Target: Jingwu, Codename: Suyuan

Meanwhile.

In an infinitely distant abyssal plane.

Within the pitch-black grand hall of the Demon Emperor, an eerie silence reigned.

Upon the throne, a terrifying figure radiating an overwhelming aura of destruction suddenly opened his eyes.

His dark-purple pupils churned with unconcealed shock and disbelief!

Crack!

The Demon Emperor abruptly crushed one of the throne’s armrests, his chest heaving violently.

Just moments ago, the wisp of projection he had forcibly sent across worlds had actually been severed!

Not only that, but the Demon Saint serving as its anchor had also been completely erased right before his eyes!

“Martial Spirit…”

The Demon Emperor’s voice reverberated thunderously throughout the hall, carrying a tremor even he himself had failed to notice.

“That brat… is merely a Martial Spirit?!”

Below the hall, several Abyssal Demon Sovereigns kneeling on the ground shuddered violently, their faces filled with disbelief.

A Martial Spirit?

The one who had killed the Demon Saint was a Martial Spirit?!

How was that possible?!

The Demon Emperor stared fixedly into the void, the scene of that heaven-shaking spear strike replaying endlessly in his mind.

Nine million points of dark-gold divine blood!

A destruction spear intent at the peak of Soul Forging!

That transparent edge capable of forcibly cleaving even his projection apart!

“He crossed three entire major realms—Martial King, Martial Emperor, and Martial Venerable!”

“And killed the Demon Saint!”

The Demon Emperor abruptly rose to his feet. His terrifying pressure instantly swept through the entire hall, forcing every Demon Sovereign to bow their heads.

“An ordinary Martial Saint wouldn’t even be qualified to stand firm before this Emperor’s projection!”

“Only a peak Martial Saint of the human race, possessing over a hundred billion points of vital energy and blood—a peerless expert who has reached the Half-Step Martial Emperor realm—could possibly accomplish such a feat!”

“And yet he appears to be a Martial Spirit barely eighteen years old!”

Killing intent flashed explosively in the Demon Emperor’s eyes.

Eighteen years old!

A Martial Spirit!

What kind of astonishing talent was this?

What kind of heaven-defying strength was this?

If this brat were allowed to continue growing, then within ten years—no, even within five years—

the human race would surely give birth to an invincible Martial Emperor capable of sweeping across the entire Abyss!

Perhaps he might even surpass the Martial Emperor realm!

“This child must not be allowed to live!!!”

The Demon Emperor let out a roar that shook the entire abyssal plane.

The human race was about to rise!

That was a bottom line the Abyss absolutely could not tolerate!

“Transmit this Emperor’s decree!”

The Demon Emperor looked down from above, his voice cold and resolute, leaving no room for argument.

“Awaken every Red-Robed Grand Archbishop lying in wait within human territory!”

“Prepare to launch an all-out assault on the human defenses!”

“At the same time, activate the highest-level Number One Assassination Order!”

“Target: Jingwu. Codename: ‘Su Yuan’!”

“No matter the cost—even if we have to fill the grave with the lives of Martial Saints—we must strangle this human brat in his cradle!”

There was no other choice.

They truly could not afford to delay.

If this brat were allowed to cultivate for another year or two, the Abyss would be facing a catastrophe!

…

On the other side.

The human world.

Great Xia.

The internet had already exploded.

The earth-shaking battle in the abandoned industrial district outside the city could not possibly be concealed.

The rift through which the Demon Emperor had descended, along with that terrifying hand blotting out the sky, had been seen clearly by the citizens throughout the entire capital.

Although the military had sealed off the core battlefield at the first possible moment, a war correspondent had still managed to capture the most shocking scene.

That photograph immediately climbed to the top of every major media outlet’s headlines!

In the image—

Amid the black ashes swirling through the sky,

the back of a young man wearing a battered silver battle armor could be seen hovering silently in midair, a long spear in his hand.

A gray-black dragon phantom faintly coiled around the spear.

At its tip, a transparent edge gleamed, as though it could slice apart even the pixels of the photograph itself.

Below him lay the enormous, collapsing body of the Demon Saint.

Above him, the abyssal rift was slowly closing.

The title of the photograph was especially eye-catching, its impact enough to make one’s scalp tingle.

“Great Xia’s Youngest Martial Spirit! One Spear Splits the Firmament, Slaying the Demon Saint Across Three Realms!”

The entire internet instantly erupted!

