The Heaven-Reaching Platform stood towering and magnificent, vast and imposing.
In the void above, nine ancient primordial beasts, each more ferocious than the last, radiated demonic energy to the heavens—all of them were fully-realized kings—yet they had been reduced to pulling a carriage. Behind the nine ancient beasts, a massive divine iron chain gleamed with cold light, hauling an ancient war chariot covered in blade scars and arrow holes. Above it, the Fallen Heavenly King stood like a divine demon, his presence so overwhelming it seemed the entire Jade Pool might collapse.
A rumbling voice descended from above: “You are a hero among men, rare to find even across a thousand lifetimes. I truly have no wish to snuff out a genius—do not force my hand!”
The White-Robed Divine King remained calm. He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and said, “It is you who have been relentlessly pressing forward. The human race has always wished to sit down and speak with you.”
Silence spread in all four directions—not even the sound of a crow could be heard. Every single person could hear their own heartbeat, every one of them wound tight as a bowstring.
The Fallen Heavenly King, an invincible existence, had actually come. In the primordial age, he had been unstoppable, rampaging across the vast wilderness, with kings of all clans bowing in submission.
With a single move, he alone could wipe out several great clans. Such an ancient existence, with cultivation spanning untold ages, had reached the absolute pinnacle both in seniority and in power.
One had to understand—even his two sons were already terrifying Sage Kings, suppressing entire regions, with no clan daring to defy them. Their fame was at its height.
“To sit and talk requires strength, requires a foundation. But what does your human race have?”
The Fallen Heavenly King did not speak. Instead, one of his own sons opened his mouth—in a situation like this, perhaps only they dared to interject.
“Must it truly be fought to a final conclusion?” The White-Robed Divine King gazed forward.
Both of the Twin Sage Kings were shrouded in light. Their divine aura permeated everything, every pore on their bodies emanating a divine radiance that was difficult to look upon directly—utterly oppressive.
“You are indeed powerful, and dazzling as well. You alone have slain so many ancient kings. But vast as the human race is, there is still only a single Sage. Relative to a single clan, your foundation is too shallow—and so you cannot stand as equals with the other clans.” The other of the Twin Sage Kings spoke.
The Heaven-Reaching Platform fell into complete silence. Not a single person spoke. What he had said was difficult to refute. The human race had too few Sages, and lacked the strength to contend against so many ancient kings.
Many felt their hearts run cold. What hope was left to speak of? With this many ancient kings arriving together, any one of them could level an entire region.
“Yield to my clan. Inherit my Dao lineage. Not only will you achieve immortality, but in time you may come to rule all under heaven. With your aptitude, perhaps you may even become a Great Sage.” The Fallen Heavenly King stood atop his primordial war chariot like the lord of all demons, lofty and supreme, gazing down upon all living beings.
“What is your Dao lineage worth? My ancestors were the Great Emperors of antiquity—do you think I require your guidance?” The White-Robed Divine King spoke, his voice ringing like the clash of swords.
In ordinary times he was easygoing and mild-mannered, yet whenever topics such as this arose, he became grave—his words even turning sharp.
“The Great Emperors of antiquity…” The Fallen Heavenly King furrowed his brow.
The other ancient kings remained cold and indifferent, their gazes turning this way. The Crimson Forest Sage King of the Ten Thousand Dragon Nest said: “The past, and the present—heh heh.”
His laughter was cruel, enough to make the hair stand on end and raise goosebumps across the skin.
His meaning was plain. The Great Emperors of antiquity were gone. No matter how brilliant their glory, it had become the past. Reality was this cruel: your human race, with its hundreds of millions of souls, had produced only a single Sage. On what basis would you contend?
“For the human race to stand as equals with the ancient clans is the fantasy of a fool! You are so weak and feeble, yet you occupy this entire great land. That you have not been exterminated is nothing short of a miracle.” Another ancient king’s words were sharper and more merciless still.
This was a stark reality—the root of the conflict lay here. In the primordial age, the human race had been weak, huddled in a corner, yet had suddenly become the masters of this land. Now that the ten thousand clans had awakened, they naturally wished for a great slaughter.
The White-Robed Divine King said nothing. He gazed at them quietly, yet appeared so alone and outnumbered. Across this vast world, he was the only one of the human race who could act.
“Please, Fallen Heavenly King, make your move. Erase him, and everything will draw to a close. The human race has no right to say anything further!” One ancient king was extremely aggressive, showing total contempt for the crowd.
