The One King

After everything returned to normal within the Council Domain, silence once again settled over the Sovereign Hall.

Azrael raised his eyes toward Baran.

“So, Baran, how much time will you and the others need to recover your peak strength?”

Baran thought for a few moments before answering.

“At our current rate of recovery, I estimate that we will need at least five years.”

He paused before adding:

“But that does not mean we will remain powerless during that time. We can create incarnations carrying a portion of our current strength. They will be capable of assisting you in conquering Banjaya.”

A faint smile appeared on Azrael’s face.

“Good.”

He looked at the kings.

“For now, focus on recovering. As for me, I will return to Banjaya and restore my strength. I intend to reach the peak of the Mortal Stage—or at the very least, the peak of Divine Ascension—as soon as possible.”

Silence filled the hall.

Then Azrael continued:

“After that, I will begin executing my plan.”

Baran and the kings nodded.

“As you command, my lord.”

Azrael rose from his throne.

“The meeting is over.”

All the kings stood and bowed toward him.

“Glory to the Ruler.”

One after another, they disappeared, leaving the Sovereign Hall behind.

Only Azrael and Gaya remained.

Azrael looked toward her.

“We will leave the Domain. Return to the Ten Thousand Beast Mountains. We will increase our strength there.”

Gaya nodded.

“Alright.”

Azrael raised his hand.

“System, take us out of the Domain.”

[Command confirmed.]

A purple light enveloped Azrael and Gaya.

In the next instant—

They vanished from the Council Domain.

The Ten Thousand Beast Mountains

They reappeared above the mountain through which they had originally entered the Domain.

Gaya looked around and took a deep breath.

Three years had not passed.

In truth, only a short amount of time had elapsed since they had left the Domain.

Azrael took out a massive quantity of resources from his storage and placed them before Gaya.

There were rare spiritual herbs, energy crystals, and treasures capable of helping an ordinary cultivator break through several realms.

Azrael said calmly:

“These resources should be enough to take you to the Bronze Immortal Realm.”

Gaya stared at the resources in astonishment.

“All of this is for me?”

Azrael simply replied:

“Use them well.”

He then turned around.

“As for me, I am going to the core region.”

Gaya asked:

“To hunt beasts?”

He nodded.

“I need resources.”

Gaya smiled.

“Then... I’ll see you later.”

Azrael nodded before disappearing from her sight.

Gaya began her cultivation.

Meanwhile, Azrael ventured deep into the Ten Thousand Beast Mountains.

From that day onward, three years of cultivation and hunting began.

Three Years Later

The Ten Thousand Beast Mountains — Core Region

The core region was completely different from the outer areas.

Towering mountains stretched toward the horizon, while dense forests concealed ancient beasts within their depths.

The very air was saturated with such dense spiritual energy that merely entering certain areas could kill a weak cultivator.

Yet on this particular day...

An eerie silence descended upon the region.

The beasts were no longer roaring.

The birds had stopped flying.

Even the predators that normally fought to the death were hiding within their lairs.

Then—

BOOOOM!

A tremendous wave of energy erupted from deep within the region.

The mountains trembled.

Rocks were blasted into the air.

And above a vast valley stood a man facing a silver-backed gorilla.

The gorilla was one hundred meters tall, its enormous body covered in layers of powerful muscles. A terrifying aura radiated from it, distorting the environment around its body.

It was at the peak of the True Immortal Realm.

Opposite it stood Azrael.

His black hair fluttered in the wind, while his handsome features remained unnaturally calm.

His crimson eyes stared at the gorilla with indifference.

In his hand was a massive battle axe with a long handle.

The battle had already been raging for some time.

The gorilla suddenly moved.

BOOOOM!

The earth shattered beneath its feet as it launched itself toward Azrael like a cannonball.

In an instant, it appeared before him and swung its enormous fist toward his face.

Azrael raised his axe to block.

KRAAAANG!

The fist collided with the axe blade, unleashing a tremendous shockwave.

Azrael was forced backward dozens of meters through the air, while the gorilla slid several meters across the ground.

It stared at him in disbelief.

“He blocked it?”

It did not wait.

The gorilla charged again.

Azrael twisted through the air and brought his axe down from above.

The gorilla raised both arms over its head.

BOOOOM!

The axe slammed into its arms, and the earth beneath it exploded, forming a massive crater.

Yet the gorilla did not fall.

Instead, it laughed.

“Not bad, human!”

It grabbed the axe handle with both hands and attempted to wrench it away.

Azrael looked at it calmly.

“Wrong.”

He suddenly released the axe with one hand.

Then—

He vanished.

The gorilla’s eyes widened.

