As Wang Lin inhaled, the Violet Star trembled and hurtled towards him, poised to be swallowed whole. But in that instant, the roar of the Beast of Hope echoed, a surge of ancient god’s power erupting from its very core.

Simultaneously, the eyes of Yi Muzi and Wu Dongchan shone with a strange light as they, too, rushed towards the Violet Star. Yet, the battle had drained them, their strength diminished, their cultivation now at the level of mere Peak Nirvana.

They charged from different directions, intent on seizing the Violet Star.

Madness flickered in Wang Lin’s eyes. As they reached for the star, a series of booming sounds echoed within his body. He swelled, doubling in size, and devoured the ancient god’s star in a single gulp!

The moment he swallowed it, Wang Lin felt an unimaginable force explode within him. The booming sounds intensified, and he stumbled back.

A surge of energy coursed through him, filling him with immense power. He felt as though he could obliterate anything before him with a single blow.

With a mighty roar, Wang Lin’s retreating form began to change. The booming sounds reverberated as his body expanded, transforming in an instant into a colossal giant, dozens of zhang tall!

An overwhelming aura emanated from him, spreading through the void. On his brow, the hidden star of the ancient god materialized, evolving from three and a half stars to a full four!

This was a true four-star mark, inherited from the ancient god Tu Si, a mark of the royal family, distinct from the ordinary four-star marks.

The booming within Wang Lin’s body grew more intense as he continued to swell, reaching over a hundred zhang. A suffocating pressure radiated from him, sweeping outwards.

Yi Muzi and Wu Dongchan stared at Wang Lin, their eyes wide with shock.

With a triumphant clench of his fist, Wang Lin laughed. A sense of mastery over the very fabric of the world surged through him, filling him with confidence. He turned abruptly, his colossal form bypassing Yi Muzi and Wu Dongchan, and approached the golden dragon, who watched the scene in stunned silence.

The golden dragon had suffered repeated blows, its powers taxed, and the seal upon it was unrelenting. Its vital energy was draining rapidly, its cultivation reduced to the early stages of Peak Nirvana.

As Wang Lin’s hundred-zhang form approached, the golden dragon contracted, transforming in an instant into a man in dragon robes. He retreated, his hands forming a spell, and shouted, “Poison Fire!” as the five elemental talismans above his head spun rapidly.

One of the talismans burst into spectral flames, a virulent green fire spreading towards Wang Lin.

Wang Lin’s expression remained cold. He was no longer merely a cultivator, but a true ancient god, a four-star royal ancient god imbued with the power of strength and memory!

Though the power of Wang Lin’s other selves was almost entirely sealed, leaving him with only his ancient god’s strength, a four-star god of the royal line was more than enough to vanquish this golden dragon!

The poisonous fire engulfed him. Its venom was deadly to cultivators, but it was insignificant to an ancient god. As Wang Lin approached, his massive fist descended.

With a deafening roar, a sonic boom erupted. The blow unleashed a torrent of energy like a hurricane, extinguishing the green flames as they arrived.

Green smoke billowed upwards and was swept back towards the dragon.

The dragon-robed man’s face paled. He pointed forward with his right hand, shouting, “Tribute Water! Balance! Slaughter! Burial! Transparency!”

The five talismans above his head flickered, and a vast, illusory blue ocean materialized, sweeping towards Wang Lin.

This was Tribute Transformation Water, with the force of ten thousand jun. But it could not stop the fist of a four-star ancient god!

The ocean crumbled the instant it struck, dissolving into countless droplets. The water possessed immense power, but Wang Lin’s blow was far greater.

As the Tribute Transformation Water dissipated, a golden light flashed as a longsword formed from dragon scales appeared, hurtling towards Wang Lin.

The fist landed with a resounding crash. The dragon-scale sword trembled and shattered from its tip, as if struck by a devastating shockwave.

Behind the dragon-scale sword followed a colossal black tree, stained with blood and filled with the wails of countless immortal souls, attacking Wang Lin with waves of agonizing sound.

And behind the tree came a storm of black earth, swirling and consuming the burial soil.

Wang Lin remained unmoved. His right fist continued its descent, striking the Tree of Punishment. The tree split apart, unable to stop the force of the blow!

