Chapter 1200: The Man Who Always Wins

A soul contract binds to the soul itself; as long as I don't dissolve it myself, no trick in the world—no matter how heaven-defying—can break it.

Take the Undying Emperor, Little Yellow Chick: back then he was only a God King, and the other was an Emperor, yet even so he couldn't undo such a pact.

To keep this fellow from changing his mind and triggering a backlash, the Master Teacher Continent once laid down a special rule: even if the other party can break free of the Tome of Heavenly Dao, he still cannot break free from the contract between souls!

"A soul contract truly can't be split out of the Sea of Consciousness, but I've fused with a special gas that can dissolve even Heavenly Dao itself—dissolving such a contract isn't hard… as long as I have enough power to blast the spot where the contract resides, I can do it!"

The Ruthless One said.

A soul contract is built upon the foundation of Heavenly Dao; a special power that can dissolve even the Heavenly Dao of the God Realm—dissolving a mere soul contract, handled properly, is hardly difficult.

"So that's how it is…" Zhang Xuan's eyes flashed.

"Telling you this much counts as thanks for bringing me to the God Realm!"

Finishing his explanation, the Ruthless One said no more. The aura around him grew ever more ancient and remote, the black hole behind him swelling larger—clearly, even while speaking, he had devoured who knows how much more power to nourish himself.

"Zhang Xuan, the more the black hole swallows, the stronger he gets…"

Luo Ruo Xi had also noticed something was wrong and hurriedly sent a voice transmission.

"Get ready to move!" All doubts cleared from his mind, Zhang Xuan drew a deep breath, the longsword in his hand suddenly rising: "Since that's how it is, then let's settle it with our skills!"

Boom!

His most powerful sword intent was unleashed once again.

In life I shall return to you; in death, long shall I long for you!

When life and death alike are of no concern, what can possibly stand in the way?

Though this sword technique hadn't reached the level of insight an Emperor possesses, it contained every obsession in his heart, pushing the "If Heaven Has Feelings" art within him to its absolute limit.

Whoosh!

A single slash cleaved the Ruthless One's attack clean in two.

At the same instant, Luo Ruo Xi also struck, her jade hands rolling, sword light like snow.

Her sword art bore some resemblance to that youth from Sword God Heaven—carrying a momentum of pressing forward without retreat, and a sense of the Great Dao's natural ease.

"Your moves are impressive, but compared to me, they still fall a bit short…"

The Ruthless One smiled lightly and reached down again.

In an instant, sky and sun were blotted out; his palm enveloped heaven and earth, space shattered, and even the sun, moon, and stars seemed as if they would be ripped down by force.

Poof! Poof!

Zhang Xuan and Luo Ruo Xi were sent flying backward at the same time, coughing blood wildly in midair.

With the strength of the two of them combined, they still couldn't withstand it!

What realm has this fellow actually reached?

"How dare you!" The clone strode forward, each step bringing lotuses into bloom, the sound of flowing water echoing through the void.

Seen from afar, the presence was off the charts.

Having refined the Nine Heavens Chaotic Golden Lotus, his cultivation was in no way inferior to Zhang Xuan's.

He raised a fist, and its force surged up to the Nine Heavens.

Clashing with the Ruthless One, he too was sent flying back, unable to withstand even a single move.

Zhang Xuan pressed a hand to his forehead.

He's become an Emperor, and the clone still can't change his show-off nature…

All that flashy posing—if he just concentrated his power instead, the force would be far greater!

"Strike together, or else—once they're dead, we all die…"

Little Yellow Chick let out a great shout, crimson flames blazing, the sky itself seeming to be set alight. …. The remaining six Emperors each unleashed their own techniques.

Seven Emperors joined forces—power enough to destroy heaven and earth; even an entire realm couldn't withstand them before them. But their opponent was the Ruthless One, who had absorbed that special power. The moment the attack reached him, the black hole suddenly swelled, and in the blink of an eye devoured all the force clean—then immediately counterattacked.

Bang bang bang bang!

The seven Emperors flew backward just like Zhang Xuan and the others.

Ten Emperors, united together, and still none of them could block a single move from their foe!

How can this fellow possibly be this powerful?

"You can die now…"

Having crushed everyone in one strike, the Ruthless One stepped forward, flipped his wrist, and slapped down once more.

"How dare you, wretch!"

Accompanying a great shout, the elder from Sword God Heaven who had appeared before suddenly reappeared, blocking the way ahead, the longsword in his hand transforming into a river of stars.

"An Emperor? He's an Emperor-level expert too?"

