Humans are naturally made for victory. With human intellect guiding them, humanity continued to rise as the dominant force of the new era.
The Golden Era
The Golden Era was an age prepared for the end of the world. It had been prophesied by the one who created the Fate Building, a being capable of seeing into the future through the path of blood and soul.
The entire world was preparing for even greater calamities yet to come.
And among them all, the most terrifying was the Tribulation of the Mortal World.
The strongest tribulation.
At the southwestern sea entrance of the Immortal Continent, many battle ships stood upon the vast ocean.
These ships were built from strong native fruit wood. Each vessel was massive—at least as long as ten whales combined.
On top of the ships were countless wooden houses and many stone lamps floating in the air, illuminating the deck with a faint glow.
Immortals from the Zhou Sect could be seen everywhere.
Each wore white tunic sleeves decorated with a petal-shaped flower across their chests. Straw hats shaded their faces as they stood calmly upon the decks.
The ships had no masts, nor did they need them. They were driven purely by soul energy.
Behind the wooden houses stood a large oyster sculpture made from fine bronze.
Its shell was open, and inside it had been turned into a seat lined with blankets.
An old man sat there, wearing a black tunic with the same petal flower symbol across his chest.
He spoke loudly.
"Captain… Bo Zing. How are things going?"
Ahead of the ship stood a very tall man with light skin.
He wore a white tunic with golden stripes across the front and a white belt tied around his waist. His hair was messy yet striking—raven-like strands mixed with white.
Bo Zing stood at the great wheel of the ship. In his hand he held a massive stone surrounded by swirling soul energy.
He placed the stone into the heart of the wheel.
Immediately, the enormous vessel began to move.
The ship surged forward, its massive body slicing through the ocean waves as the sea crashed violently against it. Behind it, many other immortal ships followed.
Bo Zing looked up toward the sky.
"So… the Renewal has returned."
He turned slightly.
"Master Wo Tom."
Raising his hand forward, he spoke again.
"We cannot lose this war. We are preparing for something far more ancient than any of us."
The old man nodded as he stepped out of the bronze oyster and walked toward him. Reaching Bo Zing's side, he patted the captain's back.
The sun slowly descended toward the horizon.
"The world has fallen silent after hearing the name Mingyin," the old man said quietly.
"And the message written in the golden light…"
The Mortal Ruler has returned.
He narrowed his eyes.
"It seems someone is imitating the Renewal."
"If this is truly the same Mingyin who once fought a thousand immortals… then the entire mortal world will fall into chaos."
The young captain nodded.
"I'm excited."
The old man smiled faintly, though a pale expression appeared on his
"If this is truly the same Mingyin who once fought against a thousand immortals… then the entire mortal world will fall into chaos."
The young captain nodded slowly.
"I'm excited."
The old man smiled faintly, though a pale expression soon appeared on his face.
"How long has it been since we last felt fear?"
"Ah… Mo Qing, you should have given that to me."
Inside one of the wooden houses on the ship, a group of young men and several middle-aged cultivators gathered together.
One young man, slightly above six feet tall, walked toward the door and pushed it open.
Inside, another young man sat quietly. A handkerchief was wrapped around his forehead.
He unfolded the cloth in his hands and gently wiped a katana. The blade reflected the flickering lantern light as he slowly cleaned it.
Though he was shorter than the others, he had a delicate and handsome face that made him appear unusually attractive.
"Ah, isn't that Mo Qing?"
Mo Qing had a lean build and a calm smile. In his hand he held a small pagoda carved from marble stone. Around him stood several other immortals—both men and women.
"Isn't this the second force under the command of Leader Zhou Lian?" someone asked.
"Fool," another replied with a laugh. "You're part of Force Two yourself!"
Wei Ton smiled awkwardly.
"Silly me."
He wiped the sweat from his forehead with a towel and looked around the room.
"Don't you all find it strange? That message written in the sky earlier…"
He paused.
