Li Shui Lake.
The calm lake water boiled and rose into the air as a bridge of iridescent light and crackling lightning intertwined above it.
In the very center of the Blood Spirit Array.
Qin Yang sat cross-legged, his mind in a state of tranquil meditation, completely immersed in the Great Dao. A resplendent vortex of stars drifted and spun around him.
He inhaled, and he exhaled.
When he opened his eyes again,
it was as if stars burned within them. An ancient power flowed slowly along his muscles. His breath was like the wind, exhaling a torrent of crackling lightning motes.
In an instant, all the water in Li Shui Lake evaporated. White steam billowed and roiled, revealing the cracked, dry lakebed below.
Qin Yang had broken the final shackles of the mortal world. His Spiritual Sense and physical body, tempered by the immense Star Force, had finally crossed the last threshold.
He had reached the Divine Venerable Realm!
This was the apex of this world!
’The Beast God was right. As long as the Celestial Gate is open, reaching the Divine Venerable Realm is just a matter of course.’
Qin Yang clenched his fists, his spirits soaring. Now, with just a slight extension of his Spiritual Power, he could envelop the entirety of Jianghai City.
He extended his perception.
BLARE—
The city’s defense alarms were blaring, and a cacophony rose from the streets and alleys.
Emergency vehicle convoys sped endlessly down the roads.
Alongside the streets, panicked citizens were fleeing in every direction.
The emergency teams formed by the Star Martial Police Bureau were busy directing everyone to evacuate to emergency shelters to escape the impending danger.
The sounds of crying, shouting, and desperate prayers were incessant.
The city had reached its final moments!
Just then, two auras entered Qin Yang’s range of perception.
They had set out from the great array in the mountains and were now speeding toward Li Shui Lake.
’They’ve finally come down.’
Qin Yang had long anticipated this, so he wasn’t surprised in the slightest.
Two distinct auras.
One was incredibly familiar—it was the Beast God who had been sealed away before.
The other aura was completely alien, one he had never encountered, yet it surpassed the Beast God’s by hundreds of times. It was immense and unending, clearly at the level of the Divine Venerable Realm!
They were heading straight for him. This battle was unavoidable!
"The final battle is about to begin," Qin Yang murmured to himself. Hearing the sorrow and suffering of all living beings flood his ears, his expression softened with emotion. He gently flicked a finger.
The next moment,
he unleashed the Great Divine Technique of the Space Law!
At the same time, the clamorous streets fell silent in an instant. The city became a ghost town!
All the women, children, and others in Jianghai City without sufficient combat strength suddenly flickered. The space around them warped and twisted, and in the next instant, they were all transported directly into the emergency shelters.
The people were instantly astonished, shocked by what had just happened to them!
"Holy shit, what’s going on?"
"Weren’t I just on Huaili Road? How the hell did I get here?!"
"A miracle!"
"It was the True Dragon Martial God! He definitely teleported us here!"
"You have to win! The Heaven-Blasting Gang is our last hope."
A few breaths later, the sky above Li Shui Lake trembled.
The figures of the Beast God and Celestial Destiny appeared. They shattered the nearby void as they arrived, causing rows of buildings to collapse and the ground to cave in.
The edge of the dry lakebed pushed outward again.
But Qin Yang had long been waiting. Dressed in transcendent white robes, he held the Ziwei Divine Sword at his side, hovering high in the air as he watched them coldly.
"So you’re the Lower Realm’s new Divine Venerable?"
Celestial Destiny narrowed his eyes, sizing up Qin Yang’s aura with a hint of surprise in his voice. "I didn’t expect what the Beast God said was actually true.
An ant from the Lower Realm can actually ascend to become a Divine Venerable one day."
"And who are you?" Qin Yang asked in return, tightening his grip on the Ziwei Divine Sword as he stared at him.
"Haha, just you wait to die, Qin Yang!"
