Chapter Fifty-Three: Imperial Forest

Without time to think further, as the sky-darkening flocks of Winged Drakes descended upon Finlay City, accompanied by Pegasi, Azure-Eyed Thunderhawks, and even Dragons, all poised to unleash carnage, Qian Kun’s heart stirred. In an instant, he summoned the wind elementals of heaven and earth, conjuring a wide-scale forbidden spell: the Storm of Destruction.

Under Qian Kun’s command, the terrifying storm swept toward the invading aerial beasts. Amidst their desperate and terrified screams, countless monsters were torn to pieces within the raging winds, their blood raining down across the city.

“Roar… Curse you, humans!” With a furious bellow, a colossal Violet-Eyed Golden Ape—towering nearly thirty meters—charged through the tempest. Its tangled golden fur bristled as it lunged madly at Qian Kun, its mountainous fist crashing down with such force that the very air shuddered in its wake.

Yet, meeting that dreadful blow, Qian Kun’s narrowed gaze flashed with an icy killing intent. As the fist fell, his body dissolved into the whirling winds, only to coalesce the next moment beside the ape’s massive head.

A hiss—Qian Kun’s slender, indigo sword seemed to move idly, yet wherever its tip passed, space itself split. A gruesome gash opened across the ape’s neck, spraying blood. In another moment, its enormous head tumbled from its shoulders, crashing to the earth.

As the storm of destruction faded, even more flying beasts surged toward Finlay City in an endless tide.

Soaring high above, Qian Kun’s eyes swept the horizon and spotted more massive Sanctuary Beasts approaching—most notably, a tyrannosaurus-like giant, its whole body as black as stone and wingless, and a Blood-Eyed Maned Lion, a monstrous feline thirty meters tall with eyes glowing crimson.

“Hmph! Damn it!” As the Blood-Eyed Maned Lion and the tyrannosaurus charged the city walls, preparing to batter through and spill into the city, Qian Kun’s expression darkened. In a blur, he darted to intercept them.

“Hm?” Noticing a blurred figure closing rapidly, the tyrannosaurus’s gaze brightened with excitement. “A human Sanctuary Master? Ha! Killing weak humans is dull. But slaying a sanctuary master—now that’s interesting!” With a flick of its tail, the tyrannosaurus charged straight for Qian Kun, eager for battle.

Yet the events that followed were far beyond the tyrannosaurus’s expectations. As the blurred figure neared, it vanished abruptly—reappearing above the beast. The tyrannosaurus instinctively looked up, only to see a blade’s light exploding in its vision. Pain seared through its skull, and then all went black.

With a resounding crash, the enormous body of the tyrannosaurus plummeted from the sky, demolishing several buildings and sending the city into an uproar.

“What—?” The Blood-Eyed Maned Lion stared wide-eyed in terror at the scene. Then, seeing Qian Kun’s chilling gaze upon it, and his indigo sword still dripping with blood, the lion’s body quivered. It turned and fled at full speed.

Sanctuary Beasts were proud, but not foolish; indeed, they were quite intelligent. Witnessing the tyrannosaurus felled in a single stroke, the Blood-Eyed Maned Lion—knowing full well the strength of its fallen companion—realized it was no match for this fearsome human sanctuary master.

Qian Kun did not pursue the fleeing lion. Instead, he continued casting the forbidden Storm of Destruction, striving to slay as many rampaging beasts as possible. But alas, even his formidable power was sorely pressed against such an unending horde.

Before Qian Kun could dispatch many more monsters, a streak of light shot from the distance, rapidly approaching Finlay City. It resolved into a figure clad in a dark-gold robe, his features preternaturally handsome and strange, marked by a vertical sigil upon his brow.

At his arrival, the other massive Sanctuary Beasts assembled behind him with deference, addressing him as ‘King.’

“A sanctuary master? No… I cannot sense his soul clearly at all,” the handsome, otherworldly youth in the dark-gold robe fixed his gaze on Qian Kun, now so prominent above the city. He frowned, a trace of suspicion flickering in his eyes.

Meanwhile, the Blood-Eyed Maned Lion, who had narrowly escaped Qian Kun, hurriedly reported to the dark-gold robed youth how Qian Kun had slain the tyrannosaurus with a single blow.

“Interesting. No need to deal with the Holy See just yet; I’m rather curious about him,” the youth’s lips curled into a devilish smile, and in a shimmer he appeared before Qian Kun.

Confronting this king of the Beast Mountains—Emperor Lin—Qian Kun’s gaze sharpened, his expression growing solemn. “You, a god-tier being, incite this calamity—do you think slaughtering weak humans proves your might?”

“How amusing. Are you questioning me?” Emperor Lin laughed. “It’s been ages since a sanctuary master dared speak to me this way. You wish to save these humans, to stand up for them? Then you must first possess the strength to do so. Unfortunately, in my eyes, you are no more than the other people in this city—a feeble ant.”

“An ant?” Qian Kun laughed in anger. “You are but a lesser god—do you think you are truly invincible?”

“At the very least, you are not my match,” Emperor Lin replied, shaking his head. “Human, I have spoken enough. Since you choose to oppose me and have slain my followers, you will pay with your life.”

As Emperor Lin spoke, he waved his hand, and a ray of destructive energy shot at Qian Kun with such speed that evasion was impossible.

Yet, though the space-warping beam struck Qian Kun directly, his form merely dissipated—it had been but a phantom. His true self reformed to the side, untouched.

Emperor Lin’s brow furrowed. With a cold glint in his eyes, he invoked his godly domain, binding Qian Kun in place, and unleashed yet another devastating beam.

This time, Qian Kun’s body—now sheathed in black armor—took the full force of the attack unscathed.

“A divine artifact armor?” Emperor Lin stared in disbelief, then sneered. “You, a mere sanctuary master, think that with a divine armor you can stand against me? How laughable. Today, I’ll show you what true godly power means.”

As he spoke, dark-gold gloves materialized on Emperor Lin’s hands. In a blur, he was suddenly before Qian Kun, his palm—warping space with its might—striking down with terrifying force.

A metallic clang resounded as Qian Kun met the blow with his indigo divine sword.

Space twisted and fractured as both Qian Kun and Emperor Lin were flung back by the shock.

“What—?!” Emperor Lin stared at Qian Kun in astonishment. “Impossible! Are you a god-tier being as well?”

His surprise was justified. Qian Kun’s aura was utterly restrained, betraying nothing of godly strength. Yet, with his profound mastery of the laws and wielding his divine sword, Qian Kun’s attacks had indeed reached the level of gods. Though he lacked a divine core and could not manifest a god-domain, he could still borrow divine power through his avatar, wielding the mysteries of law and displaying true godly might.