Zhang Xuan's pupils contracted.

This elder had once followed behind that youth, and Zhang Xuan had assumed he was merely an attendant—at most a titled God King. Only when he unleashed his power did he realize the man was actually an Emperor-level powerhouse!

If he's an Emperor, then what is that youth?

"He himself is the Emperor of Sword God Heaven…" Luo Ruo Xi struggled to her feet and said through gritted teeth.

"Then… what about the youth who taught me swordsmanship?" Zhang Xuan could hold back no longer.

"He is—" Luo Ruo Xi had just begun to answer when space twisted, and she saw the Emperor of Sword God Heaven likewise sent flying backward, crashing not far off and gouging out a huge pit.

Zhang Xuan's current strength and his insight into the Sword Dao far surpassed this elder's, yet even he couldn't hold his own—so even though the elder's cultivation wasn't weak and his swordsmanship was superb, he still wasn't a match.

"Hahaha, Emperors—just a bunch of chickens and curs! Today I'll destroy the Nine Heavens, destroy this God Realm, and trample every rule beneath my feet!"

Having defeated the Emperor of Sword God Heaven, the Ruthless One laughed wildly; the surrounding space kept collapsing, framing him as something between demon and devil.

"What do we do?" Zhang Xuan clenched his fist tight.

Just now both he and his clone had unleashed their full combat strength—even Luo Ruo Xi before him had used her strongest move—and none of them could block a single strike from their foe…

Could it really be that no one in the God Realm can stand against the one before them?

Let him destroy the world?

"The only way... is to return your incomplete Heavenly Dao to the Heavenly Dao itself, so the Heavenly Dao can suppress him..." Luo Ruoxi clenched her delicate fist, her eyes turning red.

"Return to the Heavenly Dao itself?" Zhang Xuan understood her meaning.

The library in his mind was itself a part of the Heavenly Dao; once returned, the Heavenly Dao would be completely whole, perhaps able to repair the flaw and expel the Ruthless One on its own.

Just like the human immune system.

When the immune system is complete, viruses come and are easily driven away; when broken, it cannot resist viral invasion, and even the strongest person will die because of it.

But...

"He is too powerful; even if the Heavenly Dao is restored to wholeness, it cannot suppress him!" Zhang Xuan shook his head.

The immune system can kill viruses, but... what about a fierce tiger?

What can even the strongest immune system do?

The one before them was merely an ordinary God King; even with a title, the Heavenly Dao could easily kill him, yet he was stronger than a Dao Emperor... he was already beyond what the Heavenly Dao could contend with.

"This..." Luo Ruoxi paused, a look of disappointment appearing on her jade-white face: "Yes... he cannot be suppressed, but if the Heavenly Dao is whole, he can wake up; killing this one won't be difficult!"... "He?" Zhang Xuan frowned.

"I will take you to see him, right in the Free Heaven..." Taking a deep breath, Luo Ruoxi gritted her teeth, turned, and flew forward.

"Trying to escape?" The Ruthless One snorted coldly and pressed downward.

Boom!

Luo Ruoxi fell from the sky.

"You..." Zhang Xuan unleashed his sword technique again, brilliant sword intent radiating outward.

Ding ding ding!

Blocked by the Ruthless One once more.

"You two go quickly; I will hold him off..."

Knowing they intended to find a way to save the God Realm rather than flee, the clone and the Undying Dao Emperor roared loudly, blocking the way ahead, while Luo Qiqi also transformed, returning to her true form as the Silent Void Pearl.

The space around them solidified.

"Go!"

Seeing everyone throw themselves in front without fear of death, Zhang Xuan's eyes turned red, but he also knew this was not the time for lengthy words; he grabbed Luo Ruoxi, his body swayed, tore through space, and in the next moment appeared within the bounds of the Free Heaven.

The Free Heaven no longer possessed its former freedom; the God Realm had collapsed, chaos everywhere.

"Where is this 'he' you spoke of?"

No time to observe ordinary lives, Zhang Xuan looked at the girl in his arms.

If the person she mentioned could truly save the God Realm, what harm was there in his own sacrifice!

"He is my father; the blood in your pendant is his; the Undying Dao Emperor was once his beast pet..." Luo Ruoxi regulated her breathing and explained.

"Father?"

Zhang Xuan suddenly understood.

No wonder he had always felt the blood in the pendant was similar to Luo Ruoxi, yet different; it turned out to be her father's.

This also explained why the lingering thought left by the Undying Dao Emperor, upon seeing the pendant, immediately recognized him as its master.

