Nine Heavens Martial Emperor

Although the Devil Beast Divine Soul was merely a dozen meters tall, the moment it extended its claws, the distant and majestic Wangchuan City began to rumble. At the same time, runes flashed in the sky above it.

The first stirrings of Shenshan’s Divine Soul unleashed a heaven-shattering pressure.

Everyone, aside from Shenshan’s group of five and the Three Young Masters, fled the battlefield at the first opportunity.

The moment Shenshan’s Divine Soul stirred, the other Martial Artists found they could move again and immediately retreated at top speed.

In truth, this was a result of Shenshan’s deliberate actions.

After receiving the full infusion of True Essence from the other four, Shenshan was able to briefly control his Divine Soul. Though it was the first time it had manifested, Shenshan knew how terrifying it was. If he didn’t restrain its power, he feared few Martial Artists present would be able to withstand its pressure.

While the other Martial Artists were able to move, the Three Young Masters were not so fortunate.

The terrifying pressure bore down on them like the heavens themselves, causing the bodies of the Three Young Masters to glow with ever-increasing brilliance.

Meanwhile, Yang Qingtian was backing away.

Shenshan’s Divine Soul attack wasn’t directed at him; there was no need for him to get involved.

As Yang Qingtian retreated, his expression grew incredibly grave as he stared intently at the Divine Soul above.

Yang Qingtian had never seen anything like Shenshan’s Devil Beast Divine Soul before.

At first glance, the Divine Soul resembled one of the legendary Nine Sons of the Dragon, but when Yang Qingtian looked closer, he realized it was none of them.

Yang Qingtian had the leisure to observe Shenshan’s Divine Soul, but He Jundao and Young Master Moon were not so fortunate.

The two claws of Shenshan’s Divine Soul descended. They moved slowly, yet they completely sealed off the duo’s escape routes, leaving them with no way to evade.

Both were peerless prodigies who had received unimaginable grooming in their respective empires and had fought in countless battles.

Shenshan’s Divine Soul placed them under unimaginable pressure.

Their bodies began to glow, and a ball of cyan light in their Dantian regions shone with increasing brightness.

They had activated their bloodline power.

Their Lifebound True Blood was cyan, which meant both of them possessed an Emperor Body!

An Emperor Body—a constitution so rare it might not appear once in billions upon billions of people.

Yet here, two of them had appeared at once.

Ordinarily, news of their physiques would have shaken the entire continent. But at this moment, all they felt was indignation.

To be forced to activate their bloodline power, despite possessing a magnificent Emperor Body, was nothing short of a disgrace to them.

The eyes of the distant crowd went wide with shock.

Thanks to Shenshan’s deliberate control, they couldn’t feel the pressure from the attack. Still, to see an Emperor Body forced to use its bloodline power was utterly astounding.

Never mind them; even a Spirit Transformation Realm Martial Artist would be shaken by this scene.

As everyone watched, the Divine Soul’s claws collided with the attacks from He Jundao and Moon...

The onlookers heard no sound from the impact. As the attacks collided, runes lit up not only in the void but also flickered across the ground.

They could only see vast swaths of runes being annihilated, only to reappear and then be annihilated once more.

Each time the runes reappeared, they were more complex than before, yet they were still annihilated a total of three times.

This was an unimaginable feat.

One had to understand that this was the Starry Sky Ancient Road, and Wangchuan City had existed for thousands of years. The Rune Power here was likely established by a Saint or even a Quasi-Emperor.

For Shenshan’s battle against two of the great young masters to annihilate the runes three times was likely an unprecedented event.

Just as one might expect, characters materialized in the void after the exchange.

It wasn’t just the names of He Jundao and Young Master Moon that lit up; the names of Shenshan, Yang Peng, and their three companions appeared as well.

The message roughly stated that if they could pass the final stage of the Starry Sky Ancient Road, they would be permitted to enter the Middle Court of the Heaven-Breaking Pavilion. This was because, since the inception of the Ancient Road’s trials, no one had ever managed to annihilate the runes three times.

This was a singular honor.

It meant that this group had caught the attention of the Heaven-Breaking Pavilion.

It was understandable for the names of He Jundao, Young Master Moon, and Shenshan to appear, but the onlookers had never heard of the others. At first, they were confused, but a moment’s reflection brought understanding.

The four behind Shenshan clearly possessed Divine Souls capable of contending with an Emperor Body, just like him; they were simply still too weak right now.

"My ancestor had the good fortune to meet the Monarch a while back," one Martial Artist muttered under his breath. "When he returned, he said a magnificent new era was dawning. It seems he was right. An Emperor Body is a once-in-ten-thousand-year rarity, yet three have appeared at once, along with bloodlines that can rival them..."

He trailed off, however, because Shenshan had launched another attack at He Jundao and his companion. This time, it seemed even more terrifying than the last.

He Jundao and Young Master Moon hadn’t just activated their bloodline power; they had summoned their Divine Souls as well.

Shenshan’s Divine Soul struck down just as before, but this time, He Jundao and Young Master Moon retaliated with not only their bloodline power, but also their Divine Souls.

Their Divine Souls were peculiar—they were two plants.

Neither plant was large, and each had only seven sparse branches. What was most peculiar was that none of the onlooking Martial Artists had ever seen these species of plants before.

But they trembled in unison, their seven branches merging into one, forming a sharp sword to meet the two claws of Shenshan’s Divine Soul.

In the next moment, they crashed together.

The runes in the void exploded again, only to reform once more.

This time, the crowd could even feel the ground trembling.

This was utterly terrifying. These were the runes that had reformed after being annihilated three times, yet they had still been shattered.

From the force of the blow, Shenshan took a step back, and the Divine Soul above him dimmed considerably. At the same time, blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.

Behind him, Yang Peng and the other three were bleeding from their eyes, ears, noses, and mouths.

He Jundao and his partner were in an equally miserable state.

The blow sent them both coughing up mouthfuls of blood, their bodies teetering on the verge of collapse.

Their Divine Souls, however, appeared to be unharmed.

The two quickly swallowed a medicinal pill and then seized the initiative to attack!

’Shenshan is borrowing the power of five people to fight us. We can’t give them any time to recover!’

Just then, Shenshan did something completely unexpected.

Instead of retreating, he advanced, suddenly charging toward the pair.

His charge instantly severed his connection with the other four.

Without the supply of True Essence from his companions, Shenshan would surely be in mortal danger if their attacks landed.

"No!"

Yang Peng and the other three roared.

At the same time, Lu Dieyi, Wenren Yuxin, Ling Xiao, Gao Hong, and the others all made their moves.

In the next instant, they were all sent flying backward.

The thick stench of blood filled the air.

HISS!

The sound of sharp intakes of breath came from the surrounding Martial Artists.

They had seen it clearly. When the Cangnan Martial Artists attacked He Jundao and Young Master Moon, the plant-like Divine Souls above the duo’s heads had moved abruptly.

Each branch had transformed into a sharp weapon, slashing toward the Martial Artists from the Cangnan Kingdom.

While Lu Dieyi and Wenren Yuxin were each targeted by two branches, Gao Hong and Shenshan bore the brunt of the assault, facing four branches apiece!

Gao Hong’s high cultivation level was no secret, so it was understandable that the pair wouldn’t underestimate him. But to attack Shenshan with such force... it was a clear attempt to kill him!