Chapter 800

Nangong Sheng stood behind Feng Shang, his face dark as ink, head bowed, and said in a low voice: "Your Highness, I… I have lost."

Feng Shang waved his hand, his eyes flashing with fervor, staring fixedly at Wu Tie and at the massive army formation behind him—or more precisely, he was staring at the Wu family youths who formed this great formation behind Wu Tie.

"Victory and defeat are common matters in war…" Feng Shang said calmly: "If, through a single defeat, you come to understand your own shortcomings, firm your resolve on the Dao, and break through the Divine Manifestation realm, that too is a good thing."

Wu Tie lowered his head, looking down at Feng Shang, who appeared so tiny compared to the colossal True Form of Pangu, and sneered: "What, you're starting to act as a life mentor, lecturing people on grand principles of conduct?"

Feng Shang gripped the iron rod before him with both hands, coldly staring at Wu Tie: "Barbarian petty king, do not be arrogant. Those troops behind you are formidable; if you are willing to submit to my command…"

Wu Jin cut off Feng Shang's words: "We are blood brothers of the same clan. Idiot!"

Wu Yin said in a deep voice: "Stop showing off with your tongue; if you're a man, speak with your fists."

Wu Tong brandished the great axe in his hand and roared brutally: "Come over, let Grandpa Wu Tong's axe split your skull!"

Above the massive army formation stood a headless ancient god, using its double breasts as eyes and its navel as mouth, its stature fierce and mighty, unmatched in the world, raising the great axe and shield in its hands, emitting a low, thunderous roar from its belly.

Provoked by this headless ancient god, the myriad ancient god phantoms formed from killing intent above the formation stirred restlessly; in an instant, lightning flashed and thunder roared in the void, fierce winds and rain raged, and torrents of fire fell from the sky, its momentum reaching the peak of ferocity.

Feng Shang gave a cold chuckle: "If that's the case, then let's beat you into submission… Your foundations are excellent, but alas, your realms are too low."

Feng Shang's heart was burning hot.

Setting aside Wuguo's vast human resources and the urgent stockpiles of those non-human peoples in the Flame Dynasty, just the 120,000 low-cultivation Heavenly Gods behind Wu Tie constitute a resource that could drive the Flame Dynasty mad.

"Heavenly God" refers to one who has comprehended ten or more Great Daos and thereby breaks through the Divine Manifestation realm; only then is one a Heavenly God.

The Wu family youths behind Wu Tie have their qi stirred by the formation into a somewhat chaotic blur; they seem not merely ordinary Heavenly Gods, and the number of Great Dao laws they have comprehended likely exceeds ten by quite a bit.

Great Dao laws are not so easily comprehended.

How many noble clans in the Flame Dynasty must pay a great price to cultivate even a few Heavenly Gods in a generation as their family's foundation.

120,000 Heavenly Gods, huh.

Does the entire Flame Dynasty really have that many?

Although Feng Shang is the Yin King, of noble status and privy to countless secrets of the Flame Dynasty, he cannot be certain of this. But it is quite possible that all the Heavenly Gods of the Flame Dynasty—from those reclusive old fogeys who never emerge from seclusion to the present younger generation—if added together, perhaps they do not outnumber the Heavenly Gods behind Wu Tie.

The difficulty of being a Heavenly God lies in how to comprehend more than ten Great Dao laws and dozens of supporting side paths, and how to break through the Divine Manifestation realm with such a formidable foundation.

Once one attains the rank of Heavenly God, for the Flame Dynasty, helping a Heavenly God rapidly increase cultivation is not difficult.

It's merely a matter of piling up resources, and such rare cultivation resources are not lacking in the Flame Dynasty.

The Flame Dynasty's foundation is strong; various rare resources are like vast oceans, and what is lacking are those qualified to use them, not the resources themselves.

