Come!

Sect Master Chunyang maintained the unfolding of the dream. To his ears, Aunt Zhou's words held nothing strange or worth pondering; at most, one more name had been added to the missing persons. That was until Aunt Zhou, with the assistance of a man who was young yet bore a weathered face, finished filling out the form. He looked at the names of the missing: Lei Yibing, Zhang Yuanqing. Only then did Sect Master Chunyang suddenly feel that the three characters "Zhang Yuanqing" were somewhat familiar, though he could not recall where he had heard them. ... Chen Yuanjun's face contorted in agony. It was as though something was violently burrowing out of his brain, his head aching as if it were about to split wide open. That something was fractured images, fragmented memories, the wretched and helpless look on Aunt Zhou's face, and a past buried for nearly four years. These images flashed by in rapid succession and shattered, ultimately dissolving into a familiar yet strange whisper that echoed by his ear, gentle yet laced with sorrow: "Yuanzi will be back soon. Forget what happened today, and delete the file..." Squatting by the window, Chen Yuanjun was drenched in cold sweat, his eyes bloodshot from the excruciating pain as he muttered, "A-Auntie..." ... War of the Gods. Sensing someone's arrival, the demigods present turned their gazes toward the newcomer, save for the Lord of the Stars, who was wholly focused on refining the sun. Yuanshi Tianzun?! The moment they got a clear look at his face, astonishment and bewilderment washed over them. How did this kid get in? It was like an ant showing up to join a battlefield where colossal dragons clashed; one's first reaction was not to mock it for overestimating itself, but to wonder in shock how on earth it had crossed mountains of blades and seas of fire to reach the fray. The Sun Instance was a place that even demigods could not enter at will. One either had to possess a fragment of the Compass of Light or have a deity-level power assist in prying it open. The Xie family ancestor's shock and bewilderment were no less than those of the evil demigods. His pitch-black, lucid eyes widened in disbelief. "How did this kid get in?" Only then did the demigods take note of Yuanshi Tianzun's appearance—short hair that was black laced with gold, pale golden skin, an inextinguishable solar disk between his eyebrows, and blazing golden pupils. His entire person seemed coated in gold leaf, or like a human sculpted of pure gold. Phenomena manifested externally; his visage was no longer human. These were traits that appeared only in a Level 9 Dominator who had touched the power of the rules. Yuanshi Tianzun had advanced to Level 9! Even for demigods, a complex, indescribable emotion welled within their hearts. Going from an ordinary person to a Level 9 Dominator took some an entire century, others sixty years, and still others more than a decade. The Demon Lord, universally acknowledged as having leveled up the fastest, had still taken over three years. Yet Yuanshi Tianzun... had taken a mere ten months. Such terrifying progression stirred envy even within the hearts of demigods, even if a Level 9 Day Wanderer was nothing more than clay chickens and pottery dogs in their eyes. So the Void demigod and the God of Beauty backing Yuanshi Tianzun hadn't been an unrealistic ambition after all? Yuanshi Tianzun truly possessed the ability to become a Level 9 Dominator in such a short span, gaining the qualification to vie for the title of Lord of the Sun. A Level 9 Dominator needed only to obtain a demigod-tier item or administrator privileges to accommodate and refine it, becoming a newly ascended demigod. Whether one was an early-stage Level 9 or a peak Level 9 Dominator did not matter. Because the divine status of an early Level 9 and a peak Level 9 was the same; one was merely in the early phase while the other was in the late phase, with only a difference in raw power. While the others were sizing him up, Zhang Yuanqing also swiftly scanned his surroundings. He took in the nearby evil demigods, the Lord of the Stars floating in midair, his uncle, the God of Beauty, the Xie family ancestor, and the demigods lying asleep across the ground at the edge of his vision. Even the Night Emperor entered the instance?! I don't see Old Mai from the Dionysus Club or the president of the Biological Alchemy Society... The Spirit Society is down one demigod... Hiss, the evil faction suffered heavy losses... The orthodox demigods haven't suffered any casualties, but most of them have fallen into a deep slumber... Zhang Yuanqing's first reaction was that the orthodox faction had secured an overwhelming advantage in the battle for the Sun origin. Then, backed into a corner, the evil faction had unleashed the Night Emperor, dragging the orthodox demigods into slumber alongside them. Yet in the end, the Lord of the Stars had still managed to claim the Sun origin, emerging as the final victor. Ling Tuo isn't here... Has he fallen? Zhang Yuanqing looked around and found no trace of Ling Tuo, feeling both immense gratification and lingering regret. The murderer of his father and mortal enemy of both his aunt and himself, the chief culprit behind the slaughter of the Wuhen Hotel members, and the mastermind orchestrating his forced return to the Spirit Realm had actually perished so early. As for the Lord of the Stars claiming the Sun origin, though Zhang Yuanqing felt reluctant, he could only accept