If Wang Mu hadn’t died, his life could still be used to threaten the Imperial Sword Corps, but now that they were all dead, what did he have to fear? Therefore, Wang Mu unleashed the Divine Dragon’s Mysterious Sword.
This sword technique could be used anywhere—it didn’t matter much, as at worst, it would only kill a few more people. However, it absolutely couldn’t be used on this satellite, because the entire place was filled with flammable gases, and the Divine Dragon’s Mysterious Sword would ignite flames.
Yang Hao had originally chosen this satellite to restrict his enemies, but ironically, it had now become a trap for himself. This was a perfect example of life’s unpredictability. Regardless, Yang Hao no longer had time to punish Kevin, for his own troubles were far too immense.
In an instant, the flames of the Divine Dragon’s Mysterious Sword triggered a massive explosion in the satellite’s atmosphere—it had ignited the entire atmospheric layer.
Though this was merely a tiny satellite, so small that one could traverse its entire surface in a single day, its atmosphere still contained a significant amount of explosive gases. That tiny spark was like a match falling into a pile of gunpowder, igniting not just a localized fire, but a planetary-scale explosion that unified sky and land in a single cataclysmic detonation.
Even in the vastness of space, this would be a rare spectacle—an entire planet exploding spontaneously, not from external force, but from a simultaneous detonation of its own atmosphere. Such an event would be headline-worthy for the Interstellar Weekly. The explosion’s power was astonishing; although it wouldn’t shatter the entire planet, it would reduce every living being on the surface and in the skies to dust. It was impossible for any creature to escape this catastrophe. Yang Hao and his group were so close to the epicenter that their fate seemed sealed.
Yet Yang Hao deeply understood that these people under his command could not die. Setting aside himself, even someone like Kevin was the leader of the Demon Bear Corps, and the chosen successor of Elder Hede. If he died, the Bear Star would have no heir apparent. The Demon Bear Corps could not be wiped out either—the entire resistance of the Bear Clan against the Empire relied on it. If the Demon Bear Corps were annihilated, the disaster for Bear Star would go far beyond the present crisis.
But for Yang Hao, the most important people to protect were the children of the Hao Sword Corps. These orphans had lived peaceful lives before he brought them here. If they died in battle, it would haunt Yang Hao beyond death itself.
But they were doomed nonetheless. This was no longer a matter of sword power or even the strength of a sword corps—it was the force of an entire planet exploding, a force of nature, a cosmic power so immense that even gods would struggle to bear it. Just like the Sacred Bear, which could suppress terrifying dark forces like the Night Rain, it could do nothing against this kind of explosion.
When Yang Hao saw the explosion ignited by the Divine Dragon’s Mysterious Sword, the first eerie blue flame blooming in the air, his blood ran cold. Without hesitation, Yang Hao summoned all his flying swords, regardless of whether they could help, and pushed his energy to its peak. With a hoarse, desperate roar, he screamed, “I will save them! I will save everyone!!”
But what good were a few flying swords? The flames instantly consumed them, and even the swords ignited further explosions. In the blink of an eye, the pale-blue shockwave had reached the Hao Sword Corps. Several children had already been knocked to the ground. In just a few more seconds, these young, unformed lives would never see their futures.
Yang Hao’s despair had reached its peak. He began to hate himself for not cultivating fast enough, not advancing far enough to save everyone.
Just then, at that very moment, the ever-silent Yuan Hun Zi, who had seemed to be gathering strength all along, suddenly shouted in his peculiar voice, “Repeat after me! Heaven and Earth have no boundaries!”
“Heaven and Earth have no boundaries!”
“All methods return to one origin!”
“All methods return to one origin!”
“Pure Xuan Ling Dan Ding True Method! Barrier Technique!!!”
Though confused, Yang Hao knew Yuan Hun Zi would never act recklessly at a critical moment. He followed suit, shouting in unison, “…Technique!!!”
Suddenly, Yang Hao felt an odd sensation. His inner energy surged, flowing upward to the crown of his head. It felt as if a portal had opened at his Baihui acupoint, allowing external forces to pour in and merge with his own energy. A silver pill-like object was then expelled from his body like it had been launched.
Yang Hao felt his strength completely drained. All his inner energy and power had been concentrated into that silver pill, which was none other than his own inner elixir. Ever since reaching the Harmony Stage, Yang Hao had possessed this elixir, though Yuan Hun Zi had taken it and kept it as a master would.
Once the elixir left Yang Hao’s body, it erupted in a dazzling silver light, brighter than starlight multiplied ten thousand times, so intense that no one could keep their eyes open. This light did not merely rival the explosion’s flames—it spread rapidly, halting only when it reached beyond the group Yang Hao had led. There, it formed a half-spherical radiant barrier, enveloping everyone inside.
At that very moment, the explosion reached its critical threshold.
Anyone who had seen explosions before knew that real explosions always began small, gradually building up to a critical point before erupting into a massive detonation—the true explosion, the one that could kill, that could reduce even the hardest stone and sharpest blade to dust and molten slag.
The massive explosion finally began. To Yang Hao and the others, the sky did not become blindingly bright as expected—it turned pitch black. Then, from that darkness, emerged a light brighter than a thousand suns, intense enough to blind anyone who looked directly at it.
Then came the deafening roar, shaking their eardrums with an unrelenting cacophony of continuous detonations. The sound became a single, overwhelming rumble. Along with it came violent tremors beneath their feet—the kind of shaking that instilled the deepest fear. Even the most grounded individuals could not remain standing. By human standards, it was like an earthquake of magnitude eight or higher, as if the ground were rising suddenly, then plunging downward before rising again, shaking their very insides loose.
