At the moment the Sun's primal essence broke free from the stars, the goddess's charm was purified by golden light, and the evil half-gods, freed from its influence, watched in astonishment and fury. Uncle fled like a dog without a home, his back hunched and utterly unimpressive. The divine powers of Space, Lightning, and Gales vaporized and dissipated in the golden radiance. Shura also rushed, but not away from the Sun—he charged toward the Primordial Heavenly Sovereign, bearing the Sun's scorching heat. This was the only chance to slay the Primordial Sovereign. At this moment, his divine strength rapidly evaporated, all his abilities faltering, yet he relied on his formidable physique, racing against the Sun, pressing toward the Primordial Sovereign. The Sovereign of the Stars lifted a black, round moon in his left hand, releasing streams of pure black lunar radiance, enveloping Shura in a cloak of black velvet. "Hish... hish..." The black cloak continuously evaporated and purified, then replenished itself. Shura's speed surged dramatically. At the same time, a fountain of starlight surged from the celestial sovereign's head, forming a continuous wall stretching hundreds of kilometers, shielding the sleeping half-gods from sunlight and preserving their sleep quality. The elder of the Xie family sneered, bit her fingertip, and with golden blood traced a spell on the pot of spirit beasts. Then she launched it. The pot soared through the air, its lid opening and bearing the pressure of the sun's essence, casting a streak of jade-gold light over the Asura's head before flipping over. "Boom!" The pot, swollen dozens or even hundreds of times its original size, crashed down heavily onto the ground, enclosing the Asura. "Clang... clang..." A thunderous sound like forging iron echoed within the pot, and within just two seconds, it was violently thrown off by the immense force. The Asura, holding his bronze curved sword, reappeared, furious yet powerless to stop the sun's essence from striking the Yuanshǐ Tianzun's chest. The golden light illuminating the realm faded. The Yuanshǐ Tianzun trembled throughout his body, lifted his head sharply, and emitted two beams of golden light that shot straight Streams of golden flame spilled from his body, swirling around it to form a spherical domain with a diameter of ten meters. Golden phoenixes emerged from his chest, abdomen, mouth, and ear canals, circling him before re-entering, repeating this cycle endlessly. Zhang Yuanqing hung suspended within the domain, maintaining his posture of raising his head and arms, motionless for a long time. He was containing the essence of the sun; he was merging with the sun's essence. As a primary cultivator of the sun deity, he did not need stellar energy to balance the sun's intensity, since his very mastery of solar power enhanced his capacity to endure the sun's radiance. Of course, the risks were higher than those of a master of the stars. The VRus charged forward, raising the Chiyu sword and striking at the spherical domain. CRACK! As the blade met the domain, a surge of scorching golden flame erupted, searing through his black robe and engulfing his body. The Shura staggered backward, his flesh and muscle on his face, chest, and thighs evaporating, revealing a half-burned skeleton, while the flesh on his back and buttocks remained intact. Unlike when the Star Sovereign previously absorbed the Sun's essence, where the Star Sovereign's own power had tempered the Sun's intensity, here, the Sun's essence was more forceful and unyielding. With no neutralizing force present, the Primordial Sovereign had to absorb the Sun's essence directly—effectively, Shura had cut the Sun's essence with a blade. His survival alone attests to his strength. The King of Fear turned sharply to Yuan Shi Tian Zun, stunned. The two Phantom Deities of the Void Sect, the Gǔlóng of Ling Néng Huì, and the Elder of the Xie family all exchanged glances, each expressing the look of disbelief: "Is it you, the Lord of the Stars, who's gone mad—or have our ears finally failed us?" Even with the stature and experience of a half-deity, none could immediately grasp the Lord of the Stars' words. The Void half-deity shrugged, shedding his earlier helplessness and fury, regaining his relaxed demeanor, and even began to weave in a rap, smiling gently. "They say you, the Lord of the Stars, calculate all matters of the world—so now you've only just caught up?" He seemed quite smug. The Lord of the Stars remained silent for a few seconds, then spoke slowly: "That explains why you and the Goddess of Beauty have so firmly committed yourselves to supporting Yuan Shi Tian Zun, even at the expense of current realities, even going so far as to strain relations with the Lawful faction. From the very beginning, you've known that the Magus—no, Yuan Shi Tian Zun—has already become The Void Half-Deity smiled, saying, "Since the Magus King's title was rendered obsolete, we've been in a state of anxiety. When Yuan-Shi chose to exchange his Primordial Essence Fragments with Cai Qinhe and meet their end last October, our anxiety intensified even further. I've actually suspected that Yuan-Shi's passing might have been connected to you, though I haven't had concrete evidence yet. Because with the stars and the Moon returning to their places, the launch of the Sun's Quest has now entered its countdown phase—yet at that time, he was still merely a Saint. Subsequently, you and Ling-Tuo quietly exacerbated tensions between the two factions, obstructing the Merit Scroll, orchestrating internal conflicts between the Wind and Thunder Deities, and even eliminating the Sea King—all actions that were pushing the Order-aligned faction to activate the Fragments of the Light Compass and open the Sun's Quest. We simply