"Is your father also a Dao Emperor? Or does he possess strength surpassing a Dao Emperor?"

He could not help but ask.

The library was in chaos; the blood in the pendant had restored his clarity. Could it be that not only was she a Dao Emperor, but her father was too, perhaps even more powerful?

If so, why was he in a coma?

And why did he need an incomplete Heavenly Dao to wake up?

"He is not a Dao Emperor, but... the Heavenly Dao!"

Luo Ruoxi clenched her delicate fist.

"The Heavenly Dao? Your father... is the Heavenly Dao?" Zhang Xuan trembled, unable to believe it.

"Yes! Fifty years ago, father could not withstand that giant hand and fell into a coma; the Heavenly Dao scattered into three parts: the Ordered Heavenly Dao and the Incomplete Heavenly Dao entered the spatial turbulence; I took charge of the Natural Heavenly Dao to maintain the balance of the God Realm. To restore him, we must only gather the scattered parts... that is why I was so resolute, unable to fail! That is why I specifically entered the Master Continent to study the Spring and Autumn Canon, seeking a way to defeat Master Kong! The matter I entrusted to him during our battle with Master Kong was also this."

Luo Ruoxi said.

Zhang Xuan understood.

When he first met her on the Master Continent, the girl before him had told him her story, wanting to save a beloved relative; he had not understood then, but now he suddenly realized.

It was her father, and moreover, the Heavenly Dao of the God Realm!

Can the Heavenly Dao truly take human form and bear children?

"To take charge of the Natural Heavenly Dao... you do not possess a Heavenly Dao fragment within your body?" Suddenly realizing the oddity in her words, Zhang Xuan looked at her.

"To take charge is different from being fused within the body..." Luo Ruoxi said.

Zhang Xuan breathed a sigh of relief.

In that case, he only needed to peel out the Incomplete Heavenly Dao from within himself; she would not need to die.

Though he was unwilling to accept such a fate, he was even more unwilling to see the girl before him harmed.

"If I peel out the Incomplete Heavenly Dao from within me, your father can wake up, even kill the Ruthless One, right?" Zhang Xuan looked at her.

"This... I am not certain..."

Looking up at the collapsed God Realm, Luo Ruoxi hesitated.

The God Realm was father's foundation; now that the foundation was like this, even if he woke, could he truly defeat that powerful Ruthless One?

It was hard to say!

"It seems you cannot be certain either; in that case, relying on others is worse than relying on oneself... we must find a way ourselves!" Zhang Xuan gritted his teeth: "You, me, the clone, uniting with the Nine Heavens and Nine Emperors, and if we cooperate with Master Kong, we might not lose!"

"Master Kong? He..." Luo Ruoxi frowned.

"Master Kong is dead, right? He did not truly die; if my guess is correct, when you killed him, it was merely a method to detach from the Heavenly Dao... without unexpected events, he should be like Wei Changfeng, a 【Primordial Fetal Soul Body】!"

Zhang Xuan said.

Seeing Wei Changfeng, he understood at once—Teacher Kong's so-called preservation of spiritual consciousness should be the same as his, a Innate Fetal Soul Body.

Able to remain lucid within the womb.

Combined with the contingency left behind in advance, resurrection was only a matter of time.

Luo Ruoxi froze, seemingly not having expected it to be like this.

"Go over and take a look and you'll know. If my guess is right, he should have already recovered; otherwise, his students couldn't possibly have not even gone to the Tide Sea…" Zhang Xuan said.

Teacher Kong's students—Ancient Sage Ziyuan and the others—were each immensely powerful. Even without the Sovereigns' help, they would surely have found a way into the Tide Sea, yet not a single one was seen.

They must have had something more important waiting, something they wanted to do while all the Sovereigns were in the Tide Sea with no time to spare!

And this important matter was clearly to restore Teacher Kong.

"This…" Luo Ruoxi's heart jolted, and she suddenly understood.

"Let's go!"

Without further explanation, he sliced open the air with one hand. Zhang Xuan returned to where Teacher Kong resided, and sure enough saw an old man seated cross-legged, suspended in the air. Seeing them arrive, he smiled faintly: "You've come!"

If it wasn't Teacher Kong, then who else could it be!

This Teacher of Ten Thousand Generations had truly not disappointed him!

Just as he had guessed, while everyone's attention was focused on the Tide Sea, he had revived himself.

"You…" Luo Ruoxi's delicate frame trembled.

She knew Sovereigns could revive; even the Undying Sovereign had come back to life, but… she hadn't expected it to be this fast!

