761: Wen Zhong failed the exam

In the profound universe, endless stars exploded with thunderous light.

Streaks of golden liquid splattered, shining with dazzling brilliance.

That was the blood of immortals and gods; just a single drop falling into the mortal realm could create a powerful Cultivator or a Demon King.

But now, these supreme treasures were being scattered into the Void Realm as if they were worthless.

Witnessing the scene before him, Celestial Worthy Puhua was incredibly shocked.

He had fought countless battles in his life; even before his investiture of the gods, he had swept away foreign tribes with his golden whips.

Even in the final battle at Juelong Ridge, he had repeatedly defeated three great generals from Xiqi, and even Yang Jian had fallen under his whip.

In his view, that was an incredibly tragic battle, yet also an incredibly exhilarating one; even after his Qi was exhausted, his Battle Intent remained unextinguished, never once feeling fear or regret.

But now... he felt a certain fear of the battlefield before him.

Those once high and mighty, arrogant immortals and gods were now bleeding across the firmament like street brawlers.

The mangled remains of Heavenly Soldiers floated in outer space.

The calf of Dutian Taisui dragged a trail of blood as it fell into the mortal realm.

The Generals of the Thunder Department cried out in anguish, as if they had gone mad.

Before the battle, they had never imagined it would be so brutal.

The four individuals who defied the Heavenly Court were like an irresistible torrent of Dao, tearing through the formations before the South Heaven Gate like a whirlwind scattering fallen leaves.

However... what Celestial Worthy Puhua feared was not the strength of those four or the brutality of the battlefield.

Rather, it was that under the extreme pressure of this battle, all the Heavenly Soldiers, including the Thunder Generals, had their 'Heart Demons' stirred.

The stronger the enemy, the crazier they became, and the more they fought with utter disregard for their lives.

Seeing this, Celestial Worthy Puhua finally understood.

All the immortals in the Heavenly Court had Heart Demons.

Everyone knew that the investiture of the gods was a shackles, but it was also a guarantee of eternal life.

They had only wanted to break free from the investiture of the gods before because they hadn't felt a crisis.

Now, the crisis was right before their eyes.

The newly ascended Human Emperor was now floating in the golden blood mist, observing this battlefield where immortals and gods bled.

The arrogance and sense of security of being an immortal or god were completely shattered at this moment.

Everything was out of control... The current gods couldn't imagine if they could still look down upon the mortal world as they once did after losing their divine positions.

Thus, the Heart Demons created by the investiture of the gods took over their Divine Souls.

"This is the true face of the Human Emperor's Great Tribulation..."

Celestial Worthy Puhua murmured in his heart.

He understood Old Lord's words.

【Only the Human Emperor's 'rebellion' can force the immortals and gods to 'awaken'!】

From the Human Emperor's perspective, if the immortals' and gods' sense of superiority, which made them look down on the Three Realms, was not shattered, humanity would never be on par with Heaven and Earth.

And from the immortals' and gods' perspective... only by being utterly crushed once,

could they rediscover their original intention of seeking the Dao.

Immortals and gods were never inherently superior.

Protecting all living beings to receive offerings was how they attained eternal life.

Governing all living beings was the duty bestowed upon immortals and gods by the Three Realms, not a power to lord over them.

As these thoughts crossed his mind, Wen Zhong's body trembled violently, as if something within his Soul was shattering.

That was his divine position.

At the moment of his Epiphany, his title, Celestial Worthy Puhua, who Responds to Thunder in the Nine Heavens, disappeared from the investiture of the gods.

At this moment, he could clearly feel that he had lost a great deal, yet also regained a great deal.

Loss, relief... conflicting emotions intertwined, giving rise to anticipation for the future.

Wen Zhong slowly raised his head, gazing at the shattered firmament, as if he saw an endless immortal path within the dark rift.

"How did he start comprehending the Dao in the middle of a fight?"

Amidst the blood of immortals and gods, Qin Yang had been intently watching his most dangerous opponent.

Celestial Worthy Puhua, who Responds to Thunder in the Nine Heavens, was undoubtedly the strongest combatant among the Generals of the Thunder Department.

The moment the battle began, this Grand Tutor of Yin Shang came directly for him, and even with repeated deployments of the Imperial Guard, they couldn't block his golden whips.

