Chapter 996: The Heavenly King Dies

The Heavenly King is dead. “Indeed, no wonder he’s a Heavenly King of the Divine Race—his combat power is terrifying. Heavenly King Yu only exchanged one blow and was utterly dominated, his fighting spirit completely shattered.”

“Ignore him. The Divine Race clearly came to make an example by taking a Heavenly King’s head. Too bad for Heavenly King Yu—he just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

“Losing one Heavenly King Yu and gaining one Divine Race is no loss to us. Either way, we’re all here to claim our share.”

Near the Imperial Palace, the other Heavenly Kings were drawn by the commotion. They watched coldly, hoping Heavenly King Yu would be slain—so the Divine Race could rightfully take his place.

Let the other sect die, not me.

As long as the Divine Race doesn’t kill me, it’s fine.

Heavenly King Yu was well aware of his predicament. He roared, flared his wings, and unleashed a divine technique, trying to break through and flee.

“You won’t escape.” Cold Mountain Heavenly King’s voice was icy. He gripped his Heavenly King weapon in one hand, channeling divine power. Stars ignited, forming another killing array, striking with instant lethal force.

Another peak-level strike—sealing heaven and earth, forcing the opponent to take it head-on, or perish instantly.

“You really think I’m afraid of you? Fine—I’ll take you down with me.” Heavenly King Yu knew escape was impossible. Only by fighting back could he carve out a sliver of hope.

Besides, they were both Heavenly Kings. He refused to believe he had zero chance to resist.

The two Heavenly Kings clashed again. Terrifying power erupted across heaven and earth—but Cold Mountain Heavenly King remained utterly dominant, crushing his opponent. Heavenly King Yu’s body cracked open, blood gushing.

Only two exchanges, and this Heavenly King was already bleeding.

The gap was truly immense.

Yet as Heavenly King Yu fought desperately, his group of Heavenly Generals, having received his command, hesitated briefly—then reluctantly charged into battle. As long as Heavenly King Yu lived, they dared not disobey.

“Attack! Don’t fear—they’re outnumbered. Surround and annihilate them.”

“They’re one against many. Advantage is ours.”

“We have no retreat. Only by driving them back can we survive.”

This group of Heavenly Generals was indeed numerous. Li Yi glanced once and counted no fewer than fifty. Yet though their numbers were great, they were uneven—few were elite. Only fewer than ten were from the Yu Clan.

Clearly, this Heavenly King Yu was poor.

But that was normal. Not everyone was as wealthy as the Divine Race. Many who became Heavenly Kings had already drained all their resources—how could they afford to train subordinates or recruit elites?

“Attack. Drive them back.” Li Yi gave a calm order.

Upon receiving the command, the eight Divine Generals and Long Nu Yushang instantly surged forward. They felt no fear—they were fully armed, clad in Heavenly General armor, wielding Heavenly General weapons, enhanced by bloodline power and divine techniques.

This combat power was more than enough to face overwhelming odds.

Moreover, the enemy wasn’t elite. Some Heavenly Generals didn’t even possess a single Heavenly General weapon, let alone bloodline power. Against such disparities—

The gap between ordinary and top-tier Heavenly Generals became instantly clear.

Even in numbers, they struggled to win. Any opening they showed was immediately exploited by the Divine Generals, who struck with peak-level blows, slicing them down on the spot.

Li Yi stood at the center of the battlefield, unmoving. He observed, gauging whether his Divine Generals could withstand the pressure. If they faltered, he would intervene.

As a direct descendant of the Divine Race who had re-cultivated divine techniques, the Heavenly General realm held no threat to him.

Clearly, the enemy didn’t know Li Yi’s true strength. They only knew his status among the Divine Generals was extraordinary—if they could drive him down, perhaps the tide of battle would turn.

Suddenly—

Ten Yu Clan Heavenly Generals locked onto Li Yi and charged together.

★CO

Ten figures crisscrossed the heavens, shadows flashing from all directions—as if Li Yi had been trapped in a vast encirclement with no escape.

“Ten Heavenly Generals trying to capture me? It seems my status as a Divine Race Prince has earned me quite the attention.” Li Yi glanced aside, then instantly transformed into a dragon-shaped figure, darting through heaven and earth.

“This man is definitely a Divine Race Prince! Capture him—use him as leverage to resolve our crisis! No—!” One Yu Clan Heavenly General hadn’t finished speaking when his hair stood on end—a staggering killing intent locked onto him.

The next instant, his pupils shrank sharply. He saw a true dragon extend a claw, shimmering with five-colored divine light.

He tried to defend.

But the claw tore through his body effortlessly—even his Primordial Spirit was not spared.

His shattered corpse, drenched in blood, was flung into the heavens—no time even to cry for help.

Five-colored divine light combined with the True Dragon’s Heaven-Subduing Art, amplified by the Divine Race’s innate power—Li Yi moved like a true dragon among a school of fish, filling the enemy with despair.

“Kill.”

Several Yu Clan Heavenly Generals roared, flaring their wings, moving at blinding speed—like streaks of white frost weaving through heaven and earth, forming a vast net to trap Li Yi, the dragon.

But Li Yi’s dragon form flashed five divine lights, crisscrossing rapidly—several Heavenly Generals were instantly slain, their bodies plummeting from the sky.

Life-and-death combat was decided in an instant—no flashy tricks.

When Li Yi finally halted, his fists were stained with blood, his body unscathed. Of the ten Yu Clan Heavenly Generals who had charged together, only five remained.

