Chapter 1049: Three Crowned Realms
When Li Jingzhe's cold voice reached everyone's ears, the experts from the various powers were shocked. Was Li Jingzhe planning to start a battle with the Divine Tiger King?
A battle of such a ma.s.sive scale was rare even in the inner divine continent.
Divine Tiger King Zhao Zong's face darkened. He was not having an easy time dealing with the unreasonable Li Jingzhe. An invisible, terrifying pressure expanded from him, and the entire world began to quake. Worldly natural energy whipped upwards like an angry tide in the face of their confrontation.
"Li Jingzhe, you're too arrogant!" Zhao Zong shouted in a deep voice. His anger could not be concealed any longer. He was well known within the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Zhao for being tyrannical and forcing things to go his way all the time. No one dared to go against his wishes. Hearing such provocative words coming from Li Jingzhe had fully awakened his murderous intent.
Zhao Zong knew that Li Jingzhe had acted unreasonably because he wanted to show everyone he would protect Li Luo no matter what. He wanted to give a warning to the other forces. If someone planned to scheme against Li Luo, they would incur the wrath of the Dragon's Fang Lineage.
Clearly, his grandchild was of utmost importance to Li Jingzhe. He was much more significant than anyone else.
However, Zhao Zong was even more furious when he thought about this situation more deeply. Li Jingzhe wanted to demonstrate his commitment to his grandson to the world, and Zhao Zong had been chosen as the target! Did Li Jingzhe think he was a pushover?
"Li Jingzhe, do you really think I'm scared of you? If you want a fight, I'll give you one!" Zhao Zong declared with a heartless tone. The temperature of the surroundings plunged instantly and a terrifying murderous intent filled the area. All the Dukes could feel their scalps turning numb.
Zhao Zong was not planning to give in either. He was going to clash directly with Li Jingzhe!
All the Dukes retreated rapidly. They did not want to risk getting caught in the crossfire. They were nothing more than cannon fodder in the presence of these two, just like Li Luo and the Heavenly Pearl juniors.
When Zhao Zong struck back against Li Jingzhe's provocation, he took a step forward. He then rose into and, before everyone's surprised eyes, his body expanded at an alarming rate.
After just a few moments, Zhao Zong had become a giant.
His gigantic body was over a hundred thousand feet tall, looking even more overwhelming than the mountains that stood tall in the surroundings. On his body were numerous ancient runes. Each of them emitted an esoteric aura, and one could feel how unfathomable and archaic they were. This scene left everyone dumbfounded as they looked at the giant that shadowed over the plains.
It was a truly intimidating sight. He resembled an the ancient G.o.d who had created the world itself.
Li Luo's face was full of shock as he stared at the humongous t.i.tan that could pluck the stars from the sky. The tremendous energy that emanated from him was far beyond any thing he could imagine.
"This is known as the Dharma G.o.dbody, the mark of the King Stage," Li Qingpeng explained to Li Luo with a voice full of admiration. He sighed with a perplexed look. No one dared to be disrespectful before such power.
"Eldest Uncle, does the King Stage have different grades?" Li Luo asked humbly. The King Stage was too far removed from him, so he had never really taken the time to understand the difference.
Li Qingpeng smiled and answered, "Naturally."
He then turned towards the prodigiously huge figure, and his gaze lingered on the top of its head. There was a huge crown that hung above it. The crown contained the condensation of endless amounts of energy. It emanated n.o.bility and had a regal presence. When he saw it, he could feel an intense desire in his heart to kneel down immediately and pay his respects.
It was like the crown of an emperor. However, it was much more majestic and grand than the crown a mortal emperor would wear.
Its n.o.bility transcended the heavens and earth.
There were ancient runes carved into the crown. They seemed to have originated from the world itself, with each line signifying a source of primordial origin.
Zhao Zong was like a G.o.d emperor that had descended onto earth. Everyone in the Heavenly Star Plains was left in awe with his presence.
