Chapter 475: Radiant Tyrant

The Way of the Military lies in grand momentum, in military battle arrays, and in commanding elite forces, uniting the strength of ten thousand, even a hundred thousand men into one.

Thus, every gesture and movement carries great power.

And the Way of the Military includes strategists and ministers who mediate from the center, enabling tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands of troops to act in perfect coordination, as if they were one, their qi linked, their attacks synchronized—through this method, the army's combat capability is fully manifested.

Like Yuan Zhi, he is precisely this type, and Fan Qing also falls within this category.

Though capable of influencing and mobilizing armies to unleash their full power,

they cannot lead the army into a charge, cannot gather the qi of ten thousand, or tens of thousands of men into themselves to dramatically elevate their own strength to an inconceivable realm.

In this era of transcendent Wu Gong, a divine general or master can stand equal to the auspicious creatures born of heaven and earth; the true apex divine generals are those whose own Wu Gong alone rivals that of a master, who command elite armies, gathering the strength of tens of thousands into themselves, invincible in attack, dominating all before them.

When Li Guanyi's command ability surpassed the threshold of one hundred thousand, he felt something profoundly distinct.

It was as if he were at the bottom of the sea, his limbs bound by waves that repelled one another, forced to hold his breath as he slowly ascended toward the surface; before breaking through the one hundred thousand threshold, every increase of one thousand intensified the pressure on his body and yuan shen—by the time he reached ninety thousand command, Li Guanyi's mind felt like it was exploding.

Every muscle, every bone in his body groaned; his yuan shen seemed continuously chiseled by a hammer.

But when he shattered the one hundred thousand threshold,

he suddenly felt at ease.

As if he had instantly broken through some barrier.

The prior sensation of sinking into a quagmire—where adding even one more soldier would cause his entire command ability to collapse—vanished completely; the invisible currents that had bound his limbs now submitted, becoming his own aid.

As Li Guanyi commanded these battalions, the martial soul and battle aura of his body surged violently, faintly taking the shape of a Fire Qilin raising its head and roaring.

The ten-thousand-army battle formation of the Hegemon collided violently with Li Guanyi's eleven-thousand-army formation.

Killing aura rises as cloud for three watches; cold sound echoes through the watchtowers all night!

In an instant, the sky conjured by the Mystical Realm seemed to roll and crush downward; the special battle aura of iron and blood swirled and transformed, ten thousand troops clashing in battle, the clang of weapons, the thunder of war drums—enough to terrify any unseasoned soul to death!

Li Guanyi and the Hegemon's weapons slammed together violently.

This time—

A draw!

And when the Hegemon realized that this fellow, whose foundation should have been far inferior to his own, was weakened and wounded in every clash, yet restored fully to peak condition within mere breaths, he finally understood.

This man from the future did not have a foundation vastly inferior to his.

His foundation was simply oriented differently.

The Hegemon excelled in instantaneous burst and immense endurance, sustained power.

But this young man—whether he had consumed something,

or trained something—

though his instantaneous burst was still inferior to his,

possessed an equally immense, seemingly tireless endurance.

And a vitality so extraordinary it was unkillable, unharmed, perpetually at peak condition.

Equal-level foundations, merely differing in emphasis—but at this moment, the Hegemon, whose burst surpassed Li Guanyi's, felt an inexplicable envy and a faint sigh toward this man from the future's foundational style.

Robust vitality, immense endurance, and sustained power.

Had he himself possessed such traits in his prime, would his outcome have been different?

The Hegemon said: "You are quite impressive, to adapt so quickly."

"Then, warm-up is over. It is time to begin in earnest."

Li Guanyi gripped his weapon.

As the threshold of one hundred thousand command, the defining line of the greatest generals in history,

To this Hegemon, who had dominated the world eight hundred years ago, was this merely a warm-up?

The Hegemon rode a steed like a dragon, raised his weapon toward the sky, his expression arrogant and disdainful.

He wore black armor, his cloak fluttering slightly behind him; beneath that cloak, endless soldiers began to appear, all clad in heavy armor, their eyes blazing with fervor, gazing at the Hegemon's back with fanatic devotion—this was the power of the Guanxing lineage, using starlight to capture and record scenes from this world, then reenacting them based on the heroic mental images.

