C3 Fight for the Throne

The hum of the activated formation echoed from the cauldron.

Zhao Xiaoqi could distinctly feel a gentle force transporting him to the outside world.

In that instant, a thunderous roar emanated from within him, as though a legendary entity had shattered its cosmic bonds.

The Divine Dragon, Clouded Tree, Golden Wing Roc, and the exalted Human Emperor materialized, dominating the heavens.

Zhao Xiaoqi realized he had underestimated the formidable nature of his own flesh within the cauldron.

The world inside was far more resilient than the one outside. There, he felt that with the slightest effort, he could crush the very fabric of space!

"Divine physique, truly divine..."

Gazing at the celestial spectacle above, Faang Hee coughed up blood, his laughter tinged with madness.

The visions persisted for a full hour before gradually fading. All the radiance withdrew into Zhao Xiaoqi, becoming inconspicuous to the world.

"A body worthy of the Dao! Cough, cough..." Overwhelmed with excitement, Faang Hee spat out more blood. He recognized the urgency; his body was at its breaking point.

Without a moment to admire the perfect vessel he had crafted over three millennia, Faang Hee swiftly took a seat cross-legged next to Zhao Xiaoqi.

He commenced the arcane ritual.

After a hundred millennia of employing this technique, he was adept, quickly achieving harmony with the impeccable body.

An almost imperceptible connection formed between Zhao Xiaoqi and Faang Hee.

With a slight smile, Faang Hee began to dissipate his power.

This was the only way to merge with the new body smoothly and avoid severe rejection.

And since his cultivation level remained intact, he would swiftly regain his peak prowess once he transitioned bodies.

Armed with this new vessel, he felt emboldened, confident that not even an ancient Dragon Emperor could best him.

One hour... Two hours... Three hours...

Faang Hee's immense strength meant that even relinquishing his power took until deep into the night.

At last, he rose, unsteady on his feet.

Now, he was just a mere mortal. In his current physical state, even a moderately powerful beast could pose a lethal threat.

He needed to transfer his soul into the perfect body—and fast.

But to his shock, the connection he had painstakingly established with the perfect body was now undetectable!

"What's happening? Where did things go wrong?"

Faang Hee clenched his jaw, pulling out the ancient tome and his notes, poring over each page.

A layer of cold sweat formed on his forehead.

His time was running out, his power dissipated; he had only days left, leaving no room for delay.

"Allow me to enlighten you on where things went awry!"

A booming voice echoed, jolting Faang Hee, who was engrossed in the ancient texts, as if struck by thunder.

After a moment of stunned silence, he turned stiffly.

Before him stood the perfect body he had crafted over three thousand years, rising to its feet without his soul's presence.

And it was smiling at him.

Against the backdrop of the night, the smile was both brilliant and sinister.

"Who are you?"

Initially, Faang Hee thought he had reconnected with the body.

But upon closer inspection, terror gripped him. He propelled himself off the ground, bounding across the landscape to land atop a distant boulder.

Zhao Xiaoqi watched the spectacle with a silent nod of admiration.

The old deviant had leapt an astonishing distance, even breathless. Clearly, if Faang Hee's former strength had remained intact, Zhao Xiaoqi would have been easily vanquished.

But now...

Now it was a mere contest of physical prowess.

And Zhao Xiaoqi was confident he wouldn't be bested by anyone.

Swoosh!

Zhao Xiaoqi lifted his foot, stepping out in one fluid motion!

He was at the mountain's base one moment, and in the blink of an eye, he materialized behind Faang Hee!

Faang Hee's pupils contracted sharply!

The Golden Roc's speed was unparalleled!

He recognized the sensation all too well.

In all the world, only the lineage of the Golden Wing Roc could manifest such velocity.

Like a bolt of lightning, shrinking miles into mere inches.

He had nearly met his demise many days prior, in a fierce battle with the Golden Wing Roc Clan's Crown Prince, all due to this unrivaled speed.

"Bang!"

Despite his terror, Faang Hee, an ancient creature who had lived for over a hundred thousand years, didn't even glance back as he launched a punch behind him.

His seemingly feeble body unleashed an astonishing force, compressing the air into a concave arc in front of his fist, warping the very fabric of space.

"Too weak!"

Zhao Xiaoqi assessed the situation with a shake of his head and extended his right hand at a deceptively leisurely pace.

His movements appeared slow but were in fact lightning-fast. He seized Faang Hee's wrist and the nauseating sound of snapping bones followed.

Faang Hee's dragon-bone skeleton was no match for Zhao Xiaoqi's physical strength, crumbling like paper.

"Who are you!?"

Faang Hee's eyes blazed red as he bellowed with all his might.

"A person from another world..."

Zhao Xiaoqi said, his expression blank as he clasped Faang Hee's neck with both hands.

Faang Hee's head was then cleanly separated from his body.

"Ssssh!"

Holding Faang Hee's head, Zhao Xiaoqi made a slight gesture with his palm towards the body, and a terrifying force was unleashed, causing the space around to warp and shatter. Faang Hee's body was instantly obliterated by the spatial tear, leaving nothing behind.

"You... Who exactly are you..."

Even in Zhao Xiaoqi's grasp, Faang Hee's head refused to succumb, his eyes wide open, questioning, prompting Zhao Xiaoqi to grit his teeth in irritation.

How tenacious could his life force be?

He was already on the brink of death, having endured back-to-back battles and a recent grievous injury that had stripped him of all his power. Now, reduced to nothing but a talking head.

"I've already told you, I'm from another world..."

Zhao Xiaoqi looked down at Faang Hee's head with a cold sneer. "Rest in peace. Thanks for gathering those Celestial Materials and Earthly Treasures, and for this perfect body you've bestowed upon me."

"You... you..."

Blood trickled from the corner of Faang Hee's mouth, his remaining head's eyes still bloodshot. Overwhelmed by a surge of resentment, his condition deteriorated further.

"I won't disappoint you. You aspire to be an emperor, right? I'll use this body to realize your dreams!"

"You... you..."

Die!

Zhao Xiaoqi's gaze turned icy as he applied a slight force, and Faang Hee's head dissipated into nothingness.

This formidable being who had reigned supreme for a hundred millennia had at last come to the end of his life.

...

Boom!

With a single stride, Zhao Xiaoqi covered nearly a hundred meters.

"This body is freakishly powerful..." Zhao Xiaoqi marveled, at a loss for words.

Two days had elapsed since Faang Hee's demise.

To avoid detection, Faang Hee had chosen an exceptionally hidden spot to craft his body, a location so secret that even Zhao Xiaoqi was unaware of it, leaving him to wander without direction.

Despite the passage of two days, he had yet to fully command the strength of this body.

It was overwhelmingly powerful.

Just one step had caused a massive fissure to form in the earth behind him.

"I still need time to completely master this body..."

Zhao Xiaoqi let out a wry smile. While others sought ways to grow stronger, he found himself excessively powerful, pondering how to rein in his own might.

In light of this stark contrast, the ordeals he had endured in the crucible seemed trivial and hardly worth recalling.

Zhao Xiaoqi was not aimlessly meandering now, though.

During his time in the crucible, he had heard Faang Hee mention that, aside from the treasure for creating the perfect body, this twisted old man had amassed a vast fortune over ten thousand years, with one cache located in the Vreazia Kingdom.

Thus, Zhao Xiaoqi's immediate mission was to locate the Vreazia Kingdom.