The arrival of the Holy Master made the already tense space in the upper atmosphere even more oppressive. Three auras, three tyrannical wills, collided, creating invisible ripples in space.
"To be honest," Lac Long Quan was the first to break the silence. He glanced at them both, his eyes calm yet carrying an undisguised contempt. "You are not strong enough to play with me. Especially you, Holy Master. Just a small fry trying to make a scene."
The Holy Master, still hidden in the shadows, merely sneered. Faker, on the other hand, burst out laughing.
"You are far too arrogant, Lac Long Quan," Faker said, his voice still elegant but now laced with a hint of coldness. "The Dragon Clan is a thing of the past. This universe is now the playground of the Maka Legion."
At the mention of the "Maka Legion," Lac Long Quan's aura suddenly tightened. A burst of pure and supremely majestic Draconic Might erupted, instinctively forcing both Faker and the Holy Master to take a step back. The chessboard of light trembled violently.
"Mere frogs in a well, yet you think yourselves lords of the universe," Lac Long Quan said, his voice no longer teasing, but carrying the true pressure of a king.
The Holy Master finally spoke, his genderless voice echoing with unfathomable depth. "I do not know what your plan is, Lac Long Quan. But the God Realm is a legend, aren't we and the Maka Legion all striving for it? You, an existence who 4000 years ago possessed a Hong Hoang Realm cultivation that made the entire universe wary, yet now you are merely at the Late Nascent Soul Realm. Are you... putting on some kind of play?"
This statement struck Faker's mind like a bombshell.
His three eyes widened as he stared at Lac Long Quan in utter disbelief. "Hong Hoang... Hong Hoang Realm? Then... then the one from 4000 years ago, who single-handedly fought all the way to the Maka Legion's headquarters... was that you?"
Faker was genuinely trembling. The legend of an unknown human cultivator who, with a single sword, fought his way from Earth, across tens of thousands of star systems, to the very center of the universe, forcing the arrogant Maka Legion to sign a temporary decree to halt their cosmic conquest, was a story only those of the highest status like him had ever heard. He had always thought it was just a myth.
He never imagined that the living legend was standing right before him.
Lac Long Quan just sneered, neither confirming nor denying. "I am old. The responsibility must be passed on to my descendant."
He glanced down at the Earth below, his eyes filled with expectation. "Lam Minh is the one who will replace me. The new master of this era. He will even surpass my past self."
Both Faker and the Holy Master were stunned by this declaration. To rate that Golden Core kid so highly? To surpass a Hong Hoang-level existence?
"Talent that cannot mature is nothing but trash," the Holy Master said, his voice now tinged with coldness. "You had better keep a tight leash on him. The patience of the Dao Saint... is limited."
BOOM!
Lac Long Quan's aura exploded once more. "Let's see you dare to touch him!"
"Hahaha..." The Holy Master laughed loudly, and then his dark figure slowly dissolved into the void.
Faker, after composing himself, bowed respectfully to Lac Long Quan, then tremblingly retreated. Facing such a legend, he no longer had a shred of courage to remain.
The celestial chess game was over. Lac Long Quan stood there alone, looking down at Earth, his eyes filled with contemplation.
Meanwhile, in the Huyet Sa Desert.
After a few days of rest and preparation, Lam Minh once again appeared here.
He could not possibly ignore such a massive Lam Tinh Stone mine. This was a critically important resource for his cultivation path and for the development of humanity.
At that moment, in the stone chamber deep underground, the Huyet Sa Clan Chief and two elders were sitting with extremely grim expressions.
"After the last incident, we can no longer stay here," the chief said. "This place is too dangerous. I have decided that we will accelerate the mining of the Lam Tinh Stone over the next month. Afterward, the entire Huyet Sa clan will withdraw and return to our home planet."
The two elders nodded in agreement.
Just then.
BOOM...!!!!
A world-shaking explosion echoed, and the entire underground cave system trembled violently as if struck by an earthquake. The grand protective formation that enveloped the entire base shattered into pieces under a single attack.
The three Golden Core cultivators rushed out in horror.
They saw, at the shattered entrance of the cave, a familiar figure standing there, holding a divine sword in one hand and shouldering a strange, cannon-like weapon.
A voice filled with mockery rang out.
"Dad is back, you unfilial spawn!"
...
The terrifying explosion and the collapse of the defensive formation plunged the entire Huyet Sa clan into chaos. The Huyet Sa Clan Chief and the two elders rushed into the main hall, staring in horror towards the ruined cave entrance.
And when they saw the familiar figure standing there, shouldering a strange, tube-shaped weapon, all three Golden Core cultivators froze on the spot.
"Damn... damn it!" one elder stammered. "Didn't... didn't the Dao Saint report that he had self-destructed and died?"
