In a sector south of the Ancient Gods Starfield, where scattered stars twinkled, one life-bearing planet shone with exceptionally brilliant light. This was the exclusive star of the Bradley family.

Within a secluded valley on the planet, mountains stood tall, and within the belly of one of these peaks hung luminous yellow crystal spheres, each resembling a small star, glowing with the fire of life within. These spheres were Life Orbs, corresponding to the souls and very lives of important Bradley family figures.

No matter where these kin were, if their soul returned to the void, the corresponding Life Orb here would extinguish. Beneath each orb were carved characters bearing the corresponding names.

At this moment, the light of three such Orbs flickered violently, then suddenly went dark. An old man, covered in dust from long vigil, gasped in shock, his eyes blazing with terror, before his figure blurred and vanished.

He reappeared instantly in a secret chamber where a single person sat in meditation. This was Bayers, the current patriarch of the Bradley family.

Bayers had been deep in arduous cultivation, striving to break through his current realm into true immortality, when the news from the old man disturbed him. "What is it?" Bayers asked, his voice deep and heavy.

"The Life Orbs for Lighter, Cook, and Jeremy have been extinguished, Patriarch. Something has shifted in the Thunder Starfield." The man replied, head bowed.

Bayers’ face changed abruptly, a flicker of deep sorrow crossing his eyes. He remained silent for a long moment.

"Lighter was my cousin. He never wanted to go to the Thunder Starfield; he always felt that star region was too desolate.

If I hadn't insisted he go, perhaps he wouldn't have held on this long." "Patriarch, please grieve with restraint," the old man sighed softly. "They will not have died in vain." Bayers took a deep breath, his expression hardening.

He waved his hand decisively. "Summon the Elder Council immediately." "Understood." ...

Soon, the Divine Race Elder Council received news of the demise of Lighter, Cook, and Jeremy, realizing that the Thunder Starfield had likely fallen, no longer a territory held by the Divine Race. The various factions of the Divine Race were thrown into shock.

Xiaoyao and the Bright Heavenly King naturally also learned of the tragedy. On the summit of Heavenly God Peak, Xiaoyao placed his wine cup onto the polished jade platform with a mocking smile.

"If you had listened to my advice earlier and joined me to forcefully open the barrier of the Thunder Starfield, perhaps they would still be alive." Previously, Xiaoyao had urged the Bright Heavenly King to join him in shattering the starfield lockdown established by Dicarlo and rushing into the Thunder Starfield, but the Bright Heavenly King had refused. At that time, the Bright Heavenly King was supremely confident, believing that with Lighter, Cook, and Jeremy guarding the region, the Thunder Starfield would be safe and sound, making it impossible for Shi Yan to gain any advantage.

But now, regret began to dawn. Lighter and the other two were all Second Heaven Initial Gods, elites drawn from their own Bradley family.

Losing three at once caused a sharp pain in the Bright Heavenly King’s heart. His face darkened as he drained the strong liquor in his flask, then stood up...

{Book friends upload updates} "I will act with you now." Xiaoyao smiled faintly. "Working together, we can shatter the starfield barrier in half a month at most.

That barrier was solidified by Dicarlo; its destruction will wound him!" As he spoke, Xiaoyao’s gaze turned sharply sinister. If Dicarlo hadn't interfered midway, he would have killed Shi Yan long ago, obtained those three Bloodthirsty bones, and Ouyang Luoshuang would not have been lost.

So many complications would have been avoided. He now regarded Dicarlo as an enemy, and Xiaoyao never showed an ounce of mercy to his foes.

"Dicarlo choosing opposition against our race will be his greatest misfortune. I shall count the lives of my three family sons against him," the Bright Heavenly King stated grimly.

... The Thunder Starfield.

In the center of the Heavenly Pool, dried husks of Divine Race corpses lay scattered. The grand, opulent palaces they had built were now shattered ruins, their stones stained with blood.

Lei Dong, Ji Feng, and Harmon, three martial artists native to the Thunder Starfield, zipped around the edge of the Heavenly Pool like streaks of residual shadows, swiftly executing the surviving Divine Race members who had slipped through the net. These stragglers were mostly at the levels of Void God or Origin God.

Against three Initial Gods hunting them, they didn't even have a chance to flee. Furthermore, the Thunder Starfield was sealed.

All teleportation arrays in the region were useless; they could only be killed one by one. In this moment, they finally understood the shift in the age, realizing ten thousand years had passed, and the dominance of the Divine Race was formally being challenged.

When the last Divine Race member fell, Lei Dong took out a sound stone, licked his lips, and coldly transmitted the message: "Send word: Lighter has been slain by the Bloodthirsty Venerable Lord, and all Divine Race members at the Heavenly Pool have been slaughtered. From this moment on, all surviving Divine Race members in the Thunder Starfield are our targets—kill them all with full force!" Almost simultaneously, Ji Feng and Harmon also took out their sound stones, broadcasting the same message as Lei Dong.

Lei Dong, Ji Feng, and Harmon represented the three strongest factions within the Thunder Starfield; they were all leaders commanding numerous loyal martial artists. When they transmitted the news at once, the entire Thunder Starfield boiled with shock.

Suddenly, every martial artist in the region grasped the monumental change that had occurred at the Heavenly Pool and understood that the sky had changed over the Thunder Starfield. Many Divine Race members, scattered in forgotten corners of the starfield and still acting high-handedly, suddenly transitioned from hunter to prey, becoming the targets of widespread encirclement and annihilation by numerous martial artists.

