Chapter 488 – Young King and Old Powerhouses

Shattered Isle Region, the Warzone.

The sky was clear and azure, without a single wisp of Crimson Mist.

One magnificent Camp after another stood protected by high walls, like fortresses built upon the sand. The surroundings—wreckage, bloodstains, craters, and trenches—formed the endlessly repeating scenery of this place.

“We’ve repelled the Monster Tide once again,” a Pioneer Lord declared proudly.

Two weeks had passed since the great victory at the Shattered Isles.

During this time, battles remained frequent, with major clashes erupting every few days. Yet even these large-scale engagements, which might involve dozens of Legendary Realm combatants, were merely localized conflicts compared to previous campaigns.

As anticipated, Dragon’s Slumber Valley would no longer initiate decisive, war-ending battles.

They lacked the strength for such endeavors.

With the Filth struggling to spread and corrupt, the powerhouses of Dragon’s Slumber Valley found it difficult to set foot in this Island Domain.

They continued their previous strategy, seeking to plant more Filth branches throughout the Shattered Isle Region to strengthen the Crimson Mist. Simultaneously, they employed tactics like surprise attacks and infiltration against the Warzone.

Guard Camps frequently suffered powerful assaults from the enemy, keeping the defending soldiers constantly vigilant.

Legendary battles beyond the Warzone’s borders erupted with regular frequency.

“This is the normal state of a Warzone,” Mu Yuan mused while reviewing battle reports.

Having previously collected publicly available reports from other Warzones, he understood that “decisive wars” didn’t occur easily—they typically happened only once every few years for any given Warzone.

Through successive battles, each side would gain minor advantages while constantly seeking weaknesses in their opponent, until the moment arrived to launch a truly annihilating campaign.

In these ongoing localized conflicts, the Shattered Isle Warzone…

Held a slight advantage.

Grand Duke Pupilblade and Grand Duke Black Sky had fallen.

The strongest among them, Grand Duke Ice Burial, couldn’t leave his stronghold.

Although the Shattered Isle Warzone remained at a disadvantage in terms of troop numbers and high-end combat power, they consistently achieved minor advantages through Mind Seeds and sophisticated tactical coordination.

Strategically, the enemy’s rate of planting Filth branches couldn’t keep up with their clearance speed.

This was victory!

“What remains is a protracted war,” Mu Yuan thought. “We’ll need to repeatedly push back the Filth until our forces can besiege their nest.”

“Surround and eliminate Dragon Slumber Valley’s core forces in this Island Domain, completely eradicating them.”

“However, when that time comes, we’ll need to face Grand Duke Ice Burial directly—a top-tier Grand Duke commanding the concepts of ice and death, located in the third realm.”

This was the premise if everything proceeded smoothly.

Mu Yuan never dared to be overly optimistic when making contingency plans, and he felt no urgency about this strategy.

What would rushing accomplish?

Even if the Shattered Isle forces could march to the foothills of Dragon’s Slumber Valley right now, what then? Could they possibly challenge Grand Duke Ice Burial?

“Before that, we need to enhance our strength.”

How to improve quickly?

First, through major battles—but none were currently available.

Second, through Treasures and Treasure Lands.

Compared to scarce Treasures, Treasure Lands offered better value.

“Both within and beyond Taixuan Territory, there exist some top-tier Treasure Lands.”

Like the Witherbloom Treasure Land located within the Bloodtree Forest in his Ten Directions Island Region—a place of wondrous scenery where plants constantly grew and withered, embodying the natural Dao while concealing profound mysteries.

Such extraordinary places held little value for ordinary professionals and average powerhouses.Yet for a Law Realm expert who precisely wields such conceptual power and seeks to deepen their mastery in this Dao, it is an excellent cultivation ground.

The Alliance controls many similar Treasure Lands, most of which offer significant benefits even to ordinary experts.

Some top-tier Treasure Lands can even make world-class experts flock to them eagerly.

Many such Treasure Lands aren’t solely controlled by Taixuan alone.

Some are jointly managed by multiple nations; others are governed by natural laws with their own inherent rules.

The threshold for entering these Treasure Lands is extremely high.

