Chapter 1005: Overlord Ming Jian (1)

Wielding the nine lifebound flying swords independently was an ideal strategy for group combat, allowing him to counter multiple enemies simultaneously.

But when the nine swords united to form a sword array, it became Wu Yuan's qi refiner self's most devastating attack.

Wu Yuan wasn’t concerned about these late-stage Sovereign legions surrounding and assaulting him. Trapped within his Spacetime sword domain, they were firmly restrained, their speed reduced to a crawl. They were nothing more than target practice.

The divine sword pierced directly through the colossal deity array's skull. Sovereign Hei Ku, responsible for commanding the great army, was situated here.

With a sickening squelch, Sovereign Hei Ku's form was cleaved by the Spacetime divine sword, instantly obliterated.

He was dead!

Given Sovereign Hei Ku's strength, he might have withstood several sword strikes in external spacetime. But within the macrocosm, he was subjected to intangible suppression, his vitality stifled by an invisible power. He was slain in an instant.

Boom!

As Sovereign Hei Ku fell, the immense deity array collapsed with a thunderous crash. The eighty body refiner Sovereigns within were in complete disarray.

Even with Sovereign Hei Ku leading them, they couldn't withstand a single sword strike from Wu Yuan's qi refiner self at full power. What hope did they have now, scattered and fleeing?

In a clash of powerhouses, if the weaker parties formed an array, they might have a glimmer of hope. Scattered? It would be nothing short of a one-sided slaughter.

Suppress!

Wu Yuan gave a mental command, and a tidal wave of sword qi surged from all directions, further binding the fleeing body refiner Sovereigns with even stronger force.

Disperse!

In a flash, the Spacetime divine sword split into nine lifebound flying swords, each radiating overwhelming sword intent.

Using the Spacetime divine sword to slay these body refiner Sovereigns would be like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut. A single lifebound flying sword was more than sufficient.

Whoosh!

Sword lights danced wildly through the air, mercilessly cutting down one body refiner Sovereign after another.

The true selves of these body refiner Sovereigns possessed seventh or eighth-stage Sovereign strength. But suppressed by the macrocosm as well as Wu Yuan's domain, they could only exert third or fourth-stage Sovereign power at best.

It was a one-sided massacre. In the blink of an eye, all eighty-one body refiner Sovereigns were slaughtered.

"Kill!" Wu Yuan whirled around, his gaze locking onto another body refiner legion - the one led by Sovereign Voltari.

Voltari, you dare come as well?

Wu Yuan's eyes turned cold as ice. With a mere thought, his nine great lifebound flying swords converged once more to form a Spacetime divine sword, streaking towards its new target.

...

The scene of Wu Yuan annihilating an entire body refiner legion in an instant left all observers silent.

What overwhelming might. One sword strike to shatter a body refiner legion? How frighteningly powerful such a strike must be.

In the Immortal Court Voidrealm, within the Overlord Plane, Overlord Jue Dong and the other Overlords silently watched the projection.

This shouldn't be possible. How can this be?! He's only cultivated for a hundred thousand years, how is this possible?

Overlord Gu Nian's body trembled in shock and rage.

He knew all too well that he had lost face spectacularly this time, and also incurred staggering losses.

Most importantly, the entire Immortal Court's Ling Jiang Saintdom had become nothing more than a stepping stone for Ming Jian to make his name known.

Such an event was unprecedented in the history of the Immortal Court's Ling Jiang Saintdom.

Throughout the history of the entire Ling Jiang Universe, such frenzied slaughter of late-stage Sovereign powerhouses was exceedingly rare. But regardless of external factors and circumstances, those being slaughtered were, undeniably, the Immortal Court's late-stage Sovereign legions.

Even if he's a first-grade Saintcrest Prodigy, even with dual Apotheosis, he shouldn't be this strong.

Overlord Gu Nian still couldn't accept it.

Even if I were to battle Ming Jian now, I fear I could only gain a slight upper hand. Defeating him would be beyond my reach.

Overlord Gu Nian gritted his teeth.

He had conducted extensive checks before deciding to take action to eliminate Ming Jian.

