At that moment, everyone was utterly stunned!
The An Clan's ancestor, An Yuheng, wasn't a Mahayana Realm cultivator—he was a Great Emperor in the Tribulation Transcendence Realm!
Yuan Ruoyu rose to her feet, her expression grave.
Ye Qingge also straightened slightly, her expression turning colder by the moment.
Every cultivator present stared at the figure in the sky in shock, breathing hard.
Only Ye Xi, noticing the others' reactions, let a subtle glimmer pass through his eyes and smiled calmly.
Qiao Xi drew a deep breath and asked in astonishment, "You're not shocked?"
"I am! I'm shocked!"
Ye Xi put on a frightened expression. "That's why I need to eat more. Otherwise, I'm afraid I won't be able to beat him later!"
Qiao Xi: "..."
She had no mind left for hot pot. Without realizing it, she began to worry about Ye Xi.
An Yuheng was a Great Emperor. Could the other two An Clan ancestors be...?
But when she saw Ye Xi pick up another piece of meat and wolf it down, she cursed the heartless fellow under her breath.
Forget it!
He wasn't worried about himself, so what was she worrying for? Time to eat!
At that moment, where the An Clan members stood, An Shanyuan drew a deep breath and watched the scene.
The excitement in his heart was impossible to suppress!
If the An Clan could make it through this trial safely, they would surely shake the continent and soar to new heights.
Three Great Emperors in one clan—who in the Cultivation World could stand against them?
An Shanyuan took another deep breath, knowing it wasn't time to get excited yet.
Above the vast plain,
Cang Yuan's expression was grim as he felt the other party's powerful aura and pressure.
He was already in despair.
If his opponent had also been in the Mahayana Realm, he would have been confident of victory, no matter who it was.
But he was facing a Great Emperor!
Cang Yuan knew he had absolutely no chance. Not the slightest.
Though the Tribulation Transcendence Realm was divided into early, middle, and late stages, even an early-stage cultivator had grasped at least a trace of the power of the laws of Heaven and Earth.
They could use the power of the laws to construct a Dao Domain.
Within their Dao Domain, they were sovereign. Unless another Tribulation Transcendence cultivator intervened, there was no way to break through their domain.
That was why Tribulation Transcendence cultivators were known as Great Emperors!
Cang Yuan understood this well, but retreating without a fight wasn't in his nature!
"Fellow Daoist An, please enlighten me!"
He drew a deep breath, let out a long howl, and surged with boundless magical power as he thrust out a finger.
"Jade Pool Heaven-Opening Finger!"
This was one of the Jade Pool Holy Land's signature divine abilities, boasting astonishing, overbearing power.
In an instant, winds howled and clouds churned across the sky as a colossal finger-shadow shot toward An Yuheng.
At first, there was only a single finger-shadow.
But with another glance, they were everywhere, layered upon one another, attacking An Yuheng from every direction, leaving no opening.
An Yuheng's eyes widened in surprise. He said solemnly, "Among Mahayana Realm cultivators, I fear Fellow Daoist Cang Yuan would be hard-pressed to find an equal!"
"Too bad you ran into me!"
In the next moment, brilliant radiance flared around An Yuheng, dazzling to behold.
Those were strands of Dao laws. Interwoven, they formed a Dao Domain.
Within the domain, water and fire fused together, forming a small world composed of both.
The finger-shadows seemed unstoppable, but when they crashed into the water-and-fire Dao Domain, they vanished at astonishing speed.
They dissolved into nothing.
Bathed in water and fire, An Yuheng stood at the center, like an undefeated war god.
He pointed with one finger, and a streak of flame shot out.
The flame became a fine line, reaching Cang Yuan in an instant.
Cang Yuan's expression changed drastically, but it was already too late to defend himself. Besides, a Great Emperor's strike was nearly impossible to withstand.
Boom—
With a tremendous crash, Cang Yuan was hurled back hundreds of zhang. He steadied himself, then realized in surprise that he hadn't been seriously injured.
Cang Yuan looked up, astonished, and saw An Yuheng cup his hands toward him.
"Fellow Daoist Cang Yuan, you were gracious!"
"Though this duel is a fight to the death, everything my An Clan has done was to protect our ancestor's peace. We don't wish to make enemies of everyone. It's enough to determine the winner!"
At these words, many present changed their opinion of the An Clan.
As the one who had fought him, Cang Yuan felt even more gratitude. "Thank you for showing mercy, Fellow Daoist. I've lost this battle!"
With that, he turned and strode back to where the Jade Pool Holy Land stood.
