Bua was engulfed by an endless, agonizing pain that saturated his entire being. The torment caused by the explosive surge of his life genes was indescribable; Bua could not even form a coherent thought. Only when the agony finally receded did he slowly open his eyes, and upon looking out, he could see mountains leagues away with perfect clarity.

"I... I..." In that first instant, Bua felt his vision and hearing had soared a thousand, ten thousand times sharper.

"Such immense power, too, too mighty." The scar that once marred Bua's face had vanished, revealing the rugged, chiseled contours of his features. He stretched his thick arms, testing them with a surge of strength.

Crack! The heavy, full-body armor, which required the full might of a Seventh Stage Knight to even scratch, immediately fractured. Bua felt as if the armor he wore was fragile as mud, fearing that simply tensing his muscles would cause it to shatter completely, leaving him utterly dumbfounded.

"Am I... Am I really..." Bua immediately began an internal examination, and the result left him slack-jawed.

"It's real, this... this is truly real?"

Bua slowly began to levitate, suspended in mid-air. The surging primal energy within him caused him to let out a low roar, Boom! He shot forward like a streak of light directly toward the sky, then carved an S-curve through the air at incredible speed, before finally plummeting downward in a dizzying spiral, stopping only an inch above the ground.

"Hahaha, hah, it’s real, it’s real, I have become a Saint! And a Peak Saint at that! Just one step away from becoming a Legend! Hahahaha, Supreme God Yuan Ao, may you be praised! Great God Pova..." Bua was ecstatic.

On this endless continent of Jue'an, among countless billions of lives spanning from the First Stage to the Ninth Stage, the path itself was arduous beyond measure. Bua, since childhood, had to serve as a Knight Apprentice, fetching and carrying for a Second Stage Knight—even managing the chamber pot—occasionally receiving pointers that allowed him to grow slowly. Once he became a Knight, he endured endless wars, those between petty lords and even between empires... He served in armies, was once captured and thrown into a slave camp, yet clawed his way out time and again, surviving battles of life and death. It was only after crossing the threshold from the Third to the Fourth Stage that he managed to enter the 'Wei Yan Clan' as one of their Knights.

The Wei Yan Clan governed a vast territory, and within their ranks resided a Saint!

Third Stage to Fourth Stage! A massive hurdle. Sixth Stage to Seventh Stage was also a monumental barrier. But Ninth Stage to Saint... that was impossibly difficult! Once one became a Saint, they could roam the heavens and earth, possessing immeasurable might, ranking them as a true powerhouse on the Jue'an Continent.

And if one became a Legend... that was even more staggering; establishing one's own territory would be simple. Upon reaching Demigod status, one could directly found an Empire and become its founding Emperor!

Those below the Third Stage were mere cannon fodder; Bua, after decades of hardship, only managed to reach the Fifth Stage, placing him barely among the elite Knights.

"A Saint!"

"A Peak Saint, just one step from Legend," Bua muttered in shock. "I only ever heard that reaching heaven in one leap required a Divine Gift. Otherwise, cultivating from a Fifth Stage Knight to a Peak Saint would take millennia. That great entity must be a deity!"

"But that wasn't God Pova..." Bua's body trembled. Across the entire Jue'an Continent, there were only a few hundred deities, each governing territories spanning billions of kilometers.

"A foreign god?" Bua was terrified. God Wars were the eternal backdrop of the Jue'an Continent; the fighting between deities had never ceased for endless ages.

"I can tell no one, not even my women or son. To speak of this would invite disaster. If anyone knew I had received a gift from a foreign god, it would be the end of me." Bua grit his teeth, searing the knowledge into his mind, then broke into a savage grin, casting a look toward the distant Wei Yan Fortress. "Wei Yan Fortress, that legendary place whose master only became a Saint a little over a hundred years ago, still far from a Peak Saint. Hahahaha..."

"My days of bliss are about to begin, Bua’s days."

"I will command a territory, build a massive castle, fill it with thousands of beautiful women, and I'll take a new one to bed every day, hahaha..." Bua gave a jolt, and the armor completely disintegrated into dust. Simultaneously, primal energy coalesced into a suit of battle armor around his body. With a whoosh, he transformed into a streak of light and flew directly toward Wei Yan Fortress.

...

Luo Feng hovered in the air, gazing down at the distant mountain range.

"The Raging Flame Mountain Range, the target is within," Luo Feng looked on from afar. "To draw the attention of the Ancestral God Sect's 'Ancestor God,' what is it—a life form or a marvel?" Helping Bua just now had already slipped from Luo Feng’s mind. He had initially needed to glean some crucial information about the world surrounding his target. Choosing Bua was arbitrary; seeing the man suited his purpose, and reviewing his memory served as minor compensation for his intrusion.

According to Bua's memories, the mountain range ahead was named the 'Raging Flame Mountain Range,' and within it resided a great Legend!

"A Legend?" Luo Feng smiled faintly.

