Bloodline Awakening. Half-Step Saint Realm.
Under the blazing sun, in a vast mortal world scorned by the major royal families as a common place, a Half-Saint was born.
The seventeenth stage is known as Venerable, with Sainthood just beyond.
Even as a Half-Saint, he was powerful enough to suppress countless people in this vast human world.
"Chen Yang has taken another step forward."
"The former Chief Military Commander... he broke through his limits and established himself anew, rising to stand on equal footing with top figures like Liu Jiuyang."
Onlookers both in the arena and outside erupted into a clamor, the discussion spreading like a river bursting its banks. From Cangyun City, it radiated in all directions, igniting a fervent debate across the entire nation.
It was him! It was really him!
Whether as the Nine Gates Admiral, the lofty Supreme Martial Commander, or now, a lone figure, Chen Yang had one unchangeable quality: a heart that would never admit defeat and always rose to meet a challenge.
Outside Hanyun Valley, who dared to draw their sword and stand defiant? Only Chen Yang. On the banks of the Qingyuan River, who could push forward undefeated? Still Chen Yang.
BOOM!
The sky-blotting palm print exploded with a bang, dissipating into the clear blue sky.
Li Jiuyang, who had seemed utterly invincible just a moment before, refocused his senses only to meet Chen Yang's gaze. It was a look that pierced like ice. It chilled him to the bone, making him feel as if he'd been plunged into a cavern of ice.
Li Jiuyang saw it clearly: golden light burst from within Chen Yang's eyes, blazing as brightly as the sun and piercing the vast darkness to illuminate countless mountains and rivers.
The greatest change manifested as a vision: ancient mountains and rivers under a clear blue sky, flowers blooming on every branch, their fragrance filling the world.
With a single thought, a phenomenon appeared: Blossoming Heavenly Martial.
Even as a Half-Saint, his power was comparable to the sun and moon shining in unison. Wherever his gaze fell, time seemed to reverse, seasons cycled, and a hundred flowers burst into bloom, vying for beauty.
Immediately after, beams of light shot up from within Chen Yang's body, lashing out like ten thousand arrows fired at once, piercing the heavens.
"A Half-Saint under thirty... We're witnessing history!"
"No wonder they said this Former Chief Military Commander was qualified to transcend the Saint Realm and step into the Divine Conquest! Perhaps we'll actually get to witness that day?"
"This..."
Among the onlookers were countless martial arts experts. How could they fail to recognize these beams of light as the celestial phenomenon that accompanied the awakening of a Bloodline Power? He was too strong, too terrifying!
"You..." Li Jiuyang's eyes widened in shock. As disbelief flooded his face, a torrential killing intent erupted from him.
If even Chen Lirong could see it at a glance, how could he, the Great Elder, fail to recognize it? How could such talent be constrained by the mere Saint Realm?
"Your very existence is a calamity! You must die!" Li Jiuyang declared, pointing at Chen Yang. He knew with chilling certainty that if this young man was allowed to mature, the four great royal families would face annihilation. He felt a profound sense of dread.
"Chen Hua!" he snapped, his gaze fixing on the golden spear in the arena. "Are you certain you still wish to protect him?"
"You say that as if you could kill him," Chen Hua replied slowly.
Li Jiuyang was speechless.
Chen Hua continued, "To live is the most fundamental right of any person. No one has the authority to take that away. Besides, if you have nothing to hide, what are you afraid of?"
Li Jiuyang was speechless once more.
WHOOSH!
Li Jiuyang's expression shifted several times before he brought his palm down, striking with enough force to shatter the heavens and earth. His attack was aimed directly at Chen Yang, brimming with unstoppable killing intent.
THUD.
Chen Yang drove his long spear into the ground. He pointed one hand to the sky and the other to the earth.
In an instant, a dazzling Golden Body Dharma rose from the ground behind him. It reached out a massive hand, grabbing directly for Li Jiuyang. The sudden spectacle was astounding. Its five fingers spread wide, covering half the sky and Li Jiuyang along with it.
