Chapter Seventy-Four: Lin Qiye—When It Comes to Combat Power, I Can Crush Everything! [Seven Thousand Words!]
On the screen, the Wolf Lord’s long, blood-red eyes burned with raging flames of fury. He gazed down at the light curtain, his features twisted with cruelty and violence, like a wild beast in a frenzy. So overwhelming was his anger that the void behind him warped and collapsed; the world itself was awash in crimson, as if unable to withstand his wrath.
“Excellent! Excellent! The seventeenth prince of the Great Qin Empire, is it? To dare set fire to the imperial palace while I was secluded in cultivation—such audacity! You have succeeded in enraging me!”
“I will remember you!”
“When I march south with my army, I will grind your bones to dust and execute you by slow torture, knife after knife!”
“Rest assured, I have prepared the most brutal deaths for your human race. Deep-frying in oil, a thousand cuts, being gnawed by ants and maggots for a month!”
“Not one of your people will die well!”
The Wolf Lord’s cruel smile rolled across the sky like thunder. Around the pyramid, twenty million wolf clan golden core cultivators, arrayed in neat ranks, prostrated themselves, trembling with terror.
Looking upon the endless legions of his warriors below, the Wolf Lord’s pride surged. A domineering aura radiated from him, unrivaled and supreme. Suspended in the void, eight heavenly gates within him shone with dazzling brilliance, like eight blazing suns lurking inside his body. The scorching light was blinding, and his immense power suppressed the land for miles around.
He bared his fangs in a chilling grin, drew his sword, and pointed it southward.
“Southward! Southward! Break through the human nation's Gate of Destiny! Sweep them aside!”
“I have already ignited eight heavenly gates; with a lift of my hand, I can suppress all things! The Great Qin Universe belongs to our wolf clan!”
“My grand ambitions begin now!”
“I will lead the wolf clan to conquer universe after universe!”
His blood-red eyes gleamed, his jaw clenched as he issued the marching command. Like thunder, the order echoed, reaching every wolf warrior’s ear precisely.
In an instant, the morale of twenty million wolf clan golden core cultivators soared, boiling over like oil on fire.
“Southward! Southward!”
“Southward! Southward!”
They roared, transforming into a swarm of locusts, a black flood surging toward the Great Qin Empire. The mighty army moved like mountains and seas, earth-shattering, causing even the blood-colored light curtain to tremble.
The wind howled, the land trembled. Even separated by the light curtain, one could feel the indomitable spirit of the wolf army and the suffocating pressure, as if a storm was about to break.
At this moment, within the Great Qin Empire, shrouded by the light curtain, sixty million citizens were frightened out of their wits, their faces pale with dread.
They recalled the proverb that had been passed down for tens of thousands of years: “The wolf clan, if less than ten thousand, can be resisted; if more than ten thousand, invincible!”
The overwhelming might of the wolf clan filled the hearts of the common folk with fear.
“Can our people withstand such vast, endless wolf clan warriors?”
“Will the seventeenth prince truly lead us to victory?”
The wolf clan’s strength left the populace deeply anxious.
“Is it hopeless?”
“We humans have been defeated for twenty thousand years; we simply can’t match the wolf clan!”
Despair gripped their hearts, suffocating them.
Far away in the palace, the old emperor exhaled a long, heavy breath.
“Seventeen made a misstep, shouldn’t have attacked the palace—should have patiently built up strength for ten years…”
He shook his head and sighed.
“Now, the Wolf Lord is blinded by rage. Two million armies marching south, determined to cross the Gate of Destiny!”
“If the Wolf Lord spares nothing, the two million soldiers at the Gate will be wiped out! All the warriors will die, and the Gate will fall!”
The emperor’s brows furrowed with worry.
Suddenly, his heart clenched, and a wild thought arose.
“Ever since Seventeen burned the wolf clan’s royal city, he’s stayed at the Gate of Destiny and has no intention of returning…”
“It seems he’s waiting for this day… Could it be? Could it be…”
The old emperor was incredulous.
Beside him, Consort Ning looked up at the blood-colored light curtain, her palms sweaty, so anxious she could barely breathe.
“Your Majesty, with the wolf clan launching their attack, will Seventeen be in danger? Please, think of a way…”
The emperor’s gaze was deep and subdued. After pondering for a long time, he finally exhaled slowly.
