A cold wind blew, scarlet blood pooled, shattered bone fragments littered the ground, and the bright red Dao platform stood beneath it all. The God King stood alone at the center, his white robes untouched by the storm, not a single drop of blood clinging to him. His presence alone was enough to overawe every heart present; not a single sound could be heard.

It was a shocking sight — three Ancient Kings had been pulverized, their bodies destroyed and their Dao extinguished. Many onlookers felt their bodies convulse, their souls trembling as if they might be shaken loose from their flesh.

The God King did not kill indiscriminately — he did not kill just anyone.

The seven Ancient Kings who had come earlier were cold and aloof, and indeed they had the standing to be so, but they had not gone out of their way to provoke him. These three, however, had gone to great lengths to humiliate the human race, and so the white-robed God King had annihilated them all.

Even if he had spared men like these, they would never have felt gratitude — if anything, they would only have grown more arrogant.

“Would everyone be willing to sit down and talk?” the God King said, standing atop the blood-soaked platform, addressing the eight Ancient Kings before him.

To say no one was shaken would be a lie. The three who had just died were counted among the strongest of the Ancestral Kings, and yet they had been killed outright. The remaining eight all fell silent.

“Hahaha, hahahaha…” Wild, unrestrained laughter rang out, shaking the heavens themselves and carrying for tens of thousands of miles.

At the edge of the sky, two more Ancient Kings arrived at once. Their power was overwhelming, their Life Essence surging like a sea of divinity, swallowing the entire sky and earth.

These two Sages were both formidable, their gazes sharp as hawks and wolves, descending upon the mortal world like two divine beings, looking down upon all creation with disdain.

One of them was laughing loudly, a sound like the divine drums of the heavens thundering, shaking the four directions until the earth itself seemed on the verge of collapse. These two figures, godlike and demonic in equal measure, were clearly not here with good intentions.

People gasped in cold fear. Just how many Ancient Kings were there? How could anyone keep fighting like this? Three had already died, and now two more had arrived at once.

The Myriad Clans’ Grand Assembly had been meant for peace talks, but some of the Ancestral Kings did not believe Wushi was truly still alive, and had come to settle things with cold steel. This was only the beginning — would more still come?

“Not too late, I hope.” A cold, clear voice sounded from beyond the Pure Land as yet another Ancient King arrived, stepping into the Jade Pool. Divine wings sprouted from his back, dragon horns grew from his head, yet his features resembled those of the human race.

Atop the Heaven-Reaching Platform, silence reigned. No one spoke. It was a despairing sight — even now, more Ancient Kings kept manifesting, while the human race did not even have a second Sage.

What could be done? How could the battle continue? Even if the white-robed God King was the reincarnation of a War God, he could not fight so many Ancient Kings. Who knew how many more would come?

“One… two…” Time passed, and people silently counted, their bodies growing colder with each new arrival as the number of Ancient Kings kept climbing.

By this dawn, seventeen Ancient Kings stood together atop the Heaven-Reaching Platform, their combined presence making the ancient blue sky itself rumble. It was truly terrifying.

And facing them stood only the white-robed God King, alone against so many Ancient Kings — how could this battle even be fought? Every heart in the crowd felt bitter; the gap was simply too great.

A gust of wind blew past, and people pulled their robes tighter, feeling an unusual chill, as though deep autumn had suddenly arrived, chilling every heart.

These were beings on par with the Sages of primordial antiquity, and seventeen of them had arrived at once! The mere thought of it was enough to crush anyone’s fighting spirit. The white-robed God King was human too — this was… a situation of certain death. Who could possibly help him?

A sense of helplessness spread through the crowd. No matter how they struggled, they could see not a shred of hope. There were simply too many Ancient Kings, and it filled every heart with despair.

And this did not even count the seven Ancestral Kings who had already arrived the day before. Though they held some respect for the God King and now sat cross-legged off to one side, their presence still made people’s skin crawl.

It was a heart-chilling situation. No one spoke, no one even sighed, and no one had the strength left to raise their heads.

“How disappointing. Has the human race fallen even further than in the primordial era? I recall that back then there were still several Sages, yet now, across the whole world, there is only this one?” Along with these cold, contemptuous words, an Ancient King descended from the sky, like an evil god breaking free from the underworld’s cage, stirring up a heaven-shaking demonic aura, a pair of bat-like wings as black as ink spread wide.

“The Taiming Ancestral King has come as well!” Even many of the other Ancient Kings were startled, stepping back several paces — clearly, his status was extraordinary.

