On a silent mountain peak, a sudden detonation echoed as Chen Feng soared out of a cave and hovered in mid-air. His Domain snapped open instantly, enveloping half the mountain. His cold eyes held no trace of emotion. His hands dropped vertically, he tilted his head back, and then crossed his uplifted hands.

A searing white light erupted where his hands met. The Domain before him shattered with a "bang" into countless fragments.

"BOOM!"

With a thunderous roar, illuminated by the white light, the entire summit of the mountain before him was sheared away. The resulting debris powdered and drifted away on the wind.

Chen Feng exhaled a turbid breath, his complexion waxy yellow, and shook his head.

The technique he had just unleashed was the "Pseudo-Sunlight Illumination" he had just mastered. In the year and a half since, through relentless effort, his cultivation had reached the level of a Ninth-Tier Dou Zun. At this level, when executing his technique at full power, his Absolute Domain force reached 95%. Yet, despite this, further advancement felt impossible.

Chen Feng knew he had hit a bottleneck. In KOF '96, the Japanese Emperor was similarly trapped at 95% Absolute Domain power, unable to break through, until Kyo’s grandfather and Fujirantokio’s father simultaneously struck him with 90% of their Absolute Domain power, which ultimately allowed him to acquire the Orochi power!

Back then, to ignite Kyo’s potential, Iori Yagami had massacred Kyo’s village and even severed the tendons in Kyo’s father’s (Goenitz’s) arms and legs to enrage him, allowing him to wield over 80% Absolute Domain power in the tournament, all in the hope of breaking through his own limits.

Indeed, during the final battle between Kyo and Ryo Sakazaki, both unleashed 89% and 89.5% Absolute Domain power, respectively. Iori stood between them, absorbing the brunt of their strikes, and finally mastered the Orochi power!

Thus, to attain a level of power beyond the current tier was not solely dependent on cultivation; sometimes, it relied on sheer opportunity.

Chen Feng hadn't even reached Ultimate Power, let alone the power of the Great Universe, making the true Sunlight Illumination impossible to manifest. However, by employing a method mimicking dark particles, using various elements to induce spatial rupture, he miraculously succeeded in mastering the "Pseudo-Sunlight Illumination"!

The caveat was that this "Sunlight Illumination" required damaging his own Domain to cast. In other words, unless facing a desperate situation, it was best left unused—it was a strategy of harming the enemy by a thousand while wounding oneself by eight hundred!

Nevertheless, the power of this technique was formidable. As long as the opponent was within the Domain, even a Saint Domain expert struck head-on by this move would likely suffer grievous injuries, perhaps even immediate death!

After all, dealing with spatial breakage was no simple feat!

Patting his chest, he retrieved a pale gold pill from his canteen and swallowed it. After a while, his complexion visibly improved.

This pill was refined using the medicinal herbs from his canteen, infused with the meditation of a Nether Venerable expert. Its effects were remarkable; it could facilitate rapid recovery from severe injuries or excessive depletion of Domain energy.

Chen Feng possessed countless medicinal herbs in his canteen and had refined tens of thousands of such pills, so using them brought no pang of regret.

He slowly flew back towards his residence. Halfway there, he saw White and Cam flying up to meet him.

Fifteen months prior, Chen Feng had rendezvoused with Ling Tianshou and the others. But upon seeing the personnel drilling at the mining site, he was utterly stunned!

There were dozens of Nether Venerable experts, over ten thousand Gold Armor experts, and even more than 500 Nether Saint-level experts!

When Ling Tianshou saw so many Gold Armor experts under Chen Feng’s command, his eyes gleamed fiercely, and he strongly requested to become their drillmaster to propagate his fighting skills.

Chen Feng was overjoyed and agreed immediately. Simultaneously, he imparted the fundamentals of Dou Qi to these individuals. Being Gold Armor experts with inherently strong foundational cultivation, learning Dou Qi was like water to a fish; their progress was meteoric.

Once their Dou Qi reached a certain level, Chen Feng taught them portions of the KOF techniques. By combining these KOF skills with their martial arts, these subordinates manifested astonishing offensive power!

If two Gold Armor experts utilized their martial skills and KOF techniques effectively, even a Saint Domain expert would struggle to gain an advantage!

Under Chen Feng’s orders, White also gathered a contingent of archers, and the Wen Lei Arrows began mass production!

Seeing that everything was proceeding smoothly, Chen Feng finally felt at ease. This force, he believed, could likely withstand an all-out assault from the Kejia Holy See!

With his own power structure established, Chen Feng entered secluded cultivation. A year of unremitting effort saw him advance from the Fifth-Tier Dou Zun realm to the current Ninth-Tier Dou Zun!

Of course, the primary reason for such rapid advancement was the abundance of Purple Fire Crystal Stones.

The commotion caused by the "Pseudo-Sunlight Illumination" was too immense and immediately alerted White and Cam, causing them both to rush over.

