Amidst the air-shattering explosion, Ye Chen’s figure shot forward like a hurricane, a blood-red longsword in hand, hurtling toward the young man from the Star Civilization. As he closed the distance, he abruptly raised the longsword and brought it crashing down!

A flicker of surprise crossed the face of the young man from the Star Civilization, yet he showed no panic. The purple star-point between his brows pulsed faintly, and the entire world—even the space warped by the searing heat rising from the Sun-star itself—froze solid, as if plunged into an icy grip.

The air surrounding Ye Chen became viscous, dragging at his body, clinging to every inch of his skin, causing his lightning-fast speed to abruptly plummet into slow motion.

Sensing this terrifying World Domain, Ye Chen gritted his teeth. Every previous attempt to conquer the 21st floor of the War God Pagoda had ended in failure against his opponent’s Domain World. To not have his body instantly shredded by the power of this Domain World upon impact now, despite the surge of energy within him, was already a vast improvement.

“Break!” Ye Chen roared.

The energy within him surged outward, his muscles bulged, and the blood-red longsword in his hand gathered his entire focus, lifted with tremendous effort, and slashed toward the young man.

This single sword strike seemed to cleave the heavens and the earth apart!

An uncanny, blood-red sword light erupted from the blade, soaring toward the young man.

The youth’s pupils contracted. He teleported twice in rapid succession, instantly appearing a thousand zhang away. Lifting a crystal orb in his hand, the orb suddenly blazed to life. A soft white light burst forth, washing out the brilliance of the entire sky, leaving it as the sole source of illumination in the whole world.

The instant the crystal orb brightened, the entire Sun-star seemed to emit a low hum. Immediately after, wisps of scorching red aura began to drift up from the charred, incandescent earth, swirling toward the crystal orb, as if some unique energy deep within the planet was being siphoned out.

The young man controlled the crystal orb, his long black hair flying backward. His eyes were cold as electricity as he stared at Ye Chen, who was struggling to charge forward in the distance. He brought his hands together in a cupping motion, the crystal orb suspended between them, while fiery red auras drifted from the surrounding space, winding around the orb.

This fiery red aura followed the crystal orb, coiling around the young man’s palms. His once slender, fair hands instantly turned blood-red, enveloped in flame. This bloody-red radiance spread from his hands, enveloping his entire body, climbing over his chest and neck, covering his face, shrouding him completely.

“Roar!!” The young man threw his head back and roared. The blood-red light on his skin rapidly solidified into uneven, scale-like plating. From the center of his lower back, a blood-red tail extended. His hands morphed into clawed hooves, their talons wickedly sharp. His face took on a beast-like aspect, complete with menacing fangs. His originally pitch-black eyes shifted to a dark gold, emanating a cold, metallic sheen.

In this bizarre transformation, the aura emanating from the young man’s body surged exponentially, reaching roughly 200% of its previous intensity, filled with a heart-stopping aura of destructive violence.

“This is the innate secret technique of the Star Civilization!” Ye Chen’s eyes narrowed. He hadn't expected their innate technique to be this terrifying. In the fraction of a second it took for his mind to process, he deduced that people of the Star Civilization were naturally capable of absorbing a certain mysterious energy from planets to strengthen themselves.

Here, "planet" referred not just to soil, but to the entire celestial body. The formation of a planet was far more complex than mere earth. This was the cultivation method of the Star Civilization, and their innate secret technique allowed them to utilize this absorbed energy to alter their genetic structure, causing these specialized changes!

“The Star Civilization, ranked last among 3000 civilizations, is this formidable. How powerful are the others?” A thought crossed Ye Chen’s mind, but he had no time for deeper reflection. Gritting his teeth, he charged toward the young man.

Although this young man possessed the combat power of a Lesser God and was restricted from using cultivation-boosting manuals, the stacking effect of his innate secret technique made him a terrifyingly formidable opponent!

“Die!”

The young man, now covered in fiery red scales, moved like a wild beast. He vanished in a slight shimmer, reappearing instantly behind Ye Chen. He licked his lips, and his sharp, clawed hoof slammed down forcefully toward Ye Chen’s back.

Thump!

Ye Chen felt a bone-chilling danger at his back; the hairs on his body stood erect. He tried to spin around to resist, but under the constraint of the adhesive spatial forces around him, his movement slowed to a degree visible to the naked eye. With only a slight turn of his body, he was struck. A piercing agony shot from his spine, feeling as if his entire body were being torn apart.

Ye Chen ground his teeth, preparing to swing his blood-red longsword around for a counterattack. Just then, the raging power within him suddenly receded like a tide from his limbs and bones, and the blood-red longsword in his hand dissolved automatically.

Crack!

Ye Chen’s body exploded.

“Challenge failed.” The system prompt echoed coldly in his mind.

A white light coalesced in the great hall of the War God Pagoda, reconstructing Ye Chen’s form. He frowned, feeling the restored body, his expression somewhat heavy. However, he lingered there no longer. His figure flashed, and he vanished, exiting the virtual world immediately.

