"Where the Clouds Run Deep" had already transformed into a chaotic battlefield.
Dugu Bo was locked in a fierce struggle with Golden Crocodile.
The Serpent Emperor and the Crocodile King collided head-on.
Hissing tore through the clouds, crocodilian roars shook the mountains. Each crushing twist and savage bite of the two colossal beasts stirred up violent ripples of energy.
Elsewhere—
Chen Xin, clad in flowing white, had fully unleashed the Seven Kill Sword Domain.
With one man and one sword, he fought Azure Luan and Lion alone. Blood-red sword light surged like a celestial river flowing backward, while the clangor of sword cries resounded through the heavens.
Whoosh!
A sword shadow merged with the wind and struck without warning.
Glowing Feather's Ice Bow snapped around instantly.
Clang!
The arrow shattered, ice fragments scattering everywhere.
With the strike failing, Feng Bailong vanished once more into the wind.
"Hmph!" Glowing Feather's ice-blue eyes were sharp as a hawk's, searching for that figure hidden within the wind.
"Hahahaha! Satisfying! Truly satisfying!" Yu Yuanzhen's beard and hair flared wildly.
The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon True Body coiled beneath thunderclouds.
With a single move—Dragon Shakes the Eight Desolations—he forcefully confronted both Gu Rong's Bone Dragon True Body and Fifteen Ton's Coiling Dragon Staff at once.
Three devastating techniques collided.
The surging Spirit Power shattered the mountain beneath them into fragments.
Even while facing two enemies alone, Yu Yuanzhen's lightning only grew more brilliant.
He even had strength to spare, urging the azure dragon emerging from the thunderclouds to unleash a sky-shaking roar toward Dugu Bo's Ten-Headed Serpent Emperor in the distance.
His domineering presence was unmistakable.
The observing Spirit Masters cried out in excitement.
"So this is how strong Poison Douluo truly is?!"
"As Lord Sword Wine's earliest protector, Poison Douluo is already among the strongest Titled Douluos beneath the peerless!"
"Wind Sword Douluo's fighting style really doesn't match his immortal-like demeanor!"
"Thunder Douluo is overwhelmingly domineering!"
"Sword Douluo is about to win!"
...
High above the battlefield—
Li Zhexian stood hand in hand with Qian Renxue.
Wave after wave of mountain-shattering energy surged toward him, yet when they reached three feet from the youth, they silently dissipated, failing to even stir the hem of his robes.
His gaze rested upon the battlefield…
Dugu Bo's Serpent Emperor hissing, Chen Xin's sword light piercing the heavens, Feng Bailong's concealed strikes—
these elders, who had devoted themselves to protecting him along his path of growth, were now fully displaying the splendor of this era.
As he watched,
a trace of complexity surfaced in Li Zhexian's eyes.
There was comfort, reflection, and a faint sense of having crossed into another lifetime.
"Zhexian has not failed the expectations of these seniors..."
Looking across past, present, and future,
the Spirit Master world at this moment was unprecedentedly prosperous.
So many peak-level powerhouses could spar and compete here rather than fight to the death.
That alone was a sign of a golden age, meaning that this second homeland of his had finally ushered in a long-awaited peace.
It seemed—
he could finally set his heart at ease.
And at the very instant his thoughts became perfectly clear—
Li Zhexian's aura suddenly changed.
No earth-shaking phenomenon appeared, nor did violent Spirit Power erupt.
Instead, there was only a perfectly harmonious, return-to-simplicity Dao rhythm, spreading as naturally as spring water overflowing its banks.
The chasm separating Level 98 and Level 99 was crossed with effortless ease.
Level 99!
On this battlefield that bore both inheritance and rebirth, in that moment of complete inner serenity, Li Zhexian ascended to the absolute pinnacle of the mortal realm.
At his side, Qian Renxue turned her head, her slender hand clasping the youth's, her peerless face blooming with a smile.
"Zhexian, congratulations."
On a solitary distant peak—
the light of Qian Daoliu's radiant aura rippled.
His gaze shifted from the battlefield to the white-robed youth in the void.
"He has finally reached this step."
...
Divine Realm
Crack! Crack!
The luminous screen suspended at the center of the plaza let out a sharp sound as cracks spread across its surface.
Before the gods could react,
the entire screen shattered.
It dispersed into wisps of cloud and vanished.
Li Zhexian had grown even stronger.
So strong that not only could he no longer be observed directly, but even this divine, god-powered viewing instrument could not withstand the aura he unintentionally released.
