"Heavenly Sovereign's plan is the only hope of the Mortal Heart World!"

Seeing the admiration and reverence in Fire Lotus’ face, the assembled gods were shaken to their core. Even if she was trying to deceive them, her cultivation could not lie.

From Second to Fifth Step to Heaven were three entire steps apart! It would take a True God tens of thousands of years of training and refinement to close that gap! Furthermore, advancement had only become harder after the Hongtang War. Everyone struggled to become a Great Venerable, let alone condense a Divine Domain.

Yet in just a few days, Fire Lotus underwent a transformation so earth-shaking it was terrifying. If she was the only one, they would have dismissed it as Qi Yuan indulging in beauty. However, Twilight had changed as well. That could no longer be explained by lust.

Ye Liuyun's breathing quickened. God Visualization Art!

That was the only way to explain her sudden surge. Abruptly, he recalled the powerful dragon races Qi Yuan had mentioned and shivered. If Qi Yuan spoke the truth, what kind of heaven-defying opportunity was this?

Regret welled up inside Ye Liuyun. He should’ve followed Qi Yuan straight to Clearwater Village right after the Hundred Flowers Gathering! Perhaps by now, he would have already become a Great Venerable!

The other ancient gods were also lost in thoughts.

Then, Fire Lotus said as gently as always, "Tonight, the great battle shall commence. To prevent any information leakage, all of you will remain here and rest for the day."

"Isn’t one day too short? Should we wait until the battle is nearly over?" Yuan Kun asked calmly.

The others also slipped easily into their roles, thinking entirely for Qi Yuan's sake.

"We have no complaints. Staying a few more days makes no difference."

"Qiyuann Sovereign's plan comes first!" 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

Twilight and Fire Lotus offered no further explanation. After a few brief instructions, they vanished.

***

Night gradually descended.

Within the great hall, several terrifying figures gathered. A group of Great Venerables stood below Qi Yuan, each radiating formidable power. They had assembled to discuss the imminent campaign against the Qingheng Continent.

Thunder stood tall and spirited, eyes blazing. "The Qingheng Continent has two Mythics: Marshal Liyang and Vice Marshal Taizhong. Leave them to me. I can suppress them with one hand!”

The usually reserved older twin revealed a sharp edge. "Though we Nine Luminaries are only at the Fifth Step to Heaven, our Divine Domains can overlap. United, we can contend against Mythics."

Zhanghui stood among the crowd, stealing a glance at Thunder. Now that eight ancient gods supported one another, his courage had grown. He no longer feared Thunder as before!

An unassuming old man said quietly, "Though I am only at the Sixth Step, I can still stall a Mythic for a time."

He had visualized one of the Ten Great Heavenly Venerables, the Southern Mystic Ten-Thousand Blessings Heavenly Venerable.

Qi Yuan nodded. Among these gods, at least three could achieve Mythic-level battle power when working together. And that was only for the time being. In one hundred to a thousand years, he believed they could produce twenty or thirty Mythics. Of course, he couldn’t wait that long.

He said confidently, "Our strength may fall far short of the evil gods, but we’re far stronger than Marshal Liyang!"

At that moment, a voice rang out. "Heavenly Sovereign, Great Venerable Lishan has arrived!"

Qi Yuan looked surprised. Great Venerable Lishan had come all the way from the Southern Lands to the North?

"Let him enter."

The ancient gods were brimming with confidence.

Thunder added, "Now is the best time to strike! I say we march straight into the evil gods' base and slaughter them until blood flows like rivers!"

A furious voice cut in. "Thunder, is this your idea of being calm? Didn't you promise me you wouldn't be reckless?"

Lishan strode in, glaring at Thunder as though he could tear him apart. Thunder had complained endlessly to him, insisting that he wasn’t the reckless one, but Qiyuann Sovereign was. Lishan had believed him, even viewing Qiyuann Sovereign as a hot-headed brute.

Yet what did he hear upon arrival? March straight into the evil gods' base? Slaughter until blood flows like rivers? Thunder had clearly deceived him! He had likely been reckless all along, egging Qiyuann Sovereign on. He had misunderstood Qiyuann Sovereign!

Thunder showed a ghost of a smile. "Hey, I’m merely preparing to take on Qingheng's two Mythics alone. How is that reckless? The rest of the trash can be handled by the others. Haven’t I matured? In the past, I'd have killed them all myself."

Lishan was stunned, struggling to process those words.

Thunder kept on smirking. "Lishan, open your eyes and look at me carefully... What realm do you think I'm at?"

As soon as his words fell, his Divine Domain burst open, transforming the world into a boundless sea of lightning.

Lishan's white hair stood on end. His eyes widened and his voice trembled. "A Mythic? How can that be?!"

He could not comprehend it. They just met not too long ago! It was as if he and his friend were the two richest men in the village. However, after a few days apart, his friend returned as the richest man in the nation!

"As a Mythic, how is facing two Mythics at once not the height of composure?" Thunder declared proudly.

Lishan fell silent. The Divine Domain before him was undeniable.

Meanwhile, Thunder grinned. "In half an hour, we will charge the enemy base on the Qingheng Continent! Lishan, your strength isn't half bad. How about playing the suona for me?"

He recalled how Qi Yuan once had him command lightning while slaughtering enemies. That seemed quite amusing all of the sudden. If Lishan played the suona behind him as he cut down Mythics, he felt like his combat strength would surely rise. It would be a scene worthy of “The general strides through snow beneath vast skies; ten thousand horses and armies play his triumphal march.” [1]

Lishan truly couldn’t muster a word.

1. This line is not a direct quotation from some famous classical poem, but it is written in a highly stylized, archaic way that imitates classical Chinese martial verse. ☜