"I concealed it from the Heavenly Dao and prepared a contingency in advance. That nameless giant in the Ghost Pool was left behind by me. When you slew him that day, I took the chance to break free of the Heavenly Dao's shackles and recondense a physical body. Now I've only just recovered!"

Teacher Kong smiled faintly.

He was adept in the ability of time; though it looked as if only a day or two had passed in the God Realm, in truth, to recover his strength, he had gone through who knows how long.

Decades of time had passed.

"The strength of the three of us is indeed formidable, but to surpass the Ruthless One isn't so easy…" Seeing Teacher Kong truly recovered, Luo Ruoxi still shook her head.

It wasn't boosting the enemy's morale and crushing their own—it was simply fact.

So many had joined forces moments ago and still failed to hold the opponent back; even adding one Teacher Kong, what could it change?

It wouldn't alter the situation one bit!

"Our individual strength, even united together, is indeed no match for the opponent, but… what if we fused everyone's power into a single person?"

Teacher Kong said with a smile, looking over.

"Fused into a single person?"

This time not only Luo Ruoxi frowned, but Zhang Xuan was also full of doubt.

"That palm could tear apart the God Realm and even scatter the Heavenly Dao—its strength is beyond doubt. The Ruthless One absorbed all of this power, and also devoured fifty years' worth of spiritual energy from the God Realm. By strength alone, the dozen-plus Sovereigns, taken individually, are indeed no match…"

Teacher Kong said: "But united together, concentrating the power into one person… that may no longer hold true!"

"How to concentrate it?"

Luo Ruoxi looked over.

Easy to say, hard to do.

Sovereigns already stood at the absolute peak of the God Realm. If absorbing others' power were this easy, she wouldn't have been stuck in place for so many years.

"It's simple… we concentrate the power in our bodies onto Zhang Xuan. Once he can break through the Sovereign shackles, he can save the God Realm!"

Teacher Kong said.

"Me?" Zhang Xuan was taken aback: "Why me?"

"Spirit Connection Sovereign cultivates freedom and ease, transcendence over nature! But with the constraints of a father and the Heavenly Dao, with people to care about, one can never truly transcend! If I'm not mistaken, when you fought me back then, you also once gave up, intending to be slain by me!"

Teacher Kong said.

Luo Ruoxi could not speak.

During the fight, she had indeed harbored such an intention, so when the two clashed, at the start each held back their contingencies, like a sparring match rather than a life-and-death struggle.

"Unable to transcend, one naturally cannot unleash the strongest power. Even if given more true qi, one still cannot charge at that supreme realm! As for me…"

Teacher Kong nodded: "I harbor the common people in my heart, wish to save the world, yet am unwilling to let others sacrifice for me. Too much benevolence is also a flaw! If I had been more ruthless and exterminated the Spirit Race, the current situation wouldn't exist…"

If back then he had been able to wipe out all the Spirit Race, the Ruthless One could never have revived, and the present situation wouldn't have come about.

"Therefore, I'm also not suited! And Zhang Xuan—his cultivation art follows his heart, without flaw. He values living as himself; even if he dies, as long as he lives without regret, his heart is at peace. Such a person possesses greater tolerance and greater room for development. Only this way can one walk higher, walk farther!"

Teacher Kong continued.

In life, one shall return; in death, one shall long for each other!

If one doesn't even care about death, how could one be bound by other things?

"This…" Zhang Xuan frowned, about to say something, when he saw Teacher Kong's gaze burning bright as he looked over: "No need to decline. First, there's no time to cultivate someone else; even if there were, I don't think anyone could necessarily do better than you! Though the Spirit Connection Sovereign has no Heavenly Dao shard within him, he has long controlled the Heavenly Dao and possesses his own understanding of it; I control the Heavenly Dao's order. If we channel our power into you, you will possess the power of a complete Heavenly Dao within you! Combined with your clone's Nine Heavens Chaotic Golden Lotus, you can fully achieve—fixing the Nine Heavens, grasping the universe, battling the Nine Skies, destroying all things!"…"Alright!"

Seeing the other had already made his decision and further explanation would be useless, Zhang Xuan nodded.

Boom!

He seated himself cross-legged, and in the blink of an eye, two torrents of majestic power surged in from both sides.

Zhang Xuan's whole body stiffened; he felt as if in an instant he had become the Heavenly Dao itself, soaring above the Nine Heavens.

Soul, flesh, true qi—all were baptized in an instant, growing ever stronger, ever more majestic.

