The Golden Lion King's Transformation

Three years had passed since Xiao Chen last faced the Golden Lion King. Now, the sacred beast had taken human form—a handsome youth of eleven or twelve, with hair like molten gold that blazed in the wind. His killing intent was unmistakable; his power had grown to a terrifying degree.

At the sight of Xiao Chen, golden divine light erupted from the youth, tearing through the sky like sacred flames. He rose slowly into the air, half-closed eyes occasionally flashing with lightning-bright radiance that made it difficult to gaze directly at him.

A suffocating pressure radiated outward, like an ocean crashing against the heavens. It was no illusion—Xiao Chen felt as if he were facing a vast sea, the invisible "force" causing heaven and earth themselves to tremble.

"You... deserve death!"

Only three words, but they carried the Golden Lion King's absolute resolve and murderous intent.

Absurd yet terrifying: a boy of eleven or twelve radiating such a presence. As his words fell, the void around him shattered, and a golden crevice—ten yards wide and hundreds long—snaked toward Xiao Chen, filled with a violent aura that tore through dimensional space, unleashing destructive force.

Unstoppable!

Xiao Chen retreated hundreds of yards in an instant with the Eight-Aspect Extreme Speed, then activated the Lingxi Sword Wave to shatter the residual force. The golden crevice halted before him.

There was no need to test the youth's strength; his aura alone was more overbearing than three years ago.

"When will that little beast return?" the golden-haired youth asked coldly, staring at Xiao Chen as if he were already meat on a block.

Xiao Chen remained silent, rapidly regulating his body. The wounds from his earlier battle with the demoness of the Devil Sect and the Absolute Blade were healing quickly.

"I'll shatter your flesh and seal your soul in hell," the youth said, looking down on Xiao Chen. "Let you send a message to the little beast: tell it I'm waiting on the Eternal Continent to take its life."

Crack, crack—

Xiao Chen's bones rang as his blood flowed faster, his skin gleaming with a precious light. He opened his eyes, calm and detached. The divine art of Melting Weapons into the Body had restored his injuries.

"Before Keke, you will always be a tragedy," Xiao Chen said flatly. "It's better if you never meet it again, or you are destined for shame. Even if you are unmatched under heaven, you will still lose before Keke."

His words struck the Golden Lion King like thunder. That battle three years ago was etched into his memory—how his three heaven-defying divine arts had all been broken by the innocent white beast in her naive way. It was a bitter past he never wanted to revisit.

Yes, all three of the legendary peerless techniques had been shattered by a single little beast. Even now, thinking of that battle made his body tremble.

Yet there was still hope. When his third vertical eye truly opened, he would be supreme. He had faith that the third eye could finally defeat the white beast.

The Golden Lion King's gaze was icy. No one knew better than he what his race was capable of. From its peak, aside from the Ancestral Gods, there were almost no rivals. They were true heaven-defying sacred beasts.

Their line continued only one per generation. Without seeking mates from other races, they would face extinction. It had been thousands, even tens of thousands of years since one had appeared in the world. This youth was likely the last of his kind.

"I'll send you to hell!" the Golden Lion King said, his voice like frozen steel.

The youth's right eye snapped open. A beam of devastating light stole the sun's radiance, shattering a spatial passage as it shot toward Xiao Chen with a speed that rivaled the Little Li Flying Dagger.

Xiao Chen dodged with the Eight-Aspect Extreme Speed, but the residual waves of the destruction light still tore after him. Without hesitation, he struck with the Perfect Vase Seal. A crystal vase materialized above his head, spraying a cascade of sacred light that collided with the fading destruction light.

BOOM!

Blazing radiance shot into the sky as if a sun had exploded. Space shattered, and Xiao Chen was hurled backward, blood seeping from the corner of his mouth.

The Golden Lion King, bloodline of the absolute peak of all races, had forced Xiao Chen back with mere residual waves. His combat power was unimaginable.

In human form, the Golden Lion King's strength had soared beyond measure. Combined with his unmatched divine arts, a head-on clash with Xiao Chen would likely end in disaster.

Having been in this world for only seven or eight years, the youth had already achieved such heights. Human cultivators could only sigh at the disparity—the heritage of his bloodline left them gazing at the heavens in despair.

"Before me, cultivators of the same realm are like ants!" the golden-haired youth declared, supremely arrogant. His expression was cold and proud, his tone sinister.

Xiao Chen remained unruffled. He possessed a tremendous battle instinct; once committed to a fight, nothing could disturb his calm.

"Annihilation!"

Another destruction light. The youth flew forward, and the deadly light from his right eye surged into the sky, enveloping Xiao Chen in an instant.

Fearless Lion Seal!

Xiao Chen formed the seal, and a golden lion materialized before him, roaring with earth-shaking power. It was an exact replica of the Golden Lion King's true form. Wreathed in violent energy, claws bared, it charged the destruction light with golden divine flames blazing.

The youth went berserk. The golden lion seal enraged him. His hair stood on end as golden flames erupted from his body, filling the sky with burning divine fire.

"Xiao Chen, you... seek death!"

He was furious. How could the supreme bloodline tolerate someone using a phantom of his own form as a weapon?

But the Fearless Lion Seal, though powerful, could not withstand the destruction light. The youth was far stronger than three years ago. In an instant, the energy lion was shattered, dissipating into the void.

The golden-haired youth lunged at Xiao Chen, wanting to tear him apart with his bare hands.

