In another universe, Xal''Zyros felt his soul slave imprint vanish. He muttered to himself, "It seems Tian Mozi is dead."
His thoughts briefly turned to the Battle Realm''s winner—Xu Tianran. Was he responsible? He could only guess, unable to confirm. Regardless, his grand plan to devour the Aspara Universe had crumbled to ash. He cast his gaze in its direction, his expression unreadable.
---
Meanwhile, in the Aspara Universe, within the Star Sword Sect, Xu Tianran lounged in his chair, sipping tea and savoring Tian Mozi''s demise.
But suddenly—an old man appeared before him.
No sound. No trace. Not even the slightest fluctuation in space. Even with his spiritual sense, he hadn''t detected a thing.
Xu Tianran choked on his tea, his body tensing with alarm. Without hesitation, he teleported into the void, creating distance.
With a snap of his fingers—five thousand clones materialized, each matching his full combat strength. They surrounded the intruder, forming an impenetrable defense.
Yet, the old man simply smiled, amused.
And then—he vanished.
Before Xu Tianran could react, the old man reappeared before him. Not before a clone. Not before a decoy. But before the real him—hidden in a separate void.
Xu Tianran''s pupils shrank. His clones were meant to confuse any opponent. Yet, this man had ignored them entirely.
His instincts screamed.
For the first time, his system attempted to scan the figure—only to return a response of ???????
An unknown existence. Beyond comprehension.
For the first time in a long, long while—Xu Tianran felt fear.
Xu Tianran activated his Brainstorming System function with parallel minds.
A system prompt appeared:
[System authority is lower than the target. Unable to analyze.]
[Conclusion: Target surpasses Peak Universe Realm.]
Xu Tianran''s mind churned with countless thoughts, but he quickly calmed himself. His gaze became respectful as he slightly bowed.
"Greetings, Senior. It seems Senior has something to say to me."
He then fell silent.
The old man only smiled.
With a snap of his fingers, the surroundings changed—Xu Tianran was now seated at a table, surrounded by a room made of jade stone, its walls glowing faintly with an ancient energy. The old man sat across from him, leisurely pouring tea.
He handed a cup to Xu Tianran and said:
"Little one, don''t use your Universe Treasure on me. It''s useless. I can tolerate it, but against others of my level, you won''t be so lucky."
Xu Tianran was shocked. He can see through my system?
He quickly calmed himself. He didn''t dare to use the system on the old man again.
If he tolerated it now, who knew if he''d suddenly change his mind and slap me to death?
As Xu Tianran looked at the tea, he hesitated for a moment but ultimately took a sip. If the old man wanted him dead, a mere thought would be enough—why go through the trouble of poisoning tea?
With just one sip, his mind cleared. A soothing energy spread through his body, easing the constant tension that had become second nature to him.
Before he could dwell on the sensation, the old man''s voice pulled him back to reality.
"Little one, my name is Eldrik. I am in the Celestial God Realm, which is two levels above you."
Xu Tianran''s pupils shrank slightly. Two levels above Peak Origin Dao Ancestor?
The old man continued, his tone calm yet carrying an undeniable weight.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
"The next realm after Origin Dao Ancestor is the Universe Realm. To step into it, one must transform their ''Origin'' into an ''Order''—the Order of Life, the Order of Fire, the Order of Destruction, and so on. A mere 1% comprehension of an Order allows entry into the Universe Realm, while 10% marks the Peak Universe Realm."
Xu Tianran remained silent, absorbing the information.
"The Universe Realm is divided into Low, Mid, High, and Peak levels.
Once you comprehend 11% of an Order, you step into the True God Realm—a realm beyond the universe itself. At 30% comprehension, you reach the Peak of the True God Realm.
At 31%, you ascend to the Celestial God Realm. The Peak of this realm is reached at 60% comprehension—where I currently stand."
The old man stopped speaking, giving Xu Tianran time to process everything.
Xu Tianran was stunned. He had only suspected that power existed beyond the Universe Realm, but he had never confirmed it. Now, hearing such detailed information, he realized just how vast the path ahead truly was. His gaze toward the old man grew even more respectful.
The old man''s voice echoed once again.
"Once one reaches the Celestial God Realm, they are appointed as an Overseer of a reality containing countless universes.
This is determined by the Order of Cortex, one of the many Orders within the Supreme Will, which governs infinite realities, enforcing balance through countless Orders."
Once again, the old man paused, giving Xu Tianran time to process and adjust to the information.
Upon receiving such an overwhelming amount of information, Xu Tianran felt like a mere high schooler who had just stepped into university, realizing how vast the world truly was.
