Sea of Light, Star Palace.
Above the Myriad Lands World Realm, two streaks of light arrived across the sky. In the blink of an eye, they traversed countless Star Charts and landed before the towering palace at the very core of the World Realm.
"Fellow Daoist, please follow me."
Exalted One Hao Yuan raised his hand. Lu Yang didn't stand on ceremony, immediately striding towards the interior of the palace. The heavy sound of his footsteps ascending the stairs echoed throughout the hall.
Thump—!
In an instant, as if a mechanism had been triggered, the previously silent palace suddenly surged with boundless, majestic pressure that bore down on Lu Yang.
Seeing this, Lu Yang immediately narrowed his eyes.
It wasn't just one aura, but thirty! The weakest among them was at the Middle Stage of the Golden Core. At this moment, they were shockingly united as one, pressing down on him like a towering mountain.
In a daze, Lu Yang felt as if he were looking at a boundless, vast ocean of spiritual power crashing towards him, while he was merely a solitary boat within it, forced to drift with the current and be at its mercy. If an Early Stage Golden Core cultivator were here, they would at the very least be forced to stop in their tracks, perhaps even pushed back!
However, Lu Yang's movements did not halt.
"Hmph!"
The second footstep sounded, but it was entirely different from the first. When this foot landed, the entire palace let out an overwhelming, creaking groan, unable to bear the weight!
Almost simultaneously, all the Spiritual Power Dao Perfected Lords within the palace targeting Lu Yang felt their vision blur. It was as if they saw a heaven-supporting pillar rise from within the ocean, stabilizing the seas and cleaving the waves. It was brilliant and resplendent, piercing straight into the vault of heaven, actually suppressing the combined auras of all thirty of them single-handedly!
"This..."
Seeing this, even Exalted One Hao Yuan, who had brought Lu Yang here, was somewhat surprised. He hadn't expected Lu Yang to completely change his usual style and display such piercing sharpness.
The footsteps continued without pause.
Lu Yang just paced slowly, cleaving through the waves the whole way. Enduring the howling ocean of spiritual power head-on, he walked into the palace with absolute steadiness.
A second later, the wind calmed and the waves settled.
Both Lu Yang's aura and the auras within the palace vanished instantly, as if they had never existed. The palace returned to its tranquil state once more.
Lu Yang stood within the palace and looked around. Then, he looked at the five figures seated at the very top and cupped his hands:
"Greetings, Five Seniors."
This single action immediately caused the recently calmed auras within the palace to surge once again. Several Spiritual Power Dao Perfected Lords revealed looks of indignation.
There were thirty-six Spiritual Power Dao Perfected Lords present in total. They could be considered the absolute elites who had stood out over countless years within the Spiritual Power Dao, completely different from the Star Lords outside. Yet Lu Yang completely ignored the other thirty people, only bowing and paying his respects to the five Great Perfected Lords seated at the highest positions.
"It seems you are quite arrogant, Fellow Daoist."
One of them sneered, his divine sense sweeping over Lu Yang without any attempt to hide it. His voice was filled with provocation: "Are you looking down on the other Fellow Daoists seated here?"
"Otherwise?"
Lu Yang raised an eyebrow, showing absolutely no intention of backing down. He retorted directly: "What is your cultivation level? Are you worthy of calling me Fellow Daoist?"
Lu Yang saw the reality of this trip to the Star Palace very clearly.
An Overlord-Level Dao Soldier, a supreme treasure with effects equivalent to the Dao Fruit Sublimation Ritual, forged for him by the Star Palace free of charge—how could all these Spiritual Power Dao Perfected Lords possibly agree to this?
It was only normal for them to harbor resentment.
Under these circumstances, if he didn't display strength and an attitude befitting such an item, this trip to the Star Palace would only be fraught with unexpected twists and turns.
"Me? Not worthy?"
At the same time, the person who spoke let out an angered laugh. "Junior, when I was fighting bloody battles against the Immortal Nexus back in the day, who knows where you even were!"
"So what?"
Lu Yang's expression was calm. "You've cultivated for the better part of your life and are now only at the same realm as me. Is age the only thing you have left to brag about in front of me?"
For a moment, the atmosphere within the palace became extremely bizarre.
Clearly, most people hadn't expected Lu Yang to be so domineering. It felt less like he was here to request a Dao Soldier from the Star Palace, and more like he was here to rob them.
