"Enough useless chatter. If you want a fight, you'll get one!" The Stooped Old Man of the Li Family sneered, pointing a gnarled finger at the bounty list floating in the void. His voice was chillingly cold. "A mere Saint King, yet you are exactly like that Lu Xuan—utterly ignorant of the immensity of Heaven and Earth, daring to challenge a Great Emperor!"
"Who dares speak ill of my Master!" Ji Fuyao’s face instantly turned glacial. Her delicate hand, gripping the Emperor Weapon Heaven-Rending, trembled slightly as boundless Spirit Fire Attack power surged around her. Her red robes billowed like blooming flames as she stood upon the void. Everyone present was startled. Her state had changed completely! It was as if she had suddenly transformed into a different person!
Boom! Ji Fuyao’s long hair whipped around her, saturated with murderous intent. Her fiery red dress fluttered violently as her body shot across the sky like lightning, heading straight for the Stooped Old Man. Wang Man raised his blood-stained axe, ready to assist, but Ji Fuyao’s sharp voice cut him off. "Stand down!"
She intended to execute the Li Family members personally. Anyone who disrespected her Master deserved death! Wang Man shook his head slightly, offering a silent prayer for the Stooped Old Man. Daring to slander Peak Master Lu in front of the Empress? That was her Reverse Scale!
In a flash, Ji Fuyao arrived before the Stooped Old Man and swept out with her spear. "Heaven-Burning Art!" Terrifying, boundless Spirit Fire Attack power manifested, instantly raising the temperature of the void. A massive fire dragon roared, erupting from the Heaven-Rending Emperor Weapon and slashing toward the Old Man. This single strike was further augmented by the power of the Grand Dao Scripture, its momentum overwhelming!
The Stooped Old Man’s face was twisted with malice and jealousy—a mere Saint King possessing such an Emperor Weapon fueled his rage. He roared and slammed out a palm strike. Boom! Ji Fuyao was knocked back a hundred zhang, but the Stooped Old Man was sent flying a thousand zhang, spitting a mouthful of fresh blood. Pfft!
The Stooped Old Man stabilized himself, his face contorted in a snarl as he glared at the other Li Family members. "What the hell are you all doing, watching a show!?" Instantly, the Li Family cultivators rushed Ji Fuyao. Ji Fuyao met them without fear, her spear moving like a phantom dragon, her movements ethereal. Hiss! The head of a Li Family Quasi-Emperor flew into the air! Blood splattered everywhere!
Ji Fuyao’s expression was icy, like a ten-thousand-year-old glacier. Her killing intent was almost tangible. Lu Xuan held the highest position in her heart; she would not tolerate anyone insulting her Master! Kill! Soon, all the Li Family Quasi-Emperors and Half-Emperors were dead, meeting miserable ends, perishing in endless agony!
The Stooped Old Man was continuously forced back. A hundred zhang! A thousand zhang! Two thousand zhang! He kept spitting blood, his voice strained. "What the hell is wrong with this woman?!" The other Li Family Great Emperors couldn't even get close to Ji Fuyao before being blasted away. Ji Fuyao’s delicate hands were bleeding from the immense force, and blood stained her lips, yet she ignored the pain. Her killing intent surged like a tide, determined to fight to the death.
Terrified, the Stooped Old Man screamed into the crowd, "Ji Fuyao is severely wounded! Now is the best time to kill her!"
Boom! Boom! Boom! Several One-star and Two-star Great Emperors, unable to restrain their greed, shot forward like lightning, rushing toward Ji Fuyao. Wang Man and Qing Yan moved to intervene, but Ji Fuyao stopped them. "Stay back! I am enough!" The crowd was stunned. Ji Fuyao intended to fight over a dozen Great Emperors alone! The Stooped Old Man let out a miserable laugh. "Ji Fuyao, you will die today!"
Hiss! Ji Fuyao thrust her spear forward. The red light surged like a massive rainbow, instantly beheading the Stooped Old Man! Blood stained the sky, and the void trembled. The dozen Great Emperors had now completely surrounded Ji Fuyao.
It was at this moment that a sudden change occurred! Ji Fuyao’s aura violently exploded. Her Saint King power surged, as if reaching the absolute peak. In the next instant, the might of the Half-step Emperor Realm erupted! Boom! Boom! Boom! Ji Fuyao had crossed the Chasm of the Saint King realm in a single step, entering the Half-step Emperor Realm! Everyone was utterly shocked! Breaking through in the middle of combat! What kind of heaven-defying prodigy was this?!
