Suddenly, one remaining cultivator, Daoist Hu Qing, whose Dao focused on the explosive Fire Law, shouted loudly. He did not dare to challenge Shi Xing, who had just destroyed Daoist Yu Long with such brutality, nor did he want to challenge Zhi Xuan, whose foundation remained a riddle. He decided to challenge Ling Huo, the Young King of the Southern Star, whose Dao carried both Fire and Earth.

  "Young King Ling Huo!" Hu Qing roared, as pure yellow flames radiated from his hands. "I challenge you! Let us see if your Fire can withstand an uncontrolled explosion!"

  Ling Huo, who enjoyed the battle of geniuses with composure, smiled thinly. "Uncontrolled fire is but mortal fire, Daoist Hu Qing," Ling Huo replied, her tone melodious yet filled with conviction. She rose, and a stable Pure Fire coiled around her robes.

  The battle exploded. Ling Huo's pure fire, tempered by Earth's stability, clashed with Hu Qing's wild Fire. Ling Huo did not use destructive attacks; she merely controlled, focused, and purified Hu Qing's fire. When the wild fire touched Ling Huo's Pure Fire, it felt as if it were returning to a refining cauldron, losing its wild nature. Before long, Hu Qing lost; his Dao dimmed, exhausted of the essence that had been stolen and purified by Ling Huo's Fire.

  Now, there were no geniuses left to fight for the Envoy positions. The vast Jade Plaza felt suffocating. Five Envoys had been filled: the Eighth Prince, Liu Feng, Ye Ming, and Ling Huo. Only one seat remained, and two individuals were entitled to it: Zhi Xuan and Shi Xing.

  In the Pavilion of Majesty, the Hongmeng Emperor nodded. "The time has come," he said. "Daoist Shi Xing, Daoist Zhi Xuan. You are the last two pillars of the Xing Luo Plains. Your battle will determine the fifth Envoy. This is no longer a battle for honor, but a battle of fate. The winner will carry the honor of the Xing Luo Plains to the Three Plains Competition."

  Shi Xing rose. His movement was sudden, filled with turbulent energy. His silver spear, which had been waiting patiently, flew into his hand. The Shi Clan's Lightning coiled around the spear, and a Fire fueled by hatred enveloped his robes.

  "Zhi Xuan," Shi Xing hissed, his voice containing a promise of destruction. "I have been waiting for you. At the Black Dragon Tomb, you ran. Here, in the face of Order, you will fall. Your Dao, that weight and mortal cycle, will be destroyed by the Shi Clan's Soul-Purifying Lightning!"

  Zhi Xuan stepped forward, the Heavenly Sword on his back remaining tied with white cloth. He did not look at Shi Xing but instead stared at the clear Sky. He knew this battle was a necessity, a chapter that had to be completed to release the karmic bonds of the Shi Clan.

  "Shi Xing," Zhi Xuan replied, his voice calm yet containing arrogance, his spiritual aura spreading around him. He raised his hand, and a faint reddish lightning danced in his palm. "This lightning is something I obtained from your Clan's Black Dragon Tomb. I am quite grateful to the Shi Clan branch, a water snake that held a Golden Dragon within it."

  Wild whispers immediately broke out. Rumors about the Shi Clan branch in Zhao Country, which oppressed and cut the horns of a youth with a Dragon bloodline that was once only whispers in the night, now spread wildly like an ignited fire.

  "A Golden Dragon? I thought the Devil had mentioned that when he first crossed paths with Young King Shi Xing here," said one Soul Transformation cultivator. "Is the Shi Clan truly as the rumors say?"

  "I heard it too; decades ago, the Shi Clan guarding the Sky Mirror Lake was slaughtered by a Black-Haired Devil," replied the cultivator beside him in a low whisper. "Perhaps the one referred to is truly that Devil. Even the Sky Lotus Sect has good ties with him after he brought the Fire Heart Fruit that all the Sky Lotus Sect disciples failed to retrieve from the Devil Fire Abyss."

  Zhi Xuan, standing in the middle of the suffocating Jade Plaza, allowed the ripples of reddish Lightning in his hand to dance slowly. His words, cold yet carrying the weight of an inevitable accusation regarding the Golden Dragon and the Black Dragon Tomb, immediately ignited the flames of gossip and hidden truths among the thousands of attendees.

