Eight directions, eight paths, all encircling the grand central altar.
The Supreme Ancient Altar towered higher than mountains, piercing the clouds, vast beyond measure. Moreover, inexplicable spatial laws shrouded it, ensuring that the fierce battles on other paths remained unseen by those gathered here.
When Shi Hao appeared and strode forward, no one paid him any heed.
Instead, a commotion erupted ahead, drawing the attention of all the revered figures present. Someone from the Sinful Province was attempting to force their way through.
“You, and the rest of you—stop pretending! Did you think I wouldn’t notice the tainted blood running through your veins? How dare you step forward? Back off, make way for others!”
The sharp-tongued woman from the Lion-Dragon Sect spoke coldly, her lips thin, her face disdainful despite its beauty.
This time, however, the people of the Sinful Province had organized in force. They summoned their artifacts, ready to fight back as one. The humiliation had become unbearable.
The crimson-robed man from the Fire Cloud Cave, blood at the corner of his lips, gripped his treasure ruler, his gaze icy as he exuded oppressive might.
Around him, others appeared casual, but in truth, they were all on guard—not against the Sinful Province’s group, but scanning the crowd of revered figures, searching.
Clearly, they feared the return of the one who had summoned the golden lotus earlier.
As tensions mounted between the two sides, the crowd suddenly noticed a youth stepping forward into the fray. In such a charged atmosphere, his intrusion shattered the silence.
“You—step aside. Wait until we deal with these people before you enter,” the Lion-Dragon Sect woman said, her thin lips curling with disdain as she glanced at Shi Hao.
“Who are you to dictate when I enter?” Shi Hao’s steps never faltered, his rhythm unchanged as he continued forward.
“You—how bold!” The woman scowled at him.
At this moment, everyone was stunned. This youth spoke with such confidence, daring to address the disciples of two great sects in such a manner. He was no ordinary figure.
*Whoosh!*
A flash of mirror light streaked across the path. Behind the crimson-robed man from the Fire Cloud Cave stood a seemingly indifferent young expert, casually waving a bone mirror.
What happened next shocked them all. With that casual flick, the approaching youth’s forehead bone ignited, his entire body erupting in radiant light.
He resembled a divine sun prince, bathed in dazzling brilliance, his blood qi surging. On his forehead, the character for “Sin” materialized, shattering the clouds above.
“It’s him!”
“We’ve found him—the descendant of the Sinful Blood, the bearer of the Great Omen Runes!”
They cried out in alarm, their expressions shifting dramatically. A mere flick of the mirror had revealed their target—so young, so composed, walking forward with such ease.
It felt unreal. They had assumed he would be impossible to detect, perhaps even absent from the Sinful Province. Yet here he was—truly appearing before them!
Behind them, the other revered figures erupted in uproar. Over the past few days, rumors of the Sinful Blood descendant whose forehead radiated sacred light and dispersed clouds had stirred immense waves, unsettling all sects. None had expected to witness him here in the flesh!
“He’s here—is he challenging multiple sects?” The crowd’s eyes gleamed, breaths held in anticipation.
Especially the people of the Sinful Province—their blood surged with excitement, barely restraining their roars. Had such a figure emerged to champion their cause?!
As for Shi Hao himself, he remained calm, his gaze icy as he regarded those blocking his path.
Through these events, he discerned which sects were targeting the Sinful Province, guarding against the descendants of the Sinful Blood—Lion-Dragon Sect, Fire Cloud Cave, and others, the most ancient and supreme among them. The realization weighed heavily on his heart.
No wonder the Sinful Blood’s grievances remained unresolved. With such formidable sects united, their power was truly terrifying, capable of obscuring the truth beneath their dominion.
Yet, he wondered why they hadn’t simply eradicated the Sinful Province’s people entirely.
“Do they have reservations? Are they afraid of something?” At this moment, Shi Hao’s mind was eerily tranquil, his thoughts racing.
