Seated cross-legged on a meditation cushion, Yun Zimo hesitated for a moment before taking out a pill shimmering with iridescent light.
The Emperor-Breaking Pill! A sixth-grade pill!
As its name suggested, the pill could increase the chances of a Peak Dou Wang breaking through to Dou Emperor.
Yun Zimo had never been opposed to the idea of taking pills to prove the Dao. The saying that relying on external forces made it difficult to achieve greatness applied to those who forcibly piled on pills and other external aids to break through. Their foundations were unstable, making them highly susceptible to demonic possession later on.
But he had already reached a critical point. He needed only a little help to push open the door to Dou Emperor, and the Emperor-Breaking Pill was naturally the best choice.
"Time waits for no one..."
Yun Zimo sighed softly, then decisively swallowed the Emperor-Breaking Pill. In the next instant, the cultivation technique within him began to circulate wildly, digesting the enormous medicinal power!
"W-what's going on?"
The violent energy fluctuations drew the attention of people throughout Black Skull City—or perhaps it should now be called Jiuling City.
"Everyone, do your duty!"
Ren Xia appeared and shouted. He and five Dou Lings took up positions in a hexagonal formation, guarding against anyone who might take the opportunity to ambush Yun Zimo while he was breaking through.
"Choosing this moment to break through to Dou Emperor? Heh, hehehe..."
Pale-faced Fan Lao sat in a teahouse not far from Jiuling Palace. Watching the surging aura rise from the palace, he felt his blood run cold.
He had never seen anyone with a foundation as solid as Madman Lan's. Even now, his aura far surpassed that of an ordinary mid-tier Dou Emperor. What would happen if he succeeded in breaking through?!
"No wonder that good-for-nothing Ku Lou died at your hands. But..."
Fan Lao smiled mysteriously, his gaze unconsciously settling on one of the Dou Ling experts standing at the ready in the hexagonal formation.
"That is, assuming you actually succeed..."
"People from Jia Nan Academy?"
As Fan Lao silently weighed his options, he casually glanced to the side and suddenly spotted an elder from Jia Nan Academy entering Jiuling Palace. For a moment, he was uncertain, unable to make up his mind.
"He has ties to Jia Nan Academy?!"
Fan Lao could clearly tell that the man was an elder of Jia Nan Academy's Inner Academy. They were fundamentally different from the Outer Academy, which he and the others had been casually provoking!
This threw a massive wrench into Fan Lao's original plan. He hesitated, unsure whether to make a move with that chess piece.
"Forget it. It's only a chess piece, after all. What if it works?"
Fan Lao gritted his teeth. He didn't want another genius Dou Emperor with the potential to become a Dou Zong to emerge in the Black-Corner Region!
Especially not a fool like Xia Lan who stubbornly clung to that ridiculous sense of justice!
"The tides rise with the faintest ripple. The younger generation is truly formidable..."
Elder Lin sat in the reception room with a teacup in hand, sighing with emotion. They had met only a little over half a year ago, yet Yun Zimo was already making his breakthrough to Dou Emperor. At that pace, he would put old Dou Wangs like them to shame...
"Elder Lin, the commander happens to be in seclusion. I'm truly sorry..."
Ren Xia bowed apologetically, but Elder Lin said it was no trouble. Great Elder Su Qian had intended for him to stay here and deter the other factions anyway, so he might as well protect Yun Zimo as he broke through.
"No trouble. I have nothing else to do, so I'll wait here. I may as well help protect him."
Ren Xia was delighted to hear this. Whether Elder Lin could actually help was beside the point; this represented Jia Nan Academy's stance!
The sudden aura of a Dou Wang that spread across the Black-Corner Region once again alarmed the major factions. Some faction leaders who had previously paid no attention to it now came to Jiuling City themselves or sent people in their stead.
A potential Dou Zong? That was unwelcome news indeed. The last person to receive such serious attention from so many factions had been Medicine Emperor Han Feng, who came from the Central Plains!
Meanwhile, a man who had come from Feng City was plotting something near Jiuling Palace alongside a group of faction leaders...
"Could Medicine Emperor also be planning to..."
When Fan Lao saw the items the man had laid out, his eyes lit up. With Medicine Emperor Han Feng's help, they wouldn't even need to fear Jia Nan Academy!
"It's not my master. It's you people!"
Han Beng, Han Feng's medicine boy, smiled at the faction leaders before him.
"The pills and these other items were all purchased by you from Feng City yourselves. They have nothing to do with my master!"
"Yes, yes, we bought them ourselves..."
Fan Lao cursed Han Feng for being shameless in his heart, but on the surface he put on a look of sudden understanding and smiled obsequiously.
"I just remembered that there's an urgent matter to attend to back at my sect. Please excuse me!"
At that moment, Tie Wu, the master of the Mad Lion Gang, gave a guileless smile. Ignoring the others' reactions, he stood, bowed, and took his leave, then hurriedly left Jiuling City.
"Damn it, I thought this was something important. They just wanted to use us as cannon fodder!"
Tie Wu muttered as soon as he was outside. If this worked, fine—but if it didn't, he had no desire to provoke a genius like that!
"I just remembered..."
"Me too..."
After Tie Wu, the masters of the Heaven's Yin Sect and Rakshasa Gate—Old Yin Bone and Su Mei—as well as several other faction leaders stood and took their leave.
