The Clash of Kings

A single shout had instantly obliterated a powerful Asura expert, body and soul. The remaining Asura and Yaksha present glared at Xiao Chen and Little Tianya on the riverbank. They did not recognize Xiao Chen, now reborn in flesh and blood, but when they saw the little snow-white beast, they stiffened in recognition. “Who are you?” one of the Asura demanded.

Xiao Chen ignored him. He stood on the riverbank, his gaze fixed on the Yaksha King. The Yaksha King stood with his hands behind his back on a small boat, his tall, imposing figure like an unclimbable divine mountain. His eyes flashed with green lightning, his hair streamed like emerald fire, and his oppressive aura made it hard to breathe.

The Asura and Yaksha, treated like air, seethed with indignation. They leaped ashore like beams of light and surrounded Xiao Chen in an instant. He still paid them no attention. In his eyes, there was only the Yaksha King. The Yaksha King on the light boat also stared coldly back at Xiao Chen. A terrifying energy surged between them.

Crack! Crack! Green sparks leaped from the Yaksha King’s eyes, directly twisting the void, as a soul-shaking power boiled silently. Xiao Chen’s eyes shot out terrifying beams of light, like bolts of lightning dancing through the air. A Yaksha and an Asura standing between them shattered into nothingness without even understanding what had happened—two strong warriors becoming instant casualties of this silent war. The other Asura and Yaksha changed color and retreated like specters.

“Who are you?” the Yaksha King asked, still standing with his hands behind his back, his composure unbroken even in the face of a powerful enemy. Xiao Chen did not reply. He took a single step and appeared in the river beside the light boat, then struck at the Yaksha King. His palm knife, as ethereal as a dream-flower, cut toward the Yaksha King’s throat. The boat shot away like a shuttle, leaving an afterimage on the river, retreating dozens of zhang in an instant. The Yaksha King remained with his hands behind his back.

Hum—Xiao Chen followed like a shadow of light, closing the distance in a flash. His Hand of the Supreme Being, translucent as fine jade, slashed down through the void. The Yaksha King could no longer keep his hands behind his back; he leaped backward through the air, but the small boat still clung to his feet as he soared into the sky.

Standing on the boat high above, the Yaksha King’s murderous aura pierced the heavens. He took the initiative, charging forward on the boat, and bellowed, “Break!” His iron fist shattered the void. Myriad bolts of purple lightning cascaded down like waterfalls from the sky, surging toward Xiao Chen. The thunder was deafening, shaking the ancient town. Towering purple lightning engulfed Xiao Chen, and the baleful aura of the thunder made one’s blood run cold.

Eight hazy worlds appeared. The World of Thunder, dreamlike and surreal, rolled with purple mist, absorbing all the purple light in the sky. In an instant, the skies cleared, the wind calmed, and the terrifying thunder that rent heaven and earth vanished without a trace.

Xiao Chen turned into a dazzling rainbow, charging forward. With a great shout, the thunder that had been absorbed into the Thunder World erupted again, even more violent than before, now empowered by the baleful energy of that world, and blasted toward the Yaksha Heavenly King. The Yaksha King’s eyes shot out twin beams of green light like a wild beast’s. He tore directly through space, sending all the thunder into another dimension, untouched himself.

Xiao Chen’s attack did not stop. At the same time, the ‘Hum’ syllable of the Origin Heavenly Sound rang out like an apocalyptic divine bell from the primordial age, majestic and solemn, reverberating through heaven and earth, making souls tremble. It had already locked onto the Yaksha King.

“Ten Thousand Laws, Do Not Touch!” The Yaksha King sensed the danger. With a great shout that made the sky shudder, he was enveloped in green light, as if he had stepped beyond this realm. Though he was right there, he felt infinitely distant, ethereal and intangible. The ‘Hum’ sound poured down like the Milky Way falling from the Ninth Heaven, destroying that stretch of sky. The small boat was instantly reduced to ashes, but in the shattered black void, the Yaksha King, wreathed in green light, stood unharmed, as if existing above the world, detached from all things. The peerless divine ability—Ten Thousand Laws, Do Not Touch—lived up to its name. Attacks came from all directions, yet not a single leaf touched him.