Could it be that, even after the sealing of heaven and earth, the ancestors of the Sinful Blood descendants still guarded the borderlands, alive after all these years?
The thought sent a tremor through Shi Hao’s heart. If those ancestors were to return, what chaos would ensue?
The mere idea set his battle blood aflame!
“Fall back!” Shi Hao commanded, gesturing for the Sinful Province’s revered figures to retreat. He alone would face their adversaries.
“Call for reinforcements!” The opposing forces grew uneasy. Though they knew the Sinful Blood’s intensity didn’t guarantee dominance here, they still feared the worst and sought aid from their sects.
Some attempted to flee, heading toward the other seven paths to deliver word.
“None of you will leave!” Shi Hao declared. Despite his youthful appearance, his presence exuded an authority that sent shivers through the crowd.
“You think you can stop us?” one sneered, transforming into a streak of light as he tried to escape.
*Whoosh!*
Shi Hao’s body blazed as he compressed a thousand feet into mere inches, intercepting the escapee with a thunderous palm strike.
The onlookers trembled. Such speed—his figure blurred, vanishing before their eyes.
*Boom!*
Simultaneously, a torrent of divine light erupted—merely the radiance of the youth’s fist, streaking like lightning through the sky, scattering meteors in its wake.
The brilliance was blinding!
“Ah—!” The fleeing figure screamed, having deployed divine weapons and secret arts in vain.
This was a peak revered figure, an elite disciple of a great sect. Yet here, he was like a straw dummy, hurled into the air before exploding into nothingness.
The youth’s fist was too devastating—shattering divine artifacts, annihilating a prodigy, all in a single strike.
In a flash, he reappeared at the center, robes fluttering, gaze clear, body bathed in sacred light—as if he had never moved at all.
Such skill left everyone awestruck!
*Sizzle!*
The crimson-robed man from the Fire Cloud Cave struck, unleashing his treasure ruler. A crimson arc lit the heavens, illuminating eternity.
This ruler was extraordinary. Were it not suppressed by the Spirit Realm, its power would be boundless—a pinnacle treasure, a supreme artifact of this realm, typically invincible here.
At the same time, the Lion-Dragon Sect woman attacked, her palm erupting with radiant light as a flood dragon’s sinew materialized, transforming into a binding rope aimed at Shi Hao.
“Immortal-Binding Rope!” someone gasped.
This was no ordinary artifact. It had been forged by the sect’s elder patriarch himself. Though its power was confined to the revered realm here, it was undoubtedly a supreme artifact of this level!
This was no small move. To wield such lethal treasures—and more than one—sent chills through the gathered revered figures. Were these ancient, mighty sects truly so wary of the Sinful Blood descendants?
Clearly, they sought to eliminate the one whose forehead radiated sacred light, fearing unforeseen consequences.
In the same instant, others joined the assault, while some raced in all directions to summon reinforcements.
*Clang!*
Golden lotuses bloomed around Shi Hao, their boundless radiance rising like a golden sea, illuminating the sky as they blocked the crimson ruler.
Simultaneously, he reached barehanded for the Immortal-Binding Rope. Between his fingers, stars swirled—manifestations of lightning, forming a celestial river.
“Kill!”
The battle erupted. Though outnumbered, Shi Hao didn’t retreat a single step. Instead, he advanced fearlessly, clashing with the two supreme artifacts.
At the same time, multiple afterimages burst from his body—avatars, moving at blinding speed to intercept those fleeing.
*Thud!*
Simple, brutal dominance. Shi Hao’s avatars, each exuding overwhelming might, pierced through their targets one after another, reducing them to bloody mist in the sky.
The Sinful Province’s people watched with tear-filled eyes. The humiliation they had endured now gave way to exhilaration as someone fought for them, cutting down foes with unstoppable force, igniting their own battle fervor.
“Even supreme artifacts are useless?!”