  The whispers that had subsided now exploded. Old rumors about the Shi Clan and the Sky Mirror Lake incident, which had long been considered mere rumors from Zhao Country, now gained real weight. In the Honorary Tribune, the Imperial Elders looked at each other, their faces stiff.

  They knew the Black Dragon Tomb was a closely guarded secret, and mentioning a Golden Dragon in public was a direct challenge to the integrity of the Ancient Shi Clan. On the side of the Ancient Hua Clan, Holy Son Hua Tianming, who had seemed calm until now, narrowed his eyes until they were nearly closed. He moved his spiritual tea cup, but this time the water inside vibrated violently.

  "A Golden Dragon?" Hua Tianming murmured, his voice containing suppressed shock. "That is an ancient bloodline believed to have been extinct since the fall of the Nine Heavens. The Shi Clan suppressed a Golden Dragon in the Black Dragon Tomb? And Daoist Zhi Xuan is the one who brought him out."

  Holy Fairy Hua Lian Xi, who was rarely surprised, snapped her fan shut with a cold sound. "The Sky Mirror Lake incident... if it truly relates to a Golden Dragon, then the destruction of that Shi Clan branch was not a Devil's vengeance, but a karma demanded by the Heavens. Zhi Xuan has carried that karmic burden, Brother."

  "The Weight of Karma he spoke of," Hua Tianming replied, now looking at Zhu Yanghai in the opposite tribune. "It is not just the Cycle of the Four Seasons. It is the promise to the Ancient Golden Dragon. That is a bond that transcends our Imperial Order."

  In the Ancient Zhu Clan Tribune, Zhu Yanghai laughed softly, a laughter that this time was full of triumph.

  "What a great merchant," Zhu Yanghai praised, his eyes glowing. "He does not waste energy arguing. He uses Shi Xing's Dao to announce his shame. The Shi Clan imprisoned the Golden Dragon, while the Devil freed him. Who is the true Devil now?"

  Zhu Qinglan, hearing the whispers and the spiritual tremors caused by Zhi Xuan's words, allowed the Pure Water essence in her Sea of Consciousness to rotate rapidly. She knew Zhi Xuan was now placing himself on the most dangerous path, a path that would sever the karmic ties that had favored the Shi Clan for so long.

  "He is an inevitable destruction," Zhu Qinglan whispered, her tone cold yet full of meaning. "He has announced that this battle is not about Envoys, but about the Law—the Law that frees a Dragon from the Shi Clan's prison. If he wins, the Shi Clan will forever be associated with the oppression of an ancient race."

  On the side of the Thousand Heavens Sect, Elder Yan Shen shook his head. He knew the Black Dragon Tomb incident was Zhi Xuan's deepest secret. Now, under the pressure of the Star Young King, that secret was announced as a reason to fight, not just a personal grudge.

  "The Sword of the Sky Sword Peak always pierces the most vital point," Elder Yan Shen murmured, a thin smile on his face. "A Golden Dragon... That boy never stops providing surprises. He not only carries a Devil, but he also freed a Dragon descendant."

  The Supreme Elder sitting beside him only stared at Shi Xing. "That young man, he has ruined his own clan's reputation because of his hatred. He should have held his tongue rather than letting Zhi Xuan announce his clan's ruin."

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  Yan Shen nodded vaguely, continuing calmly. "The Shi Clan, they have always been arrogant, looking down on other bloodlines. If the rumors are true, they have committed an unforgivable insult to the Heavens. Suppressing a dragon descendant in an era where Dragons are almost extinct."

  In the Shi Clan tribune, the atmosphere was lethal. The Elders and core disciples of the Shi Clan looked at Zhi Xuan with boiling hatred. They knew the rumors about the Black Dragon Tomb and their treatment of Ao Sheng were a disgrace they had tried to bury. Elder Shi Xuan, the Supreme Elder of the Shi Clan leading the group, held back his Divine Transformation aura with a subtle rumble. His old face, which had been burning with cruelty, was now filled with overflowing rage.

  "Impudent!" roared Elder Shi Xuan, his voice containing a vibrating Lightning Law. The air around him felt stinging. "You, a Devil from the wilderness, dare to slander the honor of the Shi Clan before the Emperor! You stole, and now you twist reality!"

