Essence Devouring Art

North of Guangqing Prefecture.

Lancang County City, headquarters of the Overlord Whale Alliance.

RUMBLE...

The sky was black as ink, filled with the constant rumble of thunder. Everything grew dim as dust and stones were swept into the air.

WHOOSH...

A cold wind carrying a light rain swept past.

On the training grounds.

Zhao Jianji’s body was flushed red as he practiced the Overlord Whale Fist. His feet continuously stomped craters into the ground as he trained with all his might.

Ever since Wu Dao had planted the Primordial Magnetic Demon Embryo within him that day, opening the door to his future path, he had been reveling in the pleasure of his ever-increasing power.

Whenever he had a spare moment, Zhao Jianji had transformed into a Martial Refinement fanatic. He pushed himself to his limit in training every day, no longer even visiting the pleasure barges. What were mere women compared to strong, powerful muscles?

HUFF...

After finishing another set of the Overlord Whale Fist,

Zhao Jianji exhaled a long, dragon-like stream of turbid air. His flushed body gradually returned to normal as he felt a warm current flow from his heart throughout his powerful physique.

Looking down at his arms, which were as thick as great pythons and gleamed with a metallic luster, his face filled with gratitude.

’In a little while, my physique will rival that of someone who has achieved Rebirth with Copper Skin and Iron Bones. Reversing the Innate, turning the impossible into the possible... The Alliance Leader truly is a Divine Being!’

Thinking of Wu Dao, Zhao Jianji wiped the sweat from his brow and looked up at the sky, where black clouds roiled like ink and lightning snakes exploded. His eyes were filled with awe and reverence.

Compared to the Alliance Leader, his own small achievements were like a firefly next to the bright moon.

RUMBLE—

The black clouds churned, like a sea pressing down on the city.

Faintly, deep within the Thunder Sea, one could see a crimson expanse like a volcanic sun. A God and Demon seemed to be within, enduring the furious thunder from all directions as it punched the heavens, creating a series of terrifying, apocalyptic scenes.

"The Thunder God is angry again! Quick, kowtow!"

Within Lancang County City,

the countless citizens gazed at the apocalyptic scene of lightning and fire in the black sea of a sky. They trembled, fell to their knees, and kowtowed, terrified that in the next moment, thunderous fire would fall from the sky and incinerate everything.

As if sensing their sincerity,

「An hour later.」

The black clouds thinned and the thunderbolts returned to their nests.

The crimson depths of the sky, like the gaping maw of a colossal beast, slowly closed and returned to normal.

WHOOSH...

Four to five thousand meters high in the sky,

the violent Celestial Gang Wind, strong enough to rip apart a man of iron, howled and surged. Below, the dark clouds shifted unpredictably, gradually thinning out.

Having finished his daily training, Wu Dao sat cross-legged atop the sea of clouds. His majestic, heaven-supporting physique continuously shot out sparks of crimson-gold electricity. Under the restraint of his magnetic field, it formed an indestructible Electromagnetic Shield more than ten meters thick.

From a distance, he looked like a Heaven-Opening God and Demon gestating within a thunder-fire egg.

HUFF...

He exhaled a breath of turbid air.

The Primordial Magnetic Gang Shield contracted, and the electric fire vanished.

Wu Dao opened his Dragon Pupils, dark as the abyss. Within his vertical, crimson-gold irises, a sea of lightning and fire seemed to be hidden. His Divine Power was too brilliant to behold directly.

With a thought, the attribute panel instantly appeared in his mind—

[Physique: Overlord (Great Success)]

[Extraordinary: Essence Devouring Art (79% Potential Release) +

Overlord Whale Fist 800 years (Divine Manifestation) +

Dragon Whale Transformation 900 years (Fourth Layer) +]

[Teleportation Points: 1315]

From the battle at Qingyuan City, he had gained 4,200 Teleportation Points. The largest portion—three thousand—came from Menghuai Mountain and the Unihorned Flood Dragon Python.

Of the remaining 1,200 points, one thousand came from the Four Seas Gang’s operatives, and two hundred came from the Demon Seeds dug out of three Four Seas Gang Demon Breeding Lands by the Overlord Whale Alliance’s experts.

Wu Dao was no miser.

Upon returning to Lancang County City, he had immediately spent five thousand Teleportation Points to raise his Overlord Domain’s Potential Release to the Great Success stage.

