High in the sky, within the spherical cages, only three remained in battle: Dongbo, the Drunken Lone Guest, and Jiushe.
Earlier, Dongbo Xueying had been struggling immensely, seemingly on the verge of defeat. But suddenly, four identical figures of Dongbo Xueying appeared within the cage. The four worked in unison, unleashing the *Starfall Annihilation Strike*, causing the black-scaled beasts to wail in agony. Then, with a combined *Primordial Black Hole Crush*, they shattered the beasts’ bodies into nothingness.
With four of them attacking together, the beasts had no chance to evade. In the blink of an eye, the cage was emptied.
“Wow!”
“Dongbo is incredible! His power has surged so much!”
“The beasts have all been annihilated!”
Spectators from various clans who had gathered to watch the battle gasped in amazement. To them, the beasts’ strength was already enough to slaughter a horde of peak-tier deities effortlessly, yet Dongbo Xueying had still managed to wipe them out.
“I heard this Dongbo has only cultivated for a little over two thousand years. How is he so strong?”
“My clan’s ancestor purchased some intelligence reports. According to them, Dongbo has only trained for about 2,300 years. Yet, his mastery over the *Void World Heart* and *Star Heart* is already so profound. In my opinion, he might grasp a first-grade divine heart within ten thousand years!”
“Grasp a first-grade divine heart in ten thousand years? Wouldn’t that make him a personal disciple of a mighty one?”
“That’s hard to say! Even though he’s reached such heights in just over two millennia, he might get stuck here for tens of thousands of years.”
“If he can’t break through with the *Star Heart*, he might with the *Void World Heart*. Honestly, I think Dongbo has an excellent chance of grasping a first-grade divine heart within ten thousand years.”
Countless spectators buzzed with discussion.
A first-grade Truth Transcendent?
That was a legend—something that appeared perhaps once in hundreds of millions of years. So rare that mighty ones would fight to take them as disciples. Even rival mighty ones would shamelessly scheme to eliminate them early.
The next best thing was *grasping a first-grade divine heart within ten thousand years*. While more common than first-grade Truth Transcendents, they were still rare enough that rival mighty ones wouldn’t stoop to outright assassination. Normally, such talents could cultivate to the third-tier Heavenly God-Emperor, with a few even reaching the fourth-tier. These prodigies could easily become personal disciples of mighty ones, worthy of their full investment.
“He’s actually this strong?” The silver-robed General Ying, surrounded by his soldiers, grew increasingly furious, his expression twisted with madness. “Why? Why has he achieved so much in just over two thousand years? Both the *Star Heart* and *Void World Heart*—he has potential in both paths to become a God-Emperor! And me? Why have I made no progress at all?”
General Ying’s vision blurred as his divine heart trembled violently.
“Why?”
“I refuse to accept this!”
“Destroy him. Destroy him!” His eyes burned with bloody light, his body shaking uncontrollably.
The gray-robed elder behind him noticed and immediately seized General Ying, sealing his divine power with overwhelming Heavenly God-Emperor energy. Unable to resist, General Ying snarled at the elder, “Are you seeking death?”
“The general has lost control again. Take him back,” the elder commanded the soldiers coldly.
General Ying was nearing the collapse of his divine heart, so his aunt, the Venomous Ying Heavenly God-Emperor, had long ordered that he be restrained and taken away whenever he succumbed to madness—lest he embarrass her in Anhai Prefecture City.
Whoosh.
The soldiers swiftly escorted General Ying away.
Yet, among the countless spectators, General Ying was but a drop in the ocean. Elsewhere, the Xia Clan deities and Yu Jingqiu watched with exhilaration.
“Dongbo is truly incredible. In such a short time, he’s surpassed all other deities!”
“Remarkable!”
“Truly the strongest deity our Xia Clan has ever produced!”
Emperor Zi Lei, Yun Hai, and the others swelled with pride. Yu Jingqiu simply smiled, her eyes shining with joy. Seeing her husband excel naturally filled her with happiness.
—
On the high platform.
“Hahaha!” Lord Baisha laughed heartily, stroking his curled mustache. He glanced at the grim-faced Venomous Ying Heavenly God-Emperor and the others. “Gentlemen, you celebrated too soon. You thought Jiushe was hiding his strength—did you think Dongbo wasn’t? Hah! Now, admit defeat with grace!”