The Spiritual Power Dao Perfected Lords exchanged glances with one another.
'Suddenly becoming so aggressive, completely different from our last meeting. It seems this person also realizes the importance of this upcoming battle and wants to fight for more benefits.'
'However... this is perfect.'
'An Overlord-Level Dao Soldier, leading the vanguard when attacking the Celestial Court... this is a prime opportunity to get closer to the [Tribulation]. How can we just hand it over to an outsider?'
At the same time, the Spiritual Power Dao Perfected Lord who was directly berated by Lu Yang also spoke. There was no anger on his face, and his eyes were completely tranquil: "It seems that because you killed a Star Lord during your last visit, you feel that the Spiritual Power Dao might just be an empty reputation..."
Rumble!
Before his voice faded, this Spiritual Power Dao Perfected Lord stepped forward, descending from his seat. Billowing spiritual power surged forth like a burst dam.
"I know of your battle record as well."
"You defeated the Tathagata incarnation enlightened by the World Honored One, so you think you are invincible beneath the Great Perfected Lord realm?"
Although Lu Yang had gained the upper hand in the aura clash just now, in his eyes, that didn't prove anything at all. After all, they hadn't erupted with their full power.
In contrast, Lu Yang had undoubtedly gone all out.
Therefore, in his view, Lu Yang wasn't necessarily stronger than him. At best, he was a formidable opponent. But as a mere junior, how high could his combat skills really be?
If they actually fought, victory and defeat would still be up in the air!
At the very least, if he were facing that [Tathagata Ratnasambhava of the Vajradhatu] enlightened by the World Honored One, he could win just the same. That battle record might convince others, but it couldn't convince him.
As his words fell, divine senses immediately crisscrossed within the palace:
'Is [Zhen Gao] really going to make a move?'
'It's about time! How can an Overlord-Level Dao Soldier be casually handed over to an outsider? Not to mention it's a Saint Sect Perfected Lord; he might just take the stuff and run!'
'It's not just him. I see that Master of Tribulations also has the intention to fight.'
'If he fights, it should be enough. After all, he has the most seniority. His spiritual power has undergone a full three hundred and sixty transformations, approaching the qualitative change of Perfection.'
Meanwhile, Lu Yang also nodded:
"Bring it on, then."
He came to take the Overlord-Level Dao Soldier this time to establish his dominance anyway. Since someone proactively delivered themselves to his door, he didn't mind giving the other party a quick end.
This action immediately drew nods of approval from the others.
'Not bad, not bad.'
'We've got a good show to watch this time... Speaking of which, is this Master of Tribulations really a Saint Sect Perfected Lord? Looking at his style, he has quite a bit of the ancient flair.'
What was the ancient flair?
In the golden age of cultivators, there weren't so many twists and turns, or hidden schemes and calculations between cultivators. Whoever had the bigger fist had the final say. That was the ancient flair.
Myriad Lands World Realm.
Lu Yang and Zhen Gao stood facing each other. Star Charts enveloped their surroundings, and formation patterns spread out, ensuring that the aftershocks of their battle would be confined to a certain area.
"How about it?"
Zhen Gao spoke first, sneering coldly. "I see you don't have any Dao Soldiers or True Treasures in your hands. If you lack a handy weapon, I can wait for you to go borrow one."
Hearing this, Lu Yang glanced at the palace not far away. Including Exalted One Hao Yuan, the Star Palace had a full six Great Perfected Lords of the Spiritual Power Dao. Whether he could obtain the Overlord-Level Dao Soldier actually depended entirely on their will. Including the subsequent battle at the Celestial Court, he also needed the Star Palace's stance to be firm enough.
In that case...
Thinking of this, Lu Yang shook his head and said faintly: "No need for all that trouble. As long as you can take a single punch from me, the Overlord-Level Dao Soldier is yours!"
Upon hearing this, Zhen Gao's expression instantly changed.
Not only him, but a sudden uproar erupted among the other Spiritual Power Dao Perfected Lords. The Great Perfected Lords seated at the very top also frowned one after another upon hearing this, a strange glint flashing in their eyes.
What a boastful tone...
Zhen Gao was truly very strong. At least within the Middle Stage of the Spiritual Power Dao's Golden Core realm, he had reached a certain limit. He simply hadn't been able to break through because he was trapped by his lifespan.
Taking one punch counts as a win?
Who gave him this confidence?
(End of Chapter)