No one had anticipated that events would escalate to this point—even the ancient monsters could no longer restrain themselves, urging the crowd to “exchange pointers” in a grand battle.
The title of the strongest in the Heavenly Deity Realm—such a contest must take place on the arena!
Everyone understood that this was undoubtedly a form of motivation, a display of the profound heritage of the three great academies, a competition to determine who possessed the greatest ambition and glory.
Without question, Shi Hao became the center of attention, the first to step onto the stage, standing atop that magnificent structure as all eyes locked onto him.
He wanted to say that he had been forcibly pushed up there. Originally, he had only clashed with the likes of the Little Heavenly King and had no choice but to fight. Now, inexplicably, he found himself thrust into the eye of the storm.
Of course, once he was up there, there was no backing down—nor was there any need. The battle was meant to resolve everything from the start.
“How arrogant! He’s the first to step up, aiming for the title of the strongest in the Heavenly Deity Realm? I bet he’ll be knocked down in no time!” someone shouted loudly.
“None of our Immortal Academy’s elites have even stepped forward yet, and he’s already rushing ahead. Such recklessness!” another sneered.
Shi Hao’s gaze was sharp as lightning, sweeping over those voices, but he paid them no mind. Everything would be decided by strength—on this stage, the true gold would be revealed.
The grand arena carried an ancient aura, tinged with desolation, as if it had existed for countless millennia. Vast beyond measure, it provided ample space for combatants to maneuver and clash.
Rather than a mere dueling platform, it resembled a floating continent, its stone surface etched with intricate and profound patterns.
These were the runes of the Great Dao. Even an ordinary rock inscribed with such markings would become indestructible, let alone this special material.
Here, combatants could fight without fear of the arena shattering or the battlefield destabilizing. They could unleash their full power without restraint—this was an ancient battlefield forged by supreme beings.
“Be careful!” Qing Yi transmitted her voice from below, knowing that Shi Hao would face terrifying opponents, with life and death hanging in the balance.
All eyes were fixed on the center of the arena.
“To think it has come to this—the three academies clashing here.” Princess Yao Yue’s beautiful eyes shimmered with intrigue as she watched the arena. She would not intervene now.
On the other side, atop a pristine white gourd, dozens of figures stood side by side. Among them, a few in the center stood out as transcendent, seemingly merging with the Dao, as if on the verge of vanishing into the heavens.
Wang Xi was among them, a distinguished guest.
“Is this the youth who had conflicts with the Wang Clan, even exchanging blows?” someone asked.
Wang Xi nodded. “Yes.”
“Sister-in-law, rest assured. Once I step forward, I will cut him down. The turmoil and trouble he’s caused will soon be over,” one of them declared.
Wang Xi snorted coldly, her flawless face darkening with displeasure at the address.
“Sister-in-law, you and my senior brother have long been betrothed. The title is not wrong,” the man chuckled.
“Whoever steps up to defeat him—remember, our Sacred Academy walks the path of extremes, constantly transcending. Any worthy opponent is but a whetstone for our blades!” someone else said with a smile.
Though Wang Xi disliked the improper address, she still warned, “Huang is absolutely peerless, his cultivation shaking heaven and earth. Among his peers, few can rival him. Anyone who underestimates him will pay dearly!”
A blurred figure, like a demon god emerging from chaos, exuded an overwhelming majesty. “Sister-in-law, you worry too much. Let them see who truly deserves the title of the strongest in the Heavenly Deity Realm!”
“Indeed, the title will not slip away—it belongs to the young supreme of our Sacred Academy!” another declared confidently.
On the arena, Shi Hao stood alone, silent.
“Wu Di, will you fight?” In the distance, the Little Heavenly King himself spoke, his gaze fixed on a young man aboard a small boat—someone worthy of his attention.
The Immortal Academy’s disciples were not surprised. This man was indeed a prodigy, considered to be on par with the Little Heavenly King during his Heavenly Deity Realm days.
