The fishing was just too fast.
Every casual cast of the line resulted in two souls being harvested. Two Eternal Night prodigies would drop dead on the spot, their deaths completely mysterious. One after another, they fell like wheat under a scythe — clean, ruthless, and efficient.
Too ruthless. Too fast. Too brutal!
No one had expected that Yi Tianxing, standing in the middle of the Tongtian River, would pose such a tremendous threat to the Eternal Night prodigies on the opposite bank.
"Those who stand in the river are the ones not meant to be fish. The ones on the shore are the true fish. Willing or not, they are hooked. Who's the fisherman? Who's the fish? Perhaps King Yi truly can succeed," Zhuge Liang murmured, his feather fan frozen mid-sway, his eyes wide with shock.
No one could remain unshaken by the scene unfolding before them.
It completely defied imagination. No one could've predicted that events would spiral to this extent.
"As expected, King Yi is no longer merely a King of Prodigies, but a true monstrous-level prodigy. His techniques are endless and every one of them shakes the heavens. No wonder he could establish the first imperial dynasty in the world — the Great Yi Dynasty. They say emperors are the most terrifying beings under heaven — their minds, their methods, their trump cards — layer upon layer, impossible to fathom."
"I wonder if the Great Yi Dynasty is recruiting. If I could follow a powerhouse like King Yi, I might achieve something truly extraordinary."
Among the many human prodigies, there were quite a few who had no power base and little attachment. Now, seeing the strength Yi Tianxing had revealed, their minds began to stir.
Even without considering anything else, joining Great Yi would allow them to stand out with their strength, gain fortune, grow stronger, and even tap into the dynasty's national luck to enhance their cultivation.
But most importantly — they could finally realize their ambitions. That was what truly mattered.
This… is the human heart.
Yi Tianxing had shown strength powerful enough to tempt them — a power that promised tangible gains. Naturally, hearts began to tilt toward him, drawn like moths to flame. That's the power of human will.
Yi Tianxing, however, was unaware of this. Nor did he have time to care.
The attacks from the Eternal Night prodigies had already begun.
Divine abilities radiating from their Life Charts launched one after another toward him. Clearly, under the threat of the Death God's Fishing Hook, the Eternal Night prodigies no longer cared about saving face. Their only thought was to kill Yi Tianxing — at all costs.
Even cooperation between them was no longer taboo.
Each of these divine arts came from Life Chart Realm cultivators. Any one of them could seriously injure or even kill another cultivator at that level. Every one of these prodigies possessed strength close to that of a King of Prodigies.
But Yi Tianxing made no move to dodge.
Instead, the Chaotic Battle Dragon Robe on his body radiated waves of chaotic light, chaotic energy surging. Protective dragon-spirits coiled around him vividly, almost material. Upon closer inspection, five distinct protective flood dragons appeared — fire, metal, wood, earth, and water. Each clearly defined, condensed as if real.
(New Technique – Fivefold Dragon Defense:)The Chaos Battle Dragon Robe, fused with the Heavenly Emperor Dragon Diagram, was intrinsically linked to the Five Elemental Life Apertures. These dragons were not ordinary divine abilities but part of the emperor's Life Chart.With the full fusion of the Five Elements, the robe's defense had reached terrifying levels. Normal divine weapons couldn't even scratch it; they'd be shattered by the dragon-spirits before touching the wearer.
The five dragons coalesced into a radiant Five-Colored Dragon Ring, with the dragons chasing each other along a profound trajectory. It naturally resonated with the Five Elements of the world, forming a perfect elemental cycle and an incredibly powerful barrier.
Clang!Clang!Clang!
Divine abilities crashed into the Five-Colored Dragon Ring, but were blocked. Inside the ring, dragon claws would occasionally lash out, smashing the divine techniques into pieces.
Despite this, the attacks were too numerous and too intense. Within just a few breaths, the Five-Colored Dragon Ring shattered. The five dragons scattered; a few even broke apart under the fierce assault.
But before anyone could celebrate — the broken dragons were reborn from the chaos almost instantly, as if nothing had happened.
