Chapter 727: The True Lord is Different (Combined, thanks to 'Shu Mu Shen Shan')

Chapter 727: The True Monarch is Different (Combined Chapter, thanks to 'Shu Mu Shen Shan Chao' for the Alliance Master tip)

"Zhang Yu?"

Driven by the joint effort of the Kunlun-in-Palm and the immortal descendants within Zhang Yu's grasp, the assault that True Monarch Taihao and the others had been on the verge of unleashing upon the low-level cultivators was forcefully deflected away.

Yet no sooner had the radiance of those twenty-odd Nascent Souls flickered out than a far more torrential power erupted from their bodies in the very next instant.

If their previous display had merely been a casual exertion meant to deal with bottom-tier cultivators, then what occurred now was the state of True Monarch Taihao and his companions truly fighting in earnest.

The moment he laid eyes on Zhang Yu, sensed the opponent's Nascent Soul domain, and beheld the title of True Monarch Zhuyi, the battle intent within True Monarch Taihao’s heart surged tenfold, a hundredfold.

At this moment, he seemed to recall once more his last experience of defeat. On that occasion, he, along with True Monarch Liujin and True Monarch Huanqie, had infiltrated the Ten Great Campuses with the intention of kidnapping Bai Zhenzhen.

Come to think of it, True Monarch Taihao had even paid a deposit to Wang Yin to purchase Bai Zhenzhen's physical body from when she was at the First Layer. But later, as Bai Zhenzhen grew and the situation shifted, True Monarch Taihao had no longer intended to risk acquiring her.

It was just that for that particular operation, the conditions offered by the Auspicious God had been so exceedingly generous that even True Monarch Taihao could not help but be tempted. The result of that action, however, was that the three of them ran straight into Zhang Yu.

Under their collective siege, the trio of True Monarch Taihao had not even managed to finish off Zhang Yu before reinforcements from Wanfa arrived just in time. Faced with the encirclement of dozens of Nascent Soul True Monarchs, True Monarch Taihao and his companions had been forced to detonate themselves, suffering immense losses.

That battle had severely depleted True Monarch Taihao’s vitality, evaporating nearly half of his accumulated wealth. Fortunately, with the onset of the God-Transformation War, the Alliance Master, Fu Xiantian, was finally willing to accept his obeisance, and Taihao took him as his adoptive father.

Consequently, all manners of resources within the Righteous Qi Alliance were fully opened to Nascent Soul True Monarchs like them, allowing them to elevate their strength solely in preparation for the impending decisive battle.

"This is precisely the institutional superiority of the Righteous Qi Alliance, far beyond what the decayed and rigid Ten Campuses can compare to."

True Monarch Taihao’s gaze locked onto Zhang Yu as he thought to himself, "Zhang Yu, this time the ones fighting outnumbered is not us, but you."

Thus, the very moment Zhang Yu appeared, True Monarch Taihao let out a thunderous roar across the battlefield communication network.

"Strike with all your might! His Kunlun-in-Palm cannot block so many of us! Blast through his Dharmic power!"

Simultaneously, True Monarch Liujin’s entire body seemed to ignite with invisible flames, the cultivation of his Dao-Burning Life-Borrowing Scripture instantly driven to its absolute limits.

The Nascent Soul within his body shot out, transforming in the blink of an eye from the likeness of an old man into that of an infant, launching a lightning-fast assault directly at Zhang Yu.

"Zhang! Yu!"

True Monarch Liujin glared with intense fury at Zhang Yu. Twice in a row because of Zhang Yu, he had been encircled by Wanfa’s Nascent Soul True Monarchs; before he could even display his full strength, he had been forced to detonate himself, causing his debts to accumulate heavier and heavier.

Now, having been resurrected for the second time, his cultivation was far inferior to what it once was, and the resentment toward Zhang Yu in his heart had reached its absolute absolute peak.

While violently driving his cultivation forward, True Monarch Liujin roared in his mind, "Zhang Yu... a super-wealthy person like you can bring a horde of Nascent Souls to encircle us with a mere wave of your hand, striking us until we have no choice but to die by self-detonation."

"To you, the Kunxu must be a beautiful world, right? You have a teacher who dotes on you, obedient employees, endless wealth, and inexhaustible connections. The things we strive years, decades, or even centuries for, you obtain at the snap of your fingers."