The Hegemon in his prime.

The strongest hero of old, one who had required the united efforts of all heroes across the Nine Provinces to defeat.

The soldiers' eyes blazed with fiery fervor.

As if they were not merely illusory constructs created by the Guanxing lineage's methods,

but the very comrades who had once stood behind the Hegemon, who had marched with him to conquer the world, crossing eight hundred years of time to reunite once more at his back.

Emperor Ji Zichang was thrown back by the colliding battle formations of the Mystical Realm's army, retreating repeatedly; watching this, he was first stunned—how could the Hegemon and Qin Wang have fought to a draw? —then bewildered, unable to believe it; and then, as the Hegemon's army for claiming the realm reappeared, he suddenly heard a series of crisp, fine cracking sounds. Emperor Ji Zichang froze slightly, then looked down.

The ground and steps of the Mystical Realm began to shatter.

This shattering differed from the cracks previously torn by the residual shockwaves of Li Guanyi and the Hegemon's clashes.

This destruction came from deeper, more obvious, more complete layers.

Even with the Guanxing lineage's methods, this Mystical Realm had existed for eight hundred years, sealed beneath the imperial palace by the Chi Emperor's power, already in decline; and after being awakened, it had immediately manifested the Hegemon's peak state, forcing the strongest Bai Hu Da Zong of eight hundred years ago to battle the strongest Bai Hu Da Zong of the past eight centuries.

Not even the Mystical Realm in its original prime could withstand such destruction.

Even less so a Mystical Realm worn down for eight hundred years.

It's going to break!

Emperor Ji Zichang's face turned pale.

The Hegemon also sensed this change, gripping his weapon, and said: "Pity, pity—after all, we cannot fight with full strength."

Li Guanyi exhaled a cloud of turbid qi; Qin Wang and the Hegemon stood facing each other, the Bai Hu manifestation raised its head, military qi surged violently; the scene revealed in the Hegemon's heart gradually faded, the endless battlefield shattered and dissolved back into the ancient, broken Mystical Realm of this era; the resurrected figures beneath the array vanished one by one, leaving only the Hegemon standing there, his expression desolate yet calm.

Li Guanyi truly sighed: "What a pity…"

His true regret—as a top-tier general and commander of the realm—was that he could not witness the Hegemon's peak.

This was not false pretense.

Regardless, it was undeniably a great regret, a profound loss.

But at this moment, the Mystical Realm suddenly emitted a low, grim hum; a golden-red light spread outward, filling the cracks that had appeared within the Observing Stars Line's Mystical Realm, briefly holding together the nearly shattered array—whereupon the recently dispersed Dominator's army halted and began to regroup; Li Guanyi and the Dominator both instinctively turned to look.

At the place where the cracks had spread, the current Red Emperor, nearly forty years old, pressed the Red Emperor's Seal against the Mystical Realm.

The human destiny qi surged and flowed from the Red Emperor's Seal, mending the realm's fractures.

Ji Zichang gasped for breath, hiding himself in that narrow, suffocating space; his imperial daily robes were caked with dust, seated cross-legged, his motion of pressing down the seal was decisive, messy yet carried a certain boldness:

"Both of you—carry on!"

The Dominator gazed at the future Red Emperor, as if seeing his one and only rival—the same free-spirited, unbound, yet equally bold and unrestrained man.

As if beside the tense Ji Zichang, he saw the figure sprawled like a slob, legs wide apart, swigging from a wine flask, raising it toward him in salute.

The Dominator's lips curled: "Interesting… this time, I truly want to laugh out loud."

"Then let it begin!"

The grim sound of weapons surged with domineering force; a fierce flame erupted outward—the clashing of armor and weapons was deadly, carrying an oppressive force that nearly halted breathing; banners flared skyward, countless spears and halberds pointed at the heavens, shouting with roaring might.

The Dominator's weapon pointed to the sky; his eyes closed, yet he stood as calmly as if upon a stage.

"Comrades—long time no see."

Through the ages, the foremost of military formations.

Command power—

Four hundred thousand troops!

