Ling Shen King?"
"He's the youngest core royal of our Grand Ling Ancient Kingdom?"
Zimeng Marquis and the other Great Sovereigns were visibly stirred.
Aside from Heavenly Sovereigns, no one would ever underestimate a core royal at the Great Sovereign level.
On almost every local battlefield, a core royal at the Great Sovereign stage represented the highest combat power.
"Ling Shen."
Chijue King calmly looked at Ling Shen King. "You're the junior here. I'll let you make the first move."
"In that case, I'll go ahead."
Ling Shen King didn't stand on ceremony. He raised his right hand and unleashed a punch forward.
The force of this punch was completely restrained, yet wherever it passed, time and space seemed to shrink away, carrying an aura of death and silence.
"Hmm?"
Chijue King's expression shifted slightly.
He had allowed Ling Shen King to strike first not out of carelessness, but because he was adept at defensive techniques.
Letting the other party attack first wouldn't really put him at a disadvantage—if anything, it let him probe Ling Shen King's strength.
But that first punch actually put pressure on Chijue King. Even without going all out, Ling Shen King's opening move was this powerful?
Chijue King felt an ominous premonition.
Flames blossomed around him—one lotus after another unfurled. Ling Shen King's punch shattered more than ninety thousand fiery lotuses before its force finally dissipated.
"Hahaha, excellent!"
Ling Shen King laughed loudly. "Chijue, let's fight up above. There are too many restrictions here."
A clash between two core royals would have too much collateral impact, affecting all the peak Great Sovereigns fighting below—without distinction.
If they fought here, both would be too constrained.
"Fine."
Chijue King nodded.
Whoosh!
The two of them vanished from the battlefield.
Moments later, two terrifying auras collided violently at a much higher plane of time and space.
Below, even the peak Great Sovereigns split some of their focus to watch. The collision between core royals was far fiercer than anything the ten-odd peak Great Sovereigns could produce.
"No need to worry about Lord Chijue anymore."
Qingfen Marquis quickly transmitted a message to the other peak Sovereigns.
Unless something unexpected happened, Chijue King and Ling Shen King would be locked in battle for a long time—neither likely to win or lose quickly.
So, this war would still come down to the outcome between the peak Great Sovereigns.
"Brother Redleaf, can you hold off that one?"
Qingfen Marquis looked at the burly peak Great Sovereign.
It was this burly Sovereign who had nearly overwhelmed them earlier—if not for Chijue King's timely intervention, things would've been dire.
"Leave it to me."
Redleaf Great Sovereign nodded.
The only reason that burly Sovereign had succeeded was because they hadn't been on guard.
If Redleaf Great Sovereign kept a close eye on him, it wouldn't be so easy for him to unleash that killing move again.
"Sixth Brother…"
At the rear of the battlefield, Chisong King was watching closely.
As the commander of this war, he had a sharp sense of the battlefield situation and knew that as long as Ling Shen King couldn't break free, his side would most likely hold the line.
'Lingwei, if this war becomes a stalemate, I wonder how long you can hold out…'
Chisong King thought to himself. Lingwei King had launched this massive war at great cost; if there were no significant gains, it wouldn't last much longer.
The other royal contenders of the Grand Ling Kingdom certainly wouldn't want another competitor in the mix. If Lingwei King got bogged down on the front lines, it would open up opportunities for them.
...
Lin Yuan was also watching the core battlefield, especially after Ling Shen King and Chijue King revealed themselves. The shockwaves from their clash were an eye-opener.
"They really are powerful—beyond peak Great Sovereign."
Lin Yuan observed carefully. The fighting style of powerhouses in this Source World was quite different from those in the Chaos Void.
Especially among the core royals, their battles revolved around bloodline talent—drawing out the strength deep within their ancestral blood and unleashing power on par with, or even exceeding, that of chaos-evolved laws.
