“I lost.” Fan Sanyuan walked to his seat and sat down, his heart filled with complexity.
He knew that his journey in this Three-Clan Contest had come to an end!
In the first round, he failed to make the top three. In the second round, he didn’t win either… Only in the final round did he barely secure one Golden Cauldron, putting him on par with King Salong! Meanwhile, Fan Mozhu had already won two Golden Cauldrons! As for ‘Fan Yiqian,’ he was still fighting desperately inside the cave world, not to mention Ying Shan Xueying.
“I thought I could shine in this Three-Clan Contest, but alas, among a group of Chaos Realm experts, I can’t even rank in the top five.” Fan Sanyuan shook his head lightly, his gaze fixed on the cave worlds displayed in the grand hall as he carefully observed the battles.
…
Dongbo Xueying’s battle remained the easiest.
The Heart-Searing Bell at his waist emitted a pleasant chime, resonating throughout the cave world, weakening the two silver-armored soldiers and significantly reducing their combat prowess.
**”Boom!!!”**
Clouds surged, and thunder roared.
The interplay between clouds and lightning subtly transformed, making each thunderbolt, though brimming with destructive power, also carry a faint breath of life…
Dongbo Xueying even vaguely glimpsed a universe where thunder raged and life was born…
“Thunder can destroy worlds, yet it can also create them?” Dongbo Xueying chuckled. Though the thunder’s might was formidable, the Five-Phase Sealing Art surrounding his body effortlessly blocked it. After all, the two silver-armored soldiers, under the influence of the Heart-Searing Bell, couldn’t unleash their full strength.
“Perish.”
Dongbo Xueying extended his right hand.
The Five-Phase Beads on his wrist glowed as his palm expanded, covering half the cave world. Though his fingers appeared to have gaps, the space between them was seamless! The massive hand enveloped all the clouds and thunder, then abruptly shrank, compressing the space within. Everything inside was crushed.
**Boom! Boom!**
Though the two silver-armored soldiers struggled, threads of the Heart-Searing Bell’s chime and illusory worlds, still under Dongbo Xueying’s control, seeped into the Five-Phase Sealing Space, rendering them unable to break free. In the end, they were forcibly suppressed and dissipated.
Having dealt with the second wave of enemies, Dongbo Xueying turned his gaze outward.
“Hmm? Fan Sanyuan and the other two have already been teleported out?” Dongbo Xueying noticed that among the Chaos Realm experts Fan Clan had sent, only Fan Yiqian was barely holding on besides himself.
As for the Cang Clan…
Only General Xuan remained! He moved unhurriedly, his purple radiance illuminating the cave world, its power steadily increasing.
The Xia Clan…
Still had three left—Xia Fayang, Xia Chengyuan, and Xia Wuhua.
Xia Fayang, relying on his Heart Manifestation and formation techniques, was relatively at ease. Given more time, he would likely emerge victorious.
Xia Chengyuan chanted the *Song of the Great Dao*, faintly gaining the upper hand.
Only Xia Wuhua struggled desperately amidst the raging thunder, clearly at a severe disadvantage.
“Fan Yiqian and Xia Wuhua are both struggling hard,” Dongbo Xueying observed. “It’s uncertain whether they can even survive the second round!”
“Yiqian!”
Fan Sanyuan and Fan Mozhu, already teleported out, watched nervously, their hearts filled with hope.
“Scatter, scatter!”
Fan Yiqian had long gone berserk. His bronze staff carried the power to annihilate heaven and earth, obliterating everything in its path, including the thunder! His strikes could injure the two silver-armored soldiers who had transformed into thunder and clouds. However, the interplay between clouds and thunder made their onslaught relentless. Fan Yiqian’s lips were stained with blood, his injuries worsening by the moment.
Now, all he could hear was the deafening roar of thunder, and all he could see were the relentless bolts crashing down.
“No… I refuse to accept this…” Fan Yiqian felt like a tiny boat in a storm, the overwhelming sense of helplessness fueling his rage.
**”Whoosh.”**
Suddenly, a force descended, enveloping Fan Yiqian and teleporting him out.
Fan Yiqian stood dumbfounded beside his table, the thunder now gone, his bronze staff still in hand.
