Chapter 1445: The World's Attention

Who is this? Are all the old powerful figures emerging today? His tone is quite boastful, shaking the Great Dao and time itself. How upsetting, it's keeping him from sleeping. Who is this prehistoric overlord? He looks like a leading figure from the ultimate realm.

At that moment, a magnificent, heaven-piercing Great Dao stretched from the north, shining brightly in this era, vast and overwhelming. The Mad Martialist stood upon it, unmoving as a rock, with his hands clasped behind his back.

He was carried rapidly forward by a splendid golden Great Dao.

At this moment, everyone saw his form. His true body wasn't tall, but the aura emanating from him made the heavens tremble and the Great Dao shiver, threatening to cause a catastrophic rupture of the Dao itself!

His hair was as black as ink, and his chiseled, middle-aged face exuded a sense of power. His pair of golden pupils were especially terrifying, as if a divine emperor had descended.

Although this person was not tall or burly, just of ordinary or even slightly below average height, he was immensely oppressive. With his arrival, the heavens and earth violently shook.

The entire Yang Realm seemed unable to contain his true form!

When his golden pupils opened and closed, they revealed visions of collapsing starfields and falling stars, an incredibly terrifying sight. Ripples of the Great Dao spread around him, and the heavens seemed on the verge of exploding!

This was the invincible being, revered by many as the Martial Emperor.

All cultivators in the world felt like they were suffocating. Even those not strong enough vaguely perceived him, for the Martial Emperor existed across all heavens and earth!

Above and below, his true form was visible everywhere!

When one's power reached this ultimate level, even a slight thought could potentially reach him, thus reflecting the Martial Emperor's invincible form.

The Great Dao manifested as flames, coiling around the Mad Martialist one after another. Beams of light surged, like terrifying galaxies revolving and boiling around him!

This aura was too terrifying, so powerful that it was unrivaled. It was hard to believe any being in this world could contend with him!

As he traveled south, his true profound energy wasn't overtly displayed, yet this mere aura caused the heavens to collapse, the sky to continuously burst open, and deafening rumbling sounds to echo throughout the Yang Realm.

The resounding roar along his path shook the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, truly terrifying. The Martial Emperor's unrivaled presence awed all of humanity!

The Mad Martialist had arrived!

His true form had emerged, appearing in the world once more after eons. Who could oppose him on the path of supremacy?

At this moment, even after traversing prehistoric ages, passing through recent antiquity, and arriving in the present, he showed no sign of old age. In fact, he appeared even younger than before, his true vitality like a roaring furnace.

A sea-like surge of vital energy erupted from his crown, sweeping across the vast sky, enough to incinerate immense star seas!

His aura drew in the heavens and earth; the cosmos resonated with him. Every gesture he made affected the stability of the world.

Upon his descent, the Mad Martialist did not immediately attack Li. Instead, he stared in a certain direction, searching for the old boastful figure.

He stood with his hands clasped behind his back, his thick black hair fluttering. Suddenly, explosive sounds erupted throughout the heavens and earth, caused by his glowing golden pupils piercing through the void.

Billions of miles away, in the desolate borderlands adjacent to the chaotic realm, an boundless forest exploded, shattered by his golden gaze. Swathes of primeval mountains turned to dust!

This was the ultimate power of the Martial Emperor!

Across untold numbers of great states, a mere gaze could inflict such destructive power, annihilating an entire clan or sect without issue.

In that area, a humanoid creature, clad in rags, leaped up as if its backside were on fire, moving with extreme speed. It vanished the moment it jumped, disappearing into the desolate, barren chaotic lands.

“Lucky me, I ran into the big guy! That madman isn't an avatar or a spiritual manifestation; he actually came out in person?!”

This was his voice before he vanished, muttering curses, fleeing faster than anyone else, escaping the Yang Realm's confines and heading towards the harsh and dangerous chaotic netherworld.

Throughout the Yang Realm, many old monsters were momentarily dazed, not only astonished by the Mad Martialist's ultimate power but also sighing that he truly possessed an invincible posture!

At the same time, they were struck by the agility of the fleeing individual, marveling at how fast he ran. Who exactly was he?

Earlier, that humanoid creature had spoken boastfully, but when the Martial Emperor made a move, he actually leaped up and fled without any dignity, leaving everyone speechless.

A great roar echoed through the sky, and many saw a gigantic, black dog head appear in the heavens. Its fur was almost gone, and it lunged with a bite towards the chaotic borderlands.