'No wonder they say core royals are almost unable to break through to Heavenly Sovereign…'
Lin Yuan reflected. He now realized that neither Ling Shen King nor Chijue King was following the path of chaos evolution.
Their power relied entirely on their own bloodline.
But the bloodline had its limits. Without comprehending chaos laws and the path of evolution, there was no way to become a Heavenly Sovereign.
To be precise, the so-called Great Sovereign core royals weren't really Great Sovereigns; they had simply mined their ancestral bloodline to a certain extent.
'So this is why the Heavenly Sovereigns look down on the royals?'
Lin Yuan mused. For a Heavenly Sovereign deeply versed in chaos evolution, every core royal was just a brute—profound laws shallow, relying solely on innate talent for their strength.
'Of course, core royals could also study the laws, the path of chaos evolution—but compared to developing their own bloodline, it's just far too slow.'
He looked out toward the battlefield.
Ordinary royals still tried to comprehend laws, since their bloodlines couldn't support rapid progress past the Great Sovereign stage.
But core royals?
Given the choice, they'd rather keep digging deeper into their bloodline—that brought faster gains.
Even with the boost from countless Seeds, it still couldn't compare to their bloodline power.
'Hm? It looks like Ling Shen King is even better at using his bloodline than Chijue King?'
Even though it was Lin Yuan's first time seeing such a fight, he instantly picked up on this.
—
Higher up in the void—
Chijue King looked grim, standing atop a massive lotus of flame, surrounded by layers of lotus shields.
Ling Shen King was like a giant hammer, pounding relentlessly. The great lotus shuddered with each blow—on the verge of collapse.
"Ling Shen, have you reached your peak already?"
Chijue King's tone was tinged with disbelief.
The strength of a core royal depended on how deeply they could tap into their bloodline.
The more they unlocked, the stronger they became. To fully unleash their ancestral bloodline was to reach their limit.
At that point, they were at their peak and could even challenge a Heavenly Sovereign.
Of course, to "challenge" a Heavenly Sovereign wasn't to match them, but it was already unimaginably powerful.
From there, the only way to progress was to seriously study the laws and step into true Great Sovereign or even Heavenly Sovereign territory.
"Hahaha—reaching the limit is really so hard?"
Ling Shen King showed no mercy, pounding away at Chijue King's flaming lotus defense.
Right now, Chijue King posed no threat to him—the only question was how long it would take to break that shell.
"This is bad…"
Chijue King's face darkened.
At Ling Shen King's current level, he couldn't even hold him back.
If that happened, it would upend the entire situation among the peak Great Sovereigns below.
If Chijue King failed to hold him, Ling Shen King could deal with the others as he pleased—it would be no contest.
—
At the rear of the battlefield—
Suddenly, Chisong King heard Chijue King's urgent voice in his ear.
"Chisong, Ling Shen King has reached his limit—I can't stop him. Do everything you can to have all Great Sovereigns retreat!"
Chisong King's face changed dramatically.
'Ling Shen King has reached his peak?'
He immediately understood Chijue King's intent.
All the Great Sovereigns needed to retreat to Qingfen City, where the city's formation could buy enough time for another core royal of the same level from the Liyang Kingdom to come help.
A core royal at their limit—there was no way to stop such power in a straight fight.
Only with Qingfen City's defenses could they hold out long enough for reinforcements.
"Retreat."
"All Great Sovereigns, retreat at once!"
Chisong King immediately transmitted the order.
As battlefield commander, he could contact all the Great Sovereigns in an instant.
"Retreat?"
"Retreat right now?"
"His Highness Chisong wants us to pull back?"
Qingfen Marquis and the other peak Sovereigns were stunned.
But no one dared question the order; all the Great Sovereigns immediately began falling back toward the defensive formation.
These battle formations, even when hastily set up, could still delay even a peak Great Sovereign for several breaths.
Soon—
All the peak Great Sovereigns and many others gathered before the spatial gateway at the rear.
