The Azure Nether Crocodile surged upward, its colossal body towering thousands of meters into the sky.
Liu Wuxie couldn't determine its full length, but he estimated it to be at least thirty thousand meters. If it fully emerged, it would form a mountain range.
The situation grew increasingly perilous for Liu Wuxie and Yang Ni.
As the beast ascended, it stirred up massive waves that prevented them from getting close.
The Azure Nether Crocodile's intelligence rivaled that of a human, honed over countless years.
Its massive form blotted out the sky above the glacier. Liu Wuxie had no choice but to retreat. If the bone-chilling water spread across the heavens, escape would become impossible. Both he and Yang Ni would become frozen statues.
Even with the Frost Dao Art, Liu Wuxie doubted his ability to resist the freezing tide. That water had given rise to the Frost Bead.
Terrified, Fiery had already fled back into the beast pouch. Despite its divine beast lineage, it remained immature.
In contrast, the Azure Nether Crocodile had lived for eons.
The bone-chilling water began forming a barrier, gradually enveloping Liu Wuxie and Yang Ni.
The crocodile didn't flee, even as the spiritual array neared collapse. Its bloodlust surged as it recalled Liu Wuxie stealing the Frost Bead.
Its vast form stretched like a gigantic chain into the sky, visible from tens of thousands of miles away.
In the Northern City, cultivators gathered in confusion, sensing a monstrous aura and an overwhelming chill. Few cultivators recognized the ancient beast looming overhead.
Yang Ni opened her mouth to ask if they should fight or flee, but Liu Wuxie's aura shifted before she could speak.
"Do you really think I can't beat you? I've just been luring you out," Liu Wuxie declared.
He had pretended to be weak to lure the crocodile out. Now, with two-thirds of its body exposed, it was time to strike.
The beast didn't understand his words but sensed the looming threat.
"Four Dragon Phase! Graceful Dragon!" Liu Wuxie roared.
He unleashed the final two forms of the Divine Dragon Phantom. His figure transformed into a golden divine dragon, leaving Yang Ni stunned.
She realized Liu Wuxie intended to confront the beast head-on.
"World force, empower the Annihilation Fist!" Liu Wuxie shouted, drawing strands of world force into his body. Though originally reserved for Ling Qiong, the Divine Five Spirit Palm had made that confrontation unnecessary.
World force surged instantly, and the entire True Martial Continent trembled. The shockwave collapsed buildings throughout the Northern City. The same force shook the Central Plains as if it drained the world's power entirely.
The heavens rained shards as chaos erupted.
Liu Wuxie drew not only from his desolate world but also from the very continent itself.
This world teemed with laws and energies. During the Ten Grand Ceremony, he had received the Southern Province's blessing, an equivalent of world force.
Now backed by the True Martial Continent, his punch carried unimaginable power.
No matter how mighty the Azure Nether Crocodile was, it remained a beast. It couldn't withstand the force of an entire world.
Across the land, cultivators stepped outside, disturbed by the strange phenomenon. A thunderous force cracked the sky. On the Heavenly Peak, the quake made the profound talisman tremble and fracture.
Elsewhere, a black miasma howled, "Liu Wuxie, you wait! I'll kill you myself one day!" Ling Qiong slipped into a rift and vanished.
Liu Wuxie's Annihilation Fist blazed with divine radiance and reduced the entire glacier to a gaping void.
Yang Ni stood paralyzed in shock. Though she had reached the Heaven Profound Realm, Liu Wuxie seemed divine in her eyes.
His punch's sheer force exceeded what the continent could withstand. The force crumbled nearby mountains into dust.
Luckily, the Half-Moon Nunnery disciples had already retreated.
The strike shattered the Azure Nether Crocodile's ice laws.
Liu Wuxie descended like a flood dragon, his form empowered by the immortal rune and world force.
His punch advanced like a blazing sun.
From over a kilometer away, Yang Ni's vision went white as the impact shattered even her divine sense.
The Azure Nether Crocodile sensed danger and tried to dive, but it was too late.
It blasted a massive hole through its head.
A tidal wave crashed forth, melting the remaining glacier and exposing the ocean beneath.
The impact obliterated the surrounding mountains. The glacier could no longer sustain life.
The Azure Nether Crocodile groaned. Though headless, it remained alive, but death was imminent.
Liu Wuxie didn't dare devour it whole while it lived. The beast could shatter the cauldron.
"Desolate Devouring Art—devour!" Liu Wuxie roared.
The Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron materialized and sucked in the wounded beast.
That punch could kill a fifth-level Heaven Profound cultivator, yet it had only gravely injured the crocodile. Its durability defied reason, once again.
Ancient laws surged into Liu Wuxie's body. His aura surged.
As the crocodile entered the cauldron, it surged from the water and slammed down with a thunderous thud, nearly cracking the artifact.
"Demonic flame, refine!" Liu Wuxie commanded.
He hovered in the sky. Destruction ravaged his desolate world, shattering mountains and drying lakes.
Now he understood that world force wasn't something to use lightly. He needed to break through and absorb more laws to restore balance.
The Azure Nether Crocodile let out a wail inside the cauldron.
Ice laws surged through its body. Liu Wuxie focused his mind, comprehending the Frost Dao Art. He aimed to evolve it into the Frost Mythical Art before entering the Astral Domain.
Mythical arts surpassed Dao techniques.
Yang Ni rejoined the Half-Moon Nunnery disciples along the shore.
Countless cultivators watched from a distance, none daring to approach.
A vacuum enveloped Liu Wuxie, threatening to shred anything that came near.
"Who is he? Why's he so terrifying?" newcomers murmured.
"Is he the City Lord?"
"The city lord is dead," a Renowned Sword Manor disciple replied coldly.
Many staggered in shock. "What?!"
Word of the city lord's death spread like wildfire, as did news of Yang Ni's breakthrough to the Heaven Profound Realm. She would likely become the next city lord.
The Northern City couldn't remain leaderless.
"Then who is that man? He's stronger than the city lord."
Yang Ni stood nearby. If she wasn't the one hovering over the glacier, then who was?
"His name is Liu Wuxie. He killed the city lord."
Word of Liu Wuxie spread like wildfire.
Most had never heard of him. His last visit had been brief, merely for a competition between the two manors.
However, soon, his legend spread, especially his feats in the Central Plains, where he had slain nearly ten Heaven Profound Realm cultivators.
To them, Heaven Profound experts were gods. Yet, Liu Wuxie had slain them with ease.
"Ninth-level Earth Profound Realm, break!" Liu Wuxie roared.
If he didn't break through now, his desolate world would collapse.
The crocodile's laws surged into him like a galaxy.
Terrifying energy rushed through his meridians, propelling him straight into the ninth-level Earth Profound Realm.
With a thunderous roar, the gateway shattered. A torrent of power surged forth.
Liu Wuxie ascended to the peak of the Earth Profound Realm.
Power surged into his desolate world, restoring it.
New life sprang from the brink of destruction.