A bizarre ascension to the throne—truly an act of treason and impiety.

Wang Hao withdrew his gaze and looked back at the Giant Hand.

As the eerie domain unfolded, the true form of the Giant Hand was finally revealed.

It was not just a hand—it was a towering black mountain formed by the fusion of countless bizarre creatures.

The shape of the mountain indeed resembled an upright palm, with five steep black peaks as its fingers. The palm itself was the main body of the mountain, its back covered with dense, strange patterns.

Every inch of the mountain’s surface crawled with all sorts of strange beings—some twisted humanoid figures, some malformed beasts, some shattered magical artifacts, and others simply a mass of writhing black slime.

These bizarre creatures crawled, writhed, devoured one another, and fused together on the mountain’s surface, forming a complete, living ecosystem.

At the mountain’s summit, where the palm’s center would be, a fist-sized eye slowly rotated.

Within its pupil, Wang Hao’s figure was reflected, along with the walls of Zhen Nan Pass and the entire land shrouded by the eerie domain.

“Human Emperor,” the mountain’s voice echoed through the eerie domain,

“Do you still believe you can defeat me?”

It used the pronoun “me” reserved for emperors.

Wang Hao raised an eyebrow slightly. “You call yourself ‘me’ too? Just who do you think you are to claim the title of emperor?”

“I am the Emperor of Anomalies,” the mountain answered with an air of unquestionable arrogance.

“I have ruled all anomalies in this sea for seventy thousand years. Seventy thousand years ago, your first Human Emperor had not yet been born, and your martial civilization had not even begun to sprout.”

“Back then, I was already at the peak of Level Nine—and now, I am just one step away from Level Ten. Once I reach Level Ten, I will be the first Emperor of Anomalies in the world.”

Wang Hao fell silent for three breaths.

Then he said something that even stunned the mountain.

“You’ve lived quite a long time. Seventy thousand years—while I’ve barely lived over twenty. By years lived, you do have the right to call yourself ‘me.’”

He shifted his tone, a sharp edge appearing in his smile: “But by strength—you, a mere Level Nine and a half anomaly, bullying me, a junior at the first tier of the Martial God realm—isn’t that embarrassing?”

“Embarrassing?” The mountain’s voice carried a hint of confusion.

“Anomalies do not respect seniority, only strength. If you are weak, you deserve to be devoured by me.”

“Well said,” Wang Hao nodded.

“I once told a similar thing to an old immortal. His name was Li Cangming, half-step Transcendent, who brought forty Martial Gods to attack me. Do you know where he is now?”

The mountain remained silent.

“He’s recuperating in Zhongzhou. I killed twenty-nine of his forty Martial Gods. His letter of apology is still engraved in my imperial garden,” Wang Hao said with a smile as bright as if chatting about the weather.

“Want to know how I did it?”

The mountain was silent for a moment, then let out a deep, rumbling laugh.

The laughter echoed through the eerie domain, like ten thousand drums pounding at once.

“Human Emperor, you are quite the talker,” the mountain’s voice held a trace of interest.

“But stalling won’t help. I can see your entire army will need at least half a month to arrive. I’ll give you half a month—after that, I will personally savor you and your people.”

With that, the eerie domain suddenly vanished.

The purple sky, the boiling black sea, the terrifying sense of oppression—all of it instantly returned to normal. The black mist still shrouded the surface of the South Sea, the nine level-nine Anomalies still prowled within the fog, and the Giant Hand still hovered ominously above the mist.

It was as if everything that had just happened was nothing but an illusion.

But Wang Hao knew better.

Cold sweat drenched his back.

That brief confrontation, lasting barely the time of a single incense stick, had drained at least thirty percent of his nation’s fortune.

The divine will that directly targeted his soul, transmitted through telepathic sound, sapped his national shield every time it rang out. Had it not been for the overwhelming will of the people, he might have already had his soul shattered by that voice.

He slowly descended onto the city wall of Zhen Nan Pass, his steps slower than usual.

He Lanyue struggled forward, "Your Majesty—"

"I'm fine." Wang Hao waved him off, a smile still on his face. "I just had a little chat with that thing. It’s surprisingly reasonable—it gave me half a month to prepare."

"Half a month?" He Lanyue was stunned. "Why would it give us time?"

"Because it thinks I'm not tasty enough yet," Wang Hao said with a self-mocking smile.

"It wants to wait until my entire army is assembled, until everyone’s hopes are pinned on me, and then swallow me whole."

He Lanyue’s face darkened considerably.

"So what do we do now?"

"What do we do?" Wang Hao raised an eyebrow.

"Since it gave me half a month, I’ll use that time to set a trap it’ll never forget. Issue orders—accelerate the march of all troops. Notify the Ministry of Works to transport all rune materials in the Eastern Wasteland’s stockpiles to Zhen Nan Pass. Notify the Ministry of Revenue to fully supply the Southern Frontier defenses with spirit stones. Notify—"

He paused, a cold smile creeping onto his lips.