……

"You want to stop me too? Good—I'll kill you all first, then go slay Zhang Xuan…"

After slapping away Luo Qiqi and the clone and the others, the Ruthless One laughed coldly.

The power unleashed jointly by the clone and the many Sovereigns was indeed formidable, but compared to him, it was still a notch weaker.

The Tide Sea had devoured nearly all the spiritual energy outside the cities of the God Realm. Now all this power had become his nurture; every gesture carried the ability to destroy heaven and earth. These Sovereigns and Divine Kings, though they represented the absolute peak of the God Realm, were still no match.

At this moment, the Ruthless Man seemed to embody the entire God Realm itself—none could stand in his way.

"If the God Realm is to perish, then living on is meaningless. I, Yun Chi, will perish together with you…"

Great Emperor Yun Chi transformed into his true form—a colossal five-clawed golden dragon—and dove through the air toward him.

"Just you? Not worthy!"

The Ruthless Man clenched his palm, and the golden dragon was pinned within it; no matter how it thrashed, it could not break free.

"Old friend, wait for me!"

Emperor Fu Meng also let out a great roar, transforming into his true form—a White Tiger—and came hurtling through the air to join the fray.

Emperor Bu Si manifested his true form—an Undying Fire Phoenix—its flames illuminating the heavens.

Great Emperor Xuan Ming's true form was a massive tortoise, as if supporting all the heavens upon its back.

The four Divine Beasts, guardians of the four poles of the God Realm, transformed into their true forms simultaneously, and the collapsing God Realm seemed to slow.

Heaven and earth seemed to freeze in an instant.

Boom boom boom boom!

With four consecutive palms, the Ruthless Man suppressed the four beasts. A fierce killing intent flashed through his eyes: "Since you seek death, I'll grant it to you…"

Mid-roar, just as he was about to strike them all down, he felt his raised arm seize up and come to a halt in midair.

"If you want to kill them, have you asked me first…"

Then, under the shocked gazes of everyone, a figure slowly walked out from the air.

It was Zhang Xuan!

The youth now radiated surging power throughout his body—more than ten times stronger than before—descending from the heavens, as if he himself were an entire world.

"You've improved quite a bit…"

The Ruthless Man halted, his gaze solemn.

He clearly could not understand why, in the span of mere minutes, the other's strength had undergone such a tremendous change.

"But so what if you've grown stronger? Even the God Realm at its peak couldn't withstand me. I don't believe you can block me…"

With a cold snort, the Ruthless Man struck down once more.

Zhang Xuan raised his long sword and met the attack head-on.

The two clashed, and space itself split apart in streaks as currents of air scattered in all directions.

"Can Zhang Xuan win?"

From the Carefree Sage's base, Luo Ruoxi watched with a face full of worry.

She and the Sage had channeled their power to Zhang Xuan, and their own cultivation had dropped to only the Divine King level—no longer as glorious as before.

Still, the realm was still there. As long as enough power remained, one day they could fully recover. …"With his current strength, winning will be very difficult! Unless… he can comprehend a power that surpasses even an Emperor!"

After a moment of silence, the Sage said.

Over a dozen Emperors united could not overcome the Ruthless Man. Even if they channeled all their power to a single person, winning would still not be easy.

The reason for doing this was that… only by concentrating power in one person could one possibly touch that threshold, possibly truly surpass the limit and break through oneself!

"A power that surpasses an Emperor?"

Luo Ruoxi's gaze drifted into the distance.

When her father was still lucid, he had once said the same words to her—but… she could not achieve it. Could the man she loved?

"He definitely can… He has an unyielding heart! And a proud defiance toward this world."

Seeing the doubt in her heart, the Sage said with a smile.

……

Boom boom boom!

After several consecutive exchanges, Zhang Xuan's tiger-mouth split open and a massive, terrifying wound appeared across his chest.

Just as the Sage had said, even after fusing their power and forming a complete Heavenly Dao within him, he was still no match.

"Hah, thought you were something—nothing special!" the Ruthless Man sneered coldly.

"Since I'm no match for you anyway, I'll be killed sooner or later. If that's the case, I want to die beneath your strongest attack…" Taking a deep breath, Zhang Xuan stopped, no longer attacking, and instead looked at the Ruthless Man before him.

"Fine, I'll grant your wish and give you my strongest attack…"

Hearing this, the Ruthless Man paused for a moment, then snorted coldly and raised his palm.

Whoosh!

A streak of azure light appeared in his palm and slammed down with a crash.

Truly the strongest attack—the entire God Realm thundered, as if on the verge of collapse, and another enormous crater was blasted into existence.

