Lou Yuan descended toward a jagged, barren mountain and landed at its base. He hesitated only a breath before stepping forward—and vanished into the stone as if the world swallowed him.
As his body phased through layered rock and formation barriers, a thought stirred in him:
Perhaps I shouldn't have come.
A few days earlier, when the Battlefield Realm fully opened, a summons had reached him—a message from the Human Race Council, calling all eligible humans to convene.
His first instinct had been refusal.
His relationship with the council was… strained at best, hostile at worst.
But after a long silence and deeper reflection, he acknowledged a simple truth:
Whatever their faults, the Human Race Council had protected the remaining humans for thousands of years.
Reluctantly, he came.
---
Light flared at the end of the passage.
Lou Yuan stepped into a vast underground chamber—grand, oppressive, and filled with cultivators. Nearly everyone present radiated the aura of the Saint Realm. Only a handful were exceptions—the young elites who had entered through the ten qualification paths.
Lou Yuan's gaze swept the chamber.
Only five remained.
Five out of ten.
Half of the chosen youth had already perished before the battlefield even reached its peak.
Silence hung heavy in the chamber—an unspoken acknowledgement of loss.
Then a voice broke through:
"Lou Yuan! Over here."
He turned and found Shui Yinhai waving him over—a familiar face among too many strangers.
Lou Yuan walked toward her, his expression steady, but his heart carried a quiet heaviness.
The moment he drew close, Shui Yinhai stiffened—her spiritual sense brushing against his aura. Her eyes widened.
"You… reached the Saint Realm."
Lou Yuan gave a small nod. "Mm.
How have you been?"
The last time they met was years ago—during the Space Supreme Trial. Back then, both were far weaker, with futures uncertain.
Shui Yinhai gave a faint smile. "I'm fine. I recently advanced to the Tao King Realm."
Lou Yuan nodded in acknowledgement, though his attention had already shifted elsewhere.
At the centre of the chamber stood ten figures—seven men and three women. Their postures were still, but their presence weighed heavier than mountains.
Great Saints.
From their bearing alone, Lou Yuan could distinguish realm and age—most appearing elderly, a few middle-aged, none ordinary.
Shui Yinhai followed his line of sight and spoke softly:
"They are the ten Great Saints from the ten human sects—the pillars holding up what remains of the Human Race."
Lou Yuan's gaze settled on the man with the strongest presence—an old cultivator in a flowing purple robe, a jade-ornamented staff resting lightly in his hand.
Among the ten, his aura was the deepest—vast yet restrained.
Shui Yinhai's voice lowered with reverence.
"That is the Great Elder of the Purple Jade Sect—Zi Yuanzhen."
Lou Yuan's expression shifted slightly.
He knew that name.
Because he was a disciple of the Purple Jade Sect—though a distant and disregarded one.
---
Then, among the ten, a middle-aged woman stepped forward. Her crimson hair flickered like living flame, and her aura felt like a volcano barely kept in check.
"Since everyone has arrived," she said, voice sharp and commanding, "we shall begin."
Shui Yinhai leaned in ever so slightly and whispered:
"She is the Great Elder of the Holy Fire Sect—Yang Lihua. Title: Golden Flame."
Lou Yuan understood.
At the Saint Realm, using a peer's personal name casually was disrespectful. Titles were what mattered now.
At that moment, Jun Tian, one of the surviving qualification pass geniuses, spoke:
"Senior Golden Flame, one person has not arrived."
A faint stir rippled through the gathered human cultivators—everyone knew whom he meant.
Golden Flame's gaze sharpened.
"Who?"
Jun Tian clasped his hands respectfully.
"Yu Feng."
The chamber grew colder.
Golden Flame's eyes slid toward a large, old man wearing bulky crimson armour. Metal gauntlets wrapped both his hands like sharpened beast claws.
His aura carried a sense of crushing might—as if one strike from him could tear mountains apart.
He spoke, voice rough and direct:
"My spirit messenger searched the Battlefield Realm and found nothing. Yu Feng may not know this meeting was called."
Jun Tian's lips curved—not quite a smile.
"So… has he died, Senior Dragon Hand?"
Shui Yinhai whispered beside Lou Yuan:
"Dragon Hand is a Great Elder from the Puppet Sect."
The atmosphere tightened—tension coiling through the chamber like a drawn bow.
Then, the strongest presence among the Great Saints stirred.
Great Elder Yuanzhen, the Purple Sword Master of the Purple Jade Sect, narrowed his eyes.
His voice was cold and sharp as a blade:
"Jun Tian. Why bring up Yu Feng? Did you not label him a traitor of the Human Race?"
Jun Tian bowed slightly—respectful in posture, but pride simmering beneath.
"Great Elder, Yu Feng killed three people—one of them a sect elder. For that alone, I judged him guilty."
A murmur swept the chamber.
And Lou Yuan—who had remained silent long enough—finally stepped forward.
His voice cut through the tension like a quiet knife:
"Jun Tian, you know very well why Yu Feng killed them."
Jun Tian turned, his expression twisting when he saw not another Saint, but a junior.
A nobody.
His tone turned mocking, vicious:
"How bold. A junior thinks he may correct me? You require—education."
