Soul Emperor, you must be safe.

Soul Heavenly Emperor was instantly stunned, because this was completely different from the scene of mutual admiration between heroes he had imagined.

"Get lost! With strength like this, you dare to share the title of Heavenly Emperor with me? You’re not even worthy!"

"What?!" Soul Heavenly Emperor snapped back to reality, his fury erupting. He never expected Gu Qingfeng to flip like a dog’s mood, changing his tone in an instant.

"You’re asking for death!"

With a roar of rage, Soul Heavenly Emperor suddenly opened his mouth wide and inhaled deeply from the endless sea of blood. A terrifying suction force erupted from his maw, drawing in every drop of the blood mist that filled the heavens and earth.

BOOM!

A thunderous rumble echoed from Soul Heavenly Emperor’s belly as boundless ghostly energy erupted from his body. In the blink of an eye, he swelled into a colossal ghostly titan, towering tens of thousands of feet tall. His entire form was pitch-black, clad in an outer layer of bone armor that encased his gargantuan frame tightly.

The ghostly titan stood tall in the endless abyss, nearly level with its depths.

"Gu Qingfeng, today I’ll show you my true power!"

Soul Heavenly Emperor’s voice boomed like divine thunder, shaking the heavens. With every breath, even the howling winds and swirling sands of the abyss seemed to freeze in place.

BOOM!

Soul Heavenly Emperor threw a punch, its force like a falling meteor, covering a radius of millions of miles. The void shattered instantly, and the very laws of the universe wailed in despair.

Gu Qingfeng felt a flicker of anticipation. Was that weak earlier strike just a test? Now, he was finally getting serious.

He retaliated with a punch of his own, releasing a wisp of chaotic energy for show. But inwardly, he braced for a sudden surge in power.

Yet, after the collision, the earth was obliterated, the shockwave reducing millions of miles to a vacuum. Even the projections of nearby Quasi-Emperors were dispersed like smoke.

But the gloom on Gu Qingfeng’s face only darkened—this punch was merely fifty percent stronger than the last.

"Damn it! What a waste of my time!" Gu Qingfeng cursed aloud before unleashing the full might of his Chaos Body.

Boundless chaotic energy coiled around him, radiating immortal divine laws. Countless Dao runes surged forth, dazzlingly radiant, weaving together into a blinding celestial light unlike anything seen before.

In a thousandth of an instant, the chaotic radiance shot forth like a laser beam, piercing straight through Soul Heavenly Emperor’s ghostly titan.

"ARGH!"

Soul Heavenly Emperor screamed as his titan form shattered, his true body tumbling out of the void, drenched in blood.

"No! Impossible! You possess the full strength of a Heavenly Emperor?! But the fifth trial hasn’t even..."

Gu Qingfeng’s mind raced. Full Heavenly Emperor strength? The fifth trial? Could it be...

"You haven’t recovered your peak power yet?"

"Of course not! How could I regain my peak when I haven’t reclaimed my Dao?" Soul Heavenly Emperor replied fearfully.

His fear wasn’t of Gu Qingfeng’s power, but of being killed on a whim—all those endless years of waiting would be for nothing.

Gu Qingfeng frowned. "Aren’t you Emperor-corpses supposed to regain full strength once you reclaim your immortal bodies and devour your projections? You’ve done both—why aren’t you at your peak?"

Soul Heavenly Emperor scoffed. "Who told you there’s only one projection? Do you think a mighty being like me, Soul Heavenly Emperor, would have such a weak projection?

"The one in the endless abyss is just a fraction. The real prize is in the fifth trial—it reflects our peak selves, forming a projection. Only by devouring that can we regain our full power."

Gu Qingfeng suddenly understood. The projections weren’t singular—the ones in the endless abyss were mere warm-ups, obstacles to temper Quasi-Emperors.

The fifth trial, however, was a battle against one’s peak self. Soul Heavenly Emperor and the others had lost their Daos, leaving them weakened, while the fifth trial’s projections still possessed them. Their goal was to seize their Daos back from those projections.

As for how, or whether they could win...

Gu Qingfeng figured it wasn’t a problem. They must have a method—otherwise, they wouldn’t be here risking their lives.

After all, a Heavenly Emperor’s Dao was self-cultivated. Taking back what was theirs from a projection shouldn’t be difficult.

At this realization, Gu Qingfeng was suddenly overcome with regret. He cursed his own blindness—he had nearly killed a comrade! Thankfully, Soul Heavenly Emperor was sturdy enough to survive his punch, or he’d have lived with eternal remorse.

"Soul Heavenly Emperor, get up quickly—the ground’s cold." Gu Qingfeng flashed over, helping him to his feet.

"Y-You... what are you doing?!" Soul Heavenly Emperor tensed at the contact, fearing a sudden lethal strike.

But Gu Qingfeng merely dusted him off, straightened his robes, and even stuffed a handful of healing pills into his hands.

"A misunderstanding, Soul Heavenly Emperor—all just a misunderstanding.

"When I saw how weak you were, wearing that bone mask and hiding your face, I thought you were an imposter!

"You have no idea—I’ve long admired you from afar! The moment I saw someone pretending to be you, I flew into a rage and struck without thinking."

Soul Heavenly Emperor: "..."

An incense stick’s time later...

Having barely recovered, Soul Heavenly Emperor reluctantly accepted Gu Qingfeng’s flimsy excuse.

"So... it was all a misunderstanding?"

"Exactly! Just a misunderstanding." Gu Qingfeng smiled warmly.

Soul Heavenly Emperor’s lips twitched. With the situation stacked against him, he had no choice but to play along.

"Fine. Since the misunderstanding’s cleared, I’ll head to the fifth trial to reclaim my Dao now."

He couldn’t bear to stay near Gu Qingfeng any longer. This man was even more mercurial than himself—beneath that friendly face, who knew when he’d turn murderous again?

"Leaving so soon? Shouldn’t you rest more? What if your injuries keep you from reclaiming your Dao?" Gu Qingfeng asked with genuine concern.

Soul Heavenly Emperor stared at the heartfelt worry on his face, feeling nothing but absurdity—and the urge to curse.

Damn it! You’re the one who beat me half to death, and now you’re playing the compassionate saint?!

Yet, bizarrely, based on his centuries of experience, Gu Qingfeng’s concern seemed real. He genuinely appeared more worried than Soul Heavenly Emperor himself about reclaiming the Dao.

Weird. Too weird.

Unable to stand another second, Soul Heavenly Emperor muttered a few dismissive words before fleeing without looking back.

Gu Qingfeng stood rooted in place, watching his comrade’s retreating figure until it vanished into the endless black sands. Only then did he lower his gaze.

"Stay safe!" he shouted into the storm.

Those two simple words carried boundless hope, care, and worry for his comrade.

THUD!

Somewhere in the swirling sands, a heavy thud echoed, followed by the sound of something scrambling to its feet—then frantic footsteps sprinting away...

At that moment, Gu Qingfeng felt like a proud father watching his son leave home—like he’d pedaled a bicycle for miles down mountain roads just to send his child off on a bus to the big city.

He hoped his son would succeed, rise above, and return safely.