Chapter 361: Encircled and Attacked by Emperor Ranks! Martial Combat Mountain! Eight Million Winning Streak!

Chapter 361: The Emperor-Level Siege! Martial Mountain! Eight Million Consecutive Victories!

Ninety-seven thousand two hundred and sixty-one years.

To a mortal life, this is a span of time vast enough to turn oceans into mulberry fields and witness the rise and fall of countless civilizations.

But for Qin Feng, it was merely the blink of an eye in a deep, meditative retreat.

Three thousand years of life-and-death flight had granted him a clearer understanding of the universe’s cruelty and the true measure of his own strength.

The crushing pressure of Emperor-level powerhouses, like a sword of Damocles hanging over his head, compelled him to digest and absorb every resource that could be converted into combat prowess with the utmost urgency.

And the legacy of Venerable Yaoguang was the most vital piece of the puzzle in his hands.

During the first ten thousand years of his seclusion, Qin Feng did not rush to comprehend profound secret arts or laws. Instead, he "read" the life, thoughts, and realizations of the Venerable as if they were a vast, epic biography.

He witnessed the hardships of Venerable Yaoguang as he rose from a mere mortal, navigating the treacherous path of cultivation.

He saw the brutality of the Venerable’s struggle in the King-level realm, where he fought for a million years in shattered star sectors against alien races just to secure a single, critical divine material.

He beheld the glory of the Venerable’s ascension to the Emperor level, the founding of a cosmic kingdom, and the protection of countless beings who revered him.

He even saw the sorrow and desolation of the Venerable’s failed attempt to ascend to the rank of Universe Master, his body perishing and his soul dissolving, leaving behind only a lingering, bitter obsession that manifested as the inheritance realm.

The Venerable’s life was a complete textbook on power, the heart of the Dao, glory, and regret.

In this tumultuous life journey, Qin Feng saw reflections of himself and the myriad possibilities of his own future.

His Dao heart, tempered by this baptism, grew increasingly resolute, like divine iron washed by the torrents of the universe for eons—stripped of all impurities, leaving only the purest, most steadfast path of the "Limit."

At the start of the second ten thousand years, Qin Feng finally began the formal analysis and absorption of the inheritance.

The core of Venerable Yaoguang’s Dao lay in "Light Derivation" and "Fluctuation."

He could push the most fundamental laws of light to their zenith, granting them thousands of variations—creation, destruction, purification, and sealing.

Furthermore, he was a master of the principles of cosmic fluctuations, capable of using specific frequencies to trigger harmonic resonance within the laws, thereby leveraging power far beyond his own limits.

For Qin Feng, this was akin to opening an entirely new door.

His own core was the [Primal Singularity], the ultimate expression of "contraction" and "annihilation."

The Venerable’s Dao, conversely, was the ultimate expression of "diffusion" and "evolution."

While seemingly diametrically opposed, they subtly aligned with the universe’s ultimate laws, from the Big Bang of the singularity to the final heat death or great collapse.

Qin Feng did not attempt to practice the Venerable’s laws, for that would not fit his path of the "Limit." His goal was to use the wisdom of Venerable Yaoguang as nourishment for the towering tree of his own "Limit Dao."

First and foremost was his mastery of arrays.

With a thought, two incredibly complex array models emerged within his soul ocean.

The first was the [Primal Furnace] array.

Previously, this array was anchored by his own [Primal Furnace] Dao seal, devouring all things to refine their essence. Its mode of operation was more akin to a barbaric and efficient plunder.

But after absorbing the Venerable’s theory of "fluctuation resonance," Qin Feng began a total upgrade.

He spent thirty thousand years integrating over thirty billion different law-fluctuation frequency models into the structure of the [Primal Furnace].

Now, when the [Primal Furnace] was activated, it was no longer a simple gravitational consumption.

It could release specific law fluctuations based on the target. These fluctuations would create a "resonance" directly with the enemy’s law origins, energy cores, and even their soul essence.

Once resonance was achieved, the enemy’s power would no longer be under their control; instead, like a breached dam, it would surge toward the core of the furnace.

This increased the array’s efficiency by more than a thousandfold! Even more terrifyingly, this method of "internal disintegration" made it impossible for enemies to even self-destruct. Under the pull of law resonance, their very essence became the purest of supplements for Qin Feng.

The second was the [Limit Array].

This was the foundation of Qin Feng’s offense and defense.

