Chapter 220

How could this be?

What kind of world is the Initial Realm? How can such a lifeform exist? How could one have reached such an unparalleled height? Could it be that the Initial Realm has many such beings?

Impossible to believe!

Hard to believe!

Countless thoughts surged forth at once, shock becoming the only emotion.

It was known that Kamikawa Mitsu could battle the Azure King, and that he was immensely strong—but the Kings of Mei Shi had never imagined he could pierce those claws, for this was an entirely different matter.

The Azure King's claws were not divine weapons, yet they rivaled divine weapons, even surpassed them—they were too hard, the strongest divine weapon in the Mei Shi Realm, without exception; even beings of the same level as the Azure King could not break them.

Wait!

Could it be…

As if realizing something, the Kings of Mei Shi suddenly froze, their expressions shifting drastically.

And at this moment.

Gazing at the speck of bloodlight in his hand, letting the blood flow freely, the Azure King stared at Kamikawa Mitsu and spoke—not like a bronze bell tolling, but as if a god or demon had struck the bell with furious rage, brimming with boundless wrath.

"You're using me as a whetstone?"

At first, the crowd heard and didn't understand; then, quickly realizing, they all showed utter disbelief.

No way.

This can't be right—surely it's not what we think?

The Kings of Mei Shi, the Demon Lords—they all trembled inwardly, understanding best what the Azure King meant: Kamikawa Mitsu was about to break through!!

Indeed, they had not guessed wrong: Kamikawa Mitsu had pierced the Azure King's claws not because of the might of his halberd or anything else—the true reason was that his power had already neared the brink of breakthrough, on the verge of taking the next step.

The Sacrificial Lord, a being of Step Two of the Divine Realm, Kamikawa Mitsu had exchanged for the Sacrificial Lord's role and gained his power and combat strength—but upon truly acquiring it, his power and combat strength surpassed the Sacrificial Lord.

Because his earlier exchange for the Great Infiltrator Demon role had not replaced it, but complemented it—not one plus one.

By assimilating the demon's demonic aura, Kamikawa Mitsu's power had risen, nearing Step Three of the Divine Realm, infinitely close, nearly half a foot across the threshold, yet still not fully crossed—just one final step away.

At best, he was at the peak of Step Two of the Divine Realm.

And to break through, Kamikawa Mitsu was using the Azure King as a whetstone, as a stepping stone, seeking to leverage this battle, to harness the life-or-death crisis of the great combat, to achieve ultimate transcendence in the abyss of death and cross that threshold into Step Three of the Divine Realm.

Just now, Kamikawa Mitsu's halberd strike had touched upon Step Three of the Divine Realm,

Not merely half a foot across—it was nearly there, his toe already touching the ground, sensing the realm of Step Three of the Divine Realm.

That was why he could pierce the Azure King's claw defense.

Because this was the power of Step Three of the Divine Realm—not something Step Two could match.

"Still a little short."

As if responding to the Azure King, or perhaps speaking to himself, Kamikawa Mitsu murmured softly.

It seemed his halberd strike had allowed him to touch Step Three, but he had not yet fully stepped into it—he hovered between Step Two and Step Three.

"You seek death!!"

The Azure King was enraged. In two thousand years since earning his title as Azure King, he had always been the one to use others as whetstones—never had anyone dared use him as a stepping stone, and now this one nearly broke through by using him, even wounded him.

This was humiliation. This was a provocation.

Kill!

Unforgivable!

Even if his power now surpassed his own, what of it?

He would not allow himself to be trampled. No one would. He would kill—wash this humiliation in the enemy's blood, fill his heart's fury with the enemy's life.

One who had achieved an immortal reputation of ferocity within a single realm, becoming an unmatched figure of that world, could not be weak—could never yield lightly to anyone, never fear.

Heaven and earth changed color, winds and clouds rose in chaos.

The earth rumbled, the heavens rolled like thunder; the entire Sacrificial Domain and the surrounding realms seemed to ignite, filled with annihilation.

Amid a terrifying eagle shriek,

The Azure King's body radiated blood qi like a volcanic eruption, black clouds surging violently, forming a vast pair of wings that spread wide—a boundless black cloud crushing the entire domain's sky, the gale it stirred capable of easily shattering mountains, a monstrous eagle demon.

The eagle wings spanned the heavens, blotting out sun and moon; each feather flapped like a blade, interweaving torrents of bloodlight.

"I have endured three eras, honing myself through thousands of life-or-death battles, roaming for over two thousand years, defeating every enemy without exception—now you will meet the same fate!"

Two thousand years of dominion over Mei Shi had forged an unstoppable aura, a murderous might that lorded over all.

The eagle's roar swept through the nine heavens, echoing across heaven and earth; as its terrifying wings spread, it seemed like a Kunpeng emerging, soaring ninety thousand miles upward, striking straight at Kamikawa Mitsu.

Demon bird's blood qi, bloodline qi, ferocious blood qi, wrathful flame qi…

Many kinds of blood qi merged into one, unleashing unparalleled might—the heavens trembled, the land spanning one hundred thousand, two hundred thousand, three hundred thousand li… was oppressed; mountains shattered, earth collapsed.

He had suppressed it too long—since achieving a realm beyond King, he had long lacked worthy opponents, his power pent up with no one to fight; now, finally encountering a rival, and spurred by this one, the Azure King unleashed unprecedented strength.

This was the strongest strike of his entire life.

Without a word, Kamikawa Mitsu felt the danger of death at this moment—but he felt no fear; instead, his expression grew utterly calm, and he reached out, clenching his fist tightly.

The halberd trembled lightly.

He raised it, directly meeting the blow—a strike that shook the cosmos and shook the universe!

This halberd strike was terrifying: a mere flicker stirred the cosmos; a slight tremor made the great stars in the sky seem to shiver—indeed, it was Kamikawa Mitsu's overwhelming will that distorted space, creating illusions.

Then, the void already shattered by their clash across the nine heavens and four directions collapsed outright; all ten directions rang out.

Boom!!

At this moment, Kamikawa Mitsu's demonic aura surged to the heavens, embodying a peerless human majesty, unrivaled in the world, yet also a god-demon's supreme arrogance.

Is this the most outstanding descendant of Ashiya Douman? Is this what an Initial Realm being truly is? Now we understand why the Void Demon Realm sought his aid…

Countless beings, Void Demons, Mei Shi creatures—all were shaken.

The Azure King, without doubt, was a demon god who had fought his way to the pinnacle of his realm—unaffected, his battle intent surged even higher, his attacking momentum fiercer, shattering all before him.

Only at this moment did the Kings of the Dark Eclipse truly realize why this Grey King, who had endured through three eras, was able to surpass the Kings and reach his current strength. This breadth of spirit, fighting will, and resolve destined his extraordinariness and his power—something they could never match no matter how hard they tried.

Boom!

The Beast-Claw Sword-Feathers clashed against the great halberd.

The brilliant image of that instant seemed frozen in time, deeply seared into the mind of every person and living being. No matter what, a thousand years from now there would still be those who remembered this glorious battle.

Such a great collision, such a great collapse and destruction, was at the same time a great catastrophe.

At this moment, the Demon Lord, the Void Demons, the beings of the King Realm, and so on all changed color. Even though Kamikawa Mitsu and the Grey King had gone deep into the Nine Heavens, far from the earth, when this strike erupted—even so, apart from the Demon Lord and the other Kings, not a single living being in this hundred-thousand-li Sacrificial Domain or the surrounding domains would survive.

…