Chapter 25: Human‑Demon Supremacy: The Fourth Level of Heart Power

You handed the tribe over to that genius Return Void Earth Immortal, you no longer hesitated, and set out directly on the road to Yao Emperor City.

The Pangu World was incomparably vast; you traveled north, carefully evading countless perils along the way, you comprehended the natural world, and suddenly entered the Heaven-Earth Dao. Even without a prescribed method to guide you, you found your progress astonishingly rapid, and you resolved to continue on this path.

After ten years, you finally arrived at Yao Emperor City, explained your purpose, and with your own strength easily joined the Yao Emperor Army.

You were assigned to an inconspicuous legion, training the divine‑demon formation together with other Yuan Shen Perfect Divine Demons.

Within the army you came across a secret manual containing the Heaven-Earth Dao, you studied it diligently, and your realm advanced even more swiftly.

In the twelfth year of your service, your legion faced its first battle; a formation of thirty thousand Divine Demons was assembled, and you killed a Demon Tribe celestial, feeling extremely excited.

After that battle, the lingering depression in your heart largely dissipated, and your cultivation became smoother, yet you still could not break the bottleneck to become a Return Void Divine Demon.

At eight hundred years old, you remain a Yuan Shen Divine Demon, but your strength has grown greatly; you have become a leader in the army, and using accumulated merit you exchanged for a special treasure, successfully cultivating a Second Primordial Spirit.

At nine hundred years, you faced your first tribulation and passed it with ease.

At one thousand years, you continue to accumulate.

At twelve hundred years, you become a commander in the army.

At fifteen hundred years, after countless battles you finally undergo a metamorphosis, breaking through to become a Return Void Divine Demon.

At seventeen hundred years, you reach the late Return Void stage; in terms of power you already rival a True Immortal, and you join the Return Void Divine Demon legion.

At two thousand five hundred years, the Demon Tribe launched a massive army; you followed the legion into battle, a war that tore heaven and earth asunder, countless divine demons perished, you survived by luck, but this was not the end—rather the beginning of the conflict, as great wars between humans and demons erupted one after another.

You realize you can do nothing, so you can only cultivate in silence; amid endless slaughter and battles your realm advanced extremely fast, soon reaching the Million-year Free Spirit level. You begin to consider crossing the Heavenly God Tribulation—once you become a Heavenly God, you can easily avenge, and more readily survive the human‑demon conflict.

Now you choose: 1. Cross the tribulation. 2. Continue accumulating.

"Continue accumulating."

Zhou Yu made the choice without hesitation.

At the Million-year Free Spirit realm you already want to cross the Heavenly God Tribulation? Even the weakest Heavenly God Tribulation can reach the ninety‑nine Thunder Tribulation level.

At this level, without foundations like the Eight Nine Profound Skill or the Star‑Plucking Hand, it's courting death.

As memories from the simulation surged into Zhou Yu's mind, the simulation quickly resumed.

You chose to keep accumulating to improve yourself before crossing the Heavenly God Tribulation, but you felt the timing was ripe for the Second Primordial Spirit to cross the Heavenly Immortal Tribulation, and you succeeded.

Time passed, and the conflict between humans and demons grew ever more intense; beyond direct slaughter, the two races began devising every possible way to trouble the other.

One day, you heard that an elite legion next door had produced a peerless genius named Hou Yi, who, in less than a hundred years, had already become a Heavenly God. You sensed the matter was not simple.

At three thousand five hundred years, that day, ten suns appeared in the sky—the Ten Great Golden Crows. Leading them was a Golden Crow, a true god known as the Golden Crow Demon Emperor. The Golden Crow Demon Emperor, with nine brothers, ravaged human settlements; humans could only respond passively, suffering heavy losses.

Until that day, Hou Yi, who had been close to a thousand years on the path to becoming a Heavenly God, suddenly drew his bow and, with unimaginable power, shot down the true‑god‑level Golden Crow; the remaining Heavenly God Golden Crows were almost all slain.

That battle made Hou Yi's name echo throughout the Pangu World, yet the human‑demon struggle did not cease; the death of the true‑god Golden Crow only intensified the mutual animosity.

When you were three thousand five hundred years old, the great decisive battle finally erupted; you could not join due to insufficient strength, but you know the humans won, the Three Emperors displayed astonishing power, and legend says an Ancestor God fell in that battle.

After the war, the legion formed by the Yao Emperor was not disbanded but remained; now you choose: 1. Stay. 2. Withdraw.

Zhou Yu thought for a moment and chose to withdraw.

Since the human‑demon war has ended, the outside world is safer now; returning home to peacefully accumulate is all that remains.

You chose to retire, bringing the treasures you had amassed over the years back to your hometown.

At that moment you painfully discovered that the small tribe you once led had vanished; it ultimately could not survive the war's fallout.

Having nowhere to go, you chose to travel abroad.