“Don’t be hasty. It’s not over yet,” Lord Moyun said, looking up.
“Brother Baisha, aren’t you celebrating prematurely?” Commander Qin also gazed skyward.
“Exactly. All three are still fighting. The rankings aren’t set,” the yellow-robed Venomous Ying scoffed, though inwardly, she was frantic.
Everyone present could see it—Dongbo Xueying now held the advantage. The three were originally close in strength, but after Dongbo activated his *Void World Secret Art: True Manifestation*, his power more than doubled. Judging by how swiftly he slaughtered the beasts, he was poised to take first place.
“Not good!” Rong Hai Wang suddenly exclaimed.
“I concede.”
Among the three remaining cages, the Drunken Lone Guest abruptly spoke.
Whoosh.
He was ejected into the open air, sheathing his divine sword. Glancing at the other two still battling, he shook his head. “I’ve pushed myself to the limit. To advance further, I must grasp a first-grade divine heart. Losing to them is fair.” He then descended.
“Hah! Venomous Ying!” Lord Baisha turned to the yellow-robed woman. “First and second are still uncertain, but third is settled—the Drunken Lone Guest! Pity you bet on Dongbo taking third, wasn’t it?”
Venomous Ying’s face darkened. Even her thick skin couldn’t mask the bitterness of losing ten million divine crystals.
“Jiushe is slowing down too,” Lord Moyun and the others frowned.
“Baisha, are you really going to sweep the pot?” Commander Qin sighed.
Lord Baisha stroked his mustache smugly, though inwardly, he marveled, *This little brother of mine is truly formidable. I only set up this wager to vent my frustration, but he actually hid his strength during the ranking battles! The Void World Heart… His secret art can manifest three avatars! He might even become a God-Emperor within ten thousand years.*
—
At the highest platform, Lord Anhai and Patriarch Moxue watched intently.
“This Dongbo has immense potential. It’s a shame he lacks proper guidance,” Patriarch Moxue muttered. “Look at his *Star Heart* techniques—some of the flaws are laughable! His *Void World Secret Art* can manifest three bodies, which is impressive, but it’s also a waste of talent. He’s putting in twice the effort for half the results!”
“Getting impatient, are you?” Lord Anhai chuckled.
“Seeing someone with such potential stumbling along the path when he could be advancing smoothly—of course I’m frustrated!” Patriarch Moxue sighed. “Take his *Void World Secret Art*. For the *Void World Heart* to evolve into the *World Heart*, he should focus on *domain mastery*—that’s the core of the *World Heart*. But what does he do?”
“He fixates on the obscure *Void World Avatars*. Sure, he’s pushed it to the extreme, but it’s an inefficient path!”
“Hah! You’re just bitter you can’t take him as a disciple,” Lord Anhai teased.
“Even if my divine heart weren’t on the verge of collapse, as a fourth-tier Heavenly God-Emperor, I wouldn’t stand a chance at recruiting him,” Patriarch Moxue admitted. “Despite his missteps, Dongbo’s achievements are astounding. With a mighty one’s guidance, he’d quickly correct his course. Grasping a first-grade divine heart within ten thousand years is highly probable.”
“True. The Drunken Lone Guest has a mighty one’s guidance—his swordsmanship aligns perfectly with the *Sky-Cleaving Divine Heart* path. His breakthroughs are far smoother,” Lord Anhai agreed.
In their eyes, the *Void World Heart* should evolve toward *domain mastery*—the main road to the *World Heart*.
Yet Dongbo Xueying had taken a side path—*Void World Avatars*. He’d pushed it to its limits, even manifesting three bodies! While he was close to a breakthrough, the difficulty was far higher. Still, with proper guidance, they believed he could grasp a first-grade divine heart within ten thousand years.
“It’s almost over,” Patriarch Moxue said, gazing upward. “For your Anhai Prefecture, Jiushe first, Dongbo second, the Drunken Lone Guest third—quite the showing. You’ll have plenty of face at the Divine Court’s Ten Thousand Blossoms Feast.”
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