Starting as the heir of a marquis's mansion, I gained access to a summoning system.

The old dragon lowered its head and looked down at Jueshen, its ten-thousand-foot-long body coiled around the ruins of the dragon palace, its breath boiling the surrounding seawater.

Its gaze fell upon Jue Wushen, as indifferent as a human looking at an ant.

"Nine Heavens... dare to run wild in Jiaolong Abyss?"

Jue Wushen gritted his teeth, advancing instead of retreating. He clenched his right fist, pushing his Undying Golden Body to its twelfth limit—the fourth move of the Killing Fist: Annihilation of the World.

This punch had exceeded the scope of his usual training; it was a peak strike unleashed at the cost of severe injury.

The dark golden fist energy was like a blazing sun falling into the deep sea. The seawater within a radius of a hundred miles was completely evaporated by this punch, forming a brief vacuum zone.

The old dragon narrowed its vertical pupils slightly and swayed its head gently.

"Fancy."

It just flicked its tail.

The end of that ten-thousand-foot-long dragon body swept across like an ancient mountain range, moving so fast that it even created a sonic boom-like cavity in the sea.

The "World Destroyer" fist of the Godless One collided head-on with the dragon's tail. The dark golden light exploded in the air and was then crushed by the immense force carried by the dragon's tail.

Jue Wushen's entire right arm was shattered inch by inch, and the sound of bones breaking could be clearly heard on the seabed. He was sent flying like a cannonball, crashing through seven broken walls of the Dragon Palace, and finally embedding himself in the seabed wall a hundred feet away, with spider web-like cracks spreading in all directions.

Blood gushed from the seven orifices, staining a large area of ​​the sea red.

"That's it?" The old dragon indifferently retracted its tail.

Jue Wushen struggled to pull himself out of the mountain wall. His right arm hung limply like mud, but his left hand clenched into a fist, and his indestructible golden body reformed. His dark golden skin was covered with cracks, yet he was still smiling.

"Old man...you've got some strength."

He stepped forward and raised his left fist.

"Again!"

Just as he was about to rush out, two figures landed beside him, one on the left and one on the right.

On the left, Song Que, dressed in green, held a sword. The Heavenly Blade was finally drawn—its blade as clear as autumn water, reflecting the entire sea.

The moment the Heavenly Blade was drawn, all the water within a hundred-mile radius of the sea was imbued with the blade's intent, each drop of seawater becoming a miniature blade, pointing towards the old dragon's towering body.

On the right, Tie Zhongtang's blood-red banner unfurled like clouds, the iron-blood patterns on the banner transforming into countless rays of blood light that enveloped an area of ​​hundreds of feet in radius.

The Iron Blood Banner was the embodiment of his cultivation. The moment the banner unfurled, all the rubble and debris on the Dragon Palace ruins simultaneously rose into the air, drawn by the blood-red light to condense into a hundred-foot-tall phantom banner.

The three kings gathered together.

The old dragon's enormous vertical pupils swept over the three, finally narrowing slightly: "Heavenly Blade Song Que... the Iron-Blooded Banner... plus this reckless iron lump. Interesting."

Tie Zhongtang raised his flag to the sky, his voice resounding throughout the land: "The Three Kings of the Underworld, today we join forces to experience the might of the Dragon Ancestor, a half-step Celestial Being!"

Absolutely no God laughed, clenching his left fist and forcibly twisting his shattered right arm behind his back with his remaining left hand: "Consider this my right arm a return gift!"

Song Que did not speak, but the Heavenly Blade was held horizontally in front of him, and the blade's intent had already merged with Tie Zhongtang's Blood Flag and Jue Wushen's Killing Fist.

For the first time, the three peak Grandmaster powers converged: Song Que's Heavenly Blade stood at the "Heaven" position, its blade intent descending like the heavens, cleaving through the vast sea; Tie Zhongtang's Blood Flag suppressed the "Earth" position, its flag surface like the earth bearing the weight, stabilizing the sea currents stirred up by the old dragon; and Jue Wushen's Killing Fist stood at the "Human" position, gathering the power of heaven and earth into a single point with an indomitable will.

