Mid-stage of the Self-Slaying Realm!
Jin Zhan’s declaration sent shockwaves through the crowd, leaving everyone wide-eyed and hearts pounding in disbelief. How could this be? Shi Hao, merely twenty-five or twenty-six years old, had already reached the mid-stage of the Self-Slaying Realm?
This achievement was unprecedented!
According to ancient bone scriptures, the youngest recorded being to reach the Self-Slaying Realm in this era was nearly thirty. Shi Hao had shattered that record by several years—how utterly heaven-defying was this?
Not long ago, he had still been in the Void Path Realm. Now, in the blink of an eye, he had vaulted to the mid-stage of the Self-Slaying Realm. The speed was terrifying, leaving everyone breathless.
How many among the younger generation had accomplished this?
At the very least, none had reached the mid-stage. A handful might have barely touched the early stage, and even those were recent breakthroughs. But all of them were older than Shi Hao, likely around thirty.
The crowd was stunned into silence, staring at Shi Hao as if he were a monster—a true myth-breaker.
Soon, some regained their composure, realizing with sharp clarity that from this day forth, no one in the younger generation could possibly rival Shi Hao. His opponents would now be the older generation. He had transcended his peers, standing alone at the pinnacle.
Even the elders felt a chill at this realization.
For the other youths, Shi Hao was no longer a rival. Whether they felt relief or lament was uncertain.
“Never in history has anyone achieved the Self-Slaying Realm at twenty-five or twenty-six, let alone reached its mid-stage!” an elder sighed, his eyes gleaming as he gazed at Shi Hao, wishing he could pull him into his own clan. Such glory and honor!
“Unprecedented, standing at the summit!” Even the immortal families of Imperial Pass marveled.
At this age, such accomplishments defied reason, carrying profound implications. They were witnessing the rise of a peerless genius.
In the past, even minor improvements to records were rare. Yet Shi Hao had shattered expectations by years—how could this not shock the world?
At this moment, none were more conflicted than the Wang Clan—astonished yet uneasy. Shi Hao’s growth was too rapid, stirring discomfort.
Were it not for Wang Changsheng’s presence in their clan, they might have been outright fearful.
As for the Jin Clan, only hatred remained. They had sought to establish Jin Zhan as the leader of the younger generation, only for him to be crushed in battle.
This defeat would cost Jin Zhan dearly.
Princess Yao Yue laughed, tilting her chin proudly as she glanced at Jin Zhan and Wang Xi, her clan’s rivals. “Hah! What a delightful surprise! Shi kid, did you get possessed beyond the border? How’d you become so fierce all of a sudden?” the Lunar Jade Rabbit teased playfully.
Qing Yi, Chang Gongyan, and the others were equally astonished. The outcome was beyond belief—moments ago, they had feared for Shi Hao, yet he had won with such ease.
“That guy acted all high and mighty, but he couldn’t even take a punch,” grumbled the Heavenly Horned Ant.
Few dared to agree. Jin Zhan was no weakling—who else could guarantee victory against him? He had simply met his match in the freakish Shi Hao.
The crowd erupted into fervent discussion, their gazes burning with admiration.
Unexpectedly, Cao Yusheng shook his head, lost in thought. “Ah, this is a lonely path. You wouldn’t understand,” he sighed.
“What nonsense are you spouting?” the little rabbit snapped.
“I was recalling something my master once said when he was lucid,” Cao Yusheng murmured.
“Your master’s unreliable! Didn’t he say someone would bury you alive? You actually believe that?” The Lunar Jade Rabbit stared at him in disbelief.
Cao Yusheng neither confirmed nor denied, his mind adrift. “Advancing in solitude, rising in silence, waging war…” he muttered.
“What kind of drivel is this?” The Heavenly Horned Ant scoffed, eyeing Fatty Cao with disdain.
“Call it nonsense if you will. Perhaps years from now, looking back, you’ll realize that for some—or for an era—a corner of the great curtain has been lifted.”
Just then, Jin Zhan staggered to his feet, wiping blood from his lips as he glared at Shi Hao. He couldn’t accept this outcome.
Reaching the Self-Slaying Realm at his age had tied the historical record. Yet he had been defeated so decisively.
At the very moment he stood atop his greatest glory, someone had kicked him down.
“I refuse to yield! I challenge you again!” Jin Zhan’s eyes blazed with fury as his tattered armor shattered. Flames of divine energy erupted around him, his battle intent burning fiercely.
He sought to stake everything—even his Dao source—for one final battle.
“Stop!” the Jin Clan elders shouted, fearing his death.
They knew Shi Hao bore no goodwill toward their clan. He might just finish Jin Zhan off.
“I told you—you’re no match for me. You lack the right to challenge me,” Shi Hao stated coldly.
Jin Zhan’s face twisted with humiliation. Not long ago, he had berated Shi Hao for insolence. Now, the tables had turned—he wasn’t even deemed worthy.
