"Boom...!"
A pillar of light, brighter than the sun, shot up into the sky, piercing through the clouds.
The clouds in the sky swirled into a massive vortex, and spiritual energy from a thousand miles around frantically converged on the courtyard.
Nangong Yingying was dumbfounded.
"Grandfather, he..."
Gu Sheng stood with his hands behind his back, a smile on his lips.
"Succeeded."
The light pillar lasted for about a quarter of an hour before gradually dissipating.
When everything returned to calm, the courtyard was gone, replaced by a deep pit with a diameter of a hundred feet.
In the center of the pit, a tall, pine-like figure slowly stood up.
He was no longer an old man with white hair but a middle-aged man with a resolute face and hair as black as ink.
His eyes were like electricity, and he was surrounded by a suffocating pressure... Earth King Realm!
"Hahaha!"
Nangong Tiance laughed heartily to the heavens, and his laughter shook the surrounding buildings.
"Thirty years of blockage, a moment of enlightenment! Gu, I owe you an enormous favor!"
Gu Sheng stepped forward and cupped his hands.
"Congratulations, senior, on breaking through to the Earth King Realm."
Nangong Tiance stepped forward, instantly arriving in front of Gu Sheng, carefully scrutinizing this mysterious young man.
"Who exactly are you? Why do you understand the breakthrough to the King Realm so well?"
"Junior is merely a loose cultivator wandering the world."
Gu Sheng replied evasively.
Nangong Tiance gave him a deep look, did not pursue further, and turned to his granddaughter.
"Yingying, as agreed, you will escort Gu out of the city. Remember, ensure his safety."
Nangong Yingying, although full of questions, respectfully replied.
"Yes, Grandfather."
Just then, a powerful aura erupted from the direction of the palace, and a fiery figure soared into the sky—it was the Sun King, Tang Lie.
He stood in mid-air, his expression fluctuating as he gazed toward this side.
"Rumble..."
Above Sun City, dark clouds rolled, and thunder roared.
A golden pillar of light shot up from the Southern Prince Mansion, piercing through the heavens and stirring the winds in all directions.
Tang Muzhi stood on the highest point of the Sun King Mansion’s Observatory Platform, his face as dark as water.
The jade cup in his hand shattered with a crack, shards piercing his palm, blood dripping through his fingers, yet he remained oblivious.
"Earth King Realm... Nangong Tiance, you’ve broken through!"
Tang Muzhi gritted his teeth, his voice filled with fear and anger he couldn’t hide.
He originally thought that if he waited a few more years, with the Southern Prince Nangong Tiance exhausting his lifespan, Sun City would fall into his hands.
But now, with Nangong Tiance breaking through to the Earth King Realm, his lifespan greatly increased, his plan utterly failed!
"Father."
Tang Qingyun quickly approached, his expression equally grim.
"The scouts report that within ten miles around the Southern Prince Mansion, spiritual energy converged, and the celestial phenomenon lasted for three whole hours, a true sign of breaking through to the Earth King Realm."
Tang Muzhi suppressed the emotions churning within him.
"Investigate! Find out what made Nangong, the old rascal, suddenly break through! He’s been stuck at the Ninth Layer of the Human King Realm for thirty years, and without a special opportunity, there’s no way he would break through as his lifespan nears its end!"
"Yes."
Tang Qingyun bowed his head in response but hesitated and spoke again.
"Father, there’s one more thing... That kid named Gu Sheng entered the Southern Prince Mansion today."
"Gu Sheng?"
Tang Muzhi furrowed his brow.
"The Earth Martial Realm kid who knows the secrets of the Yujing Sect?"
"Exactly. We’ve been monitoring him, but when he entered the Southern Prince Mansion’s territory, our people didn’t dare move carelessly."
Tang Muzhi’s eyes carried doubt.
"Could Nangong Tiance’s breakthrough have something to do with this kid?"
But then he shook his head with a laugh.
"Impossible, an Earth Martial Realm youth is two major realms away from the King Realm’s breakthrough, it couldn’t be related!"
Tang Qingyun, however, said.
"Father, don’t forget, Gu Sheng knows about the Yujing Sect’s matters..."
Tang Muzhi’s eyes flickered with a sharp light.
"Keep an eye on him! As soon as he leaves the Southern Prince Mansion’s territory, seize him immediately!"
"Yes!"
Within the Southern Prince Mansion, in a grand hall.
Gu Sheng followed behind Nangong Yingying, curiously observing the surroundings.
Layers of arrays and restrictions were laid in the hall, isolating the external fluctuations from the breakthrough.
"Young Master Gu, please follow me."


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