Chapter 429: Ascend the Heavenly Path, Tread the Song Path, Great Catastrophe!

You and the Demon Master simultaneously ceased combat, raising your gaze together to the three mysterious portals suspended high above the nine heavens, radiant as woven light, majestic and grand.

The boundless aura emanating from behind the three portals inspired awe.

Huang Dao's eyes gleamed, his face trembling with uncontrollable excitement—this lineage of the Demon Path had spent thirty generations in relentless exploration and longing.

The legendary realm of "Attaining the Dao" had, at last, revealed its celestial secrets in his generation.

The portals stood atop ten thousand rays of rosy light!

They did not descend; they hovered between heaven and earth.

Between north and south, the Divine Dragon of the North Wind roared as it plunged into the earth, while the Divine Phoenix spread its wings and soared toward the horizon's end.

In an instant, heaven and earth trembled, as if collectively bearing witness to this unparalleled spectacle.

The Heavenly Gate crashed open, its might astonishing.

Yet Lu Yu and Wu Ying remained utterly unaware of this awe-inspiring scene.

Their energies had merged like water and fire, inseparable.

They were wholly absorbed in this decisive battle—only when one fell would it end.

At this moment, if either withdrew, they would suffer backlash and be unable to save themselves.

You paused only briefly, then struck decisively, summoning a black spiritual form that lunged toward Wu Ying.

The Demon Master's lips curled into a smile—he had chosen to ally with Wu Ying out of deep wariness toward Lu Chen's brothers.

Now, he could not let you succeed; he swiftly moved to counter.

You adapted on the fly, your external scene shifting once more into a "Black Vortex," identical to Huang Dao's, beginning to devour spiritual energy.

Huang Dao, upon first seeing it, froze in shock—he never imagined you could replicate his external scene in so short a time.

By the time he recovered, you had already slipped silently beside Wu Ying—but you did not strike immediately; you waited for Huang Dao to draw near.

Lu Yu and Wu Ying simultaneously unleashed their ultimate techniques.

Lu Yu's fist intent flowed like a river, his martial truth transcending this world, beyond the grasp of even the Celestial Realm.

Spiritual energy swirled around him, converging into his fist; he raised his fist once more, as if the sun and moon had merged—unprecedented power coalesced within it.

Huang Dao, drawn close by you, saw the radiance in Lu Yu's fist—it seemed ordained by heaven itself, capable of shattering all things: the true martial intent of fist arts.

Huang Dao's eyelid twitched—he knew such a punch could pierce even the hardest iron in the world as if it were paper.

Wu Ying's sword, too, radiated true martial intent—razor-sharp, as if it could sever all things under heaven. This was the true martial intent of sword arts, forged through a million swings of unwavering devotion.

Her face held only devotion to the sword—she would not lose to anyone!

The true martial intent of sword arts complemented Lu Yu's fist intent perfectly.

Both were beings who had surpassed this world through martial arts.

Lu Yu had created his own fist technique, nine forms in total—from the first, "Shatter Ten Thousand Armies," to the eighth, "Tread the Song Path."

Now, his eyes glowed with unprecedented brilliance, his blood boiling like a furnace, jade-like radiance faintly shimmering through his bones.

Lu Yu spoke slowly, his voice steady and resolute: "The ninth form—this fist is called: Ascend the Heavenly Path!"

With those words, his fist shot forth like a dragon, wrapped in thunder and wind, unstoppable!

Ascend the Heavenly Path! Tread the Song Path!

Opposite them, Wu Ying's sword technique was no less extraordinary. Her sword art had only two forms, both Jizhi of offense, with not a single defensive move— one of them named "Crush the City."

She raised her sword, standing tall and proud, her icy voice echoing across heaven and earth: "This sword—shall be called 'Split Heaven!'"

The second form: Split Heaven!

Fist and sword shone in mutual brilliance.

The magnitude of their display forced you and Huang Dao to either resist or retreat.

Huang Dao had intended merely to observe this conflict, but your words struck him like a morning bell and evening drum.

"The Heavenly Gate is open—this is a chance unseen in a thousand years. If you flee now—"

"Will the Heavenly Gate descend for you?"

You spoke without glancing at Huang Dao, then stepped resolutely into the battlefield—not to aid Lu Yu, but to challenge them both.

Let us see who among the three shall reign supreme in martial arts!

Huang Dao looked up at the Heavenly Gate above, then down at the three locked in furious combat—he knew they were all the pinnacle of this age.

A surge of heroic fervor rose within him!

"Then let us fight—let us see who has the right to step through that Heavenly Gate!"

Huang Dao roared, his body exploding forward as he joined the fray.

The four clashed, and heaven and earth trembled in response.

Behind Huang Dao, his external scene became a swirling black vortex, tendrils of dark demonic qi coiling around it—strange and formidable.

You, Lu Yu, and Wu Ying each unleashed every skill at your disposal—fist techniques, sword arts, internal energy, body movements—all the essence of martial arts rendered with perfect clarity.

You had trained since childhood, diligent without pause, never wasting a single day.

Though your talent may have lagged slightly behind theirs, you never lost heart, never yielded.

The sweat poured over countless nights on Mount Zhongnan had finally earned you the right to stand shoulder to shoulder with the world's supreme masters.

Your heart soared with joy!

The four of you fought fiercely.

Heaven and earth responded in kind.

At this moment, three stairways of rosy light descended from beneath the Heavenly Gate, miraculous pathways leading upward toward the heavens.

The martial world around them, long unable to contain their excitement, surged toward the battlefield, desperate to climb the stairways and reach the Heavenly Gate, seeking transcendence.

Ye Shengnan also stirred to move, but Li Lanjiang swiftly blocked her.

Ye Shengnan frowned, displeased: "You'd really turn against me over this chance at transcendence, Brother Li?"

Li Lanjiang ignored her question, his gaze fixed solemnly on those who had already rushed onto the stairways.

They stepped onto the stairway—and were instantly bathed in rosy light, their bodies vanishing without a trace.

Among them was Hu Jie of the Sword Sect—he had rushed ahead most eagerly, his joy still on his face when he turned to bone, then to ash.

Ye Shengnan watched this, trembling with fear and relief.

She was never impulsive—but the lure of transcendence had been too great, momentarily clouding her judgment.

Only Li Lanjiang's timely warning had spared her disaster.

Ye Shengnan suddenly understood: these three stairways were meant solely for the four at the center of battle. Others had no right to touch them.

There were only three Heavenly Gates, yet four combatants—meaning one must fall to determine the victor.

As Ye Shengnan pondered, the heavens and earth shook violently, throwing all off balance.

Great fissures split open across the land; the entire world trembled.

Mountains crumbled, heavens darkened—a catastrophe unlike any other descended.

"Earthquake."

Ye Shengnan turned quickly to the low hills around her—they had collapsed into rubble.

Water burst forth from the mountains; the great flood of Yuetangjiang surged through the cracks.

Only!

The radiant stairways of ascension above the battlefield still glowed with divine light, standing in stark contrast to the chaos and suffering below.

Nearly two million soldiers on the battlefield, caught in this sudden disaster, began fleeing and trampling one another—the scene descended into utter chaos.

Countless dead and wounded; cries and wails rose endlessly, as if hell itself had opened upon earth.

PS: Tomorrow, Lu Chen's simulation ends!

(End of Chapter)