After a long pause, a golden booklet finally took shape. "Whoosh!" The pages flipped, the sound astonishingly crisp, and instantly, four clusters of brilliant golden characters were revealed.

"..." "Quick, look, it's out—it's the War God Star Seal!" "...War God Star Seal?" "What is that? Is there such a spirit art in the Golden Codex?

I've never even heard of it!" "..." Seeing the words "War God Star Seal" displayed on the page, nearly every disciple of the War Clan froze, confusion etched deeply on their faces. Then, all eyes turned toward the Clan Leader and the Grand Elders.

"...War God Star Seal?" Zhan Yunlan stared at the golden radiance, murmuring with a frown, "In the Golden Codex, the Myriad Specters Divine Curse is the third, and the War Soul Calamity Fire True Art is the second. The first has remained unknown to this day." Since what Nie Kong obtained was neither the Myriad Specters Divine Curse nor the War Soul Calamity Fire True Art...

Could this War God Star Seal be the First Golden Art?" Saying this, Zhan Yunlan suddenly grew animated, turning sharply to his side. "Elders Shi Shang, what are your thoughts?" "There can be no mistake; this War God Star Seal must be the First Golden Art!" "I never imagined the final Golden Art would bear this name." The two Grand Elders’ voices trembled, their eyes misting over; they seemed even more excited than Zhan Yunlan.

The origin of the War Clan's spirit arts was profoundly mysterious; perhaps only the Clan's progenitor knew. Regrettably, this knowledge had never been passed down.

Consequently, for all descendants of the War Clan, including every Clan Leader and Grand Elder, it remained an unsolvable riddle. Once, some speculated that the spirit arts within the War Spirit Listening Divine Platform were all creations of the War Clan's progenitor.

Such speculation was, naturally, quickly dismissed. Initially, the War Clan possessed over a hundred spirit arts.

Even if someone spent their entire life, crafting a few would be exceptional; creating over a hundred was harder than ascending to heaven—it was utterly impossible. Innumerable ancestors failed to find the answer, and eventually, no one dared to probe this question whose outcome was impossible to obtain.

Up to the present, the War Clan had developed many new spirit arts, all added to the War Spirit Listening Divine Platform. And while the "Listening Spirit" process had continued ceaselessly for thousands of years, nearly all the War Clan’s original spirit arts had become widely known.

However, the First Golden Art, the one ranked number one, had never materialized across millennia. Speculations within the clan were myriad; most disciples even believed the First Golden Art was purely fictitious and non-existent.

Zhan Yunlan and the two Grand Elders vaguely harbored similar thoughts. That was why, when the pillar first emitted golden light, their primary concern was whether Nie Kong had acquired the third art, the Myriad Specters Divine Curse, or the second, the War Soul Calamity Fire True Art.

Yet, the appearance of the War God Star Seal completely overturned their assumptions. There were definitively only three Golden Arts; this was irrefutable.

It was only because the miraculous secret chamber beneath the War Spirit Listening Divine Platform housed exactly three empty golden caskets. Over thousands of years, as the Myriad Specters Divine Curse and the War Soul Calamity Fire True Art successively appeared, the first two caskets filled with golden light, and the corresponding inscriptions materialized on their lids.

Under these circumstances, what else could Nie Kong's obtained War God Star Seal be, if not the First Golden Art? How could Zhan Yunlan and the Grand Elders not be overwhelmed with emotion?

The First Golden Art, existing only as a legend for thousands of years, had finally revealed its true visage today! However, upon hearing their dialogue, the surrounding crowd erupted into an uproar.

"..." "The First Golden Art? Did I hear that correctly?" "Even Qingzhu only obtained a Purple Art.

How could this fellow, by what merit, gain the First Golden Art that has never appeared before?" "This is so unfair! Both Qingzhu and Nie Kong heard fifty-four War Tones, yet the spirit arts they gained are vastly different!

Perhaps the War Spirit Listening Divine Platform is malfunctioning." "..." When they saw the utterly unfamiliar spirit art, the "War God Star Seal", the more astute War Clan disciples had already harbored such suspicions. But speculation was one thing; hearing Zhan Yunlan and the Grand Elders confirm it was quite another.

The First Golden Art, the War God Star Seal, appeared for the first time, and it was claimed by an external disciple. At this moment, it was difficult for everyone to accept.

"If I had known this, we shouldn't have recruited external disciples!" Instantly, such thoughts surfaced in the minds of nearly all the War Clan disciples. Even now, they couldn't understand why the Clan Leader and the Grand Elders had made that decision—a decision reportedly even agreed upon by the Old Ancestor.

And now, the first person to attain the First Golden Art was not a disciple with the Zhan surname. Suddenly, resentment flickered in the eyes of some War Clan disciples.

This was normal; how could they not resent an outsider taking something precious belonging to their own clan? However, they could not blame Zhan Yunlan or the Grand Elders; the target of their animosity was undeniably Nie Kong, who had obtained the War God Star Seal!

As for the few dozen external disciples, they were now completely silent. Past shock, envy, and jealousy had given way to inexpressible sighs.