“Dog, are you sick? Did I provoke you?!” the ragged, soil-covered humanoid creature, looking as if it had crawled out of an ancient pit, roared from within the chaos.

But he soon fled again. That gaping maw almost bit him, swallowing a large area of the chaotic wasteland, and he vanished in a leap.

“Everything eventually returns to dust, eras rise and fall, the river of time flows endlessly—who can last forever? All must die. I chronicle the past of the heavens, record the paths of valiant spirits, and unearth the truths of various epochs. Now, I, this lost soul… am merely passing by.”

That creature fled; these were his last words.

Everyone was speechless. Who else would it bite if not him? First, he mentioned stepping in dog shit, then he called it "dog." Given the historical records of that black dog's notorious temper, it would be strange if it didn't bite him to death.

A low roar and an indignant, angry howl came from beyond the heavens. The gigantic dog head faded, its location unknown in the myriad spaces of the heavens.

Evidently, even for one as powerful as it, projecting from such a distance was taxing, for it bore severe injuries and was too ancient and frail. Its back was now bent, guarding a broken bell and protecting a decaying corpse.

It had long since aged, its vital energy almost completely depleted. A persistent belief sustained it: to search, to find someone, to revive the imperial corpse it guarded.

Although there was almost no hope, and its inner hope was exceedingly dim, it had remained steadfast for years, protecting its former master, constantly running, always on the path of seeking aid.

Even though it could barely move anymore, it did not stop, painfully dragging its feet.

Many in the Yang Realm did not know it, did not understand it, and had never heard its legends, yet seeing its power, they were still deeply shocked.

Those who truly understood it sighed and trembled. A few clearly saw that this black dog used so little vital energy yet could still unleash such immense power; how mighty must it have been in its prime?

And how brilliant was that era? It was known that the beings it followed were the peerless geniuses who had shaken the foundations of heaven and earth and the stability of all heavens.

“It has ended. That era is long past, and all have perished. Such brilliance will never be seen again.”

In the Yang Realm, someone stood on a majestic famous mountain, gazing out and shaking their head, filled with endless emotion.

In an instant, some were moved, recognizing his identity. He was suspected to be an ancestor-level being who had survived from the previous epoch!

Even he sighed like this. Even those who didn't know the black dog's identity felt their scalps tingle, realizing it must have an immense background, involving Heaven Emperor-level cultivators. It was just that time had passed, and no being could escape death. What a pity, what a lament.

From beginning to end, the Mad Martialist remained unperturbed. This was what made him terrifying; no matter who appeared or revealed themselves, he remained indifferent, convinced that he alone was invincible!

At this point, he had already arrived outside Yinzhou, looking down at Li.

The entire Yang Realm fell silent. Everyone was waiting; if nothing unexpected happened, a shocking battle was destined to unfold.

The world watched intently. All corners of the Yang Realm were deathly silent, all cultivators focused, all waiting!

Where was Chu Feng at this moment?

He had long since calmly and composedly… left.

Of course, this was his own assessment. If an outsider were to describe it, he had fled at the first opportunity, escaping faster than anyone else.

Why else? This place was about to become a world-ending battlefield; why stay and wait for death?

Chu Feng had completely left Hanzhou as soon as the Mad Martialist revived, before he even arrived, traversing the void and fleeing far away.

Never before had his domain arts been so exquisite. Before the Mad Martialist truly arrived, he furiously traversed dozens, even hundreds of states, getting far away from the trouble spot.

Now, old monsters one after another were restless. The Yang Realm was too dangerous. Chu Feng gritted his teeth, thinking they all deserved to be tamed or crippled.

As for the white-haired female powerful cultivator Ling Xuan, she also… dashed away at the first opportunity. Gone was her earlier composure and ethereal grace; she no longer resembled an immortal. How could she leisurely glide over waves now? Fleeing with all her might was paramount.

“How can you still contend with me?!”

Outside Yinzhou, the Martial Emperor stood manifest. The heavens and earth trembled, and the myriad Great Dao of all heavens roared and resonated with his voice. Chaotic energy spread. This sight was too terrifying.

He stood on the radiant Great Dao, looking down.

On the Yinzhou land, the withered figure said nothing, straightening his back, his eyes like divine lamps. He held a great banner in his right hand, using it as a spear, and abruptly thrust it towards the sky!

With a boom, myriad Dao surged like a sea, vibrating mightily. After the towering, massive flagstaff pierced through, a huge hole appeared in the sky, the Great Dao wailed, and a violent roar erupted.