But as a Five-Star Pioneer Lord who has earned substantial military merits, he now possesses precisely the right qualifications.

…

Taixuan Alliance, Xuandu.

Tower Conference Room.

Several strands of consciousness projected into the space, materializing one after another into figures indistinguishable from ordinary people.

An old man smoking a long-stemmed pipe;

A small, white-robed elder with snow-white eyebrows and beard;

A robust, iron-tower-like old man with graying temples;

And…

“You’ve all heard the news about the victory in the Shattered Isle Warzone, I presume?”

“Of course, the youngsters performed remarkably, showing shades of our former selves.”

“Former selves? When we first entered the Eternal World, someone was utterly disheveled. I still have photos from back then.”

Ahem…

“With the great victory in the Shattered Isle Region, we needn’t worry about diverting more forces there. After all… the mist tide has erupted again in that place.”

The group fell silent for a moment, their expressions gradually turning serious.

“This is an omen.”

“According to the Star Gazing Association’s predictions, we truly don’t have much time left. The Great Calamity will arrive either during the next Crimson Mist Disaster Moon or the one after.”

The Great Calamity…

Everyone present had experienced the previous Great Calamity, back before the Taixuan Alliance was established.

Yet they had witnessed massive forces comparable to the current Taixuan Alliance disintegrate during the calamity.

“The collapse of the Myriad Phenomena Empire was closely related to their fatal strategic error that wiped out half of their nation’s top-tier combat power.”

“However, this also indicates how terrifying the Great Calamity truly is.”

“Has the Holy Griffin Empire made any statements? This concerns all of humanity.”

“Hmph!” The white-browed, white-bearded elder snorted. “It’s a calamity for all humanity, but exclusively not for their Holy Griffin Empire. Among all human and mortal nations, the Griffin Empire alone doesn’t border the Land of Red Mist. Why would they feel urgent? They probably hope we suffer heavy losses in the calamity, weakening any threat to their dominance. If not for international scrutiny, the Griffin Empire might simply stand by and watch.”

“Regardless, we must continue monitoring. When the Great Calamity comes, we need to prepare immediately.”

“Should we evacuate civilians to the Taixuan Great Domain? Defending just one Great Domain might increase our chances significantly.”

“…No, we can’t confirm the calamity’s direction of spread. The Taixuan Region might not be the safest place. We’ll do everything within our power, then leave the rest to time and the younger generation.”

…

Shattered Isle Region.

Nameless Black Mountain.

Deadbone commanded an Undead Legion stationed here.

He sat silently with closed eyes, his entire form merging with the black mountain beneath him. Though an undead being, he now breathed rhythmically—and the entire black mountain breathed with him, as if the mountain range had come alive. The phenomenon resembled corruption by the Crimson Mist, yet this was achieved through entirely different means.”Undead Calamity.”

“The more death is sown, the stronger the Undead Calamity becomes. The stronger the Undead Army grows, the farther death can spread.”

“This too is a concept. Death—where there is death, there is life. This is the eternal truth.”

Applied here:

The Undead Army slaying monsters—this is death.

The Undead Army using the corpses of monsters as vessels to transform into new undead—this is rebirth.

Death and rebirth—this is the Dao it is currently treading.

Deadbone knew very clearly that this path was right—his intuition, his experience, his judgment all affirmed it.

Walking the right path ensures progress will not be slow.

But the path alone is not enough; beyond the path, he still needs sabers and swords to clear the thorns and brambles.

How to integrate conceptual power into his combat system and wield it perfectly was the difficult problem he was pondering deeply.

The Death Lament greatsword appeared in his hand.

With a single swing, an inconspicuous sword gleam carried the intent of instant death.

This was the concept of death.

From as small as a blade of grass to as large as a person, a mountain, a river, a sun.

He could bestow the final, eternal death upon all living and non-living things.

However,

“How crude!”

“The true essence of death should not be limited to this, let alone the aspect of birth.”

He was not satisfied, but he knew that impatience would not help.

His conceptual power was continuously growing, and the scope it encompassed was constantly changing. To create a perfect combat technique on this foundation was extremely difficult.

