White light engulfed the sky.
Earth-shattering explosions roared ceaselessly, unleashing rolling waves of sound.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Inside the Mirror Image Space, a sea of fire surged through the streets. The intense heat melted glass into dripping liquid and incinerated concrete load-bearing walls to ash.
The self-detonation of over ten Half-step Divine Venerables, each one far more powerful than a nuclear bomb, made it impossible to reduce the blast radius, even with Qin Yang’s intentional control.
That was why he could only pull them into the Mirror Image Space.
With that cataclysmic boom,
ninety percent of the city blocks in the Mirror Image Space’s Jianghai City were instantly obliterated!
The ground vanished, collapsing into a massive crater hundreds of meters deep.
And at the center of the explosion.
Sparks drifted down. Celestial Destiny stood within the sea of fire, more than half his body blasted to bits. Shuddering, he could only drag his mangled torso backward.
His gaze toward Qin Yang was filled with profound terror!
’Madman!’
’These people from the Heaven-Blasting Gang are all madmen!’
’Half-step Divine Venerables, willing to self-destruct at a moment’s notice, leaving no room for negotiation.’
’They’re all about ruthless action, not empty words!’
"Qin Yang, must you be so absolute?!"
He shouted hoarsely as his fatal wounds rapidly repaired themselves. His Star Sea Domain enveloped the missing parts of his body, arduously regenerating his flesh.
"I was reckless! I shouldn’t have provoked you, and I certainly shouldn’t have invaded the Lower Realm!"
"Let me leave this place, and we can write off everything that happened today. We can pretend none of this ever happened, how about it?!"
"Impossible!"
Qin Yang stared at him coldly, his eyes filled with tyrannical killing intent. He aimed the Ziwei Divine Sword at Celestial Destiny’s head. "Let the tiger return to the mountain? Are you kidding me?"
As his voice fell.
Piercing Sword Qi crisscrossed the air.
Tens of millions of strands of Sword Qi drifted out, multiplying and branching.
They formed a magnificent, tempestuous storm!
PSH! PSH!
Celestial Destiny dodged the attacks wretchedly, unfolding his Star Sea Dharma Aspect behind him.
A brilliant tapestry of a starry river flowed between heaven and earth, seemingly endless, clashing against every strand of Sword Qi.
BOOM! BOOM!
At first, the Star Sea Domain seemed to have the upper hand, but soon, Celestial Destiny discovered in horror that his Star Force was draining away at an alarming rate.
’This feeling is definitely not normal.’
’Logically, it shouldn’t be consumed this quickly!’
"What’s going on?"
He looked up in disbelief toward Qin Yang, his face a mask of incredulity. "What did you do?!"
"You finally noticed?"
Qin Yang raised an eyebrow, looking at him coldly. "I am the first Divine Venerable of this world. I touched the very source of the world long ago.
"Star Force, wind, fire, thunder, lightning... everything here is under my control."
As he spoke, Qin Yang’s spirits soared, and his aura climbed to its absolute peak. The myriad Laws of the world swirled around him, making him appear as majestic as a true god.
He opened his hand again.
And clenched it toward the empty air where Celestial Destiny stood.
Now, for the real main event.
With but a single thought from him.
RUMBLE!
Startling thunder flashed across the sky.
Gales of violent lightning, rains of fire, and shifting mountains—countless celestial phenomena emerged, converging to envelop Celestial Destiny, trapping him at the very center.
Under the relentless bombardment.
A few breaths later, Celestial Destiny tried to get up and flee.
But a terrifying pressure suddenly descended from above. It carried with it visions of the mortal world, coalescing into a massive palm that slammed down.
BOOM!
Dust and smoke billowed. A huge, deep crater was gouged into the center of the ruins.
An instant kill!
Celestial Destiny took the attack and was instantly smashed into the crater in the ground.
Faintly, pained groans could still be heard from within the crater.
"You can’t kill me... you can’t..."
