One Slash Kills Ten Realm Lords (Seeking Follow-up Reads)

"Kill!"

Fighting these Realm Lords, Zhang Dong had no desire to temper himself whatsoever.

To him, these opponents were far too weak—utterly insignificant ants that could be wiped out with a single breath.

If he wanted to hone his skills, he could simply customize opponents in the Virtual Universe, where law comprehension and combat techniques were far superior.

His figure flickered, instantly crossing tens of thousands of kilometers to appear directly before the Crimson Centipede, a single saber stroke cleaving out.

This saber stroke was the very same one he had used at the Domain Lord level on Primordial Heaven-Reaching Mountain.

Shiiing!

The blade light flared, heaven and earth changed color!

The speed of that blade light was extreme. The Crimson Centipede reacted, unleashing its own means to meet the strike. Its towering body lunged upward, and without a weapon, it used the two massive antennae atop its head to intercept the blade's edge.

Even the Ox-Head's blood-colored giant axe had been sliced apart by Zhang Dong, let alone this mere Demon Race Realm Lord.

The Crimson Centipede's move was like a mantis trying to stop a chariot. The moment its antennae touched the blade's radiance, they were severed, and the residual force continued to spread unabated.

Both antennae shattered completely, down to the tiniest particle streams being cleaved apart.

"What?!" the Crimson Centipede cried out in shock. "How can a Domain Lord be this strong?!"

The words had barely left its mouth before the situation was utterly transformed.

The next instant, the saber light twisted, blooming like a flower, then violently exploded. A vast white radiance drowned the area, spanning a full three hundred thousand kilometers, with countless energy ripples surging outward.

Each energy ripple carried the power to split a star, and countless such ripples converged, grinding everything to dust.

"No!!"

"I don't want to die!"

The Alien Realm Lords each unleashed their own desperate measures, fighting with everything they had. Even if it meant becoming prisoners, they still wanted to live.

But against Zhang Dong, all this resistance was futile.

When the radiance faded, the ten Alien Realm Lords were all dead, their bodies annihilated into nothingness. Zhang Dong found the Demon Race too ugly.

Especially that Crimson Centipede—utterly disgusting.

"Done." Zhang Dong grinned. "Elder Xu Jin, the mission is complete. Thank you for standing guard."

"..." Elder Xu Jin thought to himself that his protection was hardly needed—completely superfluous. There had been no imagined fierce battle; just one saber stroke, and all were slain.

In his estimation, Zhang Dong likely had law comprehension at the sixteenth level of the Heavenly Bridge, plus some opportunities. Such combat power was not surprising.

The sixteenth level of the Heavenly Bridge—his Feather Slaughter Clan had never produced a genius so monstrous.

Another super genius of humanity was about to rise. Fortunately, he had seized the chance to forge a good connection.

"With such combat power at Domain Lord Ninth Stage, he should be able to rival a King during his Realm Lord period," Elder Xu Jin mused inwardly. "When will my clan ever produce a genius like this?"

The Feather Slaughter Clan had gone far too many years without birthing a prodigy. Having a single King emerge in an era was already considered fortunate.

With the mission complete, Gao Li activated Divine Kingdom Teleportation, bringing Zhang Dong back to the Imperial Capital Star of Ganwu.

Before leaving, Elder Xu Jin and King Huo Yi tried to persuade him to stay, saying that many clansmen in their tribe wished to gaze upon Zhang Dong and see this peerless genius with their own eyes.

But Zhang Dong felt it was entirely unnecessary.

The karmic connection, or goodwill, had already been established. When he achieved something great in the future, he would repay the Feather Slaughter Clan.

Any further gestures would be mere embellishments, meaningless—unless the Feather Slaughter Clan allowed him to spread his faith within the tribe, which was certainly impossible.

A clan's faith could never belong to an alien, no matter how powerful that outsider might be. That was a fundamental principle, non-negotiable.

Imperial Capital Star of Ganwu.

The light of Divine Kingdom Teleportation flashed within the manor. A spacecraft landed, and Zhang Dong stepped out first. He turned to look at Gao Li and suddenly said, "I've troubled you all these years, but I'll still need to stay here for a while longer."

Gao Li shot Zhang Dong a puzzled look.

Wasn't staying here only natural? As the leader of the guard squad, wherever Zhang Dong was, he was. The other party's words must carry some deeper meaning.

Over the past century, the clan had reached a conclusion regarding whether Zhang Dong should undergo life-and-death tempering: he had to go, but not under this identity.

If he went to the Outer Domain Battlefield or a Cosmic Secret Realm under this identity, a swarm of alien races would undoubtedly descend upon him.

Even if he possessed the Special Lifeform Bitter Snow Vine, with a thousand times the power of a Realm Lord, and even if he reached the twentieth level of the Heavenly Bridge in law comprehension, his combat power would still be limited.

Extremely powerful Special Lifeform Realm Lords, like the Insect-Chasing King, with high life gene levels, ambushes, and powerful treasures, could potentially kill a King limit. But for a Realm Lord to kill a King limit in a frontal confrontation—that would be an act defying the universe's operating laws.

Thus, the human high-level did not expect Zhang Dong to be exceptionally powerful during his Realm Lord period.

"I won't be staying here any longer, but you will," Zhang Dong chose to transmit to Gao Li. "Because I'm about to break through to Realm Lord and undergo life-and-death tempering in the outside world."

Breaking through to Realm Lord meant he had to go for life-and-death tempering.

"Understood. Congratulations, Your Highness." Gao Li said nothing more. His mind worked quickly, and with a moment's thought, he understood. With Zhang Dong's talent and status, breaking through to Realm Lord so swiftly would inevitably draw the attention of countless alien races.

So he had to remain on the Ganwu Imperial Capital Star, maintaining the illusion that Zhang Dong had never left.

Deep within the estate, Zhang Dong broke through to Realm Lord.

"Although I haven't become a Realm Deity yet, I've at least grasped the World Projection technique," Zhang Dong mused to himself. "If you only look at the outward signs, Realm Lords and Realm Deities do seem somewhat similar."

But the gap in combat power between the two was far too vast—utterly incomparable.

Even a King-level Immortal couldn't get past a single cell of a Fourth Heaven Realm Deity.

Half a day later.

There was not the slightest ripple in spacetime, yet a figure in a black robe had already silently appeared within the estate.

Ever since Zhang Dong took up residence on the Ganwu Imperial Capital Star, the Ganwu Kingdom Master had personally arranged the defenses. Once the Tongtian Mountain incident occurred, he spared no effort in monitoring this area, absolutely unwilling to allow any mishap.

But as the black-robed figure descended into the depths of the estate, the Ganwu Kingdom Master sensed nothing at all.

"Teacher!" Zhang Dong hadn't expected the Dark Lord himself to come fetch him. He quickly bowed and said, "Why trouble yourself to come personally for me?"

"I've already informed the Ganwu Kingdom Master to keep up the pretense," the Dark Lord said with a smile. "You're about to set out for life-and-death tempering. Have you decided where to go?"

Life-and-death tempering offered only two choices: the Outer Domain Battlefield or a Cosmic Secret Realm.

Cosmic Secret Realms had a low density of experts. In some vast secret realms, one could wander alone for eons without ever encountering danger.

But those places were a mixed bag.

The Outer Domain Battlefield explicitly forbade Venerables from entering.

As for Cosmic Secret Realms—aside from a few with restrictions—most had no constraints at all. A Universe Master could go whenever they pleased.