“It’s you… the Yellow-Diamond Skeleton King, no, I should call you Xiao Chen!” the Yaksha King stared at Xiao Chen, his usually impassive face finally showing change. “I never expected… it was really you. You’ve been reborn in flesh and blood, resurrected from the dead!” At these words, the Asura and Yaksha below were astounded. This man was Xiao Chen? A man who had fallen over twenty years ago, now appearing again in the world—it was unbelievable.

Xiao Chen said nothing. He stepped out the Seven Steps of the Defiant Dragon. With each step, the void beneath his foot shattered, and the entire sky trembled beneath his tread. Such momentum was breathtaking, like a mountain pressing on the heart. The Yaksha King’s eyes shot cold lightning, his green hair streamed, and he let out a long cry. His aura instantly surged, as if an ancient demon god had awakened. The aura of destruction pressed down in all directions. Instead of retreating, he charged at Xiao Chen.

The two mighty warriors engaged in their most intense battle. The Yaksha King’s hands blazed with a dazzling green light, as if they had turned into malachite—strange and demonic—yet able to withstand the Seven Steps of the Defiant Dragon head-on. With each palm strike, he traced a counter trajectory against the Dragon Steps, meeting force with force. Every blow made the sky feel as if a star from beyond had collided; heaven and earth shook, and the aura of destruction rolled across the land, striking fear into all hearts.

As the Seven Steps of the Defiant Dragon neared completion, Xiao Chen trod out the final step and directly shattered this stretch of heaven and earth, dragging the Yaksha King into the void. In a gray, colorless world, the two mighty warriors began to fight with abandon, without any restraint. The several-hundred-li void was more than enough for them to stretch their limbs.

As the Sixth Step was struck, the void trembled, and a whole mountain range rumbled into the air, filling the sky with dust, then instantly turned to ash. At the same time, the Yaksha King was affected; his face flushed, and a trace of blood seeped from the corner of his mouth. When the Seventh Step trod down, he formed a hand seal and shouted, “Nine Serenities Demon Fist!” His jade-like fists, sparkling and translucent as if carved from emerald crystal, exuded an aura of annihilation and smashed into Xiao Chen’s seventh step.

With a thunderous boom, the terrifying pressure directly split the earth below. Like a hurricane sweeping over a sandcastle, dozens of great mountains on the surface turned to dust in an instant. The two mighty fighters clashed and both flew backward. Xiao Chen’s right foot was broken, blood dripping from it, unable to bear any weight. The Yaksha King’s right fist was also shattered, green light flickering, and splinters of bone showing.

With a series of cracking sounds, their broken bones reconnected in an instant. The terrifying regenerative power of the Perfected Man realm made their bodies whole again in moments. The battle resumed. Xiao Chen attacked with the Hand of the Supreme Being and the Seven Steps of the Defiant Dragon. The Yaksha King countered with the Nine Serenities Demon martial combat techniques, while the “Ten Thousand Laws, Do Not Touch” divine ability shielded him, leaving him virtually invincible.

With a great crash, the Hand of the Supreme Being and the Seven Steps of the Defiant Dragon clashed with the Nine Serenities Demon combat techniques. The earth shattered, rivers flowed backward, and the dimension was battered beyond recognition. The ‘Hum’ primordial sound erupted once more. As Xiao Chen pressed the Yaksha King with the Hand of the Supreme Being and the ancient combat skill, he suddenly blasted the “Ten Thousand Laws, Do Not Touch” body at close range.