Though the Jue'an Continent existed within a Universe Secret Realm, because the Master of Yuan Ao allowed his races to multiply so recklessly, the universal energy available to each individual was scarce. Furthermore, the populations the Master of Yuan Ao had plundered previously were mostly weaker races with limited potential. Consequently, the vast majority of life forms on Jue'an were barely stronger than an adult human from Earth upon reaching maturity.

Stages One to Three were below Planetary level. Stages Four to Six were Planetary level. Seventh to Ninth Stage were Star level. A Saint... was Universe level! A Legend... was Domain Lord! A Demigod... was Sector Lord! And the Deities, naturally, were Undying beings.

"This Raging Flame Mountain Range definitely houses more than one Legend," Luo Feng mused, as he could faintly sense fluctuations of divine power.

"If I strike, they won't escape."

Luo Feng’s expression grew solemn.

The Raging Flame Mountain Range spanned a million kilometers, inhabited by ferocious demonic beasts, ensuring that no civilians dared reside within ten thousand kilometers of its periphery.

Deep within the Raging Flame Mountain Range.

A castle built entirely of black stone stood centered among numerous peaks. Beneath the black castle flowed bubbling magma, within which strange beasts could be seen surviving. Guarding the walls of this black fortress were rows of Gold-Armored Knights, each a Ninth Stage Knight capable of conquering and holding large territories in the outside world.

The castle was encircled by magma, connected to the outside world only by a black metal bridge leading to the main gate.

An old man dressed in white robes approached from a distance, striding over a hundred meters with every step. A faint white light perpetually flowed around him—a sign recognizable to the experienced as a Domain. This Legend soon reached the bridge.

"Open the gates," the old man commanded.

"Yes."

The city gate rumbled as it slowly opened. Standing at the threshold was a Knight completely wreathed in fire, who was also a Legend.

"Why are you here?" the Flame Knight asked. "Don't you know that no one should come here unless it is of vital importance?"

"I have urgent military intelligence to report to the great God Pova," the white-robed old man quickly stated as he advanced into the black castle.

Inside a grand hall deep within the castle.

A deity radiating infinite light was seated high upon the throne. God Pova looked down upon his kneeling servants, but his heart held a feeling of supreme control. After all, the bloody slaughter across the billions of square kilometers of territory under his dominion was merely a subtle manipulation by him. He stoked the hatred between empires, driving everything toward frenzy, only revealing himself when things became irrecoverable—to display the majesty of a god.

"You have done well," God Pova finally spoke.

The white-robed old man kneeling below was instantly moved to tears of excitement; the great deity had praised him. The old man waited for God Pova’s instructions for the next move, but felt a flash of hazy golden light. He looked up in astonishment...

"Where is God Pova?"

The God Pova, who had been radiating infinite light on the throne, had vanished into thin air.

The other attendants in the hall, including three Demigods, showed slight confusion. Immediately, one of the Demigods declared, "God Pova has retired; you all may withdraw."

"But there were no further instructions for the next move," the white-robed old man worried inwardly, though he quickly responded, "Yes, sir."

Everyone in the hall rapidly exited, even the Demigods. They all assumed God Pova had left for an urgent matter, yet they did not know... they believed God Pova had departed, when in reality, he remained seated on the throne; the Sector Lords and Domain Lords simply could not see him anymore.

"You, who are you?" God Pova sat on the throne, staring in terror at the man before him. In his long eons upon the divine seat, he had never known such sheer panic.

A hazy golden light enveloped a hundred-meter radius around the man, and the power contained within that light sent shivers of dread through God Pova.

Luo Feng looked at the Pova before him and gave a self-mocking laugh. "To think I was so cautious, immediately unleashing my strongest binding technique, the Golden Kingdom, upon arrival. I didn't expect the target to be merely a weak Undying God." Luo Feng had instantly cast the 'Golden Kingdom' while hovering over the Raging Flame Mountain Range.

As soon as he deployed it, he realized the target was too weak and immediately teleported before him, shrinking the scope of the 'Golden Kingdom.'

This was why the Demigods and the white-robed old man had witnessed a flash of golden light.

"Tell me every important event from your birth until now, roughly," Luo Feng instructed.

"Yes, yes," God Pova stammered. "I was born in..."

Luo Feng appeared to listen, but in reality, he was already applying an illusion technique. His willpower and consciousness were at the level of a Universe Master! Moreover, he originated from the Mental Force Master school—although not specialized in illusions, this was only when compared to those of the same level. As a master of the Mystic Rune Path, he had long since created several illusionary techniques, easily trapping God Pova completely within the illusionary realm, allowing Luo Feng to search his memories effortlessly.

This was because Luo Feng had confirmed through the Golden Toad—the target was indeed this God Pova!

But why would such a weak Undying God pose a threat to the Primal Universe? Why would the high and mighty Ancestral God Sect's 'Ancestor God' summon him? Luo Feng sensed that something was deeply wrong, feeling layers of mist concealed within the situation; this God Pova was merely the tip of the iceberg, necessitating a thorough search of his memories.