A purple energy palm formed above his head—vast, oppressive—and slapped toward Lou Yuan with force meant to humiliate, not kill.
But before it landed—
A star-lit hand appeared from Lou Yuan's side, shimmering like a night sky carved into reality.
The two forces collided.
And in that instant—
Every Saint in the chamber felt it:
Lou Yuan was Saint Realm.
A ripple of astonishment spread through the gathering.
Lou Yuan exhaled softly—cold, controlled.
"No. It is you who needs to be taught."
The starry hand surged forward, shattered the purple palm—and then slapped Jun Tian across the chamber.
Jun Tian slammed into a stone wall, dust falling as cracks spread behind him.
His face burned—not from injury, but humiliation.
His aura surged in fury, as if ready to erupt—
Until an overwhelming pressure descended.
Great Elder Yuanzhen's aura flooded the chamber, effortlessly suppressing everyone present.
"Enough."
The word echoed like a commandment from Heaven.
Jun Tian froze, teeth clenched.
Lou Yuan lowered his aura but met Jun Tian's glare with open disdain.
With the confidence of someone holding a Supreme weapon, Lou Yuan spoke loud enough for the chamber to hear:
"We should be discussing Jun Tian's punishment—for sending an unqualified person," he glanced toward Jun Zhenhai, "and turning a true talent into a supposed 'enemy' of the Human Race."
Jun Tian's expression twisted.
He spat coldly:
"Where did I err? Yu Feng is dead. Jun Zhenhai still lives."
The chamber stilled.
Lou Yuan's expression darkened.
He understood what that meant: the spirit messenger bird could not find Yu Feng. That left only two possibilities:
* Yu Feng had died.
* Or he had reached a realm so high he could hide from a Great Saint.
For him to escape Senior Dragon Hand's detection, Yu Feng would need to be Great Saint Realm or higher—impossible in so short a time.
Lou Yuan's heart tightened.
Yu Feng… dead?
Then—
A calm voice broke the silence:
"Yu Feng is still alive."
Everyone turned.
Mu Ninjaing, a saint realm, is the Sect Master of the Purple Jade Sect.
He lifted his hand and revealed a small lantern—faintly glowing.
The flame flickered steadily.
Alive.
The life-lamp burns.
A quiet ripple spreads through the chamber. Cultivators from other sects glance at one another, recalling that Yu Feng was the core disciple of the Purple Jade Sect.
Some hold back satisfied expressions—because Jun Tian, a Saint of the same sect, has turned the two most talented disciples of his lineage into enemies.
A silent irony.
Great Elder Yuanchen finally speaks, voice calm yet absolute:
"Yu Feng must be inside a trial ground or secret realm. He likely never received the summons. His punishment—and Jun Tian's—will be decided when he returns."
Jun Tian stiffens, but remains silent.
Yuanchen continues:
"Now—let us begin."
---
The meeting proceeds.
With the battlefield realm now fully opened at once—instead of in controlled stages—the situation has changed drastically.
The Saints discuss strategy.
Plans form.
They decide the Human Race must seize a city and establish a central stronghold—so that humans below the Saint realm can also descend safely. Only Saints can travel freely through space; the rest require a stabilised entry point.
The final decision:
For the next ten years, every Saint will investigate the major cities.
After ten years, they will reconvene, share findings, and choose which city to conquer.
With that, the meeting ends.
One by one, cultivators disappear into spatial ripples, formation anchors, or streaks of divine light.
---
Jun Tian gathers with several Saints.
One of them sighs.
"Jun Tian, once Yu Feng returns… You should reconcile with him."
Jun Tian snorts—cold and unwilling.
"I will not."
Another Saint replies, voice low:
"Yu Feng's talent exceeds Lou Yuan's. And Lou Yuan has already reached the Saint realm—you saw his power. Do you believe yourself to be Yu Feng's match?"
Jun Tian's face darkens. His pride fractures.
He inhales slowly and says:
"The plan against Yu Feng was not mine alone. All of you supported me. Instead of begging forgiveness… we should kill him."
Silence falls.
Not rejection—consideration.
Jun Tian presses:
"Even if Yu Feng forgives us, he will remember. With his talent, he will likely reach the Great Saint realm. If he retaliates, then we will be helpless."
A Saint nods reluctantly.
"Then we must kill him before he returns. Once Dragon Hand's messenger bird locates him, the Great Elders will protect him. Killing him afterwards will be impossible."
Another frowns.
"But how do we find him? None of us knows where he is."
Jun Tian's eyes narrow.
"We cannot."
His voice lowers, dangerous.
"But someone can."
The Saints exchange glances—a silent agreement forming.
Then, without another word, they rise into the air and vanish into the distance.
---
A hundred years pass.
Inside the demi-plane, the world changes.
Gu Silan stands at the peak of the Tao King realm—just one step away from the Tao Space Realm.
The Spiritual Transformation Sect is decorated from gate to courtyard with lanterns, silk banners, and flowing petals.
Tonight is a grand celebration.
Tonight is her wedding—
Gu Silan is being married to Zou Meng, the chief disciple of the Spiritual Transformation Sect.