The nearby revered figures—tens of thousands of them—stood dumbfounded. Those artifacts represented the pinnacle of power, invincible in this realm.
Yet this youth resisted them effortlessly, advancing with unshakable calm, striking down all in his path.
*Boom!*
A single punch sent the crimson ruler flying like a blood-red bolt, nearly striking down the Fire Cloud Cave’s crimson-robed man himself.
*Crack!*
Lightning surged from Shi Hao’s palm, forming a chain of stars that collided with the Immortal-Binding Rope. Thunder roared as the rope wailed, its cry echoing through the heavens.
In the distance, the elders and even celestial beings of various sects were stunned. Such might from a youth—it wasn’t that the supreme artifacts were weak, but that this boy was peerless, a sovereign among sovereigns!
Supreme artifacts against a supreme being—even two against one proved futile. The black-haired youth’s eyes flashed with cold lightning, his blood qi soaring like a raging sea.
Alone, he seemed to fill the heavens, suppressing all directions, his gaze sweeping over every foe!
*Boom!*
The Fire Cloud Ruler was sent flying again, its chime faint.
Like a demonic sovereign, Shi Hao raised his hand, divine light tearing through the void as he unleashed a devastating punch.
“Ah—!”
The Fire Cloud Cave’s elite—ranked among their sect’s finest—couldn’t protect himself even with such a pinnacle treasure. The ruler flew from his grasp as he coughed blood.
*Whoosh…*
Amid the roaring fist wind, half his body cracked apart. The radiant youth, now a demonic sovereign, closed in, delivering another punch.
*Boom!*
The heavens trembled. The Fire Cloud Cave’s prodigy exploded, body and soul obliterated. The ruler itself vanished into the void, disappearing without a trace.
Shi Hao turned, fixing his gaze on the woman.
“Attack together—kill him!” the Lion-Dragon Sect woman shrieked, genuine fear gripping her. Even a prodigy, a young sovereign of a clan, shouldn’t be this strong!
Supreme artifacts were useless. They couldn’t touch him.
Her arrogance crumbled, replaced by terror.
*Sizzle!*
Golden lotuses entangled the Immortal-Binding Rope, straining to sever it.
*Thud!*
Shi Hao’s hand swept out like a divine blade, radiant and razor-sharp. The woman’s head flew, blood spraying as her headless corpse collapsed.
Shi Hao pressed forward, his body ablaze, fists and palms striking with brutal precision. One by one, the elite disciples of the two ancient sects exploded, annihilated.
Fists like divine judgment, blood qi like an ocean—Shi Hao stood alone amidst the carnage, surrounded by corpses, the ground stained crimson.
Then, light rained down as the slain vanished.
Tens of thousands of revered figures stood in stunned silence, souls trembling. Such might—what manner of being was this?!
In the distance, the elders and celestial beings of various sects shuddered. To defy supreme artifacts, to advance unhindered—how was this possible?
Shi Hao’s cold gaze swept the horizon, causing even the high-ranking figures of the sects to tense—especially those from the Fire Cloud Cave and Lion-Dragon Sect. Did this Sinful Blood descendant intend to challenge them as well?
“Well slain!” The Sinful Province’s people roared, their blood boiling, the scene erupting in fervor.
Shi Hao strode toward the towering Supreme Ancient Altar. “Since you blocked the path and committed these acts, don’t blame me for retaliating.”
Reaching the ancient altar, he whirled to face the crowd. “Today, with me here, none from the Lion-Dragon Sect, Floating Truth Valley, Fire Cloud Cave, or any of your sects will set foot on this altar. Approach, and you die.”
The declaration sent shockwaves through the crowd. The most powerful sects—their disciples barred from this trial?
This was madness!
He was severing their path to fortune, denying them the ancient immortal’s legacy.
Like an unshakable mountain, Shi Hao stood before the altar, ready to suppress all challengers, to dominate the battlefield!
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