Li Zhexian, standing on the brink of death, now emanated an aura that was both godlike and demonic.
He stepped forward.
Beneath his feet, crimson light bloomed within the void, transforming into blossoming Red Spider Lilies, tragically beautiful beyond words.
With each step, lotus flowers bloomed beneath him; with each step, he also walked deeper toward annihilation.
At this moment, Li Zhexian's presence broke free from the shackles of mortality and crashed open that gate no mortal soul could ever touch.
A vast and boundless pressure descended violently, as though the starry heavens themselves were collapsing.
Calamity Rebirth—this was a Spirit Ability born of utter desperation, the final anthem of one who walks toward death to be reborn!
Burning Spirit Power, burning what remained of his body, exchanging past glory and future possibility for this transcendence beyond life and death!
Like rekindling embers on the verge of extinction, forcing out their final, blazing brilliance!
This was the domain of gods—and also a destined end!
After one sword strike, the Dao would extinguish, and the man would perish!
"Three Swords of Elegance." Li Zhexian's calm voice rang out.
The first amplification Spirit Ability descended upon the Qinglian Sword.
The pale-golden, glazed sword body instantly turned blood-red.
The twelve azure lotuses engraved upon the sword slowly bloomed, exhaling world-shattering sharpness.
"Killing God Domain."
The second amplification followed immediately.
Crisp cracking sounds rang out as spiderweb-like fissures spread across the previously indestructible sword body.
The twelve lotus imprints engraved upon the blade broke free from its constraints, drifting outward one by one, swaying gently in the wind.
As the lotus phantoms swayed—
a terrifying sword intent capable of severing all existence spread outward.
On the battlefield below—
The weapons in the hands of tens of thousands trembled uncontrollably.
Then, all at once, they slipped from their grasp, bowing toward the Qinglian Sword in the sky as though paying homage to a sovereign.
Even Chen Xin's Seven Kill Sword and Feng Bailong's Wind Sword let out a clear clang at this moment, their blades tilting ever so slightly.
"Wine Boils, Sword Sings."
The third amplification descended with thunderous force.
Buzz—!
Buzz—!
The sword's cry rang clear, as if echoing across ten thousand ages.
A supreme aura transcending all mortal steel swept outward, causing every mundane weapon across the eight directions to wail in mourning.
A pillar of sword qi shot straight into the heavens, piercing through the clouds and plunging into the Ninth Heaven.
Within that pillar of light—
All looked on in shock and saw—
A white-robed swordsman, his features indistinct, raising his sword toward the heavens in challenge.
The Qinglian Sword's evolution into a god-tier Martial Soul represented infinite future potential to touch the divine domain.
And at this very moment—
Amid the ultimate ascension brought by three amplification Spirit Abilities and Calamity Rebirth—
it completely pierced the barrier between mortal and divine, achieving the ultimate leap and truly ascending to godhood.
That indistinct white-robed swordsman
slashed his sword toward the sky.
The clouds of heaven rolled backward—not merely the clouds themselves, but the far more distant, unattainable celestial barrier beyond them.
In that hazy instant,
everyone saw in disbelief—
beyond the rift cleaved open in the firmament, a corner of sacred, magnificent palaces of jade and crystal revealed themselves, wreathed in immortal mist and resounding with divine harmonies.
It was—
the legendary Divine Realm!
One sword opens the Gate of Heaven!
...
Divine Realm Plaza
Within the palm of the Asura God, a crimson divine sword hovered and slowly rotated.
Ji Dong's lips curved into a faint, inscrutable smile.
"Asura… could it be that you intend to interfere in the mortal world?"
The Asura God lowered his gaze, watching the scene within the light screen. His imposing face showed not the slightest ripple.
"I am a God Enforcer. I shall naturally abide by the laws of the Divine Realm."
"This child, Li Zhexian, is the inheritor of the Killing God Domain. His Asura Sword is here with me."
Ji Dong shook his head with a soft chuckle, thinking to himself, 'What a fine example of an Asura God who knows the law yet breaks it.'
At the same time, his divine sense transmitted a message:
"Lie Yan—tell the God of Food and the Nine-Colored Goddess to hold off for now."
As soon as the words fell,
the light screens before the two God Kings rippled suddenly.