Yet, somehow, they were still alive. It was nothing short of a miracle. No one should have survived such an explosion—yet thousands of them were unscathed, protected by the mysterious barrier Yang Hao had somehow conjured. What else could this be called if not a miracle?
Yet, strangely, Yang Hao didn’t feel particularly surprised. When that power suddenly appeared, he felt as though it had always been meant to. He had an unexpected sense of familiarity. Even as his inner elixir continuously radiated power, strengthening the barrier and saving countless lives, Yang Hao could clearly sense his consciousness within the elixir. The power felt like it was flowing directly from his body—seamless, without any sense of separation.
“So this is magic!!” Before the explosion had even fully subsided, Yang Hao couldn’t help but ask Yuan Hun Zi. Using the increasing brightness outside, he looked around—neither the Hao Sword Corps nor the Demon Bear Corps had suffered any casualties. At worst, a few had twisted their ankles during the tremors. Yang Hao felt an immense sense of pride and immediately began boasting, “I’m just too brilliant! Without even learning, I’ve already mastered magic!”
“That’s all thanks to my teaching! My Crisis Teaching Method is world-renowned. In the past, I could’ve easily become a professor,” Yuan Hun Zi, as usual, rushed to claim credit. “Besides, it was only because I spent so long gathering the power of your inner elixir that you could even cast that barrier technique.”
“That elixir was mine to begin with—it was just stolen by you,” Yang Hao protested indignantly. If not for all the miracles of the day, he would’ve started another argument with Yuan Hun Zi. “We actually defeated the Royal Sword Corps and Wang Mu! Can you believe it? Those were top-tier sword masters, and I beat them!”
“You beat them with your stink bombs, thanks to my aphrodisiacs,” Yuan Hun Zi wasn’t nearly as cheerful as Yang Hao. He had been troubled lately. “To think such powerful sword masters would die at your hands—no doubt the Empire’s Privy Council and the Senate won’t ignore this. I’m afraid even my enemy, the one who created the Divine Dragon’s Mysterious Sword, might come after you too.”
“So what? I can use magic now! I’ll slay gods and demons alike!” Yang Hao was brimming with confidence, almost ready to boast about going to another planet to hunt dragons.
But Yuan Hun Zi poured cold water on his enthusiasm. “With your current inner energy, what can you really do? Using that barrier technique alone has left you unable to use any energy for at least a day. If you really face a top-tier cultivator, a single combo of magical techniques would utterly destroy you.”
“Damn! I’m still that weak?” Yang Hao’s confidence, just beginning to rise, was crushed once more.
In truth, Yang Hao wasn’t weak at all. In terms of combat strength, he had already reached level fifteen, surpassing the Sword Master stage. Being able to use magic made him even more formidable. Just a few months ago, he couldn’t even beat his classmates at the advanced academy on Reman Star. Now, he was taking on sword masters and cultivators with ease—his progress was beyond description.
Inspired by his rapid advancement, Yang Hao found himself deeply appreciative of the Dan Ding dual cultivation method. Even if it involved the Aphrodisiac School, as long as it worked, it wasn’t so bad. Rarely, Yang Hao suggested to Yuan Hun Zi, “Let’s hurry and cultivate the next core elixir. Maybe once I reach the Nascent Soul Stage, I can help you take revenge!”
Yuan Hun Zi sighed softly. He knew his enemy’s strength was far beyond what Yang Hao could hope to match in the near future. Still, he had to push Yang Hao forward. But cultivating each core elixir in the Dan Ding school was increasingly difficult, especially when reaching the Nascent Soul Stage, which was considered the first of the Three Great Obstacles in cultivation.
The Dan Ding dual cultivation school had ten stages of cultivation. Except for the Foundation Building Stage, which didn’t require a core elixir, all other stages required cultivation through core elixirs. Though the theory sounded simple, the practice was extremely difficult. By the time one reached the Nascent Soul Stage, the difficulty of the core elixir cultivation increased dramatically. At this stage, the elixir required not only rare ingredients and catalysts but also an extremely precise cauldron. Such cauldrons had to be specially constructed. In ancient times, crafting one required the combined efforts of multiple artisan families over a hundred years. Today, those ancient techniques had long been lost, making it nearly impossible to create such a cauldron.
Thus, among cultivators over the past thousand years, the Dan Ding school was known for its Three Great Obstacles—three major thresholds. Many cultivators could easily build their foundation and even reach the Harmony Stage, but would often perish at these three critical points. The Nascent Soul Stage was the first of these.
Approximately ninety percent of Dan Ding cultivators failed to pass this stage, remaining ordinary practitioners for life. Yuan Hun Zi had seen his own seniors spend their entire lives unable to break through this barrier. Thus, the Nascent Soul Stage had become the greatest divide between sword immortals and ordinary cultivators.
If Yang Hao wanted to cultivate the core elixir for the Nascent Soul Stage, he would first need to create a grand cauldron. But crafting such a cauldron required finding true artisan families. In this universe, however, the Galactic Empire controlled nearly all industry. Where could they find the manpower Yang Hao needed?
These challenges made both Yuan Hun Zi and Yang Hao realize deeply that the path ahead would not be paved with flowers—it would be filled with thorns.
And those thorns were not just in the future. As Yang Hao and Yuan Hun Zi eagerly discussed their future cultivation, the ominous cloud of crisis hanging over them had not dissipated—it had only grown darker and more oppressive.
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