Chapter 167: The Stirrings of All Sides

Thus, Zifeng Zunzhe followed the middle-aged man's light projection, quickly passing through a light curtain and arriving in a mysterious space.

"Where is this?" Zifeng Zunzhe gazed forward and soon saw a blue battle armor floating in the void.

The blue armor was covered in strange law runes and emitted a faint aura of pressure.

"This is the core region of the entire inheritance space!"

The middle-aged man's light projection also looked toward the blue armor and continued: "This armor before us is the reward you receive after becoming a Candidate Divine General!"

"It is a supreme-grade heavy treasure armor, a top-tier specimen—though not as good as a true ultimate treasure, it is still extremely valuable!"

"Supreme-grade heavy treasure armor?"

Upon hearing the middle-aged man's explanation, Zifeng Zunzhe could not help but feel a surge of excitement.

He knew that his master's armor was a supreme-grade heavy treasure armor, capable of weakening an enemy's attack power to one percent—or even one-thousandth—of its original strength!

At that moment, the middle-aged man's light projection continued: "Now, use the secret technique you gained from the Lingfeng Divine General's inheritance to permeate the defense barrier surrounding this armor, and you will successfully claim it!"

Hearing this, Zifeng Zunzhe immediately separated a thread of divine power and activated his innate secret technique, "Little Lingfeng," to penetrate the light barrier enveloping the blue armor.

Puff!

The defense barrier shattered instantly upon sensing Zifeng Zunzhe's divine power, and his thread of divine power swiftly seeped into the interior of the blue armor, completing soul-binding in moments.

Just as Zifeng Zunzhe was about to carefully examine the information of the blue armor, the middle-aged man's light projection spoke again: "Enough! Candidate Divine General, my task is complete—you must leave now!"

No sooner had he spoken than the middle-aged man's light projection waved his hand, and Zifeng Zunzhe was instantly teleported to the vast square outside the inheritance temple, paved with black stone.

"Is it over?"

Zifeng Zunzhe turned to look back at the inheritance temple, filled with boundless emotion.

Before receiving the inheritance, he had been merely a lowly Hei Fengwang, a mortal among countless stronger immortal deities in the human race—let alone the Cosmic Venerables!

Yet after receiving the inheritance, he had leapt to become a powerful Seven-Star Overlord—how inconceivable was that?

"Even within the entire human race, my strength must now rank among the top!" Zifeng Zunzhe thought inwardly.

Thinking of this, Zifeng Zunzhe gazed through the white light barrier surrounding the inheritance temple toward the other inheritance temples, lingering a moment longer on the one where Lu Qingshan stood.

"My luck truly is excellent!"

Zifeng Zunzhe chuckled in admiration: "I always felt the Lingfeng Divine General's inheritance suited me best, so I abandoned the Mo Yin Divine General's inheritance—now it's clear this was the wisest choice!"

"And even the Wanjie Wang, who had the chance to receive the full Lingfeng Divine General's inheritance, is progressing slower than I am!"

"Now everything is settled—I am a Cosmic Overlord!"

Zifeng Zunzhe looked at the other thirty-one palaces floating in the void and chose not to leave immediately.

In his view, once he departed from the inheritance palace, the entire Lingfeng Divine General inheritance site would instantly collapse, leaving others unable to continue receiving the Lingfeng Divine General's inheritance to enhance their soul resonance.

If the other inheritors were aliens, it would not matter—but most were human Hei Fengwang immortals, and several even belonged to the same Cosmic Mercenary Alliance lineage as him; Zifeng Zunzhe was naturally willing to wait a while longer.

But just then…

Boom—

Amid a roaring sound, the thirty-two Lingfeng Divine General inheritance palaces floating in the void began collapsing simultaneously.

Inside one inheritance palace, the Mo Long Wang had just reached the 2401st step of the inheritance staircase and was striving to comprehend the inheritance, when the staircase beneath his feet suddenly began to collapse.

"This…"

Mo Long Wang stared in disbelief at the collapsing staircase beneath him, his face filled with shock: "What is this? Why is the inheritance staircase collapsing suddenly?"

At the same time, this scene unfolded among all other Hei Fengwang immortals receiving the Lingfeng Divine General's inheritance.

"What's happening?"

"What's going on?"

"Why is the inheritance temple collapsing all of a sudden?"

All Hei Fengwang immortals receiving the inheritance within the Lingfeng Divine General site froze in place.

