This was a battle of blinding brilliance.

  Dazzling, heart-pounding. Tang Yimo, transformed into a frenzied demon, unleashed combat power that stunned every soul present.

  Even the cultivators of the Five Phoenixes were shocked.

  Not even Overlord had expected Tang Yimo to explode with such strength.

  The Star-Moon Saint Lord—Saint Lord of a Seventh-grade high-martial world—was he strong?

  To the experts aboard the warships of Seventh-, Sixth-, and even Fifth-grade worlds floating beyond the Five Phoenixes, he was merely average.

  But to the Ninth-grade Five Phoenixes, he was an absolute titan.

  Moreover, he possessed the Star-Sand Constitution—a special physique that granted immense combat amplification.

  That was why every warship had been certain of Tang Yimo’s defeat.

  Yet the resilience and power of the Five Phoenixes cultivators exceeded all imagination.

  Just Tang Yimo—an ordinary-looking Unity expert—had nearly punched a Saint Lord to death!

  His resounding words still echoed in every ear, stirring awe:

  “Even if it makes no sense—this is my Dao.”

  That final punch seemed to prove it.

  It had nearly pierced the Saint Lord’s star defenses, stopping a hair’s breadth from his face.

  Intent to kill, but powerless to follow through.

  Silence.

  Utter silence.

  Only the sound of shattered star-sand grains rolling across the ground.

  “What a pity…”

  Someone sighed.

  Even the arrogant experts from higher-grade worlds felt moved by Tang Yimo’s defiance.

  “He was just a little short… He couldn’t open that final pulse.”

  Some sharp-eyed observers noted.

  Tang Yimo had failed to open the seventh vein.

  His body—or perhaps his primordial spirit—could not support it.

  An unseen force had blocked him.

  If he had forced it, his body would have collapsed, his spirit burned to ash—certain death.

  Crack… crack…

  Atop the massive star formed of piled star-sand, cold sweat beaded on the Saint Lord’s forehead as he stared at the terrifying fist inches away.

  Even he felt fear.

  A Saint Lord—terrified by an ordinary cultivator from a Ninth-grade world.

  He waited.

  But Tang Yimo’s fist did not fall.

  The Saint Lord’s cracked defenses trembled.

  Star-sand cascaded away like a waterfall.

  On the ruined plaza, the scene was revealed to all.

  Tang Yimo held his punching stance, head bowed—like a statue, unmoving.

  The Saint Lord staggered back several steps, exhaling shakily.

  “The Five Phoenixes…”

  Suddenly, he threw his head back and laughed maniacally.

  “No wonder you’re the only high-martial world in the Void Heaven. In that ancient war, how many Ancient Emperors and Saints died? Perhaps all their fortune has gathered upon the Five Phoenixes!”

  His laughter bordered on madness.

  He had nearly been killed by a Unity expert from the Five Phoenixes—like a blazing slap across his face.

  Aboard the warships beyond the Five Phoenixes, his words drew sharp inhales.

  “I want you dead!”

  BOOM!

  The Saint Lord’s laughter cut off.

  He moved!

  Countless grains of star-sand fell, forming a massive, razor-sharp blade that hovered above the unconscious, defenseless Tang Yimo.

  Its cold tip radiated slaughter.

  Madness and killing intent filled the Saint Lord’s eyes.

  Tang Yimo had to die!

  This man was too terrifying!

  Six consecutive amplifications—each stronger than the last!

  At the seventh, the Saint Lord had felt helpless—like prey stared down by a demon god.

  If that punch had landed, he would have been obliterated—body and spirit torn apart!

  Tang Yimo could not be allowed to live.

  The Saint Lord’s heart would never be at peace.

  And Tang Yimo was only Unity Realm!

  BOOM!

  Murderous aura erupted like thunder from a clear sky.

  Aboard the warships, many experts smirked.

  Mocking the Saint Lord.

  But no one moved to stop him.

  They had no reason to.

  “Stop!”

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  “We surrender! We forfeit!”

  Outside the ruined plaza—

  On the blood-colored battlefield, the Five Phoenixes cultivators were already cracking with rage!

  Qi Liujia’s fingers trembled with fury.

  Tang Yimo’s defiance and resolve had left even him speechless and stunned.

  Against a Saint Lord, he had thought Tang Yimo would fall quickly—or surrender.

  But Tang Yimo had not.

  He had burned everything, even his lifespan, to unleash his strongest power.

  His potential was horrifying.

  He had nearly killed the Saint Lord with one punch!

  If only he had opened the seventh vein…

  But it was fortunate he hadn’t.

  If he had, with his current realm—he would have died.

  “The match is over! We lost! Why are you still attacking?!”

  Qi Liujia roared, eyes bloodshot, veins bulging.

  He screamed at the attendant standing on the ruined plaza.

  The attendant glanced at him from beneath the mist.