Bang! The destructive Origin Heavenly Sound struck the Yaksha King solidly. Even with the ‘Ten Thousand Laws’ protection, he was sent flying backward by the unexpected sound, spitting a mouthful of blood. “You’ve angered me. I will kill you!” The Yaksha King’s green hair flew wildly, his body wreathed in blinding green light, like an infernal fire blazing.

Xiao Chen activated the Lingxi Sword Wave, and sword-light swept out, instantly evaporating the leaden clouds in the distant sky. “Ten Thousand Laws, Do Not Touch—Invincible Under Heaven!” the Yaksha King roared, charging in like a great mountain, ignoring the Lingxi Sword Wave. Indeed, leaves did not touch him; the sword wave turned to nothing before him.

The Yaksha King’s divine might covered all; his body blazed with green fire. A single step crossed a thousand zhang, and he was suddenly right before Xiao Chen. He shouted, “Sword Fire, Burn the Heavens!” A green demonic sword appeared in his hand, blazing with light, surging with netherworld green flame that burned and twisted the sky. He swung it once, and dozens of great mountains below turned to ash from the residual waves of the green sword. The power was unimaginable.

This was the Yaksha King’s divine technique—Sword Fire Burns the Heavens! The green demonic sword could annihilate space; the netherworld green flame burned everything, causing even the sky to collapse and twist. Xiao Chen was sent flying. Flames surrounded him everywhere, and brilliant sword-qi ripped through heaven and earth, raging and sweeping around him. At this moment, the Yaksha King was the embodiment of invincibility. Wielding the heaven-piercing green demonic sword, he opened and closed it boldly, sweeping everything before him. The entire world was flooded with netherworld green fire. On the ground, terrifying great fissures opened, reaching the earth’s core; magma erupted, spewing into the high sky.

Sword Fire Burns the Heavens exuded an aura of world-destroying might, piercing heaven and earth. It was unstoppable, impossible to resist! Horrifying wounds appeared on Xiao Chen’s body, some so deep that bone was visible, others charred black. Under this peerless divine technique, his situation was dire.

The Yaksha Heavenly King, with his “Ten Thousand Laws, Do Not Touch” divine ability, was virtually invincible, and his “Sword Fire Burns the Heavens” made his attack power nearly unrivaled among the Hundred Race kings. He truly strode across the world with no equal. Keke grew anxious and wanted to intervene, but Xiao Chen stopped her.

In this brief moment, Xiao Chen made a deliberate decision. He set aside the Four Loose Techniques and instead deployed the divine ability he was developing to confront this unexpectedly terrifying enemy. The Eight Aspect Worlds were the foundation of his divine abilities; all his other techniques were based on them. After his rebirth in flesh and blood, he had been exploring with all his heart, finally unearthing the Eight Aspect Origin divine ability—though it was still in an exploratory stage, not yet perfected.

The Eight Aspect Origins were eight hazy worlds. They overlapped and appeared now, surrounding Xiao Chen in the center, briefly cutting off the surging netherworld green fire. But the world-destroying sword-qi still kept sweeping in.

“Eight Aspect Origin—World Gates!” At Xiao Chen’s shout, each of the eight overlapping worlds gave birth to a mysterious, tightly closed gate. An immense pressure rolled across the sky. “Go die!” The Yaksha Heavenly King was unstoppable. One step crossed a thousand zhang, and he was upon Xiao Chen in an instant. His demonic sword swept down, and the ground beneath them collapsed with a roar, blazing magma leaping a thousand meters into the air, rolling together with the great fire toward Xiao Chen, while the destructive sword-qi made even one’s soul tremble.

“Heaven!” Xiao Chen shouted only a single word. The world gate of the Heaven Aspect suddenly swung open, unleashing a wild, chaotic aura. Behind the mysterious portal, an invisible force pressed forward like a falling sky, extinguishing all the green fire and blocking the terrifying sword-qi. The terrible energy wave pushed toward the Yaksha King. “I am Ten Thousand Laws, Do Not Touch—Invincible Under Heaven! What can you do to me?!” The Yaksha King’s green hair stood on end, his eyes blazing with savage light as he raised his sword to resist.

