Dantai Xuan had been having an absolutely miserable time lately.

  Not long ago, he’d barely survived an assassination attempt by Liu Yuanhao, the Black Dragon Cult’s leader. If he hadn’t ignited his imperial dragon qi at the last second, the entire Great Xuan Kingdom would be holding his funeral right now.

  And just when that mess was behind him, another disaster showed up.

  This time it was a supreme elder from South Dou Mountain—a peak Nascent Soul cultivator—who had come specifically for the imperial dragon qi coursing through Dantai Xuan’s veins.

  The old man didn’t even bother with words. He attacked the moment he arrived.

  From that withered, ancient body erupted a terrifying surge of power. He looked one foot in the grave, but the truth was far deadlier.

  Boom!

  Spiritual energy condensed into a colossal palm that blotted out the sun, looming over half the capital like the hand of judgment itself.

  “How dare you!” Dantai Xuan roared, veins bulging on his forehead.

  This South Dou Mountain monster was actually attacking inside the Great Xuan Academy!

  “Protect His Majesty!”

  The Xuanwu Guards, shaken by the Nascent Soul pressure, drew their weapons and threw themselves in front of their king.

  Xue Tao bellowed, his Body Repository power flaring as spiritual armor cloaked his frame. He thrust his spear straight at the descending palm.

  It wasn’t even close.

  The strike was too strong.

  Nan Yuefeng had lived longer than even Du Longyang and the others. A perfected Nascent Soul’s attack wasn’t something a Body Repository cultivator could hope to block.

  Crack!

  Xue Tao’s spear shattered. Blood exploded from every pore as he was hurled backward like a broken doll, carving a long furrow in the ground.

  One casual touch had nearly killed him.

  That was the gap between realms.

  That was Nascent Soul.

  Fury and helplessness warred inside Dantai Xuan.

  This was the world of cultivators—might made right.

  If monsters like this ruled the heavens, how much suffering would ordinary people endure?

  In the eyes of true experts, mortal lives were less than ants.

  And that was exactly why the Path of the Human Emperor existed: to shield those mortals.

  Every life had its reason to exist.

  Dantai Xuan caught Xue Tao as he slid to a stop. The man looked like he’d been flayed alive.

  A feather fan swept in front of them.

  “Your Majesty, fall back! Retreat to the Azure Dragon Gate!” Mo Ju said gravely.

  Dantai Xuan’s eyes were ice. He shook his head.

  “This king does not retreat. If I run, what happens to all of you?”

  “Mo Ju, do you take me for a coward who fears death?”

  “I stand right here. Let’s see if the old bastard dares kill me!”

  He planted his feet, back ramrod straight, refusing to yield even an inch against a Nascent Soul’s onslaught.

  “All the dragon qi in the world was gathered into one body. The Young Lord of White Jade Capital created it for the sake of the common people.”

  “Let’s see if this old fossil dares touch me!”

  Dantai Xuan had seen through it clearly.

  The imperial dragon qi came from White Jade Capital itself. That was his trump card.

  Mo Ju sighed inwardly.

  True enough… but His Majesty had overlooked one thing.

  When a man’s lifespan is running out, how insane does he become?

  What wouldn’t someone do for just a little more time?

  Nan Yuefeng wanted to live.

  He had lingered at perfected Nascent Soul for centuries. He refused to die like this.

  He wanted to walk further down the path.

  White Jade Capital’s name might not be enough to deter a man staring death in the face.

  Boom!

  Sure enough, the palm kept coming—stronger, faster, deadlier.

  Mo Ju’s robes whipped in the wind. He faced Nan Yuefeng.

  “Senior… this imperial dragon qi was personally bestowed upon the Northern Xuan King by the Young Lord of White Jade Capital.”

  “Do you truly dare seize it without the Young Lord’s permission?”

  He had to try.

  Maybe—just maybe—the old monster still feared White Jade Capital.

  But Mo Ju’s heart sank instantly.

  Nan Yuefeng didn’t even slow down. His attack grew more ferocious.

  “Hahaha…”

  “This old man only wishes to know one thing: can the Path of the Human Emperor grant eternal life?”

