Fifteen Minutes of Checkup, the Tyrant Is Back in Action

New Emperor Sword roared, "I call that valor!"

Wang Hao said, "The difference between valor and stupidity is whether you can win."

"You lost."

"So you're stupid."

New Emperor Sword: "..."

It was so infuriated that it nearly cracked on the spot.

The Demon Lord lay sprawled on the ground, and a strange sense of peace suddenly welled up in his heart.

His Majesty was still scolding the sword.

That meant there might still be a way out.

If there was truly no solution, Wang Hao wouldn't waste energy arguing.

He'd be running faster than anyone.

Of that, the Demon Lord was utterly certain.

Ghost Granny noticed it too.

She narrowed her eyes and thought to herself, "Is His Majesty stalling for time?"

No.

It wasn't just stalling.

He seemed to be waiting for something.

Or perhaps whatever he was waiting for had already arrived.

Yue Ji gazed at Wang Hao's back, a complex expression flickering across her pale face.

She had seen countless powerhouses.

Some were domineering.

Some were cold-hearted.

Some were cunning.

Some were arrogant.

But someone like Wang Hao—standing before an Emperor Corpse beyond transcendence, while preparing his trump card and simultaneously berating his own sword into an existential crisis—she had truly never witnessed before.

What was this man's heart made of?

Was it black?

Ji Wushang, however, didn't see that layer.

Or rather, he was far too confident right now.

The Emperor Corpse had awakened, and its transcendent pressure descended upon the world.

Wang Hao couldn't even protect his own cursed artifact.

In such a situation, he couldn't imagine a way for himself to lose.

He stood at the highest point of the altar, looking down at Wang Hao.

"Wang Hao."

"You and your servant are quite amusing."

"At death's door, and still you find time to squabble among yourselves."

Wang Hao looked up at him, his eyes calm.

"Who's servant and whose master with that sword?"

New Emperor Sword immediately shouted, "I don't acknowledge it either!"

Wang Hao shook the recording jade.

New Emperor Sword's voice faltered, and it said grudgingly, "For now... there's a nominal relationship of some kind."

Ji Wushang sneered.

"Ridiculous."

"The more you act like this, the more absurd I find it."

"A man like you—how did you ever manage to get this far?"

Wang Hao thought about it seriously.

"Maybe because I'm more handsome than you."

Ji Wushang's face darkened.

Wang Hao continued, "Or maybe because I don't rely on dead men to prop up my image."

The moment those words left his mouth, the killing intent in Ji Wushang's eyes surged explosively.

But Wang Hao wasn't done.

"Ji Wushang."

"I actually admire you a little."

"When other people are incompetent, they at most call in a few helpers."

"When you're incompetent, you go dig up graves."

"Fine, you dig up graves."

"But then you dug up nine corpses and placed them on the altar to worship like ancestors—well, now there's only one left."

"What's the matter?"

"Didn't get enough kneeling while they were alive, so you want to claim a dead father before you die?"

The people of Great Xia were shaken to the core.

Ghost Granny sucked in a sharp breath.

"His Majesty's tongue..."

Yin Jiuyou muttered, "More lethal than a divine-grade martial technique."

Xue Wuhen nodded with difficulty.

"At least divine-grade techniques hit the body, not necessarily the face."

"His Majesty's words hit the ancestral graves."

The Demon Lord's mouth twitched.

He knew Wang Hao was provoking Ji Wushang's rage.

But this was just too vicious.

A man like Ji Wushang, who had schemed for eons and held himself in the highest regard, could not tolerate being called incompetent.

And Wang Hao hadn't just said it.

He had tied Ji Wushang's image to "relying on dead men to prop himself up."

That was worse than cursing his ancestors.

Because Ji Wushang was indeed currently relying on the Emperor Corpse.

Ji Wushang's face sank with terrifying gloom.

"Wang Hao."

"You're courting death."

Wang Hao smiled.

"You've said that many times."

"Too bad. I'm still alive."

Ji Wushang's hands formed seals in an instant.