don't have enough time. To be honest, I must also thank Ling-Tuo. Without his gift of the formula for the San-Cai Pill, Yuan-Shi would never have advanced to the ninth rank and secured the qualification to contain the Sun." "Nevertheless, the formula is a formula—still, the difficulty in securing the primary herbs continues to trouble me. Thus, when you convened the Half-Deity Council, pressuring me and the Goddess of Beauty, I keenly seized the opportunity—to send Lingtuo into the Solar Instance. With his protection gone, it will no longer be difficult to find the Night Rose Guardian in the real world. Hm, this young man truly lives up to my expectations as my successor—he doesn't need me to teach him, and already understands how to leverage the strength of the Knight class." The Goddess of Beauty interjected with a smile, "Then, I and the Void will be waiting for him to reach level nine and for him to descend into the instance." The Sovereign of the Stars turned to the Primordial Deity, fully immersed in the essence of the Sun, his voice resonant and majestic: "If I'm not mistaken, he is the descendant of Zhang Zizhen, isn't he?" The Half-Deity of Void clapped her hands with a crisp sound, "Indeed, what a master of foresight—what a master of foresight!" "You entrusted the fragments of the Lunar Essence to the King of Magic, I always believed that the core fragment of the Luminary Compass was in your hands, the very foundation upon which you relied to support the Primordial Sovereign. I never expected it had already merged with the essence of the Sun. The Lord of the Stars maintained a composed expression, his starlit eyes gazing steadily: "I have always considered my predictive arts unparalleled, with the past and future clearly laid out before me. Yet I failed to perceive your subtle maneuvers. Indeed, the Demon Sovereign did vanish completely—both in form and spirit. How did you manage to conceal this from me?" While awaiting the Primordial Sovereign to absorb the Sun's essence, the Semi-Deity of Void replied: "That story runs deep. The Sun Sovereign's support initiative wasn't conceived by me, but by Zhang Zizhen. When he first learned of the secret of the Spiritual Realm, he realized that the decline of Lingtuo was inevitable and could not be halted. Thus, he began formulating the Sun Sovereign's support plan. His first step was to tear away the fragment of the Taiyin Origin from the revived Lingtuo." "The secret of Taiyin is at the very core of the strategy—without Taiyin's hidden protection, every plan you and Lingtuo conceive appears merely a public, stage-bound farce. He was corrupted by the invaders, cursed by Lingtuo with the essence of Taiyin itself, knowing he would surely perish. Thus, he remained hidden for years, giving birth to offspring. Determined to elevate his child as the sovereign of the Sun, he entrusted to his heir both the 'fragments of Taiyin's essence' and the 'core fragments of the Compass of Light'—that is, the Mage King. Pausing momentarily, the Void Half-Deity turned to the Primordial Celestial Sovereign, now enveloped by the Golden Phoenix and with extensive carbonization across his body, and sighed: 'To believe this may surprise you—though the Mage King's emergence was unexpected. I knew that the fragment of the Compass of Light sealed within him would surely grant him his character card, yet the character card distribution within the Lingjing realm is entirely random and occurs at any given moment.' " "He obtained the role card four years ago, but a small twist of fate had him assigned by the mysterious judge to the Department of Public Order's fallen ones, where he drank the liquid from the Fallen Holy Cup and became a servant of the judge. Since then, it has been nearly impossible for him to grow quietly and steadily—should you deduce his identity as the King of Magic, you would inevitably lock onto both me and Zhang Zizhen. To prevent that, I had to preemptively grant him the Luna Fragment and sever his connection to his true identity. Then, I approached him under the guise of a mysterious investor, gradually guiding his development, teaching him how to purify the contamination of the Fallen Holy Cup, and introducing him to the Goddess of Beauty." The goddess took up the thread, saying: "One year ago, the battle on the surface appeared to be Lin Tuo eliminating the threat of the Demon King and reclaiming the Taiyin fragments. In reality, it was our pursuit of Lin Tuo—bringing him out, defeating him, enabling the Demon King to become the sovereign of Taiyin, and then using the core fragment of the Light Compass to open the Sun's realm, with the core fragment serving as the medium to house the Sun and purify the pollution of the Fallen Holy Cup. "Unfortunately, you intervened unexpectedly, causing the Demon King's demise. As a result, we had to revise our plan. The Demon King divided his soul into three parts. One fragment, bearing all memories of his life as a Spirit Realm Traveler, settled upon the core fragment of the Compass and, leveraging the core's unique properties, entered the Sun's realm, where it now resides within the Sun's essence. Another fragment was entrusted to the Master of the Void, hidden within the Taiyin fragments. The third—this is the Demon King as you perceive him—has truly perished, both in form and spirit." "Besides the part of the soul that has perished, two fragments of your residual soul—one sheltered within the Sun, the other protected by shards of the Moon's essence—remain invisible to your divination techniques. To you, the Demon King thus appears to have died completely." The goddess spoke with a soft, alluring voice. "It now seems that our original plan must have failed—we accounted for the spiritual expansion, but not for you. Indeed, precisely