Li Guanyi's pupils contracted violently; since ancient times, command over more than one hundred thousand had been the absolute limit for a general, and even more were usually achieved through stratagem—not through military formation. The unstoppable, all-conquering military formation—how could it possibly reach four hundred thousand?

In the Dominator's record, five thousand had shattered an enemy force of four hundred thousand.

And now, he commanded four hundred thousand!

The Dominator's weapon pointed forward; a faint, haughty smile appeared on his face: "Boy… good…"

"Let you witness the strongest military formation we possess."

"Comrades!"

The Dominator raised his weapon, his expression haughty and arrogant, calm and unhurried: "Fight together!"

In an instant, the roar reached its peak—the war spirit of the army surged violently; Li Guanyi saw the army's soul rise, transforming into a colossal figure clad in armor of iron and flame; the pressure in that instant surpassed even the Divine General Jiang Su!

This was power capable of directly crushing Jiang Su on the battlefield!

The Dominator moved.

The entire Mystical Realm shook violently.

Li Guanyi gritted his teeth, pouring every ounce of strength into it; within the Mystical Realm, as long as his command power could keep pace, he could draw upon the power of starlight to manifest troops and iron cavalry. Since childhood, Li Guanyi had wandered the land, endured countless hardships; deep within him burned a fierce gambling instinct—he gritted his teeth.

Ji Zichang realized the human destiny qi within the seal had suddenly begun accelerating its extraction.

His expression went blank.

Ancestors…

The ancestral ways cannot be changed, cannot…

Fuck it—we're already here!

To hell with it!

Ji Zichang's face hardened with the defiant resolve of a street thug; he slammed the seal down with even greater force!

Li Guanyi's command power surged.

Under immense pressure, Li Guanyi chose to go all-in against the Dominator—regardless of whether he could achieve perfect finesse or precise control, he would first maximize his command quantity.

Otherwise, he'd be wiped out in one blow.

Around Li Guanyi, the air rippled visibly; then, five divine forms appeared simultaneously: Bai Hu, Chi Long, Xuan Gui, Qing Luan, and Fire Qilin.

Then, the five divine forms wildly drew upon the starlight of the Yaoguang Mystical Realm and the human destiny qi within the Red Emperor's imperial seal.

To replenish themselves.

To enhance themselves!

Especially the ancient Chi Long divine form—it felt like returning home, utterly unreserved!

Not merely unreserved—it even seemed to be warmly inviting others to join in the feast.

As Li Guanyi's command power rose, and as Ji Zichang felt his ancestral seal being drained dry,

the five divine forms emitted a hazy, glowing light, which gradually coalesced.

Beneath the Dominator's killing intent and pressure.

Qin Wang abandoned control, his command nearing two hundred thousand.

This was not true command ability—it was a desperate, limit-breaking surge under pressure, the raw number of troops charging forward; and when Li Guanyi's command reached this level, the five divine forms suddenly roared in unison, their long cries echoing—then, all five burst forth with thick, brilliant light, and in the next instant, they began to merge.

A low, solemn, distant dragon's roar reverberated.

The military formation transformed into swirling clouds of qi; destiny surged and shifted within; a dragon's claw slowly emerged, the red fading into pure, noble dark gold; a calm dragon's roar echoed across all directions.

It became the true, pure 【Dragon】.

This was no longer mere quantitative increase.

When command reached two hundred thousand—it was—

A qualitative transformation!

The Dominator's eyes sparkled with brilliance: "Good!"

He thrust his weapon forward and laughed again: "Come!"

The grim roar of armor and weapons erupted violently.

Amidst the thunderous crash, the two armies collided head-on, clashing fiercely; Li Guanyi swung his Jiu Li divine weapon, locking blades with the Dominator.

The clash of weapons rang like thunder rolling across the heavens.

Yet this 【two hundred thousand】-level mass army command was ultimately illusory—merely Li Guanyi's desperate, all-or-nothing act.

If it were merely a charge, one might still勉强凝聚 and put on a show.

But once collision, impact, and slaughter occurred, it immediately shattered apart.

The true command capacity that could actually be achieved remained only one hundred and ten thousand.

