Lei Xuan spoke with absolute confidence.
In his eyes, having the Yinglong join their strike was merely icing on the cake.
Even without it, with the preparations made by his side, there wouldn't be the slightest problem.
Three great clans pooling their foundations, backed by trump cards provided by their extraterrestrial elders—under such conditions, how could they fail to kill a mere native of the Milky Way?
Thus, though Lei Xuan was thoroughly displeased with the Yinglong's departure, he truly did not take it to heart.
If anything, it only made him feel that the Dragon Clan was utterly unreliable.
"Lu Yuan is exceedingly difficult to kill. Can we truly succeed?" The head of the Zhou family hesitated. After all, prior to the descent of the extraterrestrial beings, Lu Yuan's performance had been overwhelming—virtually invincible.
He had even been hailed as the foremost warrior of all, possessing the terrifying ability to fight across realms.
He was comparable even to the prodigy sequences of certain great clans.
"Rest assured, there will be no issue."
Lei Xuan shook his head and chuckled softly. "You have no idea how much we have prepared this time.
"However, before this matter fully unfolds, there are a few other things to take care of. Certain races have become far too restless since descending.
"My strength has essentially recovered to eighty percent. Now is the time to act. More great clans are about to arrive, and we must stay ahead of the pack."
At these words, the head of the Zhou family nodded, understanding that this was indeed necessary. The current situation across the land was chaotic.
Setting aside the authorities, several calculating conglomerates and capitalist factions had begun attaching themselves to certain great clans.
In a short time, their strength had expanded enormously.
Famous mountains and great rivers were being seized one after another.
Only they had yet to make a move.
Then, another matter crossed his mind, and he immediately asked, "Yunqiong has been in seclusion for quite some time now. Could something have gone wrong?"
"Her bloodline is exceptionally powerful, rare even within the Ji clan's direct line. The item bestowed by that great figure can fully awaken it. This seclusion is a metamorphosis; once she emerges, she will be reborn in the truest sense."
Lei Xuan knew what that great figure had given her—something that ranked as a supreme treasure even within the Ji clan.
Coupled with Zhou Yunqiong's own extraordinarily dense bloodline, the result of its awakening would be unimaginable.
After she came out of seclusion, she might very well be even stronger than him.
After all, the Ji clan was descended from Xuanyuan the Yellow Emperor, and the Ziwei Star Sector where they now resided was among the top ten.
"That is good, that is good." Hearing this, the head of the Zhou family beamed with joy.
He knew that with his daughter around, the Zhou family would surely rise.
They might even dominate the entire Milky Way Star Sector in the future.
Combined with the unique conditions of this realm, in a thousand or ten thousand years, the Zhou family could completely branch off from the Ji clan and become a truly independent, prominent clan.
"Put that aside for now. Next, it is time to carry out our series of plans."
Lei Xuan knew what the man was thinking, but said nothing more.
This had been decided by the Ji clan of the Ziwei Star Sector, and even he had to comply.
All he needed to do was create the optimal conditions before both clans made their full descent—a merit in its own right. At the same time, by utilizing certain inheritances to evolve further, the combination might allow his sequence ranking to climb another notch.
"Understood. I will see to it at once."
The head of the Zhou family nodded and took his leave.
Lei Xuan was left standing alone, gazing outward with a sharp, piercing gaze.
***
At the Mount Tai Trial Academy.
Upon their return, most of Lu Yuan's companions entered seclusion right away.
Their harvest this time had been immense and needed to be digested.
Spiritual fruits, exotic herbs, divine weapons, and dragon blood were all tremendously beneficial to them.
Using these resources, Zhu Qingyu, Little Celestial Master Chunyang, Ice Fairy, and Monk Huikong might soon advance to the Golden Body Realm.
Elder Ji and Elder Yun were delighted by this as well, though the two of them temporarily pooled their limited resources into the Heavenly Court.
Previously, they had pursued a sheer quantity of Awakened, but they later realized that true, formidable strength was what really mattered.
By now, the Heavenly Court was essentially bound to the Huaxia authorities.
The future rise of the Heavenly Court's power would be a blessing for all the nation's people.
Just as they had decided before, they would build the strongest Awakened organization with Lu Yuan at its core!
As for Lu Yuan?
He took a small portion of the harvest and fed it into the Ziwu Heaven-Mending Furnace.
Furthermore, all those divine weapons could serve as nourishment for the Daluo sword core, aiding its advancement.
The Golden-Winged Great Peng took only a share of dragon blood before heading straight up to Jade Emperor Peak with the Spirit Monkey.
Though the two exotic beasts squabbled occasionally, they actually got along splendidly.
Lu Yuan naturally did not stop them.
After all, whether it was the Golden-Winged Great Peng or the Spirit Monkey, both would grow into core pillars of the Heavenly Court in the future.
Inside his room, Lu Yuan sat cross-legged, but did not cultivate immediately.
Instead, he brought out the Ancient Heavenly Emperor Token he had obtained from the Dragon Palace.
Just like the previous one, careful inspection revealed nothing peculiar about it.
Without hesitation, he cut open his palm and let his blood drip onto the ancient token.
An inexplicable, mighty power surfaced, causing the entire room to tremble and creak.
Fortunately, this force did not persist for long.
The Ancient Heavenly Emperor Token vanished.
