Chapter 463: The End (Part 2)

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The battle between the two grew increasingly frenzied. Occasionally, Dongbo Xueying’s spear would strike Wan Jiu, but it was always his illusory body—clearly, Wan Jiu was deliberately letting himself be hit.

“Pfft.”

The spear struck like a venomous snake, piercing and withdrawing in an instant.

“This…”

Both Wan Jius halted abruptly, and one of them dissipated into nothingness.

Only a single Wan Jiu remained, hovering mid-air, his eyes filled with disbelief as he stared at Dongbo Xueying. “How… how could you…?”

“Your blade technique isn’t perfect yet, and I suppose I got lucky,” Dongbo Xueying replied.

Wan Jiu’s eyes burned with unwillingness.

Not perfect? Just luck?

Yes.

He still hadn’t truly grasped the World Heart. Though his blade technique claimed to form a world of its own, it hadn’t yet reached that level.

“Just a little more… just a little,” Wan Jiu lamented inwardly. If he could have defeated Dongbo Xueying in a fair one-on-one duel, it would have been glorious. Now, while he might still attract the attention of some mighty figures, this battle would likely serve more as a stepping stone for Dongbo Xueying.

With that, Wan Jiu’s body disintegrated.

His consciousness swiftly returned.

The two companions nearby witnessed this and shook their heads silently.

“Brother Wan Jiu thought he could win. A pity—just a little short, and he lost.”

“Dongbo Xueying fought desperately with all four bodies and managed to seize a sliver of victory.” The two companions then departed, having only stayed out of obligation to their oath.

Dongbo Xueying watched them leave and chuckled faintly.

“This Wan Jiu is truly formidable… but he doesn’t know that I’ve long since mastered the complete World Heart. I’ve even created numerous secret techniques based on it. My comprehension of the World Heart is countless times deeper than his,” Dongbo Xueying mused to himself. “His so-called ‘self-contained world’ blade technique? I could spot its flaws at a glance!”

“I was just waiting for the right moment—a plausible opportunity to dismantle his blade technique.” Dongbo Xueying sighed inwardly.

—

“Using his illusory body to fight recklessly, disrupting his opponent’s blade technique with relentless attacks, then seizing the perfect moment for a single decisive strike.” The Lord of Baisha City sipped from his wine cup as he gazed at the towering mountain illusions in the sky. “And he actually pulled it off.”

“Perhaps Dongbo Xueying discovered a minor flaw in his opponent’s blade technique during their life-and-death struggle. Victory alone proves his strength,” the Lord of Moyun City praised.

—

Dongbo Xueying would never surrender easily. Wan Jiu wanted to shine brighter, to attract the attention of mighty figures who might take him as a disciple. But Dongbo Xueying had his own ambitions—he wanted to be taken as a disciple by His Majesty or one of the Three Ancestors! Naturally, he couldn’t afford to be defeated so easily.

Whoosh.

Dongbo Xueying traversed the endless mountains, stepping through space with Pole Transference, casually slaying a venomous insect in passing.

With each kill, his ranking slowly climbed, even reaching the ninth spot at times and occasionally holding the eighth. But the remaining god-level experts were all formidable, and Dongbo Xueying generally fluctuated between eighth and tenth.

The number of god-level experts in the mountains dwindled—sixty, fifty…

“Hmm?” Dongbo Xueying’s expression suddenly shifted.

He sensed a figure stealthily infiltrating the edge of a distant mountain barrier. Though the figure twisted his line of sight, Dongbo Xueying’s Void World Domain allowed him to clearly “see” the intruder—white robes, white hair, and long white eyebrows. It was Jiu She.

“You again!” Without hesitation, Dongbo Xueying switched to his illusory body and fled.

“Suppress!”

“Annihilate!”

Jiu She gave chase at full speed while unleashing domain-based techniques.

But the Ten Thousand Tribulations Chaos Body’s defensive prowess was too formidable. Even at just the third layer, it couldn’t be crushed by Jiu She’s domain techniques alone.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Dongbo Xueying fled madly. He had never intended to reveal his grasp of a first-grade divine heart during the Divine Court Battle. If he did, the great enemy of his master, the Red Dust Sage, might disregard all decorum and strike him down directly. After all, mastering a first-grade divine heart in just over 2,300 years was on par with the talent of a first-grade True Intent Transcendent. So even if it meant death, he couldn’t expose it.

