Master of the Pure Yang School maintained the flow of the dream, and in his ears, Zhou's words seemed neither thought-provoking nor strange—no more than an additional missing person. It wasn't until, with the aid of a man who looked younger than his years yet bore the appearance of age, Zhou completed the forms that Master felt a shift. He glanced at the names of the missing: Lei Yibing, Zhang Yuanqing. Only then did he suddenly find the name "Zhang Yuanqing" familiar, though he couldn't recall where he had heard it before. These images flash and shatter rapidly, eventually settling into a familiar yet foreign whisper, gentle yet tinged with sorrow: "Yuanzi will return soon. He'll forget today's events and delete the files..." Chen Yuan, kneeling by the window, is drenched in sweat, his eyes bloodshot from the pain, murmuring softly, "Little cousin..." ... The War of the Gods. Upon sensing someone's arrival, aside from the Stellar Sovereign who was deeply absorbed in refining the sun, all the half-gods turned to look. Yuan Shi Tian Zun?! When they saw the visitor clearly, they were both astonished and bewildered. How had this young man arrived? It's like, in the midst of the great dragons' battlefield, a mere insect—someone who had just joined the fray—appears. Instead of mocking its lack of strength, one is struck by wonder at how it managed to traverse the flames and blades, reaching the battlefield. The Sun's realm is a place even half-gods cannot enter—either one must possess fragments of the Compass of Light, or have divine-level power to open the way. Shé Jiā Lǎozǔ’s astonishment and bewilderment were no less than those of the evil half-deities, his dark, clear eyes wide open, “How did this young man get here?” Only then did the half-deities notice the appearance of Yuanshǐ Tianzun—short, dark hair with a golden sheen, pale golden skin, a never-fading solar disc at the center of his brow, and luminous golden eyes. The entire figure seemed coated in gold, as if forged entirely of solid gold. An extraordinary phenomenon, his form distinctly non-human. This was the very hallmark of a Ninth-Rank Sovereign who had touched upon the power of the fundamental rules. Yuanshǐ Tianzun had ascended to the Ninth Rank! Even the half-deities, now, felt an indescribable surge of emotion. From ordinary beings to Ninth-Rank Sovereigns, some had taken a century, others a half-century, and some only several decades. The currently recognized fastest-rising魔 king had required over three years. Yet Yuanshǐ Tianzun—only ten months. Such a rapid pace of advancement was even making the half-gods envious, let alone the nine-tier day-traveling gods, who in their eyes were mere farm animals. So, was the support from the Void Half-God and the Goddess of Beauty truly unrealistic ambition? Could Master Yuan Qing truly rise to become a nine-tier sovereign within a short time, gaining the qualifications to compete for the title of Sun Sovereign? A nine-tier sovereign only needs to obtain a half-god's artifact or administrative privileges to be absorbed and evolve into a new half-god. Whether it's a nine-tier initial or a nine-tier peak sovereign matters little, since their ranks are fundamentally the same—only differing in timing, with a slight difference in power. As the group observed him, Yuan Qing swiftly scanned the surroundings, taking note of the nearby evil half-god, the floating Star Sovereign, his uncle, the Goddess of Beauty, the elder of the Xie family, and the half-gods sleeping in clusters at the far edge of the vision. Had the Night Emperor even entered the quest realm yet? I didn't see Old Ma from the Wine God's Club or the Head of the Bio-Alchemy Guild... The semi-deity from the Spirit Energy Guild has been lost—phew, what a devastating blow to the Chaotic faction! The Lawful semi-deities haven't suffered any casualties, but most of them have fallen into deep sleep. Zhang Yuanqing's first thought was that the Lawful faction had secured a decisive advantage in the battle for the Sun's Primordial Source. Then, under pressure, the Chaotic faction surged forward, summoning the Night Emperor, who pulled most of the Lawful semi-deities into slumber. Nevertheless, the Star Sovereign ultimately claimed the Sun's Primordial Source and emerged as the final victor. Ling Tu is gone... did he perish? Zhang Yuanqing scanned the surroundings, unable to spot Ling Tu. He felt both relieved and deeply saddened. This young cousin—his sworn enemy who had killed the members of Wuhu Hotel, the true architect behind his return to the Spirit Realm—had fallen so early. Though he wasn't entirely satisfied with the outcome of the Star Sovereign's victory, he could only accept it. At least as favorable as Lingtuo's acquisition of the Sun's primordial essence. After roughly assessing the scene, Zhang Yuanqing suddenly sensed something was amiss. With keen sensitivity, he perceived envy, hostility, and a deep sense of exhilaration within the evil