One, two… nine figures, each more heroic and imposing than the last, surrounded Ye Fan, Emperor Sky, the Great Demon God, and the others.

The heavenly tribulation was boundless, the sea of thunder immeasurable. Every dazzling bolt of lightning that tore across the sky illuminated the universe, and some of the massive arcs could split star after star apart.

The thunder tribulation continued. The sacred body was being inscribed and recorded by the great Dao of heaven and earth, transforming into a humanoid lightning form — one manifestation among the tribulations, shaking the starry void and leaving everyone at a loss for words.

“Six Paths of Reincarnation Fist!”

A golden figure emerged, slashing forward, colliding with the Great Demon God with a thunderous boom. Six ancient universes appeared in the sky, as if caught in a cycle of reincarnation.

“Golden Divine Treasury!”

Another golden figure faced off against Emperor Sky, bearing a golden treasury on its back. All manner of golden Dao soldiers appeared, firing off thousands upon thousands of Dao weapons, their killing intent making the heavens tremble.

“Boom!”

The third figure broke ten thousand methods with a single vessel, cracking open the firmament. The chaotic sea of thunder exploded. Above its head hung an ancient, unadorned great cauldron, rising and sinking as if it could suppress all living beings.

This figure bore straight down on Immortal Maiden Qingshi. The cauldron pressed down upon the world, shaking the heavens — within its mouth, a universe of stars flickered, chaos like an ocean threatening to swallow this entire world whole.

……

The nine figures appeared one by one, striking at these young supreme beings, each one possessing overwhelming combat power, their divine might unstoppable.

Ye Fan himself felt a chill in his heart. When he had ascended to sainthood, he had also seen the humanoid sacred-body lightning — but at that time they had come one at a time to attack and kill. Now, incredibly, they came all at once.

“Clang!”

He circulated the Secret of the Soldier Character, striking forward, clashing against another version of himself. He hadn’t expected his opponent to react just as swiftly, treating him as a weapon, wanting to seize control of him, likewise wielding the Soldier Character Mantra.

The battle erupted suddenly, throwing the starry sky into chaos. All the heroes’ hearts surged with turmoil, everyone struck by the tremendous shockwave. Even the Dao Protectors on the ancient path of humanity couldn’t help but gasp in astonishment — such a heaven-defying tribulation, exceeding all common sense, should not exist in this world.

Every heart marveled: Ye Fan had defied heaven itself, unprecedented since ancient times!

“Kill!”

Elsewhere, one of the young supreme beings erupted, her Dao-shout splitting the heavens. She released boundless light, her entire being radiating the grand aura of a ruler of humanity — supreme and unrivaled.

This was a woman, unrivaled in beauty, her dark hair dancing, her eyes like deep autumn pools. This person was matchlessly powerful; wisps of Dao-marks rippled outward, making even the saints tremble, wanting to kneel in submission.

“Is that the most mysterious goddess?” people cried out in shock. She was the last of the young supreme beings to arrive — at first no one knew whether she was male or female, and only now was it revealed.

“Not a goddess — the Human King!” a powerful cultivator exclaimed in astonishment.

“What, the Human King is a woman?!” The crowd stood dumbfounded, having always assumed the King of Humanity would be an unrivaled, powerful man — who could have imagined it would be a woman.

The Human King Seal, the Heaven-Overturning Seal, the Great Dao Seal — one after another, she struck them out, as if the sovereign of humanity herself had emerged into the world, the great battle raging on without end.

Though she was a woman, she was peerlessly powerful, her blood and vigor abundant, her Dharma manifestation shocking the world. She stood firm within the sea of thunder, locked in fierce battle against one of the humanoid lightning forms.

That tall, heroic figure was blurred, but people could tell it was almost identical to Ye Fan. He was circulating the Secret of the Battle Character, contending against her ever-changing myriad Dharma Seals.

Boom!

The Eternal Cosmos Furnace appeared, blood-red as fresh blood, colliding with the Heaven-Overturning Seal, producing a rumbling explosion. Then came the ringing clang of a sword — the Grand Emperor Sword split heaven and earth apart, unrivaled in this world, shattering the Great Dao Seal!

