“War against the divinities? Disciple why would you join this Xuanyuan?” an old man in purple stroked his beard in a contemplative manner. Before him, the Heavenly Dao’s true body seemed like a radiant sun. Both individuals could not take their eyes off each other.

  Even so, neither could accurately read each other’s mind. Neither could directly combat each other, at least not to the extent of an all out war. Yet both could be described in a tug. Their target was a Dao fruit sitting comfortably in the old man’s belly.

  “Haotian, even after all these years you still have yet to steady your heart?” Hongjun quizzed to invisible air. His eyes narrowed on where Haotian stood by Xuanyuan within the Three Realms with a vaguely disappointed gaze.

  Because this was his heir. Transcending the shackles of all existence was only a matter of time for him. But he wanted Haotian to have the best future to follow after him. And failing that, to live comfortably for all eternity.

  Whether Haotian had the talent or not was ultimately irrelevant. As long as he was secured, Hongjun can have peace in mind.

  Never in a million years did he think he’d develop this level of love for a disciple. But as a Dao realm omnipotent being, there was no harm in it. The only bother, was the Heavenly Dao who just didn’t know when to quit.

  “Silly child,” Hongjun addressed the Heavenly Dao. “letting your curiosity wander that much only puts you at more of a disadvantage. What does it matter that the Yellow Emperor has now appeared? It’s not like it's a surprise.

  “The world may not be following one to one with that story. But it is at least rhyming.”

  The Heavenly Dao trembled in fury. Hongjun was supposed to belong to it, act for its sake. It could not believe the old godfiend dared to cross the supreme boundary on his own. For him to transcend would mean the Heavenly Dao would lose its strongest chess piece. And he dared to think himself its superior.

  “Oh well, I’ll give you some more time,” Hongjun said again, thinking of Haotian. “Have fun with those beings.”

  …

  For three thousand years, a fierce war broke out between the tribes of man and the archaic species of divinities. Long years of non stop fighting between what amounted to a tribe of ants whose only notoriety was their numbers, against a race with natural strength to overturn the heavens.

  When it began during the eve of Gongsun Xuanyuan’s crowning ceremony, everyone thought he’d be crushed beneath the weight of the Divine Ancestors. Because for all his personal power, Zhurrong, Gonggong, Rushou, and Jumang held prestige for a long time.

  The primary powers of Daoism were content to wait things out, only involving themselves if things got desperate. Guang Chengzi may disapprove, but he wasn’t about to let Xuanyuan die. The Supreme Pure lineage on the other hand had many members return to their families. Those who were human were felt compelled to aid their loved ones.

  The appearance of them initially brought visible joy to Xuanyuan, but that quickly soured when these immortals didn’t respect him. Ultimately, disciple of that lineage respected their teachers and obeyed their wisdom more. Thus Xuanyuan upheld an antagonistic attitude towards Biyou Palace as well as Yuxu Palace.

  The dragon race who had interfered to protect the human race also did not actively participate. But if anyone prayed towards them, a dragon elder would be dispatched to ensure their safety. This only extended to settlements that did not follow Xuanyuan or Chiyou. As such neither Xuanyuan nor Chiyou could abuse the dragon race’s generosity.

  However, Xuanyuan was not without firepower of his own. In this war, his trusted friend and general, Zhang Youren stood by his side all the way through. Sword in hand, both duo combined their extraordinary cultivation in this war.

  Xuanyuan’s Dao became more energetic the longer he fought for humanity. With the total karmic luck of the human race moving towards him, in addition to his Dao already representing the human spirit, his strength as a Saint to Be soured.

  He could divide his will, using numerous powerful incarnations to appear in many of his armies. In each incarnation, he could manifest the strength of a Great Unity Golden Immortal. As a result, he began being known as the Billion Fold Daoist.

  The involvement of his friend, ‘Zhang Youren’, was a little more complicated. The Earthly Divinities recognized him. They were furious.

  ‘How dare an innate god of the ancient era interfere?’ they thought.

  ‘How dare an innate god pass himself off as a human?’ they thought.

  They felt the unfairness of the situation to the point where the Divine Ancestors could not leave it to their descendants anymore. It was a slap in the face for their youngsters to be bullied by a powerhouse from the previous era.

