The Saint Son Luo Jie's Challenge
King of Great Luo Luo Qing's expression was calm. Recalling their meeting five years ago, he could clearly remember sensing Fu Yuan's strength. He had been a Saint Son firmly in the strongest class.
But seeing him again now, Luo Qing could not help feeling as though rivers and seas were churning in his heart. This visitor from the Indestructible Forbidden Zone was sacred and powerful, every gesture displaying the bearing of an immortal banished to the mortal world.
"The Great Emperor of Nothingness was a figure who overshadowed the world. His son should naturally be extraordinary." He grew ever more certain of his guess. That was the peerless fiend who had schemed against the Heavenly Dao and sparked a war among emperors.
Fu Yuan walked to the very center of the hall. The King of Great Luo waved a hand, and another seat appeared beside him, above those of the elders and grand elders, to the left of the throne.
"Saint Son Fu Yuan, please!" The reigning King of Great Luo welcomed Fu Yuan to his seat with the utmost humility.
Everyone in the hall rose to their feet, their manner respectful.
This represented Fu Yuan's standing upon entering the world: above all the elders and grand elders, and on equal footing with the reigning King of Great Luo.
How unimaginable was that? Everyone sucked in a breath of cold air. So what if he was an ancient ancestor's son? He was only a minor cultivator at the Profound Understanding Realm. This should not have been so.
The first King of Great Luo had decreed that the king and Saints stood as equals, and that none but an emperor could stand above the King of Great Luo.
A Profound Opening cultivator, equal in rank to the king and to Saints—how inconceivable was that?
Only after Fu Yuan sat down did the others take their seats.
"With Saint Son Fu Yuan entering the world, the name of Great Luo shall shine once more across the Three Thousand Worlds."
"Let the Dao lineages of this Emperor Realm see that the Great Luo Dynasty still stands, as it always has!"
King of Great Luo Luo Qing strode down from the golden throne, impassioned and brimming with heroic spirit.
The cold blood of some of the older generation who knew the past slowly began to boil. The Great Luo Dynasty had lain dormant for so long that those who came after had forgotten its once-formidable renown.
This was a dynasty that had dared declare war on an emperor clan and had fought for a hundred thousand years without defeat. In the Blood Ancient era, its territory had been more than a hundred times its present size, encompassing over half of the Hengjie Star Domain.
It had stood above the many holy lands and dynasties, a colossal power regarded as an imperial dynasty.
Sadly, it had never produced an emperor and had never crossed that final threshold.
Only when the Desolate Ancient era arrived, heaven and earth grew ever more incomplete, and Luo Yu, the King of Great Luo at the Quasi-Emperor Realm, fell, did the Great Luo Dynasty finally sheathe its edge and lapse into silence.
"Now that Saint Son Fu Yuan has entered the world, it is time for Great Luo to reveal its former edge and reclaim everything we lost, one piece at a time!"
King of Great Luo Luo Qing no longer restrained his presence. The terrifying might of the peak Divine Fire Realm erupted in full, enveloping the entire Heavenly Luo Star in mere moments.
"Tenth level of Divine Fire. That brat Luo Qing has some ability." Fu Yangping laughed, his gaze toward the Void Heaven Hall growing deeper. "He broke the limits of the Qi Sea, Nirvana, and Divine Fire realms. What a low-profile, heaven-gifted genius."
"Sadly, he was not born in a great age." Fu Yangping sighed. He had been born at the wrong time, never facing true supreme monsters or taking part in the Battle of the World Sons and the struggle for fortune.
Nine was the ultimate number. To break the limit of a realm and walk the path of ten was already extraordinary, the mark of a monster in the strongest class.
The limits of all six major realms—Qi Sea, Profound Opening, Nirvana, Divine Fire, Venerable, and Saint—could be broken. Since the Mythic era, only a handful of people had broken the limits of all six.
Only a few thousand had broken the limits of five realms, just over ten thousand had broken the limits of four, and only a few hundred thousand had broken the limits of three.
On the path of breaking limits, apart from the Profound Understanding Realm, where success depended on bloodline power and nothing short of a ninth-grade bloodline would suffice, the higher the realm, the harder it became.
