C3 How dare a Small Fry Peep at the Fate of the Vrabouton Empire!

Boom!

The fearsome Power of Thunder roared across the heavens and earth, vanishing into the protective barrier of the Great Song in the blink of an eye.

Within the imperial palace, Soong Wang, already restless from the Evilkind's invasion, was struck by a sudden change of expression.

"State Preceptor, why has a thunder tribulation befallen our capital? Is it possible that the Evilkind have breached our defenses?"

"Your Majesty, it signifies that someone has achieved the Core Formation stage."

"Core Formation? Quickly determine who this individual is and their location!"

Soong Wang was overjoyed.

The Vrabouton Empire had seen a dearth of talent in recent years, with no one reaching the Core Formation Stage for centuries.

The breakthrough signaled a glimmer of hope for the empire's resurgence.

As Soong Wang, how could he contain his excitement?

"At once, Your Majesty!"

The State Preceptor, equally elated, swiftly employed a secret technique.

After a moment, he turned to Soong Wang with a look of astonishment.

"Your Majesty, the one who has reached Core Formation is of royal blood. However, their specific identity eludes me."

"You mean to say, even you, a cultivator in the middle period of Core Formation, cannot detect them?"

Soong Wang's face bore a puzzled look.

The royal family's power had waned significantly over the years.

Even King the Benevolent, touted as the most likely to achieve Core Formation, had been in a life and death seclusion.

At this thought, Soong Wang's eyes brightened.

"King the Benevolent began his life and death seclusion decades ago, already at the Great Perfection of Foundation Building. Could it be that he has now ascended to Core Formation?"

"If so, this is indeed a blessing for the Vrabouton Empire."

Soong Wang was ecstatic.

"Quickly, prepare a top-grade Essence Consolidating Pill. I shall personally extend my congratulations to King the Benevolent."

With great anticipation, Soong Wang made his way to the seclusion site of King the Benevolent.

Yet, upon arrival, he was greeted by a scene of overgrown weeds and the chorus of insects and frogs.

The paint on the wooden door was nearly all peeled away.

"Silence? Could it be that King the Benevolent is still stabilizing his new realm?"

Soong Wang's face fell into shadow as he departed, a sense of helplessness trailing behind him.

As he left the Imperial Palace, a cadre of Evilkind experts converged swiftly in a secluded alley within the capital. Their leader was none other than the supposedly deceased Seventh Prince of the Evilkind, Yao Lingyun.

He cast a cold glance toward the direction of the Vrabouton Imperial Mausoleum and let out a chilling laugh.

"Soong Wang has actually entombed the Vrabouton Empire's Golden Dragon of Fortune within the mausoleum. It's no wonder our search has been fruitless for so many years."

"Had it not been for the disturbance in the capital's spiritual energy caused by someone undergoing the Tribulation Crossing today, which intensified the Golden Dragon's aura, even I might have remained oblivious."

Yao Lingyun's sneer deepened as he spoke.

"First, I shall obliterate the Vrabouton Empire's Golden Dragon of Fortune, aiding my Evilkind in crushing the northwestern frontier. Then, the capital will fall." With those words, Yao Lingyun and his entourage of Evilkind vanished into thin air.

Meanwhile, Soong Lin, who was fortifying his realm within the Vrabouton Imperial Mausoleum, furrowed his brow. He sensed the jubilant movement of a Golden Dragon of Fortune, roughly thirty feet in length, beneath the mausoleum.

"So the Vrabouton Empire's Golden Dragon of Fortune has been concealed here all along? No wonder it has eluded the alien races' experts for so many years."

A slight smile played on Soong Lin's lips.

As he prepared to continue reinforcing his realm, he detected several stealthy figures drawing near the mausoleum. Without his exceptional spiritual awareness, far surpassing that of an average cultivator, they might have gone unnoticed.

"Such boldness to intrude upon the Vrabouton Imperial Mausoleum! Are you perhaps after the Golden Dragon of Fortune?"

In the blink of an eye, Soong Lin vanished from his spot.

Reappearing, he found himself face-to-face with Yao Lingyun.

"Are you in search of the Golden Dragon of Fortune?" Soong Lin inquired, his tone cool and detached.

