Breakthrough! Awakening the Flame King Domain

"I am not willing to end it like this..."

Cao Longyan flew backward, crashing onto the ground. Blood gushed from his wounds, instantly soaking the soil and staining it a dark, bruised red.

His internal organs had long since been pulverized by Chi Wang's palm strike. His bones were shattered or snapped, and his limbs lay in grotesquely twisted positions.

His consciousness drifted, his gaze fixed on the sky as his eyelids fluttered uncontrollably.

He tried to speak, but his throat was choked with surging blood and fragments of his own organs. Even the faintest tremor became a luxury, yet deep within his eyes, a flicker of unextinguished stubbornness remained, forcing him to chant in his heart.

"Thank you... both of you... Xu Chu, Dian Wei..."

If not for Xu Chu and Dian Wei stepping forward at the final moment, exhausting their core essence to shoulder the brunt of the damage, he would have already been scattered to the winds, turned into untraceable dust amidst the star-filled forest.

"I still have so much left to do. I am the one destined to become the God King; I cannot fall here..."

The roar in the depths of his soul shook his very being, but his body no longer obeyed his commands.

In the end, Cao Longyan's eyes slowly closed. The aura around him withered away completely, leaving not a trace of life.

As his consciousness blurred, Cao Longyan felt his soul pulled by a powerful force, slowly entering the Hellfire Purgatory housed within the fireball of his mental sea.

When he opened his eyes again, the first thing to greet him was a massive, dark red stone gate. It stood a hundred meters tall, and scorching heat waves surged incessantly from the cracks, rushing straight toward his face.

The heat forced Cao Longyan to squint his eyes into slits. He instinctively raised his hands to shield himself, resisting the heart-burning, bone-corroding heat, and moved forward with heavy, resolute steps, pausing with every stride as he approached the gate.

By the time he reached the gate, Cao Longyan was gasping for air, the sweat on his brow evaporated instantly by the incoming heat waves.

Just then, an unruly, majestic voice echoed from behind the gate, making his eardrums ring.

"Kid, get in here!"

Cao Longyan took a deep breath, pressed both hands against the gate, and channeled every ounce of his strength to push it open.

As he pushed, the gate seemed to trigger a self-defense system; the dark red surface erupted into bright crimson flames, searing his hands.

Cao Longyan felt the piercing pain in his palms, but he did not waver. Gritting his teeth, he let out a roar.

"Open for me!"

Rumble—

The gate was pushed open with a thunderous crash, kicking up a powerful shockwave.

Before him lay a path forged from solidified magma, running down the center and leading straight to the end of the purgatory.

On both sides, boiling magma bubbled with scorching heat.

The path was filled with raging flames and malevolent energy. Countless vengeful spirits shrieked, exuding a sense of despair and death, issuing a summons from hell toward Cao Longyan.

The unruly voice echoed in his ears once more.

"Kid, walk to the end of this path."

The moment the voice faded, the burns on Cao Longyan's hands healed as if they had never existed.

He knew this was their initial acknowledgment of him, but he still had to pass their final test... Wait, could it be that his half-year stagnation at level twenty-nine was because of this?

Then he had to conquer them completely!

Cao Longyan's gaze burned as he looked toward the end of the path. He clenched his fists and walked forward, step by step, with unwavering resolve.

Before long, two massive figures appeared before Cao Longyan.

They were the brothers Xiahou Dun and Xiahou Yuan.

"Cao Longyan, as a descendant of the Cao family, what is your grand ambition?"

Cao Longyan grinned, a sharp, world-dominating edge erupting from his eyes. He had long held the answer in his heart, and his voice rang out, clear and powerful, throughout the entire Hellfire Purgatory.

"I, Cao Longyan, do not just want the entire continent; I want to become the supreme God King, to rule the universe and dictate the ages!"

Seeing the kingly aura radiating from Cao Longyan, they couldn't help but reveal satisfied smiles.

Truly, he is little A-Man! No, his ambition is even greater than A-Man's!

Such a lord was one they would follow to the death!

"My Lord, we are willing to follow you to the death! Today, we shall help you break through your bottleneck and awaken new power!"