“It’s time to return.”

“This Island Domain is filled with brokenness and death—a decent place, but it cannot compare to the Great Domain of the Dead.”

He thought to himself, when suddenly his gaze turned toward the distance.

A very powerful individual, brimming with dense death energy, emerged beneath the profound night.

The newcomer made no attempt to conceal his presence.

He was clad entirely in black.

Black armor, a black warhorse, blending into the night yet more conspicuous than anything under this dark sky.

Like a Blazing Sun.

With a scorching gaze.

“Could this be the king I seek?”

The black knight looked toward the mountain peak.

A figure that seemed unremarkable yet was instantly locked onto by his sight.

The Death Knight pondered briefly, then tugged the reins. The nightmare steed, which had been leisurely pacing, immediately neighed. The next moment, space rippled like overlapping waves as the knight astride the nightmare horse crossed dozens of miles, arriving within the Nameless Black Mountain.

The deathly silent Black Mountain erupted instantly. One undead after another awoke from slumber, and the death energy resting here surged upward like a roaring river.

Three Lords of Flesh Mountain thudded into position, blocking the knight’s path.

The leading Lord of Flesh Mountain possessed sufficient intelligence and spoke, “Stranger, leave now, and no one will be harmed.”

On its massive, over-ten-meter-tall body stacked from countless pieces of flesh, enormous eyes fixed intently on the figure treading in the low air not far away.

But the Death Knight did not respond.

His gaze was not on these Lords of Flesh Mountain.

He simply swung his sword. The sword light was dim, as unthreatening as a gentle breath exhaled by an ordinary person. Yet this faint sword gleam effortlessly sliced through the black energy torrent, the overlapping shadow shields before the flesh mountains, and their incredibly sturdy bodies of fragmented flesh.

The lower halves of the three Lords of Flesh Mountain were cleanly severed, and no matter what, they could not regenerate.

Left with only their bloated upper bodies, the flesh mountains tumbled and rolled down the mountainside.Number One Flesh Mountain, the Lord of Flesh Mountain who had been bestowed the name ‘Big Chubby’, couldn’t hold back—how had it been instantly defeated?

“Boss, save… ugh, never mind.”

“Brothers, get him!”

A frost dragon swooped down from the mountain peak; a shadow dragon leaped out from the darkness; a vampire marquis licked his blade in the shadows, his crimson eyes slowly igniting.

The Death Knight surveyed his surroundings, his skeletal face seeming to smile.

“How nostalgic.”

He murmured.

Once again pulling on the reins, his warhorse neighed, and an intangible domain spread out, enveloping the entire Black Mountain and the surrounding dozens of miles.

In an instant, everything seemed to slow down.

The Lord of Flesh Mountain, the shadow dragon, the vampire marquis… each high-ranking undead felt as if they were trapped in a dream, their consciousness seemingly peeling away. Though they had clearly surrounded this black knight, it felt as if they were still thousands of miles away from him.

Black Mountain, the undead, heaven and earth, the world—all were stripped away.

Only two figures remained.

The black knight who wielded the authority of heaven and earth, and the king standing atop Black Mountain.

‘It’s the power of concepts.’

‘When he first dealt with the Lord of Flesh Mountain, he used the concept of severing. So, even if the sword light contained very little power, it could still cut through anything. And this time…’

It was fear.

The power of the nightmare domain involved multiple aspects.

Interfering with space, interfering with the mind.

And the conceptual power of fear made this already formidable force even more unstoppable.

Even undead, who theoretically shouldn’t feel fear, would still experience it under the influence of conceptual power.

Deadbone’s resistance to conceptual power was no stronger than that of other undead. However, the conceptual power of fear couldn’t be fully and directly unleashed through the nightmare domain.

And it possessed resistance to mental interference.

“An undead of the Law Realm.”

Deadbone murmured.

Now, there was only battle.

He raised Death Lament high, and dozens, hundreds, thousands of black smoke clouds continuously drifted from the greatsword, causing the death aura throughout the Black Mountain region to surge thousands of times in an instant.

「Dominate!」

The more undead under Deadbone’s command, the stronger his own power became.

