A Heaven Monarch suddenly appeared in their field of vision, astonishing the many God Monarchs present. Seeing a Heaven Monarch manage to fight his way here on his own was extremely rare, if a powerful expert had led him, that would be normal.
But coming all by himself left them all very surprised. Still, surprise is just surprise. After casting Yi Tianyun a casual glance, they lost interest.
After all, how someone else got here was their own business and had nothing to do with them. One by one, they continued cultivating, not paying any more attention to Yi Tianyun.
When Yi Tianyun arrived, he merely swept a brief glance over them, then sat down to continue his comprehension. He hadn't fully mastered the power here yet, so of course he needed to join them in comprehending it.
No one came over to bother him; as long as there was no conflict of interest, nobody would care. Especially since he had arrived alone, proving he was no weakling, if there were no direct issues, nobody would interfere with him.
They all had their own matters to attend to. Everyone wanted to master this floor's Illusory Metal Power as soon as possible, so they could ascend to higher floors. The continuous glow from that rare treasure still influenced them all, urging them to go see for themselves, maybe they could earn a fortune.
After all, this was the territory of an Upper Heavenly Venerable. Any random treasure here would be enough to make their eyes burn with envy.
Just when Yi Tianyun thought everything was peaceful, a cold voice reached his ears:
"Kid, hand over your stuff quietly. For you to make it here alone, you must have some treasure, right? Lend us one or two items for fun. Otherwise, don't blame us for being impolite!"
Yi Tianyun opened his eyes and saw three cultivators at the Second or Third Level God Monarch realm surrounding him. So much for the idea that if you don't provoke others, they won't bother you.
"Greedy fools are never in short supply,"
Yi Tianyun immediately understood why they had come. Because he was alone and only at the Heaven Monarchs level, they assumed he had relied on some treasure to survive the journey here; otherwise, he should have died along the way.
Naturally, they were salivating over whatever item he might be carrying.
Several other God Monarchs looked on, their eyes holding a trace of schadenfreude. That's what happens when you show up alone. Unless your cultivation is considerably high, you'll inevitably get bullied.
"Don't disturb my comprehension," Yi Tianyun replied flatly.
"Oh, feeling cocky, aren't we? Think you're invincible just because you made it past the Illusory Metal Bamboo Forest?"
"Big Bro, why waste breath on him? Just kill him and grab his stuff! Even if we can't keep climbing, we can still make a hefty profit!"
"Exactly! Why be polite? He's just a mere Heaven Monarch, does he think he can turn the world upside down?"
The three God Monarchs were supremely confident that they could suppress Yi Tianyun. In their eyes, there was no bridging the gap of a major realm difference. You could bridge minor gaps, but crossing a full major realm was a different story altogether.
Unfortunately for them, Yi Tianyun was the type of existence that defied common sense. Against him, most regular God Monarchs were mere trash.
Yi Tianyun's gaze turned cold. With a flick of his wrist, he pulled out the Stars Divine Spear and plunged it forcefully into the ground. His voice was icy:
"This is my treasure. If you have the guts, come take a step closer."
"A high-grade Heavenly Dao weapon!"
Their eyes lit up in unison. They never expected a Heaven Monarch to possess a high-grade Heavenly Dao-level weapon engraved with numerous divine inscriptions. Even the other God Monarchs around them were now looking on with greedy expressions.
Most God Monarchs only had mid-grade Heavenly Dao-level artifacts. Very few had high-grade ones. Who would have guessed that a mere Heaven Monarch would own a high-grade Heavenly Dao weapon? Maybe he had even more precious items on him.
All at once, several nearby God Monarchs began eyeing him with predatory interest. Some of them couldn't ascend further anyway, but robbing a few treasures before leaving wouldn't be a bad haul.
"Alright then, I'll step closer and see what you can do to me!"
One of the God Monarchs took a stride forward and reached out to grab the Stars Divine Spear, trying to snatch it away. Just as his hand was about to make contact, Yi Tianyun's gaze sharpened. With a flick of his fingers, the Stars Divine Spear shot forward like an arrow and instantly impaled the God Monarch, pinning him to the ground!
The extremely hard floor, solidified from Illusory Metal Power, was easily pierced right through by the Stars Divine Spear.
"With such filthy hands, you dare try to touch my weapon?"
Yi Tianyun stood up in one smooth motion, gripped the spear's shaft, and gave a sudden upward pull. Before that God Monarch could react, he was split in half. The violent power destroyed him so thoroughly that not even scraps remained.
The sudden change frightened everyone nearby. A God Monarch was just killed, just like that?
"You, you killed Third Brother! I'll kill you!"
The God Monarch standing next to him roared in rage. He unleashed the full power of a Second Level God Monarch, instantly manifesting a longsword in his hand. Countless sword strikes, like torrential rain, showered down on Yi Tianyun, leaving almost no room to dodge.
Even a mediocre God Monarch was still a God Monarch. The power they could command from the heavens and earth was formidable enough to lock down a wide area.
Yi Tianyun couldn't even be bothered to look properly. He simply raised the Stars Divine Spear and charged straight through, ignoring the storm of sword strikes, smashing them all to pieces.
"Th-this power…!"
The man was utterly shocked, he realized they'd kicked an iron wall. But it was too late for regrets. The Stars Divine Spear had already pinned him to the ground, just like his Third Brother. Yi Tianyun slew him in a single thrust!
Even though a God Monarch could regenerate his body quickly, faced with Yi Tianyun's overwhelming force, he had no chance. The lethal blow far outpaced his ability to heal, so he was instantly killed.
Yi Tianyun then yanked the Stars Divine Spear out of the ground and looked coldly at the last remaining brother. Under his gaze alone, that man stumbled backward several steps, terrified.
"Y-you… how is this even Heaven Monarchs power?! You, you must be hiding your cultivation!"
"Does it matter whether I'm hiding my cultivation or not? Those who cross me… must die!"
Yi Tianyun had no intention of saying more. Without hesitation, he brandished his spear and lunged. In the blink of an eye, he pierced his opponent, turning him into flying ash, which immediately burst into flames.
Such terrifying speed instantly sobered up the other God Monarchs who had been itching to make a move. It was as though a basin of cold water had been dumped over them, and no one dared to take another step.
Just like that, three God Monarchs were gone. Killing them was as simple and casual for Yi Tianyun as drinking water, instantly wiped out.
"S-so powerful… There's no way he's really a Heaven Monarch, right?"
"This can't be a Heaven Monarch. I bet he's hiding his level, he's probably at least in the late stages of the God Monarch realm!"
"No kidding. It's impossible otherwise to kill them in seconds. I refuse to believe he's just a Heaven Monarch!"
They simply couldn't accept that a Heaven Monarch could so effortlessly slaughter God Monarchs.
But Yi Tianyun didn't care if they believed him or not; only his own knowledge mattered. After collecting his spoils, he sat down on the side again, continuing to comprehend the Illusory Metal Power.