The Emperor experts sitting here all came from either the Great Six Courts, the Great Ten Battle Clans, or other behemoths of this level. Having lived for who knew how many years, what kind of rune heritages in existence had they not seen before?

However, all of them were currently failing to figure out where a young man’s heritage was from!

This was undoubtedly astonishing.

“If Array Emperor Lu was still alive, he would definitely be able to recognize it,” said Xia Xinglie all of a sudden.

His comment caused the area to fall silent. The expressions of many big shots became unnatural.

Array Emperor Lu![1]

This was a legendary figure who had never stepped into the Emperor Stage but was still revered as one by the world by virtue of his ability in dao runes.

𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

During the Dao War of Emperors in the ancient era, he had set up a ‘Killing Array of Perishment’ and trapped thirteen Emperor opponents with it.

That array had ended up killing five Emperors and severely injuring the other eight!

At the time, Array Emperor Lu had only been a quasi-Emperor!

Unfortunately, Array Emperor Lu had probably been limited by his cultivation level and exhausted himself in the end, causing him to suffer from a sneak attack. As a result, the Killing Array of Perishment stained with the blood of Emperors had also collapsed.

After that battle, it was unclear whether he was alive or not, but the world had still regarded him as a god, believing that ‘his skills in array allowed him to compete with Emperors.’ Thus, they had started worshiping him as Array Emperor Lu!

He was a legend who had never become an Emperor, but was recognized as having walked a rune path of the Emperor Stage!

He was an uncrowned Emperor!

The Killing Array of Perishment that he had set up had also been recognized as the All-Heaven Ninth Array, and this ranking had remained until this day.

Those ranked above it were all supreme arrays at the Emperor and even the Ancestor Stage.

It was already an eternally remarkable feat for Array Emperor Lu, who had relied on his quasi-Emperor cultivation to lay down the Killing Array of Perishment, to be able to claim this rank!

This piece of ancient history had long been forgotten by the vast majority of people after so many eventful eons, but for the great Emperor figures present, it had been carved into their memories and could not be forgotten at all.

This was due to the fact that many of those Emperor opponents of Array Emperor Lu back then had come from the Great Six Courts and the Great Ten Battle Clans!

It explained why their expressions became unnatural when Ultimate Demon Sword Emperor Xia Xinglie mentioned that name.

“It’s just a dao battle among the juniors, what’s the point of mentioning Array Emperor Lu?” said Emperor Fire Spirit of Heaven and Earth Dao Court. Despite being circled by flame fish manifested from fire law power, there was nothing but ice filling her expression.

She had already been feeling frustrated that Tu Qianjue and the other disciples of Heaven and Earth Dao Court had gotten trapped in the large array.

The other Emperor experts decided to be tactful and did not continue this topic.

They all knew that Tu Qianjue was one of the core talents of Heaven and Earth Dao Court. He was greatly favored by Emperor Fire Spirit, who believed that he would be able to demonstrate his ability and get selected for the competition in the Ancient Immortal Forbidden Zone.

However, the current situation showed the possibility of him being eliminated, so she naturally wasn’t in a good mood.

Among everyone, only Xia Xinglie scoffed out loud, “One reaps what they sow. Someone thought he could bully people with numbers, but it turns out he’s just dug himself into a hole. Still, Jin Duyi has indeed proved himself worthy of my high opinion about him. In fact, I can somewhat see my dashing younger self in him.”

His remark caused the crowd to exchange glances.

Meanwhile, Emperor Fire Spirit’s eyes flashed with a sharp glint as she coldly snorted, “Xia Xinglie, what do you mean by that?”

Xia Xinglie raised his brows and said indifferently, “What, isn’t it just a battle between the juniors? Am I not allowed to comment on it or something? If you don’t like what I say, why don’t we decide with a duel?”

As Emperor Fire Spirit’s eyes widened in rage, Taishu Hong hurriedly said, “Both of you, it’s just a debate, there’s no need to lose your temper over it.”

Xia Xinglie smiled, “Indeed, it’s not worth it. But I still stand by my words – if you don’t like what I say, I can fight you until you do.”

He said this calmly but overbearingly!

It was worth mentioning that Emperor Fire Spirit was also a nebula-shaking supreme existence who had Heaven and Earth Dao Court standing behind her. Who in this Primordial Chaos World dared to disrespect her?

However, Xia Xinglie had the guts to!

Such was Ultimate Demon Sword Emperor. Having roamed the starry sky for many, many years, he had never been afraid of the likes of the Great Six Courts and Great Ten Battle Clans.

In the end, Emperor Fire Spirit held back her anger and stopped engaging. She also knew very well Xia Xinglie’s nature; he was an old prick and had been one for forever.

“Huh, the kid just jumped straight into the array. Savage enough!” exclaimed an Emperor suddenly, drawing away the crowd’s attention.

……

In Mythical Huang Secret Realm, within the grand array set up in the canyon.

“Quick, although this array is powerful, its power is nearly depleted. We just have to put our strength into it, and we’ll destroy it in no time!” Tu Qianjue’s spirit was lifted when he sensed the change in the array.

At the moment, four of his eight fellow disciples had been eliminated. Since every single one of them was a core disciple of Heaven and Earth Dao Court, this kind of loss could be considered quite significant.

“When we get out, let’s teach Jin Duyi a good lesson!”

“That damned bastard must pay for this!”

The remaining ones gritted their teeth in hatred and dropped harsh remarks one after another.

“No need to wait until you’re out, then. We can settle this now,” rang a bland voice suddenly, which was immediately followed by Lin Xun’s appearance inside the grand array.

Boom!

Before the sound of that declaration could fade, he was already wielding the Broken Blade and bolting towards a tall, burly man clad in golden armor.