With a heaven-shaking boom, the Yaksha King flew backward hundreds of zhang, and Xiao Chen was also knocked back over a kilometer. The Yaksha King’s eyes blazed with murderous light. He trod the void like a comet charging forward, the green demonic sword in his hand even fiercer than before. “Earth!” Xiao Chen shouted again from the sky. The world gate of the Earth Aspect suddenly burst open, releasing a thick, heavy aura, as if the great earth itself had risen to the high heavens. Yellow, hazy light extinguished the green fire and overwhelmed the sword beams.

Boom! Heaven and earth shook. Both fighters flew backward a thousand zhang once more. The two mighty experts engaged in a peak-level duel. Xiao Chen opened the world gates one after another. The gate of the Water Aspect poured out endless blue water essence, instantly annihilating all the green fire. The gate of the Wind Aspect blew forth a world-destroying hurricane, clashing against the green sword beams with a metallic clang. One by one, the eight world gates opened and struck at the Yaksha King.

This dimensional space was on the verge of collapse. The ground sank, magma surged, the sky shattered—an apocalyptic scene. When the Swamp Aspect trembled, a dark portal opened, like a marsh spreading across the sky, with an inexhaustible power that trapped the Yaksha King inside. With a crack, the Thunder Aspect’s world gate opened, and a million lightning bolts blasted out, shattering the demonic sword in the Yaksha King’s hand.

With a great rumble, the final Mountain Aspect’s world gate opened. A divine mountain, radiant with light, flew out and smashed heavily into the Yaksha King, who was deep in the “marsh.” With a heavy thud, the Yaksha King coughed up blood in great gouts. The Ten Thousand Laws, Do Not Touch divine ability could no longer hold. With a crash, heaven and earth broke apart, the dimension collapsed, and the Yaksha King struggled free with all his might, fleeing this space back into the real world.

Xiao Chen followed closely behind. The little beast Keke and Tianya clapped and cheered. In the ancient town, the Asura and Yaksha were aghast. In less than an hour, the Yaksha Heavenly King, now disheveled and covered in blood, was fleeing in panic—a far cry from his usual invincible bearing. Incredible!

With his Ten Thousand Laws broken, he could not reactivate it for a short time. He flew at extreme speed. Xiao Chen pursued relentlessly with the Eight Aspect Extreme. Just as he was about to catch up, the Yaksha King suddenly shouted, “So Close Yet So Far!” Another rare divine ability, not an offensive technique but an escape skill

Xiao Chen, despite his Eight Aspect Extreme, always maintained a certain distance from the Yaksha King. It seemed very close, but the distance was eternal, giving the feeling of So Close Yet So Far. Both their speeds had slowed. As long as Xiao Chen approached a certain range, he would be affected, keeping a fixed distance behind the Yaksha King. Without realizing it, they had reached the Yangtze River. They crossed the river, heading upstream.

“I don’t believe I can’t kill you!” Xiao Chen shouted. The Four Loose Techniques struck one after another, and a Heavenly Stele appeared on his arm as he smashed it forward.

Bam! It struck solidly on the Yaksha King’s shoulder. With a crack, the arm turned to blood mist and shattered in the air. The thousand-mile pursuit shocked many cultivators along the Yangtze’s banks. “That’s… the Yaksha King! He’s being hunted!” “Really? The Invincible Yaksha King, being hunted?!” Many showed expressions of disbelief. “Who is that man? He looks so familiar…” Defeating the Yaksha King caused Xiao Chen to become the focus of everyone’s attention. “He really looks familiar… Who is it that defeated the Yaksha King, who has roamed the Nine Provinces without equal?” “That’s… he seems to be… Xiao Chen, who fell twenty years ago!” “What?! How is that possible?!”