For the time being, everything had finally come to a close.

Lu Yuan looked back at the Zhou Family, now utterly wiped out. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

Yet there was not the slightest ripple in his heart. He turned around and tore open the void, heading straight for Mount Tai.

Meanwhile, at Mount Tai, the Awakened who had gathered there earlier had already begun to disperse. Though, many of them still wanted to see Lu Yuan one more time.

But Elder Ji knew well that Lu Yuan disliked dealing with such matters, so he told them that King Lu had only just entered the Void Sage Realm, and had gone on to fight a great battle. After his return, he would likely need sufficient rest and time to stabilize himself. If fate allowed, there would certainly be chances to meet him again in the future.

Those who had rushed over under such circumstances were naturally sensible people. After hearing that, they did not press the matter further. Since King Lu was unharmed, there was no reason for them to remain here, so they chose to leave one after another.

Still, some insisted on staying, declaring that they wished to join the Celestial Court and follow at King Lu's side in the future.

Now that Lu Yuan had reached the Void Sage Realm and once again resolved a major crisis, his prestige had become unmatched.

The Celestial Court he had established naturally became the place everyone longed for the most. If they could join it, that would be a good thing in itself.

Some also believed that as time passed and the age continued to change, under King Lu's leadership, the Celestial Court would inevitably grow into an immensely powerful force.

The authorities had said long ago that the Celestial Court might one day become the power that stood against the Outer Cosmos races.

After what had happened this time, many had already understood that the Outer Cosmos beings could never truly be trusted. Once Earth's protections vanished completely, they would surely descend in force.

If one wished to protect oneself, and even the countless ordinary people, one needed sufficient strength.

The Celestial Court could provide exactly that. Because of this, many had begun seriously considering joining it.

This development had exceeded Elder Ji and the others' expectations, but it was also a good thing.

The Celestial Court did indeed need fresh blood. Only then could it truly become a formidable power in the future. Of course, such matters could be left to others to handle.

As for the higher-ups, along with some of the Celestial Court's core members such as Zhu Qingyu, the Ice Fairy, Chunyang, and the mutated beasts led by the Golden-Winged Great Peng and the Peacock King, all remained waiting within the Trials Academy.

They knew what Lu Yuan had gone to do. They also knew it would not take too long. All they needed to do was wait.

Jiang Ningxian was there as well. Unlike the others, however, she showed no anxiety. Her expression remained calm. She was quietly recalling that game of chess from before.

Hum—

Not long after, the sky trembled, and a powerful aura emerged.

Everyone raised their heads at once and saw a figure appear above.

It was Lu Yuan.

He walked straight down from the sky with a faint smile on his face, then took out all the spoils he had collected from the Zhou Family.

"The Zhou Family has been more or less dealt with," he said. "And for the shorter time being, no Outer Cosmos beings should come out to disrupt the situation again."

"There should be a temporary lull ahead. Elder Ji, Elder Yun, I'll have to trouble the two of you to work harder and fully bring the situation under control. It would be best to establish the Celestial Court's full structure as soon as possible, because in the future, we will face even harsher challenges."

Everything seemed calm for the moment, but in fact, this was only the beginning.

One had to remain vigilant in times of peace.

Lu Yuan knew that very clearly.

But this was not something one person could accomplish alone. It would require the efforts of many.

"King Lu, rest assured. We old men still know what needs to be done. We certainly will not disappoint you," Elder Ji said.

He understood that what came next was to begin removing the factions that had aligned themselves with the Outer Cosmos races.

Even if they could not be completely eliminated, they still had to be thoroughly brought under control. Then the resources gathered would be funneled into the Celestial Court.

Lu Yuan nodded at that, then turned to Zhu Qingyu and the others and spoke again, "You now belong to the Celestial Court. I have higher expectations of all of you.

"Your current strength is still not enough. You must continue cultivating and evolving. The enemies we face in the future will be powerful. You need to reach at least the Venerable King Realm to be capable of holding your own."

The Void Sage Realm was not something one could simply enter by wishing for it. He understood that very well. Hence, the Venerable King Realm was the minimum standard.

Of course, Lu Yuan believed in these people. After all, in his previous life, they had all stood among Earth's absolute peak. Whether in strength or talent, all of them were exceptional.

"Yes, King Lu."

Zhu Qingyu, Ice Fairy, and the others all nodded solemnly.

After that, Lu Yuan gave a few more instructions, and everyone departed.

As for the Golden-Winged Great Peng, the Peacock King, and the other beast kings, he arranged for them to inspect various regions.

They were to look for newly awakened famous mountains and great rivers, seek out more opportunities and treasures, and bring them into the Celestial Court. Resources had to be centralized in order to raise more people as quickly as possible.

The Second Awakening had already passed. The next step was to wait for the third.

That would be the last one, at least so, in Lu Yuan's memory.

Of course, its indication would be simple.

The Separation of Heaven and Earth would disappear completely. Earth would truly begin facing the invasion of every starfield.

Before that happened, they had to make full preparations.

At the same time, perhaps when that day came... he too would leave Earth.

Lu Yuan did not dwell on it any further. Instead, he watched the others leave, then turned his gaze toward the figure in the long dress standing in the courtyard.

He smiled faintly as he walked over and spoke softly, "You still have something to say to me?"

"Of course." Jiang Ningxian nodded.

"This time, although you resolved the crisis, you also exposed your true strength. The various races of the outer cosmos will certainly receive that news. Back on the moon, you used Earth's ancient sages to drive back the Immortals. Those great clans and races likely have not swallowed that humiliation."

"Though the power of Separation of Heaven and Earth still remains, it is destined to vanish eventually. When that time comes... you may well find yourself standing against the world."

Jiang Ningxian was no longer smiling as she usually did. Instead, she was extremely serious, because she understood how things would develop from here.

In the past, the various starfields had regarded the long-sealed Milky Way Starfield as a backward civilization.

They had also planned to plunder all the fortunes and the Providence that would emerge once it revived.

In practice, that was exactly what they had tried to do.

If Lu Yuan had not existed, their plan might have begun and reached a considerable stage by now.

But now, everything had deviated from their original charted path.

Certain great clans and races of the starfields would inevitably view Lu Yuan as a thorn in the eye, a barb in the flesh.

In addition to the Ji Clan and the Celestials he had already offended, to say he would stand against the whole world might not be perfectly precise, but it was certainly no exaggeration.

"They think rather highly of me," Lu Yuan replied with a shake of his head. He did not seem particularly concerned and continued, "Whatever comes, I'll deal with it."

Jiang Ningxian simply looked at him, wanting to see whether there was any fear in him at all.

But unfortunately, she found none. Because of that, the admiration she felt for Lu Yuan grew even stronger than before.

Still, she did not continue dwelling on that issue. Instead, she drew a breath and went on.

"Now that you've entered the Void Sage Realm, I will need to enter seclusion soon as well. But before that, there are some things you still need to understand.

"The realms above the three Sage subrealms, and the realms above Immortals."

"The civilization of this world is still incomplete, and you have had no one to teach you all this. Since that's the case, I'll explain it to you properly."

Beyond the three stages of the Sage Realm?

And transcending an Immortal?