On the great river, silver light flickered amidst waves of furious roars.

Savage Water Beasts surged forward, threatening to destroy the warship and tear Dongfang Xuezhi, Dongfang Moran, Qing Mang, and Lin Tianxue to shreds.

"Hmph." Dongfang Xuezhi clenched her jaw. Her small, pale hands wove together, forming one Magic Seal after another like flitting butterflies.

WHOOSH...

In an instant, a light breeze carrying snowflakes stirred in the sky.

The breeze and snow grew stronger, gradually becoming a blizzard that howled ferociously as it pressed forward, freezing and slicing through one Water Beast after another.

’This is damn annoying,’ Qing Mang thought, his gaze turning cold.

As a battle-hardened general, he stood unyieldingly at the front of the warship with his Purple Gold Electric Python, absorbing the brunt of the head-on assault.

The Purple Gold Trident in his hands whistled through the air, channeling brilliant bolts of lightning that crackled with thunderous rumbles.

At this moment, he took a step forward, and the bones and sinews throughout his body cracked in unison.

In response, the blood and qi within the Purple Gold Electric Python surged like a bursting dam. Hot, white steam coiled into a pillar and shot toward the heavens, actually forming a colossal red-and-white serpent made of immense vapor.

Then, he swung his trident, instantly clearing the area before him and reducing the Water Beasts there to a bloody mist.

But in the next moment, even more Water Beasts leaped forward, a dense and endless swarm.

Xuezhi, Qing Mang, Lin Tianxue, and Mo Ran unleashed one killing blow after another, yet they could only barely hold their ground.

But if this continued, their True Essence would inevitably be depleted at an even faster rate!

Mo Ran’s handsome face was tight with restraint as he stared at the giant silver fish in the distance. ’Damn bastard. It’s so cautious. This makes it difficult for me to activate the Three-Day Radiance Talisman my sister gave me.’

The situation was becoming increasingly precarious.

Even though they had trump cards, a sense of despair began to creep into their hearts.

「Meanwhile, higher up in the sky.」

Several Great Saints in charge of the assessment silently turned their gazes to this location.

"Fang Yang has appeared. Heh heh, I wonder if he’s like the rumors say—a person with a cold face but a warm heart?" a burly man clad in heavy, black-ink armor said with a smile.

"A cold face and a warm heart? Perhaps. But I’m more curious if he truly has the ability to be hailed as a Great Saint Seed..." said a tall, imposing young man in a three-clawed flood dragon robe. He stood upon a Golden Ancient War Chariot, his black hair whipping wildly in the wind, exuding an air of utter recklessness.

The other two Great Saints remained silent, but they too were curious about what Fang Yang would choose to do.

People like Muri Guang Huang and Hei Liwu had all thoroughly proven themselves in the Xuan-Yu War.

And while Fang Yang had also proven himself in the Changkong Clan’s Hundred Lineages Martial Gathering...

...it wasn’t enough. Not nearly enough!

Dark clouds gathered, dimming the sunlight.

The river, which already resembled a spring of blood, grew even darker and more sinister.

At this moment, Fang Yang stood atop the White Feathered Eagle, his eyes cold and his face devoid of expression.

But around him, layer upon layer of a phantom Fire Realm materialized.

The phantom Fire Realm, with its interconnected layers, gradually dispersed the dark clouds, returning light to the land.

Just as a sense of foreboding struck the silver Swordfish Beast King and it looked up into the distance, Fang Yang took a step into the empty sky.

With that single step, a Fire Lotus bloomed beneath his foot. A vast, raging inferno was born, igniting the clouds and setting the heavens ablaze.

Then, he threw a punch. It instantly generated immense wind pressure, forming a massive Flaming Tornado that pressed down from above like a falling meteor, its presence overwhelming.

"Scree..."

"Scree... scree..."

The great river evaporated section by section, and the Water Beasts were reduced to desiccated corpses.

At the very center, the Blazing Swordfish Group let out panicked cries, while the Swordfish Beast King roared and charged out. It shot upward like a divine sword, intent on piercing through the Flaming Tornado.

At this moment, Xuezhi, Mo Ran, Qing Mang, and Lin Tianxue stared up, their mouths agape.