“I failed.” His body trembled slightly. He had always believed in his overwhelming strength, thinking he could crush everything in his path. But against the fury of the thunder, he had been utterly defeated.
“Hmm?”
At the highest seat, Ancestor Fan glanced downward, his brow slightly furrowed.
Of the five disciples the Fan Clan had sent, four had been teleported out, each securing only one Golden Cauldron. Meanwhile, the Xia Clan held a significant advantage, as both Xia Fayang and Xia Chengyuan had already won.
…
Fan Yiqian’s battle had taken a long time. Apart from the equally struggling Xia Wuhua, Dongbo Xueying, General Xuan, Xia Fayang, and Xia Chengyuan had all emerged victorious.
“I am a reincarnated soul, a former Universe God! Though I had to suppress my breakthrough to participate in this contest, must I lose to four juniors in the Chaos Realm?” Xia Wuhua fought desperately. Unlike Fan Yiqian’s brute-force approach, Xia Wuhua was more agile, his body transforming into a sword-light that weaved through the thunder.
Amidst the storm, many bolts missed him entirely.
Even those that struck were deflected by his sword techniques.
**”Swoosh—”**
Sword-light like a celestial river ravaged the surrounding clouds. Xia Wuhua ignored the lightning, focusing solely on attacking the omnipresent clouds.
“My body isn’t strong enough. I must evade and endure.” Xia Wuhua pushed his movement techniques to the limit, dodging the thunder as much as possible. Yet the bolts were too numerous, too violent, and too powerful. Even weakened by his sword-light, they relentlessly eroded his body.
**Boom!**
Finally, the clouds shrank abruptly, transforming back into a silver-armored soldier, his aura significantly weakened—clearly unable to withstand the sword-light any longer.
Without its support, the thunder’s power plummeted to a mere fraction of its former might.
“Good!”
“Well done!”
“He’s going to win!” Many Universe Gods of the Xia Clan cheered openly.
The Cang Clan remained calm, as their gap with the Xia Clan was too vast to bridge. But most of the Fan Clan’s Universe Gods wore grim expressions. Before Xia Wuhua’s victory, they had still held a sliver of hope. Now? That hope was all but gone.
Though Xia Wuhua was severely injured, he easily dispatched the remaining silver-armored soldiers one by one.
“This Three-Clan Contest is truly fierce.”
“Five actually cleared the second wave! Last time, only two managed it. It’s been a long time since so many prodigies appeared in the same era.”
The Universe Gods murmured in admiration.
Though two or three clearing the second wave was common, history occasionally witnessed exceptionally monstrous contests. There had even been Chaos Realm experts who cleared the fourth wave.
…
Dongbo Xueying watched solemnly as the third wave of enemies descended.
A surging aura coalesced into a silver-armored soldier, standing tall with seven flaming rings of different colors swirling behind him.
“*Seven-Colored Flames*?” Dongbo Xueying’s pupils contracted.
Among the supreme techniques of the Chaos Realm, the *Five-Phase Sealing Art* ranked highly. But there were even more terrifying theoretical techniques—*Three Lives Method*, *Seven-Colored Flames*, *Eternal Night Realm*… These were the pinnacle arts that invincible beings, having reached their limits, researched to push the boundaries of what Chaos Realm experts could achieve with treasures.
The *Seven-Colored Flames* was even more difficult than the *Five-Phase Sealing Art*. Yet, throughout history, a monstrous genius from the All-Worlds Ancient Nation had mastered it.
The *Eternal Night Realm* was even harder! It was said one needed to master five soul techniques of the tenth level to form the ‘Eternal Night Realm’—a domain where all things succumbed to endless darkness, forever lost.
“*Seven-Colored Flames* as the third wave’s test?” Dongbo Xueying was stunned.
**”Ding-ding-ding, clang-clang—”**
The Heart-Searing Bell’s chime rang out, causing the silver-armored soldier to stagger slightly. Yet, with a wave of his hand, a torrent of seven-colored flames surged forth.
“Good, the illusions have weakened him. He can’t even form complete flame rings now.” Dongbo Xueying sighed in relief. Had the seven-colored flame rings fully manifested, they would have been inescapable. Once formed into a rotating wheel, their power would have been unstoppable. Even the *Five-Phase Sealing Art* might not have held, forcing him to rely on the *Nine Revolutions Indestructible Art*.
