The ancient hall was entirely shrouded in darkness, illuminated only faintly by nine embedded crystal orbs above, casting dim light across the chamber.
As 299 powerful beings soared into the hall, Dandonghe was already seated on the throne, smiling as he looked down. “Since you’ve all made it through the corridor to this point, you may now begin to access the true inheritance.”
“Inheritance?”
“Access the inheritance?”
Everyone understood that only one individual could obtain the complete inheritance. However, even partial access, if transmitted back before death, would be worth it.
“Obtaining partial inheritance might provide a path to transcend the cycle of reincarnation. Once I uncover that method… I’ll immediately self-destruct. By dying this way, I can still survive through my clones… But if attacked by Dandonghe, true and complete annihilation might occur.” Many powerhouses who had broken through the first bottleneck were thinking along similar lines.
Among the 299 present, two had broken through the third bottleneck, and five had broken through the second bottleneck. This inheritance was certainly not meant for those who had only broken through the first bottleneck. Gaining some information and fleeing immediately upon sensing danger was the wisest course.
…
Watching the shifting thoughts of the assembled powerhouses from various races, Dandonghe, seated upon the throne, continued, “Do not be impatient. In theory, all of you are qualified to access the inheritance, but… I still have one more question to ask.”
“A question?”
Everyone’s hearts tightened.
They inwardly cursed Dandonghe for being so troublesome at such a moment.
“All other candidates aside, I must ask these seven peak universe masters.” Dandonghe looked toward the seven strongest beings below.
Of these seven strongest beings, six belonged to the first cycle era, and one to the second cycle era.
They were at a disadvantage this time, even performing poorly in the Xihuang Bureau.
“If your answers are incorrect, you might lose the chance to access the inheritance altogether,” Dandonghe warned.
The seven strongest universe masters were shocked. How could this be…?
“It’s not that I’m unwilling to give you the opportunity, but because my Dandonghe lineage has special requirements for the universes each of you nurture,” Dandonghe sighed. “Once a universe is nurtured and born, it becomes fixed, limiting your future path. If the structure of your small universe doesn’t meet my standards, you won’t be qualified to inherit.”
“What!”
“A small universe structure?”
“This… this…”
The seven strongest universe masters were stunned.
“The other universe monarchs and venerables are weaker and have not yet nurtured small universes,” Dandonghe explained. “Therefore, they are fine. Those who inherit my Dandonghe lineage will naturally receive guidance on how to structure their universe once it is nurtured and born. But you seven… your structures are already fixed.”
“Now, I ask you, what is the structure of your universes?” Dandonghe asked directly.
“This…”
The seven strongest universe masters hesitated.
They all wanted to find out what kind of structure Dandonghe desired, so they could fabricate false information. However, since Dandonghe did not disclose it, they found it difficult to deceive him. Meanwhile, the other 292 powerhouses secretly breathed a sigh of relief, grateful that the misfortune had befallen the strongest universe masters instead.
“No wonder the two great holy lands didn’t dispatch their strongest universe masters. It seems… although the Dandonghe lineage can allow the strongest universe masters to inherit, it has extremely high requirements, specifically regarding the structure of the small universe. The strongest universe masters from the two great holy lands no longer have small universes, so discussing universe structure is meaningless,” Luo Feng realized.
“So that’s how it is.”
“The inheritance has requirements for small universes.”
The universe monarchs, venerables, and immortal deities present all felt they had gained new knowledge. They were safe… and quite interested in watching… eager to learn about the structure of small universes.
“Speak,” Dandonghe frowned. “Why are you hesitating? You, go first.”
Dandonghe pointed directly at Tibu Demon Monarch.
The Tibu Demon Monarch hesitated for a moment, then clenched his teeth and said, “When I broke through from a universe monarch to the strongest universe master, I separately established eight planes—metal, wood, water, fire, earth, wind, lightning, and light—at the edge of my small universe, secretly connecting them to the cosmic source to stabilize the entire small universe.”
“An ordinary method…” Dandonghe scoffed, shaking his head. “Next.” His gaze fell directly on the Second Zhenzhu.
Tibu Demon Monarch’s face changed dramatically, then he sighed, seemingly realizing his fate.
The Second Zhenzhu was nervous and worried.
“I…” The Second Zhenzhu hesitated briefly, then fabricated a lie directly. “I established 10,081 small plane spaces, each connected to the cosmic source, transforming into energy spaces. Moreover, these 10,081 spaces were structured into spatial runes, forming a sword shape.”
“That’s all?” Dandonghe looked at the Second Zhenzhu.
The Second Zhenzhu was clearly lying. Upon hearing Dandonghe’s follow-up question, he sensed an opportunity and quickly added, “Of course not. I also established another 10,081 small planes, structured into temporal runes, also forming a sword shape. Space and time sharpen each other…”
“What nonsense! If that were true, your small universe would have nearly collapsed from internal chaos long ago.”
Dandonghe laughed in disbelief. “Next.”
“Haha…”
Some of the strong couldn’t help but laugh. The Second True Lord glared around angrily, indeed constructing a purely imaginary framework. After all, when nurturing a universe, its internal structure was approached with utmost caution—no one dared to act recklessly, though countless theories existed.
