When You Think You Are the Final Boss

Two more years passed in a flash.

This year, Qin Wangchuan was nine years old.

In the blink of an eye, the day for him to descend to the Lower Realm arrived.

Upper Thousand Provinces, Xuanming Realm.

The outer perimeter of the Heaven-Reaching Tower.

A major event was currently unfolding.

To refine the Banner of Ten Thousand Souls, Kugu Devil Master had slaughtered eighty-eight cultivator cities in this realm, turning hundreds of millions of living beings into vengeful spirits.

This provoked seventy-two Great Powers from the Zixiao Sect, Xuanjian Sect, Green Lotus Holy Land, and others to join forces in a siege, swearing to eliminate the demon and uphold the righteous path.

Kugu Devil Master was no match for them and attempted to flee from the Heaven-Reaching Tower to another realm.

However, the group had been lying in ambush here for a long time.

The great battle was on the verge of breaking out.

"Demon! Today is the day you die!" the Zixiao Sect Master roared, as the Nine Heavens Divine Thunder transformed into a hundred-foot Thunder Dragon and crashed down.

Kugu Devil Master sneered, and with a wave of the Banner of Ten Thousand Souls, he swallowed the Thunder Dragon whole: "Is that all you've got?"

Seeing this, the seven sword cultivators of the Xuanjian Sect immediately formed the Big Dipper Sword Formation, their seven natal flying swords turning into streaks of light as they struck.

The Devil Master did not dodge or evade, allowing the sword edges to pierce his body, yet countless vengeful spirits surged from his wounds, instantly contaminating the flying swords and causing them to fall to the ground.

"How is this possible?!" The sword cultivators were horrified.

The three Supreme Elders of the Green Lotus Holy Land exchanged glances, gritted their teeth, and sacrificed their sect's supreme treasure, the World-Purifying Green Lotus.

Holy light shone for a thousand miles, attempting to purify the devil qi.

"Futile!" Kugu Devil Master opened his mouth and spat out his natal devil blood. The Green Lotus was instantly stained red, and hundreds of millions of vengeful spirits swarmed onto it; this holy artifact, passed down for ten thousand years, was corroded into scrap metal!

"Did you think you had me ambushed?"

"In reality, all of this was my plan!"

"If not for this, how could I have gathered you all in this one place?"

"It's time to end this." The Devil Master formed seals with his hands, and the grand formation he had long prepared was activated!

The Banner of Ten Thousand Souls expanded in the wind, and the sky-covering, sun-blocking grievance qi formed a massive vortex.

The magic treasures of the seventy-two Great Powers burst one after another, their Nascent Souls forcibly ripped from their bodies and swallowed by the banner amidst shrill screams.

As the last cultivator's body crashed to the ground, Kugu Devil Master stepped on the shattered skull of the Zixiao Sect Master, and the vengeful spirits on the Banner of Ten Thousand Souls let out a triumphant shriek.

"No... impossible..." The Zixiao Sect Master's tattered Nascent Soul struggled within the banner. "My Zixiao Sect... with thirty thousand years of heritage... how could..."

Kugu Old Devil grinned as he cast a spell: "Thirty thousand years? After today, the Zixiao Sect will be nothing more than a thunder pattern on my banner!"

"Demon!" The Sword Soul of the Xuanjian Sect's First Elder let out a final, ringing cry. "My Xuanjian Sect disciples... will surely..."

"Take revenge?" The Old Devil crushed the Sword Soul with one hand and sneered: "Don't be impatient. Once I refine your entire Xuanjian Sect, I will let you all be reunited within the banner."

The last Supreme Elder of the Green Lotus Holy Land's pure qi was about to dissipate, yet he still shouted sternly: "Old Devil! Do you know that my Green Lotus Ancestor has already ascended to the Heaven Above Heaven! When he..."

"What does his ascension have to do with you?" The Old Devil inhaled, swallowing that wisp of pure qi into his belly, and grinned: "Did you think you could scare me by bringing up an ascended ancestor?"

"He doesn't need to come; one day, I will go find him myself!"

The battlefield fell into a sudden, deathly stillness.

Only the Banner of Ten Thousand Souls fluttered in the wind, the newly collected seventy-two Saint Souls wandering across its surface, every twisted face frozen in the despair and unwillingness of their final moments before falling.

Kugu Old Devil took a deep breath, the rich scent of blood and soul power making him squint in intoxication: "Now this is more like it."

He looked up and laughed wildly: "Hahaha! What famous righteous sects! What upholding justice! You bunch of idiots, did you really think you could win just by having more people?"

Kugu Devil Master stood atop the seventy-two corpses, the Banner of Ten Thousand Souls in his hand snapping in the wind, the hundreds of millions of vengeful spirits on the banner wailing miserably.

"I have used slaughter to prove my path; today, I finally become a Great Emperor!"

He raised his hand and grabbed, pulling the last surviving Zixiao Sect female disciple through the air.

The woman's white robes were already soaked in fresh blood, her black silk hair disheveled, yet it could not hide her clear and peerless features.

A cinnabar mark at the center of her brow flickered, the very symbol of a direct disciple of the Zixiao Sect.

"You all besieged me for seven days; did you ever think you were coming here to die?"

Though the woman's face was deathly pale, she stubbornly held her head high: "Demon... my Master... will surely..."

Before she could finish, black qi surged into her palms.

"I told you, if you're going to call for help, call someone nearby."

"You're already dead, so what use is revenge?"

Her delicate body trembled violently, her jade-like skin shriveling and withering at a visible speed, and her Autumn Water Eyes rapidly dimmed.