In the past, its strength lay in its unbreakable physical defense and unstoppable single-point attacks.

Now, Qin Feng integrated the Venerable’s concept of "Light Derivation."

He spent another thirty thousand years transforming the array’s energy circuits into a "light-prism structure" capable of infinite refraction, evolution, and amplification.

When defending, any attack striking the array’s barrier would be refracted and weakened billions of times by these microscopic "prisms," eventually turning into pure, harmless energy to be absorbed by the array.

When attacking, Qin Feng’s own power, upon entering the array, would undergo billions of layers of superposition and amplification, ultimately condensing into a single point to unleash destructive power far exceeding his own limits.

These improvements to the two arrays granted Qin Feng a qualitative leap in both large-scale war-plundering and one-on-one positional warfare.

For the final thirty thousand-plus years of his seclusion, Qin Feng poured all his focus into the deduction of his strongest offensive technique—the [Limit Divine Light].

This self-created King-level ultimate technique had once been his bedrock in the King-level realm.

But with his expanded horizons, especially after witnessing the methods of Emperor-level powerhouses, Qin Feng knew it still had immense room for growth.

Within the legacy of Venerable Yaoguang was an unfinished ultimate concept called the [Light of Return to Ruins].

Its philosophy was to take all the light within a star system, along with the time, space, and law information it carried, and "revert" it all to a single point in an instant, causing total annihilation at the conceptual level.

This concept resonated perfectly with Qin Feng’s [Primal Singularity]!

"So that is it... all paths in the universe lead to the same destination."

Deep within Qin Feng’s soul, the [Primal Singularity], the foundation of his Dao, began to vibrate violently.

He no longer viewed the [Limit Divine Light] as a mere energy attack, but as the manifestation of the "Dao" that carried his "Limit Dao"!

He began to attempt to inject the fundamental concept of the [Primal Singularity]—"devouring all things, returning to nothingness"—into every strand of the Limit Divine Light.

The process was excruciatingly difficult.

Countless times, his soul power nearly collapsed under the weight of that ultimate concept of "annihilation."

Countless times, the simulated divine light self-destructed due to the incompatibility between the concept and the energy.

Within the cave dwelling, time seemed to lose all meaning.

Until the ninety-seven thousand two hundred and sixty-first year, the final day of his seclusion.

The "Vanguard," sitting cross-legged, suddenly opened his eyes. What kind of eyes were they?

There was no emotion in them, only a darkness more pure than the deepest black hole in the universe, a darkness that devoured everything.

He slowly extended a metallic finger and tapped gently against the void in front of him.

There was no earth-shattering roar, no cataclysmic energy fluctuation.

A strand of "black" light, as thin as a hair and of absolute purity, shot from his fingertip.

This black light seemed not to belong to this universe.

The moment it appeared, the surrounding light, space, laws, and even time seemed to have been "deleted," leaving behind an absolute "void."

Where the black light passed, a large chunk of the cave’s stone wall vanished without a sound.

It was not destroyed, not vaporized; it simply ceased to exist.

As if it had never existed in the past, the present, or the future.

"It is done..."

Qin Feng murmured, his voice carrying a trace of soul-deep exhaustion, but more so, an excitement that could not be concealed.

"With the fundamental concept of the [Primal Singularity] as the core, the theory of Venerable Yaoguang’s [Light of Return to Ruins] as the framework, and the fusion of all I have learned... this is the true [Limit Divine Light]."

"From this moment on, it is no longer a technique for the titled kings."

"It is... a secret art for the emperors!"

Qin Feng stood up slowly, feeling the power within his body capable of shaking the cosmos, and made a clear assessment of his current strength.

His mechanical avatar, "Vanguard," remained at the peak of the titled king level in terms of physical durability due to the limitations of its materials.

However, thanks to the comprehensive upgrade of his two great formations and the qualitative transformation of the [Ultimate Divine Light].

"If I were to face the Heaven King now, I wouldn't even need to use a secret art; the power of my formations alone would be enough to grind him into dust."

"And if I were to unleash this brand-new [Ultimate Divine Light]..."

In Qin Feng's mind, the figures of the emperor-level powerhouses who had once hunted him down flickered into view.

"Those who have just entered the emperor rank would be killed in a single strike!"

"As for top-tier emperors like the Golden Emperor or the Plundering Heaven Emperor, while I may still be unable to defeat them head-on, I could certainly... go toe-to-toe with them, make them pay a heavy price, and retreat unscathed!"