Being fellow external disciples, the disparity displayed upon the War Spirit Listening Divine Platform was a chasm apart. "The First Golden Art.

Brother Nie Kong truly is full of surprises." On the steps, Zhan Tianlun finally came to his senses, blinking and letting out a long breath before descending with lighter steps. The continuous murmurs of complaint from the surroundings reached his ears, but Zhan Tianlun paid them no heed.

In truth, when the Clan Leader first proposed recruiting external disciples, he, along with all the other Elders and the Grand Elders, had been opposed. However, the Elders and Grand Elders later agreed to the decision.

This was because the decision was made not by the Clan Leader, but by the Old Ancestor who resided atop War God Mountain. The Old Ancestor held an unparalleled status within the War Clan and never involved himself in daily affairs; such a sudden decree must have held a deep reason.

Though no one knew the exact cause, they were certain the Old Ancestor would never act against the War Clan's interests, so they all consented. Judging by Nie Kong successfully listening to the complete War Tone and acquiring the First Golden Art, the Old Ancestor’s decision had indeed been correct.

Without Nie Kong, the War Clan did not know how many more years it would take for another member to listen through all eighty-one War Cycles, let alone how much longer before they could obtain the First Golden Art, the War God Star Seal! Nie Kong's arrival filled the void of the First Golden Art; the cost was merely making the Zhan-surnamed clansmen feel uneasy.

As for whether Nie Kong would turn against the War Clan after obtaining the War God Star Seal, Zhan Tianlun did not worry too much. Part of this was his faith in Nie Kong's character, but more importantly, it stemmed from Zhan Tianlun's sufficient confidence in the War Clan's inherent strength.

If they became hesitant and indecisive over something like this, why bother recruiting external disciples at all? "Crackling..." Just as everyone was lost in their thoughts, the War Spirit Listening Divine Platform emitted another crisp sound.

To everyone's surprise, the thin golden booklet did not continue to flip; instead, it snapped shut. "Whoosh!" Instantly, the War God Star Seal transformed into a cluster of golden luminescence, shooting like lightning into the dense, mist-like crimson mass, vanishing without a trace.

This bizarre sight left everyone utterly bewildered. Ever since spirit arts first emerged from the War Spirit Listening Divine Platform, they always required flipping to the final page before being imprinted into the disciple's divine consciousness.

But now, the War Spirit had skipped that process entirely, sending the War God Star Seal directly into Nie Kong’s consciousness—truly peculiar! At this moment, Nie Kong, seated cross-legged on the platform, experienced something entirely different.

The instant the War God Star Seal merged into Nie Kong's body, it split into nine portions. One stream of golden light entered the Yaochi Acupoint directly, rapidly fusing with the Nether Star within.

In just a flash, the Nether Star, which had been pitch black as ink, became rimmed with a dazzling, brilliant gold edge, glowing faintly within the Yaochi cavity. As for the other eight streams of golden light, they dispersed into his skeletal structure, flowing slowly with the death energy, flickering intermittently as if searching for the remaining eight Nether Stars.

Simultaneously, scenes flooded Nie Kong’s mind, flashing past like a revolving lantern—these must be the methods for cultivating and utilizing the War God Star Seal. Before Nie Kong could examine them closely, he heard a "whoosh," and the crimson robes covering his body rapidly retracted, condensing into a ball of red light that drifted toward the pillar.

The moment the red light merged into the pillar, the War Spirit Listening Divine Platform became clear again, and the intricate lines covering the surface of the red pillar began to reappear one by one. When all the lines had returned to their original state, a dense red aura sank into the base of the pillar.

"Finally, it's over!" Nie Kong let out a soft breath, rose to his feet, and stepped lightly off the War Spirit Listening Divine Platform. Almost the instant his foot touched the steps, Nie Kong felt gazes heavy with hostility, seemingly all directed from the Zhan Clan disciples.

Nie Kong continued down the steps without stopping, feeling quite helpless. The War Spirit Listening Divine Platform could isolate auras, but it could not block sound.

While on the platform, Nie Kong had heard the commotion around him and knew that the War God Star Seal he obtained was the First Golden Art, one that had never appeared in the War Clan before. However, obtaining the War God Star Seal was the War Spirit's choice; Nie Kong could not refuse it.

Of course, as an external disciple in a sect predominantly composed of Zhan-surnamed members, obtaining such a superior spirit art was bound to incite popular anger. If Nie Kong intended to stay here for a lifetime, he would certainly need to deliberate carefully.

But his time in the War Clan was limited to just over a year; he had no need to earn the acceptance of the ordinary Zhan disciples, as long as the Clan Leader and the Elders had no objections. It appeared now that Zhan Yunlan and the two Grand Elders were very excited about the appearance of the War God Star Seal, showing none of the agitation displayed by the surrounding Zhan disciples.

For Nie Kong, this was certainly a very positive sign. For the next year or so, he only needed to focus on cultivation.

Whether the War Clan disciples resented or raged was their own concern. With this thought, Nie Kong offered a slight bow toward Zhan Yunlan and the others, then returned to the very end of the crowd under everyone’s watch...

...