half-god's emotions—though the exhilaration was not directed at him. After Lingtuo's demise and the lawful order securing the Sun's primordial essence, what could possibly be joyful for them? At that moment, his uncle in the heavens, gazing at the designated successor, declared solemnly, "The Lord of the Stars has betrayed the lawful order!" What?! The brief statement struck Zhang Yuanqing like a thunderbolt, causing his pupils to contract instantly. Without hesitation, he transformed his body into brilliant starlight, flashing several times, and fled to the side of the goddess of beauty and the elder of the Xie family, distancing himself from the evil half-gods. As the primordial sovereign fled in disarray, the evil half-gods only scoffed, showing no desire to pursue. "What's going on?" Zhang Yuanqing asked, his expression serious, turning to the goddess of beauty and the elder of the Xie family. The elder ancestor of the Xie family, in the form of a young boy, sighed, "We have defeated the evil faction. The Star Sovereign summoned the Night Emperor, who attacked the half-gods of the lawful side, and Lord Shurō slew Ling Tu... In truth, Shurō has always supported the Star Sovereign. Now, the Star Sovereign has gained both the Yin and the Sun Sovereigns. 'From the very beginning, the lawful faction was destined to fail, because whether it was the Star Sovereign or the Yin Sovereign, both were part of the evil faction.' Zhang Yuanqing stared in disbelief, unable to accept this outcome. "If the Stars are fallen, how could you, the lawful half-gods, not have noticed? Are you all mere failures?" The goddess of beauty gently shook her head, "The Stars are not fallen. However, he has consistently supported the evil faction. The reasons for this will be explained later." Zhang Yuanqing looked at her, and within the hazy radiance of holy light, he saw the goddess smiling at him. At this moment, the Star Sovereign's strength was reaching a critical point, and the starlight and golden light were gradually merging, no longer raging. It seemed only a matter of seconds before the final integration would be complete, before it could fully embrace the sun. The malevolent half-deity remained vigilant, on guard against any unforeseen developments. At that moment, the void half-deity standing atop the high vantage point suddenly roared with a thunderous voice that reverberated throughout the entire expansive realm. "Awake!" The sound rolled out, drawing everyone's attention away from their current tasks—except the Star Sovereign, who was fully absorbed in the task of containing the sun. All others were puzzled, wondering what had gone wrong. The void half-deity fixed his gaze on the Star Sovereign and roared again: "Awake!" "Awake!" "Awake!" With each cry of "Awake!" came another thunderous roar. And then, a transformation began. The sun's essence, which had been gradually neutralized by the starlight and destined to be refined by the Star Sovereign, suddenly stirred. Its once dim golden glow surged into strength, violently pushing aside the starlight clinging to it. At that very instant, every being present sensed a subtle mental ripple beginning to stir and recover within the heart of the sun's essence The very next moment, a golden phoenix emerged from the星辰之主's chest, then another, a third, a fourth, and so on—until a ninth. Throughout this process, starlight transformed into arms, desperately grasping the phoenixes, trying to pull them back into the body, yet being effortlessly dissolved and purified by the powerful golden light. The nine phoenixes flapped their wings and returned to the星辰之主's chest, together lifting out a golden fragment the size of a large basin. At the center of this fragment was a carved sun, surrounded by radiating linear reliefs. Upon seeing this golden fragment, the half-gods present paused momentarily. They were utterly familiar with this fragment—it was… the core fragment of the Compass of Light! Indeed, the radiant golden light at the heart of the sun had not been the largest phoenix, but rather the core fragment of the Compass of Light? Thus, the core fragment of the Compass of Light, which had vanished twenty years ago, had already been fully integrated into the sun's essence? The only one among them who had not been paying attention to the星辰之主 and the sun's essence was Zhang Yuanqing. "Thump! Thump! Thump!" The heart surged within his chest, beating wildly—physically, as if summoned to burst right out of his ribcage. Even more astonishing was his mind, more precisely, his soul! The soul seemed to be splitting open. The long-overdue headache returned with intense force, causing him unbearable pain, so he instinctively clutched his head, his face contorted in agony. Instantly, the Sun's essence, like a bulb wrapped in cloth, dimmed. The realm of slumber restored, and the lawful half-deities failed to awaken. The Sun's essence, enveloped in starlight, swayed in the air, occasionally pulled back by the