I Will Endure It Myself

Wang Hao stepped onto the Severing-Destiny Platform.

At the center of the elevated platform stood a black longsword.

Its blade showed no edge at all.

And yet, any cause and effect that drew near it would sever itself.

A Blood-Robed Loose Immortal approached.

“To ascend the platform and sever your destiny, you must offer one complete Dao Fruit.”

Wang Hao said, “I don’t have one.”

“Then get off the platform.”

Wang Hao looked at him.

“I have three and a half fully corrupted Dao Fruits.”

The Blood-Robed Loose Immortal’s eyes glimmered faintly.

“That can count as one.”

“And another half.”

“Half doesn’t count.”

Wang Hao raised his hand.

The fourth level of the Thunder Abyss Suppression Demon Pagoda opened.

A head bound in lightning fell out.

“I am a Golden Immortal!”

The Blood-Robed Loose Immortal fell silent.

Wang Hao said, “Is this head enough?”

The Blood-Robed Loose Immortal glanced at it.

“It’s too heavily corrupted. It can only count as half.”

“Then add this Immortal Armor.”

Wang Hao threw out a fragment of armor from a guiding immortal weapon.

The Blood-Robed Loose Immortal was silent for a long while.

“Deal.”

The head roared, “I am a Golden Immortal! How can I be treated like merchandise?”

Wang Hao said, “Shut up.”

“Otherwise, I’ll lower the price.”

The head immediately fell silent.

The Blood-Robed Loose Immortal picked up the bone blade and walked over to Wang Hao.

“What do you want to sever?”

Wang Hao extended his right hand.

Golden light gradually surfaced in his palm.

“Imperial destiny.”

“Only imperial destiny?”

“And the fortune of the imperial dynasty.”

“And the karma of the people’s faith.”

“And my identity as the emperor of the lower realm.”

The Blood-Robed Loose Immortal’s expression turned solemn.

“If you sever everything, you may lose it all.”

“Then sever it.”

“Why?”

Wang Hao looked beyond the Black City.

“Because I want to see something.”

“Without a billion people supporting me.”

“Without the throne upon me.”

“Without the protection of Heaven’s Mandate.”

“Relying only on a single sword…”

“Can I carve out a path through this already-rotten Immortal Realm?”

The Blood-Robed Loose Immortal raised the bone blade.

“It will hurt.”

Wang Hao smiled.

“When I was emperor…”

“I endured worse abuse than this.”

The bone blade fell.

There was no blood.

But behind Wang Hao, a magnificent imperial city suddenly emerged.

The Golden Hall.

Mountains and rivers stretching for ten thousand miles.

Officials paying homage.

A billion commoners.

A golden Imperial Path extended from the depths of the imperial city and connected to his brow.

The bone blade struck the Imperial Path.

Crack!

The first fissure appeared.

Within the imperial city, countless commoners looked up.

Confusion filled their faces.

Someone asked, “Is His Majesty leaving?”

Someone else cried out, “His Majesty cannot leave!”

Some fell to their knees.

“We beg you, please stay!”

Wang Hao closed his eyes.

He did not dare look.

Not because he was afraid.

But because he could see everything too clearly.

He could remember every face.

Remember every word they had ever spoken.

Remember the unreserved trust in their eyes when they entrusted their lives and futures to him.

The bone blade fell a second time.

The Imperial Path shattered.

Wang Hao’s imperial soul shook violently.

A mouthful of blood sprayed out.

The power of the people’s faith automatically condensed into a shield.

The shield, capable of withstanding a full-strength strike from a peak Martial God, appeared in an instant.

But Wang Hao did not allow it to block the power of the severing.

He raised his hand and tore the shield of faith apart himself.

“My wounds…”

“I’ll bear them myself.”

The third strike fell.

The Imperial Path transformed into fragments that filled the sky.

The billion strands of faith vanished completely.

Wang Hao’s cultivation did not fall.

But his aura seemed to change from a towering mountain into an ordinary stone.

Not the slightest trace of anything special remained.