The Evilkind expert's face contorted with shock.

"And who might you be?"

Yao Lingyun's demeanor turned severe as she swiftly reprimanded.

"Soong Lin!"

"Soong Lin? Are you the deposed crown prince of the Vrabouton Empire?"

Yao Lingyun's expression eased considerably.

The deposed crown prince of the Vrabouton Empire!

Merely a reject!

Nothing to fear!

With a disdainful glance at Soong Lin, Yao Lingyun turned to the Evilkind warrior beside her and commanded, "Go destroy the Golden Dragon of Fortune. I'll handle this waste."

"Understood!"

The Evilkind warrior acknowledged the order and, disregarding Soong Lin's presence, swiftly made for the Vrabouton imperial mausoleum.

"Seeking your own demise!"

Soong Lin's eyebrows twitched.

With a flick of his wrist, hundreds of Skybreaker Sword Qis poured down on the Evilkind warriors like a torrential downpour.

Despite being Foundation Building Great Perfection experts, they stood no chance against the onslaught of Skybreaker Sword Qis.

As the sword qi rained down, the Evilkind warriors dropped like flies, lifeless.

"You... You're supposed to be trash, aren't you?"

Yao Lingyun's face contorted in shock.

He had been lurking in Newcliff for years, intimately familiar with the city's affairs.

He knew Soong Lin's story inside and out.

To watch his carefully nurtured Evilkind Foundation Building experts fall to Soong Lin was both startling and infuriating.

"Trash? Is that how you refer to yourself?"

Soong Lin let out a cold laugh.

After a brief pause, his icy voice filled the air once more, "Who do you think you are, daring to target the Vrabouton Empire's Golden Dragon of Fortune?"

"I... Haha, I am Yao Lingyun, the Seventh Prince of the Evilkind. Do you really think you can stop me?"

Yao Lingyun's laugh was laced with malice.

As he spoke, a thick demonic aura coalesced in his palm.

Soong Lin barely had time to register before the aura transformed into a blazing fireball, hurtling towards his face.

"Monstrous Flame?"

Soong Lin's expression shifted subtly.

The Monstrous Flame!

Its potency increased alongside the Evilkind's cultivation level.

Yao Lingyun, at the pinnacle of Foundation Building's late period, wielded an attack that even early Core Formation cultivators would be wise to evade.

Yet Soong Lin stood his ground, prompting a vicious grin from Yao Lingyun.

"I've reached the late stage of Foundation Building, Great Perfection, and no cultivator at my level can withstand the onslaught of my Demonic Fire."

"Who said we're on the same level, you fool?"

Soong Lin's palm flipped, and he swung the Skybreaker with lightning speed.

Bang!

A thunderous explosion echoed as the Skybreaker instantly obliterated the Demonic Fire.

"You shattered my Demonic Fire with a single sword strike? Are you at the Core Formation stage?"

Yao Lingyun's complexion blanched with shock.

A moment later, a look of confusion washed over his face as a realization dawned on him.

"Hold on, besides the State Preceptor, the Vrabouton Empire has very few Core Formation cultivators. How could you possibly be one? Unless... the recent thunder tribulation was triggered by you?"

This thought sent a wave of terror coursing through Yao Lingyun.

An undefined dread exploded from within him.

"When you were exiled to the imperial mausoleum, you were merely at the early Qi Refining stage. Now, you've reached Core Formation? Could it be that the Vrabouton Empire has indeed reclaimed that artifact?"

"It has to be. Otherwise, how could the Vrabouton Empire have cultivated a Core Formation cultivator so quickly?"

Yao Lingyun's mind raced with speculation.

The more he pondered, the more convinced he became of his theory.

"Ha! The Vrabouton Empire, a mere human nation, dares to meddle with that artifact? They're courting their own destruction!"

With a sinister chuckle, Yao Lingyun refrained from attacking Soong Lin and instead, his figure blurred as he fled from the imperial mausoleum.

Soong Lin's face turned icy.

"If word gets out that I've advanced to Core Formation, how can I continue to lie low in the imperial mausoleum?"

"Yao Lingyun? He must be eliminated!"

With a scoff, Soong Lin swiftly pursued him.