And the collapse of the Lingfeng Divine General inheritance site was swift—within moments, only the Hei Fengwang immortals remained floating in the void.

"Roar!"

"Roar roar!"

Countless strange beasts below, upon seeing the many Hei Fengwang immortals appear, instantly surged wildly toward them.

Facing the assault of these strange beasts, the Hei Fengwang immortals paid them no mind—after all, these beasts, at most marquis-level, could never harm them.

What they most wanted now was to uncover the true reason behind the collapse of the Lingfeng Divine General inheritance site.

And just then, an immensely terrifying aura suddenly spread from a powerful figure floating in the air, instantly causing everyone to whirl around and stare.

They all stared in disbelief at what lay before them!

"Hmph!"

The Zifeng Wang of the Cosmic Mercenary Alliance merely let out a cold snort, and the countless strange beasts below instantly turned to ash, dispersing into the wind!

"Zifeng Wang?"

"Could it be that Zifeng Wang is the one who just broke through into the Venerable Realm?"

"But even then, he shouldn't have caused the entire inheritance site to collapse!"

Seeing Zifeng Zunzhe's action, the surrounding Hei Fengwang immortals all froze.

For they could clearly sense that if they had been struck by Zifeng Zunzhe's casual attack, they would not have fared any better than those strange beasts.

Especially Lie Kong Wang of the Giant Axe Combat Arena, who now wore an expression of utter disbelief: "Impossible! Even if Zifeng Wang truly broke through into the Venerable Realm, he could not possibly possess such power!"

Yet Lu Qingshan, upon seeing Zifeng Wang's move, instantly understood everything.

"So it was him!"

Lu Qingshan inwardly sighed: "Zifeng Zunzhe—the Candidate Divine General from the original story! I never expected he received the full Lingfeng Divine General's inheritance!"

In the original story, Zifeng Zunzhe had once guided Luo Feng and his master, Zhen Yan Wang, upon their arrival at the Zushen Sect; later, when Luo Feng became an immortal and was pursued by Pei Feng Zunzhe after killing Fei Jing Wang, it was Zifeng Zunzhe who arrived in time to drive off Pei Feng Zunzhe.

But Lu Qingshan had not known Zifeng Wang had also received a slot in this Lingfeng Divine General inheritance, which was why he had not considered this possibility.

"Thank goodness!"

Thinking of this, Lu Qingshan felt deeply relieved: "Thank goodness I didn't keep activating the Enlightenment Boost function—otherwise I'd have wasted it all!"

Although he could quickly rush to the Initial Universe after the inheritance site collapsed to contemplate the Chaos Stele, or improve his self-created secret art under his ancestral master Venerable Yao Guang's guidance, the differing durations of the Enlightenment Boost function would surely result in significant loss of effectiveness!

Then, Lu Qingshan couldn't help but marvel: "This Jiufeng Zunzhe is truly formidable—he comprehended the complete Lingfeng Shenjiang inheritance in just over two years! Even with the Enlightenment Boost function cheating for me, I couldn't match him!"

And at that very moment…

"I remember!"

One of the surrounding Fengwang Bujiu immediately cried out: "I recall my teacher once saying that if an inheritor accepts the complete Shenjiang inheritance, the Shenjiang inheritance site will collapse entirely!"

Upon hearing this, all the Fengwang Bujiu around turned their gazes toward Jiufeng Zunzhe—the cause of the Lingfeng Shenjiang inheritance site's collapse, the one who robbed them of their chance to receive the inheritance!

Yet even so, not a single Fengwang Bujiu's gaze held anger or disrespect!

Because Jiufeng Zunzhe, having entered the Venerable Realm and, through accepting the complete Lingfeng Shenjiang inheritance, become one of the elite even among Venerables, had long surpassed them all in both strength and status!

If a Fengwang Bujiu had interrupted their chance to receive the inheritance, they would surely have been furious and resentful!

But now, with Jiufeng Zunzhe, they could only respectfully congratulate him!

"Congratulations, Jiufeng Zunzhe, on obtaining the complete Lingfeng Shenjiang inheritance!"

"Congratulations, Jiufeng Zunzhe, on your breakthrough!"

The Fengwang Bujiu, snapping back to their senses, all began congratulating Jiufeng Zunzhe.

At the same time, they quickly began mass-sending emails, notifying their backer Venerables, even their teachers and friends, of this news…

On the other side, King King Fengying Wang, who had already arrived at the scene, was utterly stunned: "I never expected the one who broke through to the Venerable Realm was actually Master Jiufeng—and he obtained the complete Lingfeng Shenjiang inheritance, causing the entire Lingfeng Shenjiang inheritance site to collapse!"

