The battlefield had already descended into chaos.
The hidden chamber beneath the mountain had completely collapsed, revealing an enormous underground world that should never have existed inside a low-grade martial world.
Ancient pillars rose toward the darkness overhead.
Broken dragon statues lay scattered across the ground.
Golden spiritual mist drifted through the air.
The remains of countless formations flickered between activation and destruction.
At the center of everything stood a massive jade platform.
And above that platform floated a golden dragon phantom stretching hundreds of meters.
Every human present felt their souls trembling.
Even Luo Chen's breathing became heavy.
His eyes locked onto the inheritance.
His heart pounded violently.
Dragon Overlord Body.
The legendary physique that only existed in myths.
The inheritance capable of breaking the shackles of a world.
The inheritance capable of creating a True Immortal.
The inheritance capable of allowing someone to cross the Black Gate alive.
Eight hundred years.
He had searched for opportunities like this for eight hundred years.
Yet today he had encountered one in a backwater world.
His eyes instantly turned red.
"Mine."
At the same time—
Ye Feng's breathing became rough.
His protagonist instincts screamed.
Every opportunity he had obtained until now was valuable.
But compared to this...
Everything else was garbage.
The Divine Doctor inheritance?
Garbage.
The cauldron?
Garbage.
The women around him?
Still useful.
But the inheritance before him was on an entirely different level.
If he obtained it—
Forget Fortune City.
Forget the province.
Forget the nation.
He could dominate the entire world.
Even Li Tao stared at the inheritance.
Neo remained silent.
For the first time since becoming partners...
the system spirit did not offer a single suggestion.
His face was pale.
Very pale.
Current System Strain: 90%.
He had already crossed every safety limit.
One more major intervention might trigger immediate removal.
This battle...
would have to be won by Li Tao himself.
Neo clenched his fists.
"Damn it."
"I can't help you anymore."
Li Tao smiled.
"You've already done enough."
Neo froze slightly.
Then snorted.
"Took you long enough to say something nice."
Li Tao laughed.
Then his expression gradually became serious.
The inheritance had appeared.
Which meant...
the final battle had begun.
BOOM!!
The first person to move was Luo Chen.
His broken blade erupted with azure light.
A terrifying sword intent slashed across the battlefield.
Dozens of martial artists were forced backward.
The surrounding rock exploded.
His target wasn't Li Tao.
Nor was it Ye Feng.
His target was the inheritance itself.
He wanted to seize it before anyone else could react.
"Stop him!"
Xuan Lingtian roared.
The young master of the Xuan Family instantly attacked.
A spear appeared in his hands.
Dragon-like qi erupted.
BOOM!!
The spear collided with the broken blade.
The shockwave flattened several ancient pillars.
Both men retreated simultaneously.
Luo Chen's eyes narrowed.
"Peak Earth Immortal."
Xuan Lingtian grinned.
"Half-Step Core Formation."
"Looks like today will be interesting."
Meanwhile—
Ye Feng also moved.
His ancient cauldron enlarged rapidly.
The artifact crashed toward the jade platform.
Murong Qing immediately intercepted.
The nameless sword unleashed dozens of sword lights.
The cauldron trembled violently.
Ye Feng's expression darkened.
"You again."
Murong Qing remained calm.
"Your foundation is unstable."
"You're unworthy."
The words struck directly at Ye Feng's weakness.
His face immediately became ugly.
The surrounding heroines quickly joined the battle.
Tang Jing attacked Li Jing.
Shen Yao assisted Wang Jun.
Lin Bingxue targeted A'Qian.
The entire secret realm descended into complete warfare.
Li Tao's blade appeared.
The Destiny Blade.
The weapon Neo had obtained through absurd luck.
The moment it appeared—
Luo Chen's pupils contracted.
That blade again.
Ever since arriving in this world he had felt instinctive danger from it.
Now that danger had reached its peak.
His soul actually trembled.
Impossible.
How could a low-grade world possess such a weapon?
The thought had barely appeared before Li Tao arrived.
BOOM!!
The two blades collided.
Sparks exploded.
Sword intent and blade intent erupted simultaneously.
The surrounding ground shattered.
Li Tao was forced backward three steps.
Luo Chen retreated two.
Both sides immediately understood something.
Their strength had become nearly equal.
The difference now would be decided by experience.
And resources.
Unfortunately—
those happened to be Luo Chen's greatest advantages.
The battle intensified.
One minute.
Five minutes.
Ten minutes.
The secret realm continued collapsing.
Ancient mechanisms activated one after another.
Stone puppets emerged.
Ancient traps triggered.
Broken formations erupted randomly.
People were dying everywhere.
Yet nobody retreated.
Because everyone understood.
Whoever obtained the inheritance would become the ruler of the future.
Suddenly—
a dragon roar echoed throughout the chamber.