They had no desire to wade into these muddy waters either!
Even after seeing several faction leaders withdraw, Han Beng kept smiling.
Only now, his eyes held a trace of coldness. Good. Very good...
"Mr. Han, this... what are we supposed to do?"
Seeing that only a handful of them remained in the room, Fan Lao asked cautiously. Now they had only three or four factions joining them!
"If they don't want in, let them be. Are four Dou Emperors really afraid they can't take down a Dou Wang who's about to fail his breakthrough?"
Han Beng glanced at the four men who remained and chuckled softly.
Seven-Star Dou Emperor Emperor Ban, Ban Lao; Five-Star Dou Emperor Fan Lao, master of the Blood Sect; Three-Star Dou Emperor Wu Nao, master of the Demon Blade Gate; and Three-Star Dou Emperor Yan, master of the Earth Flame Sect!
This lineup might not be enough to sweep the Black-Corner Region, but together they could easily wipe out one or two factions.
"Wait for the right moment and kill him with one strike!"
Han Beng spoke in a chilling voice, though he had already prepared to run. If they succeeded, all the better. If they didn't...
Strike once and flee a thousand miles—he understood that principle well...
"Dark night, rising winds..."
In Jiuling Palace, Elder Lin gazed at the layers of dark clouds shrouding the distant moon. The gusting, sinister wind blew toward him. Though he didn't feel cold, he still unconsciously tightened his clothes.
Nearly ten days had passed. Yun Zimo's aura showed no sign of weakening; if anything, it seemed to be growing stronger. Elder Lin was worried. Who knew how many people had been secretly preparing these past few days!
Boom!
Another five days passed. Just as the first ray of morning sunlight fell upon the place where Yun Zimo had secluded himself, the aura that had built to its peak trembled, and a massive blue-white tornado burst through the roof and shot into the sky!
Within the blue-white tornado, Yun Zimo slowly emerged, floating in midair. His eyes snapped open, his hands flashing through a series of seals so quickly that they left afterimages. An invisible cracking sound rang out inside him. With one final step, he would become a Dou Emperor!
"Attack!"
Fan Lao, who had been waiting for a long time, gave a low shout. A blood-red handprint dozens of meters across slammed down toward Yun Zimo from above, and Fan Lao followed close behind, waiting for a chance to land a finishing blow.
Boom!
A huge flaming palm appeared in midair and blocked the blood-red handprint. As a light laugh rang out, Fan Lao's expression darkened.
"Fan Lao, you'd stoop to ambushing a junior? Oh, right, I forgot. Sewer rats like you love doing things like that..."
"Qi Yan! Does Jia Nan Academy intend to wade into this mess too?!"
Qi Yan was one of the eighteen elders of Jia Nan Academy's Inner Academy, an Eight-Star Dou Emperor with a fire affinity and the head of the Alchemy Department.
Qi Yan ignored Fan Lao and simply looked toward the Inner Academy head who had blocked Ban Lao and the other two Dou Emperors.
"Elders, leave these Dou Wangs to you!"
Elder Lin bowed to the several Dou Wang elders from the Inner and Outer Academies behind him.
"Elder Lin, you're too courteous. The dean signed our travel permits, so there's no need for that."
One of the elders laughed. They rarely got a chance to leave the academy, so they might as well stretch their limbs.
Dou Emperors clashed, energy colliding across the sky. Beneath the dazzling flashes came wave after wave of terrifying shockwaves, toppling buildings throughout Jiuling City.
Fortunately, Xia Lan had already moved the people in the city to shelter. Otherwise, he would have had his hands full dealing with the casualties!
"Kid, hurry it up!"
Qi Yan's hands never stopped moving, but his lips barely moved as his voice carried into the blue-white tornado.
"We don't want to provoke a war across the Black-Corner Region. We can only hold them off for a while. If you can't break through, don't force it!"
"Blood Shadow Stealth Kill!"
Seeing the battle locked in a stalemate, Fan Lao hardened his resolve. His body exploded into a vast cloud of blood mist. In the next instant, the mist coalesced, and pale-faced Fan Lao appeared in front of the tornado. Grinning savagely, he thrust forward with a blood-red spear!
"Earth Flame Dragon Explosion!"
Yan roared. Pillars of fire and flame dragons surged toward the Dou Emperor before him, while he himself charged straight for the tornado!
"Demon Blade! Slash!"
Miasma surged from the great blade in Wu Nao's hand. A blade light that seemed to cleave heaven and earth forced back the Inner Academy Dou Emperor. After striking several more times to hold him off, Wu Nao flashed to the tornado, raised his blade, and brought it down on Yun Zimo!
"Not good!"
The Jia Nan elder, who had been at ease moments before, suddenly paled.
"Die!"
Wu Nao roared, but out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ban Lao already speeding away.
"What's he... What?!"
Before Wu Nao could react, tremendous force slammed into his chest. He seemed to hear his bones breaking. Before he could even wonder what had happened, a burst of agonizing pain made his brow twitch uncontrollably.
"How is this possible?!"
When he raised his eyes, he saw a hand, fair as jade, resting lightly on his head. The shadow of death came crashing down, plunging Wu Nao into an icy abyss. Under that immense pressure, the pain in his chest no longer seemed quite so intense...
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