All the remaining blood-red array patterns on the Nine Coffin Altar burst into flames at once.

A strange black mark emerged on his forehead, echoing the vertical line on the Emperor Corpse's brow.

"Emperor Corpse."

"Kill him."

The Emperor Corpse slowly turned its head.

Its pitch-black eyes locked onto Wang Hao.

In that instant.

The void around Wang Hao began to collapse.

It wasn't mere pressure.

It was the crushing of death's laws themselves.

The air decayed.

Spiritual energy withered.

Stone fragments crumbled to ash.

Even the imperial dragon qi on Wang Hao's body let out a low, mournful groan.

The hearts of the Great Xia people clenched tight.

"Your Majesty!"

New Emperor Sword was panicking too.

"Wang Hao!"

"Don't actually get yourself killed!"

Wang Hao shot it a sideways glance.

"Now you're worried?"

New Emperor Sword stubbornly retorted, "I'm afraid you'll die before paying me back."

Wang Hao said, "Do I owe you money?"

New Emperor Sword: "You owe me emotional damages."

Wang Hao sneered.

"And you owe me compensation for brain damage."

New Emperor Sword: "..."

Ji Wushang laughed in fury.

"Still running your mouth?"

"Then say it on your knees."

Boom!

The Emperor Corpse raised its hand.

The fourth finger descended.

This time, there were no flashy phenomena at the fingertip.

Only a pure gray-white beam of death energy, shooting straight toward Wang Hao's brow.

Where the death beam passed, space was silently sliced open.

Time itself seemed to slow for a breath.

The people of Great Xia wanted to lunge forward.

But their bodies were so crushed by the pressure they couldn't move an inch.

The Demon Lord roared, burning his demonic blood, but barely rose half a cun before being slammed back to the ground by the pressure.

Ghost Granny's eyes filled with blood.

Yue Ji's tears glittered.

Han Shanyue clawed into the rubble with both hands, all his fingernails splitting one by one.

"Your Majesty!"

New Emperor Sword vibrated wildly, trying to charge forward and block.

But it had been severely wounded by the emperor's shadow earlier, with gray-white dao scars still spreading across its blade, so it was a beat too slow.

The death beam was already at Wang Hao's face.

Triumphant cruelty surfaced in Ji Wushang's eyes.

It's over.

This so-called tyrant who had foiled him multiple times.

This variable that should never have existed.

He was finally going to die.

But then.

Just as the death beam was about to pierce Wang Hao's brow—

Wang Hao raised his hand.

Two fingers.

And gently caught the gray-white death beam between them.

The world went silent.

The Abyss of Ten Thousand Ruins went silent.

The smile on Ji Wushang's face froze.

New Emperor Sword's eyes went wide.

The Demon Lord, Ghost Granny, Yue Ji, Yin Jiuyou, Xue Wuhen, Han Shanyue—every single one of them felt as if they'd been struck by lightning.

Wang Hao stood there.

At some point, the aura that had been suppressed to the limit had transformed.

It wasn't a breakthrough in cultivation realm.

He was still at the first layer of the Martial God realm.

But his physical body, his soul, his meridians, his qi and blood, the capacity of his true essence—all seemed to have been remolded by some supreme power in a single instant.

He stood still.

Like an ancient emperor wearing the shell of a Martial God.

Nine imperial dragon qi condensed anew.

This time, each strand of dragon qi was no longer insubstantial. Scales and claws were clearly defined, dragon pupils brimming with authority, as if true dragons had descended upon the world.

The Thunder Abyss Demon-Suppressing Tower hovered above his head.

All nine layers of the tower lit up at once.

The violet lightning no longer raged chaotically. Instead, like ministers paying court to a sovereign, it fell in orderly strands around Wang Hao.

Even the cracks on New Emperor Sword's blade trembled slightly at the sensation of Wang Hao's aura.

The sword was stunned.

"You..."

"How are you suddenly good again?"

Wang Hao gently squeezed with his fingertips.

The gray-white death beam shattered.

Like a rotting thread, snapped off with ease.

