“The Heavenly Dao doesn’t manifest physically often,” Yuanshi said. “I recall the last time was…well actually probably when we achieved sainthood.”

  The Heavenly Venerable of the Primordial Beginnings, the Jade Pure One and one of the most powerful beings within the Three Realms. He was the alpha and the omega, far beyond the understanding of all inhabitants no matter what cultivation realm they might have. In theory, he could also erase all within the Three Realms with a blink of his eye.

  This was what it meant to be a saint. In the minds of modern cultivators, this would be the same as a Dao realm existence. The so called final realm.

  Unlike Haotian who ordinarily wielded a cultivation of a Primal Supreme Chaos Immortal, Yuanshi had long since transcended the state of supreme beings like that.

  “That’s neat information and all, but doesn’t exactly answer my question,” Haotian reiterated. He did not have much reverence and spoke with a level of casualness unthinkable for almost all beings inhabiting the Three Realms. Yet the transcendent being did not seem to mind.

  It was not as if Haotian cannot tell how outclassed he was. Even of Da Hai was a full power, even if he’d then joined hands with a full powered Wangshu, Yang Mei, Qiankun, Hundun, and so many others with their treasures. All of them would to even touch Yuanshi.

  Even being this close to him, Haotian could not disclose the difference between Yuanshi and the Hongjun who ended the anti-devil war.

  “Can’t I visit an old friend?” Yuanshi chuckled with amusement. “It has been so many years since we last interacted. Forty eight yuanhui I believe.”

  “Old friend?”

  “Our last conversation did much to soothe my mind. Is it really so strange I consider you such? Since you were in the area, might as well check up.”

  “Thank you for the sentiment. As you can see, I’m doing quite well.”

  Yuanshi sighed towards Haotian. “Is that so?” he said in a disbelieving voice.

  Haotian mentally translated the aforementioned timescale to over six million years. He’d been alive far longer than Da Hai had existed before he was annihilated. Not dead as that was a concept applicable to those part of the cycle of life and death.

  The sky lit up in a fiery blaze in the midst of their talk. It would seem Shennong took Xuanyuan seriously as he unleashed a hellish blaze. The Earth Sovereign wasn’t called Flame Emperor for nothing.

  His fire was cultivated when he figured out the process of firestick farming, then refined in alchemical process during his research into medicinal herbs.

  “Verdant Inferno,” Yuanshi said. “I was impressed when Suiren beat Zhurrong black and blue. But Shennong’s attack potency with fire exceeds his, only lacking in the variety of applications.”

  Xuanyuan’s dual with Shennong was magnificent. For such a young cultivator, Xuanyuan knew how to fight extremely well. His Dao spun with a magnitude unbefitting of a Chaos Immortal who’d just obtained the great principle, and definitely not like a fresh Saint to Be cultivator of the modern path.

  His body had transformed into a yellow coloured emperor who commanded all of the earth. His immortal soldiers braved the never ending inferno that scorched across them. Each swing of his sword was followed by roars of an uncountable amount of men, breaking apart Shennong’s defences each time.

  When immortals of that calibre fight, it becomes less a contest of spells and martial arts. It’s just two concepts smashing into each other. Even Haotian found it hard to believe Xuanyuan can stand against Shennong for so long.

  “What a coincidence that my third generation disciple Youxiong became your brother in all but blood.” Yuanshi acknowledged Xuanyuan’s performance, but he didn’t seem fond of it. “You should not have elevated him so readily.”

  “Hm?” Haotian felt irritated

  “Though knowing your origins and my own research into Da Hai.” Yuanshi sighed, shaking his head in pity. “Have you noticed you’re repeating his life?”

  Both could feel the chilling wind around Haotian, though it was quickly suppressed. “Don’t compare me to him.”

  “If you think about it, you’ve become akin to the Five Element God. and that brat down there.” The Jade Pure One scrutinized Xuanyuan with a piercing gaze.

  The Heavenly Dao remained observing the battle between Xuanyuan and Shennong. It couldn’t be read as it had yet to display any intentions. Even as the battle, and by extension the shockwaves grew stronger, it did nothing to stabalize the environment.

  Were it not for Haotian’s constant spell, enormous areas of the Heavenly realm would be smashed apart. Anticipating that Haotian would eventually be unable to keep up, Yuanshi swung his Ruyi once. It tapped into something invisible, sending ripples across reality.

  Then the saint performed a handseal. Haotian felt all the weight on his shoulders disappear. At the same time, the various cultivators shielding their spectator box felt the same. This momentarily paused Shennong which Xuanyuan, uncaring of the change took action.

  “AH!” they heard Shennong cry from suffering a direct hit for the first time in the match.