This was the Sacred Method of Battle War, evolving all manner of Dao between heaven and earth. The moment its fighting will erupted, the four seas were subdued in awe.

By this point in the battle, Emperor Sky, the Great Demon God, Immortal Maiden Qingshi, and the Human King were all already exhausted — the battle against the Nine Emperors had drained too much of their strength, leaving them all gravely wounded.

Now, facing the humanoid lightning sacred bodies again, they naturally fought with extreme difficulty, especially with all nine rushing forward at once, each circulating the most terrifying techniques in the world, tearing their bodies apart once more.

“Kill!”

Emperor Sky let out a long roar, having reached the limit of his endurance. Being brutally slaughtered by the ancient Great Emperor was one thing, but now, to have his rival inscribed by heaven and earth itself, transformed into humanoid lightning — this he could not accept.

At this moment, he charged forward with a higher realm of power, intent on destroying one of the sacred-body lightning forms. This was an attempt to overpower and suppress it — he refused to believe that Ye Fan could be as terrifying as the ancient Great Emperor.

“Boom!”

Blazing radiant light illuminated the heavens, making the great chaos tribulation seem as if it would collapse. The humanoid lightning form threw out a single punch, its radiance shining in all directions — this was the Divine Prohibition Realm.

Emperor Sky was already gravely wounded, having been beaten bloody by the Azure Emperor, his combat power severely diminished. Now, struck by this blow again, he was sent flying on the spot, the bones in his chest shattering, two of them bursting free, drenched in blood.

Everyone’s expressions changed. The humanoid lightning sacred body had actually manifested the Divine Prohibition Realm — this was an extremely terrifying outcome, leaving the starry sky in dead silence.

What exactly had the great Dao of heaven and earth inscribed? How could even the Divine Prohibition be triggered so easily!

Without a doubt, this was a cruel reality, truly unfolding before them at this very moment, stirring everyone’s hearts and setting off a flood of thoughts.

Was this the future sacred body — representing the achievements he would attain, with only its potential being revealed prematurely now?!

Blood sprayed through the air. After suffering this grievous wound, Emperor Sky’s eyes turned utterly cold, shining like a pair of divine lamps. He chanted an ancient scripture, saying: “Reincarnated through the Three Realms, I alone am supreme — in life after life, my name shall be carved!”

This time was different from before. Before him and behind him, massive stone steles rose up one after another, each one engraved with his name, deep and unmistakable.

The crowd was shaken. What on earth was that?

Everyone stood dumbfounded. This technique was too bizarre — before and behind Emperor Sky, one massive divine stele after another appeared. Looking closely, they seemed to be gravestones.

They radiated an air of boundless antiquity, as if they had cycled through reincarnation for ten thousand ages, as if countless lifetimes of burial soil had merged together, appearing eerie and terrifying.

A terrifying aura was being released — those were gravestones, upon which one could even make out epitaphs, all radiating overwhelming ripples of power.

What kind of technique was this? Why had no one ever heard of it? People felt their hair stand on end, as if turned to stone.

Emperor Sky stood there, wisps of blood flowing continuously from his flesh, staining every stele red — each one carved with his name, as if the heroic spirits of ten thousand reincarnated ages had returned!

Between heaven and earth, densely packed, his name was carved everywhere, divine might vast and mighty, like a boundless ocean crashing against the shore, splitting the nine heavens apart!

Reincarnated through the Three Realms, my name carved in life after life — this ancient scripture had actually come true! In this moment, it was as if ten thousand ages of time and space had been connected, all of Emperor Sky’s lifetimes joined together, unleashing his strongest attack.

Clearly, to perform such a technique required an immense price — otherwise why would his entire body be drenched in blood, soaking thousands upon thousands of divine steles?

This was like a sacrifice, used to obtain supreme power.

Among the Dao Protectors of humanity, someone shuddered, recalling some ancient secret, and said in a trembling voice: “Could this be a technique from the Age of Myth, a peerless divine art from the era when the various venerable ones contended for supremacy?”

