63: I am the only one who matters

Beneath the Chaos-colored canopy, fragments of Law flowed wildly like a shattered galaxy. Beneath his feet lay a vast, boundless land crystallized from Mental Energy. Every step he took sent ripples of materialized energy spreading outward. Lin Yuan lowered his head, examining his semi-transparent body of Divine Thought. With a slight movement of his intent—hum!

In an instant, his Ninth-Rank Divine Thought surged forth, instantly coalescing outside his body into a set of solid battle armor glowing with dark gold! On the surface of the armor, billions of mysterious runes flowed and breathed on their own. Each rune exuded a majestic Divine Might sufficient to isolate the heavens and earth; its very existence caused the surrounding Void Realm to twist slightly.

"Let's test the weight."

He raised his hand casually and pressed it lightly toward a towering peak in the distance.

Boom—!!!

His nine-colored Divine Thought instantly transformed into a giant palm that covered the sky, carrying the great power to crush stars. It descended silently yet with irresistible force!

There was no earth-shattering roar, only suffocating annihilation. That towering peak, along with the earth veins beneath it, crumbled and shattered like a sandcastle thrown into a furnace, turning into powder that filled the sky! The violent aftermath swept across a ten-mile radius like an apocalyptic tsunami, imprinting a bottomless giant palm print with edges smooth as a mirror onto the earth.

"The intensity is about ninety percent of the outside world..." Lin Yuan rubbed his fingertips, feeling the subtle difference in his Divine Thought, a trace of disdain flashing in his eyes. "More than enough to crush a few small fry."

Suddenly, his Divine Thought moved, turning toward the southwest.

Hum—!!!

A violent surge of Divine Thought mixed with silver and blue colors shot into the sky, actually staining the Chaos sky of that region! A cold arc curved on Lin Yuan's lips. His body followed his intent, and his nine-colored Divine Thought erupted! He transformed into a nine-colored rainbow tearing through the sky, shooting toward the source of the Chaos at a speed beyond perception!

Above a vast, desolate, and deathly silent sea of sand, more than a dozen powerful Saints were fighting frantically. Divine Thought took shape; blades and sword lights tore through the Void Realm, and the roars of Vicious Beasts shattered the Nine Heavens. Every collision caused the space to shake violently, cracking into black fissures like spiderwebs!

"Join forces to slaughter Chu Jingtian first!" a youth in blue robes shrieked. Above his head, a massive blue Divine Thought instantly condensed into a hideous hundred-foot giant Dragon. Its scales were chilling, and it opened its mouth wide enough to swallow the heavens and earth, carrying foul winds and toxic mists as it bit toward the arrogant purple-robed youth in the center of the field!

"With you bunch of worthless dogs?" Chu Jingtian stood proudly in place, emitting a disdainful sneer. The silver Dragon Divine Thought circling his body suddenly roared and split into three! Each of the three silver Dragons exuded a terrifying Divine Might that froze the Soul, their dragon eyes cold as they locked onto all enemies. "Today, I will let you bunch of frogs at the bottom of a well see what the true Dao of Divine Thought is!"

The melee was about to break out!

Just at this moment—

The heavens and earth suddenly darkened!

An indescribable, terrifying Divine Might that seemed to originate from the primordial era descended with a boom, like billions of divine mountains collapsing simultaneously!

All the fighting Saints had their movements instantly frozen, like insects trapped in amber. They looked up in terror, only to see a vast, boundless nine-colored light curtain, like an inverted sky, completely sealing off every inch of space within a hundred-mile radius! On the light curtain, billions of ancient runes flowing with the Aura of Chaos flickered in and out of existence. Each rune contained absolute power capable of suppressing gods and demons and crushing the Universe!

"What... what is this monster?!" Someone, their guts shattered, frantically drove their own Divine Thought to blast against the light curtain, but it was like a clay ox entering the sea, not even stirring a ripple!