This confidence was born from absolute strength.

After more than ninety thousand years of dormancy, he finally possessed the qualifications to truly play the game of the cosmos against those top-tier masters.

"Calculating the time, the hundred-thousand-year mark for Martial Arts Mountain is nearly upon us."

"The cosmic wonder [Dou], and... that death trap laid for me, it is time to pay them a visit."

Qin Feng withdrew all his aura, the deep darkness in his mechanical eyes slowly fading, returning to a state of tranquil, unruffled stillness.

He took a single step, and his figure vanished from the core of the planet.

When he reappeared, he was already outside the atmosphere of that purple planet.

He cast one last look at the world that had sheltered him for over ninety thousand years, feeling not a shred of attachment, and transformed into an inconspicuous streak of light, vanishing into the depths of the vast universe.

...

The "Tianheng" chaotic star sector, the cosmic coordinates of Martial Arts Mountain, had, after nearly a hundred thousand years of fermentation, become the hottest focal point in the entire sector and dozens of surrounding ones.

When Qin Feng, piloting the "Vanguard" avatar, returned to this place, the scene before him was a hundred times more bustling than when he had left ninety thousand years ago.

Spaceports built in the styles of various civilizations orbited the gargantuan Martial Arts Mountain like satellites. Countless ships wove through them, bringing powerhouses from every corner of the universe.

Their purposes were diverse; some sought to challenge Martial Arts Mountain and achieve overnight fame;

Others came to observe the battles of the strong, seeking a spark of enlightenment for their own breakthroughs;

But most were drawn by the earth-shattering event from ninety thousand years ago, when "Vanguard" seized the Yaoguang inheritance and triggered a hunt by emperors, hoping to try their luck and see if that legendary mechanical prodigy would dare to appear again.

Qin Feng hid within the flow of the crowd, his aura restrained to the absolute limit, appearing as nothing more than a common mechanical servant, utterly unremarkable.

He did not rush to enter Martial Arts Mountain, but instead lingered in the public information exchange area on the periphery, gathering intelligence from the past ninety thousand years.

Soon, a familiar name caught his eye.

—Stone Buddha.

The god-forbidden prodigy who had traded with him and walked the same path of divinity.

At this moment, on the colossal "Hero Monument" projection outside Martial Arts Mountain, a name was climbing the rankings at an astonishing speed.

Rank 9,800...

Rank 8,500...

Rank 7,300...

It was indeed Stone Buddha!

And behind his name, the number of consecutive victories displayed had reached a staggering figure—seven million, eight hundred and thirty thousand!

"Oh? So he has reached this level already."

He walked slowly toward the base of the Hero Monument, where hundreds of millions of beings had already gathered, all craning their necks and discussing with excitement, as if witnessing a historic moment.

"Look! Another win! Seven million, eight hundred and thirty thousand and one!"

"My heavens, Lord Stone Buddha is too strong! Only less than 170,000 matches left until eight million consecutive wins!"

"This is definitely the closest anyone has come to success since the founding of Martial Arts Mountain!

Ninety thousand years ago, that 'Vanguard' achieved a record of 7,999,999, but that was just his first attempt, and he was subsequently hunted by all races and vanished without a trace.

But Lord Stone Buddha has spent these ninety thousand years, step by step, grinding his way up from a few million wins!"

In the crowd, a well-informed veteran titled king stroked his beard and sighed with emotion.

A young cultivator nearby asked curiously, "Senior, in your opinion, compared to that Vanguard from back then, who is stronger?"

The old man pondered for a moment before speaking slowly: "Hard to say, very hard to say... That Vanguard back then rose like a comet, killing the Heaven King in a single move and suppressing two great prodigies to seize the Yaoguang inheritance; his brilliance was rare in all of history.

His strength lay in an invincible 'momentum,' an absolute power that crushed all in its path."

He paused, pointing to the name of Stone Buddha on the Hero Monument: "But look at the challenge record of Lord Stone Buddha.

The time he spends on each battle is precisely decreasing; his control over power and his grasp of the rhythm of combat have reached an unfathomable 'Zen state.'

His strength lies in a 'steadiness,' a state of being as immovable as a mountain, impervious to all techniques.

If Vanguard was a raging fire that burned the wilderness, then Lord Stone Buddha is the divine metal that remains uncorrupted after ten thousand tribulations."

"Then do you think Lord Stone Buddha can successfully pass the eight million consecutive wins this time?"

