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Those who have experienced reincarnation know that in the second era of the revival of spiritual energy, which lasted nearly a million years, King Level... was the peak of this world!

The gap between King Level and non-King Level was considerable, even greater than the difference between Super First Rank and First Rank before the descent of ancient times, and the power of a King Level, if not counterbalanced by a master of the same rank, could not directly withstand military formations head-on on the battlefield but could slowly wear down an opponent, wave by wave, especially in the wilderness.

A King Level master could effortlessly exhaust an Extraordinary Army of a hundred thousand.

It could be said that an army without King Level power was like lambs to the slaughter!

Therefore, at the initial stage of the ancient descent, accumulation of an army’s strength was important, but during the middle and later stages, top combat power became crucial. A top King Level could potentially dominate the battlefield.

The fellow before me was clearly an exception!

Shenyue’s eyes brimmed with killing intent, and at that moment, she even felt that the threat posed by this man was not less than those hidden Ancient Demons.

King Xiang was already at the pinnacle of King Level power, and once this guy managed to step beyond King Level, he was guaranteed to be the next King Xiang.

Coupled with that woman just now, whose momentum was no less than his, this guy already had the capital to contend for supremacy in the next era.

And the most crucial point, as he said... he was of the Human Race.

Yes, any clan could rise to power, and anyone could take turns being in charge, except for the Human Race!

Myriad Clans and demons all profited from the flesh and blood of the Human Race.

The pattern of countless cycles of reincarnation had always been like this; the Human Race could only supply flesh and blood, never to cross that line.

Once the Human Race themselves rose up, this world would lose all meaning!

At the moment the killing intent exploded, Shenyue deployed her true trump card.

This caused the Emperor, caught in the midst, to pause slightly; his keen senses picked up on something amiss in the surroundings, but he couldn’t articulate what was wrong at the time. He just felt as if some change had occurred.

This woman was indeed of Supreme Level, as Black Empress had pointed out. Even if her power had fallen to the same level, she still possessed an extremely terrifying oppressive force. In the instant of their clash, he had to use his trump card.

The true power of the Golden Crow Flame, which he had comprehended, had only been used twice.

The first time was during a duel with the severely injured King of Qin.

Even then, upon facing an already poisoned and dying King of Qin, Mister Five Poison had seen him as incredibly dangerous.

So without hesitation, he used the real power he had always kept hidden.

The second time was the Black Empress, with whose assistance his own strength underwent a qualitative improvement. It was the first time he challenged the supposed controllers of this world, fighting against the real puppet-master behind the scenes, forcing him to go all out.

But the outcome... was actually rather disappointing...

Perhaps due to his severe injuries, King of Qin couldn’t withstand even one move against him.

As for Black Empress... it was essentially a battle that solidified his confidence. That battle truly gave him the confidence to face this shadowy organization that had manipulated the ages behind the scenes, because the feeling he got from that fight was... unimpressive!

Yes... unimpressive!

Although the decisive battle with Black Empress ended with his sudden turnaround, he still gave his opponent enough time to react.

It was a fair duel; he did not choose to ambush her.

There were two reasons for this: firstly, King Xiang, who was martial and extremely proud, would not deign to cooperate with him if he could not prove his own worth.

Secondly, he wanted to know just how he measured against these behind-the-scenes players.

The result was very disappointing—the so-called Black Empress, one of the Twelve Saints under the Supreme Level of that guild, was easily defeated!

Of course, she had not recovered all her own strength, but even at the same level, her power was far less than he had imagined.

It was then, he fully understood that this group merely took advantage of intelligence, reaped the benefits, strategized ancient times, and gained the power to rule the world.

But... that’s all they were.

Given the same level playing field, they were nothing but a disordered mob. They could only bully the Human Race because of the innate weakness of the Human Race.

For that reason, they dared not... let the Human Race rise!

It was this very thought that made him face this so-called Supreme Level without the slightest hesitation.

At the same level, he did not believe he would lose to anyone, especially not these so-called ancient beings from behind the scenes.

But this time... it seemed a bit different...

For the first time... a flicker of uncertainty crossed his mind...

It wasn’t an illusion; this feeling arose after trading blows!

The opponent didn’t seem overwhelming. Faced with his offensive, they appeared to be passively defending, yet he couldn’t touch her...

Yes, this was the first time he couldn’t reach his opponent. Since obtaining the power of the Celestial Image and undergoing a complete transformation, this was the first time... he couldn’t touch his opponent, even though he had played his final hand!

Boom!

Another punch, upon impact, unleashed a tremendously fearsome Flame Burst, instantly engulfing the surroundings in high temperatures, transforming them into an irreparable wasteland!

But yet again, he had misjudged...

"So that’s how it is..."

Shenyue’s voice echoed from all directions, "Such a crude and simple power..."

The Emperor’s face was expressionless; he didn’t move but rather tried to sense the opponent’s location.

It was only natural for an expert like his opponent to see through his abilities after two misses, because his power was indeed quite straightforward.

He concentrated the fire of the Golden Crow entirely within his body, fusing it internally, and propelling that force with the sheer power of his blood.

It was like compressing the massive force of flames indefinitely, so upon release, it could wield such might.

Even King Xiang believed that he had to temporarily avoid its edge!

But this power had a flaw. While the might was unrivaled and the release occurred in an instant, circulating that blood and energy still took time.

The compressed force of flames inside his body naturally couldn’t remain in an explosive state continually, or else his own body wouldn’t withstand it for long.

Therefore, he could only operate the internal energy to unleash that power when killing his enemies.

And among experts, when to capture the opponent and when to unleash that power required his own experience to determine. In the previous two instances, his strikes were on target, without the slightest deviation. Neither the King of Qin nor the Black Empress could evade him.

But this time, he had mispredicted!

And not just once—but twice!

Indeed, this power required anticipation; to harm the enemy, one needed to trigger the internal energy in the split second before contact.

This demanded an extremely high level of combat awareness and the ability to predict beforehand. On this point, he had always been confident. In his eyes, no one in this world except his sister could make him predict incorrectly.

But now, it seemed he might have underestimated his opponent.

"Boom!"

Once again, the space shattered thunderously; the third explosion was even more violent, with the resulting spatial destruction exceeding tenfold that of the previous ones. Yet, even so, he still failed to touch the opponent.

Those pervasive red shadows were still there, still as elusive and untraceable.

"I’m very curious, how many times can you unleash such power?"

"I, too, am curious..." The Emperor replied indifferently, "By just evading endlessly, how do you plan to defeat me? It seems time isn’t on your side, is it?"

"Why do you say that?" The opponent’s voice carried a tone of amusement.

"My Imperial Sister would never miss her mark; she won’t keep me waiting too long. Once the army arrives, I can at least take two people back to the Royal Capital. I don’t understand how stalling for time benefits you?"

"Don’t you understand?" Shenyue laughed, "You’ll get it soon enough..."

Upon hearing this, the Emperor’s brows furrowed; he wasn’t sure if it was just his impression, but he always felt like something around him... had been altered!