He looked up at Ji Wushang, and on his face spread that familiar, gentle, skin-crawling smile.

"Ji Wushang."

"I just thought about it a moment ago."

"Running away would've been a bit embarrassing."

"So I decided."

"I'll first beat this piece of trash—who relies on dead men to prop himself up—down to his knees."

The moment the gray-white death beam shattered, the Abyss of Ten Thousand Ruins seemed to be forcibly dragged back from the jaws of death for one sharp breath.

The transcendent pressure pressing down on everyone loosened for the first time.

It wasn't because the Emperor Corpse had grown weaker.

It was because Wang Hao had grown stronger.

In that instant, the eyes of the Great Xia people turned red.

Han Shanyue's face was covered in blood and grime, a guttural growl like a wild beast rumbling from his throat.

“Your Majesty!”

The Demon Lord stared hard at Wang Hao, his mind shaken to an indescribable degree.

He couldn't sense Wang Hao breaking through to a higher realm.

Wang Hao was still at the first layer of the Martial God realm.

Yet Wang Hao's current state could no longer be understood through the lens of the first layer of the Martial God realm.

It was like a small pond suddenly gaining the embankment capable of holding an ocean.

The water was still the same water.

But the waves it could now raise were no longer comparable.

Ghost Granny's lips trembled.

“What kind of secret technique is this?”

Yin Jiuyou lay prone on the ground, muttering, “This old man does not know.”

Xue Wuhen said, “Aren't you supposed to be widely knowledgeable?”

Yin Jiuyou was silent for a moment.

“Being widely knowledgeable doesn't mean I've ever seen His Majesty being this unreasonable.”

Yue Ji gazed at Wang Hao's back, her eyes dazed.

For the first time, she felt that a person could be so shameless it made your teeth itch, and yet so reliable it made you want to cry.

Moments ago, everyone thought he was going to run.

Maybe he really had wanted to run.

But in the end, he still came back.

Or rather.

The moment he found a way to fight, he turned back without hesitation.

This was Wang Hao.

When he could run, he never forced himself to stand his ground.

When he could fight, he never showed mercy.

Scheming.

Vengeful.

Sharp-tongued.

Cautious about his own life.

But when he stood in front of the people of Great Xia, no one had any doubt.

He was the emperor.

The emperor of Great Xia.

Wang Hao paid no attention to the eyes of the crowd.

He was adapting to his body.

The Transcendence Realm Physical Examination Card.

The name was absurd.

But the effect was absurdly powerful.

After using it, he hadn't broken through in realm.

The total amount of Imperial Dao true essence in his dantian hadn't suddenly swelled to the Transcendence Realm.

But his body felt as if it had been temporarily expanded countless times over.

His meridians no longer felt like river channels.

They felt like the Milky Way.

His divine soul no longer felt like a lamp flame.

It felt like the sun and moon hanging above the imperial palace.

Every inch of his flesh could now endure the washing of a higher level of power.

Before this, when he used the Nine Swords of Heaven's Opening, his body would suffer backlash.

When he unleashed the nine consecutive strikes of the Heaven-Prisoning Earth-Covering Palm, he had to bear a terrifying burden.

The purple thunder dragon from the ninth floor of the Thunder Abyss Demon-Suppressing Tower could not be easily activated in succession either.

But now.

These restrictions had all loosened.

It wasn't without a price.

The system had made it very clear.

Fifteen minutes.

And this wasn't a healing card.

His injuries were still there.

The pain of his collapsed chest was still there.

The burning pain of his torn meridians was still there.

It was just that now, these wounds were forcibly suppressed.

Like a palace on the verge of collapse, temporarily receiving a heavenly god to hold up the beams.

Once the heavenly god left.

Collapse it would, as it was always going to.

So.

Within fifteen minutes, the situation had to be resolved.

Wang Hao counted silently in his heart.

Fifteen minutes.

It sounded like a decent amount of time.

But against the Transcendence Emperor Corpse, it was far from luxurious.

He looked up at Ji Wushang.

