The sight of Lan Haichen’s defeat was simply too shocking.

He was the recognized number one genius of the Ten Great Dynasties, the foremost young Venerable.

His power was like a great mountain, standing before all the young experts of the Ten Great Dynasties, seemingly insurmountable.

But now...

He had actually been defeated?

For a moment, everyone found this hard to accept.

Xue Yinhao had already shot up from his Golden Throne, his eyes wide with disbelief. "Lan Haichen lost? Th-this... how is this possible? He’s *Lan Haichen*..."

The corner of Night Emperor’s eye twitched as he muttered, ’Has Di Tian really become this formidable? Even Lan Haichen is no match for him?’

"How terrifying!"

"From now on, will Di Tian become the number one young Venerable of our Ten Great Dynasties?"

"Hahaha, long live the Alliance Leader! The Emperor Alliance is the strongest!"

Atop the Golden Throne.

Jiang Chen’s brows rose. The moment Lan Haichen was blasted into the sea, his heart seemed to skip a beat. Frowning, he mused, ’As expected of the Holy Dragon Knight, Di Tian. Relying on his Undying Divine Body and the Undying Divine Technique, his power truly surpasses Lan Haichen’s. But... was he really defeated so easily?’

His azure-gold gaze swept across the Floating Battlefield once more...

Within the battlefield, violent waves churned across the endless ocean.

The crimson afterglow of a spear, thousands of meters long, hung in the air. At its end, a channel had been carved through the seawater, stretching for dozens of kilometers.

The water on either side churned, standing like two towering walls.

The endless ocean furiously poured back into the channel, rushing to fill the void where the sea had been torn asunder.

Di Tian stood clad in his Black Armor, the divine light of his Undying Divine Body pulsing as black halos radiated around him. His black hair whipped in the wind, and his blood-red Long Spear thrummed with a sharp light. A look of arrogance touched his features. ’The biggest obstacle has been removed. Now, I just need to sweep through the other experts on the Venerable List, and I can finally obtain that thing and leave this godforsaken corner of the world!’

A glint of excitement flashed in his eyes.

However, after waiting for a moment, Di Tian did not feel the Dragon of Fortune’s blessing descend upon him. He frowned, a flicker of doubt crossing his face. ’What’s going on? Could Lan Haichen still be alive?’

At that very moment!

A blinding ray of light suddenly erupted from the silent depths of the sea.

It was followed by a second, then a third...

Myriad rays of light shot up from the seabed, piercing the heavens.

A torrent of radiant, colorful light streaked forth like shooting stars!

WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH...

Each beam was incomparably brilliant and focused, piercing through the oppressive seawater and soaring into the clouds.

The tens of thousands of radiant beams connected the heavens and the earth, forming what looked like a vibrant, beaded curtain stretching between them.

These radiant beams even burst out of the Floating Battlefield!

Above the Celestial Pride War Hall, they coalesced into a vortex. The vortex spun ceaselessly, starting at only a hundred feet across. But as it spun, it expanded at an incredible speed—a thousand feet, ten thousand feet, and then even larger...

「In the blink of an eye.」

The seven-colored vortex had grown immense, blotting out the sky and sun like a vast canopy.

BOOM—

A low, rumbling peal of thunder echoed from within the colorful vortex.

Violet-gold lightning brewed and churned within the tri-colored vortex, resembling sentient, lightning-born Exotic Beasts.

"Tri-colored Tribulation Clouds?"

"Don’t tell me Lan Haichen didn’t die, but actually broke through during this fight? Is he about to enter the Union Palace Realm?"

"The Union Palace Realm? Impossible!"

Everyone was utterly shocked.

The terrifying Thunder Power contained within the tri-colored vortex radiated an incomparably potent majesty. It made ordinary experts of the Heavenly Destiny Realm feel their legs go weak, overcome with the urge to kneel in pious reverence.

Di Tian bore the brunt of it.

Positioned directly beneath the vortex’s center, his expression changed drastically. Profound shock filled his blood-red eyes. ’Lan Haichen actually broke through? To the Union Palace Realm?’

The Union Palace Realm!