Such a kind senior… but why is he explaining all this? Could he want to take me as a disciple? Is it because I won the Battle Realm?
Before his thoughts could wander any further, he forced himself to calm down.
The old man''s voice echoed once more, as if confirming Xu Tianran''s thoughts.
"Little one, I am the Overseer of this reality. I witnessed your performance in the Battle Realm—your unprecedented way of executing power. That is why I want you as my disciple and to pass on my inheritance. I see great potential in you. You avoid trouble, but when it comes, you erase it to nothingness. Such profundity intrigues me."
Xu Tianran was stunned, does my cautiousness attract the senior?
Xu Tianran was slightly suspicious of the sudden offer. If possible, he didn''t want to be anyone''s disciple. What if this old monster wanted his body for soul transference? Or was simply bored, playing the master-disciple game only to discard him once he lost interest? What if this old man had far more ulterior motives than his current knowledge could grasp? Or worse, what if this was an order from his higher-ups?
At the same time, Xu Tianran didn''t know if rejecting the offer would anger the old man, leading to immediate death rather than a delayed one. More importantly, his system seemed limited to the Universe Realm, with no clear way to evolve beyond it. Accepting this offer was undoubtedly the most cost-effective path—at the very least, it would keep him alive for now.
Without hesitation, Xu Tianran knelt and kowtowed three times, then said, "This disciple greets Master!"
Upon seeing this, Eldrik, the old man, smiled at Xu Tianran''s respectful response. To Xu Tianran''s horror, the old man had planned to eradicate him if he refused to come under his wing—an order from his higher-ups that conveniently aligned with his own ulterior motives.
If Xu Tianran knew that this old man''s thoughts were a perfect combination of all his suspicions, he would have spat in his face, showered the old man with a universe full of shit, and cursed his entire lineage, even if it meant his death.
At the same time, if Old Man Eldrik knew about Xu Tianran''s suspicions, he would have undoubtedly acknowledged his outstanding intelligence—before killing him without a second thought.
But both of them smiled as if they were a true master and disciple, as if they would sacrifice themselves for each other.
Then, Old Man Eldrik tossed a jade-blue token to Xu Tianran and said, "This token will allow us to communicate. If you have any doubts, use it to contact me. Once you reach the True God Realm, I will take you to the God Gathering Palace—it will be a surprise you won''t forget."
With that said, Old Man Eldrik snapped his fingers, and in an instant, Xu Tianran found himself back in his sect, inside his room.
Xu Tianran spread his spiritual sense, attempting to cover the entire universe—only to find nothing abnormal. Letting out a sigh, he eased his racing heart and thought, "I killed some small fish only to become future food for a big fish… Just how cautious must I be to stay unnoticed by these monsters?"
"Ah, it''s all because of that Battle Realm… I unleashed my power and drowned in it without realizing it, wanting to unleash my full strength—which ended up making me noticed by that old monster."
"Well, danger brings rewards. At least I managed to break through to Peak Origin Dao Ancestor Realm and kill that annoying Tian Mozi. Never mind. What''s done is done. The only thing that matters now is which path I take moving forward."
With that, he closed his eyes, activated the Brainstorming function, and meticulously reviewed all the information he had recently received, ensuring he missed nothing. Only then did he truly calm down.
Suddenly, a familiar cold mechanical voice sounded in his mind.
[Ding! Necessary conditions have been met to activate a new system function.]
[Do you want to activate it?]
[Yes/No]
[Cost: Free]
Hearing his close friend''s voice after so long, along with the activation of a new function—one that was free, no less—filled him with delight, like getting discount upon discount on the same item. However, a trace of suspicion lingered. The system hadn''t mentioned what the function actually was.
Still, he brushed the thought aside and replied "Yes" in his mind.
A new system prompt appeared.
[Ding! The new function: BGM has been activated.]
Background Music (Passive Function):
The system detects when the host''s mood reaches an extreme and automatically plays background music accordingly. This function cannot be deactivated.
Xu Tianran was stunned.
"...What? Now even my system enjoys messing with my life by giving me useless functions?"
Before Xu Tianran could curse the system any further, the mechanical voice echoed in his mind once again:
[Ding! System has detected extreme distress. Playing appropriate background music.]
?? ? ?? "Eternal Parting: A Lament for the Fallen" ?? ? ?? ?? ? ?? ?? ? ?? .....
A sorrowful melody drifted through his mind—deep, mournful strings echoing an unbearable sense of loss, as if bidding farewell to a loved one lost beyond time and space. Each note carried the weight of endless regret, of words left unsaid, of paths that would never cross again.
Xu Tianran''s face twitched violently.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"