Mortal World's End, Ascending Through the Void

Exactly one year.

In the capital, the first snow had just fallen.

Yet, in the Shen family's courtyard, the red winter plum blossoms were blooming brilliantly.

Inside the study, the underfloor heating made the room exceptionally warm.

Shen Fei sat behind a massive red sandalwood desk.

Wearing a slim-fitting, solid black turtleneck sweater, he wasn't looking at any documents.

He was simply resting quietly with his eyes closed.

The entire mortal realm, which was Earth.

Under the crushing weight of the Shen family's terrifying dual machine of finance and violence, it had been completely reduced to a private estate without a single dissenting voice.

No resistance.

No accidents.

Even those newly emerging Children of Destiny had been thoroughly eradicated by Dragon Abyss and the Dark Web, like weeds being pulled from the root.

Young Master.

The study door was pushed open.

Shen Qiuhan walked in.

This Ice Blade Queen, who commanded the winds and rains in the global capital markets and was dubbed the Eastern Reaper by Wall Street.

At this moment, in front of Shen Fei, she still maintained the purest form of humility.

The final asset transfer agreement has been signed.

Shen Qiuhan placed a thin red folder on the desk.

The top three military-industrial complexes in North America, the European energy conglomerates, and the Middle Eastern oil royalty. The core equities under their names have all been transferred into the absolute holding pool of Shen's Heavenly Zenith.

Now.

Shen Qiuhan took a deep breath, her tone carrying a suppressed fanaticism.

On this planet. The extraction of every drop of oil, the manufacturing of every bullet, the flow of every penny. Everything is under your will.

Shen Fei did not open his eyes.

What about Lu Bai?

Three days ago, his brainwaves completely disappeared. The system unbound.

Shen Qiuhan answered crisply.

As per your instructions, the plug was pulled. His ashes were dumped into a sewage treatment plant in the suburbs of the capital.

That once arrogant host of the Divine Tycoon System, who tried to buy the entire world with money.

After being locked in the basement by Shen Fei and ruthlessly squeezed dry for exactly a year and three months.

He completely lost all his value.

Like a bag of non-recyclable trash, he was forgotten by this city.

Understood.

Shen Fei slowly opened his eyes.

In his pitch-black eyes, there was a depth like an abyss.

The foundation of the mortal realm was completely solidified.

He stood up.

Tell them to come in.

Shen Qiuhan nodded and stepped out.

A moment later.

Three women walked into the study.

Su Qingxue, Lin Ruobing, and Ye Qingyu.

Over the past year.

Using the massive amount of wealth extorted from Lu Bai, Shen Fei had redeemed countless high-dimensional marrow-cleansing pills from the system shop.

Forcibly.

He elevated these three women, who were originally just outstanding in their respective fields, to the absolute pinnacle of supernatural power in the mortal realm.

They were no longer fragile vases that needed protection.

But truly possessed terrifying strength—the Queen's Council.

Su Qingxue, in charge of the Dark Web and the Shen commercial empire. The gentleness in her eyes had completely faded, replaced by an ultimate aura of a superior who was imposing without being angry.

Lin Ruobing, who had taken over all of the Shen family's underground armed forces and mercenary legions. She wore a sleek black combat uniform, her gaze sharp as a knife.

Ye Qingyu, whose light element origin had fully awakened and was under control. She was the one with the strongest combat power among the three. She was also a special bridge between Dragon Abyss and the Shen family.

The three stood side by side in front of the desk.

Looking at Shen Fei.

They all knew.

What day today was.

The study was quiet.

There was no weeping before parting. No reluctant hugs.

Shen Fei walked up to them.

I'm leaving.

Shen Fei's voice was flat. It sounded as if he were just going on a normal, distant business trip.

As for the mortal realm.

You keep an eye on it.

Just this brief sentence.

There were no superfluous instructions. Because Shen Fei knew that under this past year of iron-blooded discipline, these three women were more than enough to suppress any unrest on this planet.

Su Qingxue took a step forward.

She reached out her hand.

Naturally and steadily.

She adjusted the collar of Shen Fei's black sweater.

Young Master.

Su Qingxue looked into Shen Fei's eyes.

No tears. Only a firm resolve.

Go and conquer the upper realm too.

We will be here. Guarding your home for you.

Lin Ruobing leaned against the doorframe of the study, her arms crossed over her chest.

She didn't speak.

She just looked at Shen Fei earnestly and gave a heavy nod.

Ye Qingyu clenched her right hand hanging by her side.

The pure cluster of light element origin in her palm rippled slightly at this moment. As if reluctantly sensing the aura of the Heavenly Demon within Shen Fei that was about to depart.

Then, the white light submissively calmed down.

Ye Qingyu raised her head.

Her gaze was steady.

Go.

These were the ultimate villain's women.

They didn't need weak attachments. They only needed cold companionship and vigilant watchfulness.

Shen Fei nodded.

He turned around.

Pushed open the hidden door connecting the study to the backyard.

And strode outside.

...

Deep within the Shen family's courtyard, in the underground forbidden area.

This was a vast, empty cavern. The surrounding stone walls were carved with the traces of formations left by past generations of Shen family heads.

At this moment.

Old Master Shen Wanjun was sitting on a grand armchair at the edge of the forbidden area.

This living fossil who had dominated the capital for a lifetime.

Watched his grandson walk step by step into the center of the forbidden area.

The old man did not stand up.

He was rolling two ancient walnuts in his hand.

Click, clack.

The sound was steady.

Little Fei.

The old man's aged voice echoed in the cavern.

Up there, you probably won't have a massive family estate like the Shen family backing you up.

Shen Fei stopped right in the center of the forbidden area.

He did not look back.

He merely rolled his neck casually. His bones let out a crisp popping sound.