A massive operation dubbed "God Slaying" commenced across the Thunder Starfield, with Divine Race members perishing every hour, every moment. After sending out their respective messages, Lei Dong moved his soul consciousness, surveying the surroundings.

He noticed numerous scantily clad women huddled fearfully in corners, watching the three of them with dread. Lei Dong gazed deeply at the beautiful women from various races, held captive by Lighter for years, then sighed and said to Ji Feng, "Let them go.

They are people of our starfield, all pitiable souls." Ji Feng nodded in agreement. Lei Dong then flickered to appear above the Heavenly Pool.

He took one glance at Shi Yan and suddenly froze. Shi Yan was enveloped in a mist of blood-red smoke, radiating an intense aura of gore, his body blazing with an eerie crimson light.

The power of his Divine Body surged like a bursting dam, extremely violent. Yet, his expression was utterly calm.

His Soul Altar moved with a unique rhythm, as if merging with the vast sea of heaven and stars. As Lei Dong looked at him, it was like gazing upon the immense, mysterious cosmos, and a sense of reverence spontaneously arose within him.

He shuddered, suddenly realizing something crucial, and urgently called out, "Seal the perimeter! No one is allowed to enter!

The Venerable Lord is on the verge of a breakthrough; he absolutely cannot be disturbed by anyone!" Upon hearing this, Ji Feng and Harmon were instantly alarmed. Ji Feng hastily spoke a few words to the scantily clad women, then joined Harmon in rushing to surround Shi Yan, just like Lei Dong.

They began setting up barrier formations to protect Shi Yan, terrified that any disturbance might cause his breakthrough to fail. They had all reached the Initial God realm and understood deeply how perilous every breakthrough was at this level; one misstep could lead to eternal ruin.

Lei Dong, being a Second Heaven Initial God, had nearly had his soul scattered when advancing from the First Heaven. Thus, his understanding was far deeper than Ji Feng’s or Harmon’s.

The three surrounded Shi Yan in the center, condensing their respective strengths and profound truths into visions of swirling clouds, blossoming flowers, and bolts of lightning—each scene rendered with pure divine power, possessing no small defensive strength. "We will guard this place for now and await his successful breakthrough," Lei Dong stated.

Ji Feng and Harmon nodded in agreement. ...

Deep within the splendid, variegated Void Riverlands. Dicarlo squinted, divine light shimmering intensely in his palm, transforming into countless intricate and mysterious barriers that flowed into the mouths of various spatial fissures, then surged toward the Thunder Starfield.

Sealing a starfield required continuous application of power. Even for someone at Dicarlo’s level, it was difficult to completely bind a starfield with a single initial arrangement.

Therefore, during this period, he remained deeply hidden in the spatial crevices, continually reinforcing the seal on the Thunder Starfield. Suddenly, Dicarlo’s body trembled slightly, and billions of light beams flowed within his pupils, manifesting as countless different spatial miniatures.

He frowned, sighed inwardly, and muttered, "Xiaoyao and the Bright Heavenly King have joined forces; that seal probably won't last much longer. It can contain them for half a month at most.

I wonder if that will be enough time." His gaze pierced through the layers of space, landing on Shi Yan, and a wry smile touched his lips. At this moment, Shi Yan was precisely at the critical juncture of breaking through to the Second Heaven Initial God realm.

Dicarlo couldn't even send a message to him. A sense of urgency grew within him, his brow deeply furrowed.

"If I force an intervention, I can only buy another half a month. By the time another month passes, that brat will need to break through to the Second Heaven Initial God realm.

I wonder if that will be enough time to revive him..." Dicarlo looked deeply worried. "He is that person’s successor.

For ordinary people, breaking through to the Second Heaven Initial God might take a very long time. For him, perhaps it will be fast.

That is all we can hope for..." "Master, Master..." Whispered calls, like sleep-talking, echoed within Shi Yan’s soul—it was the voice of the "Ring Spirit." After being sealed by Ming Hao, it originally could not establish contact with Shi Yan; their communication had been severed. But now that Shi Yan was at the cusp of breakthrough, his mind extremely tranquil, the spirit somehow found a way to transmit a faint signal.

"Help me break the seal! What that person said are all lies.

He wants to replace you and become my master, become the Bloodthirsty New Venerable Lord. You must not trust him, Master.

I have followed you for many years; you must know I have never harmed you..." The Ring Spirit’s plea was intermittent, as if forcing its thoughts into Shi Yan’s mind; this required immense effort for it. However, the timing it chose was precisely when Shi Yan was breaking through...

During a breakthrough, one must never be disturbed by external factors, or the consequences range from qi deviation to the complete annihilation of one's soul. For it to choose this moment to transmit to Shi Yan suggested either desperation or malicious intent.

The repeated calls held a magical quality, echoing louder and louder in Shi Yan's mind, transforming from faint whispers to thunderous roars, causing a growing unrest within him. Shi Yan’s eyes were tightly shut, his breathing growing heavy, and the flow of divine power within his body began to stagnate everywhere.

Lei Dong, Ji Feng, and Harmon, standing nearby, visibly changed expression, instantly sensing that something was wrong. They rushed closer, their faces grave.

Shi Yan's current reaction suggested he was slowly losing control, verging on qi deviation during his breakthrough. This was exceedingly dangerous...

...(To be continued)...RX