"Holy Venerable, I..."
Yuan Ruoyu cut him off, offering comfort. "Great Elder, you did very well. Facing a Great Emperor, you upheld the honor of our Holy Land!"
Cang Yuan lowered his head in shame, deeply grateful.
The Alliance had lost its first battle. Though no one blamed Cang Yuan, losing the opening match put them at a disadvantage.
They had to win the next battle. Otherwise, there would be no third round.
For a moment, the atmosphere grew tense.
On the An Clan's side, the younger members raised their chins, looking unbearably smug.
"Hmph! So what if they joined forces?"
"They still lost the first battle! If they lose again, it's over!"
"Then who would dare provoke our An Clan?"
"An Clan, rise!"
An Shanyuan heard the younger generation behind him talking, and his heart burned with excitement. Still, he lowered his voice and scolded them. "Quiet down. Have some dignity!"
Just then, the sky abruptly darkened.
It was as if all the light had been swallowed. Black mist rolled across the heavens, shrouding the sky.
Only after a moment did some of the light return.
Yet the sky remained dim. Everyone looked up in horror and saw a figure standing within the black mist.
A pair of pale violet eyes stared down coldly.
"I'll fight this round. Great Emperor Zhitong!"
An Shanyuan's heart sank.
An Yudu's temper flared, and he was about to leap into the air when his eldest brother, An Yujun, suddenly held him back.
An Yujun shook his head and said slowly, "I'll take this fight myself!"
Of the three ancestors, he was the strongest.
An Yujun could sense how powerful his opponent was. He wanted to personally face this mysterious Great Emperor.
"Fine!"
An Yudu was somewhat reluctant, but after a moment's thought, he agreed it was the safest choice.
If they won this battle, then the An Clan would win.
Even if they lost, they still had him, a Great Emperor, waiting in reserve. Their chances of winning would remain high.
Unless the opponent was also a Great Emperor!
"This old man will make a fool of himself, then!"
An Yujun took one step forward and appeared in the sky in the next instant, facing Great Emperor Zhitong from afar.
He didn't waste words.
He immediately circulated his magical power and deployed his Dao Domain. A scroll depicting mountains and rivers unfurled around him.
It held mountains, rivers, seas, and vast deserts.
There was also thick earth and boundless plains.
An Yujun's Dao Domain seemed like a world inside a painting. Within it, he could wield every power of that "world"!
Everyone watched the scene tensely!
"A clash between two Great Emperors!"
"Hasn't it been hundreds of years since we last saw one?"
"Who will win?"
High above, before they had even clashed, the winds and clouds were already churning. Their auras collided, booming like thunder.
The next instant!
Great Emperor Zhitong moved. Her Dao Domain was like a boundless world of darkness!
That world held only darkness, without a trace of light.
The Darkness Domain spread wildly, its borders expanding as it reached toward An Yujun's domain.
An Yujun's expression changed drastically. He circulated his magical power and unleashed his divine abilities!
But he found it was all in vain!
He couldn't stop her domain from invading. He could only watch as his "territory" was swallowed up bit by bit.
Smaller and smaller...
Until it became a world of pure darkness.
Everyone's eyes widened. They stared in stunned silence, frozen like statues.
An Yudu cried out, "Her Dao Domain has completely suppressed his! How is that possible?"
Boom! Boom! Boom!
In the darkness, astonishing crashes rang out from time to time. An Yujun was a Great Emperor, after all. How could he simply surrender?
Unfortunately, no one could see the battle.
A moment later,
a dazzling light suddenly flared in the endless darkness. Like a line, it split the darkness in two.
Then it vanished in a flash.
Immediately after, under everyone's shocked gaze, An Yujun stumbled out of the darkness, nearly falling.
Blood dripped from his sleeves.
An Yujun's face was ashen. "I've lost this battle!"
He hesitated, then asked, "May I ask what divine ability that move was?"
After a moment of silence, a voice sounded from within the black mist. "I named it Heaven and Earth Single Line!"
"Heaven and Earth Single Line! Good, good! What an incredible divine ability!"
An Yujun's face lit up. He bowed deeply toward the darkness. "To lose to such a divine ability, I accept my defeat wholeheartedly!"
The black mist began to contract, slowly fading as it drifted into the distance.
Only then did everyone come back to their senses. Their faces brightened with excitement as they gazed toward the black mist, their eyes burning with reverence and fervor!
Great Emperor Zhitong!
After this battle alone, that name would never again be obscure. It was destined to shake the world!
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