Jubilation

The birth of a Dao Lord was an event of immense joy for all of Beihai Star. More importantly, this Dao Lord could practically be considered native to Beihai Star, which filled every cultivator on the planet with boundless confidence in their future. In every Dao Contention on Beihai Star, one or two hundred Dao Lords would converge from across the starry skies to compete for the forty-nine spots. Yet in truth, the vast majority hailed from other powers in the depths of space. They had heard of the Gate of the Immortal Realm on Beihai Star and made the journey specifically for it. Some had participated in the Dao Contention more than once or twice, while others were completely unfamiliar faces, arriving from across another starfield a billion, several billion, or even tens of billions of light-years away. Among these Dao Lords were no shortage of pinnacle figures. It was only because the Gates of the Immortal Realm in their own regions were monopolized by far more terrifying colossi—where a single sect possessed dozens or even hundreds of Dao Lords—that they were forced to travel far from home to seek an alternative way forward. Strictly speaking, less than a third of the Dao Lords in the contention truly hailed from Beihai Star. Under such circumstances, the emergence of a new Dao Lord from Beihai Star naturally exhilarated cultivators and factions in the Void Shattering realm, Void Refining realm, and Void Piercing realm, as well as those who had arrived on Beihai Star only recently. It made them feel that enduring countless hardships to migrate to Beihai Star had truly been a wise choice. And within a single day, this news swept through the entire planet like a tempest. *** "A Dao Lord! Sect Master Yaoguang... actually became a Dao Lord just like that?!" Within the Heavenly Dao Sect, Void Shattering cultivators such as Liaochen, Chiyun, Dongxi, and Yuanxing—who had been delayed by various affairs and could not accompany Zhen Xuanyuan and Gu Li to welcome Dao Lord Juntian—were utterly dumbfounded. Dao Integration? He achieved Dao Integration just like that? He merely went out into the starry sky beyond the domain to welcome Dao Lord Juntian, who hailed from their Heavenly Dao Sect, and achieved Dao Integration right then and there? To everyone, this seemed beyond comprehension. Had the news not been delivered directly by Dao Lord Juntian, along with strict instructions for them to prepare for the Dao Lord celebration, these Supreme Elders would have suspected someone was playing a practical joke on them. *** Inside the Taiyi Immortal Sect. Supreme Elder Yuhuang, Supreme Elder Hongyan, and the other Void Shattering cultivators stared at True Monarch Taiyuan through the transmission array, their eyes filled with utter bewilderment. "Is... is this true?" Supreme Elder Yuhuang asked, unable to stop himself from pressing rapidly, "There was no omen beforehand, no journey into deep space to hide in an uninhabited region, and not the slightest disturbance during the Dao Integration. Even the process itself... seems to have been skipped entirely. No ten-odd years spent harmonizing with the Dao, no dozens of crises of dissolving into the Dao. He simply stepped into the realm of Dao Integration as naturally as water flowing into a channel? Since when did Dao Integration become so easy?" "Hard as it is to believe... it is the truth." True Monarch Taiyuan smiled bitterly. "Not only do you find it unbelievable and feel that Sect Master Yaoguang's Dao Integration was like child's play, but even I, having witnessed the entire process with my own eyes, still feel a sense of unreality..." He let out a deep sigh. "That is Dao Integration! A life-or-death juncture where even a Dao Lord starting over would have little certainty of success. Yet Sect Master Yaoguang... from beginning to end, broke through in less than an hour. No matter how you look at it, it feels like a dream." "Could it be... that Sect Master Yaoguang used some secret technique to temporarily grasp a sliver of Dao Integration's profundity? That he hasn't truly stepped into the Dao Integration realm, and his state should be called half-step Dao Integration?" Another Void Shattering Supreme Elder offered an absurd speculation. The reason... It was simply too preposterous. When reality was already this absurd, what was wrong with making an equally absurd guess? "Half-step Dao Integration?" True Monarch Taiyuan shook his head. "You should have sensed the battle of Dao Lords that erupted in the sky just now. Though it didn't last long, the outcome was unimaginably brutal and grim. Aside from Dao Lord Wujin, who struck first, a total of four Dao Integration experts fell afterward, including Dao Lord Jimie, Demon Saint Kunpeng, and Demon Saint Yulin! And among those four fallen Dao Integration experts, Dao Lord Jimie and Demon Saint Kunpeng practically perished directly at the hands of Dao Lord Yaoguang." He looked at the inquiring Supreme Elder. "So... could someone who achieved a pinnacle feat like slaying two Dao Integration experts the moment he became a Dao Lord truly be a half-step Dao Integration cultivator?" The Supreme Elder opened his mouth, but in the end, could not utter a single word. "Actually, I think... this might... hold a grain of truth..." Supreme Elder Hongyan spoke up. His words immediately drew the gazes of the Taiyi Immortal Sect's Supreme Elders. "Yaoguang's talent is far higher than any of us imagined. He has truly transcended the scope of ordinary cognition, possessing talent even superior to Dao Lord Penglai's." Supreme Elder Hongyan carefully weighed his words. "When an entity beyond imagination does anything, there is no need to make a fuss. Even his natural advancement to the Dao Integration realm is entirely reasonable and—" At that point, this Supreme Elder, who was also an Artifact Saint, could no longer keep going. He had been trying to convince himself to believe everything unfolding before him, but when the facts were laid bare, he broke down. "Reasonable, my foot!" Hongyan wore a bitter expression. "He could at least have