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The sinister laughter echoing through the heavens, coupled with Yan Yue Qi's grave expression, prompted Lan An to curse inwardly, "This U Yuan Continent is too much trouble!"
The newcomer's words dripped with malice, clearly intent on settling old scores rather than offering goodwill. Before Lan An and Yan Yue Qi stood an old man in a tattered black robe, his hair a chaotic mix of black and white. Half his face was marred by a grotesque scar, ruining any semblance of harmony.
His gaze fixed on Yan Yue Qi, eyes clouded with memories of past grievances, burning with resentment and unwillingness.
"What are you staring at?" Yan Yue Qi snapped, unaccustomed to such scrutiny, her brows furrowing.
"Little girl, what's your connection to the Evil Emperor?" the old man asked, his voice low and probing.
Lan An tensed, stepping closer to Yan Yue Qi, eyeing the man warily. "Oh? What a peculiar state. You actually exert a faint pressure on me!" the old man exclaimed, glancing at Lan An with surprise.
"I have no ties to the Evil Emperor," Yan Yue Qi replied coolly. Despite her pride, she restrained her usual boldness before this man a Sixth-Order Peak beast whose stable, mountain-like aura marked him as a seasoned powerhouse, far surpassing her Late Void Refining cultivation.
"Really? Then where did you get the Thunder-Fire Mysterious Art and that Thunder Scepter?" the old man pressed, his eyes narrowing.
Yan Yue Qi shot Lan An a subtle glance before answering, "I found them by chance."
Her response nearly made the old man choke. The Thunder-Fire Mysterious Art, coveted by Ninth-Order forces, treated like roadside cabbage? "Regardless, since you practice this art, you owe me an explanation today!" he declared domineeringly.
"What kind of explanation?" Yan Yue Qi's proud eyes glinted coldly, her aura surging. Her unyielding pride refused to back down, even against a stronger foe.
"Take my full-force strike. I want to see whether my created art or the Evil Emperor's Thunder-Fire Mysterious Art reigns supreme!" the old man growled, teeth gritted.
"Senior, judging by your scars, didn't you already face the Evil Emperor long ago?" Lan An interjected, his sharp eyes noting the old wounds—clearly inflicted by Thunder-Fire Mysterious Art. Their age suggested the Evil Emperor himself as the culprit.
"Hmph! Back then, my art was incomplete, and that Evil Emperor took advantage!" the old man roared, indignant.
Lan An and Yan Yue Qi exchanged glances, their eyes heavy with caution. Anyone who could clash with the Evil Emperor was no trivial figure. "May I ask your esteemed name, Senior?" Lan An asked, clasping his hands.
"Names are irrelevant!" the old man dismissed with a wave.
"Then your title? I don't fight nameless nobodies!" Yan Yue Qi retorted boldly, grabbing Lan An to leave.
"A thousand years ago, all of Yue Long Star knew me as Kun Emperor!" the old man declared, hands behind his back, gazing skyward, lost in memory.
"His true form is a giant whale with a trace of Kun Peng divine beast bloodline," Lan An transmitted to Yan Yue Qi, relaying Jin Ni's intel for countermeasures.
Yan Yue Qi's heart skipped. The Kun Peng, a legendary ancient beast, was a whale with wings spanning thousands of zhang, rivaling Qilins and other divine beasts. Ancient texts described it dwelling in deep seas, absorbing heaven and earth's qi over eons, gaining sentience, longevity, and size. It could soar, a wingbeat crossing thousands of miles, fearing only True Dragons in the vast oceans.
This old man, bearing a faint Kun Peng bloodline, was likely a distant descendant, not to be underestimated. Kun Emperor, lost in reminiscence, recalled his sparse but mighty clan. A millennium ago, he was U Yuan's brightest genius, topping the Heavenly Beast Ranking in his youth, arrogant and dismissive of peers.
When the Evil Emperor rose, his fame and the Thunder-Fire Mysterious Art's dominance reached U Yuan. Unconvinced, Kun Emperor, believing his own art superior, crossed Ice Heaven Continent to challenge him, only to suffer a crushing defeat. Unwilling to accept it, he secluded himself, perfecting his art to reclaim his honor. But fate intervened the Evil Emperor fell to the Ice Mysterious Empire, and the Thunder-Fire Mysterious Art vanished. Sensing Yan Yue Qi's use of it during his seclusion, Kun Emperor rushed to confront her, seeking to redress past humiliations.
Snapping back, he addressed Yan Yue Qi gravely, "Your strength is remarkable, your mastery of Thunder-Fire Mysterious Art surpassing the Evil Emperor's. You're worthy to face me. Fear not—this ends at one strike, no threat to your life."