  The suffocating palm bore down on Dantai Xuan.

  Xuanwu Guards were forced back step by step.

  Dantai Xuan’s robes flapped wildly, face flushed crimson as blood surged to his head.

  “You old geezer, keep dreaming! ‘Old but not dead makes a thief’—and you still want immortality?!”

  Dantai Xuan’s infamous temper finally snapped. He cursed at the top of his lungs under the crushing pressure.

  Mo Ju was speechless.

  Your Majesty, mind your image a little…

  But there was no more holding back.

  He couldn’t stop the palm, but he could buy even a second.

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  Mo Ju shouted, and righteous haoran qi poured from his mouth.

  White light crashed against the giant hand. It didn’t budge the attack an inch, but ripples spread outward.

  Pfft!

  Mo Ju went pale, stumbling back, blood staining his white scholar’s robe.

  Dantai Xuan’s eyes turned red with rage.

  But he had no time to help.

  The Nascent Soul palm finally slammed down, reaching to seize him.

  “Ha!”

  Imperial dragon qi exploded from Dantai Xuan once more. Golden dragons coiled above his head.

  Mysterious yellow energy cascaded down like the sturdiest barrier in the world, blocking the strike.

  Greed flashed in Nan Yuefeng’s cloudy old eyes.

  “So this is imperial dragon qi!”

  BOOM!

  The palm smashed against the barrier.

  Shockwaves ripped through the academy.

  Dantai Xuan felt like he’d been struck by lightning. Cold dread pierced his body.

  He staggered back two steps, blood trickling from his lips.

  A Nascent Soul strike—even without Dao Intent—was leagues beyond Liu Yuanhao’s desperate attack.

  “To think a mortal body could withstand one blow from this old man…”

  Nan Yuefeng’s gaze burned hotter.

  He sensed something extraordinary in this Human Emperor’s path.

  If he could comprehend even a fragment… he might truly break through to Infant Transformation!

  Another palm came.

  No fancy techniques—just overwhelming, brute force.

  On Asking Heaven Peak, the Azure Dragon lying atop its gate opened its eyes again.

  Why does this Dantai Xuan keep having such rotten luck?

  The next instant, the dragon slithered out of the gate, coiling into the sky.

  ROAR!

  A cyan beam shot from its maw, smashing straight into Nan Yuefeng’s second palm.

  The collision sent shockwaves tearing through the Great Xuan Academy, reducing buildings to rubble.

  Every Xuanwu Guard and student stared upward, eyes bloodshot with emotion.

  The Azure Dragon had descended from the heavens.

  Dantai Xuan, coughing blood, threw his head back and laughed.

  “That’s it, old buddy! Beat his ass!”

  He had no idea if the Azure Dragon could win, but momentum mattered.

  Nan Yuefeng glanced at the dragon, brows furrowing.

  “One of the heavenly dragon seeds from the gates…”

  His ancient voice echoed.

  The next moment, Golden Core disciples from South Dou Mountain shot forward, locking down the entire academy.

  Nan Yuefeng’s plain robes flapped.

  “Azure Dragon, leave now. This is none of your concern. Otherwise… this old man will butcher a dragon today.”

  In his eyes, the dragon’s aura wasn’t overwhelmingly strong.

  Heavenly dragon seeds couldn’t be judged by aura alone, but Nan Yuefeng was confident.

  Imperial dragon qi was his once-in-a-lifetime chance to break through. He would not let it go.

  The Azure Dragon’s presence was noble, majestic, righteous…

  It perfectly complemented Dantai Xuan’s imperial qi.

  No wonder it kept helping the king.

  The dragon gave no reply to the threat—too beneath it to acknowledge.

  A sweep of draconic might whipped up a gale.

  Nan Yuefeng’s wrinkled face twitched.

  “I’ve heard dragon blood prolongs life… Today, this old man will drink heavenly dragon blood!”

  He had no choice.

  His lifespan was ending. Without Infant Transformation, he would die.

  That was heaven’s law—no one could defy the cycle of life.

  So even knowing the heavenly dragon seeds were tied to White Jade Capital, he attacked.