"This is simply unbelievable! No, I must notify my teacher immediately!"

In an instant, the news that Jiufeng Zunzhe had obtained the complete Lingfeng Shenjiang inheritance spread like a whirlwind.

After all, when Lu Qingshan had merely broken through to the Fengwang Realm, it had already caused a minor stir within the Human Clan—let alone Jiufeng Wang's breakthrough to the Venerable Realm!

Especially since Jiufeng Wang had accepted the complete Lingfeng Shenjiang inheritance, even the highest-level Cosmic Lords of the Human Clan might be stirred!

…

In a majestic temple on the continent housing the headquarters of the Human Clan's Cosmic Mercenary Alliance.

"Damn those Meng Yao Zu scum!" A Venerable clad in green armor couldn't help cursing.

This man was King King Fengying Wang and Jiufeng Zunzhe's teacher, the renowned Venerable Fantian of the Cosmic Mercenary Alliance!

Beside Fantian Zunzhe sat two other Venerables: one with a face covered in dense fish scales; the other with two ox horns atop his head—the Venerables of the Fish-People lineage and the Ox-People lineage!

"Indeed!"

The Ox-People Venerable could not help but sigh: "Those three Water Lotus Zunzhe from the Meng Yao Zu are no stronger than us—perhaps even weaker—but they shamelessly traded blows with us, relying on their vastly larger divine bodies!"

"Too bad my soul attacks are still too weak!"

The Fish-People Venerable added angrily: "At best, they only slightly hindered the Water Lotus Zunzhe trio's movements—no chance to kill them with soul attacks!"

"This time we've been badly ripped off!"

Fantian Zunzhe lamented bitterly: "We didn't even seize that ultimate weapon sword—and we lost a lot of divine power; it'll take hundreds of thousands of years to recover!"

Originally, Fantian Zunzhe and his two companions had previously teamed up to explore the Primordial Star. Though they hadn't obtained any precious treasures, over the long years they'd been among the luckier ones—not only surviving the Primordial Star, but even acquiring several valuable artifacts, including one ultimate weapon.

Recently, Fantian Zunzhe and his companions encountered the emergence of another ultimate weapon—a longsword.

But just as the supreme treasure was about to fully emerge, the three Meng Yao Zu cultivators led by Yin She Zunzhe suddenly arrived. Relying on their powerful bodies, they traded injuries with the three Zifeng Zunzhe, ultimately snatching the newly emerged supreme treasure from their hands and causing the three Zifeng Zunzhe to lose a considerable amount of divine power.

But just as the ultimate weapon was about to fully emerge, the Water Lotus Zunzhe trio from the Meng Yao Zu suddenly appeared—and relied on their immense physical strength to trade blows with Fantian Zunzhe's group, ultimately seizing the emerging ultimate weapon and causing Fantian Zunzhe's trio to lose considerable divine power.

After losing so much divine power, Fantian Zunzhe and his companions had no choice but to temporarily return to the Human Clan's territory to restore their divine power!

"Why not wait until we've restored our divine bodies and team up with Yin She Zunzhe?"

The Ox-People Venerable suggested: "If Yin She Zunzhe joins us, we might stand a chance of killing one or two of the Water Lotus Zunzhe trio if we meet them again!"

The Fish-People Venerable immediately countered: "Yin She Zunzhe is a Cosmic Overlord—he usually operates alone on the Primordial Star, and specializes in soul attacks. Even if he wanted to form a team, he wouldn't choose us!"

Zunzhe Fantian likewise sighed, "Although Yin She Zunzhe and we all belong to the same lineage of the Cosmic Mercenary Alliance, his relationship with the three of us can only be considered average. Even if we went to invite him, I'm afraid he still wouldn't agree!"

Fantian Zunzhe sighed as well: "Though Yin She Zunzhe belongs to the same Cosmic Mercenary Alliance as us, our relationship is only average. Even if we invited him, he'd likely refuse!"

"Then it seems that even if we meet the Water Lotus Zunzhe trio again on the next Primordial Star expedition, we won't be able to seek revenge!" the Ox-People Venerable sighed.

But at that moment, Fantian Zunzhe suddenly froze.

He immediately opened an email and swiftly scanned it.

"Fantian, what's wrong?" The Fish-People Venerable asked at once, concerned.