The Mortal Ruler… has returned.
The rest of the immortals nodded quietly.
Mo Qing leaned back slightly and wiped the sweat from his brow.
"I admit it was strange," he said.
"That image appearing in the sky… I won't lie. It felt unsettling."
At that moment, a woman stepped into the room.
She had a very beautiful face and a calm yet commanding presence. Though she was slightly shorter than most of them, there was something gallant and confident about her.
"You all performed well today," she said.
"You managed to kill that ancient creature."
She stood by the doorway. When she opened the door, a powerful gust of wind rushed into the room. She raised her arm slightly to shield her face before looking back at them.
"But listen carefully."
Her expression grew serious.
"When the Supreme Elder calls us to prepare for war, do not expect your chances of survival to be any higher than those of an ordinary soldier."
"Any one of us could die."
Someone in the room whispered.
"Isn't that the third strongest member from Team One?"
"What brings you here?"
Wei Ton spoke up.
"And who is the big guy behind you?"
Behind the woman stood a tall and muscular man with a broad frame.
"She came to test our strength," he said casually. "Apparently we still have room for improvement."
Wei Ton sighed dramatically.
"Ah… how boring. I expected something more exciting."
The woman stepped forward.
"My name is Mrs. Bon, as you all already know."
"I'm only here to see what you are capable of."
Her eyes swept across the room.
"But I must admit… your performance today was slightly below my expectations."
The room fell silent.
"I hope you will not let Force One down."
Mo Qing nodded calmly.
"We won't."
Mrs. Bon smiled slightly and looked up toward the sky.
"Prepare yourselves."
"If the rumors about the Renewal are true… we may have to offer our lives so that our home can see another day."
Her voice softened slightly.
"This cannot become the next target of the Apex Clan."
She turned toward the door.
"Survive… Force Two."
Then she walked out.
Wei Ton stared at the sky through the doorway.
"Countless cultivators enter this world seeking treasure and power," he said quietly.
"But none of us have forgotten our duty."
"Our future—and the future of our sect—rests in our own hands."
The rest of the group nodded in agreement.
Wei Ton raised his hand.
"Force Two… prepare yourselves!"
"Yes, sir!"
"Yes, sir!"
"Yes, sir!"
A voice from the back shouted playfully.
"Right
Yes, sir!"
"Yes, sir!"
"Yes, sir!"
A voice from the back shouted jokingly.
"Right back at you, idiot!"
The room burst into quiet laughter.
…
Far away from the immortal ships, deep within the wilderness, Bing Leng stumbled out of a small tree house.
She slowly walked into the vast expanse of a sweet corn field.
One hand clutched her chest while the other held her injured arm.
Blood continued to seep through her fingers.
"So much blood…"
Tears flowed down her face as she stared at her hands, now completely stained red.
"Voice… are you out there?"
She called softly.
But no answer came.
Only silence.
More tears fell as she wiped her face.
"I'm… all alone."
She continued walking through the field. After several minutes, she nearly fell into a pit hidden in the ground.
Nearby, wolves circled beneath a tree branch.
They howled loudly, snapping their jaws and biting the tree trunk as they glared up at her.
Bing Leng kept moving.
Eventually she reached a lonely road.
By nightfall she collapsed into a field of tall grass.
She slowly opened her eyes.
Above her stretched the endless night sky filled with beautiful stars.
She let out a quiet breath.
Her lips moved as if she wanted to say something…
But no words came out.
She simply held her injured leg and stared upward with a sad expression.
Suddenly, a memory surfaced.
Her father holding her in his arms.
Reading her bedtime stories.
Dancing with her at a festival while the crowd watched and cheered.
The memory faded.
Now she was alone.
Then suddenly—
A long sound echoed through the sky.
Bing Leng looked up.
A brilliant light appeared among the stars, spreading ripples across the heavens.
A falling star streaked through the sky.
