Master Save me Save me

There is much karma in this world.

Some can be accepted, while others cannot.

If a youth is surnamed Tang, it matters not whether he promises you the position of an Immortal Venerable or an Immortal King.

You only need to watch quietly as he sinks deep into the quagmire.

If a youth is surnamed Xiao, you would rather believe your own descendants to be unfilial than think he would ever brush off a debt of gratitude with a casual smile.

And...

The Desolate Meteor Sword...

Who could have imagined back then that a casual swing of that sword would sever thirty thousand years of a Great Emperor's lifespan...

Who could help but be fascinated by it?

Even if the current Great Emperor tried his utmost to smear the other party's name.

It remained the thickest, unavoidable stroke in history.

Even though Immortal Venerable Fallen Dragon had perished, there were still those who swore to the death never to surrender...

Preferring to be beheaded...

Preferring to bury their bones in the great wasteland...

Su Ji was right about at least one thing.

To be able to become a True Immortal...

Who hasn't gambled before?

But precisely because they had gambled...

They wanted to wash their hands of it after becoming immortals...

Because Liu Kuanglan's potential stopped right here.

There were only three thousand immortal seats...

Even if the greatest fortune were placed before him...

He would never become an Immortal King in this lifetime...

It was more practical to honestly manage his own faction.

But precisely because he had gambled...

He knew the thrill of winning it all...

Most importantly...

To become an immortal...

One needed to win every single gamble throughout their entire life!

In other words...

Liu Kuanglan had gambled his entire life up to this point...

And had never lost!

Now...

He couldn't control his hands again!

By the time Liu Kuanglan realized what he was doing...

It was already too late.

...

Right at the same time, the old Daoist was highly displeased with Su Ji's offensive actions.

He pressed his large hand down in the air toward Su Ji.

"Ignorant fool, you still refuse to admit your mistake? Kneel before me!"

The higher one stands...

The more fear they hold in their heart...

Unless absolutely forced...

He would not attempt to kill a 'person of the tribulation' like this...

Unfortunately, that terrifying coercion, which should have suppressed everything and forced Su Ji to kneel, was abruptly severed in midair.

It was like a surging river whose path had been cut off out of thin air.

Liu Kuanglan's figure was already floating in the void, his white robes fluttering fiercely as he stood firmly between Su Ji and the scruffy Daoist.

With his back to Su Ji, he did not turn around, merely tilting his head slightly to catch a glimpse of the blood-bathed youth behind him from the corner of his eye.

He used to hear people say that those who cannot see the future are lost.

But Liu Kuanglan had done business for a thousand years and tallied accounts for a thousand years. He knew better than anyone—those who truly felt they couldn't see their future were often those who saw their future far too clearly.

They could see the end at a single glance.

No matter how much they struggled, it would just be like that.

Just like him, Liu Kuanglan.

The day he was born...

Rosy clouds illuminated three thousand miles...

And six True Immortals chased after him, wanting to take him in for cultivation...

The first time he drew in spiritual energy, he instantly opened all his meridians...

But so what?

Just as he was about to become an immortal within a hundred years...

He encountered a junior...

Who insulted another's wife and daughter...

He only drew his sword halfway before it snapped.

That junior's father had cultivated for a thousand years to become an immortal...

And his grandfather was an Immortal Venerable...

He still remembered his master's words...

"Kuanglan... I really, really want to help you..."

"But..."

"What use is it no matter how talented you are, or how well you can fight?"

Oh, by then, he was no longer his master.

After learning what he had done, his master took the initiative to sever their master-disciple relationship.

From then on.

His indomitable Dao heart shattered.

He fell from being a heaven-chosen genius down to the mortal dust.

It took him a thousand years of stumbling to finally become an immortal.

Yet he could neither become an Immortal King nor an Immortal Venerable. He could only guard his tiny plot of land until his lifespan was exhausted and he turned into a handful of yellow earth.

That kind of clarity was what true despair meant.

"So... immortal cultivation is a competition not of strength, but of backing..."

But now...

Liu Kuanglan looked at the furious Imperial Court Mountain elder before him, looking at the shattering space and the sky full of spiritual energy around them.

The corners of his mouth curled up wildly, uncontrollable.

For the first time in thousands of years, he felt a genuine, heartfelt excitement.

Because... he, Liu Kuanglan, could finally no longer see his future clearly!

He did not want this world to remain forever the same...

Back then...

His master did not dare to hold an umbrella for him.

But today!

He dared!

Kid...

Since you have inherited that person's mantle...

I imagine you won't disappoint him!

"Old ghost, let's fight!"

"Are you crazy?"

The scruffy Daoist looked at Liu Kuanglan blocking his way, his turbid old eyes filled with incomprehensible shock.

He was not like Liu Kuanglan, who dealt with information all day long. Let alone official history, Liu Kuanglan could recount plenty of unofficial histories as well.

Or perhaps Imperial Court Mountain had concealed the fact that their Great Emperor had been pierced head-on by the Immortal Venerable...

The old Daoist also failed to recognize the Desolate Meteor Sword at the first moment.

So he simply could not understand.

How could a profit-driven Pavilion Master of the Wind Listening Pavilion do such a foolish, self-destructive thing for a lower-realm ant?