As the words fell, the power of Xiahou Dun and Xiahou Yuan slowly poured into Cao Longyan's consciousness, merging with the Fire Dragon King bloodline and the Martial God Body within him.

Cao Longyan felt the soul power in his body instantly boil. The bottleneck that had plagued him for half a year was shattered in this very moment!

His level twenty-nine peak soul power surged like a burst dam, instantly breaking through to level thirty Soul Venerate, and it continued to climb rapidly!

Thirty-one... thirty-two... thirty-three...

It climbed all the way to the peak of level thirty-seven!

At the same time, a powerful domain force erupted from his body. Flames soared, and a scorching aura swept through the entire Hellfire Purgatory.

Flame King Domain, awakened!

"Ah—!"

Cao Longyan let out a long howl that shook the heavens, and his consciousness instantly returned to his physical body from the Hellfire Purgatory.

His body floated slowly into the air, surrounded by crimson-gold Flame King flames. The Ten Halls of Yama martial soul appeared in his right hand, and a massive, crimson Fire Dragon King manifested from the martial soul, coiling around his body. Its dragon might was vast, shaking all directions.

The soul power aura of a level thirty-seven peak Soul Master erupted, several times more formidable than before.

This powerful aura radiated by Cao Longyan brought the intense confrontation between Xuan Zi and Di Tian to an immediate halt.

Longyan is still alive, and he even broke through his bottleneck; his soul power is nearly at the level of a Soul Ancestor. This is truly wonderful!

Xuan Zi retracted his Avatar of the Martial Soul and his burning life force. Having seen Cao Longyan's tragic state after being sent flying and lying motionless on the ground, he had assumed the boy was already dead.

In an instant, guilt and rage surged into his heart. Casting all caution aside, he had gone all out, burning his own life force solely to avenge Cao Longyan, attempting to drag Di Tian and the others to the grave with him, intending to pay for Cao Longyan's life with his own.

Di Tian also looked toward Cao Longyan's direction with curiosity.

How could this aura appear on a human?!

Chi Wang, being the closest, watched Cao Longyan rise into the air, its eyes filled with shock, yet it secretly breathed a sigh of relief; at least it hadn't completely botched things.

But the next second, it could no longer smile.

The dragon might radiated by the Fire Dragon King within Cao Longyan directly suppressed it, forcing the unsuspecting beast to prostrate itself on the ground. It had to mobilize its own power to barely stand back up, struggling to breathe under the weight of that dragon might.

However, the shock in its heart did not diminish in the slightest; it only grew more intense!

Deep in the core area, Gu Yuena clearly sensed the power erupting from Cao Longyan, along with the awakened Flame King Domain. She abruptly opened her eyes, stood up, and looked toward Cao Longyan's direction, a flash of deep interest and surprise crossing her eyes.

This human youth actually possesses such heaven-defying potential, along with such a pure Fire Dragon King bloodline and a powerful domain.

She immediately sent a telepathic message to Di Tian and Chi Wang.

Following that, a cold and majestic voice echoed directly into Cao Longyan's mind.

"Human youth, please come to the core area of the Star Dou Great Forest. I wish to meet you."

Cao Longyan, who had just retracted his power and landed on the ground, shuddered. He could sense the immense power contained within that voice and knew the speaker was no ordinary fierce beast.

He looked up toward the direction of the Star Dou Great Forest's core area, a hint of hesitation flashing in his eyes, yet mixed with a touch of anticipation.

Could it be... that the owner of this voice is Di Tian?

But before he could ponder further, Di Tian and Xuan Zi landed beside him.

Di Tian and Chi Wang exchanged a glance, then turned to Cao Longyan, bowed slightly, and extended a hand in a gesture of invitation, their tone respectful yet still carrying the majesty of fierce beasts.

"Human, our Lord requests your presence. Please come with us."

"Very well."

Cao Longyan replied with an exceptionally calm exterior, his expression undisturbed, yet deep within his heart, a tempest was already raging.

The Lord they speak of... could it be the Silver Dragon King, Gu Yuena!