The gateway began to activate.
As they waited—
Everyone was in an uproar.
"Why is His Highness Chisong calling a retreat?"
"It doesn't make sense—we're not even losing."
"Even if we were losing, isn't this too sudden?"
The Great Sovereigns didn't understand.
Lin Yuan, mingling among them, understood perfectly well why Chisong King had given that order.
He could see in higher space: Chijue King was already about to collapse under Ling Shen King's attack.
—
Higher up.
"Hahaha—Chijue, you've fallen for it."
Ling Shen King looked down at the battlefield, smiling as he saw all of Qingfen's Great Sovereigns gathering at the gateway.
"Fallen for it?"
Chijue King's expression changed.
"You think you can hold me?"
Ling Shen King sneered, then slammed down his right hand—completely suppressing Chijue King.
Then he stretched his right hand toward the spatial gateway, reaching for the dozens of Great Sovereigns below.
"This is bad!"
Chijue King's face changed drastically.
Given the state of the battle, even with Ling Shen King at his peak, Chisong King's side wasn't necessarily doomed.
If all the Great Sovereigns could make it back to Qingfen City and its defenses, they could hold out for a while.
Qingfen City wasn't just protected by defensive formations—it also had a teleportation array connected to the capital.
If they could just buy enough time, another core royal could be called in.
But only if everyone made it back.
Only with all the Great Sovereigns powering the defense could Qingfen City hope to resist Ling Shen King's assault, even briefly.
If not, then no matter how strong the formation was, it would be like water without a source—unable to withstand him.
If Qingfen City fell, so would Qingfen Domain—and all the surrounding domains would be in danger too.
Rumble—
In front of the gateway—
The dozens of Great Sovereigns about to return suddenly felt the world shift. Darkness closed in from all sides, and five immense pillars appeared.
—
Higher up—
Ling Shen King looked at his right hand, which now contained dozens of Great Sovereigns—trapped like ants in his palm.
"Chijue, this war is over—you've lost."
Ling Shen King laughed, and under Chijue King's despairing gaze, slowly closed his right hand.
In that instant—
All the Great Sovereigns felt the five huge pillars come crashing down, space and time collapsing.
But—
Halfway through closing his fist, Ling Shen King's smile froze. He stared at his half-closed hand in confusion.
Why was it so hard to close?
...
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"It's over."
Chijue King was suppressed, and at the same time saw Ling Shen King, with a simple gesture, trap all the Great Sovereign-level powerhouses of the Qingfen Domain in his palm.
Then, slowly closed his hand.
Ling Shen King was a core royal who had grown to the extreme, strong enough to exchange blows with a true Heavenly Sovereign, his power far surpassing peak Great Sovereigns.
On the Qingfen Domain's side, there were five or six peak Great Sovereigns, more than twenty seasoned Great Sovereigns, and several newly advanced ones—none could withstand even a single grasp from Ling Shen King.
This was the terror of the core royals of the ancient kingdoms: once they reached their limits, they were practically on a level of their own between Great Sovereign and Heavenly Sovereign.
Normally, in localized wars between ancient kingdoms, it was rare for core royals who had grown to the extreme to appear.
Powerhouses of this level were on par with Heavenly Sovereigns, and would only take action in full-scale, all-out wars of the highest intensity.
So, the fact that King Lingwei had called upon his younger brother, Ling Shen King, to intervene in this war was expected.
But the fact that Ling Shen King had grown to the extreme was something Chijue King hadn't anticipated. Core royals were naturally gifted, but to reach the very peak, to bring their bloodline power to its absolute limit, was incredibly difficult.
At least, Chijue King had failed to do so for countless ages.
"Damn."
At the rear of the battlefield, Chisong King saw all of his side's Great Sovereigns scooped up by Ling Shen King with a single palm, and his heart trembled.
Only now did he realize that his earlier order—commanding all Great Sovereigns to return to Qingfen City via the space-time tunnel—had been a grave mistake.