“I will fight!” Jin Zhan insisted.
“This fool’s got a death wish. Just end him!” the little Heavenly Horned Ant urged, ever bloodthirsty.
The Jin Clan’s faces darkened with rage.
Suddenly, Shi Hao patted the Golden Lion. “Go. Deal with him for me. No more spectating.”
“You—!” Jin Zhan seethed, feeling utterly insulted. This was Shi Hao’s tamed mount, brought back from the Beast Forest—and now it was being sent to fight him?
The Golden Lion roared in fury. A being of noble blood, reduced to a mere servant? Unacceptable.
“Quiet! I’ve always fancied braised lion’s head. Obey, or you’ll end up in my pot!” Shi Hao barked.
The crowd gaped, speechless.
Jin Zhan’s misfortune was clear—he’d kicked an iron plate. Shi Hao was sending his mount to fight him.
Yet many shuddered. This was a descendant of the Fearless Lion lineage, a rare ancestral throwback—a being of immense power. And Shi Hao had tamed it as his steed.
“This is too much!” a Jin Clan member roared.
Even Jin Yi and Jin Kun, the great cultivators, glowered at Shi Hao.
“Look at yourselves! You were the ones strutting around, provoking others. Especially Jin Zhan—thinking himself a peerless genius, scolding Shi Hao for insolence. Now he’s reaping what he sowed,” the little rabbit taunted bluntly.
“Dare you fight me again?” Jin Zhan demanded.
“Go on,” Shi Hao said, nudging the Golden Lion.
With a furious roar, the lion charged, unleashing its pent-up rage on Jin Zhan.
Jin Zhan had no choice but to fight.
The battle that ensued stunned everyone. The lion’s power was staggering—it clashed fiercely with Jin Zhan, their techniques shaking the heavens.
“A true descendant of the Immortal Monk King’s lion!”
“This lion has regressed to its ancestral bloodline—it’s destined for greatness.”
The Golden Lion and Jin Zhan fought savagely, their clash conjuring storms and spectral wails.
Jin Zhan burned with shame. Could he not even defeat a mount?
The Golden Lion, meanwhile, seethed. Shi Hao had crushed this opponent effortlessly, yet it struggled.
After its baptism in the Reincarnation Lake, its power had surged. Yet it couldn’t instantly overpower Jin Zhan.
Frustration gnawed at the lion.
It had reached the Self-Slaying Realm and stabilized its cultivation, secretly plotting to challenge Shi Hao. Now it saw the truth—like Jin Zhan, it stood no chance.
Boom!
The battle raged for over a hundred exchanges, their techniques splitting the skies.
“Enough!” Jin Kun intervened, separating them. The fight had lost all meaning—win or lose, Jin Zhan gained no glory.
Facing a Fearless Lion descendant was no shame—unless it was your rival’s mount.
“Young man, you go too far!” Jin Kun growled, his killing intent palpable.
“Those words belong to me,” Shi Hao retorted coolly, unshaken even before a great cultivator of the Dunyi Realm.
Jin Kun stepped forward, his heavy footfalls unsettling the crowd. Was he about to bully the younger generation?
Shi Hao smirked. Were the Jin Clan so desperate for the rotten wooden box? Did they have ties to the foreign realm?
The family that had ambushed him in the Beast Forest—was it them?
If so, perhaps they sought to seize the box and flee Imperial Pass. A chilling thought.
“Hmph!”
A cold snort froze Jin Kun in place. A supreme being was warning him.
“Does Jin Granny desire the rotten wooden box so badly? Legends are just legends—this thing won’t make anyone an Immortal King,” an aged voice murmured.
The crowd trembled. A Supreme Being was speaking!
Jin Granny was in Imperial Pass, coveting the box. No wonder the Jin Clan acted so boldly.
“Merely curious. Let us study it together,” an elderly woman’s voice replied.
Everyone tensed. Jin Granny was detained with the other Supreme Beings—otherwise, she’d have come herself.
“Young friend, come to the Ancestral Altar. We elders have waited long enough,” the aged voice addressed Shi Hao.
The crowd stirred. The Supreme Beings had indeed emerged.
A group of elders approached, including members of the Wang Clan, smiling as they gestured for the box.
Shi Hao had intended to share the box’s secrets with Imperial Pass. But seeing the Wang Clan’s arrogance, his expression darkened.
Wang Changsheng must have arrived. Otherwise, the Wang Clan wouldn’t dare act so confidently.
“Mind your manners. This box was earned by Young Friend Shi Hao through blood and sacrifice. Invite him to the Ancestral Altar!” the aged voice chided.
With a boom, the Wang Clan members were sent flying, coughing blood. A direct snub to Wang Changsheng!
The crowd gasped. The box had unsettled even the Supreme Beings.
A golden path unfurled, carrying everyone to the sacred heart of Imperial Pass.
Shi Hao hoped this would unveil the box’s mysteries.
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