Ji Zichang felt only a blinding white before his eyes, hearing nothing at all; it seemed as if thousands upon tens of thousands were roaring beside his ears, the clashing of weapons like a giant swinging a colossal hammer, striking against mountain ranges, shaking Shanhe, with fine cracks appearing on the imperial seal, his heart trembling incessantly—he did not know how long it lasted, until Ji Zichang's vision gradually returned.

He leaned against the nearby pillar, staggered to his feet, and saw the grand army and battlefield revealed by the Mystical Realm beginning to fade away.

Li Guanyi and the Hegemon stood where they had been.

When first entering this place, the Mystical Realm had still been intact, but after this prolonged series of battles, fissures had opened everywhere, its original luster faded, as if it had endured thousands of years of glory, now on the brink of shattering.

No—it had already begun to break!

Li Guanyi looked at the Hegemon, still somewhat awed, somewhat regretful.

Forty thousand command capacity. The formation of troops.

When these two things were linked, any military commander would feel a trembling rising from deep within their soul.

Unreasonable!

This was hardly just a matter of being unreasonable.

How could such a monster have appeared in this world?!

The Hegemon's peak lasted no long, for he refused the stratagems of that generation's Po Jun, leading to a succession of traps, fracturing and disintegrating.

Yet, in the end, facing the Hegemon commanding one hundred thousand troops, the other side still mobilized every other power and hero across the entire world.

What Li Guanyi had just personally felt was something even the ancient Chi Emperor had never experienced—the Hegemon's theoretical limit of command, and now, with his eyes closed, Li Guanyi had deeply imprinted into his spirit the Hegemon's commanding posture as he led forty thousand troops in a charge, endlessly replaying, imitating, contemplating it, yet still feeling a vast gulf.

The Hegemon commanding forty thousand troops had surpassed Jiang Su's state as Li Guanyi had seen it.

That is to say, if Li Guanyi could also reach the Hegemon's realm—or even surpass him.

Then the military god Jiang Su, blocking his path, would no longer be an issue.

And if he could personally lead two hundred thousand troops, possessing such command capacity, he might attempt to condense and unify his Five Dharma Phases into the pure form of a divine dragon.

Only then would there be a monumental transformation.

Having learned the Hegemon's unique aura of slaughter.

And glimpsed the path ahead and the peak of military strategy.

This journey was truly not in vain.

These two things are more important than armor and weapons sufficient to arm an elite army corps!

Li Guanyi looked at the Hegemon and said, "Thank you."

The Hegemon gazed to the side; as the Li Xingyi lineage's Mystical Realm array shattered and vanished, those figures existing only in his memories—the familiar faces—slowly dissolved. The Hegemon's expression calmed, and he looked at Li Guanyi and said, "I merely took the rare chance to stretch my body."

"Those who come after you only give me reason to stretch."

His tone was indeed cold and arrogant.

Li Guanyi stared at the Hegemon's form and spoke frankly: "Hegemon, the world is now in chaos, turmoil surging from all sides. You sleep quietly here—surely you must find it lonely and dull. Why not leave with me? I'll find a way, craft mechanical devices, use Mo Family techniques to house your soul—even your current fragmentary body could re-enter this world, wage war once more across the four corners. What do you say?!"

"This time, we might finally quell the chaos, make up for past regrets."

Hm?

Hm?!!

Ji Zichang stared, dumbfounded.

Just moments ago, they were fighting so fiercely sparks nearly flew.

Now they're calmly inviting?

Are military commanders really this direct?

Yet then he realized—what changes would occur if the Hegemon appeared in this age?

The one universally acknowledged since ancient times as the greatest master of troop formation!

When leading forty thousand iron cavalry, his brilliance surpassed even that of the military god Jiang Su!

If the Hegemon agreed and entered this world, the coming situation would become extremely clear.

All that would be needed is to quietly recuperate, enrich the nation and strengthen its people; when momentum was sufficient, the Hegemon, Qin Wang, Yue Shuai, and that unknown divine general—each leading one hundred thousand troops—would suffice to quell the four corners. But faced with such an invitation, the Hegemon merely lowered his gaze calmly, spun his weapon once in his hand, and held it slanted, speaking softly:

"Re-enter the world? Resume warfare?"