"The realms within the King Stage are known as the Three Crowned Realms."
"Three Crowned Realms?"
Li Luo pondered for a moment. He endured the sharp pain in his eyes as he took a look at the crown on Zhao Zong's Dharma G.o.dbody. "Does it refer to that crown?"
Li Qingpeng smiled and nodded. "That's right. The King's Celestial Crown that you see is the symbol of a King's lifetime of cultivation. The Celestial Crown is mythical and allows one to wield the source origin of the world itself. It can move mountains and the sea with a single thought. Divine Tiger King Zhao Zong has one celestial crown, so he's a Single Crowned King. Based on this logic, the following grades are the Dual Crowned King and the Triumvirate Crowned King."
Li Luo could not help but reveal a slightly strange expression. "That seems a little... casual."
Li Qingpeng smiled in response. "Although it sounds really simple, you'll naturally respect it when you truly understand the vast amount of power they represent. Amongst our five lineages, only Lineage Chief Li Tianji from the Dragon's Blood Lineage is a Dual Crowned King."
Li Luo's heart skipped a beat. This meant that Li Jingzhe was also a Single Crowned King like Zhao Zong. As Li Luo was thinking about this, the worldly natural energy of the surroundings roared to life and Li Jingzhe's body expanded. After just a few moments, there was another giant standing on the land before them.
"Li Jingzhe, you want to make an example out of me? You're not fit to do so!"
Zhao Zong's laughter boomed like thunder, audible thousands of miles away. All the lifeforms on the Heavenly Star Plains could feel their eardrums bursting in pain.
At the next moment, billions of light rays shot out of the King's Celestial Crown on Zhao Zong's forehead. They merged into an energy river that was millions of miles long with no end in sight. A brilliant tiger with golden eyes walked out of one end of the river. The giant tiger raised its claws and smacked down heavily towards Li Jingzhe.
All light suddenly seemed to have vanished. The tiger's claw blotted out the sun, and the void shattered and repaired itself continuously.
The shattered pieces of void transformed into a wild storm that destroyed everything in sight.
At this moment, Li Jingzhe stared at the tiger's claw with indifferent eyes. Numerous ancient runes flowed down from the King's Celestial Crown on his forehead and transformed into an ordinary-looking, black longsword.
The blade of the sword was thin, but it was filled with countless stygian marks.
Li Jingzhe flicked his finger, and the black longsword pierced through the void. In the blink of an eye, it clashed with the tiger's claw that had covered the sky.
When they collided, there was no sound.
The black longsword penetrated the tiger's claw and flew right through it, leaving behind a trail of light. The golden-eyed tiger and the endless river of energy dissipated completely.
Zhao Zong's eyes narrowed immediately.
He slowly lowered his head and realized that a deep sword wound that spanned thousands of feet had been gouged across his Dharma G.o.dbody.
The sword energy coming from it was filled with unparalleled sharpness. He could feel pain intense enough to pierce his bones.
His G.o.dbody had been injured in that short clash!
Everyone was stunned as they witnessed this scene.
"Impossible!" Zhao Zong screamed out angrily.
Li Jingzhe continued to stare at the surprised Zhao Zong indifferently. Thunder and lightning broke out across the sky and reverberated throughout the plains.
"It's not impossible. It's simply because we are not the same."
Zhao Zong laughed angrily. "Not the same? How can we not be the same?!"
There was a hint of sarcasm on Li Jingzhe's old face as he pointed to the top of his forehead. "Look closer. We're different up here."
Zhao Zong suddenly looked at Li Jingzhe's forehead and noticed that on top of the first King's Celestial Crown was an endless effluence of light. Ancient and mysterious runes intertwined as if they were collecting energy from the source origin of the world. Finally, the outline of a more regal crown could be seen.
Zhao Zong's heart was filled with turmoil.
There was also an uncontrollable shock coming from the depths of the void.
Two King's Celestial Crowns! Unbeknownst to anyone... Li Jingzhe had become a Dual Crowned King!