Zunzhe Fantian immediately burst into laughter and said, "It's a good thing, a great thing!"

Fantian Zunzhe burst into laughter: "It's good news—great news!"

The Ox-People Venerable and Fish-People Venerable stared, stunned by his expression, then immediately pressed: "Fantian, what's the good news?"

After saying this, Zunzhe Fantian didn't wait for his two companions to reply before excitedly saying once more, "Earlier I helped him apply for a Lingfeng Divine General inheritance quota, and just now, Jiufeng has already accepted the complete Lingfeng Divine General inheritance and successfully stepped into the Cosmic Zunzhe level! Hahahaha…"

Before either friend could answer, Fantian Zunzhe continued excitedly: "I previously applied for him a slot in the Lingfeng Shenjiang inheritance—and just now, Jiufeng accepted the complete Lingfeng Shenjiang inheritance and successfully entered the Venerable Realm! Hahaha…"

Upon hearing this, the Fish-People Venerable and Ox-People Venerable both froze.

As members of the Human Clan's highest council, they understood the Shenjiang inheritance intimately—they knew exactly what it meant for Jiufeng Zunzhe to have accepted the complete Lingfeng Shenjiang inheritance!

"I recall that once someone accepts a complete Shenjiang inheritance, their strength can reach the Cosmic Overlord level, right?" the Ox-People Venerable exclaimed.

"Exactly!" the Fish-People Venerable nodded: "Though a newly accepted Shenjiang candidate won't yet possess any precious ultimate artifacts, Lord Lord Huang Jian has always been generous to our Cosmic Mercenary Alliance Venerables. Now that Jiufeng Zunzhe has become a candidate Shenjiang, Lord Lord Huang Jian will surely grant him an ultimate artifact!"

But at that moment, Fantian Zunzhe suddenly sighed: "What a pity!"

The Ox-People Venerable blinked in surprise: "Fantian, isn't this great news? What's there to regret?"

"The Lingfeng Shenjiang title has already been inherited!"

Fantian Zunzhe lamented: "Otherwise, my disciple might have reached the peak of Cosmic Overlord status in an extremely short time!"

Hearing Fantian Zunzhe's words, the Ox-People Venerable and Fish-People Venerable were both momentarily speechless.

That Jiufeng Zunzhe had already broken through from a mere Hei Fengwang Undying to a Universe Hegemon in such a short time — what more could he possibly want?

Still, speaking of which, it really is a pity that the Divine General throne has been occupied by someone else!

"Let's go!"

Zunzhe Fantian immediately rose and said, "I'm going to find my disciple now. Would you two like to come along?"

"Of course we're coming!"

The Minotaur Zunzhe quickly said, "I recall that the Lingfeng Divine General's inheritance cultivated soul amplitude, right?"

Hearing this, both Zunzhe Fantian and the Fish-Person Zunzhe felt a stir in their hearts.

The Lingfeng Divine General cultivated soul amplitude — so wouldn't the one who received the complete inheritance be a Universe Hegemon skilled in soul attacks?

Thinking of this, the Fish-Person Zunzhe hurriedly said, "Fantian, you are Jiufeng Zunzhe's teacher — you must invite him to team up with us and explore the Primordial Star this time!"

"Exactly!"

The Minotaur Zunzhe also nodded vigorously and said, "Fantian, although Jiufeng Zunzhe's strength will greatly advance after receiving the complete Lingfeng Divine General inheritance this time, he has only just broken through after all, so his experience is inevitably somewhat lacking. You, as his teacher, are perfectly placed to lead him along!"

Hearing the words of the Fish-Person Zunzhe and the Minotaur Zunzhe, Zunzhe Fantian was also stirred, but he still quickly said, "I'll consider this matter, but as for the specifics, it still depends on Jiufeng's own wishes!"

"Of course!" the Fish-Person Zunzhe and the Minotaur Zunzhe immediately nodded and said.

And so, while chatting, Zunzhe Fantian and his two companions quickly set out for the Lingfeng Continent located within the Glory Secret Realm.

……

Virtual Universe, Hong Alliance City, Inner City.

In an extremely lavish great hall, over a dozen figures were currently in conversation — they were all lofty Universe Masters, the stabilizing pillars of their respective races.

"Lord Huang Jian, well done!"

The Xu Jin Zhi Zhu of the Virtual Universe Company faction smiled as he looked at the Lord of Lord Huang Jian not far away: "That Yan Di suffered a big loss at your hands this time. Let's see if he still dares to act so arrogantly!"