Celestial Destiny lay amidst the wreckage, painfully coughing up murky blood. He then turned his head to look at Qin Yang, who was walking toward him. "Killing me will bring you no benefit!"
"And why is that?"
Qin Yang dragged the tip of his Ziwei Divine Sword along the ground, carving a trench and sending sparks flying. Like the god of death, he slowly walked to the edge of the crater. "Do you have any last words?"
"Cough, cough... The Upper Realm is filled with powerful experts,"
Celestial Destiny struggled on the brink of death, raising a trembling hand to point at the black hole in the sky. "If you kill me, you will certainly attract their attention.
"Besides, this Lower Realm is so mundane. What is there for you to cling to? Why not ascend with me to the Upper Realm and touch a much vaster world..."
"Ascend?"
Hearing this, Qin Yang gave a mocking laugh, strode forward, and brutally kicked away the hand that was pointing toward the sky. He then looked down and stared at him.
The moment their eyes met...
Celestial Destiny’s pupils reflected Qin Yang’s figure, which seemed to grow infinitely tall and vast, like the magnificent, impartial might of the heavens.
"So what if the people of the Upper Realm are strong?"
Qin Yang smiled faintly and looked up at the black hole in the sky. "Now that a Celestial Gate is open, the flow of Star Force is balanced...
"One day, Earth Star will be as bountiful as the Upper Realm."
"As long as I stand guard over the mortal world, which of you from the Upper Realm will dare to fight?"
With that, he swung the Ziwei, unleashing the final sword strike of Ascent to the Ultimate. Like a judge’s brushstroke sentencing a man to death, it slowly sliced toward the spot between Celestial Destiny’s eyebrows.
"No! Don’t!"
Celestial Destiny let out a roar of defiance, wanting to make one last struggle.
But it was ultimately too late.
The sharp edge of the Ziwei Divine Sword cut through flesh and blood, instantly piercing his skull!
Then, starting from between his eyebrows, the blade sliced all the way down, splitting the body of this Upper Realm expert in two.
Tyrannical Sword Qi rampaged, completely pulverizing his physical body and extinguishing all the Star Essence within. As his ashes rustled to the ground, the Star Sea Dharma Aspect behind Celestial Destiny shattered and dispersed.
It floated away like fireflies.
A thousand years of cultivation, ultimately returned to the heavens.
As the last trace of his life force vanished...
...the surrounding pressure dissipated, and the sealed Mirror Image Space slowly dissolved, revealing the real world once more.
"It’s over."
Qin Yang let out a sigh of relief, the pressure that had long weighed on his heart finally lifting.
’This world is my Domain.’
’I’ll do the same from now on.’
’For every expert from the Upper Realm who comes down, I’ll make sure they stay!’
As he was lost in thought, the sound of footsteps echoed from down the street.
Qin Yang looked toward the sound.
He saw that Xiaobai and the others had rushed over!
"Master, you’re so amazing!"
Xiaobai threw herself into Qin Yang’s arms, her nine fluffy tails wagging with excitement. "That was so cool! This servant truly didn’t follow the wrong person!"
Li Zixuan and the others ran up right behind her, every one of them ecstatic.
Now that Qin Yang had slain two experts from the Upper Realm...
...it proved that he alone had already reached the pinnacle of the world.
"Senior Brother, are you preparing to ascend?" Li Zixuan asked cautiously. She had heard everything Celestial Destiny said. "Are you going to leave?"
"No, I’m not going to ascend."
"I will stay here, forever in Jianghai."
Qin Yang gazed at the sunset over Jianghai in the distance. The countless citizens of Jianghai City were looking up, their gazes toward him filled with reverence.
"For as long as I am here, the Human Race shall thrive for all eternity."
The afterglow of the sunset spilled onto the streets.
White doves flew past the buildings. The warm sunlight stretched his shadow long and slanted.
The golden age of the Human Race began at this moment.
(The End)