given us some mental preparation! Cultivate for another few centuries—even one or two hundred years would have done! Then go hide in the starry sky to integrate secretly, take three to five years, and step into Dao Integration after a grand battle between Dao protectors and ambushers... We could accept that. But like this... As if he went out to buy groceries and came back having achieved Dao Integration... Is that really reasonable?!" The other Void Shattering elders nodded in solemn agreement. Yaoguang had only gone out to welcome Dao Lord Juntian... Was that not essentially the same as running an errand to buy groceries? What was worse, he had seemingly completed his Dao Integration before he even met Dao Lord Juntian. That made it all the more absurd. He had not given them a shred of mental preparation. "Perhaps... we truly can no longer comprehend this world," True Monarch Taiyuan said with a wry smile. "In any case, everyone, prepare yourselves to attend Dao Lord Yaoguang's Dao Integration celebration. After today, Dao Lord Yaoguang will be one of the Dao Integration overlords across the several billion light-years centered around Beihai Star." Overlord! This was another title cultivators gave to Dao Lords. So long as a Dao Lord wished, any one of them could easily dominate a territory spanning hundreds of millions of light-years in the starry sky, governing billions upon billions of living beings and civilizations. *** Inside the Penglai Immortal Sect, everything swiftly grew hectic following Dao Lord Penglai's decree. Shi Lin, the acting sect master, immediately broadcasted the news to every corner and began gathering distinctive natural treasures from across the Deep Blue Sea. Though Dao Lord Penglai had merely said they would attend a Dao Integration celebration when the time came, as the sect master of the Penglai Immortal Sect, Shi Lin had to uphold the sect's prestige. Otherwise, it would look as though someone had outshone her master. As the order went out, countless disciples across the Penglai Immortal Sect mobilized. Even the Void Refining Palace Masters ended their secluded cultivation and began scouring for heavenly treasures, purely to show their faces at Yaoguang's celebration. As for Dao Lord Penglai's personal disciples—Zhan Xiao, Leng Qingqiu, and Shui Yunhan... They felt as though struck by lightning upon hearing the news. Leng Qingqiu in particular was so stunned that her mind went blank, and she did not recover for a very long time. After the shock came disbelief. Yet as they swiftly gathered information from various channels, they were forced to accept reality. It was true! Yaoguang's achievement of Dao Integration was completely real. Furthermore, right after integrating, he had slain two Dao Integration experts—Jimie and Kunpeng—using their blood and corpses to establish his ferocious prestige as a pinnacle Dao Lord right from the start! It also thrust his renown directly to the apex of Beihai. After fully understanding these facts, Leng Qingqiu became completely submissive. In her sheer panic and dread, she reduced her presence to the absolute minimum. She had realized that with Yaoguang's status as a Dao Lord, if he truly wished to deal with her... Even her master would not utter a single word in protest. No Dao Lord would offend another Dao Lord for the sake of a mere Void Refining cultivator, even if that cultivator was their own disciple. *** While other factions busied themselves with preparations, the Heavenly Dao Sect in the Southern Domain was plunged into an ocean of joy. "Dao Integration! Dao Integration! This is Dao Integration!" Wan Liugui threw his head back and roared with laughter, looking nearly mad with excitement. "Heavens above!" Not to mention Su Yaoxue and Li Qingshan, even compared to Li Hanqiu, Wan Liugui understood far better what a Dao Integration cultivator represented. Back when the Cangwu Lineage first arrived on Beihai Star, how perilous had their situation been? If the Taiyi Immortal Sect had not taken them in, they would not even have had a place to establish themselves. Thus, even knowing the Taiyi Immortal Sect treated the Battle Immortals of the Cangwu Lineage as expendable pawns, the people of the lineage had shouldered the burden without complaint. Back then, the Taiyi Immortal Sect had been the only top-tier faction willing to accept them and grant them status. Without the Taiyi Immortal Sect, the Cangwu Lineage would have had to fend for themselves, suffering exploitation from all the leading factions. And what was the benchmark for a top-tier faction? A Dao Lord! Remembering that the Cangwu Lineage's greatest ambition back then had been to nurture a single Void Piercing cultivator of their own, and looking at them now... The Nine Cauldrons Sect had more Void Piercing cultivators than one could count on one hand. They even had Void Refining cultivators who could genuinely establish an independent branch within the Taiyi Immortal Sect. And now... The greatest pillar supporting the Nine Cauldrons Sect—Yaoguang—had achieved Dao Integration in a single stroke, becoming a Dao Lord! "Hahaha!" Wan Liugui laughed unrestrainedly, his boundless surprise and wild joy spilling over. "Wonderful! Wonderful! Absolutely magnificent! Truly magnificent!" A Dao Lord—this was a Dao Lord! The Nine Cauldrons Sect had actually produced a Dao Lord! Though Li Hanqiu was not driven to near-madness like Wan Liugui, his face was filled with the satisfaction of a man who could die without regrets. "Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that one day I would live to see a Dao Lord emerge from the Nine Cauldrons Sect... Truly... truly..." He repeated "truly" several times in succession, utterly at a loss for words to describe his joy. In the end, he swept his arm through the air with a decisive wave. "Pass down the order! Let the entire sect celebrate! Let the Southern Domain celebrate! We will join the hundreds of millions of people across the Southern Domain in celebrating this historic moment! Let everyone cheer for the birth of the great Dao Lord Yaoguang!"