it. At least it was better than Ling Tuo seizing the Sun origin. After quickly sizing up the situation, Zhang Yuanqing suddenly sensed that something was amiss. From the emotions of the evil demigods, he keenly detected jealousy, hostility, and a gloating, exuberant delight. That delight was not directed at him. With Ling Tuo dead and the orthodox faction claiming the Sun origin, what did they have to rejoice about? Just then, his uncle high in the sky looked down at his true successor and said in a heavy voice, "The Lord of the Stars has betrayed the orthodox faction!" What?! The single sentence struck Zhang Yuanqing like a bolt from the blue, causing his pupils to contract violently. Without a moment's hesitation, his body dissolved into brilliant starlight. In a succession of blinks, he fled to the side of the God of Beauty and the Xie family ancestor, opening distance between himself and the evil demigods. Watching Yuanshi Tianzun scramble away in panic, the evil demigods merely sneered, not bothering to pursue him. "What happened?" Zhang Yuanqing asked with a darkened expression, looking at the God of Beauty and the Xie family ancestor. The Xie family ancestor, who bore the appearance of a young boy, sighed. "We defeated the evil faction, but the Lord of the Stars summoned the Night Emperor to ambush our demigods, and Asura ambushed and killed Ling Tuo... The one Asura truly backed all along was the Lord of the Stars. Now, the Lord of the Stars has obtained both Taiyin and the Sun... "From the very beginning, the orthodox faction was doomed to fail. Because whether it was the Lord of the Stars or the Lord of Taiyin, both belonged to the evil faction." Zhang Yuanqing was left dumbfounded, incapable of accepting this outcome. "If Stars is a fallen one, how could you orthodox demigods not tell? Are you all useless?!" The God of Beauty shook her head slightly. "Stars is not a fallen one, but the side he supports is indeed the evil faction. The reasons for that will have to wait for later." Zhang Yuanqing looked toward her; amidst the hazy holy light, he saw the God of Beauty seemingly smiling at him. By this point, the Lord of the Stars' accommodation had reached a critical juncture. The starlight and the golden radiance were steadily merging into one, no longer raging. It seemed that in the very next second, the deed would be accomplished, the assimilation complete. The evil demigods watched intently, guarding against any unexpected turns. At that moment, the Void demigod standing high above suddenly unleashed a deafening roar: "Awaken!" The sound rolled like thunder, reverberating across the vast expanse of the instance. Save for the Lord of the Stars, who was wholly absorbed in accommodating the sun, everyone's attention was drawn to his roar, baffled as to what madness had seized him. Fixing his eyes upon the Lord of the Stars, the Void demigod roared once more: "Awaken!" "Awaken!" "Awaken!!" Amidst the echoing cries of "Awaken," amidst roar after roar, an anomaly occurred. The Sun origin, on the verge of being neutralized by starlight and refined by the Lord of the Stars, suddenly grew turbulent. Its dimmed golden light surged with blazing intensity as it violently shook off the starlight clinging to it. In that instant, everyone sensed a psychic fluctuation slowly reviving within the Sun origin. The next second, a Golden Crow burrowed out from the chest of the Lord of the Stars, followed immediately by a second, a third, a fourth... all the way to the ninth. During this process, starlight condensed into hands, desperately grasping at the Golden Crows in an attempt to drag them back into his body, only to be melted and purified by the domineering golden radiance. Flapping their wings, the nine Golden Crows flew back to the chest of the Lord of the Stars and joined forces to pluck out a washbasin-sized gold fragment from his torso. At the center of that gold fragment was the carving of a sun, surrounded by radiating line reliefs. Upon seeing this gold fragment, the demigods present froze. This gold fragment was something they were intimately familiar with. It was... the core fragment of the Compass of Light! So the golden radiance at the heart of the Sun origin was not the largest Golden Crow, but the core fragment of the Compass of Light? So the core fragment of the Compass of Light, missing for twenty years, had long since merged into the Sun origin itself? The only person present who did not pay attention to the Lord of the Stars and the Sun origin was Zhang Yuanqing. Thump-thump! Thump-thump! His heart pounded wildly in his chest—a frantic, physical thumping, as if summoned by something and trying to burst free from his ribcage. And most extreme of all was his brain—more precisely, his soul! His soul felt as if it were tearing apart. His long-dormant head affliction flared up once more, the excruciating agony forcing him to clutch his head, his face twisting into a grimace. Inside the Sun origin, something was calling to him. Instinctively, he wanted to answer, yet deep down inside, resistance and dread welled up, refusing to respond to the summons of the Sun origin. Circling the core fragment of the Compass of Light, the nine Golden Crows formed a ring once more, creating a blinding golden sun. Golden radiance flooded every corner of the instance. In the distance, the domain of darkness cast by the Night Emperor rapidly dissolved, and the orthodox demigods showed signs of waking. The Lord of the Stars