176: Emperor Yuan made a move

"Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!"

"Boom, crackle!"

...High in the sky, purple lightning streaked through the Void Realm, piercing through layers of air and carrying boundless power as it struck directly towards Lin Yi.

This strike was incredibly powerful!

Incredibly swift!

Incredibly terrifying!

Compared to more than two years ago, it was more than just a level stronger!

"What! King Lie has actually become stronger again!"

Seeing this, the expressions of Gu Changsheng and Chu Haitian on Tianshan Mountain changed drastically once more.

They had both participated in the battle at the Wanxiang Tower headquarters and had personally witnessed King Lie take action back then.

While King Lie was also incredibly powerful back then, his strength surpassing everyone on the battlefield and pressuring all the Innate Golden Cores, he was more than just a level weaker compared to now.

If King Lie's full-strength strike from over two years ago was enough to kill a top ten expert on the Heaven Ranking and severely wound a top three expert...

...then the current King Lie could probably kill a top three expert on the Heaven Ranking with a single move! He was absolutely terrifying beyond measure!

"Jinglie... he's actually even stronger than I imagined!"

On the other side, atop the golden eagle high in the sky, Yuan Emperor Yuan Jingyi's face flushed slightly upon seeing King Lie's strike. A look of intense excitement flashed in his eyes, as if he could already see the image of Lin Yi's body and soul perishing under this blow in the next moment.

But... "Swoosh!"

A brilliant blade light suddenly lit up the sky.

Facing King Lie's strike that was enough to kill a top three expert on the Heaven Ranking, Lin Yi, high in the sky, looked calm. He simply moved his long blade, as if a young child were playing with a knife, and casually slashed out.

But.

"Whoosh!"

The moment this blade light was unleashed, everyone's gaze was completely captivated by it!

What a beautiful blade light this was!

It was as if everything in the world paled in comparison to it!

Under this incomparably beautiful blade light, whether it was the excited yet still majestic Yuan Emperor Yuan Jingyi in the sky, King Lie who had transformed into lightning with the purple thunder seven kills spear as his edge, or the surrounding clouds, breezes, high mountains, and even the various Disciples within the Heavenly Mountain Sect, all seemed to lose their color.

At this moment, everyone's gaze converged; there was only this single blade light in their eyes!

This incredibly brilliant Astral River Saber Light was constructed from countless multicolored Stars of the Celestial Firmament, radiating endless light and containing infinite power!

Then, they watched as it collided violently with the purple lightning.

"Clang!"

"Boom, rumble!!!"

A massive explosion sounded in the sky, as if a small nuclear weapon had detonated, instantly causing a giant mushroom cloud to form.

"Whoosh, whoosh, crash, crash..."

Endless waves of air transformed into gusts of wind like steel blades, sweeping in all directions and slicing through trees on nearby mountains one by one, revealing the boundless power of this collision.

Then, before everyone could snap out of it...

...from the center of the mushroom cloud, they heard a roar filled with both disbelief and endless terror.

"No!"

The roar shook heaven and earth.

Soon, under the incredulous gazes of Innate Golden Cores like Yuan Jingyi, Chu Haitian, and Gu Changsheng, and even Old Ancestor Yan Hui...

...they saw Lin Yi's Astral River Saber Light smash King Lie's purple lightning to pieces almost instantly, like a divine mountain crashing into a hill or a river engulfing a pond.

Immediately after, the remaining powerful energy of the Astral River Saber Light poured into King Lie's body without reservation in an instant.

In an instant, it tore the armor on his body to shreds and turned him into flying ash, leaving only the purple thunder seven kills spear, flickering with streaks of purple lightning, to be sent flying by Lin Yi's blade, falling rapidly toward the ground.

With one strike, the number one on the Heaven Ranking, King Lie, was dead!

..."What!"

"This... how is this possible! How can this be!"

Seeing this, Yuan Jingyi's eyes widened, his sockets nearly splitting, filled with disbelief and deep terror.

"This, I..."

Within the Heavenly Mountain Sect, Gu Changsheng and Chu Haitian were also stunned, their minds going completely blank.

"Saint-Grade Perfection! This is the power of a Saint-Grade Perfection martial art! And it's power approaching Great Perfection!"

"This little fellow Lin Yi, his Martial Arts Techniques Realm has actually reached this level?"

Outside the cave, a flash of disbelief crossed Old Ancestor Yan Hui's eyes, followed by them lighting up brilliantly.

Approaching the Great Perfection of a Saint-level Martial Art—this level of Martial Arts Techniques was already stronger than his own!

In the future, once he truly reaches the Realm of Great Perfection, as long as he achieves a Breakthrough to Martial Saint, with just a little accumulation, Lin Yi's strength will be comparable to his own. After obtaining a peerless divine weapon, he will even surpass him, likely not even fearing a Martial Saint at the Peak!

By then, his Heavenly Mountain Sect would have a veteran Martial Saint and a Martial Saint at the Peak level!

This way, in the entire Nine Provinces Continent, who would be a match for the Heavenly Mountain Sect besides the Three Great Sacred Lands and the Great Yuan Dynasty?

Thinking of this, even though Old Ancestor Yan Hui was a Martial Saint, he couldn't help but feel his emotions swell with excitement. He looked at Lin Yi in the sky, his eyes filled with fervent admiration.

In the sky, after killing King Lie, Lin Yi did not delay and moved the long blade in his hand.

With one strike, he slashed toward Yuan Jingyi.

"No! No! No! I cannot die here! Lin Yi, you cannot kill me!"

Seeing Lin Yi's long blade drawing closer and feeling the terrifying pressure between life and death, even though Yuan Jingyi was the Yuan Emperor, he was incredibly terrified, losing all of his imperial dignity.

He wanted to resist, he wanted to struggle, but facing Lin Yi's world-destroying strike...

...he found that he didn't even have the courage to resist, and could only watch helplessly as the long blade approached step by step.

Until... "Clang!"

High in the sky, the long blade slashed toward Yuan Jingyi's body.

But in the next moment, Yuan Jingyi's body did not turn to ash under Lin Yi's strike as expected; instead, it produced a sound like the clashing of metal.

Then, everyone looked closely and saw a purple lightning shield suddenly appear on Yuan Jingyi's body.

That shield was incredibly hard, like the most indestructible divine iron in the world. Even Lin Yi's strike, which was enough to kill King Lie, did not cause a single ripple when it hit.

"It's the Yuan Emperor! Lin Yi, run!"

Seeing this, before Lin Yi could react, Old Ancestor Yan Hui's booming voice, filled with terror, rang out from behind him.

"What! The Yuan Emperor!"

Hearing this, Lin Yi was greatly shocked.

Then... "Boom, crack!"

An incredibly brilliant, swift, and powerful scorching purple lightning bolt suddenly struck from the sky.

Then, before Lin Yi could even react, it slammed into his body in a single blow.