Shenlong Shou Lao

Lei Gong focused again, and his expression changed slightly.

Master Wang suddenly withdrew from the battlefield and took a step forward, leaving another figure where he had stood—another Master Wang.

A Master Wang made entirely of pure wind.

He radiated an aura slightly weaker than Master Wang’s, yet still somewhat stronger than Lei Gong himself.

He took four more steps, and four Master Wangs appeared in succession.

One of wind, one of earth, one of water, one of fire!

Each one was equivalent to three Lei Gongs. Four made twelve.

And that was not all.

He took another three steps.

With the first step, a surge of energy burst from his body and condensed into a White Tiger ten meters long.

With the second step, another surge of energy emerged and condensed into a flaming Vermillion Bird.

With the third step, a third surge of energy condensed into a majestic Dark Ox, its entire body shining with golden light.

There were no longer four figures battling, but eleven!

On one side stood the Jade Emperor and his Azure Dragon. On the other were five Master Wangs and four divine beasts.

This… this…

Wasn’t this a little too unfair?

At first, the scales of victory had tilted slightly toward the Jade Emperor.

Now, they had plummeted straight toward Master Wang!

"Is this Master Wang’s true strength?" Lei Gong muttered. Only now did he truly see Master Wang—and clearly see himself as well.

Before Master Wang, he and the Five Great Elders were both just little brothers.

The battle continued.

Five Old Wangs besieged the Jade Emperor. His green robes completely shattered, revealing his true appearance—his blood-soaked true appearance.

The Jade Emperor had become a man of blood.

Countless fine cracks appeared across his body. He looked like an upgraded Jia Ying, beautiful yet terrifying, as though he might shatter at any moment into countless fragments.

The Jade Emperor suddenly closed his eyes.

His Azure Dragon transformed into pure True Qi and shot into his body, merging with him.

He floated in midair, shifting from a standing posture into a cross-legged seated one.

A master could use True Qi to remain airborne briefly, but could never fly for long.

Yet now, he hovered motionlessly. Wind naturally gathered around him, supporting his body.

All the cracks vanished, replaced by skin as delicate and tender as a baby’s, though it was still somewhat different.

It had a jade-like texture.

Lei Gong discovered that he could suddenly no longer sense the Jade Emperor’s presence.

He tried closing his eyes, and the Jade Emperor completely vanished from his perception.

Was this a Grandmaster?

This was a Grandmaster!

The four Old Wangs vanished. The four divine beasts vanished.

Hovering not far from the Jade Emperor, Old Wang raised an eyebrow, then smiled faintly.

He clearly sensed the Jade Emperor’s transformation.

The Jade Emperor had once been like the sea. Now, he was like the sky.

He was no longer profound, but had become vast, almost merging with heaven and earth.

Of course, only "almost."

The Jade Emperor had completely disappeared from Lei Gong’s perception, but he could not escape Old Wang’s spiritual detection. There were still flaws.

If one day he could truly merge with heaven and earth, he would reach the realm of Shaohao, the last emperor. That was also the realm of the Wild Gods and Shenlong Shou Lao—the realm of immortals. No longer mere longevity, but immortality.

Eternal and indestructible.

K’un-Lun had finally produced a Grandmaster, so naturally there had to be a celebration.

The Council of Elders organized a three-day, three-night revelry. Old Wang drank for three days and three nights straight, including Master Chen’s jar of Daughter Red.

It had to be said, it really did taste quite good.

Early on the fourth day, the Jade Emperor personally led the group. Lei Gong and every member of the Council of Elders accompanied him, along with Matt and the other two, as well as those young people who dreamed of becoming the Iron Fist. They arrived at the Sacred Mountain.

In ancient mythology, there had always been the term "Kunlun Ruins."

The K’un-Lun outside was Kunlun Mountain. This K’un-Lun was the Kunlun Ruins.

That tallest Sacred Mountain was K’un-Lun’s foremost forbidden ground, as well as the residence of Immortal Dragon Shou-Lao.

Since it was a Sacred Mountain, they had to show sufficient respect. The group traveled on foot, not even using True Qi. Several hours later, they reached the mountainside and met Shou-Lao on an enormous platform.

It was a Shenlong nearly ten meters long, with wings like those of Yinglong.