"And yet, for me to gain anything, I can only continuously burn my cultivation, only rebuild my path time and time again...

"A Kunxu like this belongs to people like you. It has nothing to do with us."

"A Kunxu like this... should have been destroyed a long fucking time ago!"

"Today, I shall burn you, along with the assets of the hundreds of millions of poor ghosts beneath your feet, entirely into ash! I’ll make you experience what it feels like to go bankrupt!"

Amidst a furious roar, True Monarch Liujin struck out in unison with the other twenty Nascent Souls.

Accompanied by high-speed exchanges of information, they lunged at Zhang Yu from different angles, different directions, and through different modes of attack without a single blind spot. In a flawless display of coordination and joint effort, they maximized the lethal output of every single individual.

Sensing the perfect synchronization between his companions and himself, True Monarch Liujin shouted in his heart, "This time, it is our turn to encircle you! The advantage is on our side!"

But in the next instant, as the light dimmed and flared, the power unleashed by True Monarch Liujin and the others vanished once more, as if swallowed up along with that patch of darkness.

True Monarch Liujin knew this was the effect of Zhang Yu’s Kunlun-in-Palm. When he had previously encircled Zhang Yu alongside True Monarch Taihao and True Monarch Huanqie, he had witnessed a similar power.

It was just that on that occasion, Zhang Yu had primarily focused on shifting space, and had yet to display such an ability that seemed capable of utter consumption before them.

"But it does not matter..."

"No matter what manual it is, there must inevitably be a consumption."

A train of thought flashed like lightning through True Monarch Liujin’s mind: "Relying on his strength alone to resist the siege of twenty-one of us, his Dharmic power will very quickly be exhausted."

Yet in the next moment, to True Monarch Liujin’s shocked eyes, Zhang Yu opened his palm, revealing a thumb-sized sphere of light within.

The sphere radiated a dazzling, blinding brilliance. Within it, streaks of thunder-fire, sword-qi, and astral-bale continuously churned, emitting a devastating aura of destruction.

"Is that... our attack from just now?!"

True Monarch Liujin subconsciously halted his steps, his figure about to retreat, as he thought to himself, "Not good! He intends to use our own assault to counterattack... I cannot get hit by that!"

"This kind of power, he cannot control it for long. As long as we dodge in advance and let him blow himself up..."

However, in the very next instant, what Zhang Yu did caused True Monarch Liujin’s eyes to widen violently, and even the Dao-Burning Life-Borrowing Scripture he was frantically driving seemed to pause for a fraction of a second.

Zhang Yu merely gave his palm a gentle squeeze, a movement as calm and breezy as though he were crushing an ant.

Yet when Zhang Yu opened his palm once more, the sphere of light that had contained such devastating power just moments ago had vanished without a trace, thoroughly extinguished by that single gentle pinch.

"What!!"

"The collective siege of twenty-one of us Nascent Soul True Monarchs was... was just like that..."

At this moment, it was not only True Monarch Liujin; the other Nascent Soul True Monarchs who had participated in that joint strike all drew in a sharp breath of cold air, thoroughly intimidated by Zhang Yu’s action.

To their eyes now, Zhang Yu appeared unfathomable, like an endless abyss consuming everything that drew near.

This sheer intimidation caused their offensive to subconsciously pause for a single instant.

And this single instant was precisely the flaw Zhang Yu desired, the very purpose behind his intimidation of his opponents.

In that exact split second, Zhang Yu had already reached out to grab True Monarch Taihao.

"He wants to deal with me first!" True Monarch Taihao’s gaze narrowed as his mind raced with rapid calculations: "Of course, his Kunlun-in-Palm is best at shifting space and turning an opponent's strength against them; ordinary methods are difficult to use against him."

"But my Divine Manual of Ancestral Alteration can take effect across space. As long as I kneel to someone, even across a spatial barrier, they will still become my adoptive father..."

Particularly since True Monarch Taihao had obtained the consent of Fu Xiantian—the disciple of an immortal—to bow to him as an adoptive father, his Divine Manual of Ancestral Alteration had broken through its shackles, gaining an extra layer of profound mystery.

Originally, when the counterpart was still alive, if he performed the ritual of worship, it would trigger a backlash unless the other party consented with their entire heart and soul. While borrowing a portion of the counterpart's cultivation and strength, he would have to kill them before he could take a new adoptive father.