Fortunately, as the main damage dealer, Qin Yang had Yang Jian and Nezha as his Protectors.

None of the thirty-six Thunder Generals, including Wen Zhong, could truly get close to him.

This gave him enough space to deal damage, heal, and control.

Although it was a small team of only four, they were not at all at a disadvantage against the thirty-six generals.

Even Sun Wukong, who had previous experience, hadn't expected the battle to go so smoothly.

Actually, this was very reasonable.

After all, Qin Yang had maxed out all his advantages.

He only learned upon reaching the Heavenly Court... that the 'one day in heaven, one year on earth' setting had actually granted him 'unlimited firepower.'

Although he was 'in Heaven,' his Imperial Power still accumulated according to 'earthly' time.

Every ten seconds, his Imperial Power increased by ten million points.

He couldn't use it all, he simply couldn't use it all!

With a nearly infinite mana bar, Qin Yang could simply exhaust all the immortals and gods by continuously casting "Imperial Grace" on Yang Jian and the others.

Not to mention, his own damage was no less than that of the rampaging jungler, Sun Wukong.

However, Qin Yang still fought cautiously, as Imperial Grace couldn't be used on himself; once his status was compromised, the rhythm of the battle would be disrupted.

Therefore, he had been constantly monitoring the extremely threatening Celestial Worthy Puhua.

Yet, as the battle gradually intensified, the opponent stopped.

After a moment of stunned silence, he actually entered a state of Epiphany.

Just as Qin Yang worried that the opponent would Breakthroug during the battle and become even stronger, he vaguely sensed a change through his True Dragon Qi Observation.

Wen Zhong's divine rank was plummeting, as if he had lost all his Karma.

But in its place, his own Luck was rapidly increasing.

His previously stagnant cultivation also broke through the shackles of his divine position and was slowly rising.

"This is... breaking free from the investiture of the gods?"

Qin Yang immediately realized the problem.

The current Celestial Worthy Puhua had already lost his divine position.

But this did not affect his strength; instead, it allowed him to Breakthroug his shackles.

"So, this is how the investiture of the gods is torn?"

Qin Yang suddenly understood.

All these people who could be on the investiture of the gods had once undergone a transformation.

And to break free from the investiture of the gods, they also had to go through another baptism.

Qin Yang didn't know the details of Wen Zhong's departure from the list,

but he was certain it was related to this great battle.

As Qin Yang was thinking this, Yang Jian, covered in blood, appeared in a flash.

His white battle robe was soaked with golden blood, and he was covered in wounds from head to toe; his left arm was completely deformed, clearly in a critical health state.

However, even severely wounded like this, Yang Jian's blood-stained handsome face still radiated Battle Intent, as if he was greatly enjoying himself.

With a healer who could instantly restore full health, blindly charging was the way to go.

"Brother Qin, heal me!" Yang Jian urged Qin Yang, his gaze still fixed on a certain Thunder General who had just severely wounded him; he hadn't had enough fun yet.

Qin Yang raised his hand and cast an Imperial Grace, while saying, "This is the third time, two more than the monkey. Also... don't let Howling Celestial Dog get killed, I thank you."

Amidst the golden light, Yang Jian's wounds instantly healed, and his magic power returned to its Peak.

However, hearing that Sun Wukong had received one less replenishment than him, Yang Jian looked a bit disgruntled and said, "But my kill count should be higher than his, right?"

Qin Yang smiled and shook his head, "Still short by two."

That's right.

Facing an endless stream of Heavenly Soldiers and the thirty-six Thunder Generals.

The four-person anti-Heavenly Court team was still calculating their scores.

The current scores were—

Yang Jian: 3 / 3 / 5.

Sun Wukong: 5 / 1 / 8.

Nezha: 1 / 3 / 8.

Qin Yang: 3 / 0 / 12.

Howling Celestial Dog: 0 / 25 / 3... Kills / Deaths / Assists.

The kill count was the number of Thunder Generals defeated.

The death count wasn't actual death, but the number of times they came to Qin Yang for healing.

After all, these three battle maniacs wouldn't stop until they were critically wounded.

As for assists, Qin Yang also counted them by feeling.

After all, the current battlefield was too chaotic.