It reappeared before the small golden figure beneath the Ancient Bodhi Tree, directly fusing with the first token. It radiated dazzling, boundless beams of light that seemed to embody eternity.
*Buzz—*
An even more magnificent power welled forth.
The small golden figure seemed affected by it as well, purple qi surging across its body.
It looked strikingly like a Heavenly Emperor reclining high above the nine heavens.
At the same time, an Ancient Heavenly Emperor Token manifested.
There was only one.
Its size remained unchanged, still engraved with the words "Heavenly Emperor."
Yet the profound runes upon it were far more distinct than before.
*It seems to have gained something special.* Seeing this, Lu Yuan's heart stirred.
The small golden figure rose and reached out to touch the Ancient Heavenly Emperor Token.
*"Decree—"*
A voice that seemed to hail from an ancient era echoed in his mind.
Even more remarkably, when Lu Yuan came to his senses, he discovered a translucent scroll hovering above the Ancient Heavenly Emperor Token. The scroll was blank, containing nothing.
It was purple throughout, adorned with astonishing depictions of auspicious beasts such as the ancient qilin, true dragon, true phoenix, and pixiu.
If one had to describe it, it resembled an imperial edict from an ancient emperor.
And since it was born from the Ancient Heavenly Emperor Token, could it be called... a Heavenly Emperor Decree?
He had a strong premonition that he could write upon this scroll and connect with it to accomplish something terrifying.
Yet when Lu Yuan attempted to do so, the small golden figure's finger passed right through the scroll, as if touching empty air.
"I need to find a third Ancient Heavenly Emperor Token before this Heavenly Emperor Decree can truly manifest." Ultimately, he reached this conclusion, realizing that having only two tokens was not enough to put it to use.
The problem now was that he had no idea how many Ancient Heavenly Emperor Tokens existed in total.
On Mount Tai, Lu Yuan had relied on memories of his past life to obtain the first.
The second had been pure luck.
As for any others, he had no clues whatsoever.
Such an item was so extraordinary that anyone who found one would surely keep it hidden.
Lu Yuan was helpless; it seemed he could only take it one step at a time.
*Never mind. I should focus on cultivating and evolving first.*
The grand elixir in the Ziwu Heaven-Mending Furnace had already finished refining.
That was his primary purpose for returning.
With a slight flip of his hand, a smooth, round pill the size of a longan appeared. It was concocted from a blend of various spiritual fruits, exotic herbs, and even dragon blood. Its potency was tremendous, surpassing anything before, and exceptionally precious even to him.
As for the energy contained within, Lu Yuan was likely the only person in this world capable of enduring it.
Anyone else with a weaker physique would have blown apart on the spot.
Without hesitation, he swallowed it.
*Boom—*
The pill dissolved the moment it entered his mouth, transforming into a terrifyingly pure torrent of energy that surged into every meridian and bone in his body.
Under this immense power, the entire room rattled, and cracks appeared along the alloy walls.
Lu Yuan was simply too powerful now; the mere aura of his evolution was already terrifying.
Left with no choice, he activated the Ziwu Heaven-Mending Furnace, using the cauldron to suppress the surging aura.
Otherwise, the entire room would have been destroyed if it continued.
With that done, Lu Yuan steadily brought the energy under control.
His foundation was already sufficient; all that remained was to digest it.
He had planned long ago to make an all-out push this time to break through to the next evolutionary stage—the Sovereign King Realm.
Afterward, he would cultivate the Ancestral Dragon Breathing Method, which he hadn't focused on since opening fifteen grotto-heavens.
This was the perfect opportunity to resolve both.
Evolution took longer and longer the further one progressed.
For an ordinary person without special bloodlines or talents, advancing from the fourth to the fifth stage would take several years or even decades. The Earth was in the midst of recovery, so its unique conditions would speed things up, but there was still a limit.
Lu Yuan, however, was different. His foundation was extraordinary; all he lacked was energy.
For him to truly slow down and need to accumulate power bit by bit, he would have to reach the sixth stage, the Saint Domain Realm.
Thus, as time ticked by, the power emanating from within Lu Yuan grew increasingly majestic.
Behind him, the fifteen grotto-heavens rapidly multiplied to twenty.
He had opened five grotto-heavens in a single breath, with five true gods seated within them, identical to himself.
Not only that, but the number of grotto-heavens continued to rise.
Lu Yuan had been preparing for this breakthrough into the fifth stage, the Sovereign King Realm, for quite some time.
Naturally, this advancement would be far from ordinary.
Day after day passed in this manner.
The aura he emitted grew ever more formidable, and the grotto-heavens behind him reached twenty-five.
The golden blood and vital energy within him churned, boiled, and surged in waves, wrapping him completely and turning the entire room into a golden ocean. The sheer might of this power was overwhelming.
Had the Ziwu Heaven-Mending Furnace not been suppressing it, everything around him would have collapsed into ruins.
Humanity's transcendent path was, in other words, the path to godhood.
In today's world, Lu Yuan was indisputably at the very forefront.
Whether in speed of advancement or in combat prowess, he was undeniably the strongest.
And he had to be. There were far too many future crises, and countless secrets awaited discovery. Step by step, he would tread the path to the supreme summit.
Driven by this conviction, several days later, Lu Yuan finally opened his eyes.
An even more vast and boundless aura erupted from his body!
Chapter 143