"Senior, this is U Yuan, crawling with our enemies. If Madam is injured after facing you, what if petty foes ambush us?" Lan An interjected, sensing Kun Emperor's impulsive but honorable nature. Having allies like Bai Su Mei and Little Lion, he held no prejudice against beasts.
"Hmph! By my name, Kun Emperor, I decree: after this battle, no beast above Fifth-Order Peak may attack them, or face the Kun Clan's wrath!" Kun Emperor bellowed, his voice echoing thousands of miles, binding beasts with his clan's authority.
The Kun Clan, though not true Kun Pengs and few in number, boasted top-tier strength, slightly surpassing the Fox Clan. Beasts noted his command. "Satisfied, boy?" Kun Emperor squinted.
Lan An frowned. Kun Emperor's decree slyly permitted Fifth-Order Late-Stage beasts to act. "This is my limit. U Yuan isn't ruled by the Kun Clan alone. Don't push it!" Kun Emperor cut him off.
Yan Yue Qi nodded inwardly at Lan An's tact—neither arrogant nor servile, preempting worst-case scenarios. Securing such a decree was no small feat. Unwilling to prolong the standoff, she faced Kun Emperor, "Fine! One strike settles it—whose art prevails, yours or Thunder-Fire Mysterious Art!"
Lan An retreated a thousand miles, knowing the clash of titans was too deadly to observe closely. Activating Thousand-Mile Vision, he watched intently.
Yan Yue Qi's hair billowed, her figure hovering, eyes deadly serious. Endless flames and lightning poured from her lithe form, her Spirit Energy drained relentlessly. Her peerless face paled, but above her, a Divine Sun Crow laced with lightning formed—more ferocious, larger, and terrifying than against Lang Wang and Hou Yan.
The Sun Crow screeched thrice, piercing the heavens, collapsing surrounding space. Its searing heat forced Lan An, despite his distance, to shield himself with Purple Heart Burning Void Flame.
"Sun Crow Void Flame, more fearsome than the Evil Emperor's. Worth my full effort!" Kun Emperor's eyes blazed with battle lust, roaring skyward.
ROOOOAR
His body swelled, transforming into a colossal gray whale, its scarred face dominating the sky, ten times larger than the Lone Horn Eagle King. The world seemed on the brink of apocalypse.
Yan Yue Qi, resolute, shouted, "Thunder-Fire Mysterious Art – Blazing Thunder Sun Crow Break!"
Her Spirit Energy depleted, the massive Sun Crow soared, a sea of flames and lightning shattering space, targeting Kun Emperor's immense form.
Recalling his defeat by the Evil Emperor, Kun Emperor bellowed, "North Sea Water-Wind Art – Water-Wind Devouring Heaven and Earth!"
His cavernous maw opened, boundless Water and Wind Spirit Energies merging into a hundred-mile-wide orb, a cosmic black hole exuding terrifying suction, threatening to swallow the entire space.
"Damn! This devouring power surpasses my Devouring Heaven Wood!" Lan An drove his hands into the ground to anchor himself, feeling the pull despite his distance.
"Your Devouring Heaven Wood isn't mature. If it were, it could counter this!" Jin Ni clarified.
The Blazing Thunder Sun Crow Break collided with Water-Wind Devouring Heaven and Earth. No explosive sound or cataclysmic blast occurred just a silent, frenzied mutual annihilation.
The Sun Crow unleashed devastating force to shatter the orb, while the orb's vast Water and Wind energies sucked relentlessly, aiming to engulf the Sun Crow. A millennium ago, this technique crumbled against the Evil Emperor's assault. Now, with Kun Emperor's superior cultivation and perfected art, it held, locked in a stalemate.
Yan Yue Qi's face drained of color. Her prior battle with Hou Yan and Lang Wang had sapped her, and this full-force strike pushed her limits. Yet her pride refused defeat. With a resolute glint in her eyes, she shouted, "Explode!"
The colossal Sun Crow detonated like a nuclear bomb.
BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM
Space collapsed entirely, the ground vanished into abyssal voids, the sky tore apart rivaling a Void Refining cultivator's self-detonation. Kun Emperor roared in alarm, "NO!"
The orb, unable to swallow the Sun Crow's explosion, shattered. A sea of blazing lightning spread, Yan Yue Qi flying back, spitting blood repeatedly.
Lan An gritted his teeth, suppressing surging blood, his ears bleeding. He rushed forward, catching her soft form, channeling Spirit Energy to stabilize her injuries. Her depletion was severe; his energy barely kept her conscious, her body limp in his arms.
Her proud eyes fixed on the explosion's epicenter, murmuring, "Dead?"