The arrogance on Chu Jingtian's face instantly turned into pale, terrified despair! The three silver Dragons coiled frantically, constructing layer upon layer of silver barriers around him. He roared hoarsely, his voice trembling with unprecedented fear: "Which Senior has arrived?! The rules of the Illusion God Realm limit entry to only Saints of the Spirit Refining Realm..."

Before he could finish!

The nine-colored light curtain that shrouded the heavens and earth collapsed inward violently!

"Ah—!!!"

A shrill, desperate scream instantly rang through the desert! The dozen or so Saints realized with terror that the Origin of Divine Thought they had painstakingly cultivated was being frantically extracted by an irresistible, terrifying power, like a breached flood! No matter how they struggled, burned their essence blood, or drove secret techniques, it was to no avail! Their bodies of Divine Thought became thin and transparent at a speed visible to the naked eye, like candles in the wind. The Jade Slips within their bodies, which carried their qualifications and power, were forcibly stripped away by that power and floated out uncontrollably.

"No! My Jade Slip!!!"

Amidst desperate roars, the Jade Slips, which symbolized glory and qualifications, were snatched away as if by an invisible giant hand. They flew out of their collapsing bodies and finally gathered in the palm of Lin Yuan, who had quietly appeared at the center of the battlefield at some unknown time. Lin Yuan stood in the air, his nine-colored Divine Thought weaving and boiling behind him, forming an immortal divine ring that reflected the heavens and dazzled the eye. It was radiant and shone with ancient Divine Might! He was like a supreme Dominator walking out of Chaos, indifferently looking down at the ants in his palm.

"Seventeen." Lin Yuan tapped his fingertips, and the Jade Slips made a crisp clinking sound. His gaze was like lightning, instantly locking onto Chu Jingtian, who was fleeing for his life in the distance, transformed into a ray of silver light. "Too slow."

He set his intent again, holding nothing back!

Rumble—!!!

A pillar of nine-colored Divine Thought, carrying terrifying power that made the Laws of the entire Illusion God Realm moan, tore through the Chaos sky and shot straight into the ten-thousand-foot clouds!

The beam of light exploded above the Nine Heavens, turning into a nine-colored divine sun that was impossible to look at directly! This divine sun hung high in the center of the sky, its light shining into every corner of the Illusion God Realm. The vast Divine Might crushed down like a physical weight; the earth moaned, and the Void Realm trembled! At the same time, a cold, overbearing, and unquestionable Divine Thought transmission, like a heavenly decree, rang out in the depths of every Saint's Soul:

"Tianqing Domain, Lin Yuan is here! You ants, those holding Jade Slips, come quickly—to die!"

Mad!

Mad to the point of lawlessness! Mad to the point of treating the Prodigies of all Domains as grass!

The entire Illusion God Realm instantly fell into a deathly silence. The next second, like a spark thrown into boiling oil, it completely exploded! Countless Saints were first incredulous, then furious, their eyes turning blood-red! How many years had it been since anyone dared to despise the heroes like this? How many years had it been since anyone dared to provoke the entire Illusion God Realm with their own strength?!

"Courting death!"

"Arrogant fool!"

"Kill him! Seize his Jade Slip!"

Earth-shattering roars rang out in all directions. Countless streams of Divine Thought containing furious killing intent rose into the sky from all parts of the Illusion God Realm like a reverse-flowing galaxy, carrying the determination to destroy everything, and gathered frantically toward the direction of that nine-colored divine sun!

Among them, several figures with exceptionally terrifying Auras, whose speed far exceeded their peers, tore through the Void Realm and arrived!

"Heh, interesting." A youth with red hair like fire, wrapped in flames that burned the heavens, stepped on a roaring hundred-foot fire Dragon. Wherever he passed, space distorted, and all things turned to ashes. In his eyes was boiling Battle Intent and cruelty. "A naive new blood, just right to sacrifice to my divine fire!"