For a moment, all living beings in the world felt a great disaster approaching, as if their path of evolution was about to be severed, nearly broken by that single spear thrust!

Rules were annihilated, order fractured, and the heavens collapsed, the earth sank.

In the sky, the Mad Martialist still stood with his hands clasped behind his back, as if from nothingness. He had vanished.

He avoided the great banner, appearing in another direction. Even the wide, splendid road beneath his feet moved with him, still carrying him, spanning the heavens and earth. He seemed as if he had never moved, remaining static beneath the long sky.

The Mad Martialist's black hair flew, his golden pupils were terrifying, and ripples of the Great Dao pulsed, manifesting into tens of thousands of immortal swords that cleaved forward!

Ten thousand heavenly swords severed the world!

Boom!

Li punched towards the sky, his fist print shattering the heavens, as if creating a new world. It suppressed all myriad races in the world, making them bow their heads, and all powerful figures suffocated.

All sword lights were annihilated!

A dazzling fist light, like eternity itself, pierced through myriad Great Dao, and the world fell silent!

Li's body appeared so imposing within the dazzling light. Though withered and ancient, he now swallowed the heavens and earth with his aura, like a celestial emperor descended, brave and unstoppable!

The entire heaven and earth reflected his figure, standing tall, raising his fist towards the sky.

Boom!

The Martial Emperor was direct; he intended to contend with Li, and likewise, a fist smashed down.

The heavens and earth rioted. The Nine Heavens and Ten Earths seemed to be pierced and collapsed by him, too terrifying. It shook the galaxies above and awed the Nine Netherworlds below, making the entire world tremble.

After their fists collided, there was a clang, and sparks flew. These were, in fact, sparks of order, manifestations of Dao principles.

They collided more than once. The two fists, first the color of metal and stone, then quickly like beautiful jade, clashed together, causing streams of light to dance, time to burst forth, and chaos to boil, truly like the creation of heaven and earth.

In an instant, both withdrew their hands. The heavens and earth immediately fell silent, and the myriad Dao seemed to have extinguished.

“You’re still alive?” The Mad Martialist finally spoke, his first words, as he stood on the brilliant energy Great Dao, looking down.

The contrast between the two was stark. The Martial Emperor, in his middle-aged form, had thick black hair, and his vital energy, like a sea, swept through heaven and earth, eclipsing the sky, truly terrifying.

Li, his body withered, would have been stooped if not for his raised head. His hair was completely gray, and he was very old. His vital energy was depleted, clearly a sight of his twilight years.

This made people sigh with emotion: a paramount overlord, who once suppressed the world, was now so old.

Meanwhile, the Mad Martialist was at his zenith, revered as the Martial Emperor, currently in his prime.

“Who in this world can be immortal? Yet, the entire world can summon Li to return!” The withered figure replied calmly.

People's hearts trembled intensely.

His earlier lighthearted words now seemed like self-mockery. He must have experienced immense sorrow between life and death, undergoing trials of blood and tears unimaginable to outsiders.

It involved the death of his beloved, and his countless followers who had long since turned to dust. He himself had decayed, living in a wretched state, neither human nor ghost, his vital energy unstable and irreversibly heading towards depletion.

At the same time, people also recalled the black dog's words from earlier. They weren't heavy, but they certainly weren't dismissive. Given its nature, being flayed would undoubtedly be a deep-seated hatred. The blood-stained years could not conceal the horrific predicament it once faced. Its tone simply urged itself to remember, not to forget, and to fight for survival even when the path was arduous.

It intended to carry the imperial corpse forward, even if it might collapse at any moment.

Although there was almost no hope, and its inner hope was exceedingly dim, it had remained steadfast for years, protecting its former master, constantly running, always on the path of seeking aid.

Even though it could barely move anymore, it did not stop, painfully dragging its feet.

Many in the Yang Realm did not know it, did not understand it, and had never heard its legends, yet seeing its power, they were still deeply shocked.

The Martial Emperor was indifferent, hands clasped behind his back, saying, “Who will fight me? Li, have you truly returned, or are you neither human nor ghost? Is there an opponent for me in all of heaven and earth?!”

“Back then, it was truly a grand game. All sorts of demons and monsters, all sorts of peerless heroes, came crashing down, but I, Li, have still returned, to overturn everything!” Li roared.

His graying hair flew wildly, the great banner in his hand flapped fiercely. He raised it with one arm, shattering the sky with a single strike, shaking the Thirty-Three Heavens!