“There will be no danger. This is likely Seventeen’s careful calculation.”
Consort Ning’s beautiful face was filled with bewilderment.
“The Gate of Destiny is at risk, yet it’s a careful calculation?”
She could not believe it.
The Wolf Lord was leading twenty million, determined to break through.
What scheme could reverse the situation?
Even though she didn’t understand warfare, she knew the situation was dire, nearly hopeless. She nervously gripped her dress.
The emperor took her hand.
“Don’t worry too much. I suspect… Seventeen infiltrated the wolf clan’s heartland, killed all the Wolf Lord’s sons and consorts, and burned the palace and royal city precisely to enrage him.”
Consort Ning was puzzled.
“Why deliberately enrage the Wolf Lord? Our strength is so much less than theirs. Isn’t that playing with fire? If the Wolf Lord is determined to break through, can the Gate really hold?”
The emperor smiled and gently touched her cheek.
“If the wolf clan spares nothing, the Gate truly cannot hold. Seventeen’s actions look like playing with fire.”
“But if… Seventeen’s goal is to seize the chance to kill the Wolf Lord, does it matter whether the Gate holds? Once the Wolf Lord is dead, the wolf clan will be leaderless and inevitably fall into chaos…”
Hearing this, Consort Ning gasped.
“You mean Seventeen aims to decapitate the Wolf Lord?”
“But does Seventeen have such strength? He’s only ignited seven heavenly gates, while the Wolf Lord has eight!”
“The difference between seven and eight heavenly gates is immense. Where does Seventeen get the confidence to decapitate the Wolf Lord?”
She grew even more anxious.
Yet the emperor grew calmer.
“My love, you’re mistaken. We can’t judge Seventeen by common standards.”
“I am at the peak of four heavenly gates, yet cannot defeat the elders of the six great sects. But Seventeen, upon entering four gates, could crush them!”
“Now, with seven gates, why couldn’t he defeat eight? Seventeen is a supreme genius, a prodigy—it’s not too hard for him to fight above his level.”
Consort Ning fell silent.
“Your reasoning is sound… But isn’t it too risky? The Wolf Lord has twenty million golden core cultivators. If they surround Seventeen, what then?”
The emperor laughed.
“That’s where Seventeen’s brilliance lies.”
“It’s also why he went deep into the wolf clan’s heartland and burned the palace.”
“In their heartland, Seventeen wouldn’t dare go all out to kill the Wolf Lord. But at the Gate of Destiny, he dares! Behind him is the Gate, and Miss Zhu is there to support him. If he risks everything to slay the Wolf Lord, he can retreat to safety!”
“For this, Seventeen has carefully set up an open scheme—one that has lured the Wolf Lord to the Gate.”
With this realization, the emperor’s mind cleared.
“Seventeen once told me: the way to break the Fate-Destroying Divine Arrow is for all people to rise up, their morale high, their confidence united!”
“So… by burning the palace, Seventeen boosts human confidence, humiliates the Wolf Lord, and forces him to seek revenge.”
“Most importantly, Seventeen is blatantly telling the Wolf Lord that he has seen through the Fate-Destroying Divine Arrow’s weakness.”
“These three reasons are enough to drive the Wolf Lord to the Gate. It’s a completely unhidden scheme!”
“To outsiders, Seventeen seems reckless, courting destruction.”
“To the Wolf Lord, Seventeen has seen the flaw in the Divine Arrow and acts accordingly.”
“But from Seventeen’s perspective, he has been calculating all along—step by step binding the Wolf Lord to the Gate, then striking in the safest place to kill him!”
He exhaled deeply.
“Seventeen… truly a born emperor. Such meticulous planning is chilling—even I break out in cold sweat.”
“Fortunately, this is the emperor of the human race!”
He patted Consort Ning’s hand, smiling with relief.
Consort Ning pondered.
“Your Majesty’s analysis is reasonable, but… what if the Wolf Lord also wants to decapitate Seventeen?”
Her words stunned the emperor.
“Yes, the Wolf Lord has ignited eight heavenly gates, standing atop the Great Qin Universe. If he seeks to decapitate Seventeen…”
His brows knitted.
“I’ll send word immediately, urging Seventeen to be cautious.”
He spoke with grave determination, gazing toward the Gate of Destiny.