“I… seem to have seen a vague record in some primordial ancient tomb from before the great antiquity — ‘Reincarnated through the Three Realms, my name carved in life after life’ — this reads like a curse, the legacy of some peerless supreme being!”

“It’s him — so it really is this technique, how shocking. It’s said that Emperor Zun… read extensively through countless classics, and seems to have once drawn upon some of its supreme mysteries!”

The great saints had arrived, and some recognized Emperor Sky’s lineage, all shaken, their expressions turning extremely grave.

“What Reincarnation through the Three Realms, what thousands of tribulations across ten thousand ages — it’s all emptiness! A person’s life has only this one lifetime — where does reincarnation come from, where is any past life? Once dead, all becomes emptiness, all is destined to be destroyed!” Ye Fan’s true body said coldly, utterly unconvinced.

“Boom!”

Elsewhere, a humanoid lightning form, as if sensing something, strode forward like a dragon and tiger, throwing a punch directly, carrying an air of being unmatched in this present age, supreme and unrivaled.

This matched Ye Fan’s own Dao — believing in the present life, not in the past or the life to come. As long as he was unmatched in this one lifetime, nothing could stop him, and everything could be changed.

With a boom, heaven and earth cracked apart, even the tribulation itself was shattered — this humanoid lightning bolt had triggered the Divine Prohibition. At this realm, it could be called unprecedented and unrepeatable, powerful to the utmost extreme.

The Divine Prohibition pierced through everything, unrivaled in this world. Emperor Sky’s bizarre technique was too extraordinary, and he had not yet mastered it — forcibly interrupted, he was unable to unleash its full power.

His entire body was sent flying, his chest exploding open, jagged white bone visible, broken bones falling through the void.

He was unwilling to accept it, unconvinced — his true strength had never been shown. And earlier, his battle against the Azure Emperor had nearly exhausted his life essence entirely; by now he was already at the end of his strength, and so he found it difficult to resist.

“Emperor Sky… was struck flying, his blood staining the vast sky!”

The crowd, paying no heed to these hidden details, only saw Emperor Sky sent flying, and every one of them stood like statues of clay and wood, their spirits trembling.

“His obsession runs too deep. He fought the Azure Emperor to the death, determined to settle the score, and recklessly exhausted all of his life essence — that’s why he has no strength left to fight now,” one Dao Protector said.

“Boom!”

Suddenly, several of the nine humanoid lightning forms erupted with the Divine Prohibition, clashing violently with their opponents. Blood sprayed instantly, staining the vast sky.

Even someone as peerlessly beautiful as Immortal Maiden Qingshi, and the Human King — a woman of stunning, dominant, and fierce beauty renowned across the star regions — had their physical bodies cracked apart, suffering devastating blows.

The Great Demon God fared even more miserably. He swung his Demon God Fist forward, only to have both fists smashed into pulp, and finally both his arms shattered entirely.

Who could withstand several sacred bodies standing within the Divine Prohibition Realm? They rose up together! Even the young supreme beings of humanity’s ancient path could not hold them off — a single Divine Prohibition alone was enough to make the world tremble, and with so many erupting at once, all the great saints’ expressions had already changed.

Under these circumstances, it made no difference who came — simply surviving was already a proud achievement. To think of slaying all the sacred bodies while they were in their Divine Prohibition state was nothing but a fool’s dream.

Several supreme beings’ hearts trembled, a subtle sense of defeat welling up within them!

They had originally wished to fight the ancient Great Emperor at the same realm as his youth, but instead of achieving great gains, they had suffered blows of no small measure, leaving every one of their faces darkened.

The assembled heroes, meanwhile, were utterly dumbfounded, shaken beyond measure — when had they ever seen several young supreme beings emerge together, contending for supremacy all at once?! It was extraordinary, defying all reason.

The young supreme beings were strong enough in their own right — otherwise how could they have survived, outnumbered, in the battle against the nine young Great Emperors? That alone proved the point.

