the Emperor’s Tomb are settled, we shall fight again!”
However, the instant his words fell, a cool and melodious voice rang out calmly.
“There is no need for Senior Brother to fight.”
Ling Xi, who had remained standing quietly to one side as though isolated from the surrounding noise, took half a step forward.
Her gaze was indifferent as it settled on Wang Zhan.
“After we leave the Emperor’s Tomb, I shall personally experience the true power of the Azure Heaven Sacred Physique of the Desolate Ancient Wang Family.”
The moment these words were spoken, everyone turned their eyes toward Ling Xi. Shock and a sense of utter absurdity immediately filled their faces.
Wang Zhan, a newly ascended Saint, had issued a challenge to Battle Asura, who had once defeated him. Though unexpected, that was still within the realm of reason.
But this person had actually taken the initiative to step forward and accept her senior brother’s challenge on his behalf.
Some recognized her as the Cyan Rakshasa, who had fought earlier. Her combat power was indeed formidable.
But she was only in the King realm!
No matter how powerful she was, could she really defeat a Saint?
And her opponent was Wang Zhan, who had just broken through, whose momentum was surging, and whose sacred physique had reached perfection!
Wang Zhan’s pupils also contracted slightly.
He studied Ling Xi deeply, sensing the tremendous energy contained within her seemingly delicate body.
“Good!”
Wang Zhan uttered only one word, but it carried a weight as heavy as a mountain.
“Outside the Emperor’s Tomb, I will be waiting for you.”
Behind Xiao Ruobai, Fatty Wang and Mo Yu exchanged a glance when they heard Ling Xi accept the challenge. Their expressions became strange.
They simultaneously recalled Ling Xi’s astonishing display earlier—the terrifying technique with which she had nearly crushed a Saint King to death with a single finger.
When they looked at Wang Zhan again, there was no worry in their eyes. Instead, they revealed a trace of extremely subtle sympathy.
They thought to themselves, “Brother Wang, Brother Wang… You’d better pray for your own safety.”
As the commotion caused by Wang Zhan gradually subsided and everyone’s attention returned to comprehending the stone wall and competing for the Emperor Scripture—
No one noticed that, at the edge of the core region of the Emperor’s Tomb, the space in the shadow of a shattered corridor pillar, where the light was dim, stirred with an almost imperceptible ripple.
A thin, withered old monk draped in a dark golden kasaya, his aura obscure and unfathomable as an ancient well, quietly emerged like a ghost. He was none other than the Western Regions Buddhist elder who had come to investigate Fakong’s death.
to panic—he has a system. As long as an investment target dies, he can claim a reward. And since he is immortal, the one thing he has plenty of is time. ... Countless years later. “Immortal Emperor of Longevity? I invested in him.” “Supreme Celestial Venerable? I invested in him.” “Undying Empress? I invested in her.” “...” “Heh. Once they’ve all died, even the Heavenly Dao will have to kneel and call me Dad.”
he colors of other people’s emotions. Light red meant anxiety. Gray meant exhaustion. Orange meant excitement. Yellow... meant repression. At the same time, he could gain unlimited control over one of those colors. Pale cyan: relaxation. Using this ability, he started offering “two-yuan hugs,” spending an afternoon exchanging emotional-color experiences with others. Then came his final female customer of the day— a girl whose emotional color was pure black... —— A week later, Xu Chuan had become skilled at using pale cyan—Relaxation—treating it like a bottle of menthol balm whenever he needed it. That was when he discovered he had unlocked another unlimited emotional color: Purple, the color of fear. So these emotional colors refresh every week? Fine, I take it back—I’ll never call you useless again... —— Much later, after Xu Chuan had accumulated countless emotional abilities, one night, he suddenly found himself inside someone else’s dream. There, he could use the emotional colors he possessed to paint. And in her dream, he painted her a shower of pink shooting stars, spreading across the depths of the night sky...
his freshman year, Su Bai accidentally bound the "Indulgence Tycoon System." 【Sleeping in? Reward: +$1,000】 【Spent $288 at a street barbecue stall? Cashback: +$2,880】 【Dropped $14,396 on in-game skins? Special reward unlocked: A brand-new Porsche Panamera!】 Luxury cars, penthouses, corporate shares, financial empires… College life was all about living freely and doing whatever he pleased! … When the adorably naive academic genius faced family medical bills and financial struggles, Su Bai waved his hand dismissively: "Your future is on me." "Wuwu~ Big Brother is so good to me! I’ll become a scientist to repay you!" When the genius girl got bullied by a shady professor? Su Bai casually dropped a billion-dollar investment, forcing the university to grovel and beg for her return. A company’s funding chain collapsing? Su Bai smirked—cash was the one thing he’d never run out of. Years later, when people traced the rise of the AI prodigy beauty, who was the man behind her success? Not just that—Su Bai also became the tsundere campus belle’s unattainable dream, the contrast senior’s daily necessity, and the beautiful counselor’s emotional anchor…
lity and could only live as an ordinary mortal. He only wished to live a peaceful life. Yet he didn't know— The dog he adopted, because it ate his food, became a legendary demon king. The kitchen knife he casually forged became a peerless divine weapon, causing numerous experts to fight desperately for it. The young disciple he took in became an immortal lord that led an era, due to cultivating the techniques Ye Feng taught him. Even the skeletons he looked down on the most were ominous demon kings that suppressed countless worlds. Many years later, looking at the void shattered with a punch, Ye Feng murmured to himself: It turns out the peerless kings were myself all along...
