A catastrophic tremor shook the valley of Hao Huo Mountain, as if the very heart of the earth were being ripped asunder. The massive, ancient portal, which had remained hazy and stagnant, suddenly erupted into blinding crimson and golden flames. The primordial aura spewing from its core was so ferocious that the surrounding rocks began to crack like brittle glass. The final five percent of the Boundary Array had disintegrated—the portal was fully opened!
As the gateway swung wide, the greed and madness suppressed within the thousands of cultivators present burst forth like a dam breaking. The decorum of cultivation, the rigid laws of the sects, and all mutual pacts were discarded in a single heartbeat.
"The portal is open! The Blood Coffin Sect shall enter first! Anyone who dares to stand in our path will have their soul extracted and shredded!" a sinister elder shrieked from his chariot.
"Stand aside! This entire region falls under the jurisdiction of the Jiang Clan! Not a leaf shall stir here without the permission of our ancestors; we shall enter first!" the arrogant young heir of the Jiang Clan, encased in golden armor, roared as he brandished his blade into the sky.
The valley became a cacophony of clashing steel, explosions of spiritual energy, and desperate screams. Everyone was caught in a frenzy, trampling one another and carving paths through the crowd with their swords.
Amidst this, the cultivators of Sanmiao City—the true natives and guardians of this land—also attempted to advance. Commander Zheng bellowed in his thundering voice, "This is the territory of Sanmiao City! This land belongs to our people, and by right, we hold priority!"
"Priority? Hahahaha!"
When the arrogant heir of the Jiang Clan heard this, his mocking laughter reverberated across the entire valley. He locked his eyes, brimming with hatred and arrogance, upon the warriors of Sanmiao City.
He spat with utter contempt, "So what if lowly insects like you live here? What if it is your land? Have you forgotten the only rule of the cultivation world? Here, only one thing speaks: Power! And all of you... you are nothing but dust beneath our feet and petty vermin! The purpose of insects is to be crushed, not to walk into the portal!"
As he spoke, a cruel glint flickered in his eyes. Without a moment's hesitation, he raised both hands toward the heavens and unleashed a terrifying 'Palm Attack,' intending to erase the entire Sanmiao City contingent in one blow.
"Fools! Be crushed and perish beneath my Golden Sun Palm!" he howled.
In the blink of an eye, piercing through the dark clouds of the sky, a gargantuan, brilliant golden palm manifested. It was as colossal as a mountain, and the heat radiating from it caused the very ground beneath to begin melting. The terrifying golden palm descended with overwhelming force, aimed directly at Commander Zheng, Wang Mei, and their companions. More than half of the Sanmiao City cultivators collapsed to their knees under the sheer pressure, their breath hitching in their throats.
Seeing death rushing toward them so swiftly, many cried out, "We are all doomed!"
But just as the entire detachment trembled in the face of death, a roar erupted from the Sanmiao City camp—a sound so dominant that it dwarfed the thunderous rumble of the descending Golden Sun Palm.
"Who are the insects... that is for me to decide today!"
The voice belonged to none other than Yan Kai Long. In his eyes, instead of his usual courtesy, flashed a primitive, violent luminescence akin to celestial lightning. Those insulting words had awakened a primordial pride dormant within him.
Yan Kai Long took a forceful step forward. As his foot struck the earth, the fabric of his chest and sleeves burst apart. Beneath his skin, his veins did not pulse with common red or blue energy, but with the crackling, radiant violet and blue light of lightning. This was his true, ultimate strength—the Thunder Dragon Veins!
A destructive energy of ancient thunder erupted from every fiber of his being, turning the ambient moisture in the air into steam in an instant. Yan Kai Long straightened his spine, fully unleashing his ancestral power.
'ROAAARRR!!!'
Three earth-shattering roars echoed simultaneously, causing the valley of Hao Huo Mountain to tremble. Pure, destructive electrical energy burst from Yan Kai Long's glowing Thunder Dragon Veins, instantly taking the form of three massive, terrifying Thunder Dragons. These were not mere constructs of spiritual energy; their eyes burned with azure lightning, and every one of their scales discharged thousands of volts of crackling celestial fire.
The three Thunder Dragons opened their maws to the heavens and lunged directly at the descending golden palm.
The collision occurred in mid-air—a sight as if a burning sun had crashed into three celestial bolts of lightning. An explosion so blinding occurred that cultivators across the entire Tianxia Continent were forced to shield their eyes.
The Thunder Dragons gripped the massive golden palm with their destructive thunderous power. The crackling strikes began to tear the golden energy of the 'Golden Sun Palm' asunder from the inside out. In a heartbeat, the mountain-sized palm shattered like shards of glass in the sky, leaving not a trace behind. The shockwave of the blast was so violent that the arrogant heir of the Jiang Clan himself was dragged four paces backward, the color draining entirely from his face.
When the smoke and electrical sparks finally settled, a deathly silence descended upon the valley. From the sinister elder of the Blood Coffin Sect to the masters of the other major sects—who had dismissed Sanmiao City as mere insects—everyone stood frozen, their eyes wide with disbelief.
"This... these are the Thunder Dragon Veins! Such ancient talent was hidden in this small city?" an elder standing in the distance gasped, his throat dry with terror.
Yan Kai Long stood firm, blue lightning still sporadically crackling across his meridians. He stared at the arrogant heir and said in an icy, chilling tone, "You spoke of power, did you not? So tell me now, whose foot is resting upon whose dust?"
Standing in the back, Ye Fang watched with his arms folded. A deep, tranquil smile played on his lips. He thought to himself, 'Brother Kai Long... your Thunder Dragon Veins are truly magnificent. You shattered the arrogance of this fool without even needing a pill. Magnificent!'
Just then, the Little System's screen flashed in his consciousness and whispered, "Well, Host, at least you didn't have to put in the effort to lie this time. But the real game begins inside the portal!"
The arrogant heir of the Jiang Clan, having witnessed the terrifying display of strength from Yan Kai Long, was struck with utter bewilderment. His vanity crushed, he stared at Kai Long, struggling to comprehend how a mere provincial cultivator could possess such power. He demanded, his voice trembling with a mixture of rage and fear:
"Just who are you! You cannot be the City Lord—you possess power far beyond his capabilities. And you are clearly not a native of this backwater! Who are you exactly! Why are you meddling in my affairs!"