  Zhi Xuan only smiled thinly. He looked up toward the Mortal Emperor, then cast his gaze toward the Tribune where the Shi Clan was located. He waved his hand slowly and immediately beside him, Ao Sheng appeared holding the Dragon King Spear, his horns shimmering. The aura he radiated made it easy for anyone to know he was a pure descendant of the Ancient Golden Dragon.

  Ao Sheng, the dragon youth, stood tall with the Dragon King Spear in his hand. Although he was under the protection of Zhi Xuan's Sea of Consciousness Spell, the ancient, pure, and golden dragon aura radiating from his shimmering horns was undeniable proof. It was a bloodline that had long been considered a myth in the mortal plains.

  Silence. The Jade Plaza, once noisy with whispers, was now enveloped in a silence deeper than that of the Crimson Land Valley. Ao Sheng's presence, an Ancient Golden Dragon, did not just respond to Zhi Xuan's accusation; it was the evidence that tore through the Shi Clan's veil of lies.

  Thousands of cultivators, from the Five Element realm to Soul Transformation Elders, staggered back. The presence of a pure Golden Dragon, which should only exist in legends, carried the natural pressure of an Ancient Race.

  "A Golden Dragon... truly, an Ancient Golden Dragon!"

  "How could... the Shi Clan dare to oppress such a bloodline? It is an unforgivable sin against Heaven and Earth!"

  "Look at the aura on his horns! Pure, without a trace of blemish! This is a true descendant of the Ancient Race!"

  Zhi Xuan only smiled thinly hearing the commotion. He turned to Ao Sheng and held his shoulder, nodding vaguely at him. Ao Sheng himself nodded timidly. He stepped forward slowly and looked up to face the Mortal Emperor, clasping both his hands.

  "Great Hongmeng Emperor," Ao Sheng greeted loudly, though his body was short, he was not at all daunted. "Long ago, my name was Lin Mu and I worked as an auction cleaner managed by the Shi Clan in Zhao Country. I have been oppressed for decades by the Shi Clan; they cut my horns and knew that only I possessed the key to the Black Dragon Tomb, to perfect the bloodline of their own descendants."

  Silence fell. All the Tribunes, even the Ancient Clans, listened in silence to the confession of the Ancient Golden Dragon race that shook Heaven and Earth, which was previously thought to be extinct after the Destruction of the Nine Heavens, but now stood before them all. They did not feel greed or a desire to take over, but rather a stinging grief over the oppression of a Sacred Beast.

  Ao Sheng exhaled with a tremble, feeling his legs grow weak, but he immediately supported his body with the Dragon King Spear. He looked back for a moment, saw Zhi Xuan, and smiled emotionally, his eyes tearing up. However, Zhi Xuan only nodded and allowed Ao Sheng to continue. Ao Sheng looked forward again and raised his face back toward the Mortal Emperor.

  "Senior Zhi Xuan is the one who saved me," Ao Sheng continued firmly, his voice hoarse from holding back tears that were not from sadness, but from deep trauma. "He gave me pride, gave me the name Ao Sheng. He even risked himself to bring me through the Sky Mirror Lake, taking the legacy of the Black Dragon Tomb."

  Ao Sheng began to tell of when he met Zhi Xuan, seeing Zhi Xuan offer to be his junior, offering to help with the legacy, teaching him to cultivate, protecting him, and even giving him a drop of Azure Dragon blood obtained from a Sky Lotus Sect mission, witnessing for himself his Senior being hunted by the Eternal Killing Temple.

  "Senior Zhi Xuan, though his path is full of blood and cruelty," Ao Sheng concluded after telling everything loudly. "He always taught that life is about Honesty toward the Dao one lives. For decades, I have been with Senior Zhi Xuan and understood that a man considered a Devil is my savior!"

  Ao Sheng, with the weight of an unparalleled bloodline and innocent honesty, finished his story. His voice, hoarse from suppressing trauma yet filled with deep gratitude toward Zhi Xuan, echoed in the suffocating silence.

  In the Honorary Tribune, no one dared to speak. Their greed for the Golden Dragon bloodline, which should have erupted, was instead held back by a stinging grief. They saw a young child of an Ancient Race, who should have been majestic, instead bearing the scars of oppression, and he was saved by one they labeled a Devil.