“Very well.”
Yu Wu Di nodded and moved, tearing through the sky as he left the boat and appeared on the grand arena, stirring a fierce gale.
Clad in gray robes, his stature was average, his features unremarkable—yet he exuded an intimidating presence. When his immortal aura flared, it was overwhelming.
Such was the nature of the immortal path—when restrained, the mind and body were as serene as a spiritual lake, ethereal and transcendent. But when unleashed, it was like an immortal sword cleaving the void, terrifying beyond measure.
For an immortal cultivator, Yu Wu Di’s slightly dark complexion and plain appearance were unusual. When his aura was suppressed, he seemed no different from a mortal.
But Shi Hao knew better—this was a fearsome opponent, his flesh and blood brimming with surging vitality, like a dormant true dragon!
“Senior Brother Yu, unleash your highest immortal achievement and swiftly cut him down!”
“The title of the strongest in the Heavenly Deity Realm is not for others to covet. Who can compare to Yu Wu Di? Not even the Heavenly Deity Academy’s Huang!”
“Senior Brother Yu, end this quickly!”
The Immortal Academy’s disciples shouted, brimming with confidence in Yu Wu Di. To them, Shi Hao’s defeat was only a matter of time.
Some even began placing bets, speculating how many moves Yu Wu Di would need to defeat Huang.
Yu Wu Di’s dark-complexioned face gleamed as his pupils shot forth two beams of silver light, transforming into two silver phoenixes wreathed in white flames, lunging toward Shi Hao.
The crowd gasped. Without a single word exchanged, the battle had erupted.
Merely opening his eyes had summoned this terrifying spectacle—silver ancient phoenixes dwelling within his pupils.
“Phoenix power!” someone exclaimed in awe.
Many from the Heavenly Deity Academy now realized Shi Hao faced an immensely formidable foe. If his opponent had cultivated the power of an ancient phoenix in his eyes, his physical body would be even more terrifying!
**Boom!**
A thunderous explosion shook the void, rattling the spectators.
Shi Hao raised a finger, striking forward. Two golden chains, dazzling like lightning, shot forth—the Willow Deity’s divine technique, two golden branches piercing toward Yu Wu Di’s eyes. Countless golden leaves swirled like a torrential downpour, extinguishing the vast white flames.
**Clang!**
Before Yu Wu Di’s eyes, dense patterns materialized, forming a snow-white phoenix. With a flap of its wings, it blocked the golden branches, sparks flying.
“Yu Wu Di, kill him!” Many from the Immortal Academy roared, as if they themselves were in the heat of battle, immersed in the most intense and blood-pumping duel.
The crowd’s fervor was ignited, the atmosphere electric with excitement.
“Who dares clamor so boldly in our Heavenly Deity Academy?” Suddenly, a massive warship appeared in the distant sky, its arrival marked by a flash of light.
The disciples of the Heavenly Deity Academy who pursued the Path of the Present had returned—not from the Tomb of Worlds, but from another immortal land where they sought opportunities for rebirth.
“What? The two academes are here, challenging Shi Hao?” someone aboard the warship shouted.
Cao Yusheng, the Little Rabbit, Gu Jianyun, Feng Wu, Long Fairy, Zhen Gu, Teng Yi—many of Shi Hao’s old comrades from the three thousand provinces had arrived.
Even those who had once been bitter rivals in the three thousand provinces now set aside their grudges.
Even Shi Yi, the possessor of dual-pupils and Shi Hao’s natural adversary, sneered, unimpressed by the Little Heavenly King and Yu Wu Di.
“Shi Hao, you must win! Is that a silver phoenix? Tear off a wing and bring it back—let’s roast it!” Cao Yusheng bellowed.
The rotund fellow, destined never to join the Immortal Academy, walked the Path of the Present and thus had no reservations about taunting. His words enraged many from the Immortal Academy—who was this insolent fool?