"Bingfeng, this is a rare compliment from you!"

The Lord of Lord Huang Jian raised his cup in invitation, then laughed heartily: "That Yan Di still hasn't created his strongest secret technique — he's only at top-tier third-tier strength thanks to those few powerful treasures on him! Although the supreme treasures carried by my avatar are fairly ordinary, trampling Yan Di is still very easy!"

"We seized that top-grade supreme treasure weapon he discovered first this time — it'll probably pain him for quite a while!"

"Hahaha!"

The Lord of Hearing Xu Jin from the Giant Axe Arena faction also laughed and said, "That Yan Di still wants to fight our human race — he's simply overestimating himself!"

"Exactly!"

The Lord of Qingdong from the Universe Star River Bank also nodded and said, "If Zuo Shanke hadn't pleaded for him back then, we would have long since suppressed him and sent him to be destroyed in Giant Axe's small universe!"

Just then, the Lord of Lord Huang Jian's expression froze slightly.

"Lord Huang Jian, what's wrong?" the Xu Jin Zhi Zhu beside him, who had noticed the Lord of Lord Huang Jian's expression, quickly asked.

"Hahaha, it's good news!"

The Lord of Lord Huang Jian immediately laughed loudly: "A little fellow called 'Jiufeng' in our Universe Mercenary Alliance has just successfully received the complete Lingfeng Divine General inheritance!"

"Received the complete Lingfeng Divine General inheritance?"

The other Universe Masters around were first slightly stunned, then a smile appeared on every one of their faces.

"This really is good news!"

The Lord of Hearing Xu Jin beside him quickly said, "Our human race has not only gained another Universe Hegemon this time, but as a candidate Divine General, he can also become an outer member of the Zushen Sect. In the future, our human race's influence within the Zushen Sect will also grow somewhat!"

"Exactly!"

The Lord of Qingdong also nodded and said, "Our human race previously only had one candidate Divine General — now we've finally gained another!"

"Then shouldn't the race reward this little fellow properly?"

The Lord of Lord Huang Jian quickly said with a smile, "His becoming an outer member of the Zushen Sect can be considered a meritorious deed for the race, right?"

Although the Lord of Lord Huang Jian was never ambiguous when it came to the greater good of the human race, whenever he got the chance in ordinary times he would often seek benefits for the forces under him — naturally he wouldn't let this opportunity pass.

"Wasn't there the example of Tianlun before?"

The Lord of Hearing Xu Jin quickly said, "Following the reward given to Tianlun last time, wouldn't rewarding that little fellow with a thousand treasure points be sufficient?"

"How could that be enough?"

The Lord of Lord Huang Jian quickly countered, "That Tianlun received the 'Bahuang Divine General Inheritance' which focuses on body cultivation, whereas this Jiufeng received the 'Lingfeng Divine General Inheritance' which focuses on soul cultivation. How many soul masters in our human race have reached the Universe Hegemon level?"

"In my view, the reward for Jiufeng must at least be doubled! Bingfeng, what do you say?"

"I don't know what to do about this either!"

The Xu Jin Zhi Zhu quickly said, "How about this — the race will still reward that little fellow with the original thousand treasure points, and I will personally bestow upon him an ordinary supreme treasure. Lord Huang Jian, what do you think?"

Among the many Universe Masters of the human race, the Xu Jin Zhi Zhu was the one who detested Yan Di the most — after all, it was his disciple whom Yan Di had killed back then.

Now that the Lord of Lord Huang Jian had taught Yan Di a lesson on that Primordial Star, the Xu Jin Zhi Zhu was naturally willing to accept the favor.

Moreover, a single ordinary supreme treasure meant nothing at all to the Xu Jin Zhi Zhu!

"That would of course be the best!"

The Lord of Lord Huang Jian immediately said with a smile, "Bingfeng, then I'll thank you on behalf of that little fellow for the supreme treasure!"

……

At the same time.

King Tian Shi Zunzhe, Mengyue Zunzhe, Ning Shuang Zunzhe… Lord Heifeng, and the many Universe Zunzhes and Hei Fengwang Undying of the human race — all of them received the news that Lord Jiufeng had mastered the complete Lingfeng Divine General inheritance and broken through to the Universe Zunzhe level.

Even many Universe Zunzhes staying within the human race's territory hurried one after another to the site of the Lingfeng Divine General inheritance.

(End of this chapter)