After Wan Lei and Fang Xiaoyu inherited the Holy Fire, it was destined that the three supreme powerhouses would be utterly destroyed.
A full fifteen minutes passed. Wan Lei and Fang Xiaoyu had adapted to their newfound strength and skills, and having vented their frustrations, they finally released the enemies who were battered beyond recognition.
Fang Xiaoyu's storm dissipated, and the thunder and flame runes on Wan Lei's body retreated into the Thor's Hammer. The three supreme powerhouses lay on the ground, their breaths shallow, their combat capabilities extinguished.
The world returned to silence.
On the ravaged edges of the battered earth, the armies of the three factions and the wandering heroes watched everything unfold with stunned disbelief. They found it all incomprehensible.
The Holy Fire inheritance had found its master?
The world's three most powerful figures were defeated so easily?
Who were these two? What were their names? How could they be so formidable?
From this day forward, there would no longer be talk of four supreme powerhouses. There would only be two kings, the Holy Fire Kings.
Yes, the wandering heroes had already devised a title for these two individuals who did not belong to this world.
The armies of the three great powers were as if bereaved, their faces pale.
Their champions had lost. They would likely die soon too. What then would become of them?
The heavens were about to change.
The wandering heroes, however, were ecstatic and cheered jubilantly. They felt that the era belonging to their martial world was about to begin, and henceforth, the martial world would no longer be considered insignificant.
However…
Alas,
What a pity, what a pity.
It was a pity that these two would be leaving soon.
The phoenix had a贯穿性 (guànchuān xìng - penetrating) large hole in its chest. Its massive body lay on the ground, listless. Its large eyes looked at Wan Lei with bitterness.
It, unlike the others, could still survive.
It was currently using its vital fire to maintain its life force. As long as it could return to the sea of fire, it would be able to undergo nirvana and be reborn, a skill exclusive to the phoenix.
As for不知火轻舞 (Bùzhīhuǒ Qīngwǔ - Bu Zhirei Qingwu) and袭人缘君 (Xí Rén Yuánjūn - Xi Ren Yuanjun), their bones were shattered. They lay unnaturally on their backs on the ground, severely injured and on the verge of death. They were unable to even speak or beg for mercy.
Fang Xiaoyu raised her hand and conjured a fireball again. She intended to kill these three enemies in one fell swoop.
In the eyes of the three lying on the ground, there was only despair and helplessness.
Even with their hundreds of thousands of troops surrounding them, there was not a shred of hope.
No one dared to save them. Anyone who tried would die.
"Wait a moment."
"What is it? Jealous that I'm stealing your thunder?"
"Killing them like this is too easy for them. Old Gou was a good person, and he died because of us. This is a debt we owe, and it can never be repaid.
The only thing we can do is to carry on his legacy, obtain the Holy Fire, and bring the Samadhi True Fire to other worlds, and avenge him.
Killing these three like this is too lenient. We should capture them and suppress them, letting them wait for their death."
Torturing and abusing them held no interest for Wan Lei, but he did not want these three to die so easily.
A terrible end was not merely an insult.
Wan Lei extended his hand, and the scroll of "Yù Mìng Tú" (驭命图 - Fate Control Chart) in the sky opened. A strong suction force emerged. This time, there was no resistance. The three supreme powerhouses were thus sucked into it.
Wan Lei lowered his head and looked at the ravaged land around him, sighing.
He could no longer help the people of this world. At the very least, he could take away the Holy Fire inheritance, reducing one cause of conflict in this world.
A beam of light descended from the sky, and the two disappeared from here.
The sudden disappearance of the two Holy Fire Kings left the world below in a state of bewilderment.
The news quickly spread throughout the entire Great Jin.
The first to receive the news was the closest imperial family.
After confirming the death of all four supreme powerhouses, the departure of the two kings, and the disappearance of the Holy Fire inheritance, the imperial family finally revealed its fangs.
The Emperor of Jin ordered his spies embedded within the three families to contact those with the potential to inherit the family head positions, to win them over, promising that as long as they declared loyalty to the imperial family upon their ascension, the imperial family would not move against them.
At the same time, the imperial family dispatched envoys, carrying treasures such as fire crystals, to reward the armies of the three families stationed outside the cities. They then exerted pressure under the guise of righteousness, reading imperial edicts stating that they were henceforth under the imperial family's command.
The leaderless armies, under a combination of sweet persuasion and forceful measures, immediately swore allegiance to the imperial family.
The prolonged war between the three families had weakened the populace and the military strength. These armies were the few elite forces of the three families. After the imperial family took control, the three families had no choice but to bow their heads.
The Jin imperial family installed loyalists within the three families, dividing and weakening them, seeking a balance, and ultimately gaining complete control of the three families. The imperial authority was re-established, and the empire was unified once more.
The Fire Immortal Secret Realm concluded.
Thunder Wind Realm, Central Region.
Above the volcano, two streaks of light streaked across, and the figures of Wan Lei and Fang Xiaoyu appeared on the rim of the volcano.
"We're finally back. The sky has turned gloomy?"
Wan Lei looked up and saw the thick dark clouds in the sky. Lightning flickered within the clouds, emanating an aura of world-destroying power.
"Oh, a Heavenly Tribulation. I thought it was something significant."
Wan Lei was invigorated. Good, the bringer of fortune was here again to deliver cultivation.
Fang Xiaoyu was also relaxed. With Wan Lei, the tribulation-crossing artifact, by her side, she had nothing to fear from any Heavenly Tribulation.
"Why is this Heavenly Tribulation arriving so late? We've already broken through our cultivation for a while now,"
Gou Zi emerged from the Thor's Hammer and explained,
"It's not that the Heavenly Tribulation is late. It's that the world they were in simply didn't have such a thing as Heavenly Tribulations. Heavenly Tribulations couldn't condense there. However, the Thunder Wind Realm has been keeping track of it for you. As soon as you returned, a Heavenly Tribulation appeared."
"A minor matter, a minor matter."
"Well, you two can undergo your tribulation here. I'm going to absorb heavenly dao. The last time you broke through to the Nascent Soul stage, we were trapped in the Fate Control Chart, and I couldn't absorb the power of heavenly dao. It was a great regret.
This Mahayana stage Heavenly Tribulation is very powerful. If I can absorb it completely, the heavenly dao thunder runes within the Thor's Hammer should light up by half."
With that said, Gou Zi, carrying the Thor's Hammer, soared into the sky and entered the tribulation clouds.
"Wife, watch your husband as I bravely battle the Heavenly Tribulation and keep you safe."
Young Master Lei was full of high spirits, while Little Sister Yu scoffed.
"Hmph, I'm not competing with you. What are you so proud of?"
This was still a Heavenly Tribulation for four people.
The first Heavenly Tribulation soon struck. There were only four bolts, but their might was immense, distorting the surrounding space.
Boom!
The Heavenly Tribulation struck Wan Lei, making him almost cry out in pleasure.
This feeling of bathing in a sea of thunder, he hadn't experienced it for a long time. Every time he underwent a Heavenly Tribulation, it was not only a significant increase in his cultivation but also an extremely comfortable process of purifying his body.
The second wave...
The third wave...
The fourth wave...
The destructive Heavenly Tribulation rolled in. Wan Lei stood proudly in mid-air, facing the thunder head-on, his demeanor exceptionally elegant.
This incredibly terrifying and powerful sight stunned the two pairs of eyes in the distance.