  Boom! Boom! Boom!

  Nan Yuefeng soared into the sky. Nascent Soul cultivators could fly.

  Tail Ridge became a battlefield.

  Rocks shattered and tumbled endlessly.

  Nascent Soul was too strong.

  At least… too strong for the current Azure Dragon.

  Heavenly dragon seeds grew through evolution. Right now, the Azure Dragon was roughly on par with an ordinary Nascent Soul—but against a perfected one like Nan Yuefeng, it was at a disadvantage.

  Dark golden ripples surged in the dragon’s eyes.

  It roared.

  Imperial dragon qi surged from Dantai Xuan, bathing the Azure Dragon in gold. Its cyan scales shimmered, turning regal gold.

  As a golden dragon, its attacks became sharper, more decisive. Golden beams erupted from its jaws as it clashed with Nan Yuefeng.

  The battle shook the entire Tail Ridge.

  Students of the Great Xuan Academy looked up, faces burning with awe.

  They had all cultivated inside the dragon gate and seen the gentle, serene Azure Dragon.

  None had imagined it could unleash such terrifying power.

  The dragon was protecting them!

  Dantai Xuan’s imperial qi continued pouring out.

  He drew the Emperor Dragon Seal.

  With a shout, the seal shot skyward, growing massively in the wind.

  The Azure Dragon’s tail coiled around the enormous seal and swung it like a titanic hammer toward Nan Yuefeng.

  The old man was smashed into the ground.

  “A top-tier spirit tool?!”

  Nan Yuefeng stared at the expanding seal, face twisting.

  With the Human Emperor’s blessing, he actually couldn’t subdue the dragon quickly.

  But the stronger the path revealed itself, the more excited he became.

  He formed seals.

  Above his head, a Nascent Soul materialized—identical to him, untransformed, yet brimming with energy at the perfected stage.

  Nan Yuefeng howled, hair and beard flying.

  With the Nascent Soul above him, his battle power became peerless.

  Unlike Zhou Haisheng, who had pinned his hopes on Zhou Liusheng and collapsed when his disciple died, Nan Yuefeng trusted only his own strength.

  Light cascaded from him. His ancient body began to rejuvenate, just like Zhou Haisheng once had.

  These old-generation Nascent Souls all had terrifying trump cards.

  At their peak, restored to youth, their power was monstrous.

  “So this is Nascent Soul…”

  Mo Ju coughed blood, watching the sky with complicated awe.

  Soaring through the heavens, turning back the clock on age…

  Nascent Soul cultivators truly seemed like immortals.

  Dantai Xuan snarled—Immortal my ass! In his eyes, Nan Yuefeng was just a bully hiding behind power!

  “Kill him!”

  Yet reality was cruel.

  Nan Yuefeng grew stronger with every exchange, hope igniting within him like a second youth.

  His power seemed to ascend.

  The Emperor Dragon Seal was sent flying.

  The Azure Dragon coiled in the sky, scales shattering under blows, dragon blood raining down.

  South Dou disciples grinned with excitement.

  If their supreme elder broke through to Infant Transformation, South Dou Mountain would leap into the top tier—rivaling Martial Emperor City, the Palace of the Heavenly Maiden, the four holy lands!

  Infant Transformation was the hallmark of a first-rate power.

  Without it, you were forever second-rate.

  In the entire Tianyuan Domain, only the four holy lands possessed Infant Transformation experts.

  That was why Nan Yuefeng craved it—craved metamorphosis, the true evolution of the Nascent Soul, the leap to a higher form of life!

  The Azure Dragon bled across the heavens.

  Draconic qi shook the world.

  The fight turned brutal.

  Nan Yuefeng shone brighter with every heartbeat.

  Dantai Xuan’s heart sank.

  The Azure Dragon… was losing.

  It was injured!

  He drew his guardian sword and began climbing the ruined ridge.

  Nan Yuefeng stepped through the air, descending slowly.

  The Azure Dragon’s claws gouged the ground like tofu.

  Dantai Xuan crawled from the rubble, sword pointed at the old man.

  Nan Yuefeng smiled.