A phantom of the unity of Heaven, Earth, and Man condensed above the three people's heads: a hundred feet tall, with a sword as its spine, a flag as its frame, and a fist as its edge, it fiercely crashed into the old dragon who was half a step into the Celestial Realm.

The first strike. The three kings retreated a hundred feet, their feet carving three deep furrows in the seabed mud. The old dragon's body trembled slightly, and the first shallow white mark appeared on its ten-thousand-foot-long dragon scales; its dragon eyes narrowed slightly.

The second strike. Blood trickled from the corners of the mouths of the three, but their energy intertwined even more tightly, and the tacit understanding between the three—the sword, the flag, and the fist—rapidly increased within the three strikes.

The Heavenly Blade struck the dragon's neck seven inches deep, the Blood Banner coiled around its four claws, and the Killing Fist pierced its belly—three strikes landed simultaneously. The old dragon staggered back ten feet, three cracks appearing on its scales, and a trickle of dark golden dragon blood seeped out.

The third strike. The three kings groaned simultaneously, their energy mutually reinforcing each other, growing stronger with each battle.

Song Quetian's Blade transformed into a hundred-foot-long blade of light, slashing horizontally across the dragon's body. Tie Zhongtang's Blood Banner conjured ten thousand blood needles, piercing the gaps in the dragon's scales. Jue Wushen's left fist ignited with dark golden flames, slamming into the old dragon's reverse scale—

The old dragon finally let out its first painful roar, its massive body churning the seabed and creating turbulent currents that churned up the remains of the entire Dragon Abyss. Its chest was charred black from the reverse scales, and its dragon blood gushed forth like a waterfall, staining the seawater for dozens of miles around red.

The half-step Celestial Being's attack on the three kings, which had joined forces, resulted in a stalemate.

This battle lasted for three days and three nights.

On the first day, the three kings used a rotation tactic to wear down the enemy, with Song Que leading the attack, Tie Zhongtang focusing on harassment, and Jue Wushen unleashing devastating attacks. The offensive came wave after wave. The old dragon's advantage lay in its massive body and abundant spiritual power, but its enormous size also meant it was vulnerable everywhere.

Song Que's Heavenly Blade specifically targets the seams of the dragon scales, drawing blood with every strike; Tie Zhongtang's Blood Flag continuously stacks "blood curses" on the old dragon, weakening its scale defense as the layers accumulate; Jue Wushen transforms into a pure offensive weapon, using his indestructible golden body to withstand the dragon's breath and claws, each punch precisely striking the location where the blood curses accumulate.

The next day, the old dragon flew into a rage and began to unleash the full power of a half-step celestial being's aura.

That oppressive aura was enough to make any cultivator below the ninth level of the Grandmaster realm kneel down on the spot, but the three kings resisted it with their supreme martial will—Song Que's sword intent was as high as the sky, neither low nor high; Tie Zhongtang's flag intent was as deep as the earth, neither sinking nor collapsing; and Jue Wushen's fist intent was as strong as a person, neither yielding nor breaking.

The combined aura of "Heaven, Earth, and Man" created by the three of them managed to withstand the mental suppression of a half-step Celestial Being.

Late on the third night, Tie Zhongtang's Blood Flag finally spotted the crack in the old dragon's reverse scale that had been pierced by Jue Wushen.

Song Quetian slashed with all his might, the blade penetrating three inches into the dragon scale; Jue Wushen frantically pounded the back of the blade with his left fist, driving the Heavenly Blade inch by inch into the depths of the Reverse Scale.

The old dragon let out a deafening roar, and the entire East China Sea was engulfed in a tsunami as the roar resounded.

Finally, the old dragon let out a resentful roar, its ten-thousand-foot-long body slowly sinking into the deepest part of the sea, falling back into slumber. Before departing, it left behind a single sentence, its deep sound like the earth trembling:

"The Underworld... I'll remember. The day my true form is restored—"

"That day will never come." Song Que sheathed his sword, interrupting calmly. The Heavenly Blade was stained with blood, its blade scorching hot.

