Chapter 1921: Preparing to Return
The ancient demon clan's Giant died, and his child was born, yet the child did not take his father's surname. Instead, he took the surname Mo, given the name Zheng, meaning "demon path conquest."
At the time of Mo Zheng's birth, the ancient demon clan manifested strange phenomena—the ancient demon eye opened for him. Everything seemed to herald the birth of a prodigy. In truth, Mo Zheng did not disappoint the ancient demon clan. At two years old, he began cultivation, and his talent was unparalleled. Whether on the Xiao Continent or in the Underworld, martial cultivators naturally had high starting points. Some even skipped realms entirely, beginning cultivation at the Spirit Martial Realm or the Mysterious Martial Realm, and some even directly entered the Heavenly Martial Realm. Mo Zheng had the best conditions. At five years old, he stepped into the Sovereign Martial Realm and comprehended profound meaning.
At eight years old, Mo Zheng entered the Martial Emperor Realm and grasped the laws. Not only did the ancient demon clan pour all their resources into nurturing him, but the Yama Hall did as well. By the time Mo Zheng was ten, he directly comprehended the power of the Dao and was sent to the Nether Divine Temple, replacing his father Giant's position. However, all of this seemed to be carried out in secret. Outsiders did not even know that such a figure had been born in the ancient demon clan. No one had yet realized just how terrifying a storm Mo Zheng would stir up in the Underworld.
Of course, all of this was a story for later.
The War King Academy grew increasingly lively. The day of the enfeoffment had been confirmed. At that time, all directions would witness it together. Ji Shang would officially be enfeoffed as a king at the War King Academy, becoming the second person of this era to receive such an honor.
Leveraging the momentum of Ji Shang's enfeoffment, the Ji Gate once again recruited many geniuses, continuously expanding and solidifying its position as the number one gate of the War King Academy. However, on the other side, the Heavenly Terrace's days were not so easy—in fact, they could be described as utterly miserable. The Ji Gate was immensely powerful, and even the Rock Gate joined forces with the Ji Gate to suppress the Heavenly Terrace, almost suffocating them. Any Heavenly Terrace disciple who set foot in the War King Academy would inevitably be surrounded and brutally beaten. Yet they were neither killed nor crippled, clearly because the other side still had some concerns about the academy. But this alone had already made it impossible for the Heavenly Terrace people to take a single step forward.
Thus, some Heavenly Terrace disciples began to withdraw and flee, unwilling to remain as disciples. Even worse, some directly betrayed the Heavenly Terrace and joined the Ji Gate or the Rock Gate.
"Boom, crack!" In the courtyard of the Heavenly Terrace, a thunderous explosion rang out as a stone pier was shattered into pieces.
"Ji Gate, Rock Gate—you push things too far." Tantai's face was covered in bulging veins. Beside him, several Heavenly Terrace disciples were covered in bruises, blood trickling from the corners of their mouths. It wasn't just these disciples; even their core members were intercepted whenever they went out. Time and again, they were now practically unable to move an inch. The Ji Gate and the Rock Gate wanted to drive them to the brink of death.
"What are you shouting about?" Yun Qingyan scolded Tantai. Her face was also frosty, with a hint of impatience.
"Declare war on them," Tantai said, his body exuding a wild aura.
"Declare war? On what basis? Forget the Ji Gate—even the Rock Gate alone could crush us. The Rock Gate's leader, Zong Que, is ranked fifth on the Heavenly King-Sealing List. He now controls the power of the Dao and might even surpass those ahead of him. He openly killed Lin Feng, and the academy turned a blind eye. While Ji Shang's influence plays a part, do you think Zong Que would dare to be so arrogant if he didn't have privileges? What do you have to declare war with?"
Yun Qingyan shouted loudly. She had specifically sounded out her parents about this matter and naturally knew more than Tantai. She understood how important the news of Ji Shang's enfeoffment was to the War King Academy. It was the glory of the entire academy. Ji Shang's statue would stand within the academy, and if Ji Shang achieved great things in the future, his deeds would even be recorded in the Enfeoffment Hall.
For the current Heavenly Terrace to declare war on the Ji Gate or the Rock Gate was simply asking for death.
Everyone in the courtyard fell silent. The atmosphere was extremely oppressive, so much so that even the sound of breathing was clearly audible. Their potential was immense—all of them cultivated the Heavenly Derivation Scripture, and combined with their innate talents, they could all be called monstrous geniuses. But without the sedimentation of time, everything was in vain. At least for now, they were not yet strong enough. At this very moment, they were being firmly suppressed by others.
"I wonder how Lin Feng is doing now. Is he alright?" Yun Qingyan murmured softly, seemingly missing that guy a little. His external incarnation had been destroyed—she didn't know how he was faring.
"If Lin Feng were here, he definitely wouldn't be able to endure this," Tantai said, his hands clenched tightly, producing cracking sounds as veins bulged. He hated this, but he was powerless.
At this moment, in the secret chamber, Hou Qinglin was in closed-door cultivation. The entire vast space of the chamber was filled with surging reincarnation power. His pupils seemed to have become reincarnation itself, and his mind was frantically evolving.
"Dao, my Dao—what exactly is it?" Hou Qinglin's eyes blazed with terrifying reincarnation power, the void around him seemingly twisting.