  Xingtian, the divinity race’s war god led their armies into battle numerous times. While Chiyou vied for the same title Xuanyuan did, Xingtian was out for blood. He slaughtered trillions upon trillions of human cultivators, and met Xuanyuan in battle countless times.

  In what was supposed to be the largest clash of both sides three thousand years after the beginning. Xingtian and Chiyou tag teamed Xuanyuan’s true body. During the war, it was clear humans simply cannot match the firepower of the Earthly Divinities.

  Hence, as a gambit, Xuanyuan gathered his largest army yet and pushed deep into the central regions. He bypassed Mt Wuzhuang and into the ruins of Mt Buzhou. It was here that the divinities were caught off guard, aghast that a holy land would be directly attacked.

  After all, this was Pangu’s heart as well as the same mountain that once held up the sky.

  “Finally caught up to you, pathetic fool,” Chiyou snarled at the Yellow Emperor in the angriest tone he could manage. “Do you have any idea how much this has cost our races?”

  Xuanyuan’s eyes glinted like molten gold, unshaken as he floated above the scorched battlefield, his robes fluttering like divine banners in the wind.

  “The cost?” he scoffed. “Your wretched kind brought this upon yourselves.”

  With a thunderclap, Xingtian surged forward, muscles rippling beneath celestial armor, his colossal axe raised high. “Spare me your sanctimony!” he bellowed, voice shaking the sky. “Today, you fall!”

  The war god swung.

  Xuanyuan raised his palm. In an instant, the space between them distorted. Xingtian’s axe struck a shimmering barrier of light. This rebounded him as several golden scaled dragons manifested out to push him.

  Xuanyuan skidded back a few meters in the air, eyes narrowing in mockery. “Using the imagery of another species? Disgusting.”

  Chiyou darted in with the speed of a lightning serpent, his numerous weapons aimed at Xuanyuan’s side. The Yellow Emperor spun, unsheathing the xuanyuan sword sword in a single, radiant arc that parried the blow and sent a shockwave ripping through the clouds.

  Stabbing the same sword into the ground, the taijitu symbol engraved on the hilt fired off millions of radiant spears at Chiyou. The reality itself shuddered from each tear the spears made.

  Below, millions of cultivators paused mid-duel, heads turning upward as three legends collided with apocalyptic force. Humans in their titanic battle formation and divinities alike moved away from clash.

  Xingtian and Chiyou launched together. The strength of both was so fierce that Xuanyuan’s imperial avatar was knocked back with numerous cracks. The chariot he rode on pulled by nine dragons exploded into dao essence.

  “If it’s blood you want,” he muttered, shifting the form of his avatar. Its eyes seemed to burn in a type of celestial fire. “Die for me!”

  He began circling the karmic luck of the human race, using it for fuel to unleash a huge burst of flames.

  “Do not worry about us your majesty,” his soldiers cried out in utmost faith. “Our luck is for the betterment of the human race. Use it crush our foes.”

  Fanatic cries were heard in unison, combining to a sound wave so loud that the demons watching from the Supreme Yang star heard it.

  “Screw self preservation. They’re all just a bunch of lunatics,” a demon sage muttered. “And it’s only been three thousand years.”

  “Your majesty, what are we to do? Many of those soldiers are related to our worshippers.”

  The highest throne of the sun, a handsome black haired man sat fondling a chakram. His long bangs covered both sides of his face, and wore a single monocle on his left eye. Eastern Emperor Taiyi released a scoff.

  “As we already intend. Let them kill each other. We can pick off some stragglers later and convert the Southern Shanbu continent with our rivals out of the way.”

  Along the ruins of Mt Buzhou, Xuanyuan raised both hands and the karmic ember in his hand him. An enormous mandala of golden fire, formed from the hopes, sacrifices, and faith of billions.

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  He roared, and the sky split.

  A pillar of flame, forged from collective destiny, surged downwards, piercing even the void beyond the firmament. It was the destiny of humanity weaponized not unlike how the qilin clan who served the Heavenly Dao could do.

  Xingtian stumbled mid-charge, eyes narrowing. “He dares to burn his people’s karmic luck?!”

  Chiyou hissed. “That madman… he’s using the very future of mankind as fuel.”

  But it was too late.

  Xuanyuan struck downward with a single finger, and the karmic inferno collapsed into a spear of divine fire. It hurtled toward the earth like a comet, targeting the two warlords with soul-searing precision.