In a single exchange, five Heavenly Generals had been eliminated.

Remember—they weren’t hermits or rabble. They were elite under Heavenly King Yu.

Seeing the corpses falling from the heavens, the five surviving Heavenly Generals were stunned and furious.

This was the first time they’d felt the combat power of a Divine Race Prince’s Divine General.

Truly terrifying.

At the first contact, Heavenly General-level power collapsed instantly. Every technique was shattered by a single strike. If they hadn’t seen it with their own eyes, they’d never believe such a thing existed.

“Is this the gap between us and the top-tier Royal Clan prodigies? Such power—and he hasn’t even entered the Heavenly King realm.”

“No choice now. Only the Heavenly General weapons can hold him back. He avoided us earlier because we all have armor and weapons.”

“That makes sense.”

The five surviving Yu Clan Heavenly Generals all possessed Heavenly General weapons. They believed their armor and weapons could bridge the combat gap.

But—

They forgot.

Li Yi, as a Divine Race Prince, surely had his own weapon—and it wasn’t a Heavenly General weapon. It was a Heavenly King weapon.

He slowly drew from his Five Elements Bracelet a blood-red longsword.

The moment the blood-red sword appeared, the heavens turned crimson. A storm of blood and wind erupted around them.

In this remote Imperial City, Li Yi could finally unleash the Heavenly King weapon—the Blood God Sword—taken from the Rakshasa Clan’s slain Heavenly King.

As he poured magic power into it—

The Blood God Sword erupted with boundless divine might—but the cost was immense. Li Yi felt his magic power draining from all one hundred and fifty acupoints. Had he not been a Divine Race member, one strike would have drained him dry.

Using a Heavenly King weapon was still too forced.

“Heavenly King weapon?”

The five remaining Yu Clan Heavenly Generals were stunned.

What nonsense.

Had the Divine Race Prince become this rich? A single Heavenly General wielded a Heavenly King weapon? Their own Heavenly King Yu possessed only one—his Purple Gold Hammer.

Flee! Shocked, they made the right choice—scattered and ran.

If they didn’t run, they’d all die.

The power of a Heavenly King weapon—even just activated—could obliterate them all. No armor, not even Heavenly General armor, could withstand it.

“Now you want to run? Too late.” Li Yi used them as practice—his first time wielding the Blood God Sword.

He swung once. Blood-red swordlight exploded, instantly swallowing heaven and earth.

Under that swordlight, their Heavenly General armor shattered instantly. Their bodies were torn apart by the crimson blade—no bones, no remains left.

The five Yu Clan Heavenly Generals were wiped out in a single strike.

Even the ground beneath the Imperial City was erased.

And the force nearly struck the nearby Divine Race Divine Generals in battle.

“So powerful?” Li Yi was startled. He immediately withdrew his magic power, calming the Blood God Sword.

He checked himself—his magic power was already one-fifth depleted.

Meaning, Li Yi could now unleash the full power of the Heavenly King weapon at most five times.

It seemed little—but it was astonishing.

A Heavenly General, even if drained completely, could never unleash the full power of a Heavenly King weapon. Yet Li Yi had done so five times in one strike. That was terrifying enough.

“Can’t a Heavenly King weapon absorb spiritual energy on its own and attack autonomously?” Li Yi thought. He found heavenly weapons too unintelligent.

Even the Artisan Daoist could forge autonomous killing weapons like the Crimson Gold Divine Artifact.

In truth, it wasn’t impossible to forge such weapons. But in the Heavenly Realm, spiritual energy was abundant. The focus was always on raw power—not flashy features.

More features meant weaker combat power.

In life-or-death combat, even a slight drop in Heavenly King weapon power could cost a Heavenly King his life.

As for magic power—

A Heavenly King could simply draw breath from heaven and earth—how could he ever lack it?

Li Yi found Heavenly King weapons hard to use because they were never meant for someone of his level.

Soon—

Li Yi also noticed the Heavenly Realm’s advantage: though magic power drained quickly, it recovered just as fast. A few breaths of spiritual energy, and his reserves were fully replenished.

If he controlled his energy use and avoided unleashing the full power of the Heavenly King weapon, he believed he could wield one.

After Li Yi had slaughtered all his enemies—

Suddenly—

At that moment, heaven and earth showed signs of disturbance. Countless feathers of light fell from the sky, as if heaven itself wept. Storms raged, thunder cracked, rain poured.

Something monumental had happened.

“Heavenly King Yu is dead.”

The watching Heavenly Kings sighed from afar. Such phenomena signaled the passing of a Heavenly King to this realm.

After a fierce battle, Feathered Heaven King ultimately could not withstand Cold Mountain Heaven King, his head severed by a single axe blow, his primordial spirit erased, body dead and soul extinguished, with no chance even for a remnant soul to reincarnate and cultivate again.

“Is this the true power of a Heaven King from the Divine Clan? Unbelievable—in such a short time, he slew another Heaven King. I was right not to have offended him earlier.”

Green Orchid Heaven King, watching from afar beyond the Imperial City, now trembled with dread, realizing she had vastly underestimated the strength of these top-tier beings of the Heavenly Realm.

Both were Heaven Kings; logically, the gap should not have been this vast—after all, Feathered Heaven King possessed a Heaven King artifact.

Yet this opponent was simply too overwhelmingly powerful, unable to endure even a moment against him at the same realm.

To restrain him, at least two must join forces—no, for safety, three would be better.

(End of Chapter)