because of this matter, both I and the Void have begun to suspect you." The Lord of the Stars paused, then said, "The flaw is evident: the Demon King's residual soul, sustained by fragments of the Compass's core, can remain unbroken within the Sun's essence—this makes perfect sense. Yet, the Compass's core fragments cannot open the Sun's realm. Otherwise, Zhang Zizhen would have directly cast the Spiritual Expansion into the Sun's realm, purifying it with the Sun's essence. Last year's battle, even without my direct involvement, the Spiritual Expansion was still supported by the War God. With only you two and the Fearful King, to have defeated the Spiritual Expansion would be nothing short of a dream." The Void Elder chuckled without explanation, reaching out from the void to pluck a compact black speaker. He tapped the top of the speaker: "Explain it to our Star Sovereign." All the half-gods' eyes were now fixed upon the Cat King speaker. The Cat King speaker seemed to have crashed—motionless for a long while. The Void Elder gave it a solid slap: "Don't be shy!" Still, the speaker offered no response, appearing lifeless. The Void Elder shrugged: "It seems it's too afraid to speak." The Star Sovereign remained silent for a few seconds before asking, "How exactly did the Demon King summon the fragments of the Sun's essence during that battle?" The Void Elder shrugged again: "I don't know. Why don't you ask it yourself?" He turned his gaze toward the Primordial Sovereign, surrounded by the Golden Orions. ... Zhang Yuanqing's soul felt as though it were engulfed in a sea of flames, the searing pain of the fire relentless and unceasing. Yet it preserved his rationality amid the turbulent spiritual surge, allowing him to endure the relentless washing of those memories. He recalled them—everything came back to him. After Bing became an undergraduate at Hangzhou University, to celebrate his successful admission and to experience the city where he would live for the next four years, Bing took him on a summer trip to Hangzhou. At Yinfo Temple, both of them received character cards and entered their respective realms. After exiting the realms, they felt overwhelmed and rushed to the nearest police station to file a report. The case was then transferred to the Hangzhou branch, handled by a servant of the Ghost-Eye Judge. As newly appointed spiritual travelers, they were lured by the servant into drinking the liquid of the Fallen Holy Cup, thereby suffering the pervasive contamination of the Fallen Holy Cup—a condition that now instilled dread in the spiritual world. Over the following three years, they wandered in shadows, enduring pain and struggle, officially pursued and marginalized by the establishment. The once-temperate man grew increasingly irritable, eventually becoming more extreme and more erratic. He couldn't go back home anymore. He had to keep diligently and continuously fulfilling the tasks assigned by the Weir Eye Judge, or the Weir Eye Judge would leverage the Fallen Holy Grail to make them experience the utmost agony. He recalled more memories after completing the trials. The second time he entered a dungeon, it was the Shu Ling Tunnel. That dungeon was a certain death scenario—a suddenly ruptured spatial corridor that allowed him to escape. This long-standing puzzle finally made sense later when he learned that his uncle had secretly helped him escape, at the cost of resetting his experience points—though at that time, he had only just become a Spirit Realm Traveler and thus didn't have much experience to begin with. In the Shu Ling Tunnel dungeon, the message in the Red Dance Shoes dialogue box—["Your dancing skills remain as poor as ever"]—wasn't recognizing his magical king character card, but rather, it was recognizing him personally. Memories unfolded one by one, stretching from 2019 to 2023, and at the very end of the fragmented memories, darkness remained—yet within that darkness, footsteps echoed. That footstep was spacious and light, as if emanating from the deep yearning and lingering affection within his heart. He heard the footsteps pause at the door, then he turned the doorknob and stopped right beside his ear. A gentle, familiar voice whispered to him: "Yuanzi, fifteen minutes after now, at 7:30 a.m., you will wake up. When you wake, you will be a first-year student at Songhai University. During your high school years, you've suffered from a chronic headache. Your mother, Chen Shu, has taken you to numerous hospitals across the country in search of treatment, and eventually found the medication abroad—this very medication is kept in the drawer of your bedside table... Listen to these words three times, and believe them completely." Then, upon waking up again during an episode of the headache, he received a character card sent by Bingge! The character card has been fully restored—fully restored... His memories are now flowing smoothly and coherently. He has never suffered from head ailments—what is known as head trouble stems from his soul being too powerful for his physical body to contain. It arises specifically because the pure soul from his residual essence does not seamlessly match with the soul within his puppet body. As his status grows, his physical form gradually becomes capable of accommodating such a powerful soul, and thus the head ailments cease to recur. That is why his "memory recall" has never managed to return to his high school days—it stops precisely on the day when Bingge sends over the character card. For that was the very day he was reborn. Life feels like a grand dream! A grand dream! Zhang Yuanqing murmured, "I am the demon king. I am the demon king…" Nine golden suns fully settle within him, and a great sun slowly rises, dispelling all illusions! The Sovereign of the Sun is born!