Chapter 579: The Strongest Demigod in History

Chapter 579: The Strongest Demigod in History

A ball of eight-colored divine flame drifted within the sun.

Ethereal and insubstantial.

It had already consumed every vestige of self that could serve as fuel for the divine fire.

Li Wei had nothing left to burn.

The divine flame remained in its eight-colored state, no longer changing.

Unable to evolve into nine-colored divine fire.

Without becoming nine-colored divine fire, he could not condense divine power.

The eight-colored divine flame would eventually burn out and dissipate.

Li Wei could only wait for death.

He had already lost his body, lost his soul.

Only his consciousness remained, existing solely within the eight-colored divine flame.

Unable to influence the outside world.

Not even able to cry for help.

Could only await death.

The process of dying was exceptionally slow.

At the current rate of the eight-colored divine flame's burning, it would probably take over a thousand years before everything was completely consumed and extinguished.

Was he to sit here helplessly, waiting for a thousand years of prolonged death?

The only thing Li Wei could do now was think.

Unable to influence anything in the outside world, what use was thinking?

The eight-colored divine flame burned slowly, its divine radiance unable to be obscured even by the sun's brilliance.

This was Li Wei's sole existence remaining in the world.

The sun?

Even with only consciousness left, Li Wei could still perceive the sun beyond the divine flame.

He had once merged with the sun.

A flash of inspiration struck—Li Wei remembered, he still had the sun.

Thought alone could not influence the outside world.

But he still had the sun in his heart.

The Solar Contemplation Method.

Contemplate oneself as a blazing sun, drawing strength from the sun to become stronger.

This was the original concept of the Solar Contemplation Method.

Later, as Li Wei's power increased, this concept did not change, only the method of drawing solar energy became simpler.

No need to contemplate the sun—he could easily draw its power.

Now, he had lost everything.

Only consciousness remained.

The only thing he could do was contemplate the sun.

Contemplate oneself as a blazing sun.

Contemplate oneself as the sun.

The sun is myself.

I am the sun.

The sun is me.

The illusory sun in the sea of his mind transformed into a real sun suspended in the astral realm.

The eight-colored divine flame began to burn the sun.

The sun's energy was nearly inexhaustible, the divine flame burning it continuously and steadily.

Three years later.

The divine flame had burned one ten-thousandth of the sun, evolving and sublimating into nine-colored divine fire.

The nine-colored divine flame erupted with dazzling radiance, dyeing the entire sun in nine colors.

The colorful sun lasted only a few brief seconds.

The sun's color returned to normal.

The nine-colored divine flame burned solar matter, condensing divine power.

One strand of divine power, two strands, three strands...

Divine power multiplied.

Divine power condensed into substance, forming a divine body.

Li Wei returned to the world.

Shedding his mortal form, achieving a divine body.

Deathless, indestructible, imperishable, unbreakable!

Lifespan was no longer a limitation.

As long as his divine power never perished, he could live forever, until heaven and earth themselves grew old.

From the time he arrived in the astral realm, eighteen years had passed.

Eighteen years later, Li Wei had already reached the pinnacle of demigodhood.

Possessing nine-colored divine fire, having condensed a divine body.

He was only one step away from becoming a true god.

Comprehend the laws, condense a divine core, forge a divine position.

Then he could become a true god.

Li Wei did not rush to comprehend the laws or condense a divine core.

The divine flame was still burning the sun.

Currently, it had only consumed one ten-thousandth of the sun's power, with vast room for improvement.

Ordinary demigods who reached this stage had no path forward.

Comprehending the laws was their only way forward.

Though Li Wei had condensed nine-colored divine fire, he was still far from reaching his limit.

The entire sun was his.

Even after burning away the whole star, his power could still ascend further.

One might say that the true form of Li Wei was the star now suspended among the constellations.

The divine body forged from godly might was merely a substitute for walking in this world.

Divine fire continued to consume the substance of the sun, endlessly generating divine power.

And with it, his divine body grew ever stronger.

Li Wei lingered another year within the Astral Plane.

In that time, he had burned only two ten-thousandths of the star’s mass into divine energy.

At this pace, it would take ten thousand years to fully incinerate the star and convert it entirely into his own divine strength.

But Li Wei could not wait so long.

Even possessing just the divine power drawn from two ten-thousandths of a star's fuel,

he had already become the strongest demigod in the world.

No one else but him had ever used an entire star as kindling for their divine flame.

Li Wei flew out from the sun.

With a mere thought, divine power parted space and opened a portal.