Time passes, and your realm rises; at fifteen thousand years old you are but one step away from fully comprehending the Heaven-Earth Dao. You feel surprised that your talent could reach this point.

Now you again contemplate crossing the Heavenly God Tribulation; you choose: 1. Cross the tribulation. 2. Continue accumulating.

"Continue accumulating." Zhou Yu made the choice directly.

This simulation, for some reason, has no time limit, and the Return Void Divine Demon realm at this height can truly rival the supreme True Immortal; such power can endure the three calamities and nine tribulations for a long time, with a greatly extended lifespan, so there is no hurry.

Anyway, with the Celestial Dao rewarding diligence, continued cultivation will eventually break through.

You kept traveling, and one day you encountered a Demon Tribe celestial; you had already uncovered the identity of the demon immortal responsible for your tribe's annihilation. You instantly recognized him as one of your original foes—rumor had said he perished in the two‑races' decisive battle, yet he was alive, and you did not hesitate to tear him to pieces.

Having slain the enemy with your own hands, you felt an immense mental relaxation, and you returned to the place where your tribe once stood, choosing to live in seclusion there.

Unwittingly, you reached one million years old; the Celestial Dao rewarded your diligence, and you miraculously fully comprehended the Heaven-Earth Dao, with your Second Primordial Spirit attaining the status of True Immortal.

Mastering the Dao, you are confident, and once again contemplate crossing the Heavenly God Tribulation; you choose: 1. Cross the tribulation. 2. Continue accumulating.

"Logically, the success rate of crossing the tribulation at this point isn't low," Zhou Yu understood this in his heart.

Nevertheless he still chose to continue accumulating; after all, with the talent "Celestial Dao rewards diligence," the more you accumulate, the easier progress becomes.

You chose to continue accumulating, and as time passed you gradually began to perceive Spatial Power.

At one million years, your Spatial Power reached the third tier.

At fifteen million years, your Spatial Power reached the fourth tier.

Now feeling you have accumulated enough, you choose to cross the tribulation.

Having endured countless three calamities and nine tribulations, your Heavenly God Tribulation is also terrifying; during the Thunder Tribulation, the legendary Pure Yang Golden Light Thunder even appeared, yet it posed no threat to you at this stage.

The only thing that still troubled you was the Heart Demon Tribulation, but since you killed that Demon Tribe celestial, your heart has no cracks; ten million years of honing have already made your Dao‑heart unshakably firm, and the Heart Demon Tribulation ultimately could not hinder you. You successfully crossed the tribulation and became a Heavenly God.

News of your ascension to Heavenly God reached the Yao Emperor quickly; the divine‑demon legion originally formed comprised a million Return Void Divine Demons, yet aside from Hou Yi there were no other successful tribulation crossers. After ten million years, almost all Return Void Divine Demons from the legion that fought the Demon Tribe had perished. That you waited ten million years to cross the tribulation and succeeded truly astonished everyone.

The Yao Emperor personally approached you, asking whether you would be willing to return to the army.

Now you choose: 1. Agree. 2. Refuse.

"This time the tribulation gave me no choice," Zhou Yu sighed inwardly. Indeed, having finally mastered the fourth‑tier Spatial Power, it would be hard to not cross the tribulation.

"But now there's no need to rejoin the army, right?" Zhou Yu thought and chose to refuse.

At the moment Zhou Yu chose to refuse, surging memories flooded his heart.

Over ten million years of memories were a considerable shock to Zhou Yu.

Nevertheless Zhou Yu had long been prepared, and each prior simulation's memories served as a honing, already making his heart surpass its former state.

When Zhou Yu finished digesting this memory, his gaze quickly returned to calm.

"Born to drift, in harmony with heaven and earth" Zhou Yu felt a sense of relief; the merging of his two memories let him completely break through the bottleneck of his spirit.

Any cultivator, more or less, harbors lofty goals, but who can truly never doubt themselves?

How could an ant gazing at the sky not be shocked by that vast, boundless existence?

"But no matter how small, the path is beneath one's feet; all that remains is to move forward step by step." Zhou Yu's heart was now tranquil, free of doubt.

He had long understood the principle, but merely understanding it on the surface does not mean he truly grasped its essence.

At this moment, Zhou Yu was no longer confused, signifying a transformation of his spirit.

His heart was like a tender sprout breaking through the soil—unnoticeable, yet stubbornly beginning to grow.

The fourth level of mental strength—Mundane Dust.

Zhou Yu now felt considerable emotion; after repeated simulations, his Dao heart had already met the requirements of the fourth level of mental strength, but being unable to truly comprehend its true meaning meant he could not break through.

Now, having comprehended the true meaning, the breakthrough came as a matter of course.

"The fourth level of mental strength brings a fearless spirit and limitless power—its gap from the third level is immense." Zhou Yu sighed; only upon reaching this stage did he grasp its greatness.

"Let's continue the simulation." Zhou Yu didn't think much of it.

(End of chapter)