“Boss, you’re out of seclusion!” White shouted from a distance.

Chen Feng acknowledged him and flew alongside the two.

Cam had now mastered the Mai-Bust-Skill (); though his speed wasn't fast, his flight was remarkably steady.

“The ore has all been mined. Everyone has been diligently studying the Dou Qi you taught, Boss, without slacking off in the slightest…” White continued reporting the progress of the past year. Hearing this, Chen Feng’s expression shifted to one of renewed astonishment.

“Half of the Nether Venerable experts have advanced? And we now have over 8,000 Nether Saint masters gathered?” He couldn't believe his ears, suspecting he had misheard.

“That’s right!”

Chen Feng frowned: “With our momentum being so large, has the Holy See made no move?”

“Move? What move would they make? They are too preoccupied with their own affairs to even spare us a thought!” White replied.

“Preoccupied? What do you mean?”

“A so-called Dark Deity has arrived, displaying several miracles and starting to gather followers. Those who worship the Dark Deity gain immense power in a short time, and their numbers swell rapidly, putting them in direct contention with the Eight Great Holy Sees. How could the Sees allow another faith to take hold? So, constant crusades began—what they call the Holy War! The entire world is in chaos now, rife with conflicts large and small. Some major families are busy recruiting and assembling their own forces. Our operations have been kept very discreet; even if they discover us, they wouldn’t dare approach us now!” White explained.

“A Dark Deity?” Chen Feng hadn't anticipated such a development, but he didn't concern himself too much with it.

As the three returned to the outskirts of the mining area and surveyed the training masses, Chen Feng couldn't help but be shocked. The trees spanning nearly a hundred miles had been completely cleared. Buildings of every description layered upon one another, stretching as far as the eye could see. The central training ground was vast, easily four or five li in circumference!

“How many people do we… have in total now?”

“Hehe… Boss is surprised… I won the bet this time…” Cam declared loudly, his face beaming with excitement.

Noticing Chen Feng’s curious gaze, he flushed slightly and explained: “Including everyone, we now total thirteen thousand people! Ten thousand Nether Saints, thirty thousand Nether Venerables, fifty thousand Gold Armors, and the rest have almost all reached the Silver Armor cultivation level!”

Chen Feng’s mind reeled; looking at White and Cam felt like staring at two monsters.

“In just over a year, you managed to gather this many people?”

“Hehe, with the current turmoil, if people lack a strong affiliation, their very lives are precarious. Moreover, the compensation we offer is something no other faction can match. Naturally, many people flocked here!” Cam explained.

Two perfect crystals for the Nether Venerable level, five perfect crystals for the Nether Saint level, and for the Gold Armors—instruction in flight techniques, KOF skills, and Dou Qi techniques…

With such generous terms, it was hard not to be tempted!

Chen Feng understood their meaning and sighed, realizing that in times of strife, heroes emerge. If not for this chaos, these individuals might have remained unknown and subdued; now, with war breaking out, all sorts of heroes were surfacing.

“The number of perfect crystals I gave you wasn't enough?” Chen Feng suddenly recalled, asking with a perplexed expression.

“Oh, Boss, don’t worry about that. We’ve established a system of rewards and punishments now. Only those meeting certain standards receive perfect crystals. Otherwise, what difference would we be from a charity hall if anyone who arrived simply got crystals?” Cam chuckled. “However, even with that, we’ve used up all our perfect crystals. White and I were considering how to refine them from the imperfect crystal mines we control—and then you emerged from seclusion!”

“Refine?” Chen Feng shook his head. “The method you mentioned is far too wasteful; only one crystal can be refined from ten thousand raw stones!”

“But the reward system still needs to be enforced… Otherwise, should we trade our abundant non-perfect ore instead?” White suggested.

“Let’s discuss this after we land!” Chen Feng said noncommittally, waving a hand, and the three descended from the sky.

With so many people, living in caves was no longer feasible. These Gold Armor experts didn't mind exerting themselves, so rooms had been built all around the perimeter.

The residence prepared for Chen Feng was a tall structure, resembling a palace, with the ground paved in smooth bluestone, giving it a stately appearance.

To prevent ambushes by wild beasts from the forest, high walls encircled all the living quarters.

The two rows of guards outside the main gate of the compound bowed respectfully upon seeing White and Cam, but since these guards had arrived after Chen Feng’s seclusion, they did not recognize him.

The trio entered the room, and Chen Feng flipped his wrist, tossing out the mining stones he had consumed during his year of cultivation—a pile so large it resembled a small mountain.

“There should be over thirty thousand here. If it’s not enough, I’ll find another way!” Chen Feng stated calmly.

“Over thirty thousand…” White and Cam exchanged a look, nearly fainting.

Although they knew the Boss would have a solution, seeing such a sudden influx of perfect crystals made their faces flush with excitement. (To be continued. For future developments, please log on to m, where there are more chapters, supporting the author, and supporting legitimate reading!) First published