Soul Emperor's Inheritance.
Ji Changchen glanced at Li Gang and said inwardly:
'Nine Heavenly Slash, First Slash. Lightning Blade!'
However, before the Lightning Slash could strike Li Gang at its extremely fast pace, it suddenly turned into a projectile and pierced the ground near Li Gang's feet—as if submitting to him.
Li Gang's eyes opened, and a greyish mark appeared on his forehead, extending across every part of his body.
He stood up and walked slowly but steadily toward Ji Changchen.
His body was still bleeding from almost every wound. He had sustained many internal injuries, and one of his hands was cut off. He looked miserable, yet confidence alone lingered on his face.
He smiled faintly and deliberately let Ji Changchen hear:
"Spiritual Imprint: Awaken."
"Domain of Dominance!"
From Li Gang's center, an abstract domain formed, spreading across a vast area.
The moment this Domain appeared, every being in the region felt reverence toward Li Gang. Submission filled their thoughts!
Even Ji Changchen felt it—until the System intervened and erased the thought.
Ji Changchen looked at Li Gang and understood in that instant.
The battle was no longer necessary.
He wasn't confident enough to win anymore. Even if he did, the injuries he would sustain weren't worth the cost.
He said coldly: "You are lucky today. But let's see how long your luck lasts."
Saying that, he withdrew.
A few moments earlier, near Misty Jade Forest.
She smiled faintly. "Do you want to see? I was never pushed to this level in my life. I deceived everyone to hide my true Spiritual Imprint, because it was too strong!"
The Elemental Emperor suddenly felt a vague premonition in his heart.
Jin Huang said coldly: "Spiritual Imprint: Awaken—Creation!"
At that moment, violent fluctuations erupted around her. Her aura rose sharply, her battle strength soaring.
It must be noted, however, that her Spiritual Imprint had yet to fully form. Her deceptions had only reached the level of Rank 8 Warriors and an entire Continent.
It was far weaker than she claimed.
But this was not the end.
The moment she revealed her Spiritual Imprint, the Immortals ruling the Divine Spirit World were shaken.
They fell into self-doubt.
They had long suspected Jin Huang did not possess a Spiritual Imprint, since she had never revealed it in battle. She had even hidden whether her son, Ling Tian, had one.
They also knew she once used the Heavenly Lotus, which had strengthened their belief.
They concluded she must have used a Secret Technique to deceive the device that tested Spiritual Imprints.
Now, however, it seemed she had deceived them for a different reason.
They could tell at a glance her Spiritual Imprint was weak. But what shocked them more was its attribute—
It was Creation! One of the two rarest attributes in the entire God Realm.
They immediately "figured out" why she had hidden her Imprint all this time.
And the moment they formed this judgment, Jin Huang's ritual escalated beyond the Divine Spirit World itself—reaching the level of the Immortals.
A circular chain formed, and her aura rose higher and higher.
The mere awakening of this Imprint made not only the Elemental Emperor but even the Immortals themselves grow serious.
It was not just any Imprint.
It was Creation!
The quality of a Spiritual Imprint obtained through this ritual depends on its difficulty. Hers could be said to be the highest quality imaginable.
Even Jin Huang frowned at this outcome, though she didn't allow it to show. Using her abstract thinking, she concluded her plan had failed.
Her goal had been to obtain a Deception Spiritual Imprint, one that would help her conceal her thoughts from the Immortals and grant her freedom. She had made this plan solely to gain freedom—not this cursed Creation!
What the Immortals believed was a blessing, Jin Huang saw as a curse.
She didn't understand what went wrong, and assumed it must be some unknown law of the Universe.
But none of this appeared in her conscious or subconscious thoughts.
She looked at Ji Changchen, her eyes turning oceanic blue.
In that instant, her perception spread across the Cosmos.
Her Spiritual Imprint connected her to every being in existence. She felt as if she could create anything from nothing—concepts themselves, the very domain of Emperors.
She glanced at her shoulder. It was empty, severed earlier by the Elemental Emperor.
But suddenly, it appeared again, formed from nothing. Not just her arm—all her injuries vanished. Flesh, blood, and even her clothes were restored as if brand new.
She looked as ethereal as before the battle.
Beyond the Divine Spirit World. Beyond the Heaven of Balance.
Suddenly, a woman in blue opened her eyes.
She felt a sudden emptiness inside her and stood up.
She murmured faintly: "A part of my Creation Authority has been stolen!"
She was Wang Xueyao.
In the Soul Emperor's Inheritance.
Wang Xiaoyan suddenly felt immense pain in her eyes. Her Spiritual Imprint resonated with a distant entity. She could sense its grandeur, though she didn't know what had happened.
Her Spiritual Imprint was advanced to Rank 9 by Wang Xueyao's Creation Authority. When Jin Huang obtained her Imprint of Creation, it resonated instantly.
In fact, it resonated with every being in the God Realm, but the strongest resonance was with Wang Xueyao and Wang Xiaoyan.
Wang Xueyao's perception was sharp, but she couldn't trace it back.
Heaven of Destruction.
In a giant castle, on a massive throne—
A man was enjoying his meal when his eyes suddenly sharpened.