Core royals who had reached their limit were indeed terrifying; peak Great Sovereigns had no hope of resisting them.
But the power of such core royals was purely in raw might; in terms of suppressive power over the rules, it was nothing special.
There were more than twenty Great Sovereigns on the Qingfen Domain's side, originally spread out across multiple defensive fronts. If they had retreated to Qingfen City separately, even if Ling Shen King chased at full speed, how many could he catch? Not to mention, Ling Shen King still had to divide his attention to suppress Chijue King.
But Chisong King had them all return through the space-time tunnel? That meant gathering every Great Sovereign in one place—handing Ling Shen King a chance to catch them all in one net.
It was like trying to catch dozens of big fish scattered across a pond; to catch them all would be a huge effort, and some would inevitably escape.
But if all the fish gathered in one area, you only need to cast your net once.
"We've lost."
Chisong King looked up toward the higher plane of space-time. Even though he couldn't see what was happening, he knew all the Great Sovereigns had fallen into Ling Shen King's hands—their fate was basically sealed.
Of course, all the Great Sovereigns had their life-saving measures; even if they died, they wouldn't be truly gone.
But having lost their main battle bodies, it would be a long time before the Great Sovereigns could fight again.
After all, re-forming a peak battle body wasn't easy. Not to mention the lost weapons and other personal treasures—those wouldn't be easily replaced in a short time.
Even if, for argument's sake, they all could fight again, it would be too late. Next, Ling Shen King would race to Qingfen City at top speed, and with his absolute strength, take the city.
Once Qingfen City fell, the entire Qingfen Domain would be lost. It would essentially mean the war was over.
"I can't believe we lost so quickly?"
Chisong King fell silent. The main issue was that he'd underestimated Ling Shen King's strength.
Before this, Ling Shen King had never revealed to anyone that he'd reached the peak.
In contrast to Chisong King and Chijue King's heavy hearts, Lingwei King, watching the battlefield as well, was overflowing with joy.
"It's done."
Lingwei King's heart settled. Even though he'd known in advance that his younger brother had reached the core royal limit.
On the battlefield, anything could happen. There were always countless variables. What if Chijue King had also grown to the extreme?
Or if he had some hidden weapon strong enough to resist even the strongest core royals?
So many unpredictable factors.
But now?
Ling Shen King had caught all enemy Great Sovereigns in his palm—this basically signaled the end of this battle.
Even if, at this moment, news reached the Liyang Ancient Kingdom's capital and someone as strong as Ling Shen King rushed over, it would be far too late.
The distance from the capital to the Qingfen Domain was unknown; not even a Heavenly Sovereign could arrive instantly. Even using the space-time tunnels in Qingfen City would still take a bit of time.
And that was all the time Ling Shen King needed to reach Qingfen City.
In the higher plane.
Where he had once been in complete control, Ling Shen King glanced at his half-closed right hand, and his expression changed subtly.
The "World in the Palm" was one of his bloodline talents. He could create a world within his palm, which would start to collapse as he closed his fingers.
When the world collapsed, the destruction it unleashed was enough to kill a peak Great Sovereign in an instant.
This move was not very useful against powerhouses of his level, but to any weaker lifeform, it was a devastating weapon.
Yet now, Ling Shen King's expression was grave. He could clearly feel a force preventing his fingers from closing.
More precisely, it wasn't stopping his hand from closing, but stopping the collapse of the world within his palm.
The world that should have been completely destroyed was being held up by an invisible force, so his hand could not close.
"Who is it?"
Ling Shen King frowned. Among all the Great Sovereigns he'd trapped in his palm world, the strongest were clearly the peak Great Sovereigns—Great Sovereign Redleaf, Qingfen Marquis, and so on.
But none of them could resist his palm world.
"Could it be that Redleaf broke through?"
He stared at his half-closed right hand.