"Nine-colored Divine Thought? A bluffing trick!" A woman with clothes as white as snow and a temperament as cold as bone had a Phoenix Divine Thought circling her body. Wherever she passed, the thousand-mile desert instantly turned into an extreme ice prison, the temperature dropping to absolute zero. Her voice was as cold as blades colliding. "Wait until I freeze his Soul!"

"Everyone! This brute is rampant; we should join forces to execute him! Take his Jade Slip and divide his Opportunity!" A muscular man with knots of muscles, like an ancient god or demon, roared at the sky. His golden Divine Thought condensed into a giant axe that seemed capable of splitting Chaos. The blade flashed with cold light, tearing through the Void Realm with a piercing screech!

Facing the hundreds of Saint Prodigies surging from all directions like a raging sea, Lin Yuan still stood with his hands behind his back in the air, his sleeves motionless in the turbulent energy. The faint arc on his lips looked so dazzling at this moment, full of extreme contempt for the countless strong enemies.

As the thirty or so figures charging at the very front, with the most ferocious Auras, like thirty burning meteors, crashed into the thousand-foot radius around him—

Lin Yuan finally moved.

He just raised his right hand very casually, his five fingers spread, and with a light grip toward the Void Realm.

"Divine Thought Domain, open."

Boom—!!!

Above the Nine Heavens, that arrogant nine-colored divine sun suddenly exploded!

The explosion was not destruction, but billions of nine-colored Divine Thought chains, thin as ox hair but containing the great power to devour the heavens and the myriad worlds! These chains ignored the distance of space, ignored the obstruction of time, and in one-billionth of an instant, pierced with absolute precision into the Divine Thought core of every attacking Saint!

"Urgh ah—!!! My... my Divine Thought!!!" The red-haired youth bore the brunt. The fire Dragon beneath his feet let out a shrill cry, its massive body disintegrating and melting at a speed visible to the naked eye! He himself clutched his head with both hands, materialized Divine Thought light flames erupting from his seven orifices, and let out a heart-wrenching scream! He could clearly feel that the Origin of Divine Thought he had painstakingly cultivated throughout his life was being greedily and irresistibly extracted and devoured by that tiny chain!

The same scene of despair played out simultaneously on every Saint pierced by the chains!

No matter what earth-shattering Divine Thought secret techniques they had cultivated, no matter how formidable the protective Magic Treasures they possessed, they were now useless decorations.

Their struggles were like insects trapped in a spider web; the more they resisted, the faster the chains devoured them!

It was a deprivation originating from the source of life, a torture where the Soul was torn apart inch by inch!

"Devil… Devil! He is a devil that devours Divine Thought!"

Someone's will completely collapsed, tears and snot streaming down their face, watching helplessly as their Divine Thought body, which they had taken such pride in, crumbled inch by inch like a weathered sand sculpture, transforming into pure points of light flowing toward Lin Yuan.

Merely ten breaths!

It was like a death countdown hitting zero.

The thirty-odd renowned Saints charging at the forefront, along with their Divine Thought Incarnations, protective Magic Treasures, and all their pride and unwillingness, were reduced to nine-colored light points drifting across the sky, completely dissipating between heaven and earth!

Only the Jade Slips, falling as densely as a sudden rainstorm, remained, all of which Lin Yuan swept into his possession with a flick of his sleeve.

"One hundred and three."

Lin Yuan weighed the heavy "harvest" in his palm, his gaze calmly sweeping toward the remaining Saints in the distance who were stiff and pale, as if nailed to the Void Realm.

The curve of his lips widened like the smile of a grim reaper.

"Who is next?"

"Run!!!"

Extreme fear instantly drowned out all reason!

How could the remaining hundreds of Saints have even a shred of Battle Intent left?

Their livers and gallbladders were shattered, their Souls terrified!

Using the fastest speed of their lives, like startled birds, they fled frantically in all directions!

However, those nine-colored Divine Thought chains that devoured everything had long since become the Law of this world itself!

They were like maggots on bones, like a curse of Karma, ignoring distance and obstacles, accurately catching up to every fugitive and ruthlessly piercing into their Divine Thought cores!