He gazed in a certain direction, piercing through every obstacle, his sight landing directly on Jin Huang.
He murmured faintly: "My dear sister… at last, I've found you!"
Then he frowned, glancing at the man before her.
"Disappear."
At that moment, the Elemental Emperor felt pure terror. His existence began to fade—he was erased into nothingness.
Not just him, but every clone connected to him vanished.
They all died without ever realizing what had happened.
The man murmured faintly: "Since you've shown yourself, it must mean you wished to appear before him. Is your plan to deal with him?"
Divine Spirit World – Soul Emperor's Inheritance.
A young man suddenly opened his eyes, his breath chaotic. Every one of his clones had perished.
He clenched his teeth. "That was close! If I hadn't changed all those clones' identities and cut off their karmic threads, even I could have died."
This attack was Existence Erasure.
It erased any being into nothingness—inescapable.
The Elemental Emperor had changed his clones' very identities, transforming them into completely separate people to survive. He destroyed all karmic connections, ensuring they gained new existences as independent entities.
His thoughts were entirely concealed—even the Immortals could not read them. He had long attained this pseudo freedom.
In truth, had he wished to truly stop Jin Huang, he could have simply "revealed" her plan to the Immortals.
But he did not. He despised the Immortals more than anything.
Every Warrior seeks strength to control their own life.
But only Emperors and Monarch-like existences know the truth—life is never truly under their control.
Ordinary Warriors believe the great Boundary protects them from external threats by keeping Immortals out.
The Elemental Emperor scoffed at such naïve thoughts.
That Boundary was nothing more than a cage.
Long ago, the Timeless Demon God captured the Immortal Race, suppressed them to mortal levels, and threw them into this prison.
This Boundary is the Fourth Wall.
It blocks higher-dimensional interference in the lives of lower beings—but also cages those same beings.
It was created to trap the Immortal Race. Yet now, the same Immortals, having lost their identity, worship the very prison that stole their freedom.
The Elemental Emperor still admired Jin Huang's bravery. She had achieved something he himself could not at Rank 6.
He looked at the sky and sighed: "When will I gain my freedom?"
He still believed Jin Huang had succeeded and obtained freedom of thought.
But in truth, the Elemental Emperor himself did not possess true freedom. He relied on the Power of Fate to manipulate Concepts and obscure his thoughts. This granted him pseudo freedom, but at a heavy price.
The toll on his mind was severe—his thinking was limited, and he could only use this ability sparingly. Worse, he had to constantly conceal the traces of his conceptual power.
Li Gang looked around.
The ground was littered with bodies. Some had been sucked dry.
The surviving Warriors were utterly exhausted, their gazes on Li Gang filled with complex emotions.
If they were asked who was the ultimate winner of this Inheritance…
Even though Ye Fan obtained the Inheritance, they would still say Li Gang was the true victor.
The battle had been close. There were moments where Li Gang could have been killed, but his calculations had been precise.
He knew Li Yuxong wouldn't harm him unless he did something truly outrageous. He knew Wang Xiaoyan wouldn't kill him—he had already seen through her mentality when she came to deliver Wang Xueyao's letter. He understood Wang Xueyao must have said something to her that pushed her to help him. He also knew Ye Fan would appear, and that because of Wang Xiaoyan, Ye Fan would stand on his side.
The only miscalculation was that Ye Fan appeared much later than expected. He also understood Meng Xian's stance.
"Know the enemy and know yourself, and you can win a hundred battles."
This was a popular saying, but Li Gang executed it far better than Meng Xian or Ji Changchen—and reaped the fruits of victory.
Li Gang left the Inheritance and returned to the Heavenly Dragon Sect.
He had only one hand left, and the Warriors under him were still recuperating.
Stepping into the empty court, he sat upon the cold throne.
Exhaustion gnawed at his flesh, yet his mind burned with a fire that would not dim.
At first, he had doubted himself. He once believed he did not truly desire Dominance—that perhaps his heart was uncertain, perhaps his destiny was not conquest.
But now, after tasting victory again and again, he finally understood.
His ambition no longer flickered like a candle.
Yet, in the stillness of that empty court, Li Gang thought of his path and a truth appeared in his subconscious mind.
Every victory he claimed, every step he climbed, only led him deeper into a cage. He could only see his path blocked by heavy stones.
Perhaps this was the essence of the path he had chosen.
To fight, not merely against men, not merely against gods, but against the fate itself.
Li Gang closed his eyes, and a faint smile spread across his lips.
"I will continue to walk the path before me. As long as there is an opportunity to break the deadlock, I will seize it. As long as there is a chance to defy fate, I will seize it. As long as I can reach my goal, I will walk any path.
I will walk any road, no matter how steep, no matter how blood-soaked, if it leads me closer to my goal.
If the Heavenly Dao wills it, it will open a path for me. If it does not, then I shall remain caged within this small world forever.
However, even within this cage, I shall fulfill the purpose of my existence. I will keep searching for the paths. I will keep working hard. Working hard is my duty, and whether I obtain the success is up to Heavens!"
- End of Volume 3 -