Not only could he not close his hand, but his sense of the palm world had also grown blurry—he couldn't tell what was happening inside.
Among all the Great Sovereigns on the Qingfen side, the one with the most potential was undoubtedly Great Sovereign Redleaf. He walked two paths of Chaos evolution at once and had a real shot at becoming a Heavenly Sovereign.
In the palm world.
Great Sovereign Redleaf, Great Sovereign Axe, and the others stared in shock.
Moments before, when the five heavenly pillars collapsed and the world began to fall apart, everyone had lost hope.
But just then, Lin Yuan had stepped forward, raising a hand to stop the world's destruction. Even the five collapsed pillars had been forcibly halted, left in a state of half-fall.
"Milky Way Great Sovereign? He has this kind of power?"
"I can feel it—the destructive force all around is enough to erase even a peak Great Sovereign, yet the Milky Way Great Sovereign stopped it?"
"He didn't just stop it—he completely cut off the collapse of this world."
The Great Sovereigns couldn't believe it.
To block the destructive force of a collapsing world and to cut it off entirely were two very different things.
It was like a raging river—blocking the flow is one thing, but to cut off the current entirely is on another level.
"Milky Way..." Great Sovereign Redleaf looked at Lin Yuan, who alone had cut off the collapse of heaven and earth, and couldn't help but be deeply shaken.
"Just how far has my disciple come?" Qingfen Marquis was also unsettled. Compared to the other Great Sovereigns, he knew more "secrets" about Lin Yuan, like his core royal identity.
But even for a core royal, to resist the collapse of the world required someone at least at Chijue King's level.
And how long had it been since Lin Yuan became a Great Sovereign?
That's right—ever since Lin Yuan had defeated Great Sovereign Leige and shown near-peak power, Qingfen Marquis had figured he'd made the breakthrough.
But even for a core royal, after becoming a Great Sovereign, it took time to grow. Yet Lin Yuan...
"Everyone, when I break open this world, you'd better run as far as you can," Lin Yuan glanced at the other Great Sovereigns.
Actually, even if Ling Shen King hadn't targeted him, Lin Yuan hadn't planned to sit by and watch the Qingfen Domain fall.
After all, Qingfen Marquis had always been good to him.
Before, Lin Yuan had needed time to comprehend the war machine, and to perfect the fusion of his inner universe and the Sunborn Genesis, so his strength hadn't reached its peak. Even if he'd intervened, he couldn't have changed the outcome. He would have just made himself a target and hindered his cultivation.
So he'd kept a low profile.
But now? His inner universe and Sunborn Genesis had completely merged. His power could now be called complete.
Even facing a Heavenly Sovereign, he could escape intact. In this prime world, as long as he didn't provoke the ancestors of the ancient kingdoms, he had nothing to fear.
"Run far away?"
The Great Sovereigns exchanged glances and nodded at once.
"Milky Way Great Sovereign, rest assured—once you break this world, we'll run as far as we can."
"That's right. Even if we can't help, we definitely won't drag you down."
"If someone doesn't make it in time, don't worry about them—if they get caught in the aftermath, so be it."
The Great Sovereigns were shrewd; just seeing Lin Yuan so easily halt the world's collapse, they could tell his strength far surpassed what they'd thought.
Even if he wasn't at Ling Shen King's level, he was definitely equal to Chijue King.
Powerhouses of that level fought differently. Ordinary Great Sovereigns like them couldn't get involved.
"Alright."
Lin Yuan nodded.
With his power, breaking out of this world was no trouble.
He just worried the others might not react in time, so he warned them in advance.
"Open!"
Lin Yuan looked up at the five half-collapsed heavenly pillars, a terrifying aura spreading from him and tearing out in all directions.
In the higher plane.
The suppressed Chijue King looked at Ling Shen King and realized something was wrong.
Ling Shen King's right hand wasn't closing, and his expression was uncertain.
"A twist in the plot."