But the current True Monarch Taihao... to put it simply, an adoptive son of his caliber was qualified to claim almost anyone as his adoptive father.

Even when facing a crowd of living people, he could bow to them all at once, acknowledging them all as his adoptive fathers simultaneously.

The only exceptions were cultivators above the Nascent Soul realm, or those with an immortal background, whom he could not forcefully bow to and claim as an adoptive father.

Naturally, there was a limit to the number of such adoptions. Once the limit was reached, he would need to kill a past adoptive father before he could acknowledge a new one.

And at this moment, True Monarch Taihao’s target was naturally Zhang Yu before him.

Staring at Zhang Yu’s single hand, which was continuously expanding in his vision, the thoughts within True Monarch Taihao’s mind still operated at high speed: "It is precisely because of the profundity of my Divine Manual of Ancestral Alteration that he chooses to deal with me first."

"Because Zhang Yu has already seen through it—I am his greatest nemesis in this battle, the key to defeating him as quickly as possible..."

Though many thoughts passed through his mind, given True Monarch Taihao’s Nascent Soul cultivation and the computational power provided by his Level 40 Dao Heart, everything was completed in the blink of an eye.

Even as he thought, he had already made his move, dropping violently to his knees toward Zhang Yu.

"The first bow! Borrowing destiny!"

As his knees slowly descended, the hand of Zhang Yu before him grew longer and wider, like something blotting out the sky and covering the sun. In an instant, it filled True Monarch Taihao’s entire field of vision, blanketing down toward him like a sheet of the firmament itself.

Watching Zhang Yu’s hand draw closer and closer, True Monarch Taihao did not show the slightest panic, but instead further accelerated the motion of his kneeling.

"No one's attack can be faster than my kneeling."

"Zhang Yu, accept my bow..."

Thud!

With a thunderous crash, Lord Taihao felt himself slam heavily onto what seemed to be a floating patch of ground.

But as he stared at the surface beneath him, he froze for a moment in bewilderment.

Where had this intricately textured floating platform come from?

And… who was that giant in the distance? Lord Liujin? Lord Huanqie? Since when had they grown so enormous?

“No—wait. It’s not that they’ve grown larger. It’s that I’ve shrunk.”

The very instant this thought flickered through Lord Taihao’s mind, a photograph appeared in his combat group chat.

In it, Lord Taihao—now reduced to the size of an insect—knelt helplessly in Zhang Yu’s palm, facing outward.

Lord Liujin: “Taihao! You’re trapped by Zhang Yu! Break free!”

Lord Taihao: “What?”

Seeing this, Lord Taihao instinctively tried to twist around and kneel toward Zhang Yu behind him—but the moment he moved, he realized he was pinned as though crushed beneath a mountain, utterly unable to budge even an inch.

Only then did he notice layers upon layers of spatial barriers had silently enveloped him, pressing tightly against his body and locking him in that kneeling posture.

Just then, Zhang Yu’s voice rang out: “I told you—if you like kneeling so much, then kneel for the rest of your life. Don’t bother getting up.”

As he spoke, Zhang Yu shifted his hand, deliberately turning the direction of Lord Taihao’s kneeling form to face Lord Liujin and the others.

At the sight, Lord Liujin and his companions scattered in terror, none daring to let Zhang Yu aim the kneeling Lord Taihao in their direction.

Below the battlefield, Chang Buxiu watched, stunned, murmuring to himself, “Lord Zhuyi… standing alone against so many righteous Yuan Ying cultivators from the Alliance?”

All around him—the junior college students, vocational schoolers, high schoolers, and other low-tier cultivators—now gazed upward at the skyborne battle.

Originally thrilled merely by having snatched red packets upon arriving at Kunxu’s Fifth Layer, they’d also been exhilarated simply by setting foot here for the first time.

After all, given their status and means, visiting Kunxu’s Fifth Layer might have forever remained beyond their reach.

Thus, upon their first arrival, they lingered with rapt fascination, snapping photos and recording videos, desperate to prolong their stay.

This very eagerness was one reason why so many low-tier cultivators had gathered yet retreated slowly.

Then came Lord Taihao and his cohorts, descending with murderous intent so thick it felt like the end of days. Sensing the overwhelming power radiating from them, the low-tier cultivators’ hearts sank—they couldn’t muster even a sliver of resistance, convinced death would claim them any second.