Bing Leng smiled faintly.
"I wish I wasn't like that falling star…"
Her voice was quiet.
"But wasn't the great Mortal Ruler like a star too…?"
She stared at the heavens.
"I wish tribulations weren't part of life."
Dark clouds suddenly gathered.
Rain began to fall, the cold drops landing softly on her face.
Water rolled down her nose and across her lips.
Bing Leng slowly spread her arms wide, letting the rain fall on her.
"Heaven… you are truly pathetic."
"Why must there always be tribulations?"
"If peace truly existed, heaven itself would split its sleeves apart to create it."
Her voice trembled.
"Heaven… do you love me?"
She continued walking through the darkness.
Eventually she stumbled and fell.
Her left arm bent unnaturally.
"Ah…"
"My arm… it's broken."
Hours passed.
It was deep night now.
She crawled slowly across the ground, leaving a trail of blood behind her.
Finally she looked up.
In the distance stood a massive mountain floating in the air, surrounded by swirling soul energy.
"So… this is the mountain…"
She laughed weakly.
"Ahahaha… nobody is here."
Still crawling, she bit down on her nails to stop the pain.
"But it looks like I'll die here…"
Her body finally stopped moving.
She no longer had the strength to continue.
"My regrets… they don't matter anymore."
Slowly, her eyes began to close.
A pale smile appeared on her face.
"I wish there were no regrets in life…"
Her breathing faded.
And she stopped moving.
Suddenly—
A faint rustling of leaves reached her ears.
For a moment, Bing Leng felt as if she were dreaming.
In her fading vision, she saw a beach stretching endlessly before her. Behind the shore, a massive tsunami rose from the sea, towering like a wall that threatened to swallow the world.
Then someone appeared.
A tall man walked calmly along the beach.
He had sharp, golden predator-like eyes and long white hair flowing behind him. His clothes were nothing more than torn white cloth wrapped around his body.
In his hand he carried a staff.
He stopped and spoke softly.
"Whether death is the final end of a lifeform… I cannot fear it."
"Because there are countless tribulations in a world that does not care for the existence of living beings."
The man looked up at the sky.
His arm was broken, and blood stained his swollen lips.
"Heaven… if that girl is a danger, eliminate her now."
Bing Leng's eyes suddenly opened.
She forced a weak smile.
"Heaven… why try to eliminate me while I am still young?"
"Have I angered you?"
A voice suddenly came from behind her.
"Finally found you."
Before she could react, a powerful hand grabbed her by the neck and lifted her into the air.
She coughed violently as blood spilled from her mouth.
Behind her stood a terrifying man.
Half of his face was covered with grotesque moving eyes embedded deep within his skin. The other half looked burned and scarred. One side of his hair was white while the other was charred black.
He tightened his grip on her throat.
"Fool. I finally caught you."
He laughed coldly.
"Just like your father… you will die under my hand."
If another young girl had heard that her father's killer stood before her, she would have been filled with rage.
But Bing Leng did not react that way.
Instead, she calmly held his wrist.
Her white hair fluttered gently in the wind.
"Even if I die today… I will return."
"I will bring nothing but chaos to the mortal world."
Her eyes burned with determination.
"Even if I could change my fate… I would still choose this path."
"Justice does not exist."
"If justice existed… I would not have suffered like this."
"This world is not meant for the weak."
She stared directly at him.
"One day I will rise to the top… and face you again."
"Do not forget this name."
The man narrowed his eyes.
"Yao Ming."
He tilted his head slightly.
"Any last words?"
Bing Leng coughed again.
"This is the circle of life."
"Kill someone… and someday you will be the one killed."
Her voice grew faint.
"Prepare yourself for the Mortal Ruler."
"If he truly returns… then perhaps there is still justice in this world."
Yao Ming looked at her silently.
"A young girl like you has no place surviving in this world
"If he truly returns… then perhaps there is still justice in this world."