The storm of burial soil shattered, and a continuous onslaught of obstacles still could not stop Wang Lin, royal bloodline, four-star ancient god fist!

Having shattered the five elements, the fist landed directly before the dragon-robed man with earth-shattering force. The dragon-robed man spat out a mouthful of blood and was hurled backwards.

All of this happened in a fleeting moment. To Yi Muzi and the others, Wang Lin’s massive form simply took a step and unleashed a punch, sending the dragon-robed man flying backwards.

The sound of cracking bones echoed from the dragon-robed man, blood spurting everywhere. If this were outside, and if his cultivation were not suppressed, Wang Lin would have difficulty hurting him!

But here, Wang Lin held every advantage, and the dragon-robed man was forced to face the music.
Wang Lin, his face an impassive mask, strode forth. With a sudden thrust, his right foot lashed out, a brutal kick aimed true. The dragon-robed man, his face drained of color, displayed a stark, desperate unwillingness in his eyes. Retracting in haste, he wove arcane hand seals, bellowing, “The Power of the Five Elements!”

At his command, five talismans spinning above his brow became a furious blur, unleashing five distinct energies. Before him, these coalesced, shimmering into an ethereal crown, a bastion of elemental might, hurled toward Wang Lin.

A flicker of shrewdness ignited Wang Lin’s eyes. With a sweeping gesture, he seized at the void. Though his body was swollen to monstrous proportions, his satchel, miraculously preserved, remained attached, though small in comparison, still functioned.

From it, he plucked forth a crown!

The instant it appeared, the dragon-robed man’s complexion underwent a ghastly shift. Unbelief widened his eyes, his voice cracking as he gasped, “The Dragon Sovereign’s Five Element Crown! How could you possess such a thing?!”

“And with a spirit dwelling within!” Panic seized the man, prompting him to abandon all sorcery. He fled in frantic retreat, simultaneously summoning a wooden token from his pouch, which he promptly shattered.

The token dissolved into swirling smoke, opening a shimmering portal in the emptiness. He lunged toward it, desperate for escape.

But in the very moment of his attempted flight, the crown in Wang Lin’s grasp hurtled forth, spinning with incandescent light. Within its glow, a single rose bloomed, its petals unfurling to reveal the phantasmal image of a woman, breathtaking in her regal bearing.

She pointed a slender finger toward the fleeing dragon-robed man.

A scream tore from his lips as he became ensnared, his escape thwarted. Pulled inexorably, his body dissolved into a streak of gold, sucked into the crown’s depths.

The ethereal woman turned, her gaze lingering upon Wang Lin before her. Her lips parted, as if to utter words, but no sound emerged. Slowly, she faded from existence.

This spectacle stunned not only Yi Mu Zi and his companions, but even Wang Lin himself. He betrayed no outward sign, retrieving the crown and turning with cold eyes upon Yi Mu Zi and Wu Dong Chan.

These two now presented no true threat. Their cultivation was severely suppressed, a process that continued unabated.

Wang Lin’s gaze shifted, settling upon the Wang Yue that pulsed with the ancient god’s aura. He unleashed a primal roar!

The earth trembled. A hundred-foot giant, his bellow rivaled even Wang Yue’s. His roar was the voice of the ancient gods, reverberating across the void itself. The sound contained the ancient god’s language, the meaning distilled into two words: challenge!

Every nascent ancient god, upon reaching maturity, must challenge one of their own kin. This was the sacred, immutable tradition of their race, a truth known well to Wang Lin, heir to Tu Si’s memories.

Among the ancient gods, three to four stars required the mature aura, otherwise, the growth was stifled. Attaining four stars was the threshold of mature godhood, and the qualification was the challenge itself!

His roar conveyed his intent to the god within Wang Yue, declaring his challenge.

In answer, Wang Yue bellowed in return, its maw opening to reveal countless tentacles. Entwined within them was a figure, human-sized, with five faintly glowing stars circling upon his brow.

“My kin, I accept your coming-of-age challenge!” the five-starred god declared.

The tendrils relinquished their hold, and he strode forth, taking three steps.

With the first, his size swelled to thirty feet, exuding an aura of power. With the second, he became a hundred-foot giant, radiating ancient strength. With the third step, his body exploded in size, reaching over three hundred feet, a divine behemoth.