With one final, shrill scream, her Divine Soul was forcibly ripped out, turning into a streak of white light that vanished into the Banner of Ten Thousand Souls.

The Kugu Old Devil licked his lips, looking at the shriveled corpse remaining in his hand, and sneered, "A fairy from the Zixiao Sect? She is nothing more than a wandering soul on my banner."

"Twenty-six thousand years of bitter cultivation, slaughtering countless sects, today I have finally become invincible in this realm!" The Kugu Devil Master laughed wildly toward the sky, the blood-red light of the Banner of Ten Thousand Souls surging to dye the entire sky a dark crimson. "Once I refine these seventy-two Saint Souls, it will be time for me to ascend to the Ten Directions Immortal Court!"

He looked down at the battlefield where blood flowed like a river beneath his feet; those once-renowned Great Powers of the righteous path had now all become stepping stones for his advancement.

"Righteous or evil? Good or wicked? This world has always only recognized the fist!"

The great ones were dead, and some juniors were hiding in the distance, thinking they were well-concealed.

Just as he prepared to hunt down those who had slipped through the net to finish them off, suddenly—

"Hmm?"

The Kugu Old Devil's figure paused, and the blood-red light in his eyes surged. He felt the Demonic Essence within his body churning madly, and the billions of vengeful souls within the Banner of Ten Thousand Souls shrieked in unison, actually taking the initiative to feed back pure soul power.

"This is... a breakthrough?!"

The world suddenly changed color, and rolling demonic clouds gathered from all directions.

The spiritual energy from a radius of ten thousand miles poured madly into his body, and every inch of his flesh and blood was undergoing an astonishing transformation.

"Hahaha! Heaven helps me!" The old devil laughed in ecstasy. "Today, I shall prove my Dao and become a Great Emperor!"

"No... it is I, the Great Emperor!"

He suddenly spread his arms, and the Banner of Ten Thousand Souls expanded in the wind, transforming into a blood-colored canopy that covered the sky and sun.

The seventy-two newly acquired Saint Souls struggled painfully within the banner, being forcibly refined into the purest Origin Power.

"With billions of living beings as a sacrifice, and seventy-two Saint Souls as the catalyst—"

Demonic flames towered around the Kugu Old Devil, and his aura climbed step by step.

The void began to twist and collapse, and streaks of pitch-black Emperor Marks emerged on his skin.

A lightning tribulation condensed above his head; as long as he endured ninety-nine lightning strikes, he could become a Great Emperor.

To an ordinary person, the lightning tribulation was terrifying, but in the eyes of the Kugu Old Devil, it was incredibly simple.

There was no need to withstand it head-on; he could simply use the souls within the Banner of Ten Thousand Souls to bear it for him.

This was an alternative path to proving the Dao as a Great Emperor; while it was certainly not as powerful as other Great Emperors, it had the advantage of being steady.

The Kugu Old Devil had already begun to celebrate in advance.

"Today, I—prove the Emperor!"

As he spoke, he looked toward the distant sky, his gaze seemingly piercing through the clouds and the world barrier to see another world.

"This world is too small; it is not worthy of me!"

"With my cultivation as a Great Emperor, even in the Heaven Above Heaven, I should have a place!"

Having said that, he formed seals with his hands, and the Banner of Ten Thousand Souls expanded in the wind to a thousand feet in size, beginning to prepare for the tribulation.

However, at this very moment—

"Boom—!"

The Heaven-Reaching Tower suddenly began to operate.

Someone had arrived in this world!

"Meeting me, you can only say that your luck is poor. Die!"

The Kugu Old Devil struck out with a palm, filled with killing intent.

The next moment.

The Nine-Headed Heaven-Rending Hou stepped through the void, each step causing the stars of the heavens to tremble. They were covered in chaotic mysterious armor, and when their six wings spread, they stirred up world-destroying gale winds, while burning flames danced in their beast pupils, which resembled blood moons.

The imperial chariot was constructed entirely of black and gold, with a mysterious black base and gilded patterns; the body of the chariot was naturally inscribed with Dao patterns.

The most eye-catching feature was the "Qin" character in black on a gold background on both sides of the carriage; every stroke seemed to contain supreme Dao Rhyme capable of suppressing the heavens, and merely looking at it caused one's divine soul to tremble.

A Glazed Palace Lantern hung high on the roof of the carriage, and the Primordial Bell hanging at the four corners chimed lightly.

Every time the bell rang, time and space for a million miles froze.

A hundred Divine Generals in black mysterious armor stood solemnly on both sides, like statues of gods that had existed since the dawn of time.

Their auras were completely restrained; had one not seen them with their own eyes, one would not have been able to detect their presence in the slightest.

When Divine Sense probed toward them, it was like a clay ox entering the sea, leaving no trace behind.

Compared to his own posturing with an outward-flowing aura, these people before him undoubtedly possessed a gap in strength that was despair-inducing!

By the time the Kugu Old Devil realized this, it was already too late to pull back.

His demonic palm, capable of killing a Heavenly Saint-level powerhouse in seconds, wrapped in towering demonic energy, had already slammed fiercely toward the carriage.

However, this world-destroying strike stopped strangely after flying a hundred feet, as if it had collided with an invisible barrier.

The demonic energy began to dissipate, and the blood-red hand gradually dissolved, disintegrating as naturally as ice and snow meeting a blazing sun.

The entire process occurred without a sound, yet it made the hair on the Kugu Old Devil's body stand on end.

"This... how is this possible..."

His pupils contracted violently, and only one thought remained in his mind, screaming frantically:

"Run!"

"Run quickly!!"