The Ancient God dodged the Ancient War Venerable's insidious blade work, his body materializing behind him like a phantom, delivering a fierce punch aimed straight at the Ancient War Venerable's spine.

A flash of white light made the Ancient God stagger back several steps, his face etched with shock. His punch had failed to connect with the Ancient War Venerable's body; it had been halted by a mysterious, intricate pattern etched onto the armor.

"How is this possible!" Astonishment flared across the Ancient God's face. He knew the immense power of that single blow—enough to shatter a minor cosmos—yet it couldn't breach the Ancient War Venerable's armor. Could the material of this armor be the same as Ye Chen's?

The Ancient War Venerable chuckled softly, his blade light shimmering and enveloping the void. Countless fragments of space and time were sliced, each strike resembling a soft current of light that gently brushed against the Ancient God’s form, leaving behind shallow crimson streaks.

"After eons apart, your body has grown more resilient," the Ancient War Venerable remarked with detached interest. "Back then, one strike from my blade would have torn your flesh. Now, it barely scratches the surface. Truly worthy of the world's most powerful race; such a physique makes even gods envious."

Relative to the Ancient War Venerable’s words, the Ancient God was even more shaken. After his body was shattered, he had undergone countless arduous refinements, achieving a rebirth that made his toughness incomparable to before. He had believed this blade could no longer wound him, yet it still managed to cut his outer skin!

"Your blade seems sharper too." The Ancient God's expression darkened. The mystic seal on his forehead blazed brighter than the midday sun, with strange runes spreading across every inch of his skin.

"Ancient God, Second Level!"

His entire body flushed crimson as if engorged with blood, radiating a savage aura. His long black hair shed its original color from the roots, transforming into blood-red strands, making him resemble a hellish Asura.

This sudden surge of power forced the Ancient War Venerable back a few steps. Immediately after, the Ancient God let out a low growl: "Ancient God, Third Level!"

Vmmm~~~

The very void writhed. The temporal connections and space in the heavens seemed on the verge of collapse, trembling under this unrestrained, violent aura.

"Ancient God, Fourth Level!"

As if limitless, the Ancient God roared toward the heavens, his fury manifesting in flying hair, standing like a supreme demon lord, an earth-shattering overlord. He looked up at the Ancient War Venerable, his muscles swelling to resemble those of a colossal barbarian.

"Die!"

A single punch was unleashed, changing the very colors of heaven and earth!

The Ancient God’s punch hurtled toward the Ancient War Venerable. The surrounding void rippled outward, and the rivers of stars and the sun and moon seemed to fall under the might of this blow!

With just one punch, he claimed all the majesty of creation!

The Ancient War Venerable’s expression grew solemn, yet he did not retreat an inch. Instead, he stepped forward, roaring, "Civilization Armor Light!" The armor covering his body erupted in intense white light, encasing him completely. In the void, he shone like a scorching sun, radiating dazzling, sacred, and inviolable brilliance.

And the Ancient God’s fist, infused with overwhelming demonic energy, slammed into it like a meteor.

Boom!

Heaven and earth shuddered violently. All sound seemed to vanish, replaced by absolute vacuum.

The Ancient War Venerable remained utterly still, but the Ancient God was thrown violently back three paces before managing to halt his momentum. "Impossible!" The Ancient God stared in shock at the armor on the Ancient War Venerable, a terrifying thought taking root in his mind: if his attacks couldn't even penetrate the defense, would he be left entirely at the mercy of the enemy’s offense?

"Unleash your true strength, Ancient God. I want to see if this armor I forged is truly effective," the Ancient War Venerable said, lifting his chin slightly with an easy smile.

The Ancient God's expression sank. "Anyone who dares to scorn the Ancient God Clan will pay the price!" He clenched his fists, his muscles bunching as if countless sinews were churning beneath them. His physique grew two to three times larger, his flushed skin exuding a savage, primal aura.

"Ancient God, Ninth Level!"

The Ancient God uttered the words in a low voice, each syllable distinct.

As his voice fell, the entire world seemed to fall silent, then a cataclysmic aura expanded outward from his body, pulverizing all the void within several thousand light-years into the most primal energy.

Intense battle intent flared in the Ancient War Venerable’s eyes. As the mist-like haze of light and shadow gradually dissipated, it revealed a slender youth with broad shoulders, his skin delicate and fair. His previously swollen, crimson muscles had retracted into his body, leaving him looking like a doll of exquisite porcelain.

"Now…" The Ancient God raised his head, revealing a pair of eyes as cold as honed blades. "Let me properly gauge the quality of your armor!"

"Whoosh"

The words had barely left his mouth when the Ancient War Venerable’s body shuddered violently. A figure suddenly materialized behind his back, delivering a rapid punch that struck the armor fiercely. Before the mystic etchings could even begin to glow, the fist slammed directly onto the plating, sending the Ancient War Venerable flying into the distance along with the impact.

