Chapter 175: Emperor
The immense Nether Radiance would constantly leak some of its energy, corroding his body.
If Zhang Xiaohou failed to reach Forbidden Curse level and fully refine this vast death energy before the seal on the Ancient King’s armor was exhausted, he would eventually walk the same road as Zhan Kong.
It had to be known, after Zhan Kong became a living corpse, he only lasted a few years before being forced to journey to the Sacred City and end his own life.
Zhang Xiaohou quickly understood that this inheritance was not a simple blessing.
It was also a countdown.
With every additional use, the time limit would shorten.
It was like a demon relentlessly chasing from behind, forcing him to become stronger at all costs.
But Zhang Xiaohou did not feel fear.
If this power could save Brother Fan, save the city, and suppress the undead kingdom, then this price was one he was willing to bear.
Seated upon the Blood Throne, he slowly raised his head and looked out into the endless darkness of the Dark Abyss.
His gaze was no longer the same as before.
He now understood many things at once.
The Ancient King’s armor was not complete safety.
The Nether King’s power inherited from it was not the final form either.
At its current stage, this power was only a beginning, only a key to the kingdom of the dead.
If one day he could truly unify the Netherworld, claim the sole title of Nether King, grasp the source of death, and completely master the Calamity Undead, then only then would he become the true ruler of the Dark Abyss.
And if, in the distant future, he could devour similarly sourced emperor level existences, such as the Egyptian Hu Fu Emperor or the Sea Queen of the Royal Shroud Skeletons, then his strength would at the very least reach the peak of mid tier Emperor level, a true Dominator class existence.
That was the route now laid before Zhang Xiaohou.
Not a simple inheritance.
Not a mere crown.
But a complete path.
A path that began with the Ancient King’s throne, continued through the Calamity Undead, and ended at the summit of death itself.
Zhang Xiaohou slowly breathed out.
A human lifespan, even a powerful mage’s lifespan, would one day come to an end. A hundred years, a few hundred years, in the face of a true empire of death, it was still too short, too fragile, too pitiful.
And at that moment, Zhang Xiaohou also completely comprehended one of his Advanced magic selections.
It could only be the Undead Element.
There was no second possibility.
The inheritance of the Ancient King, the black gold armored robe, the Blood Throne, the Dark Abyss, and the pale blue stardust that had just been born in his spiritual world had all made the same decision for him.
Below the throne, the ancient altar remained deathly silent, as if even the bloodfalls and dragon mouths were listening to the birth of a new king.
Then, all at once, the Nether Radiance around Zhang Xiaohou surged higher and higher.
He slowly stood up.
The moment he rose from the Blood Throne, ominous radiance exploded from his body.
At the summit of the Dark Abyss, a spatial opening slowly tore itself open, revealing the outside world.
It was as if the abyss itself had opened an eye.
Zhang Xiaohou stepped into the sky one foot at a time, as though ascending from the underworld into the heavens.
His black gold armored robe clinked softly.
The crimson cloak behind him fluttered in the violent currents.
Endless Nether Radiance poured from his body, making him look less like a human and more like a sovereign born from the death of an empire.
Then he casually waved one sleeve.
Spatial ripples spread outward instantly.
Gentle, yet irresistible.
Anything and anyone still lingering on the altar, any living presence not acknowledged as the new master of the Dark Abyss, would be swept away and expelled from the core of the inheritance.
RUMBLE!!
The entire Dark Abyss shook violently.
The bloodfalls roared louder.
The dragons at the altar corners trembled.
The darkness churned.
And from that moment onward, Zhang Xiaohou was no longer merely Zhang Xiaohou.
He was the new Ancient King.
And yet Mo Fan was in dissaray thinking of maybe using his demon element again but NO. He saw a silhouette fly up
At the center of the battlefield, the battle had already reached a white hot stage.
Over a dozen Super Mages joined forces, unleashing a dense baptism of magic onto the undead monarchs. Fire, light, water, earth, and wind collided across the sky, turning half the battlefield into a sea of destruction. Far away, Mo Fan was still fighting among the undead tide, his fire and lightning tearing open one bloody path after another, but even he was only one part of the greater chaos.
Just as the joint assault was about to suppress the undead lords completely
High above the heavens, Zhang Xiaohou’s figure appeared.
He stood in the sky overlooking the mortal battlefield below, black gold armor covering his body, a crimson cloak drifting behind him, endless Nether Radiance pouring from him like a dark ocean suspended above the world.
With a single thought, silver dark spatial ripples spread outward like a tidal wave.
BUZZ BUZZ BUZZ!!
In an instant, the spells cast by over a dozen Super Mages were frozen in place, their terrifying torrents of magic erased on the spot as though they had never existed. The undead monarchs below also stiffened, their bodies locked by the invisible authority spilling from Zhang Xiaohou’s presence.
The whole battlefield fell into a terrifying stillness.
Zhang Xiaohou stood above the heavens.
The moment he made a move, he directly subdued over a dozen Super Tier powerhouses and several monarch level undead at the same time.
Among them were the Mountain Corpse and the other undead lords, all of them instantly suppressed.
The majesty of an Emperor was fully revealed.
No one below could understand what had just happened.
They only knew that the sky had changed.
The darkness of the Dark Abyss had opened, and from within it, a new ruler had stepped out.
Zhang Xiaohou lowered his eyes and looked at the battlefield.
He could still sense Brother Fan below, still fighting among the undead, still refusing to back down even now.
A strange emotion rose in Zhang Xiaohou’s chest.
After everything they had gone through, after the Space of Death, the Nine Bridges, the throne, the armor, the inheritance, he had finally reached this step.
He had truly become the new Ancient King.
The vast Nether Radiance surged through him with every movement, and even Zhang Xiaohou himself could feel that his emotions were not as calm as they seemed. This was not only power. This was a kingdom. A deathly empire. A complete inheritance stretching back through over two thousand years of darkness.
From now on, he no longer needed to face the undead as prey.
From now on, the dead would answer him.
If the world wished to call him the Ancient King, then let it.
If the undead wished to kneel, then let them kneel.
If enemies still wished to stand in front of him, then they would have to face the authority of the new ruler of the Dark Abyss.
Of course, Zhang Xiaohou also understood one truth very clearly.
This power was not without cost.
The Ancient King’s armor was still a Death Treasure. The Nether Radiance within it would continue to corrode him little by little. If one day his cultivation failed to keep up, if he failed to reach Forbidden Curse and fully refine this power, then he too could end up becoming a corpse wearing a crown.
But Zhang Xiaohou did not regret it.
Not even slightly.
If this path could save Brother Fan.
If this path could save the city.
If this path could crush the Black Vatican and command the undead kingdom into submission.
Then he would keep walking it to the end.
His route had already become clear.
The Ancient King’s throne was only the beginning.
The Calamity Undead was only the beginning.
If one day he truly unified the Netherworld, grasped the source of death, and claimed the sole title of Nether King, then only then would this inheritance reach its true peak.
That was the path laid before Zhang Xiaohou now.
A path that began with the Blood Throne of the Dark Abyss and ended at the summit of death itself.
The battlefield below was still silent under his pressure.
Then Zhang Xiaohou slowly raised one hand.
The undead army across the land trembled all at once.
Every skeleton, corpse, phantom, and death creature seemed to hear the same voice from the deepest part of their souls.
The new Ancient King had spoken.
And the entire battlefield answered.