Golden radiance, blinding and fierce, erupted across the ravaged lands, engulfing the ruins of the Dao Demon Sect. Within the shimmering light stood a figure wreathed in gold, who spared not a glance for the carnage below. With a swift gesture, he raised his right hand, and a scroll of divine decree materialized.

“Dao Demon Sect, receive the Emperor’s edict!” the golden figure boomed.

The Sect Master of the Dao Demon Sect, a flicker of unimaginable joy and anticipation in his eyes, stumbled back, then halted. He clasped his hands in reverence, bowing towards the heavens. But as he prepared to speak, the elation on his face crumbled, replaced by sheer terror.

For Wang Lin, eyes fixed, paid no heed to the celestial light nor the descending decree. Unwavering, he strode towards the Sect Master, hand raised, a fist primed to strike!

The blow landed with a cataclysmic roar, a surge of Wang Lin’s cultivated power unleashing a force that would make even a Golden Paragon tremble.

To slay under the Emperor’s edict!

The Sect Master, his soul quaking, retreated in frantic haste. His hands flew in arcane gestures, channeling his cultivation, conjuring the dual specters of Dao and Demon, colossal and ethereal, to shield him.

The deafening clash echoed through the heavens as Wang Lin’s fist shattered the Dao phantom and crushed the Demon form. It slammed into the Sect Master’s chest.

The Sect Master recoiled, spewing blood, his face a mask of horror. Lightning crackled from his very being, coalescing into a swarm of electric orbs hurtling towards Wang Lin.

Above, the golden figure, bathed in the celestial light, fixed a cold gaze upon Wang Lin. Holding the Emperor’s edict high, he thundered, “To dare spill blood in the face of the Imperial Edict! How great is your audacity! Desist at once!”

Ignoring the celestial envoy, Wang Lin’s eyes blazed with murderous intent. He surged towards the wounded Sect Master, unflinching in the face of the incoming lightning.

“No one can save those whom I, Wang Lin, have marked for death!” With a blur, Wang Lin’s fist struck a third time!

The approaching orbs of lightning dissolved in a thunderous display. Though a Golden Paragon, the Sect Master could only utter a wretched cry as the third strike landed, sending him spiraling back, his life force ebbing, his face etched with abject dread.

“The Imperial Edict watches! Slay me, and you shall face certain doom!” the Sect Master shrieked, blood gushing from his body, wracked by the residual force of Wang Lin’s blows. He was at the brink, his essence nearly spent.

Against Wang Lin, his power was no match.

“To slay under the Emperor’s edict is an act of reckless arrogance! As the Emperor’s envoy, bearing the Imperial decree, I command you to cease! This is defiance of the throne!” The golden figure roared, charging towards Wang Lin in a flash of light.

As he advanced, a surge of golden light emanated from his form, forming a net of celestial energy that descended upon Wang Lin.

The net pulsed with potent essence, exuding an aura of imperial power, drawing closer with terrifying speed.

Hope ignited in the eyes of the Sect Master, clinging to this chance as a drowning man grasps at straw. With a twisted visage, he chanted, and nine black daggers materialized from a vortex on his brow, howling towards Wang Lin.

“Begone!” Wang Lin’s eyes flashed with icy contempt as he whirled towards the charging envoy. He unleashed a mighty backhand strike.

The heavens trembled as a gigantic palm print materialized, imbued with the force to shatter mountains and sunder the skies, slamming into the Imperial envoy.

The resulting explosion drowned out all other sound. The immense palm print struck the golden net, shattering it in a flash. The mighty hand crashed into the Envoy himself.

With a spray of blood, the Imperial envoy was hurled back hundreds of paces before managing to halt his retreat. He spat blood once more, his gaze on Wang Lin one of utter disbelief.

“Celestial… Celestial Sovereign!”

Having repelled the envoy, Wang Lin swept his sleeve, unleashing a torrent of black wind that surged forth from his core, colliding with the incoming daggers. The blades shattered one by one in a cacophony of destruction.

Wang Lin surged forward, arriving beside the Sect Master, whose eyes widened with terror. In that fleeting instant, his fist struck the Sect Master’s chest!

With a final, muffled boom, the Sect Master’s expression dimmed. Death shrouded his form as he was thrown into the air. As he flew, Wang Lin gave chase like an arrow loosed from a bow, his fist poised to strike again!