"Notify the Demon Lord—his ‘Ten Thousand Demons Burning Blood’ technique might just save us. Tell him to bring all the dark legion’s cultivators skilled in formations and seals. I want to set up a massive, multi-layered trap outside Zhen Nan Pass—not the scale that can kill twenty-nine Martial Gods, but one that can trap nine level-nine Anomalies plus a half-step tenth-tier Anomaly."

He Lanyue gasped, "Your Majesty, how many spirit stones will that require—"

"All of them," Wang Hao cut him off. "Every last spirit stone from the Eastern Wasteland reserves. If we can’t win, then so be it. But if we do, the spirit stone mines of the South Sea will be ours. And if we lose—what good are the spirit stones? They’ll just be devoured by that ghostly thing anyway."

He turned to look out over the sea, still veiled in black mist, a hint of madness in his smile.

"It said it is the Emperor of Anomalies. I am also an emperor. A war between two emperors—the loser will see their nation destroyed."

The Heavenly Sword at his waist rang out sharply.

"Wang Hao, I suddenly find myself very fond of this opponent."

"Because it calls me ‘Your Majesty’? Because it’s as wild as I am?"

"No," the voice of the Heavenly Sword was filled with excitement.

"Because it is an Anomaly—Anomalies have no morals, no rules, no bottom line. Fighting it requires no adherence to chivalrous codes, no concern for the gossip of the world."

“You can use the most shameless, the most devious, the most brazen methods to trap it. If you win, you’re a hero; if you lose, no one will blame you—after all, it’s even more shameless than you.”

Wang Hao smiled.

That smile carried a certain unwavering certainty that strangely put people at ease.

“Well said. This time, I won’t hold back any rules—do whatever’s dirty, whatever’s ruthless, whatever’s shameless.”

He patted the scabbard of the Heavenly Sword.

“In half a month, I’ll make that damned thing realize that when it comes to shamelessness, humans are truly the lords of all beings.”

The half-month passed in the blink of an eye.

During this period, the Great Xia Empire unleashed a war potential that shocked everyone.

Thirty guards of the Imperial Army and the Capital Garrison broke camp from the capital. Using a combination of teleportation arrays and forced marches, they all arrived at the Southern Frontier Province within ten days. Nearly 400,000 troops joined forces with the local garrison’s forty guards, bringing the total to almost one million soldiers. Every city in the Southern Frontier Province was completely evacuated; civilians were relocated inland, and the cities were converted into military camps and arsenals.

Five hundred naval warships assembled in the Zhen Nan Pass sea area. The elite vessels of the Eastern Sea Fleet and Southern Sea Fleet were all present. Each ship was equipped with the latest improved rune cannons—etched with the “Anti-Phantom Rune,” developed by the Ministry of Works’ Rune Division. This new rune was specifically designed to counter the Phantoms, boasting three times the power of ordinary anti-phantom runes.

The Demon Lord led his elite force of 100,000 from the Dark City, making a forced march to Zhen Nan Pass. Though the Demon Lord’s Demonic Blood Burning Technique was rapidly consuming his lifespan, a pill Wang Hao had provided—obtained through a system check-in—temporarily stabilized his condition.

All thirty Skyflight Realm Ancients had gathered, bringing the total number of Skyflight Realm experts at Zhen Nan Pass to over fifty.

As for the Martial God Realm, besides Wang Hao, Wang Wudi, and Wang Jingxuan (who successfully broke through to the Martial God Realm after taking the Martial God Barrier-Breaking Pill given by Wang Hao), the Demon Lord brought six gang leaders with him. Along with two wandering Martial Gods summoned from various parts of the Eastern Wilderness, Zhen Nan Pass now hosted twelve Martial Gods—most still in the early Martial God Realm, but this was the strongest force ever assembled in the history of the Eastern Wilderness Empire.

Three hundred rune masters from the Ministry of Works’ Rune Division had been stationed outside Zhen Nan Pass for half a month. They carved over ten thousand rune arrays on the ground, planted thousands of trigger runic bombs underwater, and deployed hundreds of floating array nodes in the sky. All these rune arrays were interconnected, forming a massive, multi-layered trap covering hundreds of miles—the “Ninefold Anti-Phantom Array.”

This formation was an improved version of an ancient array map Wang Hao received from the system check-in, specifically designed to counter the Phantoms. Its core principle was to suppress the Phantoms’ regenerative abilities to the lowest point, then use pure spiritual energy blasts to destroy their core.