At that moment, all that could be heard was the fall of petals. Heaven and earth had grown still to the utmost degree. Many powerful cultivators turned their gazes toward the ancient king upon the primordial war chariot.
The White-Robed Divine King spoke: “From beginning to end, all you have spoken of is so-called qualifications. I have fought you and killed until now—is that still not enough?”
When topics such as this arose, the White-Robed Divine King’s solemnity was indescribable. Those ancient kings who had survived the battle already had ice running through their bodies—they felt their hair stand on end. Only those who had lived through the battle not long before truly understood how terrifying the Divine King was. His mention of this now was simply stating the truth: by rights, he had long since killed his way into the right to stand as equals against all the kings who had come thus far.
“What qualifications? You simply have none!” One ancient king shook his finger, his expression detached and utterly heartless.
This was a disdain that came from the depths of his heart—a psychological superiority that had persisted from time immemorial and had never changed.
“In the primordial age, your human race survived by squeezing through the cracks. At your most pitiful, you clung to survival by a thread, on the brink of complete annihilation. You once served as vassals, sheltering beneath the feet of several powerful clans and begging for their protection. What dignity did you have then? What qualifications did you have to speak of?”
One ancient king tore open the prehistoric wound without mercy, rubbing salt into the hearts of every human cultivator present. His expression was the picture of contempt, and ice-cold cruelty.
“At that time, you were no more than a group of insignificant ants. Several of the great clans present here were your former masters!”
Words like these struck like thunderbolts, causing many human cultivators to tremble from head to toe, filled with a wave of humiliation.
“What you speak of is the primordial age—when the human race had only just arrived on this ancient star. It is true our ancestors suffered greatly and paid an enormous price, but they persevered and survived.” The Divine King was solemn and grave, his expression stern, speaking with utmost earnestness and reverence: “Our predecessors had it hard. Their shame will be washed clean. Later generations opened a prosperous age and carved their own path—not failing the hopes our predecessors placed in us.”
“What prosperous age? How can you compare with us? At the height of the most flourishing primordial era, the might of the ancient emperors was revered across the nine heavens and ten earths. How could you compare?” An ancient king retorted.
“Why not? In the primordial age, a succession of ancient emperors rose one after another, each belonging to a different race. Yet among the desolate ancients, the human race alone produced numerous Great Emperors without falling behind!” The White-Robed Divine King’s voice rang out like metal striking stone, shaking the ears and awakening the mind.
It was not merely not falling behind—the several emperors of primordial times came from different races, yet the Great Emperors of antiquity all came from the same human race. This was a truly staggering display of might.
At the mention of the several Great Emperors who had long since passed, every human’s blood surged within them. The entire sea of their hearts lit up brilliantly, and they longed to let out a great shout.
A single clan had produced so many supreme existences. Their true potential was no weaker than the ten thousand clans—they were fully capable of standing as equals. The earlier humiliation of their predecessors had truly suffocated them beyond all breathing.
In the primordial age, humanity had been weak—even food in the mouths of many powerful clans, utterly insignificant—but later generations were vastly different. Many ancient clans fell silent. Even the ancestor-kings present found themselves wanting to say something yet unable to find grounds for rebuttal, and so, for a time, all fell still.
After a long while, the Crimson Forest Sage King gave a cold laugh and said: “All of that is the past. The primordial emperors were absolutely stronger than the human Great Emperors, because some of them have not died—they attained immortality. But all of your human Great Emperors have died to the last, and everything remains as it was before. You are still as weak as you once were.”
“Precisely. Such is reality. Your situation is worse than even the primordial age—there has been no improvement whatsoever. You have only a single Sage. On what basis should we talk with you? Simply erase you all!” Many ancient kings chimed in.
“In that case, no matter what, you intend to slaughter us all—nothing will change?” The White-Robed Divine King asked.
“Exactly so!” One of the Twin Sage Kings bellowed.
“Are you not afraid that some of the ancient Great Emperors have not died, and will bring down their thunderous wrath upon you?” The White-Robed Divine King roared, his expression turning ice-cold as he faced all the kings with a chill he had never before shown.
“You are a true hero of your people. I genuinely wish to give you a chance—I would take you as my adopted son.” The Fallen Heavenly King spoke.
“Then let us fight!” The White-Robed Divine King was utterly fearless. A Divine King Sword appeared in his hand; he raised it horizontally toward the high heavens, one man facing all the kings alone.
