A hall in the medieval style. One by one, figures emerged—first the Wind and Thunder deities taking the form of Borias, then the beauty goddess enveloped in a halo of holy light, a youthful and endearing child, and the President, wearing a silver mask. The four remaining half-gods of the Lawful faction gathered together. They all turned their gaze toward the Primordial Celestial Sovereign, the Lord of the Sun, seated at the head of the table. Having shattered the jade scroll to arrive at this spiritual realm instance, the Wind and Thunder deities, the Shieh family patriarch, and the goddess had already learned from the Void President that the Primordial Celestial Sovereign could no longer replenish himself. Thus, the three half-gods looked solemn, their expressions grave. Zhang Yuanqing sat upright at the head of the table, surveyed the four half-gods, and said in a steady tone: "In the instance of the Yuhua Immortal Sect, I once left behind an important item and divided the key into six parts, giving one to each of my six lovers." "The Star Sovereign had already transferred the Yu Hua Immortal Sect's archive to the periphery of the third major region—where the spiritual realm's sanctum lies—before I could gather all the keys and open the treasury. There, as a being of my rank, I simply cannot reach. "In other words, I may not be able to complete the Sun's essence and become the true Sovereign of the Sun." Borias furrowed her brows, her vibrant voice now rough with urgency: "Are you certain that the items stored within the Yu Hua Immortal Sect's treasury will enable you to complete the Sun's essence?" Zhang Yuanqing spoke slowly: "I have examined myself repeatedly, drawing upon the memories of the Magus of the Dark Sovereign, and only the items hidden within the Yu Hua Immortal Sect's treasury represent my hope of completing the Sun's essence. Moreover, only a force surpassing a half-divine being could cause me to forget those items—something I can never recall. Within the Lawful Order, only the Emperor of Heaven possesses such power." Within the treasury of the Yu Hua Immortal Sect, there lies the Emperor of Heaven's contingency plan for him. Boreas remained silent for a few seconds, then spoke herself, her voice ethereal and delicate, like the whisper of the wind: "So you've summoned us with the intention of initiating the final battle early?" Zhang Yuanqing nodded: "Today, I engaged the Star Sovereign in a duel, and I've awakened the residual will of the Lingtuo. As a result, the Star Sovereign is unable to merge with the Taiyin in the near term. Neither of us has yet achieved full completion, and I have lost the possibility of completing myself. Rather than lingering in the real world, searching for elusive possibilities, it's better to go all in and fight to the end." Pausing, he spoke with a serious expression: "The Star Sovereign has already begun to merge with Taiyin and now holds the highest rank among the current generation, approaching the status of an Administrator. He can influence the spiritual realm's subsidiary realms. Meanwhile, the Huangtian Emperor is deep within the spiritual realm, defending against the demonic forces, and is unable to assist us. "Therefore, the Star Sovereign will likely use the subsidiary realms to counter us. I've just ascended to the rank of half-god and am "The venerable elder of the Xie family, with a soft and endearing demeanor, gently stroked her rounded chin and said, 'In fact, once one reaches the half-divine level, they typically no longer enter dungeons. If the Star Sovereign wishes to use the spiritual realm dungeons to challenge us, it would be within the bounds of the rules—offering itself the greatest convenience possible.' The Divine Being from the Void added, 'The spiritual realm's suppression and means of countering half-divine beings are actually rooted in character cards. Each spiritual realm traveler, upon receiving their character card, enters into a binding contract with the realm. Therefore, the spiritual realm always holds the initiative. When the realm gains forces or artifacts that surpass the half-divine level, it can easily defeat half-divine beings.' Zhang Yuanqing understood her uncle's point: 'So the core lies in surpassing or matching the power of the half-divine level.' The Void's Grand Master nodded in agreement: 'Indeed, we must strive to gather character powers belonging to half-divine beings who have no claim to them. Any half-divine artifacts or items currently residing within the spiritual realm are considered the realm's default power.' "Just like the 'Wahuang Remnant' bequeathed by the old patriarch of the Chu family—actually located within the Chu family's faction quest—this semi-divine artifact can be directly utilized by the Spirit Realm. This is precisely why, when he offered it to the Universal Marketplace, he was able to obtain the Wahuang Remnant." "Heard this, the elder of the She family smiled warmly, saying, 'The Sun's sovereign simply can't make you conceive and bear a child within a short time—this is my specialty.' The goddess chuckled, adding, 'Unfortunately, you're just an old man.' She sighed, her water-like, graceful eyes fixed on him, saying, 'When you were in Xin Yue Command, I cherished our intimate moments every day, hoping to conceive a child. As soon as you become the Sun's sovereign, I will then qualify as a mother goddess.' How ungrateful your belly is! Zhang Yuanqing thought to himself. He had been constantly nourishing you with the essence of life, yet still hadn't managed to produce even a single child. The Thunder Deities summarized, 'Therefore, should we be slightly careless, we may face penalties from the Spiritual Realm, confronting not only the half-gods of the evil faction, but also a half-Realm manager.' Their adversaries were half of the Spiritual Realm's administrators. Zhang Yuanqing replied calmly, 'Then let's treat this as an SSS-tier quest. Our formal assault on the War of the Gods quest will begin at noon tomorrow.' After finalizing the strategy, the