The Six-Turns Undying Extreme Gold Body!

This meant his Immortal Cells had undergone six rounds of tempering, and their strength had increased far more than just simple multiplication.

With these complementary effects, his Overlord Whale Fist instantly gained a hundred years of Power, and the embryonic form of his Fist Intent nearly reached the threshold of its Limit.

The Horizontal Refining Great Achievement Dragon Whale Transformation was even more terrifying.

It had improved by one hundred and fifty years!

With 850 years of Power, a normal cultivator would have reached Minor Achievement in the Horizontal Refining Fourth Gate, with their qi and blood forming a dragon two hundred zhang long!

With a dragon-like physique, the rotational force of Wu Dao’s Life Magnetic Field naturally soared.

Under his Mind Control, the bio-electricity generated by the friction of his more tightly-linked electromagnetic cells was no longer confined within his body. By rotating his human magnetic field, he could form the Primordial Magnetic True Gang outside his body for protection!

The influence of all things on the world and the power to control them are all forms of magnetic fields. The Primordial Magnetic True Gang could resist the erosion of all forms of Magnetic Field Power.

It could be called an absolute defense among peers of the same level!

If he were to encounter Xu Sheng again, Wu Dao was confident. He could stand still and let Xu Sheng hit him! He could sing a song while letting Xu Sheng hit him! Xu Sheng could exhaust himself to death and still not break his Primordial Magnetic True Gang.

After entering the Overlord Great Success Domain, Wu Dao didn’t slack off. Every day, he undertook extremely dangerous, limit-pushing training.

After the sixth transition of his magnetic field, he could already largely break free from the shackles of this world’s Earth Evil Miasma. He could fly five to six thousand meters into the air before being restrained by the more ferocious Celestial Gang Wind.

But this altitude was enough.

Whenever there was a thunderstorm, Wu Dao would fly into the Sky Thunder Sea, rotate his magnetic field, and draw the furious Celestial Thunder to strike his body and soul, unearthing his human potential amidst destruction and rebirth.

The thunderbolts of this world were different from his previous life.

They struck his body and will from all directions.

The effect was remarkable.

Although the progress of his Human Potential Release hadn’t increased, the improvement in his strength was real.

In just ten days, his Overlord Whale Fist and Dragon Whale Transformation had each gained another fifty years of Power. The number of Teleportation Points needed for the next level decreased from fifteen thousand to thirteen thousand.

In a sense, you could say he had saved the equivalent of two thousand-year-old Great Demons plus one Qi Canghai.

’Thirteen thousand...’

His mind swept over the Teleportation Points required for the next leap of his Essence Devouring Art.

Wu Dao licked his lips, closed the attribute panel, and felt a pang of hunger.

’Unfortunately... the Snake Race and Fox Race aren’t idiots. They haven’t sent any "Huluwa" to seek revenge on him during this time.’

This left the expectant Wu Dao on a "vegetarian" diet for ten-odd days, until the taste in his mouth was utterly bland.

But he wasn’t worried about having no "meat" to eat.

The Snake Race and Fox Race were former overlords of the Demon Race, after all. They would never let him, a thorn in their side, go.

They were probably plotting how to crush him right now. Sooner or later, they would deliver themselves to his doorstep.

Not to mention, the Overlord Whale Alliance was now the uncrowned king of Guangqing Prefecture. Every moment of every day, people were searching for information on Alien Species for him.

The Dali Empire was growing more and more chaotic.

The Jingzhe Bureau, which suppressed the dark underbelly of the world, had withdrawn. All manner of ghouls and goblins would surely hear the news and stir up trouble.

As long as they reared their heads and caused mischief, intelligence would be delivered to Lancang County City at the earliest opportunity!

...

「Three days later.」

It was another stormy day.

Wu Dao was just about to go enjoy being struck by heavenly lightning, when Zhao Jianji reported something to him with a strange expression.

"An envoy from Pingliang County wants to rope the Overlord Whale Alliance into joining the Royalist Faction?"

In the courtyard, after hearing Zhao Jianji’s report, Wu Dao’s expression also became a bit playful.

He knew perfectly well what kind of place Pingliang County was.

Pingliang County was where the prefecture city of Guangqing Prefecture was located.

It was situated at the junction of Guangqing Prefecture and Wanshan Prefecture. Its geographical location was special, with a well-developed network of land and water transportation connecting it to various prefectures.