Before Chijue King could think further, Ling Shen King, standing motionless, lost control as his half-closed hand suddenly opened.
Whoosh—
Space and time shattered in great swathes.
Dozens of figures shot out at once, fleeing into the void without hesitation.
At the same time—
Lin Yuan stood nearby.
"It's you?"
Ling Shen King stared at Lin Yuan. The moment the world in his palm was broken open, he saw the source of the resistance—
The Milky Way Great Sovereign who'd ruined his plans once before.
"Milky Way?"
Chijue King was also shocked.
He didn't know what had happened inside Ling Shen King's palm world.
But all the Great Sovereigns had escaped and left the battlefield—except for Lin Yuan. Clearly, it was all due to this Milky Way Great Sovereign.
"Ling Shen King."
Lin Yuan smiled as he looked at Ling Shen King.
"Milky Way, he..."
At the rear, Chisong King was also stunned. The escaped Great Sovereigns quickly told him everything that had happened inside the palm world.
"Good, good, good!"
Chisong King, after his initial confusion, broke into a delighted grin.
Milky Way Great Sovereign had suddenly revealed power on par with Chijue King, completely reversing the course of the war.
Now that the Great Sovereigns had survived, as long as they could safely withdraw to Qingfen City and use the city's defensive array to hold out until reinforcements arrived, there was still hope for victory.
For Chisong King, who'd been ready for defeat, this was a complete surprise.
Boom—
Lin Yuan's forceful shattering of the palm world had caused Ling Shen King—an extreme core royal—to reveal a flaw in his aura.
The suppressed Chijue King seized the opportunity, struggling with all his might, and finally broke free.
"Milky Way Great Sovereign, we owe you for this."
Chijue King appeared nearby and thanked Lin Yuan sincerely.
He now understood what had happened—all thanks to Lin Yuan.
If Lin Yuan hadn't stepped up, all the Great Sovereigns would probably have perished, and Ling Shen King might already have reached Qingfen City.
"It's nothing."
Lin Yuan replied casually.
But Ling Shen King, standing in the distance, still managed to exert a faint pressure on him—enough to pique Lin Yuan's interest.
"Next, I'd like to ask Milky Way Great Sovereign to join me in holding back Ling Shen King," Chijue King sent a quick message, already recognizing Lin Yuan as a powerhouse on his own level.
Facing Ling Shen King, an extreme core royal, Chijue King had no confidence in holding him off alone. But with another equal by his side? Even if they couldn't win, they could still get away alive.
"No need to team up."
Lin Yuan looked at Ling Shen King, whose aura was growing ever more terrifying, and suddenly stepped forward. "I'll handle this myself."
"You'll handle it yourself?" Chijue King stared, not quite understanding.
Handle it yourself? Before he could say more—
Lin Yuan had already moved.
An intensely blazing force swept out over billions of miles, the world of Sunborn Genesis naturally forming with the operation of his Blazing Sun Divine Body.
Below, the Qingfen Domain and its Great Sovereigns could clearly feel the change in the world around them. They couldn't see what was happening in the higher plane, and King Lingwei certainly wasn't telling them.
So all they could do was guess.
"Sunborn Scorches Heaven."
It was the first time Lin Yuan had fully unleashed his Blazing Sun Divine Body. With the terrifying foundation of his inner universe as support, even an ordinary physique could explode with incredible power, let alone a Blazing Sun Divine Body built for killing?
Whoosh—
The boundless Sunborn Genesis world descended, suppressing Ling Shen King.
"This—?"
Whether it was Chijue King, ready to join forces with Lin Yuan, or Chisong King watching from the rear, or even Ling Shen King himself—they were all shocked.
Boom—
Ling Shen King staggered back four steps before he could finally dissipate the suppressive force of the Sunborn Genesis.
"I was actually hurt?"
Ling Shen King took a deep breath, staring at Lin Yuan as if facing a great enemy.
...
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