snapped his eyes open, squeezing out the power of the stellar origin to form a robe of starlight that unfurled into a sky-blotting curtain, enveloping the Sun origin. Instantly, the Sun origin grew dim, like a lightbulb wrapped in cloth. The slumber domain was restored, preventing the orthodox demigods from waking. Wrapped in starlight, the Sun origin wobbled in midair, sometimes yanked back by the Lord of the Stars, and sometimes struggling to pull away from him. The two sides were locked in an arduous tug-of-war. Blue veins bulged across the Lord of the Stars' face as he bellowed, "Kill Yuanshi Tianzun!" He did not explain why, nor did he have time to explain. Hearing this, the evil demigods turned in unison toward Yuanshi Tianzun, who was clutching his head in agony, his expression contorted. Though they still harbored countless doubts and confusion, the demigods knew that securing the Sun origin was the top priority. Without hesitation, they simultaneously unleashed their methods to surround and slaughter Yuanshi Tianzun. The Southern Sect's Illusion God nullified the physical rules, crossing the distance in a single step to appear beside Zhang Yuanqing and pull him into a dreamscape. From the sky came the snap of fingers: "Banish!" Yuanshi Tianzun vanished abruptly, breaking free of the dream domain to reappear a hundred kilometers away. Meanwhile, shedding her previously passive stance of muddling through, the God of Beauty stepped forward alone to block the demigods. Spreading her arms, a colossal clam with a golden shell materialized behind her. The giant clam slowly parted, breathing out a cloyingly sweet fragrance. The God of Beauty let out a soft laugh. "Am I beautiful?" Lust erupted instantly within the evil demigods. The primal urge to mate overwhelmed their anger, bloodlust, jealousy, and every other emotion; even the Sun origin ceased to matter. All that remained in their eyes was the beauty who symbolized beauty and desire, who could bring them the pinnacle of ecstasy. Seeing this, the Illusion Gods of the Northern and Southern Sects suppressed their own lust while joining forces to incite the demigods' desire for slaughter, hoping to use bloodlust to overpower lust. The Xie family ancestor, clutching the Demon Refining Pot, quickly twirled red strings with one hand, fastening the demigods' threads of fate to the God of Beauty. Combining the Musician's red strings with the God of Beauty's lust created an effect where one plus one was far greater than two. The evil demigods, who had just shown signs of breaking free from their desires, fell once again under the thrall of the God of Beauty's allure, casting aside faction rivalries and the Sun origin entirely. Of course, he could have seized the chance to launch sneak attacks against the evil demigods, but doing so would instantly snap the enemies out of the charm's influence. The weakness of any mental or emotional control was that physical harm in reality caused it to break quickly. However, the Xie family ancestor and the God of Beauty were only tasked with buying time and had no intention of killing the evil demigods. Influencing and controlling demigods for a short period was vastly simpler than killing them. As a bloodthirsty and warlike Bewitching Demon, Asura was unaffected by the threads of passion. Once the two Illusion Gods inflamed their bloodlust, he became immune to desire. Ignoring the God of Beauty and the Xie family ancestor, who were clearly stalling for time, Asura took a booming step and dashed across a hundred kilometers in an instant, arriving before Zhang Yuanqing. His bronze scimitar slashed out abruptly, the dreadful force gathered at its tip collapsing the surrounding space to disrupt the Void demigod's spatial arts. Whoosh... A wall of wind erected itself, blocking the bronze scimitar. Though it collapsed into gale-force winds in less than a second, it bought just enough time. Having donned the dark-gold female mask, the Void demigod dove at supersonic speed, hurling down from the sky with a lightning spear aimed at Asura. Asura's blade swept upward against the sky. With a flash of bloody light, the Void demigod's spear-wielding arm was severed from the shoulder. Landing between the two, the Void demigod pressed his palm against Asura's chest: "Retreat!" Boom! The space of the entire instance resisted Asura, and every wisp of air repelled him. The two forces erupted simultaneously, forcibly shoving this Level 12 strongest figure in the world back hundreds of zhang. Moreover, the force did not dissipate, continuing to act relentlessly upon Asura. Asura's feet plowed hundreds of zhang through the barren ground. Tightening the muscles in his waist, back, and long legs, he fought against the power of space and airflow. With a tremor of his frame, he relied on pure, monstrous physical might to forcibly suppress the resistance of space and air currents. His uncle paid him no heed, however. Turning his head toward his agonized nephew, he said in a low voice, "Yuanshi, all your answers are right there! Do not resist it, nor should you fear it. This is your destiny, one you can neither escape nor change." Zhang Yuanqing finally lifted his head, his eyes shot with blood. Looking up at the Sun origin wrapped in starlight, he let out a soul-deep roar, answering the call: "Come!" The Sun origin broke through the shackles of starlight and, carrying the mighty power to incinerate and purify all things, hurtled toward Yuanshi Tianzun.