And this time, the reason they suffered even more severe wounds from the sacred body’s humanoid lightning forms was twofold: first, they had already exhausted too much of their combat strength; second, out of sheer unwillingness to accept defeat, seeing Ye Fan’s mark inscribed by the great Dao, they wished to suppress him immediately, and so attacked with their deepest, most profound realms of power — never expecting this would provoke a whole group of sacred bodies into ascending to the Divine Prohibition Realm!

At this moment, even Ye Fan himself felt his heart grow heavy. It wasn’t only Emperor Sky and the others facing the nine great sacred bodies and suffering grievous wounds — he himself was not faring well either.

Never before had Ye Fan experienced anything like this day, generating such powerful hostility toward himself, locked in ceaseless resistance, a brutal life-and-death struggle.

“Even my true body has not yet entered the Divine Prohibition. If I were bombarded to death by these phantom bodies wielding Divine Prohibition-level power, that would truly be a joke.” Ye Fan murmured to himself.

The Sacred Method of Battle War, the Six Paths of Reincarnation Fist, the Golden Divine Treasury…

Ye Fan fought with wild abandon, battling himself, his body shattering again and again, suffering extremely severe wounds. The only fortunate thing was that his phantom body never manifested the Divine Prohibition — clearly, like the ancient Great Emperor, it “calibrated” itself according to the opponent’s realm.

The Cauldron of the Myriad Mother Qi rose and sank, charging forward alongside Ye Fan through the sea of thunder — he was blasted apart by his own phantom body several times over!

He was powerful, but his enemy was himself — the stronger he became, the stronger his enemy became! Nine sacred bodies in total, nine versions of himself in total, all attacking him together — this was an unsolvable problem, foreshadowing a near-tragic ending.

At this point, Emperor Sky, the Great Demon God, Immortal Maiden Qingshi, and the Human King had all withdrawn. They had wanted to use this chance to temper themselves against the ancient Great Emperor, but had been left with nothing but pain and injury.

Everyone held their breath, watching the battlefield. All understood that Heaven itself was testing the sacred body — since no one else could stop him, it had sent nine versions of himself to block his path, to utterly destroy him, to make him fail his tribulation.

It could truly be said there was no solution to this — no way to break through it whatsoever.

And yet, astonishingly, Ye Fan ultimately pulled through. His Departed Self and Dao Self appeared in alternation, buying him time. Facing nine versions of himself, Ye Fan finally endured to the end.

“This… this is impossible. How could a single person survive being annihilated by nine versions of himself — is this defying heaven itself?”

“The strongest man in history — one man fighting nine of himself, this… if this isn’t a miracle, what is? Or is he cheating somehow — how else could he have survived?!”

People stood dumbfounded, unable to believe any of it.

When Emperor Sky, the Great Demon God, Immortal Maiden Qingshi, and the Human King first saw Ye Fan being blasted apart by his nine selves, his golden blood spraying across the sea of thunder, their hearts found a measure of balance.

Then, seeing him struck down again and again, never once erupting into the Divine Prohibition, the four of them grew increasingly at ease, even feeling waves of grim satisfaction.

After all, it was that man’s lightning phantom body that had wounded them earlier — now, seeing him tormented by his own phantom self in turn, naturally brought the four of them no small pleasure.

However, the final outcome proved somewhat difficult for them to accept. Ye Fan survived — though covered head to toe in blood, the cauldron atop his head nearly smashed to pieces — his resilience and unyielding strength deeply overawed everyone present.

Bearing the shattered Cauldron of the Myriad Mother Qi, Ye Fan walked step by step out of the sea of thunder, covered in wounds all over his body, golden blood dripping down, scars layered upon scars, giving him an air of heaviness and killing intent.

He appeared bedraggled, yet his eyes remained sharp, fierce as a heavenly sword, cutting through the void of the universe, radiating a powerful vital and spiritual energy that made others tremble.

He was like a divine sword forged through a thousand temperings, emerging from that purgatory-like furnace — already fully formed, needing only a little more polishing before it would unleash a brilliance that would astonish the world.