They watched as the Swordfish Beast King failed to withstand the Flaming Tornado. Instead, its Sword Scales were shattered by the searing heat, and its flesh was scorched and ruined.

With just this one strike, Fang Yang had not only halted the beast tide’s rampage but had also blasted a white hole into the great river!

’Is the gap between us and Fang Yang really this huge?’

Mo Ran’s eyes widened, and he finally believed what Qing Mang and Lin Tianxue had told him before.

Hearing this, Xuezhi gazed at the handsome figure in the sky. Ripples appeared in her starry eyes, and the lake of her heart was far from calm.

As for Qing Mang and Lin Tianxue, who already knew how formidable Fang Yang was, their expressions couldn’t help but turn numb with shock.

...

RUMBLE—

The battle reignited. The Swordfish Beast King shot up from the bloody water.

Its pair of sharp, vertical pupils were soul-stirring, and its fierce aura locked tightly onto Fang Yang.

A Beast King was a powerful Fierce Beast equivalent to a Tier Five expert!

’Back then, even Sister Min could contend with a Beast King. Naturally, so can I.’

At such a critical moment, Fang Yang actually revealed a faint smile.

The Swordfish Beast King hovered in mid-air, staring coldly at Fang Yang. Around it, raging storms of Sword Qi swirled.

Its body flashed with a cold, silver-white light as it gathered the Sword Qi storms, transforming itself into a massive blade that hurtled toward Fang Yang.

The powerful tempest shattered clouds and churned the river.

Even more frightening was that this sacrificial, all-out attack actually caused the void itself to tremble slightly.

The faces of Mo Ran, Xuezhi, and the others all changed drastically. They broke out in a cold sweat for Fang Yang.

At this moment, the light in Fang Yang’s eyes flared, and his white-robed battle armor shuddered.

One after another, Anomalous Flames leaped out from his apertures, some taking the form of a Cyan Lotus, some a Peng bird, some a snow-capped mountain...

They were vivid and lifelike, as if corporeal—eighteen different types of Anomalous Flames in total!

They surged forward one after another. To the naked eye, the Sword Qi storm gradually dissipated, forcing the Swordfish Beast King to turn and flee.

At this moment, Fang Yang fully unleashed his Fire Domain Skill. Clusters of Anomalous Flames surrounded him, making it seem as if he was pressing down on the Swordfish Beast King so hard it couldn’t even breathe.

A Tier Four Elementary was dueling a Tier Five expert, not just holding his own but even gaining the upper hand?!

「Higher up in the sky.」

The four Great Saints all focused their attention, beginning to take Fang Yang seriously.

"Such outstanding combat power is truly unparalleled among his peers. Even if I were at the same cultivation level, I wouldn’t be confident in defeating him," the burly man in heavy, black-ink armor said with emotion.

"Fang Yang, Fang Yang. Heh heh, he truly is worthy of the title ’Junior Great Saint.’ If his cultivation realm were a bit higher, I’m afraid he could charge straight into the top ten of the Earth Ranking." The tall young man in the three-clawed flood dragon robe nodded in approval, his previous arrogance gone.

The other two Great Saints, who had been silent until now, couldn’t help but speak up:

"Generally, those who can establish themselves in the Junior Great Saint realm all possess perfect Spirit Bodies. But Fang Yang only has a grade-A Carp Eagle Spirit Body; he hasn’t yet achieved the perfect-grade Kunpeng Spirit Body. If he truly walks the path of the Kunpeng, isn’t he on his way to becoming a second Sen Yue?"

"Sen Yue, Sen Wei, and Fang Yang... Hiss... This generation of the Sen family is going to defy the heavens, aren’t they..."

The more the four Great Saints analyzed the details, the more shocked they became.

Then, their thoughts turned to the situation in the Great Xuan Dynasty.

Over there, exceptional talents like the Great Sun Dragon Lady were also emerging and making their debut.

For some unknown reason, the hearts of all four sank.

They exchanged a glance and saw the solemn gravity in each other’s eyes.

A single falling leaf heralds the autumn. As Great Saints, they possessed extremely farsighted vision.

The emergence of one peerless prodigy after another was undoubtedly a sign that a massive storm, one that would sweep across the Eight Domains, was about to arrive.

Could it be that in this era, a Daoist would emerge?!