Setting up this formation consumed nearly half of the Great Xia Empire’s spiritual stone reserves. Without the spiritual stones Wang Hao brought back from Central Continent, the Eastern Wilderness would have faced a shortage for many years—just filling the ten thousand arrays required over ten billion spiritual stones. When the Minister of Works handed over the bill, his fingers trembled, but Wang Hao merely glanced at it and approved it.

“Let it be. My rule is clear—no skimping on war, and no war to save money.”

Beyond the consumption of spirit stones, there was also the toll on manpower. Over two million conscripted laborers from the Southern Frontier Province worked around the clock, tirelessly reinforcing the defenses of Zhen Nan Pass. The walls were tripled in height, the foundations dug five times deeper, and the fortress’s protective array was upgraded from level seven to level nine. Zhen Nan Pass was no longer just a strategic checkpoint—it had become a war fortress armed to the teeth.

The South Sea Dragon Clan was also mobilizing.

Ao Guang arrived at Zhen Nan Pass with his fleet of prime warriors and immediately sought an audience with Wang Hao. The Northern Sea Dragon Clan was no longer reliable. Now, the only hope for the South Sea Dragon Clan’s salvation lay with the young tyrant before them. Without hesitation, the South Sea Dragon King knelt on one knee, offering the roster of all dragon pearls of the South Sea Dragon Clan—not as a negotiation, but as an outright submission.

“Your Majesty,” Ao Guang’s voice was hoarse, his forehead pressed to the ground. “The South Sea Dragon Clan pledges the loyalty of 3.2 million souls. From this moment on, we are subjects of the Great Xia. The South Sea’s waters will be Great Xia’s territorial seas. Command us as you will; the South Sea Dragon Clan is ready to lay down their lives.”

Wang Hao took the dragon pearl roster and tossed it to Wei Zhongxian without even glancing at it.

“Ao Guang, I won’t mince words with you. How many warriors do your dragon kin have left?”

“Eighty-three thousand prime warriors, of whom seventy-four are above the Sky-Walking Realm, and five are War God Realm—myself included.”

“All of them will be enlisted in the battle ranks. Those above Sky-Walking Realm will be under Han Shanyue’s command; the War God Realm warriors will join my personal guard. The prime warriors will assist the navy in operating the rune cannons.”

Wang Hao paused, then glanced at the white-haired Dragon Queen standing behind Ao Guang. “As for the old and weak fleet, I’ve heard about their plight. Once this battle is over, I will personally erect a monument for the elderly and infirm dragons who sacrificed themselves for the South Sea Dragon Clan.”

Ao Guang’s body trembled violently. When he raised his head, golden tears filled his eyes. “I—thank Your Majesty!”

Wang Hao waved his hand and turned toward the city walls. After a few steps, he stopped, not looking back as he tossed out a final remark:

“Ao Guang, your two daughters are still with the old and weak fleet. They are safe—Ao Yue used her own cultivation to protect them.”

Ao Guang knelt silently, bowing his head three times.

On the fifteenth day at dusk, everything was ready.

On the walls of Zhen Nan Pass, Wang Hao stood clad in a black dragon robe, the Heavenly Sword hanging at his waist, the Thunder Abyss Demon Suppression Tower slowly revolving above his head. Behind him stood twelve War Gods, fifty Sky-Walking Realm warriors, nearly a million troops, and five hundred naval warships.

The Black Dragon Banner fluttered fiercely in the night wind. The five-clawed golden dragon embroidered on the flag shimmered with a dark golden light in the fading sunset.

On the southern sea, black mist began to churn.

Eight level-nine fiends lined up in a row within the black mist, their forms even more massive than half a month ago. During these two weeks, although blocked outside the defensive line by the “Ninefold Fiend Extermination Array,” they had been absorbing the world’s negative energies, growing ever stronger.

Above the black mist, the Giant Hand slowly turned over, the eye in its palm staring directly at Wang Hao on the city wall.

“Human Emperor,” the old, deep voice echoed again in Wang Hao’s mind, “half a month has passed. Is your power ready?”

Wang Hao grinned, his teeth gleaming white in the sunset.

“Ready. And you?”

“I don’t need to prepare,” the voice of the Giant Hand rang with absolute confidence. “Within the Mysterious Domain of Ten Thousand Phenomena, I am invincible.”

“Invincible?” Wang Hao raised an eyebrow.

“Do you know the last person who called himself ‘invincible’—no, a Mysterious Entity—was the Night Fiend. A level nine peak Mysterious Entity, even stronger than your eight pets combined. Do you know where it is now?”

The Giant Hand remained silent.

“It’s inside my Heavenly Sword,” Wang Hao said, patting the sword sheath at his waist. “Bit by bit, it was devoured by my sword.”

The Heavenly Sword responded with a clear, sharp chime, its blade shimmering as a phantom mouth appeared, licking its lips in the direction of the Giant Hand.

The Giant Hand’s pupils contracted slightly.