Similarly, under his command, the undead could unleash even greater strength.

The frost dragon, shadow dragon, Lord of Flesh Mountain, and other high-ranking undead roared.

The Lord of Flesh Mountain’s body, wounded by conceptual power, had silently healed.

「Army Soul!」

The phantom of the army soul suddenly manifested.

It was a towering peak piled high with white bones, with a greatsword thrust upside-down at its summit, like a divine demonic sword connecting heaven and earth.

The army soul hummed, and calamitous energy spread.

The undead, moving as one, broke free from the influence of the nightmare domain and charged at the Death Knight with roars.

Within Black Mountain.

The knight, mounted on his steed, defended against the fierce assaults from all directions.

They were strong.

These undead not only coordinated seamlessly but also pooled the power of dozens, even hundreds of elites to attack in an instant.

He dared not underestimate them.

After all, his body wasn’t much stronger than that of legends in the Heaven-Earth Realm or Soul Realm.

Moreover, these attacks carried faint but undeniable traces of a terrifying power.

Decay.

Once touched, even inanimate objects would wither.

However…

He was a warrior who had followed that Overlord in conquest for thousands of years.

“Sever—”

He chanted softly.

A black sword slash swept across the sky.Though the military soul had already resonated, and the undead were in a state of ‘life sharing,’ united as one, under the black sword’s edge, a frost dragon still froze in place. Its massive body, dozens of meters long, was cleaved in two on the spot, its soul flame extinguished.

The resonating military soul was meaningless before this blade.

This was the Law Realm.

He had severed the threads of resonance simultaneously!

Several Legendary Realm undead were slain in an instant.

They fell into the Black Mountain, only to revive the next moment, roaring as they charged forth.

The Death Knight was not surprised.

For this was the King.

With a turn of his sword, space cracked and shattered, forming a vast, circular void.

The collapsing band of broken space blocked the undead’s assault.

Then, the Death Knight sheathed his sword and dismounted from his nightmare steed. He stood mid-air, bowing slightly to Deadbone with noble grace, and spoke:

“Respected King of the Undead, I, Death Knight Ulysses, pay my respects to you.”

Me, the King of the Undead?

Deadbone frowned.

Though Bone Two, Sario, and others often jokingly called him the King of the Undead, Deadbone knew his place well—he was acutely aware that he was just an ordinary skeleton.

Even now, having evolved into the legendary one-star life form ‘King of Bones,’ it had little to do with being the King of the Undead.

Besides, if not for being recruited and enlightened by the Lord, he would still be a muddle-headed little skeleton, perhaps long dead under the claws of some ordinary wild monster.

This Death Knight’s mind was clearly troubled.

Faced with Deadbone’s silence, the Death Knight appeared unsurprised and continued:

“Your surprise is natural.”

“You need not worry. This time, I am here under the orders of the Silent Overlord to welcome you back to our kind.”

He said, “You may have learned from your legacy memories that we undead are one of the four great races of the Eternal World, having produced numerous Overlords and Kings. However, that is all in the past. Since the Great Calamity of Filth descended upon the world, we undead have charged at the forefront against the disaster and have withered.”

“To this day, the world is ruled by the Human Race, and the Filth continues to spread. Our undead kind needs a King like you to revitalize our people.”

“And for you to ascend to godhood or kingship, you will need our assistance.”

“You are undead, we are undead, and the entire undead race will be your support.”

The offer seemed immense and tempting, but Deadbone remained unmoved.

Without any prior connection, such temptation surely hid ulterior motives.

Back when he went to Blue Star, he had watched programs like “XX Theories.”

He spoke, “I refuse. I am not the King of the Undead, merely an ordinary skeleton living in seclusion here.”

An ordinary skeleton?

The Death Knight glanced at the ferocious shadow dragons and roaring frost dragons around him, his lips twitching slightly.

“You may not be aware that to wield the power of a King, one must command at least a thousand beings with epic stature. Such power, and it must be from the undead race, is now only possessed by my master, the Silent Overlord.”

Deadbone remained silent.

The Death Knight fell silent as well.