The expression on Ji Wushang's face had finally lost its composure.

He stared hard at Wang Hao, shock and confusion in his eyes, along with a barely concealed fury.

“Impossible.”

“How could you possibly block the Emperor Corpse's death ray?”

Wang Hao said flatly, “Because His Majesty is in good health.”

Ji Wushang: “…”

The crowd: “…”

At a time like this, you're still going to spout nonsense?

The New Emperor Sword wobbled over from the ruins.

It stared at Wang Hao with a suspicious look.

“Did you secretly eat something behind this sword's back?”

Wang Hao glanced at it.

“This emperor is not like you, eating all sorts of filth.”

The New Emperor Sword was furious.

“This sword calls that devouring evolution!”

Wang Hao said, “And how did that turn out?”

The New Emperor Sword's face darkened.

Wang Hao showed no mercy.

“Swallowed four ancient corpses.”

“Got beaten up three times.”

“Face swollen.”

“Sword cracked.”

“And you screamed for help.”

The New Emperor Sword gnashed its teeth.

“Wang Hao, can you stop bringing up the screaming for help?”

Wang Hao said calmly, “Fine.”

The New Emperor Sword was stunned.

That easy?

Wang Hao continued, “This emperor already recorded it.”

The New Emperor Sword: “???”

The entire sword froze.

Wang Hao took out another memory jade.

From it came the New Emperor Sword's shrill voice.

“Haozi! Save me!”

The New Emperor Sword saw stars before its eyes.

“When did you record that?”

Wang Hao said flatly, “While this emperor was running away.”

The New Emperor Sword nearly collapsed.

“You recorded this sword's humiliation even while running?”

Wang Hao said, “Habit.”

The New Emperor Sword: “…”

It suddenly felt that the wounds dealt by the Emperor Corpse didn't hurt this much.

The people of Great Xia had been filled with burning fighting spirit.

Hearing this, they almost lost their composure.

Ghost Granny's shoulders shook uncontrollably.

Yin Jiuyou's face turned purple from holding in laughter.

Xue Wuhen stared at the ground as if it held peerless martial arts.

The Demon Lord closed his eyes.

He was afraid that if he laughed out loud, it would ruin His Majesty's majestic image at this moment.

Ji Wushang, however, could not laugh.

The more Wang Hao acted like this, the more uneasy he felt.

This calmness was not an act.

At least not entirely.

Wang Hao must have obtained some kind of trump card.

But how was that possible?

Under the pressure of the Emperor Corpse, within the Nine Coffin Sacrificial Platform, inside his own scheme, how could Wang Hao possibly turn the tables?

Ji Wushang couldn't accept it.

He had laid out countless plans.

Used the Emperor Fallen Stele as a source of pollution.

Absorbed a half-step tenth-level aberration.

Released four Martial God peak ancient corpses.

Then awakened four half-step Transcendence ancient corpses.

Then used the eight corpses as keys to summon the true Emperor Corpse.

All of it should have been unsolvable.

How could Wang Hao always find a way to survive in desperate situations?

How?

Through his sharp tongue?

Through his shamelessness?

Through running a hundred meters and still coming back?

Ji Wushang's gaze turned utterly cold.

“Emperor Corpse.”

“Kill.”

The Emperor Corpse slowly rose to its feet.

This time.

It finally left the main coffin.

Boom!

The mere act of standing caused the earth of the Abyss of Ten Thousand Ruins to sink a hundred zhang.

The void around the Nine Coffin Sacrificial Platform warped continuously.

Strands of gray-white death qi spread from beneath the Emperor Corpse's feet, like a tide of death surging toward Wang Hao.

The tattered imperial robes on the Emperor Corpse's body stirred without wind.

The broken beaded crown hung down.

The vertical line on its brow opened a crack.

A kind of darkness that defied description seeped out from that vertical line.

Everyone instinctively lowered their heads.

Even though Wang Hao had already blocked the death ray, they still dared not look directly at the Emperor Corpse's brow.

That was a higher level of pollution.

One glance, and one's divine soul could rot.