In that moment, they felt like weeds—easily uprooted and discarded by Lord Taihao and his ilk.

Until Zhang Yu appeared.

First, he extinguished the radiance of Lord Taihao and his allies. Then, he single-handedly repelled assaults from twenty-one Yuan Ying Lords.

Shock rippled through the crowd—not just at Zhang Yu’s staggering strength, but at the sheer audacity of his actions.

Chang Buxiu shouted excitedly, “Lord Zhuyi is protecting us! He’s fighting twenty-one Yuan Ying Lords alone—for our sake!”

A junior college student cried out, trembling with emotion: “He’s already so rich—yet he still saves us!”

Another vocational student added, “That means he sees value in us! Why else would he protect us?!”

Indeed—if Lord Zhuyi didn’t believe they held worth, why would he risk battling twenty-one Yuan Ying Lords just to shield them?

Realizing this, countless low-tier cultivators suddenly felt their own value affirmed—validated by none other than the fabulously wealthy Lord Zhuyi himself.

Vocational students mattered! Junior college students mattered! Even high schoolers deserved Lord Zhuyi’s protection! They weren’t mere weeds.

In that instant, gazing up at Lord Zhuyi standing before them like a bulwark, waves of cheers erupted from the masses below.

But Zhang Yu merely projected a message downward: “What are you shouting about? Retreat—now!”

Lines of text shimmered before the eyes of every low-tier cultivator:

“Leave the battlefield immediately. Not a single one of you is allowed to die!”

Reading Zhang Yu’s projected words, Chang Buxiu’s heart trembled. “Lord Zhuyi—he’s so wealthy, so powerful, yet even while fighting twenty-one Yuan Ying Lords, he’s still listening to us! He hears our voices!”

At that moment, a shared feeling surged through the hearts of countless low-tier cultivators: Lord Zhuyi was different.

Prompted by Zhang Yu’s warning, the masses began withdrawing in earnest.

Nearby, Lord Tianzhang watched the scene unfold, sighing inwardly. “Truly worthy of being Disciple of Divine Lord Ciji—Lord Zhuyi embodies his master’s spirit. He has the makings of a Nascent Soul Sovereign.”

In Lord Tianzhang’s eyes, Divine Lord Ciji had always been meticulous—scrutinizing every coin spent on salaries, corporate profits, or lab budgets, never wasting a single copper.

But Zhang Yu, he thought, had taken it even further.

“Is he really trying to ensure not a single junior college student dies?”

To Lord Tianzhang, what was the cost of a vocational student or a junior college dropout? In battle, especially with the True Gods gone, such collateral losses were entirely acceptable.

Yet Zhang Yu’s stance now implied zero casualties—no losses whatsoever.

“To safeguard assets with such relentless care… No wonder you’re so rich, Zhuyi.”

In Lord Tianzhang’s view, Zhang Yu protected these low-tier cultivators purely for Spirit Coins—what else could it possibly be?

After all, every one of them used the Grand Void Cloud Vault or carried loans—they were valuable customer assets.

Divine Lord Ciji, observing the same battle from afar, sighed softly. “This boy… grows more like me and Qingmu every day. Refusing to lose even a single junior college student? Unwilling to let even one of his own perish?”

…

While Zhang Yu clashed fiercely with Lord Taihao and his allies,

deep within the Shadow Realm, Bao Shen frowned at the Heretical God Register in his hands.

“Fortune God—why no reply?”

“Could she be in a state where she cannot respond?”

“What circumstance would render a Heretical God incapable of answering?”

Studying the register, Bao Shen mused: “It was already strange that Fortune God’s true body went to the battlefield. For a Heretical God, concealing one’s true form and keeping it safe is standard practice.”

“But there is one scenario that forces a Heretical God into danger…”

“When coerced—threatened—dragged unwillingly wherever the captor commands.”

Gazing again at Fortune God’s silence, Bao Shen thought grimly, “Are you in such a situation now, Fortune God?”

“If so… which fighter on that battlefield is connected to this?”

In an instant, countless battlefield scenes flooded through the Shadow Realm, materializing before Bao Shen’s eyes.

Every combatant’s profile was swiftly sifted through by his scrutiny.