  Haotian frowned. When the Heavenly Dao appeared to watch, Shennong should’ve anticipated that other top experts around the world to be watching too. His loss of focus showed a lack of strategic foresight.

  ‘Youxiong…Xuanyuan is committed to win.’ Haotian mentally changed the name of his friend out of respect. His longtime friend and host’s sword unleashed a hail of arrows that served to disperse much of Shennong’s Verdant Inferno. A number of them pelted the Earth Soveriegn before he pushed them back with a wave.

  The Heavenly Dao then shifted, noticing Yuanshi sitting nearby and Haotian standing beside him. As if finally noticing them, it emitted a noise not dissimilar to a scoff, then went back to viewing the two human’s duel.

  “It’s not as meticulous as you think. If it doesn’t pry, I am perfectly capable of keeping my business private from it,” Yuanshi informed Haotian. “

  “You are a Saint of Heaven. Your omnipotence comes from the Hongmeng Purple qi within you that connects you with the Heavens. You are part of the Heavenly Dao,” Haotian spoke from memory.

  “Yes but we’re more akin to slices of a pie. It can restrain me all it wants, doesn’t stop me from being myself. We are both existences that draw from the Three Realms,” Yuanshi said. “Besides, oftentimes it's much too busy with its own war to be worrying about you or me.”

  Among all of Yuanshi’s numerous disciples and grand disciples, Xuanyuan could be placed among the peak. He had birthed his own Dao despite the current cultivation climate incentivising the opposite.

  Xuanyuan was so powerful because he unknowingly followed the cultivation steps of a Chaos Immortal, birthing one’s own Dao devoid another Dao’s injection. But he ultimately did so with a foundation in the Heavenly Dao’s path of cultivation.

  Haotian would call him a Chaos Immortal as he was too familiar with it rather then the Saint to Be he only tangentially knew. Though Yuanshi saw him as something in between, leaning closer to a Saint to Be.

  But the Jade Pure One did not view Xuanguan’s existence as a positive thing at all.

  “Oh, the battle is winding down.”

  As said by the Jade Pure One, Xuanyuan had brought things to a close. After the first clean hit, Shennong was no longer in top form. This allowed the new emperor to gain an unprecedented advantage against the older man.

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  In the end, it has been too much for the progenitor of farming. Xuanyuan’s sword slashed across his divine form leaving a trail of dust like Dao essence. The taijitu on his hilt enlarged into spinning wheel that directly attacked Shennong.

  “What a dangerous Dao,” Yuanshi grimaced. “My grand disciple is becoming a dangerous fellow right beneath our noses. Very much like a mutual friend of ours.”

  “?” Haotian

  “Haotian, don’t be daft. You cannot look at him and tell me he doesn’t remind you of Liu Er.”

  Tension between the two rose with the utterance of a taboo. On the side, the Heavenly Dao began side eyeing their conversation.

  “Do not compare him to that thing,” Haotian growled. “Xuanyuan is…”

  “Is a man who bore the delusions of a new Dao but lacked the proper foundation to bear it. He was forced into a higher realm of cultivation that naturally served to propagate this Humanity Dao’s emergence. His way of thinking draws awfully close to Liu Er.”

  “That monkey was a mortal thrusted into the body of a higher dimensional lifeform,” Haotian scoffed. “Apples and oranges situation. Don’t talk about things you don’t understand.”

  “Hmph.” Yuanshi, displeased by Haotian’s accusation, released a tremor of qi that made Haotian pause. “Perhaps he’s not the only one that is delusional.”

  Yet he did not depart immediately, only pretending to lose interest.

  With Shennong on the ground, having receded all his spells, Xuanyuan pointed his sword at his senior’s throat. A blazing hand belonging to Suiren pressed down the blade at its base. Fuxi floated behind him with a cross expression.

  “My sister would not like this.”

  “If mother Nuwa disagrees, shes free to descend,” Xuanyuan sneered. “Then either she agrees, or she’s abandoned the human race.”

  “Ignorant child, have you not been paying attention? She’s dealing with the beast that manifests in the human race.”

  “Then all the more reason someone takes charge while she’s gone.”

  The experts watching felt the Law of Karma once practised by the Destiny Demon God, now part of the Three Realms, twist and turn. All those beneath the Saint realm began their own divination process and gasped.

  The karmic luck of the human race had shifted with one event. Under the gaze of the Heavenly Dao, the place of the Three Sovereigns as lords of all humanity shifted towards the self styled Emperor Xuanyuan.

  Humans, seeing the rise of a new mighty figure singlehandidly defeat a legend of the past, cheered with gusto. They chanted Xuanyuan’s name alongside his title of emperor. Somewhere along the way, they took note of his yellow coloured imperial manifestation as well.

  “Yellow Emperor!”

  “Yellow Emperor!”