elder of the Xie family, the Beauty Goddess, and the Wind and Thunder Deities gradually departed. Zhang Yuanqing then turned to the semi-divine figure in the void, saying, "Uncle, thank you!" The uncle complained, "I'm your uncle, not a delivery person." With a sigh of frustration, he left. About a minute later, one after another, figures materialized at the conference table. There stood Xia Hou Ao Tian, Fu Qingyang, Zhai Cai, the Master of Zhishi Palace, Xiao Yuan, and the Dog Elder. Instantly, all of them turned their attention to the chief, fixing their gaze upon the dignified and imposing Yuan Shǐ Tian Zun, who exuded a strong sense of authority. Zhang Yuanqing glanced around at the gathered guests, speaking in a light, conversational tone: "Looking at my current self, doesn't anyone feel a sense of time slipping away, of years rushing by?" Hearing this, the Dog Elder was most moved, remarking, "Indeed, that's exactly it. The boy who used to tug at my hair has now become one of the supreme figures in the Spiritual Realm—how could anyone have imagined this would happen just Zhang Yuanqing smoothly transitioned into the topic,感慨道, "Perhaps due to my relatively limited experience, I've been unable to compete against the Star Sovereign, whose decisive strike has severed my path to the Celestial Clouds. Ladies and gentlemen, I'm summoning you all today precisely to announce my intention to engage him in a decisive battle before he fully establishes his dominance." While the Master of Zhishi Palace, already aware of the situation, remained expressionless, the others' brows gradually deepened with growing seriousness. Fu Qingyang spoke first, "What can we do?" Zhang Yuanqing replied, "Once a Half-Deity enters the realm, the Evil faction may replicate the event of the Disappearance of the Merit Scroll, launching a widespread campaign of slaughter across the real world—what they perceive as their own grand celebration. In such a scenario, the moral constraints that once governed the realm will effectively vanish. Therefore, you must remain vigilant for unforeseen developments; I don't want to defeat the Star Sovereign only to find Earth transformed into a wasteland. "Here, I present you with a gift." He opened his inventory and placed a clay sculpture of a dragon, stretching the length of an arm, upon the table. Fu Qingyang raised an eyebrow. The Dog Elder leapt suddenly onto the table, his dark, round eyes widening in astonishment, exclaiming, "The dragon vein?! The rules-based items from the Grand Elder..." As he spoke, Zhang Yuanqing produced a second, third, and fourth item—one a small triangular banner of apricot-yellow, constantly emitting mist from a golden basin; another a willow branch; a third a mask adorned with flames; and a fourth a black square seal. The Dog Elder's eyes were nearly bulging, and the entire meeting room fell silent. All the rules-based items from the Nine Elders of the Headquarters had been captured by Yuan Shi Tian Zun. Zhang Yuanqing's expression remained calm and dignified, as if the items he had brought forth were ordinary: "Each of you may select one. However, since your professions differ, the true power of these items cannot be fully realized. Therefore, I recommend that you go to Lian San Yue and melt them, refining them into new items that suit your specific profession and reflect your personal intentions." The young gentleman from the Finance Department reached out first and seized the mask painted with flames. Zhai Cai sighed, "Sending such a grand gift—well, you're making me pay with my life, aren't you? Fine, after all, it's the knight's fate to sacrifice. I'll take it. There's a Level 9 rule-based item—I'm willing to sell my life for that." He chose the vibrant willow branch. Then, the Dog Elder, the Master of Zhishake, and Xia Hou Ao Tian also made their selections. The Dog Elder picked the Dragon Pulse of the Grand Elder, Di Hong; the Master of Zhishake chose a rope woven from fresh green vine tendrils; Xia Hou Ao Tian took the black square seal, while Xiao Yuan selected the apricot-yellow banner. Zhang Yuanqing waved his hand, sending Zhai Cai, Xia Hou Ao Tian, and the Dog Elder away. He turned to Fu Qingyang and whispered, "Older brother, the real world is now yours." Fu Qingyang replied coldly, "I'd rather enter the副本. I'd like to fight alongside you." "Little Fu, you've no self-awareness at all. You're simply not good enough—your game isn't even at the high level. Zhang Yuanqing didn't press further, simply Fu Qingyang remained expressionless: "It doesn't matter." At the Nine Elders' meeting, Fu Qingyang had already learned everything—especially the relationship between Yuan Shi Tian Zun and the Magistrate King. He didn't care much; the Magistrate King was merely one chapter in Yuan Shi Tian Zun's life journey. What he truly valued was Yuan Shi Tian Zun himself—the vibrant, intriguing soul. As for what title that soul bore—whether Sun Sovereign, Yuan Shi Tian Zun, or even the once-ill-credited Magistrate King—it all mattered little. In the end, the only one whose feelings for him had remained unchanged was the eldest. It was just unfortunate that he couldn't have bowed down and paid his respects at once. Zhang Yuanqing smiled, waved Fu Qingyang out of the spiritual realm. He then turned to Xiao Yuan, his tone gentle: "I will always apologize to you in matters of emotionally chaotic and turbulent feelings. Yet my feelings for you have never changed." Xiao Yuan sighed softly: "I'll say sorry again once I'm alive and back." Zhang Yuanqing nodded, and escorted her out of the realm. Only the Master of Zhishi Palace remained. Zhang Yuanqing looked at her, his gaze seeming to pierce through the mask, and softly said, "In fact, it's you, Yuyi, that I should have apologized to all along. By now, I've come to understand Jiang Yu'ei's true position toward me—she has never been just my cousin. She's been my childhood friend, my close companion since we were young, my closest non-blood relative, the child bride rescued by Zhang Zizhen."