Someone else pressed.

This question instantly silenced all the surrounding chatter; everyone pricked up their ears, waiting for the old man's judgment.

The old man shook his head with a bitter smile: "Fifty percent, perhaps. Eight million consecutive wins is the legendary threshold, the ultimate trial.

The final guardian shadow is said to possess the combat power of a newly ascended emperor and wields a trace of the origin power of the cosmic wonder [Dou], with a fighting style that is bizarre beyond measure.

Lord Stone Buddha is strong, but... he has not yet reached that step.

He is currently challenging the limit with his own will and perseverance."

The crowd gasped in unison.

A shadow with the combat power of a newly ascended emperor?

And wielding the power of a cosmic wonder?

The difficulty was simply despairing!

"No wonder no one has succeeded since ancient times... this is simply not a realm that a titled king can challenge!"

"Indeed, for Lord Stone Buddha to reach this point is already a miracle!"

"Regardless of success or failure, the name of Stone Buddha will echo throughout the universe!"

The discussion boiled over once more, filled with admiration and anticipation for Stone Buddha.

Qin Feng listened quietly, his gaze passing through the crowded masses to land on the massive light screen.

The screen was broadcasting Stone Buddha's battle in real-time.

In the image, Stone Buddha remained as solemn and dignified as ever.

He sat cross-legged upon a giant stone lotus, facing a star-beast formed of laws that radiated a terrifying aura, yet he had not made a move.

He merely closed his eyes, chanting an ancient scripture under his breath.

Visible golden notes of Zen song drifted from his lips, transforming into swastika seals that branded the void.

These marks did not strike the giant beast directly, but instead wove together into a vast and imposing domain.

Within this realm, the flow of time slowed to a crawl, and the very structure of space grew viscous and heavy.

The frenzied beast, trapped within, found its movements sluggish, its immense power mired in a swamp, unable to unleash even a fraction of its strength.

Meanwhile, the stone Buddha’s lotus throne continuously siphoned the beast’s primal essence to fortify its own form.

As one waned and the other waxed, the seemingly formidable phantom, without ever suffering a direct blow, withered and faded until it dissolved into mere motes of light.

"A fine 'Domain of Deliverance' from the Zen sect of the Stone race..." Qin Feng mused to himself.

He could see that the stone Buddha’s strength had progressed significantly compared to over ninety thousand years ago.

He had perfectly fused his path of "Zen" with his path of "Stone," forging a unique system of combat.

Yet...

Qin Feng also perceived the stone Buddha’s predicament.

Though his domain was potent, every moment of its maintenance consumed vast reserves of his soul and the power of his laws.

The stone Buddha in the light screen appeared calm, but the radiance emanating from his soul’s core had dimmed with a subtle, imperceptible weariness.

He was nearing his limit.

"In this state, the hope of challenging the final trial is indeed slim."

Qin Feng reached his verdict.

He turned his gaze away from the battle, casting his eyes toward the towering Martial Arts Mountain.

After ninety thousand years of tempering and sediment, it was time to bring that initial encounter to a close.

And to let the myriad races of the universe remember, once more, the existence known as "Frontline."

...

The minds of the crowd were captivated by the stone Buddha’s impending glory.

Until...

A young disciple from the Heavenly Mystery Sect, tasked with recording key data on the Buddha’s challenge, stood by.

He habitually scanned the surroundings to guard against any sudden anomalies.

Suddenly, his gaze was snagged by a figure walking against the tide.

It was not that the figure was particularly striking, but rather that he walked with such... "stillness."

In this ocean of fanaticism, this "stillness" was, in itself, an extreme anomaly.

The young disciple instinctively activated his sect’s unique investigative art, and an invisible stream of data swept over that mechanical frame.

[Name: Frontline]

[Race: Mechanical]

[Status: Martial Arts Mountain Challenger]

[Current Progress: 7,999,999/8,000,000]

[Time Remaining: 338 years]

The moment those concise lines of data reflected onto his retina, the disciple’s breath hitched and ceased.

His mind went blank for a heartbeat.

Front... Frontline?!

That legend who, over ninety thousand years ago, had set the all-time record on his first attempt, seized the inheritance of the Venerable Yaoguang, drawn the pursuit of several Emperor-ranked masters, and then vanished into the deep reaches of the universe?!

He had returned?!

The young disciple’s lips parted soundlessly; he rubbed his eyes instinctively, checking again.