  “Yellow Emperor!”

  The Heavenly Dao’s presence did the equivalent of nodding in acknowledgement to Xuanyuan’s identity. The vast amounts of luck, the resource that represented so many things, but destiny above all else poured into his sword.

  The xuanyuan sword in the Yellow Emperor’s grasp shone, it’s status elevating past a simple Immortal treasure. It became a new anchor for the karmic luck of the human race, and by extention Yellow Emperor Xuanyuan.

  “Hai…you win,” Shennong said sagging his shoulders. “Take your people and parade them all you want.”

  “And take your people and hide all you want,” Xuanyuan retorted.

  The Heavenly Dao above them hummed with a strange noise. Then, its purple clouds began receding. After witnessing this event, it dispersed it’s split attention and returned to whatever it was doing prior.

  Yet as its light dimmed, certain observers watching felt enraged at the result.

  Behind the mountains, rumbling footsteps was heard catching the attention of Xuanyuan. A new arrival from the Earthly Divinities race walked out, led by Chi You. The bull headed bronze green coloured giant was furious at what he saw.

  Upon seeing Shennong’s downed form, the half divinity grew furious. The other massive divinities behind him puffed up their chest.

  “Youxiong, you made a mistake,” he began talking.

  “I am Gongsun Xuanyuan, Emperor of all humanity, outsider,” Xuanyuan replied, raising a sword at him. “And you have ten seconds to scram.”

  …

  “Shennong lost,” Yuanshi said with disappointment. As the Earth Sovereign collapsed from Xuanyuan’s blows, the Jade Pure One hopelessly shook his head. He poignantly glared at Haotian. “See what you’ve made?”

  “I helped my friend, gave him a better chance at protecting himself.” Haotian defended his actions with an equal glare. “He is not that monkey and will never become that monkey. The fact you suggest he is him is…”

  “I didn’t say he is him, I said he’s like him,” Yuanshi said. “Of course he’s not a result of Liu Er’s Dao acting up. But his situation mirrors his perfectly.”

  “And to be honest,” the saint continued. “Him being likened to Liu Er is the least of my concerns. This Dao he built is based on the supremacy of the human race above all others. He cannot rein it in, he will act on it. We are looking at the cusps of a war not seen since the anti-devil war.

  “Hm, as a progenitor of a new Dao within the Heavenly Dao’s purview, he’s already destined for favour. And now that the Heavenly Dao acknowledges him as a ruler, we saints can only sit and watch. Mark my words, in time, countless lives will be caught up in that war. You would be intimately familiar with these scenarios.”

  “You know nothing about him. Xuanyuan has only ever worked to better his people. He has no intentions of conquest of any kind. Merely to safeguard his race from dangers. He’s a good ruler, a responsible one,” Haotian defended with a harsh gaze. “No harm will come of it.”

  “Did you know? Divination of the past is very easy for an omnipotent being such as myself. The archetypal Five Elements God and the Oceanic Suppression Heavenly Lord has swapped places. All I see is an enabler.”

  Yuanshi chuckled afterwards, much to Haotian’s growing anger.

  “I’ll reiterate what I said earlier, I came to check up on you. Just to see if you are well. I can speak with confidence that you are the farthest from being well old friend. And I owe you one to tell you that you are still just as lost and confused as when all those years ago on that mountain.

  He stood up, staring out into the night sky. Xuanyuan and Chi You were busy having a pissing contest while other major powers, particularly the other saints, watched on.

  “Heed my words Haotian.” He then walked off towards another set of hanging lights. These were the spots where the Supreme Pure One and Grand Pure One had taken seats. Haotian had not even noticed until Yuanshi started walking in that direction.

  He guessed that Jieyin would also be present somewhere. But without Yuanshi being near him, his figure emerged in open view. He could see many other top powers beneath the Saint of Heaven realm in modern day.

  Prince Luya beside Yi Fei’e, who both appeared startled. The ancient human and disciple of the Grand Pure One, Xuandu, gazed uneasily between Chiyou and Xuanyuan. A few dragons rested on a piece of cloud, all sneering. Then there was peacock with an arrogant expression who scoffed.

  “Since you’re so arrogant, let’s put things to the test here and now!” Haotian heard Chiyou say. The bull headed giant lashed out at Xuanyuan with his weapons. The two clashing atop where Shennong had initially fallen.

  In that exchange, Chiyou found himself pushed back by Xuanyuan. It was humiliating to him to realise Xuanyuan grown even stronger after stabilizing his cultivation and upgrading his sword with the luck of all humankind.

  “You’re too green dear nephew.”

  A divinity jumped out from behind Chiyou, using him as an obscurant. This giant appeared to be a burly humanoid with heavy amounts of muscle. He wielded an axe that he swung right at Xuanyuan’s unsuspecting head.