“What a helpless decision. To snuff out a genius is not my wish, but I have no choice.” The Fallen Heavenly King’s voice turned cold. He stepped forward—and the entire Jade Pool shuddered, as though it might collapse.
“Obliterate him. Let us end this quickly!” An ancient king bellowed. Others followed suit, pressing forward.
The people despaired. They could not bear to witness the White-Robed Divine King’s final, sorrowful stand. How could one man hold out alone? The legend of invincibility… was about to be painted in blood.
Ye Fan could no longer restrain himself. If he did not act now, when would he? Even if it meant dying in battle, he did not want to stand by and watch the Divine King fall.
In the past, a blood-soaked image seemed to linger still before his eyes—the White-Robed Divine King departing alone, grief in every line of him, cradling the body of the Rainbow Cloud Immortal as he walked away. That sight, Ye Fan had never been able to let go of.
“Do not act rashly. Everything is still within control.” Suddenly, a voice sounded in his heart. Ye Fan was stunned. This was… transmitted by the Divine King.
Still within control… What more could there be?
BOOM!
Abruptly, a world-shattering sound rang out. A brilliant golden light cleaved through the vast expanse of the land, arriving from far away, and the Heavenly Dao rang out in resonance. In that instant, it shook the entire northern land. Like a divine radiance of eternity, it illuminated the mountains and rivers before plunging into the Jade Pool.
“The Divine Register of the Gods—it is actually the Divine Register of the Gods! It has appeared again!”
In that moment, every single person cried out in shock, staggered beyond measure.
The ancient clans in particular—every single branch of them—went pale as ash. Before the divine artifact of the most powerful Great Emperor in human history, every last person felt their bones go cold with dread.
“How can this be?” Even the ancient kings were overcome with fear, their faces changing color, for they felt the supreme aura of the Great Emperors of antiquity.
“It is false—it cannot be real.” The Crimson Forest Sage King spoke.
BOOM!
The Divine Register of the Gods transformed into a bolt of golden lightning, descending from the heavens with matchless might—like a hand of the ancient Great Emperors pressing down. Even existences indestructible across ten thousand tribulations would be turned to ash.
“Ah—!”
A cry of terror rang out. Unable to offer any resistance whatsoever, the Crimson Forest Sage King was struck by the golden light and in an instant was turned to ash—cleanly and completely annihilated.
Following that, the four ancient kings who had come with him were also sealed, every one of them becoming dust in that first moment—erased from existence.
Not long before, they had all declared that the human race was weak as insects, and their words had been scathing and venomous. Yet this was the end they had met.
“It truly is the aura of the ancient Great Emperors—how can this be?” Every ancient king was overcome with terror.
BOOM!
The Divine Register of the Gods blazed with resplendent light, illuminating ten thousand li of rivers and mountains. It descended once more in suppression. The Twin Sage Kings were turned to ash—they could not even let out a groan before they were crushed and killed.
The shock was absolute. In the blink of an eye, three Sage Kings and four ancient kings had died violent deaths.
HMMM!
The void trembled. The several ancient kings who had just heaped the most extreme humiliation upon the human race—declaring that in the primordial age the humans had survived clinging to life, acknowledging powerful races as their masters—all cried out in terror.
But nothing could change it. The Divine Register of the Gods descended from the heavens, mighty and domineering, suppressing and killing them all as they became drifting ash.
“The shame of our ancestors—the ancient Great Emperors have come to wash it clean!” The White-Robed Divine King bellowed.
The other human cultivators were moved as well, crying out in chorus.
“An ancient Great Emperor has manifested—the Wushi Great Emperor yet lives!”
“Wash away the humiliation—suppress and slay them all!”
Across the Heaven-Reaching Platform, a wave of great shouts rang out. Many wept with excitement.
BOOM!
The Divine Register of the Gods, blazing with ten thousand rays of light, descended once more, suppressing toward the Fallen Heavenly King. The nine primordial ancient beasts were incinerated to nothing. The ancient war chariot collapsed.
“Ah—!”
The Fallen Heavenly King, that powerful existence, could only let out a single cry of unwillingness—yet was powerless to resist. That eternal golden sacred light suppressed and slew all things.
PFFT!
The divine register fell without mercy. The invincible colossus of the primordial age exploded apart. His blood evaporated, and then he became ash.