Hoo! Putting down the helmet, Ye Chen let out a long breath. His expression held a trace of melancholy. That overwhelming sense of impending doom, felt right at the final moment when the Blood God Mode expired and his power ebbed away, still caused his heart to tremble.

“If I burned all my lifespan in reality to activate the Blood God Mode, after just one second of combat, wouldn’t my body just turn into a pile of rotten sludge?”

Ye Chen thought this to himself. He shook his head, his brows tightly furrowed. “The battle against Hua Zhan in two months—if I use the Blood God Mode, even if I win, the cost would be millions of years of lifespan! That price is too steep, and even at my current level, it won’t be enough to beat him!”

He clenched his fists, his eyes gleaming with cold light. “I need to be stronger!”

“Under the incineration of 1.2 million years of lifespan, operating at full power, the manual's amplification reached 120 million times! This exceeds the entry requirement for the Blazing Dragon Hall, yet it’s still far from enough to achieve what Hua Zhan can—slaughtering Gods!”

“Logically speaking, reaching a peak Demigod strength amplified 100 million times should equate to the total True God power within a newly ascended Lesser God! If we only consider internal energy, I surpassed that Star Civilization man, but he had a World Domain, instant movement, and a civilization talent!”

“Against that civilization talent, his strength must have increased by over 200%. In that case, I must achieve a 200 million times manual amplification just to match his power!”

“Merely matching power isn't enough; it won’t secure a kill. Moreover, time is limited. If he constantly uses instant movement, it will be hard to even get close! And the restraint of that World Domain is incredibly strong. If the energy amplification within my body hadn't reached hundreds of millions of times, I likely would have been bound and killed before I could even move!”

“At my current strength, defeating a God-level expert remains extremely difficult.” Ye Chen clenched his fists, a terrifying light shining in his eyes. Recalling the process of the previous battle, he pondered and gained insight before pulling open the Rune Space and summoning Kabba and Little Black from within.

“You two stand guard,” Ye Chen instructed, then donned the virtual helmet and directly entered the Heavenly Dao Stele within the First-Grade Genius Hall, choosing to meditate upon it.

“If I can fully comprehend the Heavenly Dao Stele and master the Laws, even as a Demigod, I can resist a World Domain. In that case, killing God-level experts won't be so hard.”

Ye Chen walked to the spot where he had last meditated and looked up. The immense Heavenly Dao Stele stood firm across countless ages, seemingly existing outside of all time and space, shaking one’s very soul.

The mist swirling around the Stele flowed freely like the chaotic currents before the separation of heaven and earth, evolving the Great Dao of the universe.

Ye Chen was quickly immersed in the contemplation.

Time flowed...

After meditating for seven days, the Divine Points on Ye Chen’s account were completely depleted. Over ten thousand Divine Points were spent in less than ten days—absolutely the fastest rate of consumption in the Genius Hall since the founding of the Blazing God Empire.

Thanks to this massive expenditure of Divine Points, Ye Chen reaped enormous rewards. His comprehension of the Heavenly Dao Stele leaped from the Seven-Star Map realm to the 289-Star Map realm—a massive jump. Reaching the 1000-Star Map realm would signify the moment of achieving physical ascension to Godhood!

Furthermore, during these seven days, Ye Chen’s mental state advanced from the second stage of the Saint Realm to the peak of the second layer, faintly poised to break through to the third stage of the Saint Realm!

After seven days, Ye Chen’s Divine Points ran out, leaving only 8 points in his account—not enough for another session of contemplation. He chose to exit the virtual world and removed the virtual helmet, letting out a long sigh.

“Heaven and Earth are truly marvelous.” A faint smile touched Ye Chen’s lips, his demeanor relaxed and open, his spirit expansive. A sense of serenity and peace settled upon him. He glanced at Kabba and Little Black guarding nearby, raised his hand, and cut off their inquiries. “Just guard the door.”

“It’s the same wherever we are,” Kabba grumbled.

Little Black looked at Ye Chen suspiciously. “Boss, are you going to…”

Ye Chen shot him a look. “Watch your mouth.”

Little Black understood the unspoken meaning and chuckled knowingly. “Yes!” He said, then walked out with Kabba, shutting the heavy metal door behind them.

After the two left, Ye Chen sat down cross-legged. He flipped his left hand, and a dense pillar of firelight rose from his palm, slowly ascending until it condensed into a pillar of crystal, entirely crimson.

The blood-red crystal pillar was covered in numerous cryptic runes, each flashing brilliantly, creating a dazzling and exquisite spectacle that illuminated the entire structure.

This uncanny, beautiful light was reflected in Ye Chen’s eyes. His pupils shone as he raised his right hand, forming a sword-finger, and rapidly inscribed patterns in the void. His fingertips seemed to carry light, leaving trails of purple lines in the space, forming an exceedingly complex rune.

This rune was etched quickly, flowing with seamless fluidity. Once finished, it flashed with light, as if drawn by an invisible force, and shot toward the blood-red crystal pillar, branding itself onto its surface.