"Without achieving the Dao, how can I destroy them?" At this moment, Hou Qinglin seemed to have lost his usual handsome calmness, replaced by nothing but madness. Without madness, how could one become an emperor? And now, without madness, how could one achieve the Dao?
"The Dao is illusory and ethereal, formless and invisible, impossible to grasp. Only by borrowing another's Dao to nurture one's own, or by comprehending it oneself, can one achieve the Dao," a voice echoed in Hou Qinglin's mind. He cultivated reincarnation power, making it nearly impossible to find someone to nurture his Dao. He had to rely on his own comprehension.
"Reincarnation, the Dao. The myriad realms of heaven and earth, the power of reincarnation, transcends all laws. I cultivate the law of reincarnation. Now that I am to achieve the Dao, it should also be reincarnation. When reincarnation appears, heaven and earth change, all laws enter, and all things are reincarnated." Hou Qinglin's pupils turned ice-cold. Wherever his gaze passed, the space ahead seemed to twist.
"Without enduring the tribulation of reincarnation, how can one comprehend the Dao of reincarnation?" Suddenly, Hou Qinglin seemed to understand something. His body slowly sat down, and his eyes closed. In the secret chamber, the power of reincarnation began to roar. Above him, a reincarnation vortex appeared, descending toward him, as if to envelop his entire body.
Having reached such a state, Hou Qinglin still had not comprehended the Dao. The Dao was too difficult.
Lin Feng comprehended the Dao through life-and-death insights. Ji Wuyou comprehended the Dao by borrowing the Dao of powerful family members to nurture his own, achieving small gains. Zong Que had immense talent and terrifying cultivation, ranked fifth on the Heavenly King-Sealing List, having reached the peak of the Martial Emperor Realm. He achieved the Dao through a fortuitous encounter in the Immortal Kingdom Trial Ground.
In the Immortal Kingdom Trial Ground, Lin Feng and his companions were discovered. They slaughtered their opponents cleanly but did not go out to fight wildly. Instead, they found another secluded place to cultivate. As the one-year deadline approached, Lin Feng endured another Heavenly Demon Tribulation. At the same time, he used the Heavenly Demon Disintegration Art in the Demon Pool for the second time, enduring unbearable pain as his physical body nearly collapsed.
The Heavenly Demon Disintegration Art was extremely domineering. Even members of the ancient demon clan dared not use it lightly. Even powerful figures, within a single major realm, would at most disintegrate three times: once in the early stage, once in the middle stage, and once in the late stage. Even someone as brilliant as Giant disintegrated three times at the low-rank Nether Emperor realm, five times at the mid-rank Nether Emperor realm, and six times at the high-rank Nether Emperor realm.
If the interval between two disintegrations was not long enough, and the physical body had not strengthened enough, the Heavenly Demon Disintegration Art could very well disintegrate one's very life. However, Lin Feng, relying on having endured the Heavenly Demon Tribulation, had his physical body strengthened again. He barely managed to survive the second Heavenly Demon Disintegration. Now, having endured four Heavenly Demon Tribulations and two Heavenly Demon Disintegrations, combined with the power of Heavenly Wrath he had previously withstood, Lin Feng's physical strength had reached the peak of a mid-rank emperor. This meant that even a full-force attack from an ordinary mid-rank emperor peak cultivator could not shake his physical body. Only high-rank emperors using powerful attacks could move him.
But Lin Feng understood very well that while this might be a dream come true for others, it was far from enough for him. Because he never sought to fight at the same realm. Instantly killing mid-rank emperors meant nothing to him, and even killing high-rank emperors was like taking something out of his pocket. His current trump cards remained the power of the Dao and the might of the myriad array formations, with his physical body as a supplement. Of course, if his physical body continued to grow stronger in the future, it could still unleash terrifying power.
At this moment, Lin Feng and his two companions finally emerged. The one-year deadline was approaching—it was time for them to leave.
The three figures dashed forward like the wind, choosing sparsely populated paths to advance rapidly. Whenever they encountered an opponent, they would kill them with lightning speed to avoid large-scale encirclement. After all, many people preparing to withdraw from the Immortal Kingdom Trial Ground were getting ready to return. Who knew how many experts there would be? Once they encountered a large group, no matter how strong they were, it would be difficult to resist.
"So fast!" At a certain direction, a person's expression tightened slightly, showing a hint of surprise. He looked toward that direction and saw three flashes of light in the void. His pupils contracted, and he roared angrily, "Intruders! How dare you!"
This roar attracted many people. Soon, many discovered Lin Feng and his companions' traces and began to pursue them.
However, Lin Feng and the other two kept fleeing without stopping. Finally, one person with terrifying speed caught up to them.
"Kill!" Lin Feng suddenly turned around, his icy pupils shooting out a terrifying death power. The man's face instantly darkened, and then a dazzling light sword flashed past. His body was directly split open, and he fell.
This was all completed in an instant. Another person caught up, but suddenly, a ethereal sword of death shot toward him, forcing him to frantically release his soul power. His blood churned, and then his entire body turned into a mass of blood light. Within two breaths, two experts had fallen, chilling the hearts of those behind them. Even their speed seemed to slow down.