The Beast God fanned the flames from the side, the corners of his mouth curling up madly. "This is a Lord of Destiny from our Upper Realm! He entered the Divine Venerable Realm hundreds of years ago. You’ve only been a Divine Venerable for a few hours—how could you possibly contend with him!"
"A Lord of Destiny?"
Qin Yang’s brows furrowed slightly. ’Is this one of the supreme experts of the Upper Realm?’
"That’s enough, Beast God. Shut up. I will deal with him myself."
Celestial Destiny gestured for the Beast God to fall back behind him. His gaze wandered over Qin Yang as he spoke slowly, "I have always cherished life. The people of the Upper Realm are not ones to slaughter the innocent wantonly."
As he spoke, he held up two fingers. "Now, I will give you two choices: life or death. Which will you choose?"
"What is the ’life’ option?"
"Ascend to the Upper Realm."
"?"
Qin Yang glanced at the Celestial Vault Black Hole. "Are you trying to recruit me?"
"Correct. With your aptitude, to be able to reach the Divine Venerable Realm in a filthy place like the Lower Realm... your talent can be considered unparalleled in this world.
Therefore, I can give you a chance."
Celestial Destiny glanced at the nearby ruins of the buildings. "As long as you return with me to the Upper Realm... your crimes of secretly stealing Star Force for the ants of the Lower Realm, as well as imprisoning my compatriot from the Upper Realm, will all be wiped clean."
Hearing this, the Beast God’s expression turned ugly. He swallowed hard and tried to dissuade him:
"My lord, this kid has the heart of a wolf. I fear it would be unwise to bring him into our Upper Realm."
"Shut up! I know what I’m doing!"
Celestial Destiny shot him a cold glare. "With his strength, having just entered the Divine Venerable Realm, and all by himself... how could he possibly refuse?"
The words had barely left his mouth.
"And what if... I say no?"
Qin Yang shook his head and smiled.
"Besides, when did I ever say..."
He paused, then looked mockingly at Celestial Destiny, gripping his Ziwei Divine Sword. "...that I would be fighting you alone?"
...
...
「Meanwhile.」
On the defensive walls of Jianghai City.
A line of fully armed Star Martial Artists stood in formation, gazing toward the distant Li Shui Lake.
Elder Li, Liu Wushuang... and thousands of Grandmaster Venerables from Jianghai City were all gathered here.
"The fight’s started over on Old Qin’s end!"
Xia He commanded the scene, shouting to the others:
"Everyone, with me! Let’s help our Young Master transcend the limits of this Realm!"
"The True Dragon Martial God will be victorious!"
"Jianghai will be victorious!"
The next moment, in an instant, Star Force surged from their bodies, gathering into a dazzling ribbon of brocade.
Countless citizens voluntarily offered up their power, feeding Star Force into the Star Array.
WHOOSH!
In the blink of an eye,
a river of stars shot across several miles, pouring the power of all of Jianghai’s Grandmaster Venerables into Qin Yang.
Far away at Li Shui Lake, Qin Yang’s smile remained, but the aura within him was skyrocketing, ascending countless miles in a millisecond.
"How... How is this possible?! How did you do that?"
Seeing this, the smile on Celestial Destiny’s face slowly stiffened. He sensed the change in the world’s Star Force, and his heart was instantly filled with terror.
With the current accumulation of Star Force, Qin Yang’s strength had already surpassed the Divine Venerable Realm.
"Impossible! This power is absolutely impossible!"
Celestial Destiny was in disbelief.
However, Qin Yang wasted no more words.
Nurture an army for a thousand days to use it for one moment.
In the next instant, the Ziwei Divine Sword in his hand erupted with power. The veins on the back of his hand bulged like furious serpents as the unsheathed blade’s edge pointed directly at the spot between Celestial Destiny’s eyebrows.
The sword’s light rippled, a single line of it slicing through the vast, clear sky.
Everything between heaven and earth fell into silent annihilation!