No one could have expected that, at this critical juncture when the array was about to be broken, Lin Xun would take the initiative to enter it and attack right away!

Caught off guard, the golden-armored man simply had no time to evade and could only take it head on.

“F*ck off!” he roared angrily as a vision of a dragon and tiger streamed around him. The gigantic, golden hammer in his hand smashed out with a deafening noise, unleashing unparalleled golden dao light.

It looked like someone was swinging up the blazing sun and smashing it down with earth-shattering valor!

Claang!

The clash of the Broken Blade and the gigantic hammer produced an ear-piercing sound and an eruption of sparks.

The next thing everyone saw was the golden hammer being cleaved in half by the Broken Blade!

The latter did not decrease in momentum as it chopped at the golden-armored man. As the weapon’s unparalleled sharpness pierced his eyes, a great terror surged in his heart.

I couldn’t even stop a single strike from him?

How can this guy be so strong?

By the time these thoughts surfaced in his mind, the golden-armored man had already been eliminated from the competition.

All of this had happened in the blink of an eye, so fast that the others had only been able to watch as his fate unfolded while unable to even help at all. This flooded them with chills.

“Junior Brother Chu!” Tu Qianjue flew into a complete rage, his long hair dancing wildly and his eyes red.

This was already his fifth companion to be eliminated!

Furthermore, he, Tu Qianjue, had been utterly powerless to stop it!

“DIE!”

With a roar, Tu Qianjue operated at full power. A violet flying sword swept up and created a sword field.

Inside the sword field was a vast region filled with violet qi that represented good fortune. In the sky, a big sun shone brightly. In the air echoed the endless chanting of sutras making it resemble a sacred kingdom.

Great Dao Field – Regal Forbidden Sword Field!

Kabooom!

Before the attack could even touch Lin Xun, however, it was blocked by the power of the grand array.

Lin Xun smilingly pointed at his feet, “Before this array collapses, I am the king.”

As he spoke, his figure flickered like an illusory shadow before abruptly appearing in front of a woman in yellow.

His fingertip tapped in the air ever so lightly.

The yellow-clad woman was directly teleported out of Mythical Huang Secret Realm amid her terrified scream.

Rustle~

As she was eliminated, countless crystalline and radiant Taixuan sword qi whistled out from Lin Xun.

He was really like a king of his land. Whoever his target was, the fight would reach an outcome in a flash.

One after another, his opponents were crushed.

In less than five finger snaps, everyone other than Tu Qianjue had been eliminated!

“Jin Duyi! You’ve made yourself my sworn enemy!” Tu Qianjue was about to lose his sanity to fury, looking extremely frenzied with his disheveled hair.

This was supposed to be a roundup operation. He had started the hunt full of confidence, but who would have thought that a large array would change everything?

His heart was dripping blood!

Rumble~

As Tu Qianjue blasted out, the crumbling rune array was finally completely destroyed.

This stunned Lin Xun for a moment before he laughed, “It doesn’t matter that the array is gone. The turtle already has nowhere to run.”

He made it clear that he considered Tu Qianjue a ‘turtle.’

This triggered Tu Qianjue to the point his hair stood up. He hissed, “Go to hell!”

Swish!

The Regal Forbidden Sword Field expanded into a big world with misty violet clouds and a great sun shining alone in the sky. From every nook of the terrains, mighty sword qi whistled out.

Lin Xun did not take this attack lightly. Tu Qianjue’s battle prowess was exceptional as belonged to someone who was ranked ninth on the All Heavens Saint-Kings Rankings, and it was displayed in full at this moment.

Even Wu Huang was far inferior to him!

Moreover, Tu Qianjue’s current state was almost maniacal as he seemed to be disregarding his life completely. The overwhelming power he was unleashing made even Lin Xun gasp in amazement.

Strong!

Unbelievably strong!

However…

It’s still not enough to threaten me!

Taking a deep breath, Lin Xun started lighting up until he was blazing. Billions of sword qi gathered at his fingertip, merged, and coalesced to the extreme into a sword intent.

At that instant, the region dimmed. Only that touch of sword intent shone brightly!

Thorn of Sharpness!

Unlike when he had defeated Wu Huang, Lin Xun didn’t hold back this time as for the first time ever, he genuinely utilized the natural talent of the White Metal Dao Body.

Standing in the outside world, Teng Yichen and Gui Shanxing felt a painful tearing sensation in their eyes, hearts, and minds. Upon using their spirit senses, they couldn’t help but be horrified as blinding white sword qi was all they saw.

What kind of power is this?

The next second, in the deafening rumble of collision, the canyon trembled and swayed while the fabric of space in the area showed countless rips.

Along with that, terrifying turbulence flooded the area.

It was simply terrifying!

At this instant, the group of Emperor experts in the outside world were shaken. In the Supreme Saint-King Stage, this kind of strike could be considered unprecedented!

Xia Xinglie narrowed his eyes, and his hand that was lifting his wine cup paused.

Emperor Fire Spirit leaned forward, dao light steaming in her eyes as she watched without blinking.

The smoke and dust finally dispersed.

The canyon area was revealed to be badly damaged, as if having just suffered the trampling of an ancient savage beast. The ground was cracked, the cliffs were shattered, and the vegetation had turned to ashes. It was a picture of total devastation.

In it, two figures stood.

One was bathed in blood, his hair was disheveled, and his face was deathly pale. Blood was dripping from the corner of his lips, and there was a gaping bloody hole in his right shoulder.

The other looked just as proper and spotless as before.

The former was Tu Qianjue, and the latter…

…was Lin Xun!

1. Of note, the Lu character (鹿) used is the same as the one used for Lu Boya, but not sure if that’s a coincidence or not. ☜