The entire Divine Realm of Illusions had completely turned into a massive hunting ground dominated by one person!

The prey were the once high-and-mighty Prodigy Saints from various Domains, and the hunter was none other than that solitary, lofty figure beneath the nine-colored Divine Sun—Lin Yuan!

Outside the Divine Realm of Illusions, before the Divine Thought Heavenly Stele.

Dead silence!

A graveyard-like silence enveloped this plaza, which had gathered countless experts.

One after another, the Saints were struck as if by an invisible giant hammer; their bodies convulsed violently, and they coughed up blood mixed with Mental Energy, collapsing to the ground with screams!

Their Divine Thought projections had been completely shattered within the Divine Realm of Illusions, causing severe damage to their Souls in the short term, making it impossible for them to reconverge.

Feng Tianxiu stared fixedly at the real-time ranking on the Heavenly Stele, his eyes almost popping out of their sockets, his mouth open wide enough to fit a fist—

[Rank 1: Lin Yuan of Tianqing Domain, Jade Slips held: 976]

This number was not static!

It was as if it had gone mad; amidst the suffocating gaze of everyone, it soared frantically at a speed that induced despair!

980… 990… 995… 999… 1000!!!

The moment that number "1000," symbolizing absolute dominance and an unbreakable record, appeared—Hum—!!!

The entire ancient Divine Thought Heavenly Stele erupted with an unprecedented, violent roar!

The stele body trembled violently, as if unable to withstand some terrifying power!

A brilliant golden beam of light, unprecedented and seemingly projected from the depths of the Universe's Origin, tore through the Void Realm and descended with a crash!

It directly illuminated the characters "Lin Yuan" and the number "1000" into an eternal, indestructible gilded color!

The ancient runes on the Heavenly Stele, sealed away for who knows how many tens of thousands of years and containing the supreme truths of the Dao, lit up one after another like ignited stars!

A vast and majestic Aura permeated the area, and finally, at the very top of the Heavenly Stele, four gilded characters, seemingly condensed from the Laws of heaven and earth themselves and exuding an Aura of absolute supremacy that suppressed the ages, brilliantly appeared: I! Alone! Am! Supreme!

"This… this is…"

High above on the platform, the dignified Hall Master of Xuanxiao, who had seen countless storms and waves, stood up abruptly, his figure trembling slightly.

His eyes, usually as calm as an ancient well, were now filled with shocking, tempestuous disbelief.

"Sweeping across a thousand Domains, I alone am supreme! Since the establishment of the Divine Realm of Illusions, this has never happened in ancient history! He… he collected all the Jade Slips?!"

Boom—!!!

The brief silence was completely shattered, and the entire plaza exploded like boiling water!

Exclamations, gasps, and roars of disbelief intertwined, forming an ocean of Chaos!

Amidst this extreme Chaos and shock, Feng Tianxiu suddenly burst into earth-shaking laughter!

His laughter was filled with the satisfaction of having finally cleared his name, indescribable excitement, and a pride bordering on madness!

"Hahaha! Good! Good! A good Lin Yuan! A good Tianqing Domain!"

He knew that from this moment on, the name of the Spirit Martial Hall of Tianqing Domain would resound throughout the entire Xuanxiao Great World, like this golden Heavenly Stele, and no one would dare to underestimate them again!

Meanwhile, inside the Divine Realm of Illusions, the last Jade Slip, flowing with a faint silver radiance, floated in Lin Yuan's palm.

Its owner was none other than the once insufferably arrogant Chu Jingtian.

The once proud youth in purple robes now lay slumped like mud on the ground made of crystallized Mental Energy.

His brilliant silver robe had long since lost its luster, and the silver Flood Dragon Divine Thought surrounding him was as thin as smoke, as if it could dissipate at any moment.

The pride that had once looked down upon the world in his eyes was completely shattered, leaving only endless fear, bewilderment, and a trace of lingering, crumbling dignity.