  Then leisurely floated down from the ancient warship.

  So slowly it was obvious—he was deliberately allowing the Saint Lord to kill.

  Blatant indulgence!

  Qi Liujia’s roar echoed across the battlefield.

  Every Five Phoenixes cultivator turned pale with rage!

  BOOM!

  The star-sand greatsword was already descending.

  If it struck, the unconscious Tang Yimo would be reduced to minced meat.

  “No!”

  “Brother!!”

  From the crowd—

  Tang Guo’s face was streaked with tears, filled with terror.

  She had never imagined her invincible brother—the one who always shielded her—could die!

  Her scream was piercing.

  Divine light surged from her body.

  Overlord rose, hair whipping, eyes filled with grief and fury!

  Too far!

  They had gone too far!

  Tang Yimo had no strength left—why still strike to kill?!

  Despicable!

  Demonic qi surged from Overlord.

  Lu Jiulian stood, hair flying, eyes sharp.

  Whoosh!

  His figure flickered, air compressing into a blooming lotus of force. He shot toward the plaza.

  Overlord moved!

  Qi Liujia moved!

  Jiang Li, Du Longyang, and the others charged with icy killing intent.

  On the plaza—

  The white-robed attendant landed at the edge.

  He did not stop the Saint Lord.

  Instead, he blocked Qi Liujia, Overlord, and Lu Jiulian.

  “Heaven and Earth Grand Tournament—life and death do not matter.”

  “The match is not yet over.”

  His calm voice drifted from beneath the mist.

  “We forfeit for him!”

  Qi Liujia’s wrinkled face twitched as he roared.

  This attendant wasn’t stopping the Saint Lord—he was stopping them?!

  “Get out of my way!”

  Overlord was enraged!

  This man was deliberately targeting them—he had no patience for words!

  “He’s unconscious!”

  Demonic qi roared. Overlord drew axe and shield, stomping the ground and leaping like a demon god.

  “Insolence!”

  The attendant shouted.

  Terrifying aura exploded from him.

  BOOM!

  The laws of the Void Heaven seemed to stir.

  Overwhelming pressure forced Overlord and Qi Liujia back.

  Qi Liujia staggered several steps, face flushed red.

  “Too far… too far!!”

  He roared in fury.

  The attendant stood high above, a cold smile seeming to form beneath the mist.

  “Those are the rules of the Grand Tournament…”

  But his expression suddenly changed.

  Because…

  A blooming lotus had evaded his sweeping force, streaking into the plaza as a flash of light.

  What?!

  The attendant was stunned.

  Lu Jiulian’s hair flew. He ignored the attendant completely.

  He flickered continuously, racing toward the Saint Lord and Tang Yimo.

  The attendant’s face grew grave.

  Among the Five Phoenixes’ individual contestants, there was an even stronger one hidden!

  But soon, a smirk returned to his lips.

  Too late.

  The star-sand greatsword was already falling!

  Lu Jiulian landed, force dissipating. He exhaled a breath.

  He hadn’t made it.

  But his expression did not change.

  Because… he didn’t need to.

  Wisps of demonic qi began to drift from Tang Yimo’s body.

  The descending star-sand sword seemed blocked by an invisible, mysterious force.

  It froze above Tang Yimo’s head.

  Unable to descend a single inch!

  The attendant had blocked Qi Liujia and Overlord.

  The Saint Lord had been thrilled.

  Now only terror remained…

  Something was wrong!

  What power was this?!

  Black demonic qi billowed and rose.

  A terrifying, oppressive aura spread.

  The plaza seemed on the verge of collapse.

  “What?”

  “Why hasn’t the Star-Moon Saint Lord struck yet?”

  “Hmm? Something’s off… It’s not that he won’t—it’s that he can’t.”

  Shocked voices rose from the warships.

  No one understood what was happening.

  From the ancient warship—

  A surprised aura spread.

  “Who is it?!”

  BOOM!

  A voice rang out from within—questioning, furious, filled with undeniable pressure!

  Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

  The attendants on the warship moved.

  They shot out as streaks of light, landing on the plaza.

  An anomaly had occurred!

  Everyone was stunned.

  An anomaly in the very first match of the Heaven and Earth Grand Tournament.

  In truth…

  Everyone knew that holding the tournament in the Void Heaven guaranteed anomalies.

  After all, the true purpose of this Grand Tournament was not the tournament itself.

  The secrets of the Five Phoenixes.

  The secrets of the Void Heaven.

  That was what the various powers—and the Upper Realm—truly cared about.

  BOOM!

  The atmosphere turned cold and tense!

  On the Five Phoenixes’ side—

  Tang Guo was already sobbing, tears streaming from fear and despair.

  “Master! Save my brother!”

  She screamed.

  At that moment, Lu Jiulian was her only hope.