"Oh?"
Ji Dong's brows lifted slightly, a flicker of astonishment flashing through his eyes.
"Li Zhexian's power has already managed to stir the Divine Realm's barrier?"
The Asura God gazed at the white-robed swordsman in the light screen as he swung his blade toward the heavens. His other two heads slowly opened their eyes.
"This is hardly just stirring it."
Boom—!!!
The words had barely fallen when—
a streak of sword light violently split apart the endless sea of clouds shrouding the Divine Realm, exposing a corner of it to mortal sight.
Even though Ji Dong and the Asura God were tens of millions of miles away, the annihilating power contained within that sword qi still rushed toward them head-on
"To step into the divine domain for the first time and already strike straight into the Divine Realm with a single sword… this child is truly extraordinary."
As the Asura God spoke,
two figures arrived side by side at the entrance of the Divine Realm Plaza.
The man on the left wore a deep-purple cloak. His aura was profound and icy; within the opening and closing of his gaze, the will of destruction condensed, making it impossible to meet his eyes directly.
The woman on the right was dressed in a flowing emerald-green gown. Vitality overflowed from her body; spirit grasses swayed around her hem, and a hundred flowers bloomed in her wake.
They were the God Enforces who governed Destruction and Life, and also the other two ancient God Kings of this realm—the God of Destruction and the Goddess of Life.
The God of Destruction swept his gaze across the plaza, his voice cold and severe:
"Asura. Evil."
"Even God Kings are not permitted to act recklessly."
"The two of you must not overstep the laws of the Divine Realm."
...
On the battlefield below,
tens of thousands of people stood frozen, staring upward.
They gazed at the corner of the Divine Realm that was slowly being veiled once more by the clouds of the Nine Heavens, their minds reeling in awe.
One sword opens the Gate of Heaven!
This was Heaven Dou's Sword Wine Douluo!
"The continent has finally produced someone who can ascend to godhood through the Sword Dao."
Chen Xin, Dugu Bo, Feng Bailong, and the others were overwhelmed with excitement—yet the moment they thought of the young man's current state, sorrow welled up again.
Zhu Zhuqing, Dugu Yan, Ye Lingling… Yu Tianheng and the rest were likewise heartbroken beyond measure.
That white-robed swordsman who raised his blade toward the heavens was surely Li Zhexian of the future, destined to stand at the absolute peak of the continent.
And yet, he was about to fall at the very moment of his greatest brilliance.
Bibi Dong stared in horror at the sword light that split open the firmament.
Even though she was on the verge of godhood,
the sword intent emanating from Li Zhexian—an intent that sought to annihilate all things—still stirred uncontrollable dread deep within her heart.
In a daze,
she felt as though she had returned to years ago—
to the moment when that very youth had nailed her to death atop the divine mountain with a single sword.
The resentment and malice in Bibi Dong's eyes nearly solidified.
She regarded Li Zhexian with even greater seriousness than she had ever given Qian Daoliu.
For this reason,
she had painstakingly analyzed every Spirit Ability Li Zhexian had ever revealed.
Even that heaven-defying technique he once used in the Rakshasa Secret Realm—capable of forcibly interrupting others' Spirit Abilities—she had already found a way to counter.
Yet this one terrifying, mutually-destructive Spirit Ability…
no matter how long she pondered it,
she could find no solution.
—It was a forbidden technique capable of allowing a mere Spirit Ancestor to strike down a Super Douluo.
Other than confronting it head-on with overwhelming power, there was no alternative.
"Gods and mortals are fundamentally different!"
Bibi Dong's shrill voice tore through the sky, echoing across the battlefield.
"Now that I have stepped onto the divine path, even if you burn everything away—what can you do?!"
Beneath her feet, in addition to the nine Spirit Rings,
an unstable tenth Spirit Ring, shimmering in purple-gold light, slowly took shape.
She extended her palm and clenched it fiercely.
Countless evil thoughts from the world converged within her grasp, ultimately forming a two-meter-long Rakshasa Scythe, wrapped in swirling dark-purple energy.
"Scythe of Finality —Extinction of All Life!"
With the demon scythe in hand, Bibi Dong's aura shook heaven and earth.
She transformed into a streak of annihilating light—
and charged straight toward Li Zhexian.