  “Imperial dragon qi… energy even this old man can’t break through easily. What a waste on a mortal like you.”

  Dantai Xuan spat blood. “Bullshit! You wouldn’t know greatness if it bit you!”

  He turned to the dragon.

  Their eyes met—dark gold and determined human.

  Man and dragon shared a moment of perfect understanding, just like the first time Dantai Xuan had begged for entry to the gate.

  “Old buddy… what if we can’t win?”

  “Run. Get stronger. Come back and avenge me later!”

  Dantai Xuan gripped his sword tighter.

  The Azure Dragon shook its head.

  Then it opened its massive jaws… and sighed.

  The next second, it threw its head back and unleashed a sky-shattering dragon roar!

  The cry rippled outward like a stone dropped in still water.

  Hmm?

  Nan Yuefeng’s face changed. Something felt wrong.

  Then, to everyone’s horror, the Azure Dragon began tearing its own scales off.

  Rip! Rip!

  Blood sprayed.

  It even stabbed a claw into its own flank, drilling a hole. Dragon blood gushed.

  Nan Yuefeng was stunned.

  Dantai Xuan was stunned. “Old buddy, no—don’t hurt yourself!”

  Suddenly the dragon whipped its gaze to Dantai Xuan, slammed a claw down, and pinned the king to the ground—hard enough to make him cough blood and look utterly pathetic.

  Then it roared again.

  A heartbreaking, pitiful, utterly helpless wail of agony and despair.

  Nan Yuefeng’s face twitched violently.

  What the hell was this dragon doing?

  Dantai Xuan, face smeared with blood and dirt, suddenly understood.

  A honey trap?

  This dragon… was savage!

  …

  Buzhou Peak.

  Lush and blooming, vines trailing down the cliffs, flowers everywhere.

  On a massive green stone sat a figure in meditation, breathing in and out streams of milky-white energy laced with the faintest trace of primordial chaos.

  If Lu were here, he would recognize it instantly.

  Suddenly, the figure’s eyes snapped open.

  From the dragon gate behind her came the most wretched, soul-tearing dragon cry—full of grief, pain, and desperate attachment to life.

  BOOM!

  Terrifying aura swept across Buzhou Peak.

  Zhulong swallowed the milky energy and turned her head.

  “Little Qing?”

  What had happened?

  Why was the Azure Dragon crying like it was dying?

  She stood. As the eldest sister of the eight dragon gates, how could she sit idle?

  Her figure blurred. She stepped through the gate, crossed the iron chains, and emerged from the Azure Dragon Gate.

  …

  Back on Asking Heaven Peak.

  Nan Yuefeng’s cheek twitched harder.

  The Azure Dragon looked even more pitiful now—fresh claw marks everywhere, holes gouged in its flesh, blood pooling beneath it.

  This was one ruthless dragon.

  Nan Yuefeng paused, listening warily.

  Something was very wrong.

  Was it… calling White Jade Capital?

  He erupted with power. The Nascent Soul above his head opened radiant eyes.

  Every muscle tensed.

  Then—

  Before the Azure Dragon Gate.

  A graceful, ethereal figure stepped out.

  The young woman was breathtakingly beautiful, brows like distant mountains, lashes trembling over closed eyes.

  Sensing the dying, blood-soaked Azure Dragon, murderous intent exploded from her.

  ROAR!

  The Azure Dragon charged—fearless, suicidal—straight at Nan Yuefeng.

  The old man frowned. Suspecting White Jade Capital’s arrival any second, he only flicked his sleeve to brush the “dying” dragon aside.

  But halfway through the motion, the Azure Dragon suddenly flew backward five hundred meters, coughing blood dramatically, emitting the most weak, pitiful, helpless whimpers imaginable…

  Nan Yuefeng: “…”

  Dantai Xuan, sprawled in the dirt and covered in blood, saw Zhulong streaking through the sky.

  That terrifying girl from Buzhou Peak—he remembered her all too well!

  Watching the Azure Dragon writhe and wail on the ground…

  Dantai Xuan instinctively flattened himself further and let out a few pathetic groans of his own.

  Old buddy… you absolute legend!