  Beside her, Tang Xiansheng’s old eyes brimmed with worry, fists clenched tight.

  “Who are you?!”

  “Who the hell are you?!”

  The Star-Moon Saint Lord roared in terror.

  Demonic qi flowed like spilled ink, like ink splashed across a scroll.

  Soon, above Tang Yimo—who still held his punching stance, aura nearly spent—

  Demonic qi billowed.

  It blotted out the sky, forming a blurry silhouette.

  The figure stood in the air, back turned to the world.

  As if detached from all existence, aloof and untouchable.

  Close enough to touch, yet distant as the horizon.

  Formless, yet tangible!

  Far away—

  Overlord, forced back by the attendant’s pressure, suddenly blazed with light in his eyes—brighter than the brightest star in the night!

  His heart pounded.

  His gaze fixed on that black silhouette.

  “Demon… Demon Lord!”

  …

  Lake of Origin, Heart Island.

  Lu Fan leaned back in the Thousand-Blade Chair, exhaling slowly.

  Black lines danced in his vision.

  Tang Yimo’s stubbornness had surprised even him.

  He had not expected Tang Yimo to reach this point.

  Originally, Tang Yimo had only opened the fifth vein of the Eight Veins Demonic Technique.

  The sixth had been comprehended mid-battle.

  Yet Tang Yimo’s ambition was too great.

  As a new Unity expert, even the sixth vein couldn’t kill the Star-Moon Saint Lord.

  To decisively slay him required the seventh vein!

  “Too ambitious.”

  “But… this is your persistence. Your Dao.”

  Lu Fan spoke, as if to someone.

  Tang Yimo could have opened the seventh vein.

  But Lu Fan had stopped him.

  A mere Seventh-grade Saint Lord was not worth Tang Yimo’s life!

  More importantly…

  When Tang Yimo had tried to open the seventh vein—his Dao Intent had evolved!

  Lu Fan smiled faintly.

  The first time he had witnessed a Dao Intent transformation.

  But all that could wait.

  “Bullying my Five Phoenixes…”

  Lu Fan narrowed his eyes.

  He raised a hand, picked up another piece from the box, and placed it slowly on the board.

  Light flashed across the chessboard.

  …

  Demon Lord?!

  Demonic qi surged. The Demon Lord stood with his back to all living beings.

  The Star-Moon Saint Lord saw only his back.

  In fact, everyone saw only the back of the demonic qi figure hovering above Tang Yimo.

  Gasps of shock exploded from the warships.

  “Who is this?!”

  “Such terrifying aura… Could it be a third-stage Grand Ability Realm Ascended Immortal?!”

  “How could the Five Phoenixes have an Ascended Immortal?! Did this man inherit an ancient expert’s legacy?!”

  Guesses buzzed like flies.

  But everyone was more interested in the situation on the plaza.

  From the ancient warship representing the Upper Realm—

  Fury erupted.

  The attendants released powerful auras, shooting out as streaks of light onto the plaza.

  The envoy was enraged—they would enforce his will and suppress everything!

  “Stop him!”

  “The rules of the Grand Tournament cannot be broken!”

  The envoy’s stern voice rang from the warship.

  The attendants’ auras linked, forming a towering immortal god-like figure.

  Jiang Li’s eyes narrowed at the sight.

  Their linked auras… were similar to military formations!

  Suddenly—

  A soft laugh rang out.

  As if exploding from darkness and silence.

  It instantly filled heaven and earth.

  “Who gave you the right to bully the cultivators of my Five Phoenixes?”

  A calm voice, like a gentle breeze.

  Suddenly!

  Above the linked immortal god figure formed by the attendants—

  A crisscrossing chessboard appeared.

  Hmm?

  Beyond the Five Phoenixes, sharp eyes gleamed from the warships.

  This aura…

  The mysterious… Saint Lord of the Five Phoenixes?!

  Plop.

  A single chess piece fell from the sky.

  The immortal god formed by the attendants’ linked auras…

  Collapsed like a broken dam under that one piece!

  PFFT!

  One after another, the white-robed attendants paled in horror.

  The mist around their faces shattered, revealing their true appearances as they coughed blood.

  Each attendant was crushed to the ground by the pressure of a single chess piece.

  Yet…

  While everyone was focused on this—

  The Star-Moon Saint Lord’s bloodcurdling scream echoed across the plaza.

  The world seemed to rumble endlessly.

  The demonic qi figure hovering above Tang Yimo…

  Slowly turned its head.

  The Star-Moon Saint Lord felt himself cut off from the world.

  In his eyes, in his primordial spirit’s perception—only that figure remained.

  Slowly turning.

  When the Demon Lord turned his head—

  Heaven and earth collapsed, rivers ran dry!

  In the Saint Lord’s vision, the world shattered.

  His primordial spirit began to disintegrate inch by inch!