"Whoosh" "Whoosh"

The sky was filled with silhouettes of the Ancient God—some standing, some raising their fists, others turning for a flying kick. And weaving rapidly between these forms was a tiny, needle-thin black shadow: the perpetually recoiling Ancient War Venerable!

When the final phantom strike landed, all the afterimages vanished. The Ancient God hovered slowly in the air, his gaze fixed on the battered Ancient War Venerable in the distance.

The Ancient War Venerable’s armor now bore several cracks, and the Civilization Light that enveloped it had receded considerably. Furthermore, a trickle of blood stained the corner of the Ancient War Venerable’s mouth.

"Good, very good, worthy of the Ancient God," the Ancient War Venerable wiped the blood from his lips, straightened his chest, and looked coldly at the Ancient God, a frigid curve on his mouth. He clenched his fist and shouted, "True Soul Returns to Body!"

Rumble~~~

Across the entire Ancient Continent, an earth-shattering roar erupted. Everyone standing in the cities previously defended by humanity felt a summons deep within their souls. Immediately, their bodies dissolved into countless points of light, scattering on the wind and converging in the distant sky.

The Ancient War Venerable became like a colossal black hole, devouring the light points formed by all living things. His power surged madly, and the fine cracks on his armor began to slowly mend as the light points flooded in.

"Shatter Mountains and Rivers!"

A chilling light shone in the Ancient War Venerable's eyes. The very ground beneath his feet violently collapsed, the earth rapidly condensing.

The distant twelve continents, including the Xuan Realm where Earth resided, along with all life and terrain, crumbled swiftly. Life transformed into countless light points, ignoring world barriers, converging on the Ancient War Venerable's body from every direction.

"In the twelve spaces that were partitioned long ago reside my twelve souls. All the life nurtured within are born from my very essence. I let them roam free, and now, they must all return to the origin!" The Ancient War Venerable’s eyes blazed with incredible battle intent, his aura amplifying like a tsunami.

"No, don't..."

All the beings within Ye Chen’s internal world screamed as they turned into light points, streaming into the Ancient War Venerable's body.

In the distant Xuan Realm.

"It seems the time has come," a young man in a green shirt sighed softly while sipping fine wine in a grove of plum blossoms, his body dissolving into light points.

"Has this day finally begun?" Bai Long stood atop a mountain peak, looking up at the sky. Having awakened his memories, he was clad in flowing white robes, radiating an aura of melancholy and tenderness. Under the mysterious energy fluctuations, his body gradually dissipated like fine sand into countless motes, drifting away with the breeze.

"Child, my child!" A common woman cried out in terror as she watched the infant in her arms vanish into light points, her own body quickly following suit.

"Roar—" A fierce beast looked to the sky and roared, its body soon transforming into light points as well.

At this moment, in every world, anything bearing the breath of life—be it human or any other race—rapidly converted into light points, floating toward the Ancient War Venerable.

This included the corpses of the undead fallen during the siege on the Ancient Continent; their husks became light points. The Seventy-Two Ancestral God Generals on the city wall, including Jin Huan, watched in horror. When they realized their own bodies were about to become motes of light, they turned toward the Ancient War Venerable, crying out in supplication.

But the outcome was unchangeable.

Dense golden light points flowed like quicksand, pouring into the Ancient War Venerable’s form. Following this, continents shattered, planets were annihilated and plunged into ruin. In the twelve divided spaces, every flower, every tree was destroyed.

Under this tremendous, world-summoning force, nothing could resist this destruction. All the soil and trees turned to dust, frantically converging on a single point.

The Dark World ceased to exist. Earth was gone. The Ancient World vanished. In the featureless expanse of the void, stood a body so immense it defied imagination!

From the forehead of this colossal body, a beam of light shot out, enveloping the Ancient War Venerable, who was bathed in golden radiance, drawing him inward.

The body instantly revived, brilliant light flashing from its eyes as it looked down upon the speck before it.

The Great Dao roared once, revealing its true form—a powerful body like a divine dragon stretching for thousands of light-years, spanning the vast emptiness.

As the Great Dao expanded, the Ancient God’s body also grew, returning to its original size, its power becoming even stronger. Yet, compared to this majestic figure, the Ancient God, once mountainous, now seemed like a mere speck.

All the life and everything from the world had been infused into the Ancient War Venerable's body, restoring his true visage: a towering giant!

"Back then, I never even used this technique; I only fought you using a reincarnated human body. Now, let me show you the true power I dared not reveal even in the ancient past!" The Ancient War Venerable let out a long cry toward the sky, an overwhelming, ruthless aura radiating from him. (To be continued)