From the descriptions provided by Sovereign Hai Xuan, Sovereign Shi Qing and the others, Overlord Gu Nian had estimated that Ming Jian's comprehension of Spacetime shouldn't have reached the seventh-level Dao Field stage.

Cultivating for less than a hundred thousand years and attaining sixth-level Dao Field comprehension was already incredibly shocking. Such a cultivation speed was absolutely unparalleled in the entire history of the Ling Jiang Universe. Even across the entire megaverse, it would rank among the top ten.

Even with such Dao comprehension, dual Apotheosis, and two Xiantian artifacts, he should logically only have the combat power of a ninth-stage Sovereign.

Overlord Gu Nian was both furious and bewildered.

Xiantian artifacts require sufficiently deep Dao comprehension to fully utilize their power. Even if this Ming Jian is unimaginably extraordinary and possesses three or four Xiantian artifacts, it still shouldn't be possible.

All of his calculations had been correct. He had simply failed to account for one thing - the Samsara Sword!

This ultimate treasure from the Spacetime Dao Master had never been revealed to the world. Its power didn't require Wu Yuan to have exceedingly high Dao comprehension. At the very least, Overlord Gu Nian had no knowledge of such an ultimate treasure.

It was by perfectly combining the Samsara Sword's Dao resonance, his nine lifebound flying swords, and the Origin Realm Pearl that Wu Yuan had managed to erupt with Overlord-level combat power.

I've lost! Completely and utterly lost.

Overlord Gu Nian gently closed his eyes, no longer trying to understand the reason.

Heaven and earth was vast and profound, filled with endless mysteries. Occasionally, monstrous prodigies with inconceivable abilities were bound to emerge.

It was just like the Heavenly Imperator back then, who had slain an eternal being while still in the sempiternal life stage, leaving countless eternal existences dumbfounded, and forging a legend for all time.

In Overlord Gu Nian's view, even if Ming Jian couldn't match the Heavenly Imperator in his younger days, he was destined to be a monstrous prodigy whose name would be etched into this samsara cycle of heaven and earth.

In the future, as his Dao comprehension further deepened, his overall strength would only grow increasingly terrifying. He was destined to stand at the very pinnacle among Overlords.

I need to consider what to do next.

Overlord Gu Nian pondered silently.

He was, after all, an Overlord. Swiftly steadying his mind, he began to contemplate his path forward.

...

"Overlord!"

"One sword strike to shatter a body refiner legion's defenses - that's absolutely an Overlord-level attack."

"Overlord!!" The many powerhouses observing from the Taiyuan Divine Court's side erupted into a frenzy of excitement upon witnessing that scene, truly exhilarated.

Sovereign Bei You, Sovereign Heng Yang, and the others found the situation almost unreal, overcome with a deep sense of awe.

"Worthy of being called an Overlord."

"His spacetime domain can restrain Overlords." Overlord Shan Jin said with a chuckle. "Now, even his attacks have reached the Overlord level."

"His Spacetime swords are unfathomably mysterious." Overlord Yan Kui smiled. "If we were to cross swords with Ming Jian, though we might be able to suppress him, I fear we couldn't defeat him. Only Xin Ya would have any real chance of victory over him."

"Ming Jian's Dao comprehension is likely not yet that deep," said Overlord Xue Li. "As his Dao comprehension progresses further, his strength will rise by leaps and bounds."

"Prepare for the Overlord advancement celebration."

"Haha, I remember holding a Sovereign advancement celebration for him just tens of thousands of years ago, and now we're holding an Overlord advancement celebration."

"The youngest Overlord in the history of the entire universe." The Overlords of the Taiyuan Divine Court all broke into smiles and laughter.

Previously, when Wu Yuan's Spacetime sword domain suppressed five late-stage Sovereign legions, it proved he had reached the Overlord level in certain aspects, but they didn't dare claim he was a true Overlord yet. But now, with his attack power also reaching the Overlord level, he truly qualified to be honored with the title of Overlord.

With this, the Taiyuan Divine Court had gained another Overlord.

Among the Overlords, Overlord Xin Ya remained silent, but inwardly he was the most emotional.