Tie Zhongtang rolled up the blood-red flag, which now had several cracks, but the smile in his eyes remained unchanged.

Jue Wushen used his remaining left arm to support himself as he stood up, his right arm still hanging limply, but his rugged face was full of a thoroughly satisfied feeling.

Amidst the ruins of the Dragon Palace, all the dragon clan cultivators knelt on the ground.

From this day forward, no other force among the seventy-two islands of the East China Sea will dare to question the prestige of the Underworld.

While the news spread throughout the East China Sea, the depths of the Sea King's Palace remained eerily silent.

The King of the East Sea stood with his hands behind his back in the secret chamber, with a huge sea chart hanging on the wall in front of him.

The map depicts not the seventy-two islands of the East China Sea, but an island shrouded in mist—Penglai. The island's mountain peaks, the locations of restrictions, and the distribution of formations are all marked with extremely fine cinnabar, so densely packed that it makes one's scalp tingle.

Three spies knelt behind him, each bringing different information.

The first person: "The Flood Dragon Ancestor awoke and fought fiercely with the Three Kings of the Underworld for three days. Ultimately, his dragon body was injured, and he returned to slumber. The entire army of Flood Dragon Abyss was routed; the Third Prince was seriously injured, and four of the nine elders were killed by Jue Wushen with a single punch. The rest surrendered."

The King of the East Sea remained expressionless, gently stroking the sea chart of Penglai Island with his fingers.

The second person said, "Han Fengzi of the Loose Cultivator Alliance has led all the loose cultivator forces on the seventy-two islands to submit to the Underworld. Of the seven pirate alliances, four have surrendered, and three are observing. However, Tie Zhongtang has declared, 'Those who do not surrender within three days will be enemies of the Underworld.' News from Haidong City indicates that the three pirate alliances are already preparing their surrender documents."

The King of the East Sea paused, a cold glint flashing in the depths of his eyes.

The third person said, "The Five Statues King's right arm is completely shattered; he is expected to be unable to fight at full strength for at least six months. Heavenly Blade Song Que's sword intent is exhausted, and Iron Zhongtang's blood flag is torn. Although the three kings won, they have all suffered heavy losses. Your Majesty, should we take advantage of their—"

"don't want."

The King of the East Sea finally spoke. His voice wasn't loud, but it silenced the three spies simultaneously.

"After three days and three nights of fighting, the tsunami from Jiaolong Abyss spread throughout the entire East China Sea, and three railings of the Sea King's Viewing Platform were even shattered by the waves."

The spiritual energy fluctuations within a thousand miles were even sensed by the people of Haidong City—"The King of the East Sea turned around, his deep eyes seemingly able to see through people's hearts, "If I make a move at this time, the whole world will know that it was me, the King of the East Sea, who did it."

A half-step Celestial being facing three injured Ninth Heaven Realm cultivators—winning would be dishonorable, but losing would leave me utterly disgraced.

The three spies lowered their heads, not daring to speak.

The King of the East Sea turned his gaze back to the Penglai sea chart, his eyes fixed on an area circled in golden cinnabar at the center of the island. There, three characters were marked, the strokes so powerful they seemed to pierce through the chart:

"The Tomb of the Celestials."

"Let them cause trouble in the East Sea," the East Sea King's voice was as calm as a wisp of smoke. "A few islands, a few dragons, what do they amount to? The real game is never on the sea. Once the seal on Penglai is completely loosened, once that door opens—the Underworld, the dragons, they're all just pieces on the chessboard."

He raised his hand, his fingertips lightly touching the three characters "Tomb of the Celestials," a very faint smile curving his lips:

The door to the secret chamber slowly closed, and the candlelight cast a long, long shadow of the King of the East Sea on the wall, making him look like a deity looking down upon all living beings.

Inside the secret chamber of the Underworld headquarters on Ten Thousand Snake Island, a secret letter from Pingyang County had just been opened.