Once he became a second-level Heaven God, exposure would matter far less—only figures like the Bloodblade Divine Emperor or the Island Lord of Time and Space could kill him without oath restrictions, and beings of that stature wouldn’t stoop to such actions.

And once he reached the third level, not even the Divine Emperor could kill a Material World Lord without oath interference.

So patience was key. Only with patience could he achieve true brilliance in the future.

“Jiu She, is it really necessary to chase me like this?” Dongbo Xueying was speechless as he crossed the barriers of one mountain after another.

Swish.

Just as he passed through the barrier of another mountain, a white-haired, portly elder appeared before him.

“Fwoosh.”

A blinding streak of light slashed through Dongbo Xueying’s body.

“This is a first-grade divine heart—!” Dongbo Xueying’s eyes widened as he stared at the portly elder. This was none other than ‘Yue Jun,’ the top survivor of the Jiu Jiang Mansion’s ranking battle. Rumor had it he had once styled himself ‘Yue Di’ (Yue Emperor), but in the Divine Realm, those who dared to call themselves ‘Emperor’ were no ordinary beings. So he had quickly downgraded to ‘Yue Jun’ (Yue Lord).

“I wasn’t in a hurry to use it, but now that it’s time, I chose you, Dongbo,” the portly elder said with a smile. If he was going to kill someone, it might as well be the one who had attracted the most attention from the mighty figures.

Dongbo Xueying’s body dissipated as his consciousness returned.

Whoosh.

Jiu She caught up, glaring coldly at the portly elder. “I never expected you to have mastered a first-grade divine heart as well.”

“If not for Dongbo, you’d probably have kept your strength hidden in Anhai Mansion too,” the elder retorted, flipping his hand to reveal a blood-red dagger. His smile was sinister. “So, shall we have a little contest?”

“Let’s see just how strong you are,” Jiu She replied, eyes brimming with killing intent.

—

Dongbo Xueying’s consciousness returned.

He found himself back at the outermost edge of the Ten Thousand Flowers Banquet, where nearly all of the thousand-plus god-level experts had already returned. Only about thirty remained in battle.

“Brother Dongbo, I never thought you’d be ambushed by someone with a first-grade divine heart,” the Seventh Plum Rain, seated nearby, remarked with a smile.

“Yeah, that Yue Jun is truly treacherous. He must have noticed Jiu She chasing me and waited in ambush—striking the moment I crossed the mountain barrier,” Dongbo Xueying sighed helplessly. His youth and the attention he drew from mighty figures made him a prime target for those seeking to impress them.

They had barely exchanged a few words when Jiu She, also from Anhai Mansion and seated close by, regained consciousness.

“Jiu She, you actually lost?” Dongbo Xueying teased deliberately.

“Hmph.” Jiu She’s face darkened.

He had faced Yue Jun one-on-one—and lost.

With his grasp of the Infinite Heart, defeat should have been unlikely. But in battle, execution mattered just as much as strength.

“That deceitful old fox,” Jiu She growled, shooting a venomous glare toward the distant mountain illusions where the remaining god-level experts—including Yue Jun—were still fighting.

Suddenly—

A Divine Court’s Heaven God guard approached from afar, drawing the attention of many god-level experts. At this stage, a Heaven God guard’s arrival usually meant one thing: a token delivery. A mighty figure had taken the initiative to extend an invitation to a disciple—a rare honor.

In an entire Ten Thousand Flowers Banquet, only a handful would receive such an offer.

“Who is it for?”

“He’s coming this way—toward me!”

Many god-level experts watched nervously, hearts pounding with hope—even those ranked beyond the top hundred. Because even if their ranking was low, a mighty figure’s personal invitation could still secure them a master. Dongbo Xueying, for instance, had only cultivated for a little over two thousand years. The Lord of Baisha City and others had long stated that even if he didn’t rank in the top hundred, he would undoubtedly be chosen as a disciple.

“Dongbo.” The dark-skinned Heaven God guard smiled faintly, extending a golden token toward Dongbo Xueying.