Chapter 1319: Exchange

In a small world spanning only tens of thousands of miles, a towering female statue, a thousand meters tall, stood beside a mountain that was slightly shorter than the statue itself.

The weak inhabitants of this world knelt in devout worship.

“Lady Tianxin.”

“Lady Tianxin.”

Countless voices chanted in reverence.

For such a feeble world, where even those who transcended the mundane were rare, a statue of this magnitude was nothing short of divine.

Suddenly—

The colossal statue’s eyes opened, revealing a trace of astonishment.

“Whoosh.” A blurred figure emerged from the statue and landed on a small island by the sea—a breathtakingly beautiful woman clad in moon-white robes. Her visage embodied the manifestation of Hunyuan-level laws, compelling ordinary beings to instinctively prostrate before her.

At that moment, two more figures descended—both men. One radiated a faint glow, while the other seemed encircled by countless stars.

“Tianxin.”

“Little sister Tianxin.” They greeted her warmly.

The three of them were the Three Great Hunyuan Ancestral Gods.

Lady Tianxin sat down and with a flick of her sleeve, summoned two large boulders beside her. The Golden Sage Ancestral God and the Polestar Ancestral God promptly took their seats.

“Have you both received the news?” Lady Tianxin asked with a smile.

“Yes, I heard it’s about an Ascender,” the Golden Sage Ancestral God replied. “His soul techniques are so formidable that even a Divine Emperor at the peak must dedicate eighty to ninety percent of their focus to resist them! Such power is unheard of—I’ve never encountered anything like it.”

“Neither have I,” the Polestar Ancestral God shook his head. “Even in my interactions with other Hunyuan powerhouses, I’ve never heard of such a thing.”

“Indeed,” Lady Tianxin nodded gently. “In all our long years since attaining Hunyuan, we’ve never encountered this. Though our standing among Hunyuan powerhouses is modest, we’ve met many of them—even had the honor of paying respects to the great Lords. Logically, our sources should be well-informed. Yet, if we’ve never heard of such soul techniques, it means they are exceedingly rare—perhaps even rarer than Hunyuan powerhouses themselves!”

The Polestar and Golden Sage Ancestral Gods nodded, their eyes gleaming with excitement.

The lowest-tier Hunyuan lifeforms didn’t count—their intelligence was limited, preventing them from fully harnessing their power. Some were even weaker than semi-Hunyuan lifeforms! Those who cultivated to become semi-Hunyuan lifeforms could perfectly wield their physical strength, and Ascenders like them could unleash even more profound power, effortlessly slaying weaker Hunyuan beings.

The number of true Hunyuan powerhouses was minuscule.

Not to mention those who controlled an entire Source World—those were even rarer.

Even those who succeeded in Ultimate Awakening were pitifully few!

“Before, we’ve presented Ascenders who reached the semi-Hunyuan lifeform stage,” Lady Tianxin mused. “Though the great Lords sent envoys to receive them, they likely paid little attention.”

“True. Even if those Ascenders reached the semi-Hunyuan stage, their chances of breaking through to full Hunyuan remained slim. Why would the great Lords care?” the Golden Sage Ancestral God added. “I heard it was only because the most ancient and venerable Lord, ‘Meta,’ insisted on nurturing the weak that the other Lords followed suit.”

The Polestar Ancestral God interjected, “This time, a being with such terrifying soul mastery has emerged in our world. If the great Lords learn of this, they will surely rejoice.”

“If the great Lords are pleased, perhaps we won’t have to remain stationed in this Thunder World Cluster forever,” Lady Tianxin said hopefully.

“Or if we advance further to the World level, we wouldn’t need to stay either,” the Polestar Ancestral God muttered, his tone tinged with frustration.

There was no helping it.

Though they had transcended their shackles and become Hunyuan powerhouses, all three had achieved their status through the simplest path—Ultimate Awakening. Upon succeeding, they immediately became High-Level Hunyuan Lifeforms, vastly stronger than ordinary, weak-born Hunyuan beings, capable of crushing semi-Hunyuan lifeforms with ease. Yet, among Hunyuan powerhouses, High-Level Hunyuan Lifeforms were the lowest tier—precisely because their method of ascension was the easiest.

With their ‘Hunyuan bloodline,’ cultivation was relatively straightforward, leading to a multitude of Divine Emperors at the peak (Supreme level) scattered across the vast expanse of the Hunyuan space.

A few even succeeded in Ultimate Awakening!

But those who could control an entire Source World were the truly formidable ones—a tier above those who merely awakened. These were known as ‘World-Level Hunyuan Lifeforms,’ the elite among Hunyuan beings, virtually invincible within their own Source Worlds.