But against mere seven-colored flames, the *Five-Phase Sealing Art* was sufficient.
“Perish.”
His right hand stretched out, his palm expanding to cover half the cave world as it engulfed the seven-colored flames. The flames collided with the massive hand, emitting a sizzling sound as they burned through gaps in the palm. Yet the five phases cycled, rapidly repairing the damage.
“Hmph.” The silver-armored soldier, seeing this, charged forth with a spear wreathed in seven-colored flames.
“A spear user?” Dongbo Xueying smirked.
…
In the center of the grand hall, the five monstrous Chaos Realm experts continued their battles.
Ying Shan Xueying from the Southcloud Nation still clashed with his silver-armored foe, while General Xuan desperately evaded to buy time. Xia Fayang, Xia Chengyuan, and Xia Wuhua fared even worse.
Xia Wuhua was teleported out almost immediately.
Xia Chengyuan, facing the full might of the *Seven-Colored Flames*’ rings, couldn’t withstand it. Within a breath, Emperor Xia teleported him out.
Xia Fayang’s Heart Manifestation weakened his opponent, but his formations crumbled under the diminished *Seven-Colored Flames*. He lasted only a few more breaths before being teleported out—any longer, and he would have been burned alive.
“The Xia Clan’s run has ended.” The spectators had already judged. “This Three-Clan Contest will be won by the Xia Clan. There’s no changing that now.”
At the highest seats, the three invincible beings also saw the situation clearly.
“Haha, in this third round, my Xia Clan has three juniors who cleared the second wave, plus Xia Jingzhi who cleared the first! That’s seven Golden Cauldrons. Combined with the previous five, my Xia Clan has twelve in total.” Emperor Xia smiled at Ancestor Fan. “Brother Fan, your other four disciples only cleared the first wave—four Golden Cauldrons. Adding the previous four from two rounds, Ying Shan Xueying would need to clear the fourth wave just to tie at twelve!”
For Ying Shan Xueying to tie, he’d have to clear the fourth wave—a feat only the most exceptional in history had achieved.
Beside them, Emperor Cang chuckled. “Even if it’s a tie, the additional match would still favor the Xia Clan.”
“It’s not over yet.” Ancestor Fan continued watching calmly.
Emperor Cang also looked down. Only Dongbo Xueying and General Xuan remained, struggling desperately.
“If the third wave is this tough, the fourth is hopeless.” Emperor Cang teased.
…
If Dongbo Xueying truly wanted to win, he could use his ultimate void-form to sneak up and ambush the enemy. At his peak void-form, not even the combined ‘Void Barrier’ of multiple Universe Gods could detect him. Getting close and unleashing the *Five-Phase Sealing Art* at point-blank range would crush the silver-armored soldier instantly—few could withstand its full power head-on.
Even if one strike didn’t kill, three or four certainly would.
But Dongbo Xueying preferred not to resort to such methods unless necessary. He wanted to study the legendary *Seven-Colored Flames*! Though it was a myth in the Chaos Realm, both the Xiawind Ancient Nation and the All-Worlds Ancient Nation had Universe Gods who mastered it. Soon, he’d advance to Universe God himself, and his future opponents wouldn’t be the likes of Xia Fayang, but far stronger beings.
“Incredible flames… the pinnacle of destruction, and these aren’t even the full rings.” Dongbo Xueying marveled as the beautiful seven-colored flames scorched his Five-Phase Sealing Space.
**”Ying Shan Xueying.”**
A voice, ethereal yet carrying immense terror, echoed simultaneously in Dongbo Xueying’s mind and in his distant Southcloud Capital avatar’s consciousness.
**”If you clear the fourth wave, your reward will increase by ten thousand major merits. Clear the fifth, and it’s twenty thousand more.”**
Dongbo Xueying sensed something and looked up.
His gaze pierced the cave world’s membrane, landing on the highest seat where the indistinct figure of Ancestor Fan sat. For the first time, he saw past the obscurity—meeting Ancestor Fan’s eyes directly.
Their gazes locked, and Dongbo Xueying understood.
**”Heh…”** Emperor Cang didn’t notice, but Emperor Xia, controlling the cave world’s trials, smirked and glanced at Ancestor Fan. The latter remained impassive, as if he’d done nothing at all.
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