The old Daoist's voice rolled like heavenly thunder, vibrating the surrounding space until it buzzed: "Don't tell me you cannot see through the background of my divided soul?"

"Even if I am but a wisp of a divided soul, it is still the divided soul of an Immortal King!"

"A mere True Immortal like you facing me, do you know what your chances of winning are?"

The old Daoist extended three withered fingers.

"Thirty percent!"

"This is the gap between a True Immortal and an Immortal King!"

"Now scram immediately!"

Facing this fierce and stern rebuke, Liu Kuanglan did not retreat. Instead, he unhurriedly straightened his sleeves, which had been blown into a mess by the strong winds.

The old Daoist's words did not frighten him.

Instead, they acted like a key, completely unlocking the door in his heart that had been sealed for so long.

He suddenly came to terms with his own actions.

Yes...

What did thirty percent matter?

If he didn't act, even if he managed to eke out a living today, what about afterward?

Zhao Teng was beaten into a cripple, and Imperial Court Mountain completely lost face. Would Imperial Court Mountain allow an outsider like him to blabber about such a massive scandal?

Those high and mighty figures were best at solving the people who raised the problems.

To keep the secret and wash away the shame, the Wind Listening Pavilion would inevitably face a devastating disaster.

He would be threatened, silenced, or even quietly erased.

Not only had this trip of his been for nothing, but he had also turned himself into a ticking time bomb.

Putting himself in their shoes...

If their positions were swapped, and Liu Kuanglan sat in that position on Imperial Court Mountain, he would definitely be unable to eat or sleep in peace, wanting nothing more than to eliminate the threat quickly...

Therefore, taking action was the right choice!

Even if it was just to survive, this table had to be flipped!

"Thirty percent?"

Liu Kuanglan raised his head, a flame called ambition burning in his eyes.

"I think it's fifty-fifty!"

"Either life, or death!"

Liu Kuanglan laughed heartily. The spiritual energy around his body erupted explosively, turning into a sky full of wild winds that stood as equals against the old Daoist's aura.

"I am incredibly certain that I am walking on the only correct path at this moment."

"Unfortunately for you... I hold in my hands the power to subvert the world—"

"So, if I were to still act cautiously and compromise for the sake of survival now, it would instead be an act of cowardice!"

"I've done business my whole life, acting like a subservient grandson my whole life."

"Today, I want to be the master for once!"

"How about..."

Liu Kuanglan violently tore his hands outwards, as if trying to rip a rift in this murky world.

"Let this world be swept up in a storm!"

Rumble!!!

As his words fell, the powers of the two peerless experts clashed together without holding anything back.

This was not the typical back-and-forth exchange of techniques seen among ordinary cultivators.

Rather, it was a direct collision of Dao and Law!

Behind the old Daoist, the phantom of a towering black mountain emerged. It was the projection of the Imperial Court Mountain, carrying a heaviness meant to suppress the ages. Every inch of space emitted overwhelming cracking sounds under this crushing pressure.

That was the aura belonging to an Immortal King. Even if it was merely a wisp of a divided soul, it was enough to make the world change color.

On Liu Kuanglan's side, however, there was endless wind.

It was not an ordinary wind, but an all-pervasive wind capable of hearing the voices of the world and piercing through any barrier.

The azure wind blades and the black crushing pressure engaged in a frenzied slaughter.

Every collision caused the surrounding rock walls to silently annihilate, turning into nothingness.

That area of space was completely distorted, like a crumpled ball of paper. Light, sound, and even divine sense probing into it would be instantly shredded to pieces.

"Overestimating your own capabilities!"

The old Daoist roared in anger. With a downward press of his hand, the black mountain crashed down, threatening to crush Liu Kuanglan and his ridiculous ambitions into a bloody pulp.

Liu Kuanglan, however, was like a willow catkin weaving through the gaps of the heavy pressure. Though he looked wretched, he never fell.

Blood trickled from the corners of his mouth, but the light in his eyes grew increasingly brilliant.

Meanwhile, as these two big shots fought until the heavens collapsed and the earth shattered.

The battlefield on the other side also welcomed its final reckoning.

Without the old Daoist's protection, Zhao Teng, who was already at the end of his rope, was like a weak-legged shrimp stripped of its shell.

He looked in terror at the blood-soaked man approaching step by step with a spear in hand.

"No... don't..."

Zhao Teng's single eye was filled with fear, his body instinctively scooting backward.

"You can't kill me... I am Zhao Teng..."

Su Ji was in no mood to listen to his nonsense.

Using the spear as a sword.

It was the opening stance of the Desolate Meteor Sword.

It was also the strongest killing move he could currently muster.

This strike carried too much.

It carried the dying wishes of the seniors who had fallen outside the realm barrier, as well as all the grievances and frustrations Su Ji had suffered along his journey.

Buzz!

The air was cleaved open by this strike.

A dark red sword light instantly pierced through the distance between the two.

"Ahhhhh!!!"

An extremely miserable scream rang out.

Blood splattered!

A charred black arm flew high into the air, tracing a tragic parabola mid-air before landing on the ground with a thud.

It was Zhao Teng's right arm.

"Master! Save me!! Save me!!!"