The True Saint truly has keen insight. Back then, when Ming Jian was still weak and hadn't shown such extraordinary potential, he was willing to pay a great price to bring him into our divine court headquarters.

Overlord Xin Ya mused silently.

Among Ming Jian's two true selves, his body refiner self has always been stronger, with greater talent. Now even his qi refiner self is this powerful, what about his body refiner self?

The more he considered it, the more inconceivable it seemed.

This Ming Jian truly grows increasingly terrifying the more he cultivates. Now he's likely left even Zhu Shan in the dust.

Overlord Xin Ya pondered.

Will our universe truly produce an eternal lifeform in this samsara cycle of heaven and earth?

As he was deep in thought, Overlord Shan Jin suddenly pointed at the light screen. "Only one late-stage Sovereign legion remains. This battle is nearing its end."

"Five late-stage Sovereign legions. We have no use for so many pieces of Dao Instrument battle armor, but we can have the Immortal Court purchase them back." Overlord Xue Li suddenly suggested with a smile.

"Haha, indeed."

"Let them trade Xiantian artifacts to get them back." The Overlords all laughed, their gazes fixed on the scene playing out on the light screen.

...

High above the Greenridge Continent.

"Flee!"

"How can this Ming Jian be so powerful? He absolutely has Overlord-level strength."

"We can't escape – the suppression of the domain is too strong." The Immortal Court's late-stage Sovereign powerhouses frantically sent transmissions to each other.

In mere moments, Wu Yuan had swiftly annihilated two more late-stage Sovereign legions. Only one remained, and this qi refiner legion didn't even dare to fight back. Instead, their immortal array collapsed, and over a hundred qi refiner Sovereigns scattered madly in all directions.

Boom! Whoosh!

Their struggles were destined to be in vain. If they had maintained their array, they might have been able to put up a slight resistance. Once scattered, they were doomed.

Dazzling, brilliant sword lights flashed through the vast sword domain, streaking through the bodies of one Sovereign powerhouse after another.

These qi refiner Sovereigns had weak defenses to begin with, and were further suppressed by the macrocosm's essence. Thus, none could withstand even a single sword strike.

They fell one after another - thirty-six remaining, sixteen, six... This cruel bloodbath left all observers shaken to their core.

Even Sovereign Hai Xuan and Sovereign Jin Xu, hiding deep within the arrays of the Greenridge continent, felt their hearts shudder. They had been observing the battle, but didn't dare to participate. The late-stage Sovereign legions they thought were invincible were being annihilated, with Sovereigns falling one after another.

Finally, the vast sword domain fell still at last, with only countless artifacts floating across hundreds of billions of li of space. No more battle fluctuations arose.

Silence!

This scene already proclaimed Ming Jian's complete victory. He had slaughtered the entire army from the Immortal Court.

Sovereign Hai Xuan, Sovereign Jin Xu and the others were utterly terrified. If the enemy dared to massacre the Immortal Court army, why would he spare them?

Whoosh!

Artifacts, battle armors, and storage artifacts flew swiftly towards Wu Yuan, guided by his sword domain that enveloped the entire expanse.

Wu Yuan stood in the void, taking some time to collect all the artifacts dropped by the fallen powerhouses into his grotto-heaven artifact.

After a quick inspection, a smile tugged at Wu Yuan's lips. How could he not smile? It was a massive haul!

There were hundreds of top-grade Dao Instrument battle armors alone, along with numerous high-grade and top-grade Dao Instrument artifacts.

It was worth noting that although the fallen Sovereigns were only mana bodies or ether bodies, they were all late-stage Sovereign powerhouses.

My gains from this single battle are probably equivalent to the entire wealth of the average Overlords.

Wu Yuan mused to himself. It was partly luck, partly strength.

I can't possibly use all these treasures myself. I'll have to find a way to exchange them for what I need later.

Many thoughts flashed through his mind.

For now, let's finish the task at hand.

Whoosh!

Wu Yuan took a step forward, arriving directly at the center of the Greenridge continent. Nine lifebound flying swords circled around him, sword intent billowing across ten billion li, enough to make numerous Astral Monarchs tremble in fear.

"Hai Xuan, Jin Xu," Wu Yuan looked down coldly, "Do you still wish to resist?"