Before the eyes of Lü Wenran, countless sable threads coiled around Wang Lin, gathering with impossible speed. An aura of unimaginable terror blossomed from Wang Lin, reaching a fever pitch.

The rate of its ascent birthed sweat upon Lü Wenran’s brow, shook his very soul, and filled his gaze with an unutterable fear, laced with a venomous envy!

This power, this terrifying potential, was meant to be his! It was his birthright, stolen from him! All that was occurring should have been Lü Wenran’s destiny!

Then, with a deafening roar, the gears embraced by Wang Lin, a relic of ancient power, fractured and splintered into a thousand shards, cascading outwards in a glittering rain.

Wang Lin’s form seemed to writhe, enveloped in the swarming darkness, coalescing into a suit of obsidian armor. It spread across his flesh, even obscuring his face, leaving only a shock of white hair and eyes yet veiled by his lids.

A colossal phantom of a Celestial Bull materialized behind Wang Lin. An aura of defiance against the heavens themselves emanated from the beast, its eyes closed, yet burning with latent power.

Within Wang Lin, his cultivation soared at a pace beyond reckoning. This transformation drew its strength from the Celestial Bull’s soul armor, a temporary boon that nevertheless offered power beyond comprehension.

In an instant, his cultivation hurdled the limitation of a missing origin, catapulting him into the early stages of the Emptiness Profound realm!

Before even a breath could pass in that new realm, he ascended again, becoming a Mid-Emptiness Profound!

Then, ever faster, with echoing booms and swirling chaos, as his hair danced wildly around him, his aura reached the peak of Late-Emptiness Profound!

This frantic climb was far from over! Lü Wenran stood frozen, along with Yan Luan, Xu Dongde, and the three distant Emptiness Tribulant cultivators, who had remained aloof from the conflict. All bore expressions of stunned disbelief.

Below, the thousand gathered cultivators were struck dumb, bearing witness to the impossible spectacle of a mortal claiming the Celestial Bull Soul Armor!

“I cannot allow this to continue!” Lü Wenran, seized by the chill of dread, roared with fury, his eyes bloodshot. He lunged towards Wang Lin, weaving incantations with frantic haste, unleashing the full force of his cultivation upon the armored figure.

Explosions shook the earth as magical energies assaulted Wang Lin. Yet, his armor stood defiant, unyielding. Wang Lin remained still, his eyes closed, impervious to Lü Wenran’s frantic assaults.

This armor alone rendered Wang Lin invincible! Not even a desperate self-destruction by Lü Wenran would breach its defenses!

This only deepened Lü Wenran’s burning envy. He screamed and raged, unleashing a ceaseless barrage of attacks, but to no avail!

“Tear it off! It’s mine!”

“Wang Lin, the soul armor is mine! You steal it from me? You will know no peace!”

“I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you!” Lü Wenran had not realized it, but he teetered on the edge of madness. Such a thing should be impossible for one of his cultivation, but the weight of unfulfilled dreams and the agony of stolen destiny pushed him to the brink. He had seen his prize within reach, only to watch it vanish into thin air.

All of his preparations, all of his scheming, had paved the way for another! The insult was too great, the injustice too profound. His heart shattered, refusing to accept this bitter twist of fate.

In his eyes, Wang Lin was the root of all his suffering. It was Wang Lin who had robbed him. Yet, unknown to all save Wang Lin, within Lü Wenran’s tormented soul, a vision of a weeping woman in white lingered.

Wang Lin, in his ruthlessness, had foreseen this outcome and subtly seeded the seed of illusion, thanks to the cunning of the Ghost Sail. He had planted a phantom within Lü Wenran’s psyche without the other’s knowing.

As Lü Wenran unleashed his fury, Wang Lin’s power continued to skyrocket. This time, the ascension reached the very zenith of the Emptiness Profound realm, poised to step into the realm of the Profound Tribulant!

This shift struck Lü Wenran like a physical blow, sending him staggering. His eyes blazed with fury, his attacks growing ever more frantic.

“We were both in the Dan Sea! Why was I ordered to flee, while you allowed the Dan Sea to explode, making a name for yourself?! I could have done that too!”

“I was in the Third Heaven’s Bull Cave! So were you! I’m stronger, more deserving! The Soul Armor is mine! By what right do you steal it from me?!”

Wang Lin remained still, his eyes sealed shut, but his aura continued to swell. He advanced from the Profound Tribulant, ascending again and again.

First Tribulation, then Second, Third, Fourth… Eighth, Ninth!!

Without even the slightest hint of an actual Tribulation, with absolute impunity, Wang Lin’s aura metamorphosed nine times in succession! He ascended from the peak of Emptiness Profound to the true realm of the Emptiness Tribulant!

Emptiness Tribulant, Early Stage!!

As Wang Lin’s cultivation reached the early stage of the Emptiness Tribulant, his eyes flew open. In that same instant, the colossal phantom of the Celestial Bull behind him opened its eyes, revealing an unholy fury, a world-rending madness!