  “AAAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGHHHHHH!!!” Xingtian screamed. His muscles eroded from the sheer heat. The bloodline he inherited from the ancestors were the strongest possible, but could only barely resist.

  Xuanyuan breathed hard, his Dao fruit’s concept allowed him to draw more from his people than any other ruler before him. But he felt enormous mental fatigue from bearing the weight of it all. “Brother Youren, I could really use some help right now.”

  While he attacked, Haotian was tangled up with Zhurrong, Gonggong, Rushou, and Jumang. In a gimped version of the Pangu Genesis formation that reassembled the Four Symbols more so, the Divine Ancestors brawled across the void with Haotian.

  “Please, all that’s needed is for Chiyou to surrender and agree to leave humanity alone. That’s all he wants,” Haotian said.

  “You are delusional if you think that brat will stop there. What happened to the hero who fought to save the Primitive World?” Gonggong angrily roared in turn.

  “Father god damn you,” Rushou and Jumang said.

  The five of them tussled throughout the void between realms because that’s where Haotian had pushed them out early on. Throughout it all, he attempted as best he could for them to surrender.

  Xuanyuan was aggressive, but Haotian still believed he was an able and just ruler.

  Though the Pangu Genesis Formation was but a shadow of its true form, it distorted the heavens enough to make even Haotian sweat beneath the strain. Zhurrong’s burning fist expressed through the giant Pangu avatar grazed Haotian’s cheek, searing skin that hadn't been touched in ten thousand years.

  “I stand beside a man trying to preserve order,” Haotian said blankly, breathing heavily, though his grip on the vast heaven never wavered. “Xuanyuan seeks peace.”

  Backing away, he and the Pangu Genesis formation appeared to become streams of qi. Trailing across the sky, skirting past the trichiliocosm beneath the Heavenly realm.

  “I…I trust him. Xuanyuan has only ever done right by his people. He seeks true orderly peace.”

  “Blind!” Gonggong screamed at him. “If the Yellow Emperor wins, he’ll desecrate all existence. All existence will belong to himself and humans alone. The Pangu Genesis formation roared with an unbelievable vigour.

  It’s axe was about to connect with Haotian’s waist when suddenly, it failed to reach him. The four divinities’ eyes widened simultaneously as spacetime seemed to distort. They couldn’t feel the telltale signs of this happening however, just that no matter how far they pushed they just never seemed to able to hit the target in their sight. As if he was too far away.

  Haotian took this opportunity to stab at the formation’s abdomen.

  “Fool, even a top grade xiantian spiritual weapon cannot pierce this formation,” Rushou boasted. And as his words stated, Haotian’s sword skirted past the giant.

  But it was then that Haotian’s foot kicked the giant’s abdomen. Using force to turn it in another direction, Haotian’s giant body kicked it away.

  The knockback wasn’t that powerful however. It was when Haotian raised the vast heaven mirror and used it to reveal a vast world of clouds that the giant stopped. The Pangu Genesis formation disappeared, leaving the four divinities in a courtroom full of demons.

  “What the? Where are we?” Gonggong muttered.

  “Isn’t this the Yang star?” Zhurrong gasped, meeting Taiyi in the eye.

  “How did they appear?” they heard Xihe gasp.

  “Arrogant spawns of putrid mud staining our hall,” Nine Infants uttered in disgust.

  On his throne, Eastern Emperor Taiyi’s grimaced. “Vast heaven mirror, I’ve never dealt with this treasure. How did you four intrude here?”

  The solar demon raised his hand to release a heatwave at the Divine Ancestors. The four braced but felt none of the heat. Realizing it passed through them, they grew angered. Not to mention, before them were their political rivals.

  “Illusion?”

  “No you idiot, can’t you feel the void around us? The active formation around us?” Jumang chastised Gonggong.

  “If that’s the case, and this isn’t an illusion either.” Zhurrong’s body began burning in rage. None of them ever moved from their spot to begin with. They were still within the same space where they were fighting Haotian.

  The innate god simply projected their consciousness into the Heavenly Demon court. The Vast heaven mirrior was one of the greatest divination treasures ever, but instead of using its function to spy on a scene, Haotian used the ability in an inverse. He brought the scene to the mirror.