As long as one captured Pingliang City, it could be used as a staging ground for troops. Leveraging the transportation network, one could rapidly march to attack several surrounding prefectures. Throughout history, it had always been a place of strategic importance that military powers vied for.

Although the Dali Empire was in decline, a vital location like Pingliang was still garrisoned by over one hundred thousand troops year-round.

And now, there were even more.

Because with Prince Nanyang’s rebellion now a certainty, nearly all the Royalist Faction forces from the two prefectures had gathered in Pingliang County.

Present-day Pingliang County could be called a paradise of the highest order.

This was because the people of the Royalist Faction were mostly pure, righteous individuals like those from the Fangcun Sword Hall—loyal and courageous, with no tolerance for demonic winds or evil spirits. Protecting the country and its people was carved into their very bones.

This wasn’t hard to understand.

Feelings for one’s home and country were inseparable.

This was especially true in a feudal society where loyalty to the monarch was like a mental brand.

No matter how rotten or corrupt a dynasty became, there would always be a group of people with sincere hearts who wanted to save the nation and its people, to prop up the collapsing mansion and prevent it from decaying further.

’They’re even willing to accept the Overlord Whale Alliance, which is neither black nor white? Are they preparing to resist to the bitter end?’

Wu Dao’s eyes flickered. He glanced at the roiling thunderclouds in the sky, then said indifferently:

"Throw him out. If anyone from Pingliang County comes again in the future, ignore them."

’Join the Royalist Faction? That Prince Nanyang has gathered over a million soldiers. He has followers as numerous as clouds, both On the Mountain and off, and countless experts under his command. More importantly, he’s number one on the Southern Border Martial Ranking! Rumor has it his strength surpasses the Heavenly Human Realm! To go against Prince Nanyang for a dynasty that’s rotten to the core, a dying dynasty I have no feelings for? My brain isn’t broken.’

’The Royalist Faction, or the Celestial New Sect, even if I really had to pick a side, I would only contribute my name but not my effort. There’s no way I’d charge into battle and fight to the death, engaging in meaningless ’hunts’ and wasting my energy.’

Having lived two lives, his goal of pursuing the endpoint of life’s evolutionary leap had always been clear.

Whatever lay outside that path, be it limitless scenery or turbulent waves, he would not deviate a single step.

As for becoming his own master and taking charge, that was unrealistic.

Wars in the Extraordinary World were never about numbers. Strategy was secondary; what mattered most was strength.

If you couldn’t defeat the enemy general on the Battle General Platform, having an army of a million was useless.

If Wu Dao were at the Peak of Human Extremes right now, he might have entertained the idea of turning the entire world into his personal granary.

But alas...

"Right."

Thinking of the Alien Species, Wu Dao gave another instruction before ascending into the sky:

"Increase the bounty on Alien Species. Post a Golden List in all the major cities. Anyone who accepts the listing and provides intelligence that proves to be true will be rewarded with ten thousand silver taels!"

Ten thousand taels...

Even Zhao Jianji was stunned for a moment.

That was no small sum. An ordinary family might only earn a few dozen silver taels in an entire year. Ten thousand taels could establish a minor wealthy household.

’Just how much does the Alliance Leader hate demons and monsters?’

"Understood."

However, Zhao Jianji had no objections. He would do whatever Wu Dao said.

Not to mention, the Overlord Whale Alliance had now unified the north and south. Its wealth could not be measured in silver taels. Giving away ten thousand taels every day would be a drop in the ocean.

BOOM!!

After Zhao Jianji left, Wu Dao saw that the Thunder Sea had already formed. Without further hesitation, he rotated his magnetic field and shot into the sky with a rumbling sonic boom, drawing the Celestial Thunder to begin his daily training.

As for how furious the envoy from Pingliang City was after being thrown out, he couldn’t care less.

They were like a clay bodhisattva crossing a river—unable to even save themselves.

Unless the higher-ups in Pingliang City were fools, they wouldn’t mobilize their forces against the Overlord Whale Alliance over a simple disagreement at this critical juncture.

Besides, I, Wu, am not someone who can be targeted so easily anymore.

Unless a group of Land Immortals besieged him.

Otherwise, in a one-on-one fight below the Celestial Being realm! If anyone dared to invade, I would make sure they came in standing and left in a coffin!