The Huyet Sa Chief also couldn't believe his eyes. The demon god who had massacred his clansmen, the one who had made them hide in fear, had now appeared once again, looking even stronger and more arrogant than before.
Lam Minh saw their panicked expressions and smirked. He tossed the self-made "cannon" he had used to break the formation to the ground. It was just a hollow metal tube, upon which he had inscribed a simple spirit-gathering formation, stuffed it with a Peak Foundation Establishment inner core, and made it self-destruct. A single-use "grenade," but its effect was unexpectedly good.
"I'm hard to kill," he said, his voice dripping with mockery. "If someone has to die, it should be you Madakaros first. Take a sword from your father!"
Finishing his words, he gave them no more time to recover. Golden dragon qi erupted from his Golden Core, the God-Slaying Blade in his hand let out a roar, and he charged forward like a fierce dragon, preparing for a great battle.
Seeing Lam Minh rushing at them with unstoppable momentum, the Huyet Sa Chief, who had once witnessed his power, was terrified to his core. He knew that the three of them combined were no match for this monster.
"Wait!" he hurriedly shouted. "We can talk this out! We will give you the Lam Tinh Stone mine! You just need to let us leave Earth!"
He decided to give up. To abandon their entire enterprise, just to trade for a path to survival.
Hearing the offer to negotiate, Lam Minh stopped in his tracks, his sword just centimeters from the nearest elder's neck. He feigned a thoughtful look, scratching his chin.
Seeing this, a glimmer of hope sparked in the Huyet Sa Chief's heart.
"Alright," Lam Minh said after a moment of "thought." "So we're talking terms... How about this."
He looked at the three of them and gave an incredibly "friendly" smile.
"My terms are: the Lam Tinh Stone mine belongs to me..."
The three of them nodded their heads frantically.
"...and your lives belong to me as well."
The smiles on the three Madakaros' faces froze solid.
"You...!" the chief pointed at him, too angry to speak. He knew he had been toyed with.
"You what?" Lam Minh sneered coldly. "Things have come to this, and you still want to negotiate with your father? Dream on!"
He wasted no more words. The God-Slaying Blade in his hand once again flared with sword qi. He charged.
A completely one-sided battle erupted.
This time, Lam Minh held nothing back. He was now at the Golden Core Realm, and he had the enhanced God-Slaying Blade. Dealing with one Mid-stage Golden Core and two Early-stage ones was now child's play for him.
His swordplay was at times tyrannical, at others demonic. His movement was as fluid as water.
The Huyet Sa Chief tried to resist with his Blood Art, but the sea of blood he created was instantly incinerated by Lam Minh's Dragon Qi.
The other two elders, after just a few exchanges, were torn apart by his sword qi, their weapons shattered.
The battle lasted less than ten minutes.
SWOOSH!
With one final slash, Lam Minh sliced off the Huyet Sa Chief's head.
Three Golden Core lives had been swiftly harvested.
[Annihilated one Mid-stage Golden Core Realm Madakaros. Received 60,000 Immortality Points.]
[Annihilated two Early-stage Golden Core Realm Madakaros. Received 85,000 Immortality Points.]
Lam Minh stood amidst the three corpses and flicked his sword lightly. "Too easy."
He looked around. The remaining Foundation Establishment cultivators, seeing the three strongest members of their clan killed so effortlessly, had long since fled in terror into the various corners of the cave.
Lam Minh didn't bother to chase them. He was here for the mine, not to commit genocide.
"Now... how do I harvest this Lam Tinh Stone mine?" he looked deep into the cave, where a dense, azure spiritual qi was emanating. "Am I supposed to carry it back piece by piece? That's exhausting."
He thought for a moment. "Or maybe... I should call uncle? That's right, I have to. Why not use free labor when it's available?"
With that thought, he closed his eyes, connecting with Lac Long Quan through the spiritual seal.
"Moshi moshi, sparrow calling eagle, come in, eagle!" he began with a teasing greeting.
There was a moment of silence on the other end, then a deeply annoyed voice rang out. "Be serious! If you have something to say, say it. If you have to fart, just do it! I'm busy!"
"Whoa whoa, don't be so hasty, uncle," Lam Minh chuckled. "I have a big gift for you. A super-duper-massive Lam Tinh Stone mine. Come here and handle it, coordinates are..."
He sent his location through.
Then he added. "And hurry up. I still have to go back to the academy and be a model principal. If you're slow, I'll sell it all."
He cut the connection, leaving a bewildered, then overjoyed, Lac Long Quan on the other end.
Lam Minh found a clean rock, sat down, and calmly waited for the highest-level "transportation team" to arrive and get to work.