“Clang!”

A sharp ring sounded in the sky, and a bolt of blood-colored lightning fell from the heavens, cutting a dazzling streak of crimson light as it plunged into the Heaven-Reaching Platform, ringing out with a metallic clang.

It was a dragon spear, blood-red as crimson, a coiling flood dragon wound around its shaft, its tip spitting out a section of gleaming crimson blade, terrifying to behold.

A Queen among the Ancient Kings descended — wheat-colored skin, a strong and healthy figure, remarkably tall, yet radiating killing intent. Her hair was a fiery red, and even her eyes were the color of blood. She gripped the dragon spear tightly.

“The Xuedian Ancestral King has come as well!”

The clan warriors present shuddered, filled with deep reverence, all stepping back. This was a warrior whose name was known across the world, one whom few dared to provoke.

“How boring.” From the void came a cold snort, and a man clad in bronze battle armor walked forward step by step, the Great Dao itself resonating around him.

People were astonished — the bronze battle armor on his body was a true legacy-grade Sacred Weapon, more than enough to prove how terrifying his identity was.

Since ancient times, when a Sage passed into Nirvana, they would leave behind their own weapon, but very few had ever truly left behind a legacy-grade Sacred Weapon. It, too, was proof and symbol of their strength.

“The Tengqing Ancestral King has arrived!” Some of the ancient beings present cried out in alarm — this was a man who, in the primordial era, had made the eight directions tremble with a single stomp of his foot.

Every human expert present felt their hearts turn to ash, feeling that all hope was lost. From the reactions of the other clans alone, one could tell just how terrifying these last three Ancient Kings truly were.

Suddenly, the sky blazed with brilliant light, and an Ancient King emerged bathed in the morning glow, dazzling and resplendent, as though stepping out from the rising sun itself, wrapped in a halo of divine light, boundlessly sacred.

“We wish to see how Wushi manifests his divine miracle.”

He stepped onto the Heaven-Reaching Platform, blazing radiance burning around him like a true Sun God, and he made clear he had not come to attend the peace talks.

The instant he appeared, the other Ancient Kings were visibly moved, all involuntarily stepping back — clearly, his status was extremely high.

“This is the Haoyang Ancestral King!”

Those among the ancient clans with wide knowledge cried out in recognition, unable to suppress their fear — this was truly a fearsome figure, one whose battle record in the primordial era had been dazzlingly brilliant.

Atop the Heaven-Reaching Platform, one terrifying sacred figure after another manifested an aura that seemed capable of shattering the eternal heavens — twenty-one figures in total, enough to chill every heart and soul.

Among them, the four strongest Ancient Kings stood side by side at the very front: the Taiming Ancestral King, the Xuedian Ancestral King, the Tengqing Ancestral King, and the Haoyang Ancestral King.

These four had arrived last, yet even the other Ancient Kings held a measure of reverence for them — they were experts whose names had shaken the world during the primordial era, each of whom had once caused rivers of blood to flow and mountains of bones to pile up, feared by all the myriad clans.

With a group of Ancient Kings like this gathered together, one didn’t even need to speak of fighting — the aura they radiated alone was enough to crush the earth and set blood flowing like a river.

And facing them stood only a single God King, clad in snow-white robes, alone against so many. It was an utterly unequal confrontation, the gap simply too vast.

What could be done? This was a dead end!

Unless the God King attained the Dao, he had no way to resist. If the battle truly broke out today, the myth of his invincibility would surely shatter, and he would have to spill the very last drop of his divine blood.

Nearly everyone who was coming had arrived. Faced with such a disparity, the human race’s hearts turned cold, their faces ashen, the last flicker of hope extinguished.

The Black Tortoise did not move, because beside it, the seven Ancestral Kings who had arrived earlier also remained still, sitting cross-legged where they were. They had already made clear: they would not act. If the God King could survive this trial, they would simply turn and leave.

Ye Fan felt bitterness in his heart. The Divine Silkworm Princess had told him that some of the Ancient Kings would come seeking an explanation, but he had never imagined it would be a group of this size!

The God King’s valor was there for all to see, but even as a War God, he could not withstand so many Sages — let alone the fact that the four Ancestral Kings at the very front were so uniquely powerful.

Can the “All” secret truly bloom with brilliance today? he murmured inwardly. In the pale light before dawn, he had shared this secret with the God King.

