Montaigne, a renowned general of the Great Zhen, had campaigned across the land for thousands of years, his life a testament to countless battles.
In the battlefields of this cultivation world, however, the outcome was often predetermined the moment the Immortal Ships and Dao Soldiers appeared.
This was why the True Immortals who led the major powers, upon arriving here, had all unfurled their Great Dao Xuan Guang and watched from the sidelines.
For once these ten thousand plus Immortal Ships and Dao Soldiers activated their grand formations, their battlefield prowess was virtually unmatched in the cultivation world!
Yet, at this very moment, even with the bolstering power of a million Dao Soldiers and the completion of the Dharmakaya's eye-dotting ritual, possessing such might, Montaigne still felt a chill.
This was because, just moments ago, something had occurred that Montaigne could not comprehend.
After the pronouncement of that young brat, the supreme grand formation, Iron Chain Crossing the River, had lost control!
Gazing at the youth, whose expression remained unchanged beneath the solidified Dharmakaya's giant blade,
Montaigne harbored a thought he dared not believe,
Perhaps... Long Ji, that woman, was not deceived.
But before Montaigne could ponder further!
"Disperse!"
A clear voice echoed through the suddenly frozen battlefield.
Whoosh!
Within the spiritual energy barrier, under the stunned gazes of the cultivators,
The Dharmakaya giant, reaching the heavens, indeed began to rapidly transform into scattered points of light from the tip of its massive weapon, just as the youth had said.
Gong Xiaoyan and Mei Yingxue, who had been preparing to rush in for a desperate rescue, stood frozen in mid-air. While the changes in the formation were imperceptible to outsiders, the dissipation of the Dharmakaya was clearly related to the youth!
But how could a mere cultivator at the ninth stage of the Dao Path possess the power to shatter the Dharmakaya of an Ascended Immortal with a single word?!
In mere moments, the thirty-thousand-zhang Dharmakaya vanished completely, and Montaigne, his eyes wide and bloodshot, reappeared before the world.
The renowned general of the Great Zhen now wore an expression of disbelief, struggle, and confusion, his face shifting like a kaleidoscope.
Unbeknownst to the cultivators behind Chen Luo, Chen Luo's pupils had, at some point, switched to the gray of the Supreme Eye.
Deep within those absolutely rational gray pupils, this peerless military formation, reformed through countless generations of the Great Zhen, was quietly and thoroughly analyzed and optimized by him.
"Ahhhh!!!!"
Suddenly, as if understanding everything, Montaigne tremblingly raised his hand and pointed at Long Ji within the spiritual energy barrier, who was watching with an amused expression:
"I! I understand! Long Ji, you truly are worthy of escaping from His Majesty!"
"It must have been that life-or-death crisis from His Majesty's sword that allowed you to break through to the realm of Half-Step Dao Supremacy!"
His excited words poured out like a torrent, and the more Montaigne spoke, the more he believed himself.
But even he failed to notice that he no longer dared to meet the gaze of the youth he had previously hated to death.
"Hahaha! I knew it! How could I possibly be defeated by a mere Dao Path brat!"
"It was you! It was definitely you! Long Ji, you must have broken through to the Dao Master realm seven days ago!"
"Dao Master of Formations! And a True Dragon Dao Master at the Half-Step Supremacy realm! Long Ji, you have remarkable skills!"
"This treasure that has triggered the celestial spiritual rain must also have been discovered by you after that!"
"Hahaha, a True Dragon Formation Dao Master! My defeat is not unjust!"
All the logic in his mind had fallen into place, and Montaigne felt he finally understood the origin of the unknown technique from moments ago.
"You woman, your schemes run deep! This brat is merely your puppet! Your true reliance is your True Dragon Dao Master skills!"
"Heh, I, Montaigne, admit defeat! But your Vast Sea Sect is destined to have a new sect leader today!"
Having convinced himself, Montaigne paid no mind to the expressions of Long Ji and Ling Long among the gathered Vast Sea Sect cultivators on the high platform, looking at him as if he were a clown.
After all, looking at the other guest cultivators present, who wasn't Montaigne's words making them doubt?
Seeing that other cultivators were also casting suspicious glances at Long Ji, Montaigne's confidence grew.
Even in defeat, Montaigne felt he was a wise man who had seen through everything:
"Has stepping into the Dao Master realm made you, Long Ji, so arrogant?!"
"Heh, just you wait! The Lord of my Great Zhen Immortal Dynasty is currently outside the celestial screen."
"Last time, His Majesty Qin Shang merely gave you a small punishment and did not seriously contend with you, this dragoness."
"But I never expected you, this lowly..."
Montaigne, having regained his pride, suddenly found himself unable to continue.
The youth he had called a puppet suddenly flew before him, looking at the renowned general who claimed to have seen through the truth with a playful gaze:
"If everything is truly as you say, why have you been afraid to look at me?"
Upon seeing Chen Luo clearly, Montaigne instinctively flinched for a moment,
But then, realizing his fear, Montaigne's heart was once again filled with even greater anger!
"Scoundrel! Your death is imminent! That Long Ji is no match for His Majesty! When His Majesty slays this wicked dragon! I will make you regret being born into this world...!"
Montaigne, who was threatening Chen Luo, abruptly stopped his threat because the youth, with a calm expression, raised a finger again.
A sense of bad memory surfaced in Montaigne's mind, and Chen Luo's calm voice resonated through the venue:
"Montaigne, you have made many mistakes."
"Although Long Ji has entered the Quasi-Supreme realm of formations, she has not yet become a Dao Master. And her, and indeed the entire Vast Sea's, reliance is indeed me."
Having said this, Chen Luo turned around directly, his back to Montaigne, and loudly announced to all the guest cultivators present:
"This Grand Supreme Ascension Ceremony was requested by me for Long Ji to hold."
"The purpose is to invite cultivators from all over the world to announce a piece of news to you all."
"I, the Grand Supreme of the Vast Sea Sect, Chen Luo."
"Desire to be the Teacher of the World!"
As his voice fell, an eerie silence descended upon the venue.
The cultivators exchanged glances, feeling as if they were in a dream.
They would rather believe that this so-called Grand Supreme Ceremony was a means for Long Ji to display her might after becoming a Dao Master of Formations.
They were completely unwilling and unable to believe that this was a declaration of intent to conquer the world by a youth at the ninth stage of the Dao Path!
In the cultivation world, the master-disciple lineage was highly valued, and often the master's status was even higher than that of a father.
And the so-called Teacher of the World meant that all cultivators in the world would automatically defer to you, a goal far more domineering than any Immortal Dynasty Lord.
After all, even the Lord of the Great Zhen, as the undisputed number one in the world, commanding the strongest Great Zhen Immortal Dynasty in the primordial land, still had many cultivators who opposed him openly or covertly.
But if one were to betray their master, they would not be able to survive in the cultivation world for even a day.
Such an absurd goal left the cultivators somewhat stunned.
After Chen Luo's declaration, seeing the disbelief on the faces of the cultivators, he gently shook his head:
"There is no point in saying more, and the guests outside must be getting impatient."
"As the Grand Supreme of the Vast Sea, I should also go and properly entertain these guests."
With that, under Montaigne's gaze, which was like that of a madman, Chen Luo lightly snapped his fingers.
Snap!
Instantly, heaven and earth transformed.