Only after obtaining such power did he truly understand how immense it was.

Divine force was nearly omnipotent.

All those things he once achieved through various supernatural traits or arcane spells—

now required only the expenditure of divine power to manifest at will.

This was the strength of gods.

Yet Li Wei was not yet a true deity.

Real gods could even alter the fundamental laws of heaven and earth.

His ability to make wishes come true remained confined within the bounds of existing natural order.

He could act only where the laws permitted.

Beyond them, even divine power proved powerless.

Unless, of course, he mastered the corresponding principles.

The Astral Gate he opened with divine power led directly back to the Elemental Tower.

Naturally, this required precise spatial coordinates.

Li Wei locked onto an object he had left behind at the Warren Estate.

Eighteen years had passed.

What he placed there still lay untouched, undisturbed.

Whoosh!

Within the empty room, ripples of space suddenly shimmered, and a dimensional gate unfolded.

A figure stepped through.

On the other side of the portal blazed a star radiating infinite light.

The gateway itself was woven from Li Wei’s divine essence.

So long as he willed it, no solar radiation would seep through—even opening a door upon the surface of the sun would leave this side untouched.

Closing the gate behind him,

Li Wei glanced around the clean chamber.

It was clear that even after eighteen years,

Diana still came to tidy the room where he once dwelt.

Eighteen years were enough for a generation to grow up—and enough for another to be forgotten.

Seeing this scene stirred something deep within him.

At least someone still remembered him.

Opening the door, he walked out—and happened upon Diana cleaning the hallway.

She wore her maid uniform, and seeing Li Wei emerge from the room, she froze in place, disbelief clouding her face.

Though she was a magical construct, she possessed a human soul and emotions.

To see Li Wei—who vanished eighteen years ago—suddenly appear before her eyes filled her with shock.

Soon, both Kro, the magical butler, and the estate’s master, Zog Warren, arrived before Li Wei.

Diana brought him a cup of hot tea.

Zog sat on the sofa while Kro stood silently behind him.

After serving the tea, Diana held the saucer and stood beside the couch where Li Wei sat.

Zog gazed at Li Wei, equally astonished and delighted.

Looking closer, Li Wei noticed faint wrinkles around Zog’s eyes.

Eighteen years had passed, yet Zog had not broken through to legendary rank and become a legendary mage.

Thus, his lifespan remained unchanged—and time had aged him considerably.

Zog said, “Eighteen years ago, you entered the Astral Plane and then vanished without a trace. Everyone believed you perished there.”

“To think… you actually returned,” he added joyfully.

Li Wei smiled. “Indeed, I almost died there.”

“But thankfully, I survived in the end.”

Zog assumed he must have encountered great peril in the Astral Realm.

“As long as you’re alive, that’s what matters. The Astral Plane is indeed perilous—even legendary mages risk death there.”

Li Wei gave a quiet smile. Now, few beings in the Astral Plane could threaten him.

Only entities of godlike status might pose a danger.

Such beings were rare even across the vast expanse of the stars.

Even most deities likely couldn’t deal him a fatal blow.

Unless, of course, they wielded the power to destroy a star outright.

Ordinary gods lacked such might.

Boom!

As Li Wei and Zog spoke, a tremendous crash suddenly echoed outside.

Immediately afterward, the entire floating city began to tremble.

The hot tea on the coffee table was spilled everywhere.

Zog Valen nearly stumbled as well.

Fortunately, Kuro reacted quickly and caught hold of Zog Valen.

In contrast, Levi seemed nailed to the sofa, sliding along with it as if completely unaffected.

Levi's body was not made of flesh and blood—he was a divine being.

All his actions followed certain rules.

Levi had intended to sit on the sofa.

Therefore, he remained seated upon it, immune to any external influence.

No matter where the sofa went, he would still be sitting on it—this truth never changed.

Levi looked outward, wishing to see what was happening outside.

After expending some divine power, everything before him turned transparent under his gaze, becoming insubstantial like illusions.

He saw the object that caused the floating city to tremble—an enormous meteor falling from the sky, wreathed in green flames.

"Hellfire?"

A look of surprise crossed Levi’s face.

How could Hellfire from the Abyss appear here? What was going on?

Zog Valen, hearing Levi’s words, gave a bitter smile and explained helplessly, “During your absence, the Prime Material Plane has undergone tremendous changes.”

“First came the invasion of the Underdark, then the incursion of beings from the Abyssal planes. Not long ago, we heard reports of a Demon God descending in the north… Even the rifts deep within ancient battlefield ruins have transformed, spewing countless undead monsters from the realm of death. The entire world is now in chaos—it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call it the end times.”