No divine arts—just combat techniques? Xiao Chen smiled coldly. That was exactly what he wanted. He had deliberately provoked the youth to throw him off balance.

Without hesitation, Xiao Chen charged forward, unleashing another Fearless Lion Seal. The sound of the golden lion shook heaven itself.

The youth, enraged, extended his right hand. A massive golden lion's claw appeared before his palm, shattering the energy lion and reaching for Xiao Chen's body.

Slay God!

The first of the Four Killing Moves. This divine technique was a terrifying slaughter: the sky filled with swords and blades, surging like an angry sea toward the youth. Among them, one divine sword and one heavenly blade towered into the clouds, closing like scissors around the Golden Lion King.

Void annihilated. Energy raged. The countless swords converged on one point: the golden-haired youth.

The Golden Lion King let out a battle cry, his golden hair whipping in the wind. Though he was a youth, his aura was like a force of nature—a tyrant king. His hands, like lightning, grasped the sky and earth: one hand holding back the towering divine blade, the other stopping the heavenly sword.

BOOM!

With a shove, he shattered that corner of the world. Thousands of swords collapsed, even the great divine blade and heavenly sword broke apart. Xiao Chen was hurled away, blood streaming from his mouth.

The Golden Lion King stared at him through half-closed eyes. "In both divine arts and combat techniques, my race is unmatched in the world."

Xiao Chen felt no discouragement. He wiped the blood from his lips, his battle intent unshaken. The greater the challenge, the stronger he became—he was a born combatant.

"I said you die, so you die!" the youth declared, stepping forward. He vanished, reappeared before Xiao Chen, and struck.

Xiao Chen shot up with the Eight-Aspect Extreme Speed, then dove down headfirst, unleashing the Lingxi Sword Wave and the Yin-Yang Tenfold Seal simultaneously. A destructive circle vibrated and a Taiji seal rotated, both aimed at the youth.

The Golden Lion King sneered. He shifted half a foot, struck the skies with both hands, shattering the sword wave and the seal. He reached for Xiao Chen.

Xiao Chen executed an aerial backward kick, his feet aimed at the youth's eyes—though he maintained a safe distance. He dared not get too close; if both of the youth's eyes opened, even the Eight-Aspect Extreme Speed would not save him from annihilation.

THUD! THUD!

The youth's fist winds struck Xiao Chen's soles, sending him flying.

Xiao Chen immediately reversed course with the Extreme Speed, sweeping his right leg in a wide arc. Blazing light slashed toward the youth's waist.

"Hmph!"

The youth blocked the attack, then abruptly opened his right eye. The destruction light shot toward Xiao Chen.

Xiao Chen had been expecting it. He knew the opponent's eyes were the greatest threat. The moment he saw the eyelid twitch, he activated the Eight-Aspect Extreme Speed—the ultimate movement technique. The instant the destruction light fired, he sidestepped and charged from an angle.

As the Golden Lion King turned, Xiao Chen was already upon him, the Eight-Aspect Worlds divine art manifesting. Earth, Fire, Wind, Water—four aspects merged into a chaotic radiance. Xiao Chen himself became the source of annihilation. Thousands of chaotic sword beams struck the youth at close range. This was an extremely dangerous attack; no one could take chaos power lightly.

The youth's expression changed. He dodged at extreme speed, firing the destruction light as he twisted his head, while his hands shattered pockets of space.

Xiao Chen was already immersed in the chaotic light, firing beams from all angles. At the same time, he unleashed all Four Killing Moves: Slay God, Collapse, Suppress Demon, and Reverse Chaos. Amid the endless chaos, no one could see what was happening. The four techniques unfolded one after another, the scale of their power immeasurable. All that could be seen was the constant annihilation of space, celestial hymns and hellish dirges drifting through the air...

The light faded. Heaven and earth regained clarity. Xiao Chen retreated a thousand yards with the Extreme Speed, blood constantly seeping from his mouth.

In the other sky, the Golden Lion King was also wounded. The golden flames of his hair had been severed by the chaotic sword beams, nearly touching his scalp. He coughed up three mouthfuls of blood.

"The fusion of the Four Aspects and the Four Killing Moves... not bad," the youth said, showing deep familiarity with Xiao Chen's techniques. After coughing a fifth mouthful, he declared, "If you have no other skills, I should send you on your way."

Xiao Chen made a decisive choice: retreat. Though he still had the essences of the Heaven and Earth Aspects to deploy, he felt they could not kill the Golden Lion King. After all, the youth had only opened one eye. This was no longer the Lion King of three years ago; the youth could probably kill a demigod with a single glance.

"Even with your Extreme Speed, you cannot escape," the Golden Lion King said coldly. "From the moment we met, your death was already sealed. This entire region has been linked to the realm of reincarnation! Reincarnation!"

Xiao Chen realized with shock that the whole world had darkened. All around, the void seemed connected to hell itself.

The cycle of reincarnation had been opened!

Heaven and earth convulsed. Endless netherworld black mist flooded forth. Xiao Chen felt truly trapped.

"Descend to hell..." the Golden Lion King roared, then suddenly stopped in surprise.

The nether hell had emerged, a deathly void enveloping the area. But in the dark sky, three orbs of light shone like great crystal balls, each containing a snow-white skeleton.

The first skeleton sat in the void, gazing at the dark sky. "Who am I?" it murmured.

The second propped its chin like a thinker. "Where did I come from?"

The third looked down at the dark earth, lost in thought. "Where am I going?"