Eyes tightly shut, Zhang Xuan did not dodge.

Boom!

His head exploded, and his soul scattered in all directions.

"Zhang Xuan…" Seeing this, everyone's face went white.

Luo Qiqi seemed to go mad.

Great Emperor Yun Chi and the others also stared wide-eyed, trembling uncontrollably.

The Sage and Luo Ruoxi, witnessing this scene, were both stunned as well.

The intent had been for him to break through his shackles and charge toward a realm beyond Emperor—why wasn't he fighting back, willingly walking to his death?

Wouldn't this betray all their good intentions?

"No, that's the Undying Emperor's method of immortality…"

As everyone wondered, the Sage suddenly spoke.

They then saw that, from Zhang Xuan whose head had burst open and even whose soul had shattered, the pendant on his chest suddenly exploded. A drop of blood floated up, ignited, and formed a blazing ball of fire. From within the flames, an unharmed figure slowly stepped forth.

"He... used the opponent's power and the blood within the pendant to separate the Flawed Heavenly Dao from his soul?"

Luo Ruoxi's pupils contracted.

After being reborn from the flames, Zhang Xuan no longer had the Heavenly Dao Library within him, no longer suffered the Heavenly Dao's interference; he had broken free from the Heavenly Dao!

"How did he do it?"

Master Kong was also filled with disbelief.

The Heavenly Dao and the soul were fused together, indistinguishable; to break free, he had to scatter his soul and spirit, using the Nether Soul Pool to recondense his soul and spirit.

The one before his eyes was only beheaded once, yet completely broke free; what method did he use?

"I know... he used the method the Ruthless One used to break the Soul Contract..." Luo Ruoxi realized. The Soul Contract binds master and servant; unless the master releases it, the servant is forever bound... The Heavenly Dao Library is the same; it can be said to be an enhanced version of a contract.

Once the soul is bound, it will not detach until death.

But... the Ruthless One used that special power to break the Soul Contract; the specific method, Zhang Xuan had asked about in detail before, and likely conceived the idea even then.

That was why he deliberately fought to the death, forcing the opponent to unleash their strongest power to attack him.

Using that power, he was reborn from the flames; unexpectedly, it was a great success!

"So that's it; this is the method to break through to Emperor Lord..."

Zhang Xuan, walking out of the flames, revealed a faint smile on his face, as if understanding something; suddenly he waved his hand, and the clone on one side immediately turned back into a lotus flower, flying over.

In an instant, it perfectly fused with himself.

In the blink of an eye, everyone felt that the Zhang Xuan before them had become the Nine Heavens; the Nine Heavens were him.

His foot gently stepped on the ground.

The chaotic Nine Heavens immediately stabilized.

The Nine Heavens Chaos Golden Lotus appeared when the Nine Heavens were born; it can stabilize the Nine Heavens. Now that the clone and self perfectly fused, indistinguishable, it meant he controlled this power.

Not only that, but with the cultivation of the Nine Heavens Chaos Golden Lotus merged, his realm, which had already reached the peak, showed signs of loosening, as if it would break through at any moment.

"Master-servant affection, brotherhood, teacher-student affection, parent-child affection, love... fused together, this is the myriad things of the world; this is what it means to be human!"

With a smile on his face, Zhang Xuan murmured to himself.

At the moment the Heavenly Dao Library detached from his soul, he understood.

Did humans see the world, thus creating the world, or was the world first, then humans?

Is it the wind moving, or the heart moving!

This question has plagued countless people since ancient times, immortal and unchanging.

Of course, now... none of this matters!

Without life, without emotion, what meaning does the world have even if it exists?

Therefore, after breaking through love, comes the affection of all beings! It is the emotion interwoven throughout the world.

All things in the world possess emotion; only with emotion does the world exist; only with emotion can life continue.

Love is emotion.

Hatred is emotion.

Joy is emotion.

Suffering is emotion.

Parting is emotion.

Reunion is also emotion!

"Countless emotions, serve me..."

With a low cry, the realm imprisoned within Zhang Xuan's body instantly shattered.

The Emperor Lord's shackle was broken through!

In an instant, as if touching a brand new world and a great door, his soul received rapid nourishment.

Countless Chaos Qi surged over, and his physical body also rapidly improved.

Before, only by absorbing spiritual energy could one progress; but now, spatial turbulence, Chaos Qi, even the opponent's green light, could all be mine, indistinguishable.

"You..." The Ruthless One, having not expected that his full-power attack would not only fail to kill him but instead fulfill him, was so angry he screamed "Wah! Wah!" wildly; with a roar of rage, he attacked again.