…

Meanwhile, Lord Taihao messaged the combat group: “Stop hiding! I’ve halted the Profound Scripture of Lineage Transference—no need to fear being ‘knee-blessed’ by me anymore!”

“Keep attacking him! His mana will run out eventually!”

Even as he urged Lord Liujin and the others to resume their assault, Lord Taihao began struggling violently.

He roared, “Zhang Yu! Do you think you can suppress me forever? Pinning me here only drains your mana faster—this will be your greatest mistake in this battle!”

With a furious bellow, torrents of mana surged through his body. From his legs and knees erupted overwhelming force.

Decades of grueling cultivation exploded forth—every technique honed to perfect the speed and power of kneeling now unleashed in full.

Heaven-Piercing Meridians! Eight Desolations Mountain-Bearing Art! Thunderous Squat! Rivers-and-Mountains Rising Earth Scripture!

Each method pushed lower-body strength to its absolute limit; each refined the mechanics of squatting and rising to transcendent extremes.

Now, amid violent tremors, Lord Taihao’s body hammered against the surrounding spatial barriers with apocalyptic force.

His struggle indeed forced Zhang Yu to expend far more mana to maintain those barriers.

Had Zhang Yu not equipped the full Platinum Emperor set—333 artifact bones—and layered on the Tier-40 Heaven-Shattering War God Armor before battle, boosting his mana pool beyond 80,000, he would likely be drained dry by now.

It was precisely this immense reservoir of mana, combined with the physical enhancements from his gear, that allowed Zhang Yu to simultaneously pin Lord Taihao with one hand and wield Palm-Zhong Kunlun with the other to repel the swarm of Yuan Ying Lords.

He watched as Liu Jin Zhenjun and the others launched their assault—only for Zhang Yu to deflect, twist, and redirect every strike. As distorted pockets of space collided, the attacks began striking one another, interfering and clashing in chaotic disarray.

Taihao Zhenjun, witnessing this spectacle, grew increasingly certain: compared to their last encounter, Zhang Yu had grown not only wealthier but far more powerful.

“Unless we outnumber him beyond his capacity to handle—or drain his magical energy entirely—every additional attacker only makes him stronger.”

With this realization, Taihao Zhenjun let out a cold snort. Casting a glance at the scattering low-tier cultivators fleeing in all directions, he immediately issued commands through the battle formation: “Leave Zhang Yu to me—I’ll wear down his magical reserves.”

“You others, scatter! Hunt down those paupers.”

“Slaughter them—that’s our true objective today!”

“Kill them first! Once I’ve exhausted Zhang Yu’s power, we’ll regroup and finish him off!”

At Taihao Zhenjun’s rapid-fire orders, Liu Jin Zhenjun and the rest shifted almost imperceptibly—they had already communicated without words. In an instant, they streaked away in every direction, leaving trails of afterimages like blossoms exploding into a storm of petals across the sky.

But in the very next moment, amid a sudden ripple of light and shadow, they were stunned to find themselves yanked back to their original positions in space.

At that precise instant, Zhang Yu’s voice drifted calmly through the air: “Did I give you permission to leave?”

Just then, Tianzhang Zhenjun and over a dozen other Foundation Establishment cultivators from the Ten Academies—who had earlier withdrawn to avoid the worst of the fighting—arrived on the scene, eager to join the fray.

After all, with Taihao Zhenjun now pinned down single-handedly by Zhang Yu, the greatest threat had vanished. Tianzhang Zhenjun felt it was finally his turn to display his prowess, joining forces with Zhuyi Zhenjun to crush the remaining foes like Liu Jin Zhenjun.

Yet as Tianzhang Zhenjun and his comrades shot toward the battlefield like bolts of lightning, a single character suddenly materialized before their eyes:

Zhang Yu: Retreat!

Tianzhang Zhenjun blinked in confusion—then realized it was Zhang Yu’s projected script.

What did this mean? Why retreat? Weren’t they rushing in to support him?

Was there some hidden danger?

But what kind of danger would require them to withdraw from so far away?

As Tianzhang Zhenjun’s mind raced through these questions at blinding speed, a wave of power surged ahead—one so terrifying even he felt his soul tremble.

His head snapped upward, eyes wide with shock, just in time to witness a cataclysmic force erupting from Zhang Yu’s hands.

(End of Chapter)