Chapter Thirteen: Who Reigns Supreme at the End of the Immortal Path

This imperial road grew heavier with each step, the force of gravity slowly pressing upon the soul. If the path of the white-boned youth within this trial tested whether one possessed the heart to conquer and rule as an emperor, then now was the true assessment of cultivation.

The ninety-nine steps of the high platform represented the endless journey, the ultimate end of all things, the glorious path of the emperor, the supreme position of the ninety-nine. Only those who had cultivated an emperor’s technique to perfection, or who had created a new emperor’s method, could reach the summit. Yet, if one could truly invent a new emperor’s technique, even in its embryonic form, this arena would hardly be worthy of notice.

Wang Fan was someone who had cultivated an emperor’s technique, inheriting the legacy of the Ruthless Emperor’s first life, the Devouring Heaven Demon Art. For several days, he devoured everything in his path, consuming all living things to strengthen himself, finally perfecting his cultivation at the Sea of Bitterness realm. At this stage, Wang Fan’s foundation was as solid as bedrock.

This unshakable foundation, combined with the mental transformation wrought by traversing the path of white bones, enabled Wang Fan to endure the ninety-nine steps. By the time he reached the arena atop the high platform, he was utterly exhausted.

Both his spirit and vital energy were greatly depleted. Upon stepping onto the arena, Wang Fan collapsed to the ground, and in that instant, countless beads of sweat poured from his clothes onto the platform, a testament to his exhaustion. His sweat fell like rain, streaming from his brow in droplets.

At this moment, a voice suddenly rang out across the arena, like the tolling of an ancient bell, filling the air with a turbulent energy that shook the entire platform.

“You, young cultivator of the emperor’s technique, have one hour to rest. After that, the arena battle will begin.”

The voice was vast and cold, mechanical in its tone, as if preordained.

So the path of white bones and the ninety-nine steps were not the final trial? The true test awaited in the battle to come. Only after overcoming this would I be deemed to have passed the emperor’s trial.

Wang Fan lay on the platform, gasping for breath, his mind awash with thoughts. After a brief rest, he forced his weary, fatigued body to sit cross-legged, gathering his spirit to activate the Devouring Heaven Demon Art, specifically the Wheel Sea chapter. As he circulated his technique, Wang Fan suddenly discovered an endless surge of vital energy enveloping him.

This was strange; there were no living beings nearby, so why was there so much vital energy?

With questions swirling in his mind, Wang Fan halted his cultivation and opened his eyes, scanning his surroundings. His gaze finally settled on the path of white bones below the platform. He drew a sharp breath, an uncontrollable, wild thought arising in his mind: the vital energy was coming from the remains along the path.

Those who had died, leaving only bones, could still release such powerful energy—what extraordinary cultivation must they have possessed in life!

Wang Fan’s heart trembled. The sheer volume of vital energy permeating this space was staggering. After the shock subsided, Wang Fan closed his eyes once more.

He knew this was not the moment for amazement; what mattered most now was to recover as quickly as possible.

Wang Fan began to circulate the Devouring Heaven Demon Art. Instantly, a massive funnel appeared above his head, at the location of the Hundred Convergences point, which now greedily absorbed the vital energy diffused throughout the void.

This energy nourished Wang Fan’s Sea of Bitterness, cleansed his body, and replenished his depleted spirit. Waves of vital energy poured into his body, serving as resources to heal and repair himself.

Once he restored himself to peak condition, Wang Fan discovered that his Sea of Bitterness had grown larger.

This revelation startled him: perfection in the Sea of Bitterness realm was not the true limit—could it expand further?

Contemplating this, Wang Fan reasoned that the ordeal of the imperial road and the ninety-nine steps had tempered his mind and body, breaking through the limits and causing his Sea of Bitterness to grow.

He had surpassed perfection, stepped beyond the limits!

This thrilled Wang Fan. He knew from countless fantasy novels that only a rare few could break through perfection and achieve the extreme realm.

He had never imagined that the Sea of Bitterness could surpass its limits.

Now, with his Sea of Bitterness expanded, Wang Fan absorbed vital energy from the trial space even more fervently, strengthening himself and solidifying his foundation.

He spent twenty minutes repairing his injuries, then used the remaining forty minutes to fortify his Sea of Bitterness. The vital energy in the space was so abundant, and Wang Fan’s realm was so low, that even after absorbing at full strength, he only managed to take a fraction in forty minutes.

Yet even this fraction allowed Wang Fan to reach the ultimate extreme of the Sea of Bitterness realm, doubling its size and his power.

Having attained the ultimate limit, Wang Fan now felt a surge of confidence for the impending emperor-level trial.

An hour later, footsteps echoed across the arena. At that moment, Wang Fan opened his eyes to behold a phantom figure standing with his back to him. That silhouette radiated supreme majesty, towering like one who had suppressed the ages.

He seemed capable of shattering eternity, standing upon the platform as if the Dao itself bowed to his command, the laws of nature yielding to his will. His presence was singular: where he stood, heaven yielded, the Dao itself could be forsaken. He embodied the world, eternity, and the Dao, black hair cascading over broad shoulders, majestic and unyielding like an immortal monument, standing there beyond any rival.

Wang Fan’s heart was shaken to its core.

Who was this person, emanating such overwhelming might?

As Wang Fan trembled in awe and confusion, a melodic Daoist chant echoed through the void, singing the phantom’s presence. The varying tones lingered and reverberated across the arena.

“At the end of the immortal road, who stands atop the peak? With one glimpse, the Dao of Boundlessness becomes nothing!”

The Boundless Emperor!

Wang Fan’s pupils contracted, his heart thrown into even greater turmoil.