Even Di Tian, with his special Undying Divine Body and the peerless Undying Divine Technique, was filled with reverence for this realm.

If the Heavenly Destiny Realm was about transcending the mundane,

then the Union Palace Realm was about becoming transcendent!

Surpassing mortals, transcending the ordinary!

Once one stepped into the Union Palace Realm, they would gain a lifespan of a thousand years.

Furthermore...

Each advancement within the Union Palace Realm would grant a boon from the Origin, further extending one’s lifespan.

The Second Stage of the Union Palace Realm granted a two-thousand-year lifespan, the Third Stage three thousand years, and so on. A powerhouse at the Ninth Stage of the Union Palace Realm could even live to be nine thousand years old!

It was a realm dedicated to the pursuit of the Martial Dao Origin.

The most basic requirement to enter the Union Palace Realm was to have one’s True Martial Dao intent reach the Tier Four threshold; this was the standard for an ordinary Union Palace Realm Martial Artist.

Some geniuses could have two True Martial Dao intents reach the Tier Four threshold.

When such a genius underwent the tribulation to reach the Union Palace Realm, they would summon Bicolored Tribulation Clouds.

As for Tri-colored Tribulation Clouds...

Such a phenomenon had never been recorded, not just in the Saint Martial Dynasty, but in the entire history of the Ten Great Dynasties.

The fact that Lan Haichen could summon Tri-colored Tribulation Clouds proved his title as the number one young Venerable of the Ten Great Dynasties was no empty boast!

BOOM!

From the center of the tri-colored vortex, a pillar of lightning a hundred meters in diameter suddenly descended, piercing the barrier of the Floating Battlefield and smashing viciously into the ocean below.

SSSS—

As the pillar of lightning fell, the entire surface of the sea was instantly shrouded in white mist as the water was vaporized.

A second pillar of lightning followed.

All the water in the endless ocean was vaporized, revealing the barren seabed. A vast and torrential aura erupted from Lan Haichen. Under the lightning’s bombardment, his skin was split and his flesh torn, much of it blasted away, leaving him a bloody, mangled wreck.

Then came the third...

RUMBLE!

This pillar of lightning was the largest.

The moment it appeared, the entire Celestial Fate Island was plunged into darkness as if it were night, with only this terrifying bolt of lightning crashing down.

BANG—

The lightning blasted Lan Haichen to the point that his bones were exposed. He collapsed to his hands and knees, gritting his teeth and letting out a series of furious roars as he shakily forced his body upright again.

"Dao Origin Void Shattering—Life Palaces, Unite!"

Lan Haichen let out a heaven-shaking roar.

RUMBLE...

An incomparably brilliant divine light erupted from him, and nine glittering golden Life Palaces materialized at his back. The pillar of lightning flashed. Acting like a giant conduit, it began to continuously absorb the tri-colored vortex from the Celestial Vault. The vortex shrank smaller and smaller, funneling down through the lightning pillar.

Finally, it transformed into a palm-sized, tri-colored vortex. As it spun, the nine great Life Palaces converged upon it.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

The Life Palaces collided and fused together.

The entire process was incredibly fast. The nine great Life Palaces merged completely, sinking into the Dao Origin Void, which took the form of the tri-colored vortex.

SSSS...

Wisps of tri-colored energy flowed around Lan Haichen’s body, and his wounds healed at a speed visible to the naked eye.

In the blink of an eye, he was completely restored.

His aura, however, grew increasingly powerful. A single breath from him now seemed to hold enough power to shatter a mountain peak.

"His body has been reforged, he has transcended the mundane!"

"These are the signs of stepping into the Union Palace Realm. The very essence of Lan Haichen’s being has undergone a fundamental change..."

"Just how strong is he now?"

Everyone gasped.

Before this...

Who could have possibly imagined that Lan Haichen would break through to the Union Palace Realm at such a critical moment?

Di Tian’s expression slowly darkened.

「At the same time.」

Lan Haichen’s icy gaze fell upon Di Tian. A cold, sharp smile touched his lips as he spoke slowly, "Di Tian, I have you to thank for being able to enter the Union Palace Realm so quickly! To express my gratitude, I’ve decided to give you an opportunity. You may choose your own death!"