  The Hongmeng Emperor, who had sat with unshakable majesty throughout, now closed his eyes for a moment, his face showing an inevitable burden. The oppression of an Ancient Race was a great karma, a karma that could draw the wrath of the Nine Heavens. The Hongmeng Empire, which upheld Order, must not be involved in such a sin.

  "A great karma," the Hongmeng Emperor murmured, his hands clenched on the Pavilion balcony. "The Xing Luo Plains will not survive Heavenly wrath if a race of the Skies is oppressed by mortals."

  Ao Sheng's sorrowful chant, spoken with the undeniable truth of an ancient bloodline, had overturned all the logic of the Jade Plaza. Zhi Xuan, the Devil, now stood as the bringer of Order, while the Shi Clan, the enforcers of mortal Order, were caught red-handed in a sin that transcended the limits of Heaven and Earth.

  Zhi Xuan only looked at the Hongmeng Emperor. He allowed the silence to envelop and judge the Shi Clan. He did not need to speak again; Ao Sheng's story was a sharp Sword piercing the heart of the Shi Clan's honor.

  On the side of the Shi Clan, Elder Shi Xuan stood tall, his body trembling violently. His Divine Transformation aura was no longer held back but exploded in a wild shockwave, creating ripples that tore the Ten Thousand Year Heaven Jade beneath him. However, those ripples, instead of being terrifying, felt like a cry of despair.

  "Lies! Slander from a Devil and an ungrateful bastard!" roared Elder Shi Xuan, his voice containing an ear-piercing Lightning Law. He pointed at the silver Spear in Shi Xing's hand. "Daoist Zhi Xuan, you stole our legacy, and now you use a mortal child to twist reality! Emperor, do not listen to this Devil's slander!"

  Shi Xing, the Young King of the Western Star, tightly gripped his silver spear, the Lightning around him swirling into a small vortex. However, he no longer looked at Zhi Xuan with pure hatred, but with a mixture of rage, burning shame, and fear. He knew their lies had been exposed before the Nine Plains.

  The Shi Clan Elders, with realms ranging from Soul Transformation to Shi Xuan himself, felt their anger reach its peak. In an instant, the Shi Clan tribune surged with Divine Transformation pressure, directing it straight at Zhi Xuan. Shi Xuan wasted no more time; he had to immediately kill the Devil who dared to challenge the Shi Clan in the public eye.

  In the sky, the air began to change with the weight of Divine Transformation pressure; the air grew heavy, and even cultivators in the Weaver Transformation realm bowed as Shi Xuan released pressure like the earth collapsing. The clouds turned dark as if a Calamity were descending, carrying an unimaginable burden.

  Zhi Xuan himself immediately fell to his knees, his teeth gritting, unable to withstand even a single impact of that pressure. He coughed up black blood, unable to raise his hand. in the air, the Imperial Elders immediately moved, but were blocked by the Shi Clan Elders who also moved.

  "Shi Xuan! You dare?" roared an Imperial Elder with Divine Transformation cultivation. He moved his hand, and an Immortal Law immediately appeared around him like a Domain, enveloping the entire Imperial Plaza.

  "Imperial Elder, do not act if you do not want the Shi Clan to rebel!" replied one of the Shi Clan Elders with a Weaver Transformation realm; he and two other Weaver Transformation cultivators from the Shi Clan immediately floated in the air. They moved their hands and opened their respective Domains.

  In the air, conflict erupted. The Immortal Law released by the Imperial Elder with the Divine Transformation realm stretched out, creating a protective domain that enveloped the Jade Plaza. That domain vibrated violently as it collided with Shi Xuan's rage-filled Divine Transformation aura.

  "Shi Xuan! You dare to desecrate the Imperial Field of Honor?!" roared the Imperial Elder, his voice carrying an Order that tried to calm the chaotic spiritual ripples.

  However, the other Shi Clan Elders, three Weaver Transformation figures, had formed a line. They released their own Domains, their three turbulent Domains blocking the Imperial Elder from approaching Shi Xuan.

  "That Devil has ruined the Shi Clan's foundation! Killing him is a purification! The Hongmeng Emperor will not interfere in the affairs of an Ancient Clan's honor!" replied one of the Shi Clan Elders with a threatening cold tone.