It doesn't matter.

Shen Fei's voice was ruthless.

If there is no family estate.

I'll just go and snatch someone else's.

As his words fell.

The dark gold Heavenly Demon spiritual energy within Shen Fei's body.

After being suppressed for a whole year.

At this moment, unreservedly and furiously!

Erupted completely!

Boom!!!

A terrifying pressure, sufficient to shatter the crust of the entire capital, surged from Shen Fei's body into the sky!

Golden Core Perfection!

This power was like a sharp black blade, brutally piercing through the rock layers of the underground forbidden area.

Shooting straight up into the hazy gray sky of the capital!

He did not try to sense the heavenly secrets.

Nor did he devoutly pray for the Heavenly Dao's guidance.

He was, arrogantly.

Forcibly triggering the ascension lightning tribulation!

Rumble!!!

Almost in the exact same second that Shen Fei's power erupted.

Above the capital.

Abruptly, an incredibly thick cloud of lightning tribulation emerged, radiating a destructive purple-gold light!

The Heavenly Dao was furious!

This dangerous cancer, who had slaughtered countless Children of Destiny and even forcibly altered the operating rules of the mortal realm.

Actually dared to actively provoke its majesty!

Within the tribulation clouds, thunder rolled.

This was no longer an ordinary trial; it was outright obliteration and suppression!

But at the same time.

Because Shen Fei's cultivation base had indeed reached the limit of breaking the mortal realm's barrier. The inviolable guiding mechanism within the rules of the Heavenly Dao paradoxically activated as well.

The lightning tribulation and the divine guiding light.

Eerily intertwined in the sky.

Forming a massive purple-gold vortex carrying the dual aura of destruction and rebirth.

Come!

Shen Fei stood in the center of the forbidden area.

He tilted his head back.

Black short hair danced wildly in the violent currents of spiritual energy.

He looked up at the terrifying heavenly might gathering above his head.

His right hand.

Forcefully clenched into a fist.

Boom!

The first thick, purple-gold bolt of heavenly lightning, carrying a momentum meant to destroy everything in its path, struck down viciously from the tribulation clouds!

The layers of rock and soil along its trajectory.

The moment they came into contact with the heavenly lightning, they were instantly vaporized by the terrifying heat!

This bolt of heavenly lightning was ten times thicker and more terrifying than the one that had struck Li Miaoyuan back then!

The Heavenly Dao wanted to deal this Demon King a heavy blow before he left.

But Shen Fei did not dodge.

Nor did he activate any defensive magical treasures.

With sheer arrogance, he faced the heavenly lightning head-on.

And threw a punch!

Heavenly Demon Heavy Punch!

Bang!!!

The dark gold fist energy and the purple-gold heavenly lightning collided fiercely in mid-air!

The blinding, intense light instantly stripped away all vision within the forbidden grounds.

Even Old Master Shen Wanjun, who was sitting at the very edge, had to summon his thick astral aura to protect his eyes.

The massive recoil.

It caused the hard rock beneath Shen Fei's feet to instantly explode into a giant crater over ten meters deep.

Yet his tall, straight posture did not retreat a single step!

The violent power of the lightning surged down Shen Fei's arm, madly attempting to tear his meridians apart.

But with the absurd dual physical and energy defenses of his Heavenly Demon Body, coupled with the greedy, devouring attributes of the Heaven-Swallowing Demon Art.

Forcefully.

He barbarically chewed up and swallowed this manifestation of the Heavenly Dao's wrath!

Is this all you have?

Shen Fei slowly retracted his fist.

Acrid black smoke rose from his knuckles.

He stared at the massive purple-gold vortex in the sky.

His eyes were filled with the utmost contempt.

The Heavenly Dao seemed to be thoroughly enraged by Shen Fei's arrogance.

The tribulation clouds churned violently.

Preparing to send down an even more terrifying lightning punishment.

But.

Rules were rules.

The instant Shen Fei forcefully withstood the first lightning tribulation.

The guiding divine light hidden within the lightning finally broke through the suppression of the tribulation clouds.

Dazzling golden light.

Shone straight down from the depths of the void.

It instantly enveloped Shen Fei's entire body.

A massive, irresistible spatial pulling force began to forcefully drag Shen Fei toward the vortex in the sky.

The Void Gate.

Slowly opened within the guiding divine light.

It emanated an ancient, desolate fluctuation that carried a higher-dimensional aura.

Shen Fei was held aloft by the divine light.

Steadily ascending toward the Void Gate.

He did not look down at the mortal realm beneath his feet.

Because there was nothing left here worth lingering for.

In his mind.

A memory from a year ago clearly surfaced.

On that extinct volcanic island in the Pacific.

The venomous blood curse Li Miaoyuan had left behind when he was rescued by the guiding divine light.

I will wait for you in the Upper Realm.

I will surely exterminate your ten clans.

Shen Fei's body gradually submerged into the Void Gate.

He looked at the unfamiliar, vast starry sky behind the door.

Slowly.

From the inside of his trench coat, he took out the tortoise shell engraved with a mysterious star map that he had found in the ruins of the Taiyi Dao Sect.

Li Miaoyuan.

Shen Fei's voice, right before he was completely swallowed by the spatial channel.

Coldly and cruelly.

Echoed within the Void Gate.

I have come looking for you.

Boom—

The Void Gate closed heavily.

The tribulation clouds and the guiding divine light in the sky rapidly dissipated in a very short amount of time.

The sky over the capital returned to a grayish calm.

But.

At the exact moment Shen Fei completely departed.

The fortune field of the entire mortal realm.

Emitted a faint tremor that only the Heavenly Dao could detect.

It was as if.

Some massive shadow that had been pressing down on Earth.

Had finally left.

And a much more terrifying legend.

In another dimension.

Had just begun.