…
At that moment, atop the Gate of Destiny, Lin Qiye and Zhu Yuheng stood on the ramparts, quietly watching the blood-colored light curtain.
“It happened just as you predicted. That foolish wolf is bringing all his forces against the Gate.”
“Are you confident you can kill him?”
“I am.”
“How great is your confidence?”
Lin Qiye’s eyes blazed, his voice calm. “Absolute.”
Zhu Yuheng’s elegant brows arched in doubt. “Isn’t that a bit overconfident?”
Lin Qiye glanced at her seriously.
“Overconfident? I don’t think so. In these two months, the Qian and Kun gates have transformed all five heavenly gates within me into golden gates. My power is far beyond seven gates alone.”
“If the Wolf Lord appears, I will slay him.”
Lin Qiye spoke every word with resolute conviction. He was a supreme genius, blessed with innate divine physique and a nine-colored thunder body. He possessed ten strands of Purple Star True Qi and had cultivated a mass of Purple Star Sword Qi. With such cards in hand, what does it matter to scorn all heroes?
Seeing Lin Qiye so assured, Zhu Yuheng’s gaze grew intense.
“You believe you can slay that foolish wolf—but what if he thinks he can slay you?”
Lin Qiye remained composed. “Then he truly doesn’t know his limits.”
Zhu Yuheng: “…”
She was awed by Lin Qiye’s unrivaled confidence. Her heart thudded wildly. Though she hesitated to admit it, at this moment, she could not tear her gaze from the radiance shining from Lin Qiye.
She quietly watched his profile, a thought rising in her mind.
“If I were Ji Qinghuan, perhaps three million years of pursuit would be worth it, willingly…”
Realizing this, Zhu Yuheng was startled, quickly extinguishing the thought, still torn within herself.
…
Ten days later, outside the Gate of Destiny, the wolf clan’s golden core cultivators swarmed like locusts, flooding toward the gate. The sky was dark, sun and stars obscured. Looking up, the entire sky was covered by the wolf clan’s forces.
At the fore stood the Wolf Lord, who had ignited eight heavenly gates, exuding a breath that coalesced into sinister, blood-red dragons billowing behind him.
“Heh.”
The Wolf Lord narrowed his bloody eyes, cold and disdainful, sweeping his gaze over the Gate. His first look landed on Zhu Yuheng.
“Never expected you’d still be alive.”
“But your cultivation is stalled at the weak seven heavenly gates, while I… have ascended to the supreme eighth!”
“The difference between us is vast! You can’t withstand even ten moves from me now.”
He scorned Zhu Yuheng, then fixed his blood-red gaze on Lin Qiye.
“As for you, also merely weak at seven heavenly gates… heh, even together, you cannot touch me!”
“Today, even with the Gate, your human race will be annihilated!”
With eight gates ignited, his confidence was boundless. He was too strong, able to crush seven-gate cultivators with ease. In this world, he had no equal. He had begun to study powerful foes in other universes.
His thoughts soaring, the Wolf Lord laughed skyward.
“Human rats! Dare you come down and die?!”
“No? Heh!”
“Cowards! Since you won’t come out, I’ll shatter your proud barrier, crush your only remaining national confidence!”
“Ten Thousand Blades—Open the Sea!”
His lips curled as he barked coldly. No sooner had he spoken than a river of blood-colored blades surged down from the heavens.
Zhu Yuheng’s eyes trembled. She recognized the blood blade river as the Wolf Lord’s trump card. In their previous death battle, it had threatened her life. Now, its power was tenfold greater; even with her full strength, she could not withstand a single strike.
“So strong! Is this the power of an eight-gate cultivator?”
She watched as the blood blade river crashed into the Gate.
Boom!
A deafening explosion shook the entire Gate. The terrifying blast left countless warriors’ ears ringing and minds reeling in shock.
Within that thunderous roar, the Gate’s walls splintered, stones flying, and a gap over a hundred meters wide opened in the barrier.
Witnessing this, the defenders’ hearts raced in terror.
“Impossible! He’s actually blasted a breach in the Gate?”
“That’s the Gate of Destiny! For tens of thousands of years, no one has moved it, but the Wolf Lord has not only shaken it, he has damaged it!”
The three generals of the Meng family turned pale, despair flooding their hearts.