  The divine ancestors were powerful in body and in their control over natural elements of the universe. But towards esoteric abilities, they were more vulnerable. Hence they struggled over how to stop seeing this scene.

  “Enough, stop spying on us!” Eastern Emperor Taiyi suddenly roared. It seemed he figured out what was going on too given his gaze pierced the void towards the void space where the Pangu Genesis formation actually was.

  The sound of a loud bell was heard and the four divinities found themselves rebounded back to normal senses.

  “Damned Haotian, we used to think of you as a friend. But now…” the Pangu giant reared its axe immediately. Yet Haotian was one movement faster.

  “I’m really sorry,” Haotian said, both hands on the Pangu giant’s burly chest. “Just don’t make things more difficult.”

  In the time they’d been distracted by the Heavenly Demon court, Haotian was moving the giant towards one particular world in the trichiliocosm. An enormous realm made entirely of water.

  The giant wasn’t able to react in time and was thrust into the world of infinite water. Dragons galore looked up in shock at what had just been shoved into their space at immense speed. In that brief exchange, Haotian tapped into Da Hai’s cultivation base.

  What was the harm? The old snake wasn’t around to use it. The physical force punted the giant too far underwater for them to get up in time.

  Haotian didn’t waste a single second applying the Dao of distant sea’s effect on the water realm, making the surface unreachable as long as the four knew where it was. He felt Yinglong’s gaze lock on to him for that act but spared it no attention as he blitzed away.

  In the Heavenly realm proper, Haotian appeared. He immediately threw the vast heaven sword into an arc made by Xingtian’s axe.

  With a thunderous clang, metal screamed against metal, and divine sparks scattered like comets across the sky. Xingtian was rebounded mid-strike, his feet carving deep gouges through the ruinous ground.

  “Damn it, even now you interfere?!” the war divinity roared, his face twisted in fury.

  Xuanyuan, still ablaze with the last echoes of his karmic strike, gave Haotian a brief nod. “You’re late.”

  “Karmi fire?” Haotian uttered accusatorily.

  “Yes! It’s general Zhang!”

  “General Zhang is here, general Zhang is here!”

  The great formations of the human race cheered at Haotian’s arrival. Said immortal’s face twisted into a grimace. “You two, your ancestors have been defeated, please surrender.”

  Streams of purple lighting arced across the battlefield. Numerous gigantic divinities found their bodies encased. Their movements were hindered until they became akin to statues. Furthermore, Haotian’s monstrous aura fell upon them all.

  For the billions of human cultivators partaking in the fighting, this was a huge relief.

  “Is this all a sick joke to you?” Chiyou’s bull heard spat at him. His hoof cracked the stone beneath them, divine blood still slick on his blade. “You stand beside a man who devours his people’s fate, calls it glory, and still beg us for surrender like this is mercy?”

  “The sacrifices of my people’s destinies,” Xuanyuan frowned in equal distaste at the flames he conjured. “But we will gain it back. As humans.”

  The Yellow Emperor’s eyes turned to the great temple in the background.

  “This war is won Xuanyuan. With me here, they cannot fight anymore,” Haotian reminded him.

  “Don’t you dare.” Xingtian sprang upright and made for a run. Haotian quickly motioned a seal, generating purple lighting that encased his limbs, a binding spell taught to him by Hongjun.

  “Enough Xingtian, this fight is…” in the corner of his senses, Haotian saw a swift movement of the xuanyuan sword. Perhaps it was because this is his trusted friend, but he didn’t react in time.

  In one swift motion, a metal of a sword encased in human destiny sliced through Xingtian’s neck. The head of the furious divinity fell pathetically into soil, causing a small earthquake as it did so.

  “NO!” Chiyou cried.

  “Xuanyuan,” Haotian groaned in dissatisfaction.

  “He wouldn’t stop,” the Yellow Emperor said, calm and resolute. “And humanity will not kneel.” His voice had no triumph, just a brutal, cold certainty.

  “I am the Human Emperor. I will end all threats to my race.”

  Chiyou gritted his teeth from his position on the ground. He pounded the soil in humiliation. Beside him, the headless body of Xingtian twitched. It rolled to its side trying to prop itself up.

  “Not dead? This divinity is so resilient eh?” a cold gleam flashed across Xuanyuan’s eye. At the same time, Haotian stepped forward grabbing the xuanyuan sword’s pommel.