ROAR!!

The Celestial Bull’s spirit threw back its head and unleashed a bellow that shook the very foundations of the underground palace, trembled the earth, and resonated across the vast Extreme Heaven Grasslands, echoing across the infinite expanse above!

Above, the six Emptiness Tribulant cultivators pounding upon the earth, trying to breach the seal, paled as they heard the roar!

“The Roar of the Celestial Bull!”

“It must be! Only a Celestial Bull of the Celestial Bull Continent could unleash a roar that makes my very soul tremble!”

“I have heard something similar once before, the Roar of the Green Devil! This is without a doubt, a Celestial Bull!!” The six, now faces filled with terror, felt a profound sense of foreboding.
Even as it was with them, it was tenfold worse for the less than two thousand verdant sorcerers of the Green Demon Continent. Each trembled, fear writ large in their eyes. That single, echoing roar threatened to shatter their very souls.

Within the earth-forged halls, a crimson haze descended upon Wang Lin’s gaze. Not the madness of a berserker, but the unearthly wrath of the Celestial Bull, channeled through the spectral armor he now wore.

“You seek to end me?” Wang Lin’s eyes snapped open, their red depths holding no warmth, only a chilling emptiness. He gazed down upon Lü Wenran, who had ceased his assault, his face ashen as he stumbled back in terror.

“You seek to end me!” The words rumbled from Wang Lin’s throat, as if memory slowly returned. He recalled the events that had brought him here, and with a sudden, decisive gesture, he raised his hand, sweeping it forward.

The heavens trembled as Wang Lin’s hand transformed, becoming the very visage of a Celestial Bull, charging towards Lü Wenran. With a deafening crash, Lü Wenran screamed, his body sent spiraling backward like a broken puppet.

Murderous intent blazed in Wang Lin’s eyes. Clad in the eerie, obsidian armor that masked his face, he strode forward. With that single step, he materialized before Lü Wenran, dispensing with all artifice, all spells. He simply unleashed a devastating kick!

The instant his foot struck, it too morphed, becoming the terrifying horn of the Celestial Bull!

A piercing shriek tore from Lü Wenran’s throat as his physical form imploded, dissolving into a cloud of gore. His spirit, bereft of its corporeal shell, desperately fled, its madness replaced by sheer, unadulterated terror.

Jealousy and fury were gone, replaced by a primal fear that clawed at his soul. He retreated, his cries echoing through the cavern.

“I am an Elder of the Great Soul Sect! You dare not slay me!” Wang Lin’s gaze was glacial as he pursued. With a casual flick of his wrist, Lü Wenran’s spirit exploded, losing its lower half in a burst of ethereal light.

“I am disciple to the Azure Bull Ancestor! Should you end me, my master will unleash a vengeance the likes of which you cannot imagine!” The spirit, now half-gone, whimpered, his voice weak with the creeping embrace of death. Fear drove him back.

But Wang Lin moved with relentless speed, closing the gap. Another wave of his hand and Lü Wenran’s spirit convulsed. Half his remaining form shattered, leaving only a disembodied head, flickering with the light of imminent dissolution.

“My position within the Great Soul Sect is paramount! You…” The head trailed off, its voice laced with panic. He truly feared for his existence, he who was a cultivator of the Empty Tribulation stage, death seemed a distant and improbable thing, but now that chilling dread was ever closer.

“Do not slay me!” The words were barely out when Wang Lin, encased in his terrible armor, stood before Lü Wenran’s spectral head, his features hidden by the helm, his heart cold with the promise of death. With a thunderous blow, he brought his palm crashing down!

“Farewell!”

The earth shook. Lü Wenran’s head burst asunder, fading into nothingness, his form and soul utterly annihilated.

This was Wang Lin. He cared not for the titles or connections of those who sought his demise. He knew only that should he spare this wretch, Lü Wenran would show him no mercy when the armor’s power waned and he stood weak.

When the game was life or death, Wang Lin would not hesitate. Were this man the son of the Immortal Emperor himself, Wang Lin would strike him down.

In that moment, Wang Lin felt the raw power coursing through him. Every gesture was imbued with devastating potential, a sensation he had never known. Origins seemed insignificant, for they had faded, becoming part of his very essence.

His body was now a vessel crafted from pure origin. His blood flowed with the origin of Water, his eyes held the origins of Thunder and Flame. Every part of him was forged from the fundamental building blocks of existence.

This transformation was wrought by the armor. He felt as though he were no longer a mere cultivator, but a Celestial Bull, a primordial beast who had spent countless ages honing his power in the desolate void beyond the heavens!

He raised his head, his eyes fixed upon the ceiling of the earth-forged hall, his gaze cold.

“Zhang Daozong! Wang Lin is coming!” With a shift, Wang Lin became one with the Celestial Bull, a force of nature unleashed, and he ascended.