"You resent the high-and-mighty Emperor Lord for not saving you in the spatial turbulence; that is emotion; feeling you were once my servant, containing humility and anger; that is emotion; wanting to destroy the Divine Realm to vent your anger; that is emotion; wanting to become even stronger; that is also emotion... Emotions control you; how can you possibly defeat me and not be controlled by me?" With a faint smile, Zhang Xuan's voice grew faster and louder; his palm gently grasped.

The Ruthless One, originally invincible across the land, was now bound together by countless fine threads of emotion, hands and feet tied, unable to move.

As long as there is emotion, it must be used by him, controlled by him!

"You..."

The Ruthless One's eyes were full of panic: "Master Zhang, I am your servant; do not kill me... I am willing to offer my soul as a sacrifice..."

"Saying this now is already too late..." With a faint smile, Zhang Xuan shook his head.

Controlling the emotions of the world, things like servants held no meaning for him anymore.

Having killed so many Divine Level beings, hurt his girlfriend, Luo Qiqi, and so many friends; today, how could he possibly forgive!

"No..."

Sensing his decisiveness, the Ruthless One's pupils contracted; before the words ended, he immediately felt a violent pain throughout his body.

Boom!

In an instant, he exploded, turning into countless spiritual energies that surged into all parts of the Divine Realm.

Before, all the power swallowed by the Tidal Sea was now returned; the once barren wasteland regained its vitality.

"This..."

"Killed just like that?"

Cloud Dragon Emperor, Undying Emperor Lord, Linglong Fairy, and others all widened their eyes, unable to believe it.

Just now they had fought the Ruthless One and knew how terrifying he was; such a powerful person was casually annihilated; just how far had this Zhang Xuan truly reached?

Could it be that above the Emperor realm, there really is another realm?

"He succeeded…"

Kong-shi and Luo Ruoxi loosened their clenched fists.

"This is part of the Heavenly Dao, so I'll return it to the Heavenly Dao now…"

Seeing the "Flaw in the Heavenly Dao" that had just been separated from his body still floating in the air, Zhang Xuan smiled lightly and flicked a finger.

Hum!

The library that had accompanied him since rebirth thundered forth and embedded itself in the sky above the God Realm.

The bell-like ringing, the God Realm that had been continuously collapsing, visibly began to slowly recover, and the chaotic currents of air gathered together once more.

The collapsing God Realm finally came to a halt, and the withered spiritual energy, along with the death of the Ruthless Man, slowly revived.

"It seems the God Realm is about to welcome a new era of spiritual energy revival…" Zhang Xuan smiled.

The hole in the Tidal Sea had already recovered along with the completion of the Heavenly Dao; it was only a matter of time before the God Realm returned to its former glory.

"Zhang Xuan, come over here…"

Having just finished these tasks, a voice sounded in his mind. Zhang Xuan paused for a moment, then took a single step forward.

He didn't know how far that one step carried him, and then he saw a young man standing before him.

It was the very person who had previously taught him swordsmanship.

"Senior, you…"

Seeing that it was him, Zhang Xuan was taken aback.

He had previously felt this person was unfathomably deep; only now did he realize that compared to himself, he was only a hair's breadth weaker, having already reached the absolute peak of the Emperor realm, and was incomparably more powerful than Luo Ruoxi from before.

"Just call me by my name. I am… Nie Tong!" Sword intent of an unstoppable forward charge radiated from the young man's body as he said lightly.

"Nie Tong?" Zhang Xuan frowned.

It was the first time he had heard this name.

"Come with me, I'll take you to meet my brother!" The young man called Nie Tong smiled faintly and strode forward. …Zhang Xuan followed closely behind. He didn't know how far they flew before stopping in front of a mountain peak.

Then he saw another young man.

His appearance was not much older than his own, his brows raised upward, giving one a sense of profundity that could not be seen through.

"This level of strength…" Zhang Xuan trembled.

The strength of the young man before him was actually even greater than his own; he had likewise broken through the shackles of the Emperor realm, and his cultivation was even deeper and more profound!

"I am Nie Yun!" The young man smiled faintly and looked over: "That is to say… Nie Lingxi, the father of the Luo Ruoxi you speak of!"

"Ruoxi's father?"

Zhang Xuan shuddered: "You… are the Heavenly Dao of the God Realm?"

Luo Ruoxi had said before that her father was the Heavenly Dao; he would never have imagined it was a young man like this.