Yao Ming looked at her coldly.
"A young girl like you has no place surviving in this world."
His fingers tightened around her throat.
Slowly, he crushed her neck until she could no longer breathe.
Bing Leng struggled weakly, trying to inhale, but his grip was too strong.
Her face turned blue as her body went limp.
Finally, he released her.
Her body fell lifelessly onto the ground.
Yao Ming stared down at her.
"I had to eliminate every bloodline connected to the leader of the Regional Continent."
He turned his head slightly and looked behind him.
"I will wreak chaos upon this world, Heaven."
"I will shake the heavens themselves."
"I will bring nothing but the courtesy of death."
Suddenly—
Bing Leng's body rose slowly into the air.
Yao Ming froze.
Inside the small pagoda he carried, a strange flaming head began to glow brighter and brighter.
A deep voice echoed from within.
"I laugh at this world."
"Yao Ming… Bing Leng… neither of you truly understands the meaning of life."
"You rely on a gambler monkey who may never return."
"One can only rely on oneself."
"This is your fate, Bing Leng."
"But I will give you a chance."
"To become my successor."
Suddenly, a massive wave of soul flame burst out from the pagoda.
The flames surged like a sea, rushing toward a glowing gate that suddenly appeared in the sky.
The gate slowly opened.
Yao Ming stood frozen in disbelief as Bing Leng's body was dragged into the sea of fire.
"I am one of the Nine Ruler Spirits," the voice declared.
"I cast this girl as the successor to the Image of Nezha."
The sea of flames surrounded Bing Leng's body.
Her form began to shrink.
Her body slowly transformed… becoming a tiny burning flower floating within the flames.
"Wait… what is happening?" she whispered in confusion.
But the sea of flames had already surged upward into the clouds.
Yao Ming stared at the sky in complete shock.
High above the heavens, Bing Leng floated inside a blazing ocean of fire.
Before her stood a massive gate made of pearl, jewels, and black marble.
The gate slowly opened.
Behind it lay a vast pool of dark water.
Within the water rested countless oysters made of shining pearls.
One oyster slowly opened.
Inside stood a young man.
He wore red cloth wrapped around his body and black silk pants that reached his knees. Bronze rings floated beside him, and in his hand he held a spear.
His face was hidden behind a pearl mask.
A red ribbon was tied around his ankle.
His voice echoed across the flames.
"I shall cast my image into the mortal world."
He touched the sea of flames with his spear.
Ancient soul energy poured into the fire.
The entire mortal world trembled.
He looked at Bing Leng.
"Prepare yourself."
"You will bring chaos to the mortal world."
The burning flower suddenly transformed back
Prepare yourself."
"You will bring chaos to the mortal world."
The burning flower suddenly trembled inside the sea of flames.
In the next moment, the small flower transformed back into the form of a young girl.
Bing Leng's eyes widened in shock.
"Isn't this…?"
Before she could finish her words, the sea of flames completely engulfed her.
Her body shot downward like a blazing meteor.
…
She fell through the sky as the heavenly gate slowly closed behind her.
High above, the masked figure muttered quietly to himself.
"Mortal world… soon you will join us."
Wrapped in a sphere of blazing flames, Bing Leng descended rapidly toward the ground.
She crashed into a small village.
The impact shook the surrounding fields.
An old woman who had been working nearby looked up in shock.
She saw a massive sphere of fire burning in the distance.
Curious and frightened, she slowly walked closer.
As the flames faded, she saw something unexpected.
Inside the burning crater lay a newborn baby.
The baby's skin shone like smooth pearl, and she cried softly while sucking on her tiny finger.
The old woman gasped.
"What… is this?"
She quickly tossed aside her farming shovel and picked the baby up carefully.
Footsteps approached behind her as several villagers ran toward the scene.
Without hesitation, the old woman hid the baby inside her clothing.
"I will take care of this child," she said firmly.
