The Golden Bee's eyes nearly popped out. What had he just said? Did he call it a "bee"?
The Golden Bee felt an urge to bang its head against a wall. Its clan was an ancient ferocious beast, a creature from the Ancient Divine Mountain, immensely terrifying—and yet he dared call it a "bee"!
The crowd gaped, staring at the approaching youth. This guy was too bold, treating the Golden Bee with such disdain. Was he courting death?
The Golden Bee let out a shrill roar: "You wretch! Die! No one can save you!"
Blinded by rage, its blood-red eyes blazed with 滔天怨气 (overwhelming resentment). Its foot-tall body glowed crystal-clear as its cicada-wing-thin wings began to vibrate, causing the entire world to tremble.
Two fearsome sword lights burst from its wings, capable of shattering hills, slashing toward Dao Ling's head.
The onlookers gasped, their skin prickling even though the sword lights weren't aimed at them—testament to the attack's power.
Dao Ling clenched his fist, his body turning bronze. His entire arm radiated terrifying golden blood qi, crashing into the sword lights. The seemingly invincible lights shattered instantly.
"What? He broke sword lights with his bare body!" someone exclaimed, trying to guess which master from the academy this was.
The Golden Bee moved faster, its wings fluttering into a blur. Sword lights rained down like a storm, each capable of splitting boulders.
The onslaught was relentless, shattering the very air. Dao Ling's eyes flickered as he drew a three-section broken sword. He didn't want to waste time here—seeking treasures inside was the priority.
"This..." The armless youth wiped cold sweat from his brow. He'd thought Dao Ling might defeat the Golden Bee, but seeing the broken sword, he nearly fainted in disbelief.
"Haha! You pauper, not even a single treasure!" the Golden Bee cackled. "You think you can fight me? You're no match!"
The broken sword was pitch-black, covered in rust, looking utterly decrepit. Yet its origin was extraordinary—it had been embedded in the golden passage of the tenth layer.
As Dao Ling channeled his energy into the sword, it instantly transformed. A dazzling sword light shot into the sky, brighter than all the golden lights before it.
Boom! The earth trembled as the light sliced through heaven and earth, shattering the golden sword rain and cracking the surrounding rocks.
"What?" Everyone trembled, staring in awe. They'd thought the sword was trash, but its power was staggering—surely a broken treasure tool.
The Golden Bee's face darkened. It had aimed to suppress Dao Ling in one move, but twice its attacks were broken. Growling, it expanded its wings until they became giant golden membranes inscribed with ferocious patterns, emanating a bone-chilling aura.
As the wings flapped, the sky howled with wind and thunder. Sword lights surged, each several zhang long, overwhelming the sky. This was the Golden Bee's 本命神通 (life-source divine ability), so potent that its wings could shatter treasure tools when fully grown.
"Break!" Dao Ling shouted, his body blazing with bronze radiance and surging blood qi. Stamping the ground, he lunged upward.
Seeing the youth charging with a sword, the Golden Bee sneered: "You seek your own death!"
Its wings flapped harder, sword lights tearing the sky. Dao Ling wielded the broken sword, shattering each golden beam as he soared. Blood qi roiling, black hair flying, he gripped the sword with both hands and 劈下 (brought it down).
Hum! The three-section sword seemed to awaken, its blade pulsing with demonic energy. A massive sword light erupted, like a river of blades.
"What?" The armless youth yelled, sensing the broken sword's terror.
The sword light blotted out the sky. The Golden Bee's eyes shrank as it merged its wings, unleashing a thick golden beam to clash with Dao Ling's attack.
The world shook as the two lights exploded, releasing a torrent of energy that shattered the air and kicked up a massive dust cloud.
"Submit your life!" Dao Ling's black hair whipped around, his bronze skin gleaming. He sheathed the sword, leaping from the chaos with a fist raised.
"Courting death," the Golden Bee hissed, its wing slicing through the air like a heavenly blade.
Dao Ling soared like a roc, channeling blood qi into his fist. His fist glowed like a miniature sun, smashing into the wing with a thunderous boom. Blood spattered as the fist pierced through!
Simultaneously, his hand grabbed the wing, pouring divine power and blood qi into it. With a roar, he wrenched the pierced arm upward, tearing off half the wing.
Blood rained down as Dao Ling moved with blinding speed, stamping on the broken wing and flipping mid-air. His fist aimed at the Golden Bee's face, ready to shatter it.
"What?" The Golden Bee was terrified. This human youth's body was monstrous! A wave of dreadful blood qi pressed down, making it tremble.
Without hesitation, it spat out a jade talisman and bit it in half.
"Not good!" Dao Ling's eyes snapped open as a massive storm surged. Moving like lightning, he reached out, feeling a terrifying force.
His palm threatened to explode, but he roared, unleashing 滔天血气 (overwhelming blood qi). Golden runes swirled on his palm as he snatched a purple beast-skin pouch.
By the time his hand withdrew, the Golden Bee had vanished—the jade talisman was a life-saving measure. Dao Ling's palm was bloodied and blurred, injured by the storm while grabbing the pouch.
Some onlookers twitched—this kid was too greedy. If the talisman had been stronger, it might have shattered his hand.
Dao Ling eyed the purple pouch eagerly and stepped inside. He sensed it was a void pouch, a rare treasure, though he needed to break its seal to access its contents.
The Star Palace was vast, with star rivers quivering overhead and illusory giant stars sinking like a divine sea. Shadows flickered within, and the ground was littered with charred ashes. Dao Ling inspected them, shocked—these were burn victims.
Just then, he felt a scorching wave. A starlight-flowing flame descended ahead, brilliant yet radiating heat intense enough to evaporate a river.
"It's too dangerous here. Star Flames are falling—they can incinerate people. How do these flames form?" someone whispered, prompting nods from others who'd seen many burned to death.
"Star Flames are celestial fires, incredibly fearsome. It's said the Star Academy once had a cluster of Star Heavenly Fire that evolved into Divine Fire, but it vanished later."
"I've heard that too. I wonder what the origin flame here looks like?"
Hearing this, Dao Ling rubbed his nose. Finding the origin flame would be a huge score.
A glazed flame emerged, wrapping around his body as he stepped forward. Star Flames fell thickly, one striking him.
The glazed flame surged, igniting as Dao Ling changed his hand seals, swallowing the Star Flame whole.
He sat cross-legged, slightly nervous. Could he refine this Star Flame? Such flames were rare—success would strengthen his Glazed Flame.
To his delight, the Glazed Flame proved voracious, truly refining the Star Flame. He clearly felt his Glazed Elixir Flame grow stronger afterward.
"He's an alchemist!" someone cried, seeing a figure wrapped in flame dash inward. It didn't dodge the falling Star Flames but swallowed them, reaching the interior in mere moments—envy rippled through the crowd.
The flames grew stronger, but the Glazed Elixir Flame devoured over a dozen, growing more potent with each.
"Where is the origin flame?" Dao Ling wondered, scratching his head as he gazed at the dreamlike star river above, sensing the origin flame lay there.
As he watched, a massive, bloodied corpse suddenly plummeted, hurtling toward his face.