Perhaps the young King did not understand what a True King was, what the path to kingship entailed, or the distinctions between the three Legendary Realms and the Saint Realm.

After all, unlike the young Kings born within the tribe in the past, this one had been cast adrift.

Even with the talent of a King, he ultimately lacked insight, his vision narrow like that of a wild legend.

In that case,

“My King, I must offend you.”The Death Knight spoke.

He suddenly donned a pair of white gloves—this seemingly ordinary accessory was actually an Epic Treasure.

“In the name of Ulysses, I declare a sacred duel.”

Using the Epic Treasure as a vessel, a torrent of conceptual power erupted.

In an instant, the aggressive undead surrounding them, the swirling black mist, and the towering Black Mountain all vanished.

Only two figures remained in the world.

The Death Knight, no longer mounted on his steed;

And Deadbone, gripping his sword.

The Death Knight stepped forward, closing the distance to Deadbone in a single stride.

The sword descended.

Jade-white fragments of Desolate Kingbone shattered beneath the black blade, unable to withstand even a moment of impact.

But Deadbone seized the opportunity to retreat thousands of meters.

It spread its wings, stirring winds that carried lamentations and sighs.

The sighs brought forth bitter cold;

Within the cold, mournful echoes resounded.

This was Sario’s ‘Dirge of Frost and Death.’ Though Deadbone couldn’t fully master this Epic Skill, it could still manifest it with its own power.

It infused vast amounts of Death and Frost concepts, making its version more formidable than Sario’s original.

More importantly…

The ‘Dirge of Frost and Death’ was a mist, and a sword cannot cleave mist.

A thick fog surged forth.

Frost began to crystallize on the Death Knight’s armor.

“Impressive conceptual power, worthy of the Young King.”

“However, I am a Death Knight who has cultivated for countless years and slain tens of thousands of legends.”

Sorrow, decay, and frost were domains he excelled in as well.

The Death Knight summoned a black mist.

His mist billowed densely, as if countless souls wailed within its depths.

The black mist gradually Devoured the frost-death fog.

At that moment, the Death Knight raised his sword high, the hilt seething with dense Death energy, as if seeking to drag the heavens and the night sky into oblivion.

‘He wields two concepts simultaneously, yet uses them separately?’

Deadbone could fuse two concepts.

But employing two concepts separately in different domains…

It was beyond its capability!

No, wait—there were more than two!

This dueling ground, isolated from the world, was also a conceptual power.

Three in total.

Deadbone’s eyes widened, replaying the events in its mind.

It replayed them again and again, as if time had frozen in that instant.

Suddenly, a spark of realization struck.

It was the vessel!

Its gaze locked onto a specific point.

A banner, carried on the Death Knight’s back.

Only the Death concept gathered on the sword was truly wielded by the Knight himself.

This was… brilliant!

Deadbone’s soulfire blazed intensely.

The frost-death fog, now bereft of its sustaining power, rapidly dissipated as the black mist surged forward, engulfing its entire form.

Sorrow! Fear! Grief!

But the majesty of a King radiated, an intangible storm of will scattering the mist.

Within the clearing, Deadbone also raised its sword high.

Its cloak billowed fiercely.

Behind it, the silhouette of a sacred mountain materialized.

Countless undead roared to the heavens in that moment.

This was the Emperor’s Sword, a blade representing Death’s judgment.

Black clashed with black as sword lights collided.

Crack—

A sound of shattering echoed.

The enraged forms of high-ranking undead reappeared around them.

Starlight cascaded downward.

The long night stretched on.

Two figures stood facing each other in mid-air.

The Death Knight touched his sword, remaining silent for a long while before sighing softly.

The will of a King cannot be forcibly opposed.”I will return.”

“We of the Undead race, and my master the Silent Overlord, await your arrival at any time.”

Having said this, he mounted his nightmare steed and vanished into the deep night.

After a long while…

After a long while…

Deadbone touched his own body.

There, several bones as white as jade had already turned black—this was the power of Death.

“What a truly terrifying powerhouse.” ×2

Beneath Black Mountain.

An identical figure let out a faint sigh.

6K

(End of Chapter)