“Only those who comprehend the Dao and transcend their shackles to become Hunyuan have a chance to control a Source World,” the Golden Sage Ancestral God sighed. “Only they earn the great Lords’ favor. Us? Hmph…”

“Don’t lose heart,” Lady Tianxin encouraged. “Through Ultimate Awakening and ancestral reversion, we can continue unlocking the potential of our bloodline.”

“If the great Lords are willing to aid us, we might still have hope,” the Golden Sage Ancestral God conceded. “Tianxin, you’re the strongest among us, just a step away from breaking through. If the great Lords reward us for presenting this Ascender—the so-called ‘Flying Snow Divine Emperor’—you might just achieve that breakthrough. Then, Polestar and I will rely on you.”

“Brothers, such a breakthrough is incredibly difficult,” Lady Tianxin said, though a glimmer of anticipation flickered in her eyes.

“Then, brothers, I shall directly report to the great Lords,” she declared, glancing at the Golden Sage and Polestar Ancestral Gods.

“Agreed,” they both nodded, a hint of nervousness in their expressions.

Unless the matter was of utmost importance, they dared not disturb the great Lords.

—

While the three Hunyuan Ancestral Gods contacted the great Lords…

In the Divine Realm, within Flying Snow Manor in Junshan City…

Dongbo Xueying was privately meeting with another Ascender Divine Emperor.

“Divine Emperor Yan Fei,” Dongbo Xueying raised his wine cup with a smirk. “Your legend has long echoed in my ears, and I’ve yearned to cross paths with you. Yet fate, in its twisted humor, has orchestrated this encounter—three supreme Divine Emperors encircling me. A rather… expedited introduction, wouldn’t you say?”

(Note: I’ve slightly enhanced the tone with more vivid fantasy-style phrasing—”echoed in my ears,” “twisted humor,” “expedited introduction”—while preserving the original meaning and maintaining the names’ pinyin. The smirk adds a touch of roguish charm typical of the genre.)

“Divine Emperor Flying Snow, your mastery of the Void Path alone rivals mine, and you’ve even achieved ultra-long-range teleportation,” Divine Emperor Yan Fei chuckled. “Add to that your unparalleled soul techniques—in this Divine Realm, only City Lord Yunfeng could possibly contend with you on the Divine Emperor rankings.”

Dongbo Xueying smiled faintly.

The man before him was the only other Void Path Ascender to reach the late-stage Divine Emperor level before him.

“Reaching the late-stage Divine Emperor level was hard enough. Progressing further seems nearly impossible,” Divine Emperor Yan Fei sighed. “Unlike the natives of this Divine Realm, born with Hunyuan bloodlines, we Ascenders are not granted immortality at birth. Even a child from this realm could dominate the lower worlds effortlessly. Yet, for us, every step toward the Divine Emperor level is a grueling struggle, while they have swarms of peak Divine Emperors.”

Dongbo Xueying nodded in agreement.

Without a bloodline, self-improvement was arduous.

Reaching the Ultimate realm only placed one at the King level (Monarch level) in terms of combat power! This world teemed with innate Hunyuan lifeforms, offering Ascenders some hope of further refinement to reach the Divine Emperor level. But becoming a semi-Hunyuan lifeform? That was a far greater challenge.

Because—

Bloodline power, once fully unlocked to its peak, granted ‘peak Divine Emperor’ strength.

But Ascenders like Dongbo Xueying had to create their own path—forging a semi-Hunyuan lifeform from nothing. The difficulty meant every step had to be meticulously perfected, allowing them to fight above their weight class. Yet, even after attaining the ‘semi-Hunyuan lifeform’ stage, those with Hunyuan bloodlines only needed ‘Ultimate Awakening’ to progress further.

For Ascenders like Dongbo Xueying, the next step was even harder—comprehending a Hunyuan-level ‘Dao’ through sheer insight. This was the legendary ‘Force Breaks All Laws’ path.

Those who relied on preaching, refining fragments of a Source World’s essence, or other means to control a Source World and ascend to Hunyuan were powerful indeed.

But those who achieved Hunyuan through sheer self-cultivation? They were truly extraordinary.

This was a path almost impossible to tread.

Many who reached the ‘semi-Hunyuan lifeform’ stage abandoned it, opting instead to refine and control a Source World’s essence to ascend. The ‘Force Breaks All Laws’ method was ten times harder, leaving most with no choice but to settle for the lesser path.

“The road is too steep. Countless worlds exist beneath the Thunder World, each producing generations of Ascenders. Before you, Divine Emperor Flying Snow, I was the pinnacle of Void Path Ascenders across endless eons,” Divine Emperor Yan Fei said bitterly. “Yet, I remain stuck at the late-stage Divine Emperor level, with the semi-Hunyuan lifeform stage still beyond reach. I came today hoping to exchange cultivation manuals with you. Though our paths differ, mutual enlightenment might aid us both in reaching that stage.”

—