“If even the Gate cannot withstand him, humanity has nowhere to hide!”
“Is this the end? Are we truly at the end of the road?”
Sensing the despair among the human warriors, the Wolf Lord’s aura grew even stronger, deeper, unfathomable, like an abyss.
“Despair? Your proud Gate is nothing before me!”
“Just ten more times and the Gate will shatter! Nothing will stop our wolf clan!”
He laughed wildly, raising his arm again to summon an even more terrifying river of blood blades.
The crimson river covered the sky, plunging down like a blood dragon toward the Gate, threatening to crush it to dust.
Zhu Yuheng’s eyes narrowed.
“The Wolf Lord’s power seems unexpectedly strong. Can you kill him?”
Lin Qiye said nothing, merely unfurled his wings and vanished instantly.
Zhu Yuheng tried to follow his shadow, but Lin Qiye had already disappeared into the void.
“His speed has doubled since two months ago—such rapid progress!”
She murmured in admiration.
At that moment, in the void, the Wolf Lord, controlling the blood river, suddenly felt his heart tremble. His heart raced, eyelids quivered, scalp tingled. Instinct told him a life-threatening presence was approaching.
He was shocked, staring at Lin Qiye’s ghostly figure.
“So fast—I must go all out just to catch a fleeting shadow! The heavenly kings are completely unaware! Twenty million golden core cultivators know nothing!”
He gasped, waves of shock surging in his heart.
Yet he did not hesitate. In a flash, the evil blood dragons behind him lunged at Lin Qiye.
At the same time, he willed forward tens of thousands of golden core cultivators to self-destruct.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
A series of terrifying explosions erupted like miniature suns, their shockwaves shattering space.
The Wolf Lord seized the chance to retreat, cursing as he fled.
“Damn it! What is this monster—a seven-gate cultivator with the power to kill me?!”
He could not believe it, could not accept the reality!
He had ignited eight heavenly gates! He had cut off humanity’s luck, blocked the breakthroughs of that woman and this youth. He had double insurance. The outcome should have been decaying human luck, the entire race crushed beneath his iron heel! He should stand undefeated atop the universe, ruling all!
Yet—how had it come to this?
In just one year, the boy had broken from five gates to seven?!
Impossible! Impossible!
The Wolf Lord’s face twisted in madness as he retreated, triggering more self-destructions to block Lin Qiye’s advance.
In mere moments, over half a million golden core cultivators had self-destructed, and the number kept rising.
Faced with the explosions, Lin Qiye’s eyes were cold. As the blasts erupted, a golden bell shield appeared around him, letting him surge ahead through the flames. But the explosions were fierce, layered, battering his shield, shattering ten in succession.
“Using the golden bell to resist, the consumption must be enormous. I doubt you can withstand two hundred, your spiritual power will run dry! Are you sure you want to continue chasing?”
The Wolf Lord sneered, hiding in the distance.
In front of him, the golden core cultivators formed a wall of bodies. If Lin Qiye kept chasing, they would self-destruct without hesitation—first a million, then five million, then ten million.
In short, the Wolf Lord would push the human-wave tactic to insane extremes.
“Come! Keep chasing! Let’s see how long you last. I can wait for your power to run dry before striking you down. If you’re not afraid, keep coming!”
He warned viciously.
Lin Qiye halted nearby, smiling calmly.
“I’ll let you leave, then.”
“But… do you think you can retreat, break through to true nascent soul, and turn the tide?”
“Ridiculous! In just one year, I’ve ignited two heavenly gates—and golden gates on my wings! Along with the eight within, I can ignite ten in total! My monstrous talent surpasses your imagination!”
“Besides, do you think you’ll break through faster than me?”
He sneered.
“If I were you, I’d go all out now. Because this is your last chance.”
“Too bad—a generation’s proud Wolf Lord, honored as Heaven’s Khan, turns out to be a coward and weakling.”
Hearing this, the Wolf Lord behind the wall was silent, jaw clenched, chest heaving, breath heavy.
“You’re right. I’m no match for you; the wolf clan’s defeat is certain. So what if I’m a coward? Live to fight another day! If I can’t beat you, I’ll take my people and flee to another universe.”
“What do you think?”
He dispersed the wall; the golden core cultivators stepped aside, opening a tunnel connecting Lin Qiye and the Wolf Lord.