ROOOAAARRR!!
Everyone froze.
The dragon phantom above the platform opened its eyes.
Golden light flooded the secret realm.
A voice echoed from ancient times.
"The inheritor..."
"...must prove himself."
The jade platform began glowing.
Then—
three golden beams descended.
One toward Li Tao.
One toward Ye Feng.
One toward Luo Chen.
The three strongest contenders.
Everyone else was instantly pushed backward.
The dragon phantom had chosen.
Only three people possessed the qualifications to compete.
Luo Chen laughed.
Finally.
After all these years.
The true competition had begun.
He immediately rushed forward.
His cultivation exploded.
Half-Step Core Formation power erupted completely.
The broken blade transformed into a hundred-meter sword shadow.
The attack descended toward Li Tao.
BOOM!!
Li Tao blocked.
Blood appeared at the corner of his mouth.
The difference in cultivation still existed.
Luo Chen pressed the advantage.
Attack after attack.
Each one stronger than the last.
Ye Feng also attacked.
The ancient cauldron smashed downward.
For a brief moment—
both protagonists and villains attacked Li Tao simultaneously.
The situation instantly became dangerous.
Outside the battlefield—
Murong Qing's expression changed.
Xuan Lingtian wanted to help.
But both were blocked.
The surrounding experts desperately fought to create openings.
Nobody could interfere.
Only Li Tao could decide the outcome.
Inside his mind—
Neo watched everything.
His nails dug into his palms.
He wanted to help.
He wanted to activate abilities.
He wanted to spend points.
He wanted to interfere.
But he couldn't.
The system panel continuously flashed warnings.
[Current Strain: 90%]
[Unauthorized Intervention Prohibited]
[Warning]
[Warning]
[Warning]
Neo slowly closed his eyes.
For the first time—
he felt powerless.
Meanwhile—
Li Tao suddenly laughed.
The sound surprised everyone.
Even Luo Chen paused.
"Why are you laughing?"
Li Tao wiped blood from his lips.
Then pointed toward the inheritance.
"Because all of you missed something."
Everyone frowned.
Missed something?
What?
The dragon phantom suddenly looked toward Li Tao.
Its golden eyes glowed brighter.
The inheritance platform shook violently.
Then—
the Dragon Overlord Body technique automatically emerged from the jade platform.
Countless ancient runes surrounded Li Tao.
The dragon phantom lowered its head.
And acknowledged him.
The entire battlefield froze.
Luo Chen's face changed.
Ye Feng's expression distorted.
How?
Why?
Neither understood.
Then the answer appeared.
The inheritance wasn't selecting the strongest cultivator.
It wasn't selecting the most talented genius.
It wasn't selecting the person with the highest cultivation.
It was selecting the person with the strongest foundation.
Among everyone present—
only Li Tao had climbed every realm step by step. (with the help of points)
Ye Feng's foundation had become unstable after countless dual-cultivation shortcuts.
Luo Chen's soul and body remained imperfectly fused.
Only Li Tao satisfied every requirement.
The dragon phantom roared.
Golden light descended.
The Dragon Overlord Body inheritance entered Li Tao's body.
BOOOOM!!!
The entire secret realm trembled.
His bones transformed.
His blood transformed.
His meridians transformed.
An ancient dragon aura erupted.
The pressure spread across the battlefield.
Everyone instinctively retreated.
Even Luo Chen felt fear.
For the first time since arriving in this world—
he sensed death.
Actual death.
"No!"
Ye Feng roared.
His eyes turned bloodshot.
Everything was supposed to belong to him.
Everything.
Why was it always Li Tao?
WHY?
His unstable cultivation suddenly erupted.
The backlash appeared instantly.
Blood sprayed from his mouth.
His aura became chaotic.
Murong Qing immediately seized the opportunity.
The nameless sword descended.
BOOM!!
Ye Feng was blasted backward.
His cauldron shattered.
His meridians cracked.
He crashed through dozens of ancient pillars.
Luo Chen's expression became ugly.
The inheritance had already been claimed.
Continuing the battle was meaningless.
More importantly—
the Black Gate aura hidden deep beneath the secret realm had begun awakening.
His instincts screamed danger.
He immediately made a decision.
Retreat.
Without hesitation.
Without pride.
Without regret.
Survival always came first.
The broken blade erupted with light.
Space distorted.
His figure rapidly retreated toward the deeper regions of the secret realm.
Before disappearing—
he glanced once at Li Tao.
"I will remember today."
Then he vanished.
The secret realm began collapsing completely.
The final battle was approaching.
The Black Gate was awakening.
Ye Feng had suffered a devastating defeat.
Luo Chen had escaped.
And Li Tao had finally obtained the key capable of breaking the limits of the world itself.
Only one battle remained.
The battle that would decide the fate of everyone.