They quickly reformed the Five-Colored Dragon Ring again, circling around Yi Tianxing.
The Chaos Battle Dragon Robe was terrifying exactly because of this:As long as the Life Aperture Essence remained, the protective dragons were endlessly regenerative — broken, they could be reborn. This made it one of the most fearsome defensive divine arts.Unless the robe itself was utterly destroyed, its defense was effectively immortal.
"What a terrifying defensive divine ability. Endlessly regenerating. What kind of monster is this?"The Eternal Night prodigies were shaken. Their strongest divine arts couldn't pierce the defense. This meant that even traversing blades or fire wouldn't harm Yi Tianxing. He had become an unstoppable war fortress.
Fear began to take root in their hearts.
But also — intense killing intent.
A native like this posed a tremendous threat to Eternal Night. If he grew any further, he might become a forbidden-tier powerhouse. A monstrous prodigy like him had to die before maturing.
"Keep attacking! There's no such thing as an invincible divine ability! He can't be invulnerable forever!"The clown-faced prodigy roared, mask twisted with rage and cruelty.
"There may be no invincible divine ability," Yi Tianxing said coolly, "but you lot are far from being able to break my Chaos Battle Dragon Robe."
In truth, even Yi Tianxing was amazed by the robe's current strength. He hadn't expected it to evolve this much — a change that only happened after his dual cultivation session with Yao Yue and Lian Xing, which awakened the missing Life Apertures and completed the Five Elements.
With the elemental cycle perfected, the robe's defense increased exponentially.
At the Life Chart Realm level, very few techniques or weapons could break this defense — unless they could overcome the Five Elements or pierce through it with divine artifacts of extraordinary grade.
It wasn't invincible. But it was enough to dominate the battlefield and ensure he remained unassailable.
This was one of his most powerful trump cards.
Once it was clear that their divine arts couldn't touch him, Yi Tianxing resumed swinging the Death God's Hook.
Screams echoed.
Each cry meant another prodigy had their soul reeled away — like dumb fish caught on a line. It was truly horrifying.
One. Two. Three…
In the blink of an eye, dozens, even hundreds of Eternal Night prodigies had their souls harvested. Their bodies vanished from the chessboard battlefield of the King's Duel.
With every cast, the Eternal Night prodigies began to tremble in fear, terrified they might be the next target.
Their feet moved unconsciously, retreating from the riverbank.
Each step Yi Tianxing advanced, they instinctively backed away.
It was surreal.
They had been fished into terror.
"Yi Tianxing, you will die. The earlier you reveal yourself, the sooner you die. You think Eternal Night knows nothing about Eternity? Let me tell you — we already have powerful agents in your Eternal realm. When the time comes, they'll open the gateway and bring Eternal Night's full invasion. As for you, monstrous prodigy — your name will be added to our Assassination List. Freaks like you must die. If you don't grow up, you're trash. If you do — you're a threat."
The clown-faced prodigy laughed darkly, his tone taunting and sinister.
"Assassination List? Then you better give me the top bounty and rank me first," Yi Tianxing sneered."King Yi welcomes all Eternal Night assassins to come and try."
Whether the clown's words were true or not, Yi Tianxing didn't care.
Clearly, the Eternal Night was trying to stir conflict — sow distrust among the Eternity side by claiming they already had hidden agents. Such fear would erode trust, stir paranoia, and fracture unity — causing more damage than any direct battle.
After all, no one would know who the assassins were.
That was the scariest part — fear, distrust, and division.
"You'll learn soon enough what it means to be hunted," the clown said with a twisted grin.
"I'll be waiting," Yi Tianxing replied coldly.
Whether the Assassination List was real or not, it had no bearing on his current decision.
Step by step, he continued toward the riverbank. He was already just a short distance away.
But now, no Eternal Night prodigy dared to stand in his way. They instinctively backed off, leaving a wide clearing at the bank.
"The ups and downs of life are just too exciting," Green Emperor said dramatically, standing upright and patting his chest."This river crossing is one twist after another! My royal heart can't take it! Thump-thump, it's racing. In times like these, there's only one cure — I must sing to calm myself down!"