Azrael appeared behind its head and struck its back with his palm.

BOOOOM!

The gorilla was launched forward like a meteor, smashing through three consecutive mountains before finally coming to a stop.

It emerged from the rubble, roaring.

“You bastard!”

It grabbed a gigantic boulder and hurled it toward him.

Azrael did not move.

He merely raised one finger.

The boulder turned into dust before it could reach him.

The gorilla stared at him.

“You...”

Then it revealed a ferocious smile.

“I was hiding my strength too!”

Its aura exploded.

Spiritual energy surged around its body, causing its already enormous muscles to swell even further.

It hammered both fists against its chest.

BOOM! BOOM!

Then it roared:

“Silver Ape Bloodline Art — Mountain Body!”

Its aura suddenly doubled.

The sky above the valley trembled.

The gorilla charged at Azrael and unleashed a furious barrage of attacks.

A fist.

A kick.

An elbow.

Another fist.

Every single strike possessed enough power to destroy a mountain.

Yet Azrael calmly evaded every attack.

Once to the right.

Once to the left.

Then—

He disappeared completely.

The gorilla roared:

“Where did you go?!”

A voice came from above.

“Here.”

The gorilla looked up.

Azrael was above it.

He drove his foot directly into its head.

BOOOOM!

The gorilla plummeted toward the ground.

But before it could crash into the earth, it stabilized itself in midair and spun around, unleashing a massive wave of spiritual energy.

Azrael swung his axe.

The energy wave was cleaved cleanly in two.

He looked at the gorilla.

“Are you finished?”

The gorilla roared.

“No!”

It charged toward him once more.

This time, Azrael did not evade.

He caught its fist with one hand.

The gorilla suddenly stopped.

It tried to pull its arm back.

It could not move.

Its expression changed.

“Impossible...”

Azrael looked at its hand indifferently.

“I have enjoyed this enough.”

A terrifying aura emerged from his body.

He grasped his battle axe with both hands.

“Now, the game is over.”

For the first time since the battle began...

The gorilla felt fear.

“Wait—”

But Azrael gave it no opportunity.

He murmured:

“Supreme Axe Art...”

Red lightning began gathering around the blade.

“Third Form...”

The blade gradually turned completely black.

Crimson lightning coiled around it until the entire valley was illuminated by red flashes.

Azrael raised the axe.

“Heaven-Splitting Axe.”

Then he struck.

A gigantic black crescent filled with crimson lightning shot forward.

It was so fast that the gorilla could not even react.

Its eyes widened.

“What—?”

SHRAAAK!

Its body split vertically into two halves.

Silence descended upon the valley.

The two halves crashed onto the ground.

BOOOOM!

Azrael calmly descended onto the corpse.

He reached toward the beast's chest and extracted an enormous core saturated with energy.

He examined it for a moment.

“A peak True Immortal core...”

For most cultivators, it would have been an incredibly precious treasure.

To Azrael, however, it was merely another resource on his path toward restoring his strength.

Before he could inspect it further—

BOOOOOOOOM!

Azrael stopped.

He slowly raised his head.

The sky changed.

Black clouds rapidly gathered overhead.

The sun disappeared.

The entire region was plunged into darkness.

Then an enormous pressure emerged from deep within the mountains.

A pressure that caused the very earth to tremble.

THUD...

THUD...

THUD...

There were footsteps.

Something was ascending from the depths of the Core Region.

Then a monstrous voice echoed across the mountains.

“Who...”

The voice paused for a moment.

Then exploded with fury:

“WHO DARED KILL THIS EMPEROR’S SON?!”

The heavens trembled.

The mountains began collapsing.

From the depths of the Core Region, an enormous shadow emerged.

First came a gigantic head.

Then massive shoulders.

Then an entire colossal body.

A gigantic silver-black ape emerged from between the mountains.

Its height was...

One thousand meters.

Every step it took caused the earth to tremble.

Every breath it exhaled generated violent storms.

But its size was not the most terrifying thing about it.

It was the aura radiating from its body.

An aura belonging to a being of the...

Divine Ascension Realm.

The distant beasts froze.

Some collapsed onto the ground beneath the overwhelming pressure.

As for Azrael...

He slowly raised his head.

His crimson eyes locked onto the colossal ape.

And for the first time in a long while...

A faint glimmer of interest appeared within his eyes.

The Beast Emperor stared at the corpse lying behind Azrael.

Then its gaze returned to him.

Fury ignited within its eyes.

It spoke in a voice that shook the mountains:

“Human...”

Its voice echoed throughout the entire region.

“You killed my son.”

Its aura exploded with terrifying force.

“You will pay the price!”

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