"Level 99." The God of Destruction quietly exhaled in relief.
Before this, he had been deeply worried that Li Zhexian might deliberately delay his breakthrough, unwilling to ascend.
"The Divine Realm is about to gain another God King." Ji Dong said with a sigh of awe.
This mortal youth whom He admired was about to set foot in the Divine Realm so swiftly.
"The Seven Sin Gods…"
The God of Destruction initially intended to dispatch subordinates to receive him.
But the thought was immediately dismissed.
He knew better than anyone—
when Li Zhexian's Spirit Power transformed into divine power and he advanced in one seamless stride past the hundred-level divine threshold, the Seven Sin Gods would be utterly insufficient to shoulder the responsibility of reception.
In truth, by the Divine Realm's usual conventions, there was no formal "welcoming" step at all.
After ascending to the Divine Realm,
specialized divine officials would naturally provide guidance.
Li Zhexian, however, was an exception among exceptions.
"Asura?" Ji Dong turned his head to look.
The Asura God did not reply, merely turning away with indifferent composure.
Understanding at once, Ji Dong summoned his wife, Lie Yan, and departed with her.
The God of Destruction stood silently for a moment, then stepped forward together with the Goddess of Life.
Five God Kings moved for one man alone.
"Let us go together."
The God of Destruction's voice echoed through the thinning mist.
"To welcome the arrival of the sixth God King of the Divine Realm."
...
The sky above Douluo Continent was bathed in divine radiance.
A pure white beam of light surged upward from the mountain ranges, piercing the clouds and linking heaven and earth.
At this moment—
no matter where one stood on the continent,
so long as they raised their head,
they could see that towering pillar of light connecting the mortal world and the Divine Realm, and feel the vast, ringing pressure contained within it.
The fierce battles of countless experts came to an abrupt halt.
Chen Xin sheathed his sword, Dugu Bo withdrew the Serpent Emperor Trye Body, Feng Bailong emerged from the wind…
All those participating in the Heavenly Ridge Martial Tournament stood solemnly still, gazing upward as that familiar figure slowly ascended within the beam of light.
Within Heaven Dou City,
tens of thousands of common folk poured into the streets, devoutly kneeling toward the pillar of light.
Before the city's statue, incense gathered into clouds, prayers surging like waves.
"We respectfully see off Lord Sword Wine on his ascension!"
Across the continent, all who believed in his name bowed in reverence at this very moment.
...
Star Dou Forest
Da Ming and Er Ming raised their massive heads.
Di Tian stood with hands clasped behind his back at the shore of the Lake of Life, while deep within the underground palace, the Silver Dragon King opened her eyes.
Vast draconic might surged through bloodlines.
All Spirit Beasts of Douluo Continent felt a tide of devotion rise within their hearts.
They knelt toward the ascending figure.
"In the name of all beasts under heaven…"
"In the name of all beasts of this world…"
"Thank you for giving resolve to the ignorant,
and for fighting destiny on behalf of the silent."
Deep beneath the sea,
Zhu Zhuqing, Dugu Yan, Yu Tianheng, and the others surfaced one after another.
Gazing at the divine light linking heaven and earth, Zhu Zhuqing's beautiful eyes shimmered with moisture, her lips curving into a radiant smile.
"Zhexian goes first; we will soon join you in the Divine Realm!"
...
Within the pillar of light,
Li Zhexian felt the Spirit Power within him gradually being replaced by a more primal force.
Divine power surged like mighty rivers,
washing and tempering every inch of his body.
His flawless glazed body became even more resplendent, the variegated patterns within his flesh slowly transforming into dragon-shaped markings.
As he ascended,
the grand panorama of the continent unfolded before his eyes.
He saw cities scattered like stars, coastlines stretching for tens of thousands of miles, the mountains where he had once lingered, the rivers he had crossed, the marketplaces where he had shared wine…
At that moment—
the Qinglian Sword hanging at his waist
let out a sword cry unlike any before.
A brand-new sword intent surged from within the sword shrine, bursting forth like a seed breaking soil, like chaos at the dawn of creation.
Li Zhexian grasped the hilt.
"The Eleventh Sword of the Qinglian Sword Song…
I know what it is now."
"Brother Zhexian! Forget the sword for a moment!" Within the sea of consciousness, Skydream and the Ice and Snow Empresses could barely contain their excitement.
"You've become a god—does that mean we can become gods too?!"
"Will we still be bound by the rule that Spirit Beasts cannot become gods?!"