If the Wu family youths behind Wu Tie were to submit to Feng Shang, he could cultivate them to the fifth, seventh, or even higher heavens of the Divine Manifestation realm within a short thousand years.

With these Wu family youths before him, if they were to submit to Feng Shang, he would have the confidence to sweep over the Flame Dynasty.

With their help, is it still a problem to ascend the throne of the Flame Dynasty's Divine Emperor? Absolutely not!

With their help, combined with the Flame Dynasty's own foundation, sweeping across the four directions of demon and monster kingdoms would be as easy as turning over one's hand.

The Flame Dynasty will inevitably reach unprecedented heights under Feng Shang's leadership… the nation's fortune blazing, its qi like a dragon, plus the surging population, plus filling the missing piece of the 'human race', perhaps… the Human Emperor's Dao can be expected.

That is a single leap to the heavens, directly wielding power nearly on par with the 'Sage' level of ancient mythic times.

How strong is a 'Sage'?

Feng Shang does not know, but it must be extremely strong; perhaps before a Sage, Feng Shang would be as easily flicked away as a little rabbit standing before his present self.

"Barbarian petty king, if you do not submit, I will beat you into kneeling surrender." A flash of brutal color crossed his eyes, and Feng Shang roared angrily: "Those who follow me prosper; those who oppose me perish. Still not surrendering—are you truly seeking death?"

The iron rod in his hand emitted a low, rumbling sound; Feng Shang let out a great shout, and his body suddenly swelled.

Behind Feng Shang, three golden Buddhist shadows sat side by side on an ancient bronze lotus platform; Feng Shang's aura surged wildly, his body swelling to nearly forty thousand zhang tall, and he swung the iron rod, delivering a heaven‑toppling blow toward Wu Tie.

Qingfeng served as the national preceptor of Wuguo, and he was certainly not living off idle earnings.

He told Wu Tie the commonly used methods of the Azure Lotus Observatory, Scarlet Lotus Temple, and White Lotus Palace.

The secret art Feng Shang now uses is the Scarlet Lotus Temple's transmitted 'Three‑World True Buddha Form', whereby secret technique contacts a lingering breath of Buddhist ancestors left in the world, borrowing the power of certain true Buddhas from ancient myth, granting him strength hundreds or thousands of times greater than his own body.

In terms of essence, this Three‑World True Buddha Form is far inferior to the True Form of Pangu cultivated from the Pangu Classic.

One is power cultivated by oneself, the other is borrowed power; the superiority is obvious at a glance.

Merely, in the age of ancient myth, the Buddhist sect had countless powerful beings; although they have all perished now, the imprint of their power remains in the world in some unfathomable way, available for later great monks to borrow.

The 'Three‑World True Buddha Form' can be accomplished in three days with a renowned master's guidance; it is an extremely rapid cultivation method.

And as for the Pangu Classic… needless to say about Wu Tie, this fortunate one aided by the terrifying mighty being of the Nuwa clan; the Azure Lotus Observatory has true‑transmission disciples who, despite a thousand years of bitter cultivation, still find it hard to enter—showing how arduous its practice is.

The iron rod spewing flames shattered the air with a single strike, falling straight down.

Heaven and earth suddenly dimmed; only the firelight on this iron rod blazed fiercely, and everyone could see only the flames spraying from it.

Wu Tie clenched his fists, driving the heavenly clouds to crash toward the iron rod.

With a tremendous crash, the iron rod shuddered violently and flew upward; Feng Shang spat mouthfuls of blood and was hurled hundreds of li away.

"Do you think you can oppose me and my brothers combined with just your own strength?" Wu Tie loudly mocked Feng Shang.

Feng Shang's hands were bloody, the flesh of his palms shattered by the shock.

He looked at the fresh blood on his hands and suddenly burst into laughter: "Good, good, good—indeed, I was still too arrogant; human strength sometimes runs out… hahaha, I have realized this truth… grains of sand form a tower, drops of water form a sea… the power of mortals… form the array!"