Chapter 704: He is called Yao Qing

Wuji Jun's expression was incredibly grim.

He had underestimated Su Zhiwei's control over the Mortal Realm; she could shrink the entire realm into a red flower. Escaping this realm through conventional means was now impossible for him.

"Su Zhiwei... if you think this can trap me, you're being too naive."

Wuji Jun snorted coldly and stomped his foot heavily on the ground.

Boom!

The next moment, the ruined ground beneath his feet visibly transformed into a silver color, then surged wildly into Wuji Jun's body. All matter—soil, rocks, buildings, everything—was assimilated into his form, and his figure expanded at an astonishing rate!

If the original Wuji Jun was merely a small insect on a petal of the red flower, he now instantly swelled to the size of a ping-pong ball, continuing to grow at an incredible speed!

The distance between atoms rapidly elongated, and simultaneously, the space around Wuji Jun gradually distorted. He seemed to be tearing through dimensional limitations, forcefully transforming himself into an entity existing on the same plane as Su Zhiwei.

Su Zhiwei's eyes narrowed slightly. Her palm, visually capable of engulfing the Earth, thundered down towards Wuji Jun's body, like the sky collapsing, a doomsday event!

If Wuji Jun's predicament was akin to Sun Wukong in the palm of the Buddha, then at this moment, the Five Elements Mountain meant to suppress him had arrived.

Wuji Jun's chest heaved continuously. The power of [Materials Science] was pushed to its limit, and his towering silver body began to emit dazzling light. Countless substances were born, combined, and intertwined within him...

His body visibly transformed into something resembling a colossal mecha. A city-sized super nuclear reactor ignited in his chest, and a mountainous power system furiously operated where his internal organs would be. Air violently steamed off his silver body. His right fist clenched, then instantly transformed into an indestructible stellar material, which he abruptly swung to meet the giant palm!

As he unleashed this punch, the surrounding space began to collapse. This full-strength blow from Wuji Jun, possessing peak power, could instantly pulverize nearly half of the Mortal Realm if it struck the ground beneath him.

Unfortunately... what he faced at this moment was a complete Mortal Monarch, possessing peak combat power!

Boom!!!

The instant the sky-obscuring giant palm collided with the silver fist, the ground beneath Wuji Jun rapidly receded. Su Zhiwei had moved the red flower containing the Mortal Realm away, otherwise, the aftermath of their clash would likely have caused an apocalyptic earthquake.

With the Mortal Realm moved, Wuji Jun's massive form lost its anchor. The punch and palm collided in the void, and a thunderous shockwave instantly swept across the Grey Realm, pulverizing all mountains within several hundred miles and annihilating a group of Grey Realm calamities that happened to be nearby.

The next moment, Wuji Jun's body was sent flying backward!

One of his arms shattered instantly. His silver remains streaked across the sky like a meteor, carving a several-kilometer-long gash in the Grey Realm's ground before finally coming to a silent halt deep within the earth.

Su Zhiwei, in her white training attire, swayed gently in the wind. With one hand cradling the Mortal Realm, she took a single step, instantly appearing at the end of the gash.

"...This is impossible."

Deep within the earth, the battered Wuji Jun stumbled out of the ruins, staring incredulously at Su Zhiwei. "You've been in slumber for over three hundred years! How can your body still be in peak condition...? You shouldn't have been able to live long after leaving the hibernation pod! How did you do it?!"

Since his awakening, Wuji Jun had been in a state of rapid aging and near death. He had only prolonged his life by abandoning his physical body and using the power of [Materials Science] to transform himself into the Mercury Moon. Yet, even then, he couldn't resolve the issue of his soul, which was why he had meticulously worked to refine the Philosopher's Stone.

He had believed his [Materials Science] was unique enough that with sufficient Philosopher's Stones, he would be the first of the Nine Monarchs to regain peak strength in this era...

But now, he saw an entity that had reached that stage faster than him.

A Mortal Monarch who hadn't suffered backlash from the hibernation pod, possessed ample lifespan, and was still at her peak!

Wuji Jun couldn't understand how Su Zhiwei had achieved this. Did she also possess a method similar to the Philosopher's Stone? No, that wasn't right...

Wuji Jun's eyes narrowed as he stared at Su Zhiwei's skin.

Beneath Su Zhiwei's skin, an embroidered pattern silently flowed, seemingly holding infinite mysteries. Wuji Jun's brows furrowed deeper. In a daze, he seemed to see an old man, covered in injuries, standing back-to-back with her.

Wuji Jun froze.

The current Mortal Monarch was not merely the Mortal Monarch... she was the masterpiece of another Azure God Dao demigod, painstakingly crafted over three hundred years.

Facing such a Mortal Monarch, how could he win? What could he use to win??

"Tell me," Su Zhiwei said, looking down at Wuji Jun, her voice like it came from the underworld, "What was the name of that Azure God Dao leader just now?"

"...What?"

Wuji Jun was stunned; he suspected his ears were malfunctioning.

"I'm asking you, what was the name of that old man you injured just now?!"

"..." Wuji Jun chuckled, as if he'd just thought of something amusing. "That man gambled his life to seal the ravages of time on you, and you still don't even know his name?"

Wuji Jun's words pierced Su Zhiwei's heart like needles, intensifying her growing premonition.

Her fists clenched abruptly. She plunged violently into the depths of the earth, one hand slamming Wuji Jun's broken shoulder into the gash, while the other gestured in the void, causing a gleaming, flickering sword to press against Wuji Jun's brow!

"I'm asking you one last time... what was his name?!" Su Zhiwei's aura was filled with killing intent.

Wuji Jun showed no extra emotion as Su Zhiwei's light sword pressed against him. After a brief pause, he finally spoke:

"His name was Yao Qing."

Su Zhiwei's heart suddenly trembled.

Yao Qing...

In Su Zhiwei's mind, the image of the old man reappeared: his face covered in wrinkles, his body riddled with injuries. He was hunched over, almost burying his head in the ground, afraid to meet her gaze...

"Leader of the Azure God Dao... welcomes the return of the Mortal Monarch."

"Please take care of yourself, this old man... is leaving."

In her memory, the tears silently falling from the old man's eyes felt like an unbearably heavy sword, piercing deep into Su Zhiwei's heart, leaving her shattered and in agonizing pain.

It was Yao Qing.

No wonder she survived without a hibernation pod. No wonder she woke up in the Su family residence. No wonder he didn't dare to look at her back then... But why didn't he reveal himself to her just now?!

Su Zhiwei felt herself breaking. Her eyes instantly turned red, and even the light sword pressed against Wuji Jun's brow trembled with her body.

"To single-handedly overcome three centuries of time for you... I admit, he was a prodigy of the Azure God Dao," Wuji Jun said indifferently.

"Unfortunately... he's dying."