Ten-Thousand Dragons Nest, Dragon Emperor Hall.
Deep within the grand palace, inside a cultivation chamber shrouded in layers of restrictions, Clan Chief Ao Yan, who sat cross-legged in meditation, suddenly shuddered. His tightly shut eyes flew open, and an incredulous excitement flashed through them.
Just moments ago, he had clearly sensed a powerful aura that was both familiar and unfamiliar.
That aura carried the Saint Dao fluctuations of Zhang Shuai, which he recognized, but beneath them was an even deeper, supreme Dao resonance that made even him, a late-stage Monster King, feel apprehension, reverence, and even a faint urge to submit!
"Zhang Shuai! He... he's still alive! And this aura..." Ao Yan abruptly rose to his feet, instantly transforming into a streak of violet-gold light. He smashed through the restrictions of the cultivation chamber and shot toward the outside of Dragon Emperor Hall!
Before Dragon Emperor Hall lay a vast plaza paved with star jade.
A figure in white stood quietly there with his hands behind his back. No oppressive pressure emanated from him, nor did any dazzling radiance of magical power surround him. He simply stood there, yet he seemed to have become the absolute center of heaven and earth.
It was Zhang Shuai.
Compared to ten years ago, his bearing had undergone a complete transformation.
If the former Zhang Shuai had been an unsheathed blade, his edge fully exposed and his killing intent earth-shaking, then the current him was more like a bottomless ancient abyss. Beneath his calm lay a terror capable of silencing all Dao.
"Fellow Daoist Zhang!" Ao Yan appeared on the plaza and cried out excitedly at the familiar figure. Yet the moment he sensed the intangible Dao resonance around Zhang Shuai, his steps involuntarily slowed. His eyes filled with shock and disbelief. "You... you've