Among the Nine Secrets, this one alone was the simplest — it required no deep enlightenment, only a mysterious formula that, once memorized, could be set into motion.

The Tengqing Ancient King, clad in his legacy bronze battle armor, spoke calmly: “You have not walked far on the path of Sagehood, and yet you possess combat strength that nearly rivals ours. Truly, the one who has become a Sage in this era is no ordinary figure.”

The moment these words fell, the experts of every clan were astonished — it was the first time they had learned the true strength of the white-robed God King, that he was nearly catching up to the four great Ancient Kings whose names had shaken the primordial era.

Yet the human cultivators who heard these words felt an icy chill run through them. Though the God King was brave, he still could not match his opponents — and there were four of them.

A cool breeze blew past, the God King’s white robes fluttering, as he stood quietly at the center of the Dao platform, facing more than twenty primordial Ancestral Kings alone, his expression never wavering.

“You are a man of remarkable talent, but to face down the myriad clans with your strength alone — that is simply not realistic.” Bathed entirely in divine light, like a true Sun God, the Haoyang Ancient King spoke.

“So many Ancient Kings — truly awe-inspiring,” the white-robed God King sighed softly. “If I do not act, you will. I have no choice.”

“Even knowing you cannot succeed, will you still go to your death?” Among the four great Ancient Kings, the only Queen spoke — Xuedian, her figure strong and healthy, gripping her dragon spear, radiating the heaviest killing intent, taken form and substance.

The white-robed God King said nothing.

“If you wish to sit and talk, you must have the qualifications for it. What right do you have to contend with us alone?” a cold voice called out from behind the ranks of Ancestral Kings.

“This world is cruel. If you want a voice that carries weight, you must show strength to match it.” The Taiming Ancient King spoke coldly, the bat-like wings on his back flaring, instantly stirring up a heaven-reaching demonic aura, terrifying to behold.

“So there is no choice left, then let us fight.” The white-robed God King’s voice was soft, yet it struck like an earth-shattering thunderclap, making everyone’s ears ring.

How could he, alone, fight against so many Ancestral Kings?!

Everyone was stunned. This was a battle with no hope of survival, and yet he had chosen it — it was almost a march to his own death.

“You overestimate yourself. Do you think you are already a Quasi-Emperor, that you dare speak such words? The rest of you should strike him down at once!”

“The blood of a human Sage — what a nostalgic taste. It has been so many years since the primordial era ended, how long has it been since we last tasted it.”

“You want to defeat the myriad clans with your strength alone — this is seeking your own death. Very well, let us grant this laughable human his wish!”

“After this battle, every clan shall reign over the world, sweeping away all the ants beneath them, just as in the primordial era, when only the true royal bloodlines were fit to rule this land.”

From the ranks behind, several Ancient Kings spoke these cold, bone-chilling words.

But at the front, the four great Ancient Kings whose names had shaken the primordial era said nothing at all — everyone could sense an unusual atmosphere emanating from them.

The white-robed God King sat cross-legged in the void, and an ancient guqin appeared before him. He gently plucked its strings, and a wondrous note rang out, resounding through heaven and earth.

“The Prelude to the Divine!” Behind him, Ye Fan’s eyes reddened, his whole body trembling. Back then, the God King had used exactly this same note to reconnect his broken Sacred Body meridians, and in the end, it had left him utterly spent, his life force nearly exhausted.

This time, no matter what, he would not let such a tragedy repeat itself.

The Prelude to the Divine was only the beginning stage — if it evolved into the true Divine Melody, it could grant power nearly equal to that of a god!

“Ding-dong.”

Suddenly, the notes flowed together seamlessly, resonating with the Dao of Heaven, drifting on and on, carrying for ten thousand miles across mountains and rivers!

“The Divine Melody — this is… the true Divine Melody!” Ye Fan’s voice trembled.

Petals rained down from the sky, crystalline and delicate, drifting through heaven and earth, their fragrance sweet and clear, making the white-robed God King appear even more transcendent, untouched by the dust of the mortal world.

“Kill him!”

From the ranks behind, an Ancient King let out a low shout and charged forward.

“Puff!”

A figure exploded, turning into a sky full of blood rain, staining the crystalline petals red, achingly beautiful and tragic.

“What is happening, this power…” another Ancient King roared, charging close, only to find he too could not break free — with a soft puff, he too turned into blood rain.

Petals rained across the sky, and the Prelude to the Divine shook the nine heavens, each petal stained with blood, a stunning, breathtaking sight in this mortal world.