BTTH : Emperor Yang

As that golden lightning was almost completely devoured, the cracks covering the surface of the black vortex rapidly healed, and the vortex trembled lightly.

Boom!

Bei Wang stepped out, golden arcs of lightning still crackling across its skin. By now, all the cracks on its body had vanished, and its aura had clearly surged, fully stepping into the Six-Star realm.

”Broke through, huh?” Wei Yang glanced at it, unsurprised.

Bei Wang had already been half a step into this level. After tempering itself in the Nine Mysterious Golden Lightning, failing to break through would’ve been the strange part. Ignoring it, Wei Yang sat down cross-legged.

Hum~

The black vortex before him spun faster, rapidly digesting the last traces of lightning inside. At once, streams of golden thunder exploded across his skin. Black Flame surged wildly, burning at its peak as it refined everything madly.

Boom!

As more and more vast energy flooded into his body, his frame suddenly jolted. Borrowing the power of the Nine Mysterious Golden Lightning, he successfully broke through, rising to the later stage of Five-Star Dou Sheng—saving himself months of effort.

Once his aura stabilized, the Black Flame on his body slowly withdrew. Wei Yang lowered his head, opened his palm, and willed.

Fwoom~

A bloom of Black Flame rose again.

But this time, its appearance had changed slightly. The countless lightning arcs flickering within it were no longer pure black—they had shifted into a faint dark-gold. They danced within the Black Flame, crackling dangerously.

The destructive aura they carried made one’s hair stand on end, instinctively wanting to flee far, far away. It was a warning that came from the soul itself—stay away from this terrifying thunder flame.

Even the Black Flame itself had taken on a faint dark-gold tint from those arcs.

”Successfully merged the Nine Mysterious Golden Lightning into the Heavenly Flame,” Wei Yang said, unable to hide his joy. From now on, his Heavenly Flame carried the traits and power of the Nine Mysterious Golden Lightning!

This was one of the strongest lightning forces in the world!

With the might of such lightning added to the destructive power of the Extinguishing Life Flame, the combined effect...it was enough to pierce the heavens!

Compared to the transformation of the Heavenly Flame, whatever breakthroughs Wei Yang and Bei Wang gained were nothing at all.

Wei Yang’s smile grew wider. With another thought—

The Black Flame instantly shifted color, becoming the Green Flame form. Waves of dense life force spread outward, filling the lightning pool with vitality.

Crackle~

The lightning changed too, turning from dark-gold to a beautiful green-gold. Its nature transformed from ultimate destruction to ultimate life. It was a color filled with life itself. Two opposite extremes—destruction and life—shifted seamlessly, as if they had always belonged together.

Wei Yang willed again.

The flame rippled, and half of it silently turned black.

At once, the green flame became half black and half green. The lightning became half dark-gold and half green-gold. Ultimate destruction and ultimate life coexisted within the same Heavenly Flame, blending perfectly without conflict.

Then, the flame in his palm slowly twisted, forming a rotating black-and-green Taiji diagram.

”From this moment, this flame truly becomes heaven-defying,” Wei Yang murmured, eyes reflecting the Taiji flame.

This flame possessed multiple terrifying attributes. Besides its innate yang, destruction, and other traits, it now held:

– The Life Spirit Flame’s trait (rank 5)

– The Gold Emperor Incinerating Heavenly Flame’s trait (rank 4)

– The Nihility Devouring Flame’s trait (rank 2)

– The supreme lightning force of the Nine Mysterious Golden Lightning

Aside from Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame, it had basically gathered the traits of the top five Heavenly Flames—and added the Nine Mysterious Golden Lightning.

If this wasn’t heaven-defying, what was? If it claimed second, what flame in the world dared claim first?

For Heavenly Flames, attributes were king. Now, all these heaven-defying attributes were gathered into a single flame. From the moment he first encountered it in the desert—when it was just a tiny peak Dou Wang Black Sun—step by step, he had nurtured it to this point.

Now it stood at the very peak among all Heavenly Flames between heaven and earth. Wei Yang couldn’t help but feel a deep sense of accomplishment. Don’t be fooled by how it currently only displayed the power of a mid-level Dou Sheng.

Even if he faced the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame now, Wei Yang would not be the least bit afraid. Oh, judging by the timeline, the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame should be appearing right around this period. If nothing unexpected happens, it will be devoured by Xiao Yan.

Which means that after that, the three strongest Heavenly Flames in this world will basically be set. They are the Death Life Flame, the Nihility Devouring Flame, and Xiao Yan’s fused Heavenly Flame. These three are undoubtedly the top three.

Following them, the Gold Emperor Incinerating Heavenly Flame ranks fourth, and the Life Spirit Flame ranks fifth. These five flames form the unshakable and undisputed top five of the Heavenly Flame world—the ”Five Essentials of Heavenly Flames.”

Only these five flames have the qualification to compete for the final Emperor Flame. All other Heavenly Flames are merely supporting characters. As for the Life Spirit Flame and the Gold Emperor Incinerating Heavenly Flame—there are two of each in the world.

One Gold Emperor Incinerating Heavenly Flame is with the Ancient Clan, the other is in Wei Yang’s hands. One Life Spirit Flame is with Qing Lin, and the other is with Elder Shen Nong.

These two flames are basically fillers—benchwarmers—considered the ”lower two essentials.” The Death Life Flame, the Nihility Devouring Flame, and Xiao Yan’s fused flame are the ”upper three essentials,” the true super heavyweights.

The Void Lightning Pool gradually returned to calm.

In the silver lightning region, as the golden lightning completely vanished, the silver lightning bolts slowly stopped their agitation. They flowed back from a thousand meters away, like massive silver serpents wandering aimlessly, playing lazily.

However, they still instinctively avoided Wei Yang, creating an empty space of about ten meters around him. With the black vortex fading, Wei Yang slowly rose to his feet, his body radiating the terrifying aura of a late-stage Five-Star Dou Sheng.

He glanced at Bei Wang—now at the Six-Star level—nodded in satisfaction, then waved his hand and stored it away.

A Six-Star puppet was indeed a valuable asset.

Wei Yang clasped his hands behind his back and looked ahead, once more gazing toward the deepest, darkest part of the lightning sea.

That region had long returned to silence.

After driving Wei Yang out, the golden lightning dragon hadn’t pursued him. Instead, it closed its eyes again, returning to slumber.

”Looks like it’s making its final preparations for spirit condensation,” Wei Yang murmured.

According to the original timeline, the golden lightning dragon would begin its spirit condensation in about three years. This period was its final preparation phase, so it had no intention of killing Wei Yang. It merely drove him away.

Wei Yang slowly closed his eyes, releasing his perception to its maximum range.

Soon.

”I can feel it—it’s absorbing spiritual essence!”

Through his perception, he could clearly sense that deep within the dark core of the lightning pool, specks of spiritual light were emerging from some unknown place in the void, then being devoured by the golden lightning dragon.

Wei Yang, of course, knew these spiritual lights well. He absorbed the same mysterious substance whenever he cultivated his soul. From the moment he reached the half-step Spirit Realm, he had begun to make contact with this mysterious material, so he was naturally familiar with it.

He still didn’t know exactly where it came from, or whether it was the same nature as the spiritual energy of the Great Thousand World, but he had grown used to calling it by that name.

”This big guy really is trying to condense a spirit... Did someone teach it? Or is it acting purely on instinct?” Wei Yang opened his eyes and muttered.

Once it succeeds, and the Nine Mysterious Golden Lightning gains high-level intelligence, its terror will be unimaginable.

**