The villagers looked around at the burning crater in confusion.
"What just happened here?"
The old woman simply shook her head and walked away, holding the child tightly.
…
Far away, on a steep cliff, a middle-aged woman stood with Mingyin in her grasp.
Mingyin was breathing heavily.
The woman suddenly threw him off the cliff.
Then she struck him again with a blast of force, sending him crashing violently into the rocks below.
Mingyin felt his bones crack under the impact.
But strangely… he was not afraid.
What regrets could matter to a man who had already been a failure among failures?
Slowly, he stood up.
The woman looked down at him with a smile.
"So you're the one who killed the Crane."
Mingyin smiled back calmly.
"It surprises me that someone hates me enough to chase me here instead of killing me earlier."
The woman laughed.
"Yes… it was me."
"If you truly are him, then prepare to die for killing my friend."
Mingyin shook his hea
Mingyin shook his head.
Then he suddenly began to laugh.
"Ahahahahaha!"
His laughter echoed across the cliffside.
Slowly, he straightened his back and looked up at the woman.
"Have you lost your mind?" he said with a grin.
"Has the world done something to your stupid head?"
"Has the world forsaken you?"
"You can't kill me."
"This is only my regression."
The woman frowned, clearly confused.
"And that is exactly why," she replied coldly, "I prepared something special for you."
She raised her hand and pointed toward the sky.
"I brought the swarm of the Crane Army."
Suddenly—
A massive starlight appeared above them.
Moments later, countless dark shapes began falling from the sky.
The woman froze.
Her eyes widened as she realized what she was seeing.
Falling toward them was an enormous mountain of bodies.
"These are… the bodies of the Cranes you killed!"
Mingyin nodded calmly.
"Why wouldn't I free them?"
"When I killed their original body, I didn't release them immediately."
"I waited."
He pointed toward the falling mass.
"I waited until the real body of the Crane died… then I released them."
"They came back to seek revenge."
The woman stared at him in disbelief.
"You… manipulated them?"
Mingyin smiled slightly.
"I sent my clone to them."
"I told them I was their master."
"They have no real intelligence."
"So I led them to the corpse of their original body… and they believed me."
His smile widened.
"And I knew you would come after me."
The woman's expression turned strange.
"You think this will affect me?"
Suddenly the sky exploded with movement.
The swarm of Crane spirits lunged toward her.
They screeched as they attacked from every direction.
Mingyin grabbed his throat and coughed.
Behind him—
Another figure suddenly appeared.
Magman.
He stood up slowly while holding a sharp dagger.
"Fool of the century," Magman muttered.
Mingyin eyes dilates
What !
In an instant, he lunged forward.
Mingyin barely had time to react.
The dagger stabbed straight into his back.
As a broken sound of wood could be hear .
Mingyin's eyes froze in shock.
Meanwhile, the woman was being overwhelmed by the swarm of Cranes.
She flew upward into the air as the spirits attacked her relentlessly.
"Spirit Dragon!"
"Support Myriad!"
Suddenly, countless dragons appeared across the sky.
Far away, inside a golden realm of endless light, a massive dragon opened its eyes.
The dragon's body was covered in thick fur, and its enormous maw opened as it roared.
It had heard the call.
"Wake up!" the dragon roared.
"Our leader is under attack!"
Behind it stood an entire army of dragons.
They immediately rose into the sky and followed their commander.
A massive ripple opened in the heavens.
The dragons flew through it and descended into the battlefield.
They saw the enormous swarm of Crane spirits.
One dragon looked around in confusion.
"Where is our leader?"
Another dragon suddenly froze.
"There!"
Below them, Mr. Spirit was being violently attacked by the Crane swarm, his body being struck again and again.
The dragons roared in fury.
"Protect Mr. Spirit!"
They charged downward into the battlefield.
The collision between the dragons and the Crane army created a titanic explosion.
Chaos erupted across the sky.