The memories of Meng Tuo’s shores over a century ago, the severed heads, the crushing despair of a fate inescapable, surged within him as he struck, blow after blow!

“Die!” Wang Lin roared, and the Sect Master’s mortal coil collapsed, his spirit escaping the shattered remains with a desperate wail.

The trials of the Green Devil Scorpion Temple, the fortune earned through unwavering resolve, flashed through Wang Lin’s mind. His eyes blazed with murderous intent. This time, he did not raise his fist. Instead, he opened his maw, and with a terrifying suction, drew the fleeing spirit of the Sect Master towards his gaping jaws!

The action created an irresistible vortex, and the Sect Master’s spirit uttered a final, desperate scream.

“Ancestor, save me!”

“Envoy, save me!”

The Imperial envoy, holding the decree, watched in horror. Gritting his teeth, he surged forward, desperate to halt Wang Lin’s consumption.

“Wang Lin, if you kill him, I cannot deliver the Imperial decree! You cannot bear the consequences! You defy the Celestial Emperor himself! Do you dare commit treason against the Heavens?!”

This was the envoy’s first assignment, and he never imagined such a calamity. A denizen of the Central Continent, he had seen countless powerful figures, but none as utterly reckless as Wang Lin, who dared to defy the Emperor’s edict!

“You are doomed! Doomed!” Enraged, the envoy roared, his form radiating light, conjuring a gigantic golden seal. With a peculiar howl, it slammed toward Wang Lin, who was on the verge of devouring the Sect Master.

The Sect Master, caught in Wang Lin’s inexorable grip, was being dragged closer, his essence mere meters away from oblivion, flailing in helpless terror.

The envoy’s intervention reignited the Sect Master’s desperate struggle. To live, he needed external aid!

The golden seal loomed, poised to obliterate Wang Lin. But in that final instant, Wang Lin’s eyes burned with a light from beyond, his gaze piercing, filled with celestial gold!

Within that golden radiance lay fragments of the Celestial Immortal Sword, an insurmountable force. As he turned, the golden gaze erupted.

“Begone! Interfere again, and I shall slay you, regardless of your station!”

The approaching seal shuddered and faltered, as if some invisible force had slammed into it, preventing its descent.

The Imperial envoy behind the seal felt his very soul reel as he gazed into Wang Lin’s eyes. His scalp tingled, and a primal terror gripped him!

Such a gaze, such an aura, such crushing power, he had only felt in the presence of the Celestial Emperor himself. While Wang Lin could not compare to the Emperor, at that moment, the envoy felt as if he stood before the ruler of all!

He dared not resist. He could not resist. He stumbled back, and the Sect Master was engulfed by despair. Helpless, he watched his spirit being drawn into Wang Lin’s maw, his essence shrinking, being pulled a mere dozen meters away from oblivion. Madness gleamed in his eyes!

“If I am to die, I will drag you down with me! Envoy, recite the decree! Let the Emperor’s Edict be heard, even as I die!” He would not explode. Instead, in his final moments, he would have the Imperial envoy deliver the decree, sealing Wang Lin’s fate, ensuring that his death would bring about the destruction of Wang Lin’s future!

With a final, piercing shriek, the Sect Master’s spirit was swallowed by Wang Lin’s jaws.

“Let us die together!”

In the heavens, the Imperial envoy, his duty to deliver the edict, acted without hesitation. The recipient had requested it. He opened the scroll and began to read!

“Lineage of the Immortal Ancestor, the Dao Demon Sect Master of the Green Devil Continent: You have overstepped your boundaries, offending the Imperial might! With the remnants of the Green Devil, you dared to scheme against the Imperial Family! If you yet live, then destroy yourself and the Dao Demon Sect before this decree!

If you are slain, and if the slayer is Wang Lin, then Wang Lin, receive this decree! Journey to the Central Continent to meet with Us! We remember your kindness to Dao Fei, and We have never forgotten!”

Sweat trickled down the envoy’s brow. He could not open the scroll until a recipient was present. This was the first time he had seen its contents, and he was stunned into silence.

If he was shocked, then imagine the Sect Master. In the very instant of his consumption, he heard the words of the decree, and his world went black…