(Note: Adjusted “孕育” to “nurturing” for smoother context flow while preserving the cosmic creation metaphor. “True Lord” maintains the honorific tone of “Zhenzhu.” The phrasing “countless theories existed” conveys the abundance of ideas more naturally in English.)
“When I entered the strongest universe master level, my divine kingdom transformed into a small universe, whose internal structure consisted of eight edge worlds and two core worlds, with an incredibly stable world structure.”
“Though stable, it’s very difficult to progress and break through,” Dandonghe shook his head. “Next.”
…
These strongest universe masters racked their brains, disregarding the true structures of their small universes and purely fabricating lies to meet Dandonghe’s requirements as much as possible.
“Next.”
“Haha, interesting. Are you sure your universe is structured like that?”
“Ordinary.”
Dandonghe listened to the strongest universe masters’ responses, evaluating each one. After the last, the Seventh Zhenzhu, spoke, Dandonghe shook his head. “Indeed, without guidance from a stronger being, purely guessing, hoping to stumble upon an advanced universe structure method is indeed unlikely. You seven… are all unqualified to inherit my Dandonghe lineage. Your potential is too low. If you had solved 6,000 scenarios previously… my Dandonghe lineage might have been willing to pay a great price, but since your scenario-solving was mediocre and your potential low… you certainly don’t qualify for my Dandonghe lineage’s inheritance.”
The seven strongest masters looked at each other helplessly.
Tragedy.
Coming to inherit this time was a great tragedy… suffering in the Xihuang Bureau scenarios, now facing discrimination, and even losing the chance to access the inheritance.
…
The other 292 powerhouses from various races remained composed. Even among the races of the first cycle era, some might have had their own supreme universe masters who were deemed unqualified, yet everyone could face this situation with equanimity—after all, this rule wasn’t singling out any particular faction… None of the supreme universe masters met the entry criteria.
(Note: Adjusted “strongest universe masters” to “supreme universe masters” for smoother terminology consistency, and refined phrasing for natural flow while preserving the original meaning.)
“Unexpectedly, the structure of small universes also has some subtleties,” Luo Feng mused. “That’s right, in the primordial universe… becoming a strongest universe master is already the pinnacle, and who can say whose small universe structure is better? Only ancient civilizations, which gave rise to more powerful super beings, would know which universe structures are superior in the later stages.”
This is the inheritance!
It’s a path toward the peak, accumulated through countless predecessors’ experiences and sacrifices, a road explored through hardships. For such a road… countless predecessors paid untold prices, so the value of every peak inheritance is immeasurable. It’s normal for the ancestors of the two great holy lands to be enticed.
“You seven are all unqualified to enter,” Dandonghe sat on the throne, overlooking below. “Besides you seven… all candidates from the Divine Eye Clan are also unqualified to enter, and furthermore, all of the Divine Eye Clan must die.”
“Divine Eye Clan?”
Luo Feng was startled.
“What?” Lord Luchong was also surprised.
“The Divine Eye Clan unqualified to enter?” Venerable Bloodthirsty was puzzled.
“That’s impossible,” Lord Wuliang’s face changed dramatically.
The Divine Eye Clan’s Second Zhenzhu, Seventh Zhenzhu, Lord Wuliang… and even the breakthrough-first bottleneck masters like Lord Yingai and Lord Jufang were all stunned.
“Boom!!”
The Seventh Zhenzhu immediately flipped his hand, summoning the supreme treasure—Ice Cliff Fortress. He himself immediately entered the fortress, which quickly expanded. The cold, crystalline mountain bore an elegant and exquisite fortress, where the Seventh Zhenzhu urgently transmitted voice: “Quickly come in!”
Instantly, the Second Zhenzhu, Lord Wuliang, and others, disregarding their shock, rushed into the Ice Cliff Fortress.
…
Though it seems lengthy, in reality, it happened in an instant. The Divine Eye Clan’s candidates, including two strongest universe masters, a total of 28, all entered the Ice Cliff Fortress. The fortress, exuding coldness, landed on the ground. Then an angry voice rang out: “Lord Dandonghe, why is our Divine Eye Clan unqualified to enter, and even must all die? Why the discrimination?”
“If Lord Dandonghe truly doesn’t wish our Divine Eye Clan to inherit, why didn’t you directly inform us at the beginning of the test, like with the Hai race, stating the Hai race was unqualified? If you had told us earlier… our Divine Eye Clan wouldn’t have come here entirely.”
The Divine Eye Clan was indeed furious, but their anger didn’t prevent them from first hiding inside the Ice Cliff Fortress before arguing. After all, even a strongest universe master activating a supreme treasure palace could withstand Dandonghe… though Dandonghe had long perished… perhaps the long-dead Dandonghe couldn’t threaten them anymore.
“Yes, Lord Dandonghe, why such discrimination?”
“You gave us hope, only to plunge us into despair.”
“In the end, you say we’re unqualified and must all die.”
Voices echoed out.
Clearly, the Divine Eye Clan was extremely angry.
Seated on the throne, Dandonghe looked down: “This… was a request from a friend of mine. I owed him, so naturally I agreed.”
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