The data remained unchanged; those cold, hard characters carried a magic capable of freezing the soul.

"It is..."

A dry, hoarse rasp escaped his throat, "...it is him!"

The low cry, though quiet, was like a stone cast into a placid lake, instantly stirring monstrous waves in the hearts of the powerful beings nearby.

"What 'is him'? Little one, making such a fuss, where is your decorum!"

A hot-tempered Bear-race King nearby grunted in dissatisfaction.

But the status of a Heavenly Mystery disciple was not to be trifled with, and a sharp-witted expert immediately pressed, "Fellow Daoist, what have you discovered?"

The young disciple did not answer; he merely pointed a trembling finger, shaking from sheer shock, toward the back of the figure already nearing the entrance of the reception hall.

"Front... Line..."

The three syllables, like three cosmic thunderbolts imbued with infinite power, exploded in everyone’s ears!

"What?!"

"Who did you say?!"

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"

The initial reaction was one of instinctive doubt and denial.

That name had been silent for far, far too long.

Long enough to have become a mere symbol, existing only in legends and epics.

Ninety thousand years of time were enough to dim the luster of any prodigy, or even consign them to oblivion.

Moreover, he had vanished while being hunted by several Emperor-ranked powerhouses!

In everyone’s estimation, he had either fallen long ago or was hiding in some corner of the universe, clinging to life; it was impossible, and unthinkable, for him to appear in such a high-profile place!

Yet, the doubt lasted only a second.

Countless divine senses, laden with inquiry, shock, and disbelief, instantly locked onto that figure.

At the same time, more people pulled up their data terminals, frantically searching the challenger list of the Martial Arts Mountain.

When the name "Frontline," followed by that suffocating record and the remaining time, appeared clearly before everyone’s eyes, the entire ring-shaped starport—that ocean previously boiling for the stone Buddha—sank into an eerie, deathly silence.

All sound ceased abruptly.

All movement froze instantly.

Even the combat screen of the stone Buddha on the Heroic Monument seemed to lose all its color in that moment.

Time, it seemed, had been pressed to pause.

One second.

Two seconds.

Three seconds.

“BOOM——！！！！！”

After the silence came an eruption ten, a hundred times more fervent than before, a cataclysmic explosion that seemed to shatter the very heavens!

“It’s Vanguard! It’s truly Vanguard!!!”

“He has returned! That legendary man, he has returned at last!!!”

“My god! I thought my eyes were deceiving me! Ninety thousand years—he is actually still alive!”

“Quick! Calculate the time! His hundred-thousand-year limit... how much time is left?!”

Those gifted in computation immediately mobilized their auxiliary intelligences, delivering a precise answer.

“Ninety-nine thousand, six hundred and sixty-two years! His challenge has spanned exactly ninety-nine thousand, six hundred and sixty-two years! With only three hundred and thirty-eight years remaining until the hundred-thousand-year deadline!!!”

This number was like a ladle of boiling oil poured into a raging inferno.

“Three hundred years... he vanished for over ninety millennia, only to return at the final hour?”

“What arrogance! What audacity! Does he intend to use this final sliver of time to complete an unprecedented eight-million-win streak?!”

“It’s madness! This is the most insane script in the history of the universe!”

The entire starport plunged into a state of delirium.

If the Stone Buddha’s challenge was a predictable, steady climb up a mountain, then Vanguard’s return was an unheralded cosmic storm sweeping away everything in its path.

The focus of the discourse shifted instantly from “Can the Stone Buddha succeed?” to a far more explosive topic.

“Tell me, can he... actually succeed? There are only three hundred years left!”

“It’s hard! Too hard! Even though he only needs one final victory, that last match pits him against a phantom with the combat power of a novice Emperor! Even Lord Stone Buddha, who has cultivated here for ninety thousand years, dares not claim certainty. What right does a man who has been missing for ninety millennia have?”

A rational analyst immediately voiced his skepticism.

But his words were instantly drowned out by the fervent worshippers.

“What right? By the right of being called Vanguard! By the right of the time he slew the Heaven King with a single strike while walking the same Divine Path! By the right of how he suppressed the Heartless Demon Child and the Exquisite Fairy to claim the inheritance of the Yaoguang Venerable!”

“Exactly! Have you forgotten who he is? He is a monster! A monster who defies all conventional logic! Ninety thousand years is enough time for him to undergo any earth-shattering transformation!”

