Old Huang Becomes Emperor

“Master… Master…”

Lao Huang raised its tear- and mud-streaked bovine face. Its enormous eyes blinked, filled with a glimmer of incredulous hope.

“You mean… even I, Lao Huang, can…?”

Gu Changge said nothing more. With a light sweep of his sleeve, a gentle yet irresistible force instantly enveloped Lao Huang.

Before Lao Huang could react, the scene before its eyes blurred. Space and time twisted, and in the next instant, it had already left the familiar Purple Bamboo Peak.

It found itself in an unfamiliar realm steeped in ancient aura and boundless Dao resonance, where spiritual energy was so dense that it condensed into droplets floating through the air.

“Th-This is…?” Lao Huang’s eyes widened as it curiously surveyed its surroundings.

This place was utterly unlike the Profound Yellow Realm. It was more primordial, more complete, brimming with the vibrant vitality of the very moment heaven and earth had first been born.

And yet, it also carried an unsurpassable majesty, as though it were the core source of the entire world.

“Calm your mind. Focus your spirit.”

Gu Changge’s tranquil voice sounded directly within Lao Huang’s sea of consciousness.

Immediately afterward, Lao Huang felt a vast power of the world, as boundless as a sea of stars, along with Creation Qi so pure it seemed to have reached the ultimate extreme.

They poured in from every direction, washing over and remaking every inch of its flesh, bones, and even its soul through a method it could not comprehend, yet found incomparably profound.

This transformation was completely different from the previous ones.

It was no longer merely an accumulation of strength, but a leap in the very essence of life—a deeper understanding of, and fusion with, the Dao.

Lao Huang did not dare let its guard down. It immediately lowered its body, closed its eyes, and focused its mind, circulating its cultivation technique with all its might as it guided this unprecedentedly vast power.

Within this independent minor world, time itself seemed to lose all meaning.

Lao Huang immersed itself in the deepest state of enlightenment. It seemed to witness the birth and evolution of the world, the miracle of life emerging from nothingness, and the most primordial form of the Dao itself.

Nourished by endless Dao resonance and chaotic primordial qi, its body underwent earth-shattering changes.

Its dark azure hide grew ever deeper in color, gleaming with an indestructible luster. The innate Dao patterns upon its body intertwined and resonated with the laws of heaven and earth, emanating an aura that was heavy, ancient, and seemingly capable of bearing all things.

Its aura began to rise at a steady yet unwavering pace, launching its final assault toward that supreme realm.

Before the union of inner and outer Creation, the barrier at the peak of the Quasi-Emperor Realm melted away silently, like spring snow beneath the sun.

A new understanding surged into its heart. It was as though it had broken free from some invisible shackle and beheld a far broader, more boundless heaven and earth.

The nature of its power underwent a qualitative transformation. It became more condensed and more restrained, yet concealed within it a mighty force capable of shaking heaven and earth.

As Lao Huang’s aura erupted in full, endless lightning energy gathered from all directions, forming a sea of tribulation clouds that blanketed hundreds of millions of miles of void!

The might of this lightning tribulation was in no way inferior to the Emperor Ascension Tribulation of the Profound Yellow Realm. Indeed, because it was formed from purer fundamental laws, it appeared even more direct and terrifying!

Every hair on Lao Huang’s body stood on end as it sensed a lethal threat. Yet this also stirred the fierce courage buried in its bones, along with the steadfast resilience of the earth itself.

With a thunderous roar, profound yellow radiance burst forth from its body as it faced the heavenly might head-on.

No one knew how much time had passed before the final tribulation bolt—infused with the intents of Creation and Destruction, as thick as a river of stars—was forcefully shattered and absorbed by Lao Huang using his nascent Imperial Dao laws.

The boundless storm clouds gradually dispersed, releasing a sweet rain condensed from the purest origin essence of the world. It nourished Lao Huang’s battered yet infinitely vital Imperial body.

Lao Huang stood tall in the void. His newly reborn body possessed a warm, weighty dark-yellow hue; patterns of mountains, rivers, and earth veins naturally formed beneath his skin, while indestructible Dao laws were branded upon his bones.

A vast, profound, supreme Imperial might—capable of bearing all creation—slowly spread outward like an ancient divine mountain awakening from its slumber!

The seat of the Great Emperor had been attained!

“Moo—!!!”

A deep, resonant bellow filled with boundless joy burst from his chest.

This was no longer merely a sound. It carried the rhythm of Imperial Dao laws, causing lotuses to bloom in the void and golden springs to surge from the earth.

“Master! Master! I did it! I, Lao Huang, am a Great Emperor too!” Lao Huang’s booming voice was unable to conceal his exhilaration!

He had succeeded!

He, Lao Huang—the old ox who had diligently plowed fields for countless years—had finally set foot in the supreme realm of the Great Emperor!

The overwhelming joy swept away every trace of his former resentment and grievance.

Excited, Lao Huang spun around several times on the spot, testing a thread of his Imperial might.

At once, an immense and majestic aura spread outward, vast as the earth itself and seemingly capable of carrying all things. Though he quickly reined it in, even that fleeting display of power left him stunned.

“Hehe… hehehe…”

Lao Huang grinned so broadly that his teeth were fully on display, while his enormous tail whipped through the air with a loud whoosh.

With a flash of light, Lao Huang reappeared in the courtyard of Purple Bamboo Peak.

He held his head high and puffed out his chest, trying his utmost to assume the calm, dignified bearing of a Great Emperor. Yet the upward curve of his mouth and the smug delight nearly overflowing from his eyes completely betrayed him.

He slowly strutted over to Little White, his meaning perfectly obvious:

Look! I’m a Great Emperor too! We’re equals now!

Watching Lao Huang struggle to act composed despite being so delighted he was practically about to leap into the air, Gu Changge’s eyes showed a faint trace of amusement.

Yet the next moment, Gu Changge seemed to think of something. His gaze once again fell upon Lao Huang’s imposing, majestic, vitality-filled massive body.

In particular, it lingered on those smooth, powerful-looking hind legs—and the plump hindquarter meat above them.

Thoughtfully, he gave a slight nod.

Then, before anyone could react, he formed his fingers into a blade and lightly sliced through the air toward the choicest, most succulent part above Lao Huang’s hind leg.

The movement was fluid and effortless, as natural and casual as brushing away a fallen leaf.

“Shhk—!”

An invisible, formless blade intent containing supreme Dao laws swept past.

A cut of beef, bright red and enticing, glimmering faintly with golden light and giving off an indescribably fragrant aroma along with tremendous vital essence, was cleanly separated from Lao Huang’s body and suspended in midair.

The wound was smooth as a mirror. Not a single drop of blood flowed; it was instantly sealed and healed by a gentle force.

Lao Huang: “…???”

The expression of high spirits it had worn only moments ago, after ascending to the rank of Great Emperor, instantly froze upon its enormous bovine face.

Pride, excitement, swagger—all of those emotions were replaced by an utter, extreme bewilderment and shock.

Slowly, stiffly, it turned its neck and looked toward its hind leg, where a perfectly good chunk had suddenly vanished.

Then it looked at the piece of meat floating in the air—still giving off the familiar aura of its own blood and qi, painfully recognizable...

Its mind seemed to crash for a full three breaths.

Then came an immensely complicated mix of emotions: *Of course. I knew it. In the end, I still couldn’t escape it.* Along with a faint trace of grief-stricken resignation:

*“I just became an Emperor, damn it!”*