“Hahaha! Roasted phoenix wings sound delicious! I might break my vegetarian vow for this!” The Little Rabbit, her ruby-like eyes gleaming, joined in the raucous cheering.
“Hey, rabbit, you’ve never been vegetarian!” someone teased.
“Shut up! Take this!” The Little Rabbit hurled a small creature—revealed to be a genuine qilin—at the offender.
The sight left many from the two academies dumbfounded. A young beast of the Ten Fiends, the qilin, was being tossed around like a toy? The Heavenly Deity Academy was beyond comprehension—too shocking!
“Brother Shi, if you defeat that phoenix, I call dibs on its feathers—I’ll forge a treasure fan!”
The returning group was utterly unrestrained, unafraid of the Immortal Academy’s disciples. Their goal was the Sacred Academy, infuriating the Immortal Academy’s members to no end.
**Boom!**
Yu Wu Di unleashed the True Phoenix technique, his arms spreading as he soared into the sky, wreathed in blinding white light and silver flames, diving toward Shi Hao with world-shaking divine might!
At that moment, time seemed to freeze. The crowd fell silent, holding their breath—all noise vanished.
Everyone watched, tense, as this earth-shattering strike unfolded!
The renowned ancient phoenix divine ability, glorious in the Immortal Ancient Era, now bloomed in its most dazzling brilliance—a full-force strike capable of shaking the sun, moon, rivers, and mountains!
On the other side, Shi Hao shot upward to meet it. A Kun Peng emerged, its golden body streaked with black patterns, swirling with yin and yang energies, stirring the power of the Great Dao.
**Boom!**
The two collided—like tidal waves crashing against cliffs, like shattered clouds of stone. Divine power and holy light swept across everything, unstoppable and devastating.
Eyes stinging, some spectators couldn’t even keep them open. A few even bled from their eyes—the collision was too intense.
The phoenix’s cry shook the heavens!
The Kun Peng soared ninety thousand miles into the sky!
Two divine birds clashed, manifesting terrifying visions—as if they had returned to the Immortal Ancient Era, where savage beasts roamed and divine birds blotted out the sky, tearing through the cosmos and shattering stars.
Star domains crumbled.
**Boom!**
With a deafening explosion, the silver ancient phoenix was flung backward, the Kun Peng likewise sent reeling. The two powerhouses separated, chests heaving, each standing firm on their side.
**Clang!**
Behind Yu Wu Di, nine divine feathers appeared, radiant and beautiful, exuding a peculiar power—as if capable of reviving the dead and healing the wounded, brimming with life energy.
This was the phoenix’s power of rebirth. But now, they transformed—shifting from multicolored to pitch-black, becoming nine dark divine swords, radiating deathly aura.
Life and death could reverse—the power of rebirth had turned into slaughterous death energy. The nine phoenix swords shot forth like black rainbows, piercing the void!
**Clang!**
Shi Hao stood amidst a sea of lightning, nine divine weapons materializing around him—a golden Dao Bell, a cyan Immortal-Suppressing Pagoda, a violet-gold gourd, a crimson Eight-Trigrams Furnace—all arranged in formation before hurtling forward.
**Boom!**
It was as if the heavens and earth had just been born, the universe newly formed. Chaos energy erupted, and faintly, the roars of primal gods and demons could be heard—Buddhas chanting, demon lords reciting scriptures. The scene was both wondrous and terrifying.
Between the two combatants, divine power surged wildly, rules interweaving like spiderwebs.
One bathed in lightning, like the Thunder Emperor reborn. The other transformed into an ancient phoenix. They tangled together, locked in a bloody battle, flipping and tearing at each other.
At one moment, the Thunder Emperor rode atop the phoenix, treating it as a mount. The next, the phoenix pinned the lightning-wreathed figure beneath its claws, attempting to rend it apart.
The battle for the title of the strongest in the Heavenly Deity Realm raged on the arena. Both combatants possessed strength that was unprecedented in their generation—rare even in ancient times!
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