“I bet he wins! If he dared to return, he must have the certainty of victory! That is the weight of a legend!”

Two diametrically opposed viewpoints clashed violently among the crowd, adding layers of uncertainty and drama to an already feverish atmosphere.

Yet, amidst this storm engulfing the Martial Arena, hidden eyes in the shadows flickered with a cold, greedy light that stood apart from the rest.

“Vanguard... he has finally appeared...”

“Heh heh, the inheritance of the Yaoguang Venerable... this piece of fat will eventually have to be spat out.”

Coded messages, transmitted through various encrypted channels, spread at speeds exceeding light toward every corner of the universe.

[Target acquired! Coordinates: Chaos Sector Tianheng, Martial Arena.]

[Codename “Vanguard,” confirmed alive, suspected to possess the complete inheritance of the Yaoguang Venerable.]

[Bounty activated! All relevant parties, initiate the highest-level contingency plan immediately!]

The Martial Arena is the absolute domain of the Master of Martial Arts, governed by an iron law recognized by the entire universe—the prohibition of all forms of private combat.

Even Emperors, or Lords of the Universe, would not easily challenge the majesty of the Master of Martial Arts here.

Thus, no one dared to strike within these walls.

But that did not prevent an invisible net, woven from malice and greed, from quietly unfurling in the void beyond the Martial Arena.

The news spread far faster than anyone had anticipated.

The first to react were the pirate syndicates and bounty hunters who roamed the Chaos Sectors.

Like sharks catching the scent of blood, they converged from all directions.

Following them were the races that had once held grudges against Qin Feng.

“The Golden Crow Clan, Elder Jin Lieyang of the King rank, leading three thousand Golden Crow Guards, has blockaded Gengzi-37 lane!”

“The Abyss Demon Clan, the newly ascended Demon King ‘Blood Eye,’ has deployed the [Abyssal Corrosion Array] in the outer star field of the Martial Arena!”

“The Crystal Clan...”

One by one, the renowned powers of the universe began to mobilize their forces.

However, what truly caused the laws of this star field to congeal was the pressure descending from a higher plane.

In a seemingly empty void, space rippled like the surface of a pond, and a figure wreathed in golden flames, radiating the majesty of an Emperor, slowly emerged.

His eyes, like two miniature stars, pierced through time and space, locking onto the direction of the Martial Arena.

“Yaoguang... your inheritance should not have fallen into the hands of a Machine race.”

He whispered to himself, his voice devoid of any emotion.

Immediately after, in another direction, a patch of space collapsed without warning, forming a miniature black hole.

A hulking figure clad in black armor, wielding a giant axe, with an aura of unparalleled dominance, stepped out from the abyss.

“Kill him; the inheritance is mine, the karma is yours.”

He spoke coldly toward the golden figure.

“Agreed.”

A brief exchange of two words decided the fate of a legendary prodigy.

Such scenes played out repeatedly in the void surrounding the Martial Arena.

Hidden, powerful auras, like leviathans in the deep sea, descended silently, occupying every critical spatial node.

Novice Emperors!

Ten in total!

Ten Emperor-level powerhouses, each capable of suppressing a cosmic nation, founding a sect, and becoming a hegemon, had gathered here for the same target.

They might be competitors among themselves, but on the point of “killing Vanguard first,” they had reached a chilling consensus.

They were like patient hunters, waiting quietly.

Waiting for the prey that had stepped into the trap to finish his final performance, and then... walk out to accept the verdict of death.

Qin Feng felt it all.

With every step he took toward the reception hall, he could clearly perceive the cold, piercing malice cast from the depths of the universe.

He could even “see” the net of absolute destruction, woven from laws and divine intent, shrouding the entire star field.

But he did not care.

His expression remained unchanged.

His pace did not falter in the slightest.

Under the gaze of countless complex eyes, he walked into the reception hall, approached the mechanical attendant in charge of registration, and handed over his identity token.

“Challenger, Vanguard, continuing the challenge.”

A frigid, synthesized voice resonated through the starport, broadcast by the hall’s amplification system.

Then, under the stunned gaze of all present, his figure was enveloped in a shroud of white light and vanished instantly from where he stood.

He had entered the Mountain of Martial Combat.

He had locked away the monstrous killing intent of the outside world and the death trap laid by the ten Sovereign-ranked masters.

The storm had already taken shape.

And he, with calm composure, stepped into the eye of the gale.

(End of chapter)