Heavenly Dragon Pavilion, main building

The four Lineage Chiefs of the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Li could no longer maintain their calm as they withstood the sheer might of the Transcendent Heavenly Throne. They were lost for words.

Even Li Tianji, as the Mountain Ruling Chief, was moved.

A Greater Transcendent Duke!

Tan Tailan had actually become a Greater Transcendent Duke! The other three were in a complete daze as they looked at the purple-coated lady. Tan Tailan had been outstanding amongst her peers in the Heavenly Origin Divine Continent all those years ago, but even then, she was no more than a fledgling junior.

Everyone beneath the King stage was an ant in their eyes. There was only one exception. Those that walked the Path of Ascension and had condensed their Transcendent Heavenly Thrones, proving their ability as a Transcendent Duke! This was the only way for a Duke to surpass a King. Since ancient times, numerous blessed geniuses had attempted to walk this path, completing the Path of Ascension and being able to suppress Kings as mere Dukes! It was a pity that the Path of Ascension was filled with fraught dangers and difficulties. The Ten-Pillar Golden Duke Bergfrieds that symbolizes perfection were like humongous mountains that reached into the skies, blocking off these geniuses at the very bottom. Just a single Ten-Pillar Golden Duke Bergfried was capable of elevating one to the peak amongst their peers!

Meanwhile, the requirement to be considered a Transcendent Duke was to forge seven of them! The difficulty was unimaginable. Thus, Li Tianji and the rest of the Lineage Chiefs were shell-shocked when they saw the Transcendent Heavenly Throne.

Furthermore, Tan Tailan wasn't a Lesser Transcendent with seven Ten-Pillar Golden Duke Bergfrieds, but a Greater Transcendent! This meant that she was at a level capable of dominating a Dual Crowned King in a fight. If they were to exchange blows, the only one who could even resist was Li Tianji, who was at the Grand Perfection Realm of the Dual Crowned King Stage.

"I had never expected that Duke Lan would have become a Transcendent after twenty years. This is truly worth celebrating." Li Tianji was the first to recover in the stagnant atmosphere. He immediately greeted Tan Tailan with a single hand, which was the etiquette for treating a peer. He had already adjusted his mentality and the way he would treat her as the Mountain Ruling Chief. It would not be appropriate to regard her as a junior at this point of time.

The other three Kings had complicated expressions as they respectfully greeted her before sighing.

They understood why Li Jingzhe had passed the title on to her after his death and not to Li Qingpeng.

Her strength was more than enough to suppress any discontent.

When faced with the greetings from the four Kings, Tan Tailan no longer acted ostentatiously and put down the teacup, rising to return the greeting with a shallow smile. "Greetings, Lineage Chiefs."

Although she didn't like Li Tianji, she had promised Li Jingzhe that she'd manage the Dragon's Fang Lineage and wouldn't press Li Tianji to the point that the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Li's internal situation would be left in turmoil.

She was normally a forceful person, but that didn't mean she was blind to the bigger picture.

Li Tianji smiled as he sat beside her. In the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Li, the Lineage Chiefs all held the same status. As Heavenly Dragon City was originally Li Jingzhe's responsibility, with his fall and him passing the position on to Tan Tailan, she would be the one managing what was going on. Thus, her sitting at the head of the table was to be expected. That said, this was only respected because she had revealed her strength as a Greater Transcendent Duke.

"We'll have to trouble you, Duke Lan, to manage the future matters of the Dragon's Fang Lineage. Since you're Li Taixuan's wife, you can be considered a member of the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Li. It is only natural and appropriate that you carry the mantle of the Dragon's Fang Lineage’s Lineage Chief," Li Tianji said warmly.

"The Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Li will host a grand succession ceremony to show the world that you're the new Lineage Chief."

Meanwhile, Li Luo, who was standing behind Tan Tailan, sighed in his heart. Li Tianji was truly worthy of his role as the Mountain Ruling Chief. It seemed like he had completely forgotten what he had done to her all those years ago. It was as though she was turning the other cheek.

Tan Tailan indifferently said, "There is no need for a succession ceremony. After all, my father has just passed away, and it's not appropriate to do so now."

Li Tianji lightly sighed and his expression turned heavy. "Lineage Chief Jingzhe's fall is a crippling wound to the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Li. We will definitely take revenge for him. Qin Jiujie and the Faceless Other King will repay this blood debt for sure."

Tan Tailan didn't comment further on this. The Faceless Other King was backed by the terrifying Origin Reversion Institute, a power many times stronger than the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Li. If Li Tianji truly had such courage, they would have confronted the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Qin already, but instead he had chosen to be patient and endure.

"When the changes to the World's End River Region happened and the space was sealed by the Stygian Rain of Calamity, did you have no methods to enter at all? Why didn't you come until now?" Tan Tailan slowly asked with a hint of accusation in her words.