The moment the tunnel appeared, a curse-laden black arrow emerged from the Wolf Lord’s brow, shooting at Lin Qiye’s chest at lightning speed.
“Hahaha, unexpected, isn’t it? I have another card! The Curse Divine Arrow, forged at the cost of fifteen hundred years of my lifespan! So fast, even true nascent soul experts may not dodge it! Cough, cough! I sacrificed terribly to kill you!”
Black blood oozed from his seven apertures, foul blood spewing several meters from his throat. Though weak, he laughed heartily at his reversal, the thrill of killing from a disadvantage.
“You’ve lost! Struck by my curse arrow, you’re doomed…wait!”
Suddenly, he felt a chill in his chest, a wave of pain.
He looked down to see his entire chest hollowed out by a blast of Purple Star Sword Qi, the gap as thick as a barrel. No heart remained. Lungs, ribs—all obliterated. The lingering thunder energy tore at his wound.
“How…how could you strike so fast?!”
He vomited blood, staring in shock at Lin Qiye.
“Damn it! You only have seven heavenly gates—how can you crush my eight?!”
He stared in disbelief, but Lin Qiye had no time to answer. His wings twisted and pulsed, blowing him sideways by several inches in a dangerous, exaggerated move.
The curse arrow streaked past his side.
In the next moment, his wings twisted again in a difficult maneuver. His body floated like a sheet of paper, darting backward and vanishing in an instant.
A dozen breaths later, Lin Qiye landed back at the Gate.
Seeing this, the Wolf Lord’s pupils trembled violently, his face filled with incredulity.
“Your wings…can dodge like that? Damn, you kept hiding your power to the very end! Damn! Damn!”
Realizing he was utterly defeated, the Wolf Lord raged helplessly.
But in only a few breaths, his aura plummeted, the light in his eyes fading…
Lin Qiye smiled coldly.
“Your Fate-Destroying and Curse Arrows are extraordinary—but that’s just one aspect. In combat, I can crush all; that’s enough.”
His words made the Wolf Lord’s pupils flare with light, his life flickering for a few seconds, regret and unwillingness surging.
But he died all the same. His body fell.
All around, the wolf clan’s golden core cultivators were dumbstruck. Even the heavenly kings were frozen.
“The Wolf Lord was killed?”
“Impossible! He ignited eight gates—invincible! How could he die?”
They could not believe it.
Yet—the Wolf Lord’s chest was pierced, and his life force was visibly fading.
“The Wolf Lord is dead!”
“The Wolf Lord is dead!”
“Our Heaven’s Khan is dead!”
A heart-wrenching wail echoed across the skies.
Immediately, the wolf clan’s army morale collapsed. The heavenly kings looked back in terror at Lin Qiye, fear making them break out in cold sweat.
“It’s over! Humanity has produced a super prodigy—the wolf clan faces annihilation!”
A chilling thought rose in all their minds.
They gritted their teeth, glaring hatefully at Lin Qiye, wishing to kill him with their eyes.
But Lin Qiye stood calmly atop the Gate. His features were cold; his gaze was so icy it made their scalps tingle.
The heavenly kings caught the Wolf Lord’s corpse.
“Attack the Gate! Attack the Gate! Avenge the Wolf Lord!”
They howled skyward, issuing the command.
Yet Lin Qiye suddenly stepped into the void. His wings unfurled, thunder roaring; once only three meters wide, they now spanned hundreds. Terrifying lightning covered the sky. A phantom of a thousand-year flood dragon coiled behind him, its bloody eyes gazing down.
Countless snow-white bolts formed a thousand-meter-long divine dragon, its eyes opening in his wings.
The ultimate dragon’s might swept across the heavens.
At this moment, Lin Qiye was like a god wielding thunder, overlooking the millions of wolf clan warriors below.
He swallowed the world, despising all.
His voice rang out across the sky.
“One step forward—and you enter the underworld! Who dares test it?”
His icy voice made sweat bead on the heavenly kings’ foreheads.
Two million wolf warriors were just as terrified.
With the Wolf Lord slain, their morale was at rock bottom. Their fear of Lin Qiye reached its peak.
Facing Lin Qiye, godlike in presence, they dared not linger.
They hurriedly carried the Wolf Lord’s corpse, retreating like a tide…
Lewen