"I used the One Qi to Transform into Three Pure Ones; a portion of my soul became the Heavenly Dao! Besides, this world was created by me, so it is not wrong to call me the Heavenly Dao!" Nie Yun smiled faintly.

Zhang Xuan could not believe it.

The God Realm was actually created by the man before him?

Then how powerful must his strength be?

"That's not right. If you created the God Realm, and you are also the Heavenly Dao, why did you allow the Ruthless Man to run rampant without acting…" Zhang Xuan looked over.

If not for his own breakthrough, the God Realm would very likely have completely collapsed. Why had the man before him paid it no heed?

Not even caring about his daughter's life or death?

Without answering his question, Nie Yun looked over lightly: "Do you think… above the God Realm, there are even more powerful beings?"

"This…" Zhang Xuan paused for a moment: "There should be, I suppose…"

Although he had never seen them, since he could cultivate to such a realm, perhaps others could as well, or even be stronger.

Just like the man before him.

"I once suspected that above the God Realm there would be more powerful beings, so I used all my strength to spy, and ultimately drew the backlash of a higher world… a palm tore through the sky and descended!"

Nie Yun looked over: "At that time, if I had dodged, the entire God Realm would very likely have been wiped flat, with not a single life remaining… so I took this strike head-on, but because of it, the Heavenly Dao formed from my body was split apart."

"In this situation, to recover, I need only a single thought. However… I understand that to truly transcend the shackles of the God Realm, to explore where that palm came from, and what lies beyond the God Realm… it is very difficult for me alone. Therefore, I wanted to see if there was any being who could break through the shackles of the Emperor realm and reach a level equal to mine!"

"So I sent the scattered will of the Heavenly Dao to the lowest-level worlds… bestowing it separately upon a soul that originally belonged to this world, and a soul that did not belong to this world. And you, in the end, did not disappoint me!"

Nie Yun said with a smile.

"A soul that does not belong to this world. If that's the case, my transmigration was also because of you?" Zhang Xuan's heart shook.

No wonder he had been able to transmigrate over; he had never expected it was all the doing of the man before him.

"Heh heh!" Nie Yun smiled lightly and said: "Those who inherently belong to this world possess a reverence for the world; to break through the world's shackles is far more difficult. It was merely a passing thought on my part; I did not expect you would truly succeed…"

"I…" Zhang Xuan's face reddened: "If not for Kong-shi, I could never have reached this level at all…" …Without Kong-shi's selfless dedication, reaching his current realm would have been absolutely impossible.

"I gave him the chance; he simply failed to seize it. The duel with Lingxi was actually his best opportunity for breakthrough. Unfortunately, he chose to retreat, thinking he had left himself a fallback and could withdraw unscathed. In reality, he had lost his boldness to advance. When facing those who surpass us, if one doesn't even possess this spirit, how can one contend against them?"

Nie Yun said.

Zhang Xuan fell silent.

He had watched their battle at the time with his own eyes; Kong-shi was indeed somewhat lacking in decisiveness.

It was also possible that he was unwilling to kill Luo Ruoxi.

Unfortunately, in that single moment of hesitation, he missed the chance to advance.

"If Kong-shi had won, Ruoxi would have died…" After a moment, Zhang Xuan looked over, his brows furrowed.

Could it be that the man before him didn't even care about his daughter's life or death?

"With me here, she wouldn't die…" Nie Yun smiled faintly: "Your current strength is not much different from mine. Do you think, given the strength of the two of them, at a life-and-death moment, if one wanted to save someone, could it be done?"

"This…" Zhang Xuan gave a bitter smile.

Breaking through to Emperor Lord and being an Emperor Lord are two different concepts; if he truly were willing to intervene, he could indeed save the person at the critical moment and guarantee they would not suffer a single scratch.

"Lingxi was born of my other wife, Luo Qingcheng, so her disguised surname is Luo... To ensure she believes me and does not act on emotion, she has thought I remained in a coma until now..."

Nie Yun gave a bitter smile: "I suppose I've been a ruthless father enough... Very well, you explain this matter to her. After all, her thoughts have now shifted to you; I, this old father, probably can't even be recalled... Haha, I won't appear for now and will hide for a while. Otherwise, I truly fear she will turn the world upside down..."

Seeing this utterly unreliable father before him, Zhang Xuan's face twitched and he could only agree: "Alright..."

He had no choice but to agree; who else but himself had carried off her daughter...

"The Heavenly Dao Library is a manifestation of my own thought; it is both the foundation and the shackle. If you can break through the shackle by your own ability, it proves your capability and potential, and your future is boundless. That my daughter can be with you, as a father, I am gratified."

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