Li Tianji bitterly smiled and explained, "It wasn't that we had no methods to enter, but with Qin Jiujie having invited the Imperial Beast Hall’s Master Lin Miao as a guest of the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Qin and both of them having deep enmity with our bloodline, we couldn't leave them unchecked. Thus, we focused much of our attention on them. The World's End River Region's developments were too sudden and beyond expectation. This is ultimately my fault as the Mountain Ruling Chief and my unwavering trust in Li Jingzhe."

Now that Li Jingzhe had fallen, it had crippled the Dragon's Fang Lineage as a whole. They had not provided timely nor ample support, and it wouldn't just be Tan Tailan that held grievances towards them—the rest of the Dragon's Fang Lineage would also criticize them.

Li Tianji couldn't argue and he understood that there was no point in passing the blame, so he took the initiative to own up to his decisions.

"Lin Miao of the Imperial Beast Hall."

Tan Tailan's eyes narrowed slightly. She was obviously aware of the Mythical Spirit Divine Continent's Heavenly Emperor power, but she had never expected that Qin Jiujie would have invited him over.

She then changed the subject."How is the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Qin doing now?"

Li Luo and Jiang Qing'e perked up their ears. The water of the World's End River was being funneled into the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Qin's land, and they wanted to know what was happening in the outside world.

"It started yesterday in the territories of the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Qin. The World's End River water penetrated through the void and poured out onto their lands with an endless number of Others. The entire situation transformed into an Other Disaster of a terrifying scale. The five Kings in the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Qin took action to restore order, but they couldn't succeed. As the World's End River water dispersed, a mysterious force dissipated all of their actions."

Li Tianji then raised his head and looked at the Blood Bridge. More specifically, he was looking at the stone steele that was on top of it.

Four primordial characters were engraved upon it.

Kings may not trespass

! They were originally speculating on why none of the Kings from the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Qin were able to resolve the issue, but it was only after they had entered the World's End River Region that they understood why.

It was because of the Grand Devil King's Heavenly Emperor Edict.

"Kings may not trespass... It's no wonder the Kings were unable to stop the Other Disasters unfolding within their territories. They originally wanted Lin Miao to help out, but the moment he saw the situation, he left without hesitation." Li Qingying sighed.

What a joke. The Heavenly Emperor Edict was declared by a Grand Devil King. Lin Miao was a Dual Crowned King, but he wouldn't dare to stick his fingers into this situation. Otherwise, he could very well be dragged down together with them.

"If Lin Miao found out about what happened here, he would definitely be furious. He accepted Qin Jiujie's invitation to come to our continent, and Qin Jiujie ended up betraying the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Qin and joining the Origin Reversion Institute shortly after." Li Xuanwu laughed, causing the entire Heavenly Dragon Pavilion to tremble.

The others laughed darkly as well. Qin Jiujie had become a notorious villain in the Heavenly Origin Divine Continent, and Lin Miao would naturally feel unlucky to have been associated with this ill omen. After all, he was definitely worried that others would suspect that he was related to the Origin Reversion Institute.

"The Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Qin reaps what they sow. This is well deserved," Li Jinjiao said.

Li Tianji shook his head. "The Other Disaster has become quite troublesome to deal with because of the Heavenly Emperor Edict. This means that anyone at the King Stage or with King Stage power is unable to enter and resolve the root of the situation. If the Other Disaster unfolds at its current pace, hundreds of cities within ten thousand miles will be devoured and many lives will be lost in just one day. The Dragon's Fang Lineage shared a border with the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Qin in the north. Even though the location of the Other Disaster is tens of thousands of miles away, if it continues to spread, it will soon reach the Dragon's Fang Lineage."

Li Qingpeng, Li Jinpan, and the rest of the people's expressions changed when they heard this. They had originally assumed it would only be a problem for the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Qin; they had not expected the disaster to spread so quickly.

If the Other Disaster reached the borders of the Dragon's Fang Lineage, then they would suffer too.

Tan Tailan frowned. As the new Lineage Chief, she naturally had to preserve the peace within the Dragon's Fang Lineage's territories. Unfortunately, this Other Disaster had the blessing of an Heavenly Emperor Edict that also affected her.

Kings may not trespass

—it didn't just refer to King Stage experts, but anyone who had reached that level of strength. They would all be restricted. How could such a large loophole exist in the Tri-Pupil Enigmatic Fetus's methods? This Other Disaster was ferocious, and even the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Qin was caught off guard and could only retreat steadily. If it expanded to the Dragon's Fang Lineage's territories, the cost would be tremendous.

"What do you plan to do?" Tan Tailan raised her head to look at the four Kings.