Star Sovereign, and at other times struggling to move away from him. The two powers engaged in a tense tug-of-war, pulling against each other. The Star Sovereign's face flushed with veins standing out, shouting, "Kill the Primordial Celestial Sovereign!" He offered no explanation—there was no time for one. Upon hearing this, the evil half-deities turned uniformly toward the Primordial Celestial Sovereign, who clutched his head, writhing in pain and contorted in distress. Though still full of questions and confusion, the half-deities recognized that securing the Sun's essence was the foremost priority and immediately acted, launching coordinated attacks to surround and eliminate the Primordial Celestial Sovereign. The southern-based Illusory Deity dissolved the physical laws, stepping just one pace to reach Zhang Yuanqing's side and drawing him into a dream. A tap of fingers echoed in the air: "Exiled!" The Prime Celestial Sovereign suddenly vanished, stepping out of the dream realm and materializing a hundred kilometers away. The Beauty Goddess, no longer content with her elusive, passive stance, stood alone in front of the half-gods, her arms sweeping out. Behind her, a colossal, golden-shelled oyster slowly emerged. The oyster opened gently, releasing a sweet, fragrant aroma. The Goddess smiled lightly, "Am I beautiful?" Instantly, the evil half-gods' passion surged, overpowering their anger, desire for battle, and jealousy. The sun's essence became secondary. All they saw now were the symbols of beauty and desire—the woman who could bring them unparalleled delight. The northern and southern realm's phantom deities, observing this, worked to suppress their own emotions while simultaneously rallying the half-gods' combat instincts to counteract the rising passion. The elder of the Xie family, holding the Pot of Spirit Transformation, swiftly twirled a red thread with one hand, drawing the red threads of the half-gods to the Beauty Goddess. The musician's thread, combined with the Goddess's passion, produced a synergistic effect—greater than the sum of its parts. The malevolent half-deity, who had just begun to show signs of breaking free, once again fell under the spell of the goddess's charm, setting aside the rivalry among allies and the very essence of the sun. Of course, he could strike the malevolent half-deity now—yet that would cause the enemy to instantly escape the influence of the charm. Any control rooted in spirit or emotion inevitably fails when subjected to physical blows in reality. Nevertheless, the elder of the Xie family and the goddess only intended to delay, not to kill the malevolent half-deity. For a short time, influencing and controlling the half-deity was far simpler than eliminating them. As a bloodthirsty, warlike spirit of seduction, Lord Shouro remained unaffected by emotional entanglements. Once the two divine illusions ignited his desire for combat, he became immune to passion. Ignoring the goddess and the elder of the Xie family, clearly aiming to prolong the delay, Shouro let out a thunderous roar beneath his feet, surging forward instantly over a hundred kilometers to reach Zhang Yuanqing. His bronze curved blade suddenly slashed out, the immense force at the tip of the blade causing the surrounding space to collapse and disrupting the spatial magic of the "Wheee..." A wall of wind rose, blocking the bronze curved blade. Though it dissolved into strong gusts within less than a second, it had already been sufficient. The void half-deity who had exchanged for the dark-gold female mask descended at supersonic speed, wielding a lightning spear and crashing toward the Shura. The Shura's blade cut through the air in reverse, flashing with bloodlight, and the half-deity's arm lost strength, dislocating at her shoulder. The half-deity landed between the two, pressing her palm firmly against the Shura's chest, "Retreat!" Boom! The entire space of the instance resisted the Shura; all the air repelled her, and the two forces surged simultaneously, pushing this world's strongest 12th-level hero hundreds of paces away. The force did not fade—it continued to act upon him. The Shura's feet carved hundreds of paces into the barren ground, his waist and long legs tensed, fighting against the spatial and airflow resistance. His body trembled, and with sheer physical strength, he held firm against the resistance of space and air. Uncle paid no attention, turned his head toward his nephew, whose face was wracked with pain, and spoke softly: "Yuanshi, all your questions lie there! Do not resist it, do not fear it—this is your fate, one you cannot escape or change." Zhang Yuanqing finally lifted his head, his eyes bloodshot. Gazing at the sun's essence wrapped in starlight above, he let out a soul-shattering roar in response to the call: "Come!" The sun's essence broke free from the starlight's embrace, wielding its power to burn and purify everything, and surged directly toward Yuan Shi Tianzun.