  Xuanyuan would not have died from it, but this divinity can easily injure him as badly as he’d injured Shennong.

  Haotian acted immediately to defend his friend. Descending in a ray of light, he knocked the axe off course. This resulted in a ferocious sounding ‘CLANG!’

  ‘My arm’s gone numb,’ Haotian thought with panic.

  “The hell is an innate god interfering for?” the giant roared.

  “Uncle, that’s Xuanyuan’s general Zhang Youren/Thanks, brother Zhang, appreciate it.” Chiyou and Xuanyuan spoke at the same time while readying their weapons.

  “Is he not human?” Chiyou asked.

  “Hmph, he hides it well, but I’m old enough to recognize innate gods of the third generation.”

  The giant uprooted the soil beside him in anger, instantly birthing a new spiritual mountain. “I am Xingtian, greatest of all divinities beneath the ancestors. How dare an innate god interfere in our business?”

  “Innate god I see, and here the Yellow Emperor was preaching against foreign entities while using one himself,” Chiyou mockingly said.

  “Hmph,” Xuanyuan scoffed. He moved to stand side by side with Haotian with nary a thought. “Zhang Youren has been a brother by my side and has always been human. Even if your delusions are true, he’d have long since been reborn completely as my human race.”

  “These humans of yours are truly pathetic nephew,” Xingtian said. “Fine then, lets nip this problem in the bud. MEN!”

  “YES!”

  “Bury this human trash. I want all these ungrateful shitstains of the Bear tribe erased!”

  Numerous divinities sprang into position, ready to crush all the human leaders. Haotian manifested into a giant of equal height to these divinities and planted his sword into the ground. Xuanyuan manifested his chariot and angled his sword up.

  Upon hearing Xingtian’s rather extreme response, Suiren and Fuxi positioned themselves to defend the human leaders too weak to defend against them.

  “Enough!” a third wizened voice roared across xuanyuan hill. A large figure flew up from within the crowd inside Xuanyuan’s palace.

  Long branch like horns adoring an angular, almost crocodilian head, followed by a serpentine body and four five digit claws. His azure scales made it hard to see him in the night were it not for the jewels attached to a crown that the dragon wore.

  “Ao Guan, A second rate trash of a fallen race wants to interfere too?” Xingtian barked.

  The azure dragon growled and addressed Suiren. “Your deal with us stands in spite of the disrespect.”

  “Thank you, your highness.”

  “Arrogant,” Xingtian spat.

  “Uncle, let’s not get too…”

  “Quiet nephew. These humans have grown too arrogant since lord Zhurong conceded his match. The ancestors would all agree they need to be taught a lesson.” He took a breath and roared out a deafening challenge.

  Ao Guan, the dragon king in charge of the East Sea felt his ears bleed from Xingtian. Xuanyuan felt bits of his manifestation flake off, and even Haotian tightened the grip of his sword.

  ‘Heavens, he’s on par with. No he’s surpassed most of the twelve from back then.’ Haotian was naturally aware of the name Xingtian. One of the most famous gods of war from his inherited memories. ‘Shit, if everything else fails I’ll go all out. And if he doesn’t stay down, I can draw out Da Hai’s strength.’

  But he wouldn’t need to. Night appeared to turn into day when golden clouds coalesced. They rained a watery shower upon them. Each droplet, though appearing ordinary, carried an extraordinary amount of profound concepts. It certainly gave pause to any violence.

  “Father,” Ao Guan grunted.

  “Senior brother,” Yi Fei’e murmured.

  The sound of a pair of wings flapping once was heard. This was followed by an old tired voice.

  “Would you give this old man some face?”

  It was a voice stronger than any Saint to Be expert. Beyond a Primal Zenith Chaos Immortal. Its owner had not entered the Heavenly realm. Yet his voice alone was enough.

  Xingtian groaned with suppressed anger while Chiyou took charge once more.

  “You’ve trapped humanity with a sick delusion,” Chiyou told Xuanyuan as he walked away. “I am half human too. You will not be emperor for long.”

  “Move your people quickly,” Ao Guan told the human sovereigns.

  “We’ll make sure to offer some incense. We wish for the Dragon Emperor’s health.”

  Ao Guan nodded, he and all the dragons who’d visited rose up and flew eastward. In truth, he saw no welcome in Xuanyuan. He’d even been furious with him due to his relationship with Shennong.

  In the end, luck had been on Xuanyuan’s side. Yinglong, the last publicly known disciple of Da Hai chipped in from the isolated ocean world to repel Xingtian. This earned a myth in the future of Xuanyuan receiving aid from said winged dragon.

  But this was also the day that the war between the Yellow Emperor and Chiyou began.