A water serpent became a jiaolong after five hundred years; a jiaolong became a dragon after a thousand years; a dragon became a horned dragon after five hundred years, and an Yinglong after another thousand.

For a small dragon to grow to the level of an Yinglong required several thousand years. Logically speaking, a dragon of this size should at most have been a jiaolong, but Shou-Lao was an exception.

It was essentially at the Yinglong level. So long as it had enough energy, it could continue growing. Its growth rate far exceeded that of ordinary Shenlongs, and its strength was likewise somewhat greater than that of other Shenlongs of the same age.

Because it had only been reborn for a few decades, Shou-Lao was not large and not strong. Otherwise, it could never have been defeated by a rookie like Danny.

And to Old Wang, such an immature Shou-Lao could probably be poked to death with a single finger…

"Alas!"

Shou-Lao swam over, looking utterly lifeless. "Hurry up and do it."

Lei Gong: "…"

The Jade Emperor: "…"

The elders: "…"

Danny and the other young people who longed to become the Iron Fist: "…"

No, even though they knew it definitely could not beat Master Wang, couldn’t it at least put up a token struggle? Otherwise, what had they come here to watch?

Shou-Lao rolled its eyes. I can’t beat him anyway, so why the hell would I resist? Getting poked to death with one finger is humiliating, all right? Better to take the initiative and preserve some dignity!

Death is death. I’ve died so many times already; one more time doesn’t matter. In eighteen years, I’ll be a fine dragon again!

"Ahem."

Lei Gong truly could not bear to look. Shou-Lao was practically throwing K’un-Lun’s dignity away.

He glanced at the Jade Emperor, only to see that the Jade Emperor was looking deep into the forest as if admiring the scenery, clearly preferring not to see it. Helplessly, he said, "Master Wang, please… make your move."

Old Wang had originally wanted to give Shou-Lao some face, put on a spectacular battle, and narrowly win in the end. He had not expected Shou-Lao to look like it was ready to be picked at will, and he instantly lost interest. It was truly boring.

If it did not resist at all, where was the sense of accomplishment in conquering it?

Shou-Lao was actually still quite powerful.

A Shenlong’s growth rate was nothing ordinary people could compare to. Although it had only been reborn for a few decades, the power accumulated within its body was stronger than that of most elders in the Council of Elders.

Combined with a soul that had lived for who knew how many thousands or tens of thousands of years, forget a rookie like Danny—even in all of K’un-Lun, aside from the Jade Emperor, Lei Gong, and the Five Great Elders, no one was its match. No one could withstand its soul intimidation.

Most of the time, when someone challenged Shou-Lao, it deliberately went easy on them. It had grown accustomed to dying again and again. K’un-Lun could not be without an Iron Fist, so when it was time to go easy, it had to go easy. This was an open secret.

For K’un-Lun and to create the Iron Fist, Shou-Lao had been quite great. It had sacrificed itself many times.

Couldn’t you at least put up a token struggle?

I’ll be gentle. I guarantee it won’t hurt!

Old Wang gave Shou-Lao a look, but Shou-Lao stubbornly refused to move, determined not to fall for it.

Whether it hurts isn’t up to you. It’s up to me.

And whether it hurts isn’t important. What matters most is that a dragon needs dignity.

Helpless, with everyone watching, Old Wang could only make his move.

He placed one hand on Shou-Lao’s head and ended its life.

"Prepare the ritual."

The somewhat bored Jade Emperor personally walked over, pulled Shou-Lao’s heart from its belly, and placed it into a fire basin that had apparently been used for countless years. His movements were swift; he wanted this to end quickly. It was too embarrassing.

As the heart vanished, Shou-Lao’s body rapidly shriveled and turned into an egg.

A dragon egg half a person’s height.

After some time, the dragon egg would hatch, and Shou-Lao would begin anew, cycling through reincarnation again and again.

What a miserable fate.

In Old Wang’s perception, Shou-Lao’s soul had curled up inside the dragon egg. It did not even seem to mind the cramped space, immediately falling into slumber.

Brother, you’re a Shenlong, not a salted fish!

If Shou-Lao had not been bound to K’un-Lun, and if the Jade Emperor and Lei Gong would not surely have stopped him from taking it away, Old Wang would have wanted to abduct it. It would make a decent mount.

"Master Wang, please put your hand inside," Lei Gong prompted.