The Hegemon passed by Li Guanyi, merely saying calmly:

"No interest."

Li Guanyi froze slightly.

The Hegemon walked away slowly, standing before the Bai Hu. His expression softened for once; he planted his weapon beside him, reached out his palm, and gently stroked the most battle-forged auspicious beast, speaking plainly: "My affairs are done. To awaken again and act is merely self-deception."

"That traitor, my foster father, Yao Guang, eight thousand comrades—all remained in that era."

"My story ended in that era too."

The Hegemon smiled calmly: "Self-deceptive compensation for regrets."

"It's truly dull."

"How could it ever match our former glory?"

His expression was calm, disdainful—undoubtedly, those four words "no interest" were not feigned; he truly found it dull.

He raised his palm and pressed it upon the corpse of the fallen Bai Hu. As his hand pressed down, the massive, fearsome Bai Hu slowly dissolved; what remained here was merely the relic of the past—the true Bai Hu's spirit had long since been reborn.

Five supreme mystic weapons tumbled down. The Hegemon swept his sleeve.

Spear, axe, sword, bow, halberd—all became streaks of light.

The five weapons flew straight toward Li Guanyi, who raised his hand to intercept them.

These five weapons carried immense power, making Li Guanyi's palms sting; the Hegemon's expression was cold and disdainful:

"Also, your current appearance truly disgusts me."

It seemed that the Overlord, having just faced off against Li Guanyi, now thought of another old scoundrel with the same nature and temperament, and thus felt a deep, heartfelt revulsion and dislike; as this gesture unfolded, the entire Mystical Realm began to violently tremble and shake, cracks appearing on the ground and surrounding walls, shattering, collapsing—the Overlord said calmly, "Go."

Li Guanyi gazed deeply at the Overlord.

He nodded.

He turned, one hand grasping Ji Zichang there, his sleeve sweeping outward.

A low, solemn dragon's roar sounded.

The Vermilion Dragon manifestation appeared, instantly growing massive, revealing its form, circling and howling within the Mystical Realm; with a flick of its tail, it wrapped all the weapons and armor in this place in internal qi, sweeping them all out—not a single weapon left behind.

Although the gains from his clash with the Overlord were more important than weapons and armor.

But that didn't mean the other two could be abandoned!

Naturally, he wanted them all!

One helmet had fallen.

The Vermilion Dragon manifestation flicked its tail, and a Black Tortoise manifestation flew out.

Its neck stretched long, its mouth opened wide, its pea-sized eyes bulged, as if burning with flame.

It seemed again to be Nangong Wumeng's manifestation.

I shall cleanse this shame!!!

The Black Tortoise manifestation bit down on the helmet.

Then its neck retracted, carrying the helmet and weapons away.

The entire Mystical Realm shook violently, blocks of stone collapsing and falling; the pillars supporting the realm were filled with cracks, then crumbling downward, destroyed—the Overlord held his weapon, standing calmly within the Mystical Realm, watching as the descendant of that brother, traitor, enemy, and rival was carried away, watching as this generation's Bai Hu Da Zong swung the Tiger Roar Sky Spear.

The Overlord sat casually on a nearby blue stone, leaning back against the cracked pillar, his expression growing serene.

His story had ended eight hundred years ago.

Yet before she died, the girl's final strength entrusted itself to him.

Through the vast river of time, I give my life to repay you with another chance to tread these years again, to rise once more.

But.

In the end, it was him.

The Overlord reached out, grasping a strand of swirling starlight at his chest, calm and gentle, allowing his body and the starlight to slowly dissipate together.

With an arrogant, disdainful posture, he calmly gazed down upon his own demise.

Three hundred years was enough to twist the obsession of a martial legend, causing the Green Robe Guest to forget his promise to an old friend.

But eight hundred years could not twist the will of a once-hero.

Faced with the possibility that all the world yearned for—to begin again—

He simply said:

"Truly, you let me have a wonderful dream."

"Yao Guang."

Boom!!!

The Mystical Realm, destroyed.

The aftershocks spread endlessly, expanding to a wider range, finally engulfing the entire palace; it paused—then erupted violently!

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