Beastmaster of the Ages

The Nine-layered Sea Prison’s destruction was an unexpected development on the battlefield.

“He’s here?” Rather than feeling regret, Imperator Lan’s expression lit up with delight. The ultimate purpose of this battle had always been to lure Li Tianming out of Nullity! Jiang Qingluan herself meant nothing.

Who could possibly fail to recognize the purple-clad woman who struck without warning? She was clearly one of Li Tianming’s allies!

“Hahaha! Excellent! You’ve come. That means Li Tianming must be lurking nearby!” Imperator Lan roared with unrestrained laughter.

“Zi Zhen?” Although Jiang Qingluan recognized Zi Zhen in her transformed state, she was momentarily surprised.

Seeing Jiang Qingluan injured and nearly imprisoned, Zi Zhen had no longer been able to restrain herself and had activated her sixth hall eye transformation. No matter what, Jiang Qingluan was one of their own.

Moreover, Imperator Lan’s ambush on Jiang Qingluan had been aimed at Li Tianming from the very beginning. That alone was enough to ignite Zi Zhen’s fury!

“Are you all right?” Zi Zhen looked at Jiang Qingluan coldly, though the concern in her words was unmistakable.

“I’m fine. Thank you...”

“Stay back.” Zi Zhen motioned for her to retreat, then turned her gaze toward Imperator Lan.

“Only you?” Imperator Lan asked icily. “Where’s the brat?”

“I’m more than enough to deal with you.” Zi Zhen sneered, turning into a purple blur that launched itself at Imperator Lan.

“Impudent!” The Imperator Lan flew into a rage, tinged with impatience. If Li Tianming didn’t appear, this outcome would still be considered a failure for the Adjudicator’s plan.

At the very least, the two imperatores would have nothing to report.

“No matter!” From afar, Imperator Zhu had also noticed the situation. “Capture this woman. It’s the same as capturing Jiang Qingluan anyway. They’re both that little thief’s women!”

“Very well!” Imperator Lan snorted coldly, vast cosmoforce roiling off his body to meet the incoming purple blur. He didn’t underestimate Zi Zhen, knowing that she had fought Imperator Tu to a standstill.

His form changed into a sea dragon, bone-chilling cold pouring out. When the Frozenskies Seadragon Royal Constellation manifested, its eyes shone with deep blue light that irradiated a cosmic relic, the Sea-Ancestor Dragon-Trident.

The trident had been passed down through countless generations. Innumerable sea dragons coiled on it, ready to unleash the power of the seas at any moment. The next instant, it blotted out the heavens as it slashed toward Zi Zhen!

A breathtaking slash of light tore through the battlefield, howling like a sea dragon as it scored a hit on Zi Zhen.

“It’s the Raging-Seas Eight-Slashes! The supreme art of our Aquamarine Starcage!”

“Just this first slash should be enough to cleave that woman in two!”

“That Li Tianming really is a coward. At such a critical moment, he sends a woman to take the blade for him!”

Imperator Lan gripped the trident, the power of his constellation seemingly endless. His expression was majestic and indifferent, like a god passing judgment upon all.

A fanatic fervor had gripped the present Aquamarine cosmic gods, their eyes glued to the rare chance to see an imperator going all out.

However, they were stunned to see that the purple figure wasn’t cleaved in two as expected. Instead, five claw-like fingers spread open, catching the slash. She clenched her clawed hand, instantly scattering the blade-light into motes of power.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Even the Torch Dragon cosmic gods and many of the rebelling Vermilion Bird cosmic gods stared in disbelief.

But it wasn’t over yet!

The Raging-Seas Eight-Slashes was a chained technique of eight consecutive slashes. Each strike was stronger than the last, culminating in an eighth slash that could annihilate heaven and earth.

The second slash followed immediately!

Two blade-lights merged into a colossal wave, carrying twice the power of the first slash. Watched by tense gazes, Zi Zhen not only failed to retreat but instead stepped forward even more fiercely. She smashed straight into the wave of blade-light.

Then came the third slash, the fourth slash... all the way to the final eighth slash.

By then, eight blade-lights had fused together into a wave capable of engulfing heaven and earth. This strike was the aquamar’s trump card to protect themselves. It not only combined eight slashes into one, but also carried the accumulated momentum of the previous seven slashes.

It was no exaggeration to say that the power of this final eighth slash rivaled Imperator Jian’s ultimate killing move.

However, the final strike, upon which all Aquamarine cosmic gods had pinned their hopes, came to an abrupt halt the moment it struck Zi Zhen. The collision created wave after wave of shattered blade-light that drowned the starry sky. And yet Zi Zhen stood immovable amid that power.

The aquamars fell into absolute silence, only able to watch as Zi Zhen swept both arms outward, the terrifying physical impact completely shattering the eighth slash that contained all of Imperator Lan’s power.