Immediately, brilliant Divine Radiance surged around Ji Fuyao. Sounds of the Great Dao drummed from her inner world as the power of the Grand Dao Scripture automatically circulated, resonating with the surrounding Heaven and Earth. Her hair floated upward, each strand becoming crystalline and luminous. She stood in the void like a true immortal, her long, graceful legs bathed in a sacred glow, her face exquisitely beautiful, ethereal, and utterly pure. Dao and Essence flowed continuously around her, thread by thread, like swirling starlight.
The dozen Great Emperors surrounding her were instantly intimidated and froze their attacks. Ji Fuyao possessed far too much Dao and Essence! Cultivators typically only begin to generate Dao and Essence upon reaching the Half-step Emperor Realm. Yet, the Dao Essence surging from Ji Fuyao was inexhaustible, even denser than that of a typical One-star Great Emperor! How could the onlookers possibly accept this reality?
Ji Fuyao felt the wondrous changes occurring within her inner world, and her eyes grew slightly moist, a wave of warmth washing over her heart. Her Master had given her far too many incredible things! Back on Azure Mystery Peak, she had eaten Emperor-tier spirit beast meat, Azure Nether Celestial Water, and All-Reach Profound Powder to her heart's content. All that Dao and Essence had merely been dormant within her body, and now, upon breaking through to the Half-step Emperor Realm, it suddenly erupted. In just a few months, she had consumed more Heaven and Earth Wonders than other Overlord-level Powers accumulated over tens of thousands of years. Coupled with the Great Emperor Dao Pattern Baptism she had received from Tianxing Old Ancestor, today was the day of Thick Accumulation, Explosive Breakthrough!
Furthermore, the Dao Essence from those Heaven and Earth Wonders began refining her Dao Foundation, bones, meridians, and soul! Ji Fuyao was astonished to realize that even after entering the Half-step Emperor Realm, the momentum of her breakthrough had not ceased. Suddenly, the cultivators surrounding her cried out in alarm. "Quick, stop Ji Fuyao! Her internal Dao Essence is too dense! Half-step Emperor Realm isn't her limit—she's about to break through to the Quasi-Emperor Realm!" Everyone was utterly aghast. Leaping two major realms, from Saint King straight to Quasi-Emperor Realm! This was simply unbelievable.
The expressions of several high-star Great Emperors turned grave. "That White Robe Great Emperor is too generous to Ji Fuyao! Her inner world is overflowing with Dao and Essence—this is the result of long-term refinement using heaven-defying resources to temper her with Dao Essence!" Even powerful high-star Great Emperors felt a pang of jealousy. Giving so many supreme treasures to a mere Saint King was truly wasting heavenly treasures! They, as high-star Great Emperors, didn't possess such profound resources. Several One-star Great Emperors immediately shouted, "Attack now! Kill Ji Fuyao! We cannot allow her to continue breaking through!"
Instantly, over a dozen Great Emperors simultaneously attacked Ji Fuyao. Even some high-star Great Emperors began to stir. Wang Man roared, brandishing his massive axe. "Which high-star Great Emperor dares to strike? Lu... the White Robe Senior will arrive immediately!" At the mention of that name, the high-star Great Emperors instantly hesitated. Ji Fuyao’s head was certainly worth a fortune, but if the White Robe Great Emperor descended, they wouldn't live long enough to collect the Silent Destruction Sect's Bounty Order! In that moment, not a single high-star Great Emperor dared to make a move.
Just then, Supreme Spirit Crystal appeared in Ji Fuyao’s slender hand, allowing her to fight and break through to Quasi-Emperor Realm simultaneously. Hiss! Ji Fuyao unlocked another seal on the Heaven-Rending Emperor Weapon. A terrifying, bloodthirsty aura vented from the spear. She used Traversing the Void, her feet tracing a path of starlight across the expanse as she charged toward the dozen Great Emperors. She thrust her spear, the spear light surging like a river of fire. Splat! The head of a Great Emperor flew off! Blood sprayed everywhere! A cold smile touched Ji Fuyao’s lips, her eyes filled with lethal intent. "If you want my head, it won't be that easy!"