He looked at Lin Yuan, his lips moving, his voice hoarse and dry, carrying a weakness of a shattered Soul: "You… you are… the strongest…"

Lin Yuan lowered his eyes, his gaze landing on him like a deity from the Nine Heavens looking down upon dust.

There was no triumph of a victor in those eyes, no pity for the defeated, only an absolute, cold indifference that looked down upon all things.

"Remember," Lin Yuan's voice was calm and waveless, yet contained the power to freeze the Soul, clearly branded into the depths of Chu Jingtian's collapsing Divine Thought, "Those who are defeated by my hand have no qualification to enter my eyes."

The moment his words fell, Lin Yuan's fingertip trembled imperceptibly.

Hum!

Chu Jingtian's broken Divine Thought body stiffened suddenly, then, like a popped bubble, collapsed with a bang!

It transformed into specks of beautiful, sorrowful silver starlight filling the sky, completely merging into this chaotic world, leaving no trace behind.

[Final Ranking]

Lin Yuan of Tianqing Domain: 1008

Chu Jingtian of Tianxuan Domain: 0

Mo Wufeng of Diming Domain: 0

...

The moment Lin Yuan's Divine Thought returned from the Divine Realm of Illusions that had swept across a thousand Domains, and he opened his eyes again—Swish!

On the plaza, over a thousand gazes, as if drawn by an invisible magnet, instantly focused on him!

In those gazes, there was awe deep into the bone marrow, undisguised fear, burning worship, and the despondency and powerlessness of having been completely crushed.

He seemed to have become the sole core of this world, the invisible pressure causing the very air to stagnate.

The Hall Master of Xuanxiao walked down from the high platform in person, every step appearing incomparably solemn.

He came before Lin Yuan and solemnly held up an ancient Command Token with both hands, neither gold nor jade, its surface flowing with deep Space Law ripples.

"Tomorrow is the day the supreme arena, gathering the elites of the Spirit Martial Halls of all Six-Star Great Worlds, opens."

The Hall Master's voice was low and filled with emotion, containing indescribable complexity.

"Among billions of worlds and trillions of living beings, only ten people will be able to step onto that final arena!"

He looked deeply at Lin Yuan, his gaze seeming to pierce through endless time and space: "My Six-Star Great World, though vast and boundless, is still a drop in the ocean compared to the seven-star, eight-star, and nine-star vast worlds that have nurtured ancient titans.

Not to mention… that legendary Central Continent, which gathers all the glory and Origins of the heavens and myriad worlds; it is also known as Taichu Divine Continent, the supreme existence of our entire Primal Plane!"

The Hall Master solemnly placed the Void Command Token into Lin Yuan's hand and patted his shoulder firmly, his eyes burning with a fierce fire of expectation: "This world is ultimately too small for you!

If you wish to reach the pinnacle and explore the ultimate Profound Truth of the Dao of Divine Thought, Taichu Divine Continent is your only path!

There, there are ruins where ancient gods and demons are buried, Chaos Secret Realms left from the beginning of heaven and earth, and supreme Opportunities that can allow this shocking Divine Thought of yours to truly transform, sublimate, and reach the peak!"

Lin Yuan took the Void Command Token that carried infinite possibilities, the profound Space Law rhythm transmitting through his fingers.

He slowly raised his eyes, his gaze sweeping across the entire plaza like cold lightning.

Those Saints from various Domains who once looked down on everything and viewed Tianqing Domain as a barren borderland were all shaken to their cores at this moment.

The instant that calm gaze swept over them, it was as if they had been pierced by an invisible sharp sword, and they all lowered their heads in panic; not a single one dared to meet his eyes!

The powerful nine-colored Divine Thought, like a sleeping ancient giant beast, silently flowed and breathed around him.

An invisible force field expanded, actually inducing the surrounding Space Law to emit a subtle, resonant hum as if in worship.

At this moment, he was the Law, he was this world—the sole Dominator!