“The Elemental Tower has fared relatively well. But across the Empire, many cities and territories have already fallen. Humanity struggles against these invading forces, while the Church of the Light races about trying to prevent disasters, though their efforts are largely futile.”

“The situation is this dire?” Levi frowned involuntarily.

He hadn’t expected such drastic change in just eighteen short years.

Yet recalling past events, perhaps it wasn't so surprising after all.

Eighteen years ago, signs of calamity were already emerging throughout the lands—he himself had witnessed and even experienced several catastrophes firsthand: the demonic plague in the Far North Icefields, the drow invasion from beneath the Elvenwood, the Abyssal assault upon the once-golden plains of the dead gods...

“Has the Demon God truly descended in the north?” asked Levi.

Zog Valen replied, “I’ve only heard rumors. With the whole world in turmoil like this, everyone’s busy fighting fires wherever they flare up. No one has actually gone north to investigate for sure.”

Worried for the safety of Icethorn City and Gusevi, Levi felt a pang of concern.

Guzei was still there too.

If a Demon God had indeed arrived at the polar ice fields, their situation might already be perilous.

Without hesitation, Levi rose to his feet and said, “Master Valen, I must go now.”

With those words, he vanished instantly from the room.

Zog Valen stared wide-eyed in astonishment.

“What kind of spell was that?”

Spatial teleportation.

It required merely a small expenditure of divine energy—a simple feat for someone like Levi.

Outside the floating city, Levi reappeared and gazed upward. Dark clouds blanketed the heavens above.

Within them burned green flames, and multiple chunks of Hellfire plummeted toward the Elemental Tower from the skies.

One piece had already struck the protective barrier surrounding the city.

Though unable to shatter the shield outright, it rebounded off and crashed down onto the ground below.

Every legendary mage inside watched tensely through the windows at the unfolding scene.

So much Hellfire raining down threatened even the mighty Elemental Tower.

While the ultimate weapon—the Annihilation Beam—could easily destroy Hellfire,

it needed time to recharge between uses.

Once fired, it required a lengthy cooldown period.

That interval alone would allow the Hellfires ample opportunity to inflict grave damage upon the airborne fortress.

Unless someone ventured forth to distract or stall them somehow…

But creatures born of the Abyss like Hellfire were inherently powerful eighth-tier monsters.

Even legendary mages found them extremely difficult foes.

Suddenly, figures spotted a lone silhouette appearing beyond the city walls.

Someone cast Eagle Eye and clearly identified who stood there—shock spreading across faces.

“Is that Mage Levi?”

“What?”

“Mage Levi is out there!”

“That can’t be! Didn’t he vanish into the Astral Plane eighteen years ago?”

“But that person looks exactly like him!”

Levi glanced at the towering Hellfire rising from where it had landed.

Nearly a hundred meters tall, its form resembled a colossal stone giant engulfed entirely in green fire.

It began advancing toward the floating city.

Raising his index finger directly at the monster, Levi commanded sharply:

“Explode!”

Whoosh!

From his fingertip shot forth a tiny orb formed purely from condensed divine essence.

Seemingly unremarkable, the projectile traversed thousands of meters in the blink of an eye before striking the massive Hellfire head-on.

Boom!

Upon impact, the Hellfire exploded violently into countless fragments scattered across the landscape.

Its green inferno extinguished immediately.

Everyone present gasped in disbelief, eyes bulging wide.

In a single strike, Levi had obliterated a monstrously powerful eighth-tier Hellfire creature.

It was still the minor fireball technique.

This completely transcended everyone's understanding.

They were utterly unable to comprehend the sight before their eyes.

Levi looked up at the falling infernals.

A serpent of flame surged from the crown of his head, soaring into the clouds, opening its maw to swallow the infernals whole before circling once in the sky and vanishing into the overcast.

The infernals that should have crashed near the Elemental Tower had completely disappeared.

Silence fell over the crowd.

The Master of the Elemental Tower suddenly realized that Levi's power had surpassed their comprehension.

He was intensely curious about what Levi had been doing during the eighteen years he was gone.

Why had he become so powerful?

These methods were so profound that it would not be an exaggeration to call him a god.

After all, no one had ever witnessed a true god in action.

After clearing away the infernals outside the Elemental Tower, Levi finished up.

He opened a portal and headed toward the City of Ice and Snow.

"Guthwain, Teacher Guze... I am here."

(End of Chapter)