  “You’ve already won. Just stop already,” Haotian finally said. “The Earthly Divinity race is also one that has done great merit for the Three Realms. At the end of the day, they also wanted to protect life.”

  A tried sigh came from Haotian. Memories of innumerable devils came to his forefront. “There's just no need for further bloodshed. Especially unecessary”

  “Unnecessary?” Xuanyuan snapped. “You would rather see us grovel under the feet of the gods and spirits again? I won’t allow it. Not while I still draw breath. Brother Zhang, I know we’ve had out differences. But these monsters.”

  The Yellow Emperor took another step forward, sword shimmering with karmic threads that coiled like living things.

  “Xingtian was a god of war. Mightiest of the Earthly Divinities. And you’ve broken him,” Haotian told him. “Look, they’ve all lost the will to fight.”

  The battlefield had gone quiet. The formations of gods, spirits, and demons hung back, no longer charging, no longer roaring. Chiyou knelt in mute anguish, his hand still clutching soil stained with divine blood.

  For a period of time, Xuanyuan and Haotian just looked at each other. Even the human cultivators grew nervous at the silence.

  Neither man would seemingly budge. Xuanyuan’s grip on his sword tightened, yet Haotian would not release his hold. Not one ounce of cultivation was unleashed, nor the spinning of dao fruits.

  Then it was all broken by the fluttering of Xuanyuan’s robe. His bloodstained sword disappeared into particles and he walked past Haotian towards the downed Chiyou.

  “Humans and humans alone are the superior race. Your Jiuliu tribe will return all my people to me. And your kind will never rule over my kind again,” he said with a face of indifferent coldness.

  The Yellow Emperor scanned the ruins of Mt Buzhou and determined it lacking. None of the grace of human civilization, none of the intelligence.

  “So arrogant,” Chiyou muttered.

  THOOM!

  In the sky above, a spatial tear opened and a giant yellow dragon claw reached through. It tossed out four individuals before retracting back into the void.

  As soon as Zhurong and the rest got their bearings, they faced Haotian and Xuanyuan hatefully. The latter scoffed Haotian’s way.

  As for the former, he sighed again. When he opened his eyes at the four Divine Ancestors again, they stilled their bodies. They all felt a piercing reptilian gaze zero in on them. Not just one, but eight sets from out of nowhere.

  None of them sensed anything, nor where there visible changes on Haotian. Mentally, he’d begged them to not make him go all out. A vast distance away, a solitary dao fruit spun with an ominous sound.

  Despite just reentering and being enraged, the four divinities flinched again and again. They observed Haotian uneasily, lost on what to do. They fell silent. This wasn’t just the strength of a single cultivator, it was the weight of something far older, more ancient.

  Haotian exhaled slowly. “The human-divinity war has been decided don’t you all think? Yellow Emperor won sovereignty over his people.”

  “Many of the Jiuliu tribe are integrated with divinities,” Chiyou barked. “You’d split families?”

  “Humans are…” Xuanyuan began saying. But Haotian quickly interrupted for him. “It’s their choice,” he said.

  “Hmph,” Zhurong snorted. “This brat wants domination so bad? Fine.”

  “Brother,” Gonggong challengingly said.

  “I don’t want to risk fighting that,” Zhurong finally said. “You’ll have your peace Yellow Emperor.”

  “Make sure to uphold it,” he said towards Haotian.

  Xuanyuan scoffed before walking off to lead his soldiers. Xingtian’s headless form, now in a kneeling position sagged upon hearing this. Headless but not lifeless, even decapitated, the war god refused to let go.

  Without Haotian’s dominating pressure, Chiyou stood up. He limped towards Haotian, ultimately aiming for his kind behind him. But as he passed Haotian, he whispered to him.

  “Zhang Youren or Haotian or whatever you call yourself. You just handed a madman unchecked power.” Scoffing at Haotian’s downcast gaze, he limped away.

  Haotian didn’t reply. The whisper hung in his mind like the toll of a great bell, echoing long after the sound had faded.

  He exhaled slowly and finally moved, taking slow, deliberate steps away from the battlefield. He passed the splintered bones of great divinities and even more human warriors. The cheers of human cultivators in the distance rang hollow in his ears.

  Had he unleashed something bad?