In less than half an hour, the discussion surpassed ten billion comments and views!

“Holy crap! Holy crap! Holy crap! I’m so uneducated that ‘holy crap’ is the only phrase I need!”

“That photo has to be photoshopped, right? A Martial Spirit killing a Demon Saint? Editor, did you take the wrong medicine today?”

“For those above me, the military has already issued an official announcement. It really happened! His name is ‘Su Yuan,’ and he’s a genius from Jingwu!”

“My god! How many realms separate a Martial Spirit from a Demon Saint? This is straight-up cheating!”

“He crossed three major realms to kill his enemy? Is he even human?”

“What does it mean to be the light of humanity? This! This is what it means!”

“He’s so cool! That back, that battered armor, that peerless spear intent! I want to have his babies!”

“Rational analysis: this definitely isn’t an ordinary Martial Spirit. I heard that the Demon Emperor’s projection descended at the time, and this Su Yuan powerhouse forcibly drove it back!”

“Whatever the truth is, with a monster like this on our side, humanity is destined to rise!”

There were skeptics, of course.

But far more people were filled with unparalleled worship and fanaticism.

In this era, with the Abyss surrounding them on all sides, humanity desperately needed an invincible hero to raise its morale.

And the name “Su Yuan” was like a dazzling shooting star, instantly illuminating the night sky of the entire Great Xia.

…

At the same time.

Capital City, the Chen family estate.

Within the highest-level underground chamber,

a massive holographic projection screen was repeatedly playing a somewhat blurry photograph.

It was the image captured by the military war correspondent.

Amid the black and gray ashes,

the back of a young man wearing battered silver battle armor hovered in midair, a long spear in his hand.

At the tip of the spear,

a transparent edge gleamed, as though it could slice the pixels of the photograph itself completely apart.

The atmosphere inside the chamber was so oppressive that it was difficult to breathe.

Chen family patriarch Chen Tiannan had fine beads of cold sweat covering his forehead.

He stared fixedly at that transparent edge on the screen, his Adam’s apple moving with difficulty.

But he was not the only one.

An emaciated old man seated at the highest position in the chamber also had his eyes stretched wide. Every withered muscle in his body trembled violently.

The Chen family’s ancestor, Chen Pojun!

A genuine Martial Venerable powerhouse!

He had been in secluded cultivation for ten years, yet Chen Tiannan had forcibly brought him out today.

All because of this photograph!

“Ancestor…”

Chen Tiannan swallowed, his voice exceptionally dry.

“Can you see it clearly?”

“That transparent edge at the tip of the spear…”

“Could it be our Chen family’s…”

“Shut up!”

Chen Pojun slammed his palm onto the table. A distinct handprint instantly appeared on its surface, forged from deep-sea meteorite iron.

At that moment, astonishing light burst from his murky eyes.

“I’m not blind yet!”

“That intangible, formless fluctuation that specializes in severing the soul…”

“It is unquestionably the Formless Tribulation Blade!!!”

Boom!

The instant those words left his mouth, the several core Chen family elders in the underground chamber erupted into an uproar.

The Formless Tribulation Blade!

The Chen family’s Heaven-grade, top-tier spiritual-power technique!

It was also the fundamental inheritance that allowed the Chen family to establish itself in the capital.

“How is this possible?!”

The First Elder abruptly rose to his feet, his face filled with utter disbelief.

“Only successive family patriarchs and core elders have been qualified to cultivate this secret technique!”

“It is absolutely impossible for it to have been passed on to outsiders!”

“How could this mysterious powerhouse named Su Yuan know how to use our Formless Tribulation Blade?!”

Chen Pojun stared fixedly at the screen, his breathing growing exceptionally heavy.

“It’s not just the Formless Tribulation Blade.”

“Take a close look at the solidity of that edge!”

“Old Master spent a hundred and twenty years painstakingly cultivating the Formless Tribulation Blade and exhausted countless treasures of heaven and earth just to barely reach the Great Accomplishment stage!”

“And yet that edge in the photograph…”

Chen Pojun’s voice began to tremble violently, filled with profound frustration and shock.

“Perfection!”

“This is the Perfected Realm—a level that exists only in theory!!!”

Silence.

The secret chamber once again fell into deathly silence.

The Perfected Realm?

An outsider had cultivated the Chen family’s secret, never-before-taught technique to perfection?

This was simply even more absurd to them than the Demon Emperor descending upon the world!