At first, the news circulated only within a narrow circle.
Because it was simply too shocking, few believed it was true. Suffering injuries from stopping the Ranked Immortals beyond Earth seemed like a plausible explanation on the surface, yet many still refused to believe it. The Awakened, for instance, found it hard to accept—word had just broken that King Lu succeeded in thwarting the Ranked Immortals, so how could he suddenly be injured?
In their eyes, it was likely just malicious rumors spread by extraterrestrial beings who could not stomach his triumph, a deliberate curse. For a time, no one took it seriously.
Yet as time went by, after a whole month, the rumors not only failed to die down but showed signs of escalating.
This made some of the Awakened grow uneasy, though they still deemed it impossible—sheer nonsense.
Later, however, those who traveled to the Mount Tai Trial Academy failed to see Lu Yuan as they had hoped. The official explanation was that he had entered seclusion, which only caused people to suspect even more whether the rumors held truth.
As for the extraterrestrial beings who had descended, they too had initially maintained a skeptical stance.
That was until the Three-Headed Ghost Clan and the Origin Demon Clan received word from their Demi-Saint elders in deep space, confirming that they had indeed witnessed Lu Yuan getting injured on the Moon.
Those elders had simply paid little attention to it back then, but in hindsight, the injury had to be severe—after all, he had confronted the Ranked Immortals.
This revelation directly ignited the extraterrestrial circles. Every one of them was thrilled beyond measure. It was truly heaven one moment and hell the next; they had originally thought they would have to endure for quite some time.
Yet now, Lu Yuan was injured, in dire straits, and on the verge of death. While this might not be good news for the inhabitants of Earth, for the extraterrestrial beings, nothing could be more cause for celebration. Under these circumstances, they gradually let their guard down, feeling there was no need to stay in hiding. At the same time, they sent a small group to deliberately cause trouble to gauge the authorities' reaction. If the authorities mounted fierce resistance, it would indicate the situation was still ambiguous.
If, however, the response was subdued, things would get interesting. Of course, since Lu Yuan's reputation still lingered, the extraterrestrial beings did not go too far. They merely conducted small-scale, non-sensitive probes, such as entering the five super cities directly.
Astonishingly, the authorities showed little reaction beyond issuing warnings, taking no further action. This was vastly different from before, making them all the more certain that the rumors were likely true.
Meanwhile, the talk spread completely to the ears of the populace and the Awakened. The commotion showed signs of growing ever more intense.
Almost everyone was guessing: had Lu Yuan truly suffered severe injuries while stopping the Ranked Immortals?
Unfortunately, no one could verify it, as none had access to him. The authorities, of course, were well aware of all this, because the very first rumor had been released by them.
The reason they did not confirm it was that Elder Ji and the others were steering the narrative, playing the game of feigning the real as false and the false as real. To make people truly believe it, one shouldn't simply declare it from the start; that would only make people suspicious. The key was to plant the seeds of doubt in their minds and nurture them continually.
When the time came, even if the authorities vehemently denied it, few would believe the denials. That was precisely the outcome Elder Ji and the high brass wanted.
During this period, aside from the outside world's rampant speculation regarding Lu Yuan's injuries, heaven and earth also began undergoing changes.
Because the Severance of Heaven and Earth had been invoked earlier, the world's mutation was accelerating. Beyond Earth, more races were gradually descending on a large scale.
Yet for now, virtually none surpassed the Saint Realm. Under the current circumstances, however, that was merely a matter of time.
Among those descending extraterrestrial beings, although there were no individuals of overwhelming strength yet, their status had changed significantly.
Earlier arrivals had merely been vanguard units, but those arriving now were true powerhouses of extraordinary talent—most of them ranked within their clans' sequences. Having descended, they began consolidating various factions.
At the same time, through close monitoring, the authorities discovered that even more beings had gathered in outer space. The number of races reached into the hundreds, and their numbers were difficult to estimate.
Only the vast expanse of the starry sky could hold them; anywhere else, a gathering of so many beings would have been terrifying. What was more, because the plan for an all-out descent had been thwarted and even the Immortals had been wounded, several old fogies from the top hundred star sectors were infuriated, spurring them to accelerate their actions.
At this moment, within the starry sky, countless races gathered in clear demarcation, looking down upon Earth below and issuing endless decrees to descend.
"Kill the human Lu Yuan! Halt his rise!"
"The present Milky Way Star Sector cannot allow such a powerhouse to exist. Strangle every menace in its cradle!"
"The Milky Way Star Sector and the Heavenly Court have long become things of the past. Now, this place will become the prime arena for our evolution. As for the beings of that world, they do not matter." Voice after voice reverberated through outer space. Great Saint-level figures had appeared, represented by the Celestial Clan.
Boundless energy erupted. The might displayed by these Great Saint-level figures caused minor celestial bodies to tremble, for they were existences just one step away from attaining immortality!
In addition, there were the Three-Headed Ghost Clan, the Yin Sparrow Clan, the Origin Demon Clan, and others. They too knew that Lu Yuan was injured, so they were scheming to send people down to decapitate him directly. The authorities had detected this as well.
Every official felt a heavy heart. They understood that Lu Yuan's plan had taken effect, making the great clans in the starry sky unable to sit still and eager to strike.
Even though they had prepared for this to some degree, they were still deeply worried. The influence of the Severance of Heaven and Earth was growing weaker by the day, and vast numbers of extraterrestrial beings continued descending to Earth. If this went on, Saint Realm experts would descend sooner or later.
Even though no immediate threat had yet been posed to the citizens and people of this world, the calm only deepened their dread. It was like the calm before the storm; no one knew what the situation would look like once everything erupted.
The leadership knew that a truly great era had arrived. In the future, it would be impossible for the authorities to maintain total control. Now, the only path forward was to unceasingly strengthen the foundation of the Heavenly Court.
At the same time, Elder Ji and the others noticed that with the continuous descent of extraterrestrial beings, the situation outside grew increasingly volatile. The newcomers seemed eager to conduct further probes to confirm Lu Yuan's condition.
They understood that the plan was already near fruition, waiting only for those beings to be thoroughly convinced. However, at this moment, Lu Yuan still showed no signs of emerging from seclusion, which grew worrisome. The Spirit Monkey, the Golden-Winged Great Peng, and the Peacock King were also somewhat anxious, for this period of seclusion had lasted longer than any before. In the end, Jiang Ningxian stepped forward, explaining that the deeper one's foundation and the more peerless one's talent, the longer it took to step into the Saint Realm.
Naturally, the benefits would also be immense.
In truth, Jiang Ningxian herself found it a bit strange; this breakthrough was taking rather long indeed. Back when she broke forty-three shackles in the Shackle Realm, it had not taken her this much time. Even so, the elders in her clan hailed her as the greatest genius of the Jiang clan in ten thousand years.
Could it be that he had shattered even more genetic shackles than she had?
Chapter 212