"Suppress!" Chen Yang commanded, his stance as solid as a mountain as he uttered the single word.
The Golden Body Dharma behind him brought its palm down, aiming for Li Jiuyang's neck.
"Don't you dare!" Li Jiuyang roared. How could he, the Great Elder, be snatched up like a helpless chick?
WHOOSH.
The Iron Bone Fan snapped open. He held it defensively before him with both hands.
"Is... Is that a Treasure Weapon?"
"The Black Bone Fan... It's a Treasure Weapon! It must be! Chen Yang is going to lose!"
A Treasure Weapon was equivalent to a legendary killing tool. One only had to recall the power of Su Ling's Traveling Dragon Sword to understand. The crowd gasped. In a battle between equals, the introduction of a Treasure Weapon was enough to turn the tide.
Coupled with the fact that Chen Yang had only just broken through, everyone believed he stood no chance of winning the ensuing fight.
"It's over. In the end, Chen Yang will still lose."
"The Sovereign of the royal family hasn't even shown himself. Chen Yang's defeat was predestined from the start! How could a common man possibly shake the immense might of a royal family? For him to have made it this far is already enough to earn him a place in the annals of history."
Countless people shook their heads and sighed. Those aligned with the royal families, however, sneered triumphantly. How dare a mere military commander challenge a royal family? Now he's thrown his life away at such a young age.
Chen Yang ignored the sudden outburst of gloating, mockery, and ridicule. He squeezed his eyes shut, then snapped them open. His gaze was that of a Wrathful King Kong.
Immediately, his outstretched hand clenched into a fist. The Golden Body Dharma mirrored the action, its palm also forming a fist.
"Shatter!" he roared.
The wind from his punch howled, and the very cosmos quaked.
BOOM!
The fist seemed to shatter the void as it shot straight toward Li Jiuyang. In that instant, everything fell silent. Only the wind from the punch, sharp as a blade, could be felt.
CRUNCH!
The fist slammed into the Iron Bone Fan. The tremendous impact blasted through in waves. Like a sandbag being thrown, Li Jiuyang was launched sideways, his feet leaving the ground as he sprayed a shower of hot blood. The Treasure Weapon, the Black Bone Fan, was twisted completely out of shape and covered in hairline fractures.
As he flew backward, Li Jiuyang coughed up another large mouthful of blood.
He... lost? The Great Elder of a royal family, armed with a Treasure Weapon, defeated in a single move?
HISS!
Seeing Li Jiuyang's deeply sunken chest, everyone's pupils contracted as they drew a sharp breath. His combat power was simply explosive!
"You thought a mere Treasure Weapon could stop me?" Chen Yang demanded as the Golden Body Dharma's five fingers closed, snatching Li Jiuyang from the air. "Any last words?"
Li Jiuyang was speechless.
The crowd was stunned into silence.
Is... is he actually going to kill him? That's the Great Elder of the West Sea Royal Family! He's going to kill him?!
"You... you..." Li Jiuyang's face contorted. He could never have imagined that his life of immense power and influence would end like this. To die at the hands of some young whelp? What frustration! What humiliation!
CRACK!
With a simple squeeze of its fingers, the Golden Body Dharma crushed him. The Great Elder of the West Sea Royal Family, a man who once stood above tens of thousands, dissipated into nothing.
With his death, every high-ranking member of the royal families who had taken the fieldâsave for Chen Huaâhad their souls sent to hell.
The Golden Body Dharma dissipated, followed by a dead silence.
All eyes converged on Chen Yang, scrutinizing him with a mixture of terror, shock, and a thousand other complex emotions.
Who could have imagined that this young manânot yet thirty and only recently stepped down from his post as Supreme Martial Commanderâwould possess such astoundingly unparalleled combat power?
Could they now be about to witness him break through his limits and step into the realm of the Divine Conquest?