For someone with an ordinary body to break the limit of Divine Fire was already enough to set him far above the mundane. If he could also fathom the mysteries of the Great Dao, sainthood would be within easy reach, and even becoming a Saint Emperor might not be impossible.
"Warn all the surrounding powers: if they do not return Great Luo's former territories, we will go to war!"
"Bring the full might of Great Luo to bear and go to war!"
King of Great Luo Luo Qing spoke in a ringing voice, imposing to the utmost.
"Your Majesty!"
Everyone was stunned. Such a decision was astonishing-it was nearly a declaration of war against half the Hengjie Star Domain, against several dynasties and holy lands.
The four grand elders remained silent, considering whether Luo Qing's words reflected the will of the Saint who had awakened or the King of Great Luo's own decision.
"This is a great age. The heirs of emperor clans, imperial dynasties, and Ancient Saint lands will all enter the world, and some slumbering old antiques have already awakened. Is this not going too far?"
Grand Elder Luo Jue spoke after a moment's thought. The Great Luo Dynasty had astonishing foundations and feared neither holy lands nor dynasties, but if it drew the attention of an emperor's Dao lineage, its situation would be dire.
The King of Great Luo, Luo Qing, did not answer. Instead, he turned to Fu Yuan. "What does Saint Son Fu Yuan think?"
"We are merely taking back what belongs to us. Why should we hold back?" Fu Yuan's voice was like warm jade, filled with utter confidence.
"An age of great contention is bound to bring great chaos. In that case, let us be the first to enter the fray and stir up a storm!" Luo Qing laughed, looking at the assembled people before gazing beyond the Void Heaven Hall, settling the matter with a single blow. "Activate the Great Luo Formation, awaken the grand elders of the Heavenly Luo Forbidden Zone, and prepare for war!"
Fu Yuan looked at the King of Great Luo below. He certainly had both ability and resolve.
In this age without emperors, when Saints were the highest combat power, and so long as no Great Emperor Weapon appeared, Uncle Lin, with the combat power of a Saint Emperor, was nearly invincible. Why should they fear anyone else?
"I, Luo Jie, request a battle with Saint Son Fu Yuan!"
Just as all the proceedings had concluded and everyone in the hall was in high spirits, Luo Jie stepped forward, wishing to fight Fu Yuan.
As the current Saint Son and the leader of Great Luo's younger generation, he had never met a match since he began cultivating and believed himself inferior to no one.
"Interesting." The corners of Fu Yuan's mouth rose as he slowly stood.
"First level of Profound Opening?"
As Fu Yuan rose, his restrained presence began to unfold. With his blood Qi surging, his true realm was revealed before everyone.
The Great Luo geniuses present wore varied expressions. With such an extraordinary bearing and such a powerful presence, he was only at the first level of Profound Understanding.
"The son of an ancient Saint, with a ninth-grade bloodline?"
"Does he have some special physique, did he consume some flesh-and-blood true pill, or does he cultivate some flesh-and-blood heavenly scripture?"
Luo Feng, the young marquis, gently waved his folding fan, lost in thought.
Outside the Void Heaven Hall, two figures, one in white and one in inky black, stood suspended in the air. Powerful presences surged across the sky as the might of the two young supremes clashed.
"Big Brother Luo Jie has never met his match. Among Great Luo's geniuses at the same realm, none can last a hundred moves against him."
"So what if he's an ancient Saint Son? He's only a loser from a bygone age, destined to fall to Big Brother."
The geniuses who admired Luo Jie spoke up one after another, expecting him to sweep aside everything and overpower Fu Yuan.
"If they fought at the same realm, Saint Son Fu Yuan would naturally have the edge. But with a gap of three minor realms, none but an emperor's son could win," said Luo Qi, the fifth son of the King of Great Luo.
"What a terrifying monster!"
Luo Jie's expression darkened. Facing Fu Yuan directly, he felt his strength ever more clearly: like a lake, like an abyss, unfathomably deep. As their presences clashed, the terrifying pressure made him feel as though he were facing a primeval tyrannosaur.
He had not wanted to win through the advantage of his realm, but he now knew full well that if he did not strike with all his might, he would not have the slightest chance of victory.
"Kill!" Luo Jie roared. His cultivation at the fourth level of Profound Opening erupted in full, lightning surging as he unleashed a powerful lightning art, coiling around him like a blue dragon.