The bone blade fell a fourth time.

The Emperor’s Destiny was cleaved apart.

From between Wang Hao’s brows, an imperial seal formed from countless golden runes slowly detached itself.

That seal had once represented his identity.

It represented his rule over Great Xia.

It also represented the recognition granted to him by all living beings of the lower realm.

Now, the imperial seal split in two.

One half flew toward the lower realm.

The other half turned into golden ash.

Wang Hao’s face was pale.

He opened his eyes.

“Continue.”

The Blood-Robed Loose Immortal looked at him.

“That’s enough.”

“It hasn’t been severed cleanly.”

“There is still a trace of the Imperial Path left in your body.”

Wang Hao pressed a hand to his chest.

There, a nearly imperceptible golden line remained.

It was the recognition Heaven had granted him when he first ascended the throne.

As long as it was severed, he would lose his imperial destiny completely.

From then on, Wang Hao could only be Wang Hao.

There would be no Emperor of Great Xia.

No Retired Emperor.

Nor anyone who would acknowledge his status by nature.

“Continue.”

The fifth strike fell.

The golden line snapped.

Wang Hao’s body jolted violently.

He heard a voice.

It did not belong to the commoners.

It did not belong to the Immortal Realm.

It belonged to him.

“Are you truly willing to cast everything aside?”

Wang Hao looked at the indifferent Loose Immortals beneath the Severing-Destiny Platform.

None of them knelt.

None of them showed awe.

None of them called him Your Majesty.

They were merely watching a stranger who was about to lose his identity.

Wang Hao suddenly smiled.

“Casting aside my identity…”

“Doesn’t mean casting aside my strength.”

“I’ll cultivate again.”

“Kill again.”

“And make everyone remember…”

“The name Wang Hao.”

The sixth strike fell.

The final strand of imperial destiny vanished.

The black longsword on the Severing-Destiny Platform collapsed with a thunderous boom.

The Blood-Robed Loose Immortal staggered back several steps.

“It’s done.”

“From this day onward…”

“You are a Destinyless Immortal.”

“Destinyless?”

Wang Hao wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.

“That doesn’t sound very auspicious.”

The Blood-Robed Loose Immortal said, “Without the protection of Heaven’s Mandate, the fortune of an imperial dynasty, or the karma of an identity…”

“You can cultivate any technique you wish.”

“You also won’t be tracked by the various offices of the Immortal Realm.”

“But likewise…”

“You will receive protection from no faction.”

“If you die…”

“No one will avenge you.”

Wang Hao nodded.

“That’s what a Loose Immortal should be.”

He turned and walked down from the Severing-Destiny Platform.

Just then, a blood-red screen suddenly illuminated the sky above the Fallen Immortal Market.

Wang Hao’s face appeared upon it.

But his name had already changed.

[Bounty Target: Wu Hao.]

[Identity: Destinyless Immortal.]

[Former Identity: Emperor of the Lower Realm, Wang Hao.]

[Threat Level: Immortal Emperor.]

[Bounty Increased: Five Complete Dao Fruits.]

Wang Hao looked up at the screen.

“They found out this quickly?”

Gu Changfeng said grimly, “Although the Severing-Destiny Platform severed your karma…”

“The Receiving Immortal City has already spread your appearance throughout the Immortal Realm.”

“Now, you have only one option.”

“Change your appearance?”

“No.”

Wang Hao placed a hand on the new Son of Heaven Sword.

“Change my name.”

The silver-haired youth said, “Master, didn’t you just change it to Wu Hao?”

“Then I’ll change it again.”

Wang Hao thought for a moment.

“From now on, call me Wang Xiaobai.”

All the immortals fell silent at once.

Su Hongxiu could not help asking, “Why?”

“Because it doesn’t sound like the name of someone dangerous enough to be wanted.”

The Blood-Robed Loose Immortal sneered.

“No matter how ordinary the name is, it won’t change the fact that you’re being hunted by three Immortal Cities.”

As soon as he finished speaking, outside the Fallen Immortal Market…

A terrifying immortal might pressed down upon them.

Fragments of mainland drifting through the void shattered one after another.

A blood-colored spear crossed ten thousand miles of empty space and instantly pierced the walls of the Fallen Immortal Market.

The giant mouth on the city gate let out a terrified shriek.

“A Heavenly Immortal!”

The Blood-Robed Loose Immortal’s expression changed drastically.

“It’s someone from the Suppression of the Strange Bureau!”

A figure clad in black immortal armor walked forward along the blood-colored spear.

He had no head.

In place of a neck was a single black eyeball, slowly rotating.

“Wanted criminal, Wang Hao.”

“Hand over three complete Dao Fruits.”

“I can leave your corpse intact.”

Wang Hao looked around at himself.

“Who are you talking about?”

The Black-Armored Heavenly Immortal froze.

“Wang Hao.”

“He’s already dead.”

“The Fate-Severing Platform severed his Imperial Destiny. Shouldn’t you have discovered that?”

The Black-Armored Heavenly Immortal sneered.

“The Fate-Severing Platform can sever cause and effect, but it can’t erase the past.”

Wang Hao nodded.

“Then you’ve come to the wrong place.”

“There is no Wang Hao here.”

The Black-Armored Heavenly Immortal raised his spear.

“Then kill everyone.”

Spear-light erupted.

The walls of Fallen Immortal Market collapsed in an instant.

Countless Loose Immortals fled in terror.

Wang Hao gripped the New Son of Heaven Sword.

This time, he did not draw upon the will of the Imperial Dao.

Nor did he use the fortune of the imperial dynasty.

He relied solely on his own immortal power.

The silver-haired youth burst excitedly from the New Son of Heaven Sword.

“Finally, someone worthy!”

Wang Hao raised a hand.

“Don’t rush.”

He looked at the Black-Armored Heavenly Immortal.

“I was going to say ‘I, the Emperor’… but I’m a Loose Immortal now.”

“A Loose Immortal fighting a Heavenly Immortal.”

“That sounds like quite a challenge.”

The Black-Armored Heavenly Immortal sneered.

“A first-level Earth Immortal dares to—”

Behind Wang Hao, the Thunder Abyss Demon-Suppressing Pagoda rose with a thunderous boom.

The gate to the eighth level—

slowly opened.

The Black-Armored Heavenly Immortal’s voice abruptly cut off.

Wang Hao grinned.

“Who says a Loose Immortal can’t fight a Heavenly Immortal?”

The instant the gate to the eighth level opened, every sound in heaven and earth vanished.

There was no wind.

No fluctuations of immortal power.

No terrified cries from the Loose Immortals of Fallen Immortal Market.

Even the eyeball hanging from the Black-Armored Heavenly Immortal’s neck stopped turning.

Within the Thunder Abyss Demon-Suppressing Pagoda, a thunder phoenix slowly poked out its head.

It had no feathers.

Its entire body was formed from countless dense strands of purple lightning.

When its wings spread, they seemed like two seas of thunder blotting out the heavens and earth.

In its phoenix eyes, the figure of the Black-Armored Heavenly Immortal was reflected.

For the first time, the Black-Armored Heavenly Immortal stepped backward.

“The Thunder Abyss Demon-Suppressing Pagoda?”

“The Thunder Abyss Demon-Suppressing Pagoda, ranked fifty-sixth among the Strange Artifacts?”

“How could you possibly control something like that?”

Wang Hao said, “I picked it up.”

“Bullshit!” the Black-Armored Heavenly Immortal roared.

“Strange Artifacts choose their masters. Do you think you can just pick one up whenever you please?”

Wang Hao pondered for a moment.

“Then it must have chosen to follow me.”

“Even more impossible!”

“Since you’ve already said it’s impossible, why did you ask?”

The Black-Armored Heavenly Immortal roared in fury.

His blood-red spear rose abruptly.

The entire sky above Fallen Immortal Market was covered by a mass of black clouds.

Within the clouds, countless rotting immortal corpses slowly emerged.

They wore identical immortal armor.

A bizarre character meaning “Suppression” was carved into each of their chests.

Gu Changfeng’s expression changed drastically.

“They’re the Soul-Seizing Army of the Bureau of Ghost Suppression!”

“Every one of those immortal corpses was once a Ghost Suppression Guard below the Heavenly Immortal realm.”

“After their deaths, they were refined into battle corpses. There are a hundred thousand of them!”

A hundred thousand immortal corpses descended from the black clouds.

Each corpse had a single eye open.

That eye stared fixedly at Wang Hao.

Wang Hao merely smiled.

“A hundred thousand?”

“Perfect.”

The silver-haired youth grinned.

“Master, are you finally willing to let me eat my fill?”

“Eat as much as you can.”

“What if I can’t finish?”

“Take the rest with you.”

The silver-haired youth’s eyes lit up.

He took one step forward.

The New Son of Heaven Sword transformed in his hands into a massive silver sword.

Sword-light flashed.

The first battle corpse was cleaved in two.

The silver-haired youth opened his mouth.

The two halves of the corpse simultaneously transformed into black light and were swallowed into his belly.

Boom!

His aura surged from the seventh realm of martial cultivation directly into the eighth.

At that same moment, the thunder phoenix within the Thunder Abyss Demon-Suppressing Pagoda let out a long cry.

A bolt of purple lightning descended from the heavens.

It engulfed thousands upon thousands of battle corpses.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The battle corpses fell from the sky one after another, like dumplings dropped into a pot.

Some of them did not die immediately.

They crawled up from the ground and continued pouncing toward Wang Hao.

Wang Hao raised a hand.

The third palm of the Heaven-Imprisoning Earth-Covering Palm crashed down.

A golden palm print covered an area hundreds of yards wide.

The battle corpses, along with the ground beneath them, collapsed.

The fourth palm followed close behind.

The palm print was like a golden mountain turned upside down, crushing the black clouds.

The fifth palm!

At last, the Black-Armored Heavenly Immortal made his move.

He raised his blood-red spear, and the spearhead thrust out a blood-colored vortex.

Countless immortals’ cries echoed from within the vortex.

“Enforcement by the Bureau of Ghost Suppression!”

“Those who resist will see their three clans exterminated!”

“Kneel and submit to judgment!”

The voices struck directly at Wang Hao’s Imperial Soul.

But Wang Hao had already severed his Imperial Destiny.

He no longer possessed the identity of an emperor, nor was he bound by the Imperial Dao.

To him, these laws of the Immortal Realm were nothing more than a few unpleasant words.

Wang Hao did not even pause.

“Sixth palm.”

The golden palm print descended.

The blood-colored vortex was smashed apart by a single palm.

The immortal armor covering the Black-Armored Heavenly Immortal cracked open.

Beneath it was a bloodless skeleton.

Embedded in the skeleton’s chest was a black command token.

The words “Bureau of Ghost Suppression” were carved into it.

Seventh palm!

The Black-Armored Heavenly Immortal was sent flying by the palm print.

He smashed through three walls of Fallen Immortal Market, spraying blood into the void.

As the blood fell to the ground, it swiftly transformed into a group of tiny armored figures.

The little figures raised their blades and swords and shouted in unison:

“Arrest the wanted criminal!”

Longevity Earth Immortal raised his hand, unleashing a sheet of sword-light.

The entire group of tiny figures was cut to pieces.

“They’ve already been beaten into blood,” he said.

“And they still haven’t forgotten to do their jobs.”

Withered-and-Blooming Heavenly Immortal sneered.

“Officials of the Immortal Realm have to stay on duty even after they die.”

Wang Hao took one step forward.

Eighth palm!

A massive golden palm print appeared in the void.

Its five fingers spread wide.

It seized the Black-Armored Heavenly